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View Poll Results: Whatcha think?
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It's great! ^_^
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It needs a ton of work, even after chapter 5 -_-
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It sux! >_<
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This is confusing... -_-;;
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The Days of Chaos (Zack x Aeris)
08.17.02, 21:12:03
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Post #1 (permalink) |
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(AH! My story's gone!! Thank god I keep it well saved... each chapter's in a different doc though heh ^_^;; well... as they say... FROM THE BEGINNING.... again.... here goes Chapter 1 again, don't worry by the time this is over, I'll have more then just the 24 chapters I had before and trust me, they're a hell of a lot longer then 1 is and alot better as well!! Well...here goes... AGAIN! )
Chapter 1: The Beginning
Alone in a darken forest a young women speeds off panting frantically as she runs past the trees. Her long brown cape flows behind her and smacks against the trees as she goes. A one point it gets caught and she fell to her knees. The young women, Aeris through her face up to see the incoming Behemoth that stomped madly at her with anger lit in its eyes.
Her wide emerald eyes gleamed with fright as she sat defenselessly on the ground. Aeris through her hands up at her cloak that began yanking frantically at it and it torn fairly easy. She didn't dare stay a moment more as the footsteps began to crush through the ground. An ear-piercing roar rolled through the woods.
Aeris could feel it's hot putrid breath against her neck as she ran. She knew she had no hope of escape if she didn't gain speed and with that she yanked her left hand over her head and shot a haste spell upon herself.
She raced faster and faster picking up speed as the spell began to settle in. Aeris knew that if she didn't trick the beast off there was no hiding from its keen sense of smell. Panting from loss of breath she fell helplessly to the ground awaiting to die.
She watched as the shadowed behemoth moved in closer and then reached its paw out to strike her. Aeris squinted her eyes closing them tightly, readying herself for the blow but nothing happened. She suddenly felt lifted and she slowly opened her eyes.
Another person was above her; She could feel his hands around her waist as he carried her. She could tell it was a man from his form and how strong his hands were. She didn't dare move in fear she might frighten him into dropping her. The rumbling of the ground continued as the behemoth came after them now.
Aeris didn't know what to do now, her magic had been depleted earlier and her strength had been drawn from her body. She laid quietly as she listened to the man's steady breathing from jumping the roots that stuck upwards really far out of the ground.
Aeris's long brown hair fell from the hood on her head and dangled over the man's shoulder. She slowly moved her hand behind her head and reached for it pulling it up piece by piece so not to disturb him or let him trip over it. The rumbling began to fade and the man's pace decreased quickly.
He came to a large red wood and laid Aeris down in front of it and collapsed next to her in a hurry breathing in heavily with his head bent low with exhaustion. Aeris reached over to him and softly placed her hand on his shoulder mouthing to him the words "thank you," Since she was too weak to speak.
The man only nodded his head as he sat there trying to regain his breath. Aeris tried to look into his hood trying to figure out who he was but the darkness made it impossible to see anything in his hood. Then the sudden rumbling returned and the man held his breath while Aeris's eyes lit up and filled with fear. |
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Chapter 2: The New Land
Aeris looked up and stood pressing herself against the tree breathing heavily as she darted glances around the area in fright. The man yanked her back down by her dress and pressed his finger to his lips.
“You must be quiet, the behemoth can hear the slightest thing,” He whispered as he moved himself to the other side of the tree and lifted his hands above his head.
”Warp…” He whispered as soft as he could. Soft white like snowflakes flowed gently from the tips of fingertips in his silver gloves and circled tightly around the tree. A short blast of light appeared and the rumbling suddenly stopped.
“Go, just walk through the tree while the behemoths are blinded!” He commanded.
“But what about-“
“Forgot it just go and hurry! They’ll awake from their state soon!” He commanded again. Aeris seemed confused on what to do and just did as he commanded vanishing through it. She seemed to fall through a deep portal and was slammed against the ground on the other side. She squinted her eyes deeply as she struck the hard surface. She groaned in pain and began to open her eyes but got a headache every time she tried Aeris tilted her head to the side and tried to move her arms but the pain was great and she collapsed coughing rapidly. She could taste the thick blood as she began to cough. She could feel the hot warm sun against her long brown hair and knew she had to be far off from where she was.
