Tifa Lockhart
Administrator (B)
RP Master - The Academy
I heard you calling my name... or i thought i did[RS:1]
Posts: 21,178
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Post by Tifa Lockhart on Dec 18, 2008 21:57:19 GMT 8
((Here we are! The Ending of Crisis Core done in the way we want! booya! I'll pick up from those final three infantrymen))
The storm clouds had long rolled in and the land was soon to be soaked by a heavy rain. Zack stood on the cliff face blood staining every inch of visible skin and soaking into his SOLDIER uniform, darkening it and causing it to stick to his wounds. Every breath was agony as he panted, buster sword still clutched in his hands as he tried to muster the strength to lift it. He looked up, vision blurring and pitching like he were in a helicopter again. He was blinded by the lights of one such vehicle as it flew overhead, rotary blades whistling in the air as it departed, obviously deciding that the last remnants of the Shinra army could dispatch of this troublesome misfit alone. Zack spotted them then, three of them, walking towards him guns ready. The pain was excrutiating, and he could feel his legs shaking beneath him and for a moment he considered just dropping and letting them finish him. But then he remembered her letter, the 88 he'd never recieved and her one wish.
I want to get to know you better
Energy surged into the SOLDIER's veins as he forced himself to straighten, lifting the buster sword's tip from the dirt, facing his foes with a determined look on his face. In one final last ditch effort Zack yelled his defiance and charged, his body screaming with agony as he swung the blade at his foes, feeling the true weight of the sword taking its toll on his injured muscles. Time and everything became a blur as he swung, not seeing who he was hitting or whether he was even really landing any blows.
After what felt like long hours Zack sagged to his knees, three bloodied corpses lay sprawled out before him. He coughed and winced as his bullet riddled lungs threatened to give out and his vision rolled, stained crimson. Eventually his strength gave out and he fell backwards, laying in a mingling pool of his blood, the blood of his enemies and the rain that now fell from the sky in heavy torrents. He stared blankly at the sky, trying to ignore the pain he felt.
Eventually he heard a dragging noise and fear crept up in his gut. Had someone come to finish him off while he lay there unable to move an inch? He did not budge, trying to look as if he were already dead, but at that moment and blond spiked head with blue eyes peered down at him, eyes deep with sorrow. "Zack?" The boy croaked, his voice foggy to Zack's ears.
((I don't whether you wanna say what Aerith's doing right now?))
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The Painted Lady
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Official Artist
"I will never, ever turn my back on the people who need me!"
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Post by The Painted Lady on Dec 19, 2008 1:25:57 GMT 8
Aerith knelt, tending to the flowers that grew in her church. A nagging feeling of unease had plagued her for a while now, and she hoped that this would bring her some solace. But here, in this very spot by the flower bed, it seemed her feeling was intensified. She suppressed a sigh, mind losing its focus on the delicate yellow and white petals to wander back to a familiar thought.
Zack.
After four years and eighty-nine letters, Aerith knew she should have left him behind. But once again she realised she was fooling herself when she ever thought so. She still wore his ribbon in her hair. She still wore the pink outfit she had planned to surprise him with when he returned from Nibelheim to see her. That should have been a long time ago now. But she knew that a part of her was still waiting.
She straightened slowly, hesitantly looking up as she heard something trying to speak with her, though the message was unclear. Her gaze stopped on the hole in the church's roof, where Zack had fallen through all that time ago. Her unease became painful and she dropped her gaze to her clasped hands she brought to her chest. She stood still in prayer, for Zack. Maybe...
A soft gasp passed her lips as she looked back to where the light filtered into the church. Now she understood what the Planet was trying to say...
