I wrote this in my spare time.. don't mind if it's not 100% true to the game. I embellished some parts for writing style purposes. Enjoy! :gift:

Cloud didn't understand anything. What was it that led him here? Why did Aerith come here? What could she possibly have to do in this dead city only inhabited by the vague ghost of the Cetra knowledge? His intuition, a tool that had never failed him in the past, granted him nothing... Nothing but a faint voice. Rather, the mental projection of a voice, but Cloud somehow knew it was Aerith. Her affectionate voice wavered in and out of audible volume. All she did was hum the same tune continuously. It was a gentle tune, delicate with frills of sweet sentiments. But its core was melancholy. Just hearing his psychic acoustics vibrate with the fragile sound of Aerith humming this rueful yet heartening melody made Cloud sad.
He had no choice, and no other option stood clearly to him; Cloud decided to follow the humming. He was led through the Forgotten City until he could finally see her. It was so comforting. After all this time, she was there. She was PHYSICALLY there. Across the water, Aerith prayed atop a risen altar. Without hesitation, Cloud made his way up to her. He was only a few feet away now. Her image was reflected on the glass-like surface below her with radiant iridescene.

Jenova.

Cloud rose his sword over his head. His own cells were forcing him. The humming was gone now, replaced by thousands of malignant voices whispering from within his own mind. Cloud couldn't hear anything. He couldn't see. There was nothing. Cloud, kill her, Cloud. Nothing. Bring the sword down, Cloud. Nothing. Kill Aerith, Cloud. Nothing. Kill her, Cloud. Nothing. KILL HER NOW, CLOUD. KILL HER NOW. Nothing but the whispering, maliciously coaxing him to carry the sword down with all of his momentum. His consciense was nothing but a thinning thread.

"CLOUD!"
"STOOOOP!"

Shocked, Cloud stepped back. How could he have almost killed Aerith? He couldn't believe himself. Aerith opened her eyes. She looked up at him with reassuring innocence. Did she not realize that he had almost just murdered her? No, she must've known.

"Aerith..." He didn't know what to say. Her eyes filled with understanding, and she smiled. A smile so sweet, so pulchritudinous, so loving. Such a simple smile, but it took away all of his anxities. Cloud didn't feel pained anymore. Aerith somehow knew that it wasn't him, that it was something else. Her own way of telling him that everything would be alright. 'Yes, everything would be alright,' Cloud thought to himself...


Okay! That's what I've written so far. Post if you have constructive criticisms or if you like it. Maybe I'll finish it some other time (or if I get some encouragement :angel: )

This is quite good. ^_^ I don't have any criticism so far, except maybe to work on the paragraphing a bit. I find correctly-spaced paragraphs and formatting to be very helpful in emphasising core moments of a story.

And I learned a new word too. XD Pulchritudinous!

Do continue, it'd be nice to see where you take this. A retelling of the death scene, I suppose?

Nicely written. I hope you do continue it.

Ah, yes. Structure has always been my anti-forte... especially in a piece like this where I wrote it in 10 minutes and did no revisions whatsoever. Thank you for the advice.

Yeah, I've written the second half. I should post it soon when I have time :) .

Aww! Thank you! I just love compliments :huggle: .

Very good job! :cheer: I loved it! The way you tell it, actually makes me visualize what's going on. Please continue ^_^

Okay! I finally have the time to post all of this, so here's the second half. Once again, don't mind any deviations from the game. Criticisms welcome. Hope you like it :D .


Cloud felt a disturbance break the serene aura exuding from Aerith and her pure smile. Darkness, humid and pregnant with the promise of evil tidings, hung in the thickening air above them. The sky became turgid with a formidable and aversely recognizable presence. Cloud saw nothing but a flash of lambent moonlight reflecting off a polished blade as the cloaked figure of villainous idolatry fell from the unforgiving heavens.

The smile melted off her face. Aerith fell limp in an instant. Her hands, once folded in prayer, fell to her sides like lifeless noodles as gravity pulled her forward. Her front half bent over, being only held up by the masamune still skewered through her abdomen. Sephiroth withdrew his sword, a trail of Aerith’s blood lingering on the blade, with the surreal lack of speed that made Cloud think this was all a dream. Thoughts of disbelief swarmed Cloud’s mind like the unmanageable traffic in a beehive. No, this couldn’t be real. It wasn’t possible. It just wasn’t.