I wonder who that man was… She thought as she lay silently. Suddenly a deep cold consumed her body and the sun’s heat vanished from her skin.
“Hmmm… strange, who’s she?” A young man asked. Aeris could feel his eyes on her and she refused to move in fear he might try to kill her while she was weak.
“I don’t know. Is she alive?” Another man asked. She could hear his knees crack as he bent down and placed two fingers on the side of her neck. They were extremely cold to the touch and she shuttered as he placed them gently against her.
“Don’t think so, she’s still moving,” He replied to the other and quickly lifted his fingers from her.
“Well if she’s not dead, then don’t you think we should take her to the infirmary?”
“I don’t know. Our doctor isn’t very much trusted there anymore you know. He’s been accused to kidnapping his patients, and she looks to hurt to have anything done to her without her dying. There’s no way she would be able to resist him if he tried to take her to where the others are.”
“Yeah well, what are we gonna do with her?”
“I guess I can take her back to my place and help revive her, shouldn’t be to hard, if she can feel my fingers she should be able to stand in a couple hours,”
“Fine whatever you want to do.”
They finally stopped talking and the one man bent down again and placed his hands under her body and scooped her up into his arms. Aeris could feel her hair drop behind her head and sway with the on coming wind but she was to weak to open her eyes to prove she was awake let alone speak to them.
“Damn she’s pretty,”
“Yeah but you ain’t getting her and you know it, Dyne!” The other one called out chuckling softly. Aeris could do nothing but lay back and a wait for them to release her so she can get back home and go to the man who saved her and repay him for it. She didn’t know what else to do so she refused to move and listened to the men as they started walking. |
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Chapter 3: The Monster
Aeris finally felt the men lay her down on a soft bed. She couldn't figure out where she was and breathed deeply as she heard their footsteps fade off into the distance. Slowly she moved to the side trying to prop herself into a good position to sleep but she could hardly twitch because of the pain that was still swelling up inside her. Suddenly a door swung open and floor seemed to shake with each step the person made that entered the room.
"Hey Dyne! She moved!" the man shouted loudly.
"Really?!" Dyne asked as he rushed into the room and then stopped shortly from the bedside.
Aeris breathed in deeper as she felt him push her hair form her face. His hands had warmed up since she last felt them and she moaned softly as she turned moved her hand to her head.
"Well, Zack? She recovering or what?"
Zack!?!? Aeris thought excitedly as she heard the name ring through her head remembering her old boyfriend's name was Zack.
"Seems like it." He answered to Dyne as she heard him stand up and walk away from her.
"Ack she just needs rest, she's probably awake right now but can't do anything about it," Zack explained as she heard him shove Dyne out the infirmary’s door.
"Alright! Alright! I'm going!" Dyne cried out as the door slammed shut behind them.
Finally... She thought as she breathed a shy of relief and drifted into a deep dreamless sleep.
Suddenly a blast rang throughout the building and Aeris opened her eyes slowly. She could hear panic spreading throughout the building as well as the outside.
"THE WEAPON'S ATTACKING!!!" She heard a woman scream from outside a window that was behind her.
"**** Dyne! That damn thing's come back." She heard Zack tell him. As he walked into the room Aeris got her first look at the young man. She knew him as her Zack. She was too shocked from the noise though to even glance at him.
"Well she's awake." He said to Dyne as he looked down at her. Zack's black spiked up hair was the first visible thing on him. His thick purple sweater was covered with his dark brown leather straps that held to his purple baggy pants. His blackish brown boots seemed invisible against the black cement floor. His eyes were a deep brown and his face was locked in concern as he looked down at her and then glanced out the window behind her. Dyne then walked in behind him. His layer black hair shined with sunlight that poured through the windows and his white sleeveless shirt glowed brightly with it as well and his muscles showed clearly through it like Zack's did. He wore black tight pants that lapped over his black tennis shoes. He had his eyes narrowed against the outside with his face twisted in anger. Aeris slowly pushed herself up and tried to look at what the two were staring at but couldn't see it. She raised her hand to the windowsill and clutched it tightly as she pulled herself up to the corner of it to see if she could see what they were looking at now but she still couldn't find it.