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Tifa Lockhart
Administrator (B)
RP Master - The Academy
I heard you calling my name... or i thought i did[RS:1]
Posts: 21,178
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Post by Tifa Lockhart on Dec 19, 2008 10:12:57 GMT 8
Zack lay in silence as he regarded the blue eyed-blond that stared at him. Eventually the SOLDIER laughed wheezily, the comatose body he'd dragged all the way here from Nibelheim had finally woken and now he knelt over him, strangely hollow eyes filled with concern. "Zack?" The boy repeated. "I'm alright Cloud." He replied with a pained wince, he tried to keep his words confident but as more air escaped his lungs than was getting in he didn't sound alright... and nor did he LOOK alright. He was bloodied from head to toe, cuts and bullet wounds alike dotted his figure. "But-" Cloud began to say, but he dragged off, looking up to the horizon as the clouds were beginning to draw away. "Is that.... Midgar?" He asked, his voice was slow and slurred, like it took a massive amount of thought to get the words out of his mouth. "Yeah man..." Zack wheezed with a tired smile. "We... made it." Cloud replied, looking down at Zack his expression unchanged despite the 'good' news. "Not yet..." Zack forced the words out as he pushed himself up, he winced in agony and for a moment thought he might fall back down, but then a pair of hands lent him their aid. Cloud did not seem completely with it, but he obviously understood that Zack needed his help. "You're... hurt bad Zack..." The boy murmured, strange blue eyes running over Zack's body, cringing at the horrific wounds. "It's alright Cloud... we'll get to Midgar. Come on." Zack cringed as he slowly managed to stand, but he could not lift his sword at all. He was just mournfully deciding to leave it behind when Cloud's gloved hand reached out and took the hilt. Slowly the blond lifted it, enough to drag it behind him. "I will... help." He murmured reaching out to put an arm around Zack's waist. "Cloud, you're not good either you know." Zack protested, still concerned for his friend who, until just now, he had thought was going to die, or at least never wake up. "Midgar." Cloud replied simply, taking a few steps forward.
Zack sighed and nodded, striking out with one painful step after the other, leaning only a little of his weight on Cloud. He felt energyless, and his head span from the bloodloss. I'll be lucky if i even get to Midgar... He thought for a moment, eyelids drooping as they began descending the cliff face on a rocky trail. But then the words from Aerith's letter floated through his foggy mind, as if they were being read to him out loud to keep up his strength.
Are you doing well? Where are you? It's been 4 years. This will be the 89th letter I've written but I will not send out any more. I hope that you receive this last letter. Zack! The flowers are selling very well. It makes everyone smile. It's all thanks to you. Aerith.
"Four years..." He croaked, "I've gotta keep my promise... even after all this time." "Huh?" Cloud mused, reminding Zack of his silent, half-presence beside him. "Sector four slums please..." Zack said with a weak chuckle, "I've got a promise to keep." "Promise...." Cloud murmured with strange incoherency, and together they crossed the plain, Midgar looming like a beacon overhead.
((I was going to leave off here, but then i figured there's only so much you can do right now so i'll keep going))
The sun was well and truly back in the sky when Cloud and Zack reached the base of Midgar's towering plates. Zack knew a back entrance into the slums of the city, and once they were inside they crept through the shadows, dodging any slum dwellers who might alert the Shinra authorities about them. They were after all, technically going into the hornets nest, but Zack was determined. He also figured that the last place they'd look was directly under their nose. "Where...?" Cloud questioned vaguely from their hiding place behind a pile of scrap. "Just follow my feet." Zack replied, wincing again as his wounds ached. The spinning sensation in his head had stopped and been replaced with a constant haze, some of his wounds still bled, unable to scab over, while others had stopped. He began walking, just going where he remembered, where he was drawn too. Eventually he stopped and nodded his head. "Sector four... nearly there." From there on Zack didn't even bother to be stealthy, he was too dead set on getting to that church. Some people eyed them nervously, while others exclaimed in surprise, perhaps recognising Zack from his many treks into this sector so many years ago. It didn't seem that long for Zack... in fact, it felt like only months ago, rather than years. Finally, when Zack was afraid his feet would carry him no further the steeple of the church rose up over his head, he breathed his relief and broke away from Cloud, scrambling up the stairs, his vision pitching again as he leaned on the church door, tiredly pushing it open. He'd barely got the door open before he collapsed onto his hands and knees, fighting to retain his consciousness. She better be here... i don't know where her house is... He thought to himself as he tried to collect his strength again.
Cloud followed Zack up the stairs, the buster sword clacking against them as he followed, dragging it behind him. He stood in the doorway, staring with empty eyes around the Church. Everything felt so surreal in his head at the moment.
((OMG longest post EVAR))
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The Painted Lady
Adviser (G)
Official Artist
"I will never, ever turn my back on the people who need me!"