“Aerith!” He rushed to her as she toppled forward. He caught her in his arms, the arms he always dreamt of holding her with, the arms that were now granted their ironic wish. Cloud shook her, desperately hoping that there was some chance... some chance that she could be okay. “This can’t be real!” Nothing was going to wake him from this nightmarish fantasy.

“Do not worry,” Sephiroth began, celebrating his victory over the sweet and quirky flower girl. “Soon, the girl will become part of the Planet’s energy. All that is left will go North. The Promised Land waits for me over the snowy fields. There, I will become a new being by uniting with the planet’s energy. As will this girl.” Cloud shook with fury and angst.

“...Shut up,” he managed to mutter through his gritted teeth. “The cycle of nature and your stupid plan don’t mean a thing! Aerith is gone.” Cloud looked down at her. His mako-blue eyes overflowed with nostalgia as he remembered the all too few moments they shared together. Wonderful and dangerous alike. “Aerith will no longer talk, no longer laugh, cry...... or get angry.” Every memory now stung him deep in his heart. The flowerbed in the church where they first met. Venturing into Don Corneo’s mansion together for Tifa’s sake. All the battles they fought. Saving her from Shrina and the Turks. Learning about the Lifestream at Cosmo Canyon. Hearing the Cry of the Planet. Their date at the Gold Saucer. Watching the fluorescent fireworks from the gondola ride...

“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!” Cloud’s glass heart thumped heavily until it finally shattered. His tears poured over the rims of his eyes. His pain was too great; he couldn’t stop crying. He wanted her back. He begged and begged to have her back. He would do anything just to hear her laugh again, see her smile once more, feel the unconditional love that never stopped radiating from her. Cloud hugged her with all his might. He rocked back and forth as he held her in some attempt to comfort his unadulterated misery.

“What are you saying? Are you trying to tell me you have feelings too?” Sephiroth’s apathetic voice broke in. Cloud’s rage soared again. After he gently laid Aerith down on the floor of the altar, Cloud stood up to face the silver haired man in black who now represented everything he wanted to tear apart.

“Of course! Who do you think I am!?” Sephiroth laughed in a way that could make anyone’s blood turn over.

“Stop acting as if you were sad. There’s no need to act as though you're angry either. Because, Cloud. You are...” Sephiroth transformed into a hideous Jenova monster. Cloud unsheated his sword, glad to have been given the opportunity to masacre this creature.

He used no restraint nor mercy. He used Jenova Life as an outlet for all of his anguish, but even after the battle's end, the weight of his grief had not lightened an ounce.

"Because, you are...... a puppet," the voice of Jenova rang in his head.

The others all took their turns to mourn. Everyone was moved by her death. Cloud watched them all silently express their pain. His tears had stopped, but there was no glue that he could mend his heart with. It was broken. Not pierced, not wounded. Broken. His heart had been fragile to begin with, but now...

Tifa ran off in tears, and Cloud approached Aerith. He picked her up with delicacy lest he be too harsh and hurt her- even though he knew she was gone. He descended down from the altar, Aerith in his arms, to the pristine lake that glowed like it was speckled with stars.

Lowering her, Cloud realized that the bow in her hair and the materia were missing. He almost went back to the altar to find them so he could put them back in their rightful place, but he ultimately decided that it didn't matter anymore. She was gone. A pink bow in her hair made no difference. He would just have to accept that he had lost her. No matter how much he loved her... she was gone.

He finally let her go. For a moment, she floated atop the water, her white hands folded on her chest. He could've cried again, but he forced himself not to. He stepped back and watched her sink into the depths of the lake. This was reality. Aerith was gone. Cloud didn't understand how, but Aerith was... gone.

'Sephiroth will pay for this,' Cloud thought to himself as Aerith disappeared into the darkened abyss of the lake.

That was great! I loved it! I'd give some critisism if I could, but I can't... Loved your story though, especially how you described Cloud's heart...

:sad: Poor Cloud. Everytime I think about how heartbroken he was... it makes me so sad. You've written it precisely as Cloud would've felt. Few typos but who cares.

:sad: I'm just so upset now. Cloud is in so much pain..

:sad: *sniff* you portray feelings so well :cray: poor Cloud man he was never the same after that ;-;

Amazing job :cheer: you should write more ;D

Oh, yay! I'm glad people liked it :D . Once spring break comes along or I get enough free time over the weekend, maybe I'll try my hand at Clerith fanfic again ;) . Thanks for the comments everyone!