What are they looking at? What made that crash... She silently thought as she quickly glanced around towards different homes in the area. Another crash seemed to happen right in front of the house and she fell to the floor smacking her head hard against the black floor.
"**** she's bleeding again!" Zack yelled as he bent over and picked her up pressing something soft against her forehead where it started stinging with pain. |
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Chapter 4: Escape
Aeris closed her eyes tightly as she looked around the area. She could feel Zack quickly move from the house followed by his friend Dyne. When she finally reopened her eyes it was to disaster. Aeris could hear the people around her rushing passed them screaming. Zack was breathing hard running as fast as he could as he pushed passed the people around him. A deep roar rocked the land beneath them and Zack suddenly lost his footing dropping Aeris and flipping onto the ground. Aeris rolled across the ground for a second and stopped laying quietly against the dirt ground. The sharp pain in her forehead started to return and she painfully pushed herself up with her beaten arms. When she locked her elbows and pushed herself upright she saw the demon roaming over her and blocking the sun that formed around him, giving him a deep bloody red glow.
“****, Zack! Of all times you just had to fall!” Dyne hollered as he ran to her and scooped her up checking to see if she had broken anything. She turned her head and looked to Zack as he jumped to his feet quickly and turned to him grunting.
“This is no time to fight, Dyne!” he yelled back as he narrowed his eyes at him and then looked to Aeris. Quickly his face dropped into a horrified expression as he turned his gaze passed both of them.
“What? What’s wrong with you, keep going!” Dyne yelled at him starting towards him to snap him out of his trance. Another deep roar shook the land and Aeris turned her head towards the weapon again and noticed it was now hovering over them, was beginning to grab everything it could see, and hurl it at everyone who was running from it.
“Dude! Go!” Dyne screamed again as he put Aeris to her feet and started to push Zack forward.
“That thing is just going to keep killing and killing…,” Zack finally said as his face went firm.
“The hell with that! You aren’t going back there to play hero damn it!” He told him as he punched him in the side of his arm and grabbed it starting to drag him back.
“Zack he’s right…,” Aeris told him as she turned to face them. They looked at her shocked that she was talking now and Zack sighed deeply.
“But you don’t get how badly this thing has-,”
“I do…,” She started, “I do know the pain this thing has created.” She told him as she looked to the ground. The Weapon suddenly bent over and wrapped his enormous hand around a large oak tree and hurled it at them. Aeris could feel the rush of wind used to push the tree on and turned to see it coming towards her. Quickly she pushed her hands up in front of her and released a blast of white light from her fingertips making a giant circular shield. The oak’s trunk struck her shield as it finally finished itself and pushed it hard into her knocking her to the ground. The tree rested firmly on the ground and Aeris laid in front of it breathing hard.
“Damn tree!” Zack yelled as he ran toward her and bent over. He started to put his arms under her to carry her but she pushed him away.
“I’m fine, if I’m not dead, I’m fine,” She told him quickly as she pushed herself up and brushed the dirt from her knees.
“You two have to go with the others.” She told them but they didn’t seem to want to budge.
“Go! You have no choice unless you want to die!” She screamed looking quite serious.
“If I can’t play the hero, neither can you,” Zack finally said as he reached around her to carry her again.
“No I’m fine,” She said firmly as she tired to fight him but it didn’t seem like she would win.
“No you’re not! You have blood spilling from you head like a fountain, that’s not fine,” He told her as he flipped her off her feet and start towards the plains with the other villagers followed closely by Dyne.
“Let me go! I’m fine!” Aeris screamed as she tried to push him away.
“Here.” Dyne said as he ran along side him. He quickly pulled a handkerchief from his green pants pocket and pushed against her forehead. Zack pushed his hand away so he wouldn’t trip over him, while leaving the cloth on her and Dyne started to run a steady pace again while Zack tried to keep his balance and keep the handkerchief over her bleeding head, trying to slow the blood.
“Stop over there!” Dyne called out to Zack pointing towards a tree breathless looking as if he was about to drop into the ground and give up. Zack did as Dyne begged and lowered Aeris to the ground letting her lay against it. Dyne collapsed completely out of breath next to her boots and Zack leaned against the bark of the tree picking up her shoulders and pulling her on his lap.