Posts: 10,805
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Post by The Painted Lady on Dec 19, 2008 16:09:14 GMT 8
((Holy Gaia, we don't need me in this RP xD Gah! I woke up at 4PM today >.<))
Aerith was sitting on the church floor, staring up at the hole in roof. She closed her eyes, a tear sliding down her cheek.
'Hey Zack. If we're on the upper city, the sky must be really close, right?...'
Her memory was interrupted by a small scuffling noise outside. She quickly stood, fearing it was those men who had been spying on her again. Were they finally going to confront her now? She held her breath as the door began to open, mind panicking. What was she going to do? She tried to remember where she had put her staff... But those thoughts quickly dispersed when she saw just who it was that fell through the door. She gasped and rushed forward, though a thought occurred at the back of her mind that her imagination was playing tricks on her. "Zack?..." she breathed, as she crouched down beside him. A look of horror filled her uncertain green eyes as she surveyed his body. Something had happened... something horrible... For now, she forgot the fact that he had broken her heart for the last four years in his absence. He was hurt. Badly.
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Tifa Lockhart
Administrator (B)
RP Master - The Academy
I heard you calling my name... or i thought i did[RS:1]
Posts: 21,178
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Post by Tifa Lockhart on Dec 19, 2008 16:14:52 GMT 8
Zack heard the sound of footsteps running over to him and managed to lift his head to see who it was. The woman had long brown hair twisted back with a pink bow and she wore a simple long pink dress with a deep reddish pink jacket. A bit of a laugh wheezed from his ailing lungs when he realised it was Aerith, his unfocused eyes making it difficult. "You're wearing pink..." He observed, his arms gave out and his weight dropped onto his chest. He gasped in agony and forced himself to roll over, looking up at the woman with sheer agony in his expression. "I'm sorry..." He rasped, even more breathless from before. He held a hand up towards her, and in it he held a slip of bloodstained paper. It was the letter from her.
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The Painted Lady
Adviser (G)
Official Artist
"I will never, ever turn my back on the people who need me!"
Posts: 10,805
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Post by The Painted Lady on Dec 19, 2008 16:30:50 GMT 8
Aerith winced as Zack fell, still in disbelief at what she was seeing. She wasn't sure what to say. She looked to the slip of paper he offered to her, hesitantly taking it gently from him. She swallowed as she realised what it was: her last letter to him. "I thought... you mustn't have been getting them," she finally said quietly. She moved closer to the fallen SOLDIER, picking up his head and shoulders gently to cradle him to her, seemingly unworried about the blood staining her dress. "What happened Zack?" she whispered.
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Tifa Lockhart
Administrator (B)
RP Master - The Academy
I heard you calling my name... or i thought i did[RS:1]
Posts: 21,178
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Post by Tifa Lockhart on Dec 19, 2008 16:39:42 GMT 8
"Only got the one..." Zack replied with a grimace that was supposed to have been a smile. He opened his mouth to begin recounting what had happened when he heard movement by the church door, looking stiffly over he saw Cloud standing there, his expression as unchanged as ever. "It's alright Cloud." Zack called, his voice just loud enough for Cloud to hear, "She's a friend." At his comforting words Cloud entered the church, but he stayed near the door, holding tightly onto the hilt of the buster sword, which was coated with dirt and grime from the battle and the journey it had endured. The weapon had definitely seen hard times in recent years. Content that Cloud was at least inside the church Zack returned his blurred gaze to Aerith, wincing as he lay in her arms, feeling safer there. "Its... a very long story..." He said concern cropping up in the depths of his pain filled eyes, "I shouldn't have come here... they'll be looking for us..."
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The Painted Lady
Adviser (G)
Official Artist
"I will never, ever turn my back on the people who need me!"
Posts: 10,805
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Post by The Painted Lady on Dec 19, 2008 18:18:40 GMT 8
Aerith looked up to the blonde Zack addressed as Cloud. After a quick assessment of him, deciding he was alright, she returned her focus to Zack again, pressing his letter to his chest with a gentle hand. "I'm glad you came, but... I don't know how safe you are here," Aerith said, an edge of fear to her voice. "There are people around here sometimes... I feel like they're watching me." She knew she was probably sounding paranoid, but the feeling had been with her for a long time now. She glanced again to the boy who had come with Zack. "Perhaps we should close the door," she said nervously.
