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[cetra-legacy.livejournal.com]

Characters: cetra_legacy and not2ndclass
Progress: Incomplete.
Summary: Set a few hours after Aerith arrived in his world. Zack takes a detour from his travels to Luca to go and pick her up.
Location: The streets of Alexandria.
Date: Dated the day of Aerith's arrival.
Warnings: None~

She had started off all fine and good after her call with Zack. Everything felt so surreal, that the flower girl hadn't given herself the opportunity to entirely realise that he was here and so very much alive. Each time such thoughts circled within her mind, the flower girl would do something to keep her busy and distract her. At first, she investigated the church within. It was quaint, but nothing like the small little church she had back in Midgar.

The church had only kept her distracted for so long before the flower girl had been unable to resist the lure of exploring such an unknown city. Her attempt worked like a charm, and she so easily found herself distracted by everything she saw around her. It was so unlike anything she'd ever encountered before that she couldn't help but dart from shop to shop in excitement. Everything was just so different, and the whole city just felt so alive!

Stepping out into the main shopping area, her gaze fell on the hat stall just off to her right. The owner was busy talking to another customer, but that didn't stop the flower girl from moving over to stare at the odd assortment. She couldn't help but giggle lightly in amusement as she saw the corn-shaped hat, and unable to resist, Aerith plucked it off of the stand before testing it out on her head.

"Not many can pull it off, but you're one of the lucky few," the cart owner said moments before Aerith spun around to face him.

"You think so~?" She asked before laughing lightly, "I'm not sure how well I can pull yellow off though teehee~"

The man seemed to ponder for a moment before reaching up and taking a large pale sun-hat from the display. "Try this one on. A pretty girl like you should't be hiding behind that anyway."

"Well, if you put it that way," Aerith teasingly said with a bright smile. Pulling the corn hat off of her head, she happily exchanged the hats before trying on the new one. "How do I look?" She asked while giving a demonstration of the hat by twirling for her audience.

Comments

SO LATE I AM SORRY

[not2ndclass.livejournal.com]

Finding an airship to Alexandria hadn't been super hard. Anyway, Zack would have walked there on foot if he'd had to. Right before he'd gotten here, he'd been taking Cloud to Midgar so he could - kinda selfishly - find Aerith and grant her wish. He still had the note in his pocket, even now! No way was he going to forget.

She'd looked different, too, but he hadn't let it get to him. Tifa was from the future. Hopefully Aerith wasn't, because man, that would be weird! And he'd feel like he'd let her down, and he didn't want to do that...

He shook the thoughts out of his head. The airship ride felt like it lasted basically a zillion years, and he was antsy.

FINALLY he arrived in Alexandria. He asked several times for directions to a church. She'd said she was going to wander around, but he had to start somewhere. People were a little weird about it, and he heard someone whisper something about "sky people" again, but he paid them no mind.

Finally, in the midst of several shops, he saw her. He recognized the ribbon he'd given her. Wow! She was really still wearing it! That made him pretty happy, and he all but floated through the crowd towards her. When he reached her he tapped her on the shoulder.

"Have time to miss me yet?" he asked, grinning as wide and convincingly as he could manage.

That's okay! i remember you saying that you'd be busy sun/mon :3

[cetra-legacy.livejournal.com]

It seemed that her sole audience member approved of the hat, and the thought made her smile subtly to herself. She saw that his attention drifted when someone approached from behind, but the flower girl just assumed that it was another customer. Her heart skipped a beat when she felt the sudden tapping on her shoulder, and with a surprised gasp, Aerith spun around to see who it was.

She felt an onslaught of emotions at the sight of just who it was, that her heart simply couldn't decide how to feel. "Zack," she murmured while looking at him with wide eyes. That smile was one that she remembered, and despite her jumbled emotions, the flower girl offered a fond smile in return.

"Have you had time to miss me yet?" Aerith asked instead of answering his question. There would be time for talk later, and after she took the hat off and gave it back to the seller, she offered her thanks before turning her attention back to Zack.

"You're late~" she said with a soft smile. For such simple words, they held so much meaning in them.

[not2ndclass.livejournal.com]

She definitely looked different, although he couldn't put his finger on what it was. She was still pretty, though. And still her. And she wasn't too mad at him for...anything, at the moment! That was a really good sign!

"Well, sure I have! I mean, a lot happened, and..."

He sighed, and his face turned semi-serious.

"Yeah. I know I am. Man! I looked at the list you wrote me, and I came as soon as I could. I mean, I was taking Cloud with me to Midgar, to see you, because he was all messed up from Shinra capturing us after Sephiroth went nuts in the Nibelheim reactor. I wanted to come sooner, but I had to take care of him, too, you know? But! But I didn't forget, see!"

He fumbled around in his clothes for the note in question, and produced it proudly.

How he had managed to not lose it, even he couldn't say.

[cetra-legacy.livejournal.com]

Zack had always been cute when he fumbled around with his answer, but that was just one of the things that had drawn her to him in the first place. There was just so much to talk about, and half of what she had to say left her feeling cold inside. How could she even bring up what had happened? What would happen?

There was one thing that she was certain of, and that was simply that now wasn't the time for such discussions. It would come soon enough, but for now she just wanted to enjoy the fact that Zack was living and breathing right here with her again.

"Mmm~ I do know, and I'm glad that he had you there to look after him," she honestly murmured before her gaze fell down to the letter in his hand. Aerith knew well what it was, and she felt her heart skip a beat at the thought.