“I think I know you but I’m not sure,” Aeris said to him as he took the cloth from her head and twisted it letting the warm blood drip onto the ground. Zack seemed to smile as he placed it back on her forehead and sighed deeply as he pressed it gently against her head to stop the blood.
“Well, I know who you are, but I don’t think you’ll want to know who I am,” He told her and she could hear Dyne softly chuckling to himself.
“Oh… shut the hell… up,” Dyne told him calmly and Zack glared back at him but then shook his head.
“Ignore him,” Zack told her and she laid slightly looking up towards him.
“We’ll rest here I guess since Dyne’s too weak to keep going.”
“HEY! I am… not!” He yelled and Aeris softly giggled at him and slowly began to drift into a silent deep sleep. |
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Chapter 5: Duel of Hearts
Aeris awoke to find herself still lying on Zack’s lap. The day had gone and it was dark again. She sighed deeply and looked around to see if Dyne was still around. She couldn’t see him but she could hear his deep snoring in front of her. She closed her eyes trying to return to her deep sleep but couldn’t. Looking around she noticed it was all flat around the plains and she knew her chance was now or never. Slowly she pushed herself off Zack’s lap and sat there for a moment looking back at him. His mouth was slightly open and his head was slumped against his shoulder as a pillow. She softly giggled at him and pushed herself up gently standing over the two, letting her hair flow down from her side to behind her.
Aeris started to walk from them towards a cliff that hung shallowly over a small lake. As she stood she looked over into the water remembering a fable that her teacher had once told her. She slowly sat down in front of it swinging her right leg over it as she stared at her reflection.
“Once there was a young woman who thought she was beautiful…” She started, whispering it slightly so not to wake the others, “and she always came to a lake to look down at her reflection…” Aeris suddenly stopped as she heard faint footsteps behind her. She turned swiftly to see Zack was coming towards her.
“And a man lived on the other side of the lake.” He said looking down at her and then into the water.
“And one day she and the man fell into the lake…” Aeris continued looking up at him as he sat down beside her.
“And then they came up as one,” He finished as he looked up from the water to her. “I heard that story when I was a kid,” He told her laughing slightly.
“My… mother told me it when… well before she left me.” Aeris told him as she looked away from him and picked up a rock near the edge and skipped it across the lake.
“Yeah I know,” He said as he put a hand on her shoulder and then slid it off noticing she wasn’t moving.
“No you don’t know,” She told him shaking her head after a moment and then turning away from him. “She was attacked because of me. Hojo was the name that I’d been told ever since I was young from my mother. I never knew my father… She told me that he died trying to protect both of us from the Shrina when I was…”
“20 days old, and then your mother died when you were 5, slaughtered from the Shrina and Eleana found you next to your dying mother as she spoke her last words to her. Telling her that she wanted her to take care of you,” He finished looking over to Aeris as she quickly turned to him.
“How’d you know that?” She asked him with a shocked look on her face as he just looked back at her calmly.
“Well, you told me.”
“I… I did?”
“Yeah, you told me when we were living in Midgar together in the same sector.” He quickly told her leaning a little closer to her. Aeris slightly moved herself near him and started to close her eyes as they became inches apart from each other and finally…
“Hey! You guys are up early!” Dyne suddenly yelled as Zack stumbled forward passed her and then quickly pushed himself perfectly upright.
“Uhhh.. yeah, I wasn’t very tired.” Zack quickly said as he jumped to his feet and looked to Dyne starting to stumble over his own words. Aeris did the same, not daring to say a word and started passed him back to the oak tree looking as if she was still tired.
“So what’s up with her?” He asked Zack as he started to follow her and then stopped.
“Nothing, she’s just confused about what happened that’s all.” He quickly said to him trying to get himself back to where Aeris was. She was now sitting against the tree with her knees pulled up in front of her and her arms gently crossed and lying on them with her head down.
“So what were you doing?” Dyne said curiously with a smirk on his face that made Zack panic and look everywhere but at Dyne.
“N- Nothing, I was just talking to her about her family.” He said quickly trying to push passed him but Dyne grabbed his arm as he went passed tightening his grip around it. He leaned over gently to him and narrowed his eyes at him looking a little angered.