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Tifa Lockhart
Administrator (B)
RP Master - The Academy
I heard you calling my name... or i thought i did[RS:1]
Posts: 21,178
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Post by Tifa Lockhart on Dec 19, 2008 21:05:04 GMT 8
Cloud seemed to have some sort of robotic response to Aerith's words, because he turned from his position by the door and slowly pulled shut the massive doors, his arms lacking much strength.
"I'm sorry if i've brought you more trouble.... but i wanted..." Zack began, stopping to wince painfully, "I wanted to keep my promise...help you forfill your wish."
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The Painted Lady
Adviser (G)
Official Artist
"I will never, ever turn my back on the people who need me!"
Posts: 10,805
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Post by The Painted Lady on Dec 19, 2008 21:29:39 GMT 8
Aerith gave Zack a small smile. "You're very late," she said, a slight teasing tone to her voice. Her eyes still held their immense concern for him, however. "Are you going to be okay?" she asked softly.
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Tifa Lockhart
Administrator (B)
RP Master - The Academy
I heard you calling my name... or i thought i did[RS:1]
Posts: 21,178
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Post by Tifa Lockhart on Dec 19, 2008 21:38:29 GMT 8
"Doesn't feel like that long for me..." Zack said with another grimace, "Weeks... months maybe. But not years." He sighed sadly and relaxed more into Aerith's lap knowing that this reunion was no doubt far more awkward for her than it was for him.
"Hojo?" Cloud murmured his question from his silent position by the door.
"Yeah man... Hojo... bastard." He snarled the word aggressively, but the action sent pain racing through his body and he muffled a cry. "Ouch..." Was all he said in sort-of-but-not-really reply to Aerith's question. He didn't know if he WAS going to be OK, he'd lost a lot of blood and he'd got this far on adrenalin alone, and that was slowly ebbing. He just didn't want to worry Aerith and burden her more than he already had.
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The Painted Lady
Adviser (G)
Official Artist
"I will never, ever turn my back on the people who need me!"
Posts: 10,805
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Post by The Painted Lady on Dec 19, 2008 21:48:52 GMT 8
Aerith tensed only slightly as Zack rested a little more into her arms. The feeling was just a bit foreign to her now. But she quickly relaxed again, moving her hand to brush his single bang from his eyes. She wanted to ask Zack what had happened - she was still left in the dark - but decided it could wait until he was able to to tell her anything without draining himself. "Just take it easy," Aerith soothed when he cried out in pain.
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Tifa Lockhart
Administrator (B)
RP Master - The Academy
I heard you calling my name... or i thought i did[RS:1]
Posts: 21,178
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Post by Tifa Lockhart on Dec 19, 2008 21:57:39 GMT 8
Zack lay in silence with his eyes closed for a few minutes mulling over everything that had happened and the pain he must have put Aerith through... but then again, it's not like he'd been partying with his mates during that time... "You hate me." He said, more of a statement than a question, he'd felt her tense beneath him, "I don't blame you... i guess."
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The Painted Lady
Adviser (G)
Official Artist
"I will never, ever turn my back on the people who need me!"
Posts: 10,805
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Post by The Painted Lady on Dec 19, 2008 22:05:29 GMT 8
Aerith looked horrified that Zack could have drawn such a conclusion. "Of course not," she said, holding him closer. "I never knew why you didn't come back... but I was always waiting. You promised."
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Tifa Lockhart
Administrator (B)
RP Master - The Academy
I heard you calling my name... or i thought i did[RS:1]
Posts: 21,178
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Post by Tifa Lockhart on Dec 19, 2008 22:13:06 GMT 8
Zack decided he should tell Aerith what happened, but first he had to properly introduce her to Cloud, who was still standing quietly by the door, holding onto the buster sword as if letting go of it would be a terrible crime. "That's Cloud by the way... he used to be a Shinra Infantryman. We met on the Modeoheim mission... since then well, lots has happened." He sighed.
Cloud said nothing in reply, though he briefly regarded Aerith with his empty blue eyes tainted by Mako.
"It's all thanks to Genesis, Sephiroth, Hojo and that blasted Nibelheim job..." Zack cursed tiredly, his arm muscles twitched painfully.
At that moment Cloud's eyes roamed over to the flower bed that Aerith tended and he began walking over to it, still dragging the sword with him. He stopped by the edge of it, staring blankly at the blooming petals.
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