“Don’t try anything to get in my way, you know how much I like her…” He said quickly and then through his arm off him crossing it with his other looking across the lake quietly. Aeris watched the whole thing squinting at Dyne wondering why he was acting so strangely. As Zack started to make his way back over she quickly turned her head back into her folded arms and began fall back to sleep as Zack sat down beside her silently. |
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Chapter 6: Failure to Run
Aeris suddenly awoke to shaking land. She could feel Zack jump to his feet and he reached behind him pulling out a long thick sword she never noticed before. He had it raised in front of him with his hands at his waist as he quickly glanced around the area. Zack didn’t seem to realize that Aeris had woken up, nor did he notice Dyne frantically unwrapping his right arm from under a bandage. When he completely pulled the thin wrapping off Aeris drew back in shock at what she saw. A gleaming black rifle glowed against the sunlight and it was attached to his arm. He had no hand there and her eyes widen as she looked to him. Another shake of the land made her fall back against the tree hard, breaking her glance with Dyne as he just started to look back at her. Quickly, she put her hands against the grassy ground and pushed herself up to Zack.
“What’s going on?!” Aeris screamed over the rumbling as Zack turned to her.
“We’re probably going to have to run!” He yelled back to her, as he looked away and in front of him.
“No, I want to know what that is! What is it!?” Aeris demanded as she slapped her hands in front of her to make a small explosion of white light around them. She lowered her head and closed her eyes softly as the light dimmed slightly and then thinned itself out while growing in length. When the light finally stopped what was left was a shimmering gold staff that stretched from Aeris’s head to the ground. Two gleaming Phoenix wings curved into the center forming a heart shape end that didn’t quite connect at the crease. A small pale green orb sat upon a short pedestal between the wings that was attached the main rod of the staff that seemed to be made out of complete liquid because the white inside the orb swelled against the pale green.
“Wow! I didn’t know you knew magic!” Dyne screamed, smirking at her quickly.
“And I didn’t know you had a gun for an arm…” Aeris answered back to him smiling back and then turned away to face Zack. Dyne scowled at Zack for a moment when Aeris turned her gaze towards him and she noticed it. Swiftly, he changed his expression as he started walking a little bit forward.
“Come on we have to get out of here! Dyne! Get back here!” Zack hollered out to him as Dyne started into a paced jog away from them.
“Dyne come back! Listen to him!” Aeris yelled out with a hint of concern in her voice as she watched him. Dyne seemed to ignore both of them as he kept running and then he suddenly stopped and started back towards them full speed swinging his arm forward as hard as he could screaming out something that she couldn’t make out over rumbling. She could feel a tight hard tug on her wrist and she was pulled back being dragged by Zack.
“What?! What are you doing?!” Aeris yelled to him while trying to fight his hand off her wrist, but the harder she tried the tighter he got.
“Dyne said it’s coming!” He yelled back at her as he put his long sword back behind his back nearly blinded by its gleam against the sun’s rays. Aeris turned her head behind her but it seemed Dyne was too far behind. She pushed herself up to his side trying not to trip and then gripped his hand trying to get him off.
“Dyne needs help! Go back!”
“No! Dyne will be fine! If we go back we’ll all be killed!”
“By what?! Answer me that, by what!?” She demanded but quickly tripped over her feet and slammed her face into the ground. She could taste the mixture of blood and dirt in her mouth and pushed herself up noticing Zack was slowing and Dyne was coming to her. Dyne suddenly stopped and pulled Aeris to her feet and then tugged her hard forward.
“Just tell me what you’re running from!” She screamed as she pushed her hand against her face trying to rid herself of the dirt that was spread across her face.
“That!” Dyne hollered back at her pointing behind her head. Aeris quickly turned to see the Ultimate Weapon had returned.
“DYNE! WATCH IT!” Zack yelled as he stopped and headed towards them. Dyne turned quickly to see the Ultimate Weapon was opening his mouth and pouring in energy from all around it forming a large pulsar ball. Dyne through himself to the ground as soon as Zack dived down at them and brought Aeris back to the ground with him.
“Cover your ears fast!” Zack told them and Aeris did as she was told without thinking pushing as hard as she could against her ears trying to make her seem deaf. Aeris could feel a blast of wind push against her and smack into Zack’s head, which was now pressed into the soft dirt. The grass and loose soil around them seemed to lift and shoot passed them. She closed her eyes tightly, fearful that something might happen to them, and then a sharp stab of pain shot from her head to her waist making her jolt back and try to let go of her ears. When she tried to pull away from her ears though to see what had hit her face she noticed they were suddenly pushed back to where they were with a brute force. Aeris could feel that Zack was getting pulled away from her and Dyne was being knocked to side away from her.
“GUYS! COME BACK! FIGHT IT!” She heard Zack scream to them faintly through the shock wave. A sudden blast of wind then shot Aeris blank in the head and flung her into a stone side, or so she believed. The wind finally settled around her but she could hear no one or sense anyone near her. Slowly, Aeris opened her eyes to see herself lying in front of a gentle ocean. She frantically glanced around her and shot to her feet only to be knocked back to the ground from her weakness.
“No…” She whispered as she laid back tiredly and continued to look around, “Guys? Where’d you go? Where are you? Zack!? Dyne?! Guys!” Aeris called out softly as she tried to regain her strength and balance enough to go and search. |
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Chapter 7: The Truth
Aeris slowly began to get up, feeling weak as she pushed herself up. She knew she had hit her head hard because of the headache that was starting within her. She dropped to her knees close to the water and held herself up above it as it washed under her. Exhausted, She flipped onto her side and laid in the wet cool water as it pushed against her and tried to relax with the water washing against her wounds she could feel on her back. Her body wanted to just give up and go to sleep but she knew she couldn’t because she had no idea what could happen to her since she didn’t have a good enough idea of the land she was on yet. The salt water slightly stung against her wounds and slipped under her head and gently into her eyes making them shoot open in pain.
She groaned heavily as she pushed herself to her knees again and squinted into the setting sun. The area around her was silent as she looked around and pushed herself up.
“Guys?” She asked into the area around her softly as she looked around, but she heard nothing. She could see her staff laying down near the grass, where she had landed and she slowly made her way over to it. Dropping to her knees, she scooped it into her open hand and stood once more. A voice made her eyes blast open and she turned quickly around to see someone in the distance looking as though he was hurt. He groaned deeply and placed his hand behind his head but stood under the shade of a tree so all she could see was the outline of his body.
Believing it was Zack or Dyne she grinned broadly and took off towards it.
“Dyne! Zack!” She called out to him and he looked up at her but his expression was still unclear. She stopped in front of him not daring to touch him since he stood perfectly still and he suddenly spoke.
“Uhh... what’d you call me?” He asked, with his voice as deep as Zack’s with a hint of confusion in it.
“Zack? Is that you?” Aeris asked him taking a dew steps back from him, frightened that it might be a man from Shrina instead.
“No… no…. I’m not Zack…” He told her as he stepped forward out of the shade and stared at her. He had a hood over his head and his face was hidden by it. A slight amount of blonde hair stuck out from the front of his hood and his eyes glowed a bright mako blue and Aeris looked at him wide eyed remembering where she had seen him.
“Hey! You’re that guy that saved me from that thing.” She told him and he raised his hand back behind his head and pulled his hood off.
“Yeah, I know. Hi Aeris.” He told her as he unhooked his robe and tossed it behind him. He wore almost the same thing Zack had worn when she last saw him except for his boots. They were laced with black leather around the top and strapped around his ankles. His deep purple tang top sweater stuck out like a sore thumb, next to his pants that were hooked over his shoulders by light brown belts. The one thing she noticed the most though was his long thick silver sword that was hooked to his back with the same two material holes on the top and the same gripping on the end, like Zack had.
“How’d did you know my name?” She asked him confusingly and his eyes widened looking deeply concerned for her.
“How could I not know?” He asked her with his eyes now scanning her.
“Well, I don’t know you… What’s your name?” Aeris asked him. He just about stumbled backwards then and backed up a few steps stuttering as he spoke.
“I’m C-Cloud. Did you hit you head or something?” He asked her now starting to calm himself.
“No, I’m fine, I just stumbled out of my portal and here I am…” She informed him. He then moved back closer to her moving his black-gloved hand to the side of her face. “Have you seen a man named Zack or Dyne?” She asked him again looking around him trying not to let him touch | | | |