"You got it?" Aerith couldn't help but ask as she took a step in closer to Zack and peered up at him. "I didn't think that you got any of them."

[not2ndclass.livejournal.com]

Zack unfolded the letter, his grin back in full-force.

"Well, you didn't trust me to remember all of them, right? So...spend more time with you. That's easy! I can remember that all the time. And you...you're still even wearing that ribbon! I'm really glad you liked it so much."

He looked down at her, wondering what she was thinking. There was something that had passed over her face that he wasn't sure how to read. Something...bad? Had something happened? How many days had he been stuck in Nibelheim, anyway? Stupid Shinra. Stupid Sephiroth. Stupid Nibelheim.

Well, they were here now. At least he could try to make some of it up to her.

[cetra-legacy.livejournal.com]

"There hasn't been a day that's gone by that I haven't worn it," she admitted honestly. It was one of her most treasured possessions, and even when she'd began to give up hope for Zack's return, Aerith could never bring herself to part with it. Doing that would have let him go entirely, and the flower girl simply couldn't bring herself to ever do that.

"I also got a new dress," Aerith said after a moment. Stepping back to show him, she twirled to give a demonstration of her pink dress before turning back to face Zack. "What do you think?"

[not2ndclass.livejournal.com]

He was touched by that information. It was just a silly ribbon, right? But to think that she actually liked it so much!

He nodded his approval. "Yeah, it looks great! You look great."

He'd been so damn worried, and in such a rush to get back. He'd really missed her, after all. He was sorry she'd basically been waiting for him with no word or anything. And he still couldn't be sure how long he was in that stupid tube. Hopefully not too long.

[cetra-legacy.livejournal.com]

"You think so?" She asked while brushing down the pink material. Aerith was certain that even if he didn't, Zack would still say that he thought she did. The thought brought a smile to her face before she inwardly shook her head and took a step passed him.

"Let's go for a walk," Aerith suggested, but she wasn't exactly giving Zack too much of a choice either as she began walking towards one of the side streets. It was easy enough to keep things light between them for now, but she didn't want to discuss the past with him so publicly... or at all at the moment, since it seemed as though that he didn't know the fact that Cloud made it to Midgar, but he never did.

[not2ndclass.livejournal.com]

"'Course I do!" he said, sincerely. He sure as heck wouldn't have told her otherwise, but he did like the dress. It matched the ribbon, anyway, didn't it? Everything all together and all.

"H-hey! Wait up!"

It didn't actually take him long to catch up, of course. He was tall, and she wasn't exactly running. But still. She was pretty impulsive. He guessed he was, too, though.

"Where are you going? It's not like you know where anything is, is it?"

[cetra-legacy.livejournal.com]

She couldn't help but giggle lightly at his call. Even if she'd wanted to, Aerith knew that she couldn't get away from Zack, and it didn't take long for the SOLDIER to catch up and walk alongside her.

"No~ but it's an adventure trying to figure all of that out, right?" Aerith said. She honestly had no idea where she was walking to, but the flower girl got the feeling that she'd just know the right place to stop when it came time to it. "It really is lovely here, and so unlike Midgar."

[not2ndclass.livejournal.com]

Zack shrugged. He guessed she had a good point. It wasn't like he knew anything, either. He still had to get to Luca so Tifa wasn't waiting forever. But once they were done exploring, he figured he could take Aerith there, too. She'd probably get along great with Tifa, right?

"Yeah, this place is pretty. I forgot, you've never been out of Midgar, huh? See, the sky here...it's not scary at all." He pointed up, as if to prove his point. He'd always liked the sky just fine. In a way, living someplace like Midgar would suck.

[cetra-legacy.livejournal.com]

It took all of her willpower not to pause at the mention of never leaving Midgar. That had been true up until the moment that she'd run into Cloud and the others, and since then, Aerith had seen more of the Planet than she ever dreamed of. But that had been after Zack had disappeared, and the reminder of that was a constant weight in her mind.

That didn't stop her from glancing up to the sky he pointed at. Shaking her head lightly, her attention dropped back down to Zack. "No, you definitely showed me that it wasn't," she murmured with a smile. It had been all because of Zack that so many things in her life had changed, and Aerith knew that she owed the SOLDIER so much. "Is it true that Midgar's here? Someone else mentioned that Wutai was as well."

[not2ndclass.livejournal.com]

"I...I did?" He tried to think when that was. Had he taken her to see the sky? BOY he'd sure meant to. Damnit, why was everyone but him from the future! That still didn't make any sense!

"Well, I haven't been here very long. I heard Midgar was here, but...it's ruined. It's just...moogles and stuff, now. I don't know why. I haven't heard about Wutai, but it's on the map?"

He pulled out the phone he'd been given, messed with it for a minute, then held it out to her. The map was displayed, and sure enough, Wutai was on it.

[cetra-legacy.livejournal.com]

Aerith realised her mistake, and she covered up her reaction with a light laugh. "Well you spoke so fondly of it, how could anyone stay afraid?" She said. While he may not have proven it to her personally, it had been his encouragement that had eventually drawn her to the upper plate.

"Mmm~ I did hear that about Midgar," she murmured while her attention drifted down to the map on the display. She hadn't played around with her skyphone much yet, so this was the first time she actually saw what the world looked like.

"That's where we must be," Aerith said as she reached over to point at the dot indicating Alexandria. Trailing her eyes along the map, she felt them widen when she saw just how close to Midgar they were. "We're so close to Midgar!" Glancing back up at him, Aerith put on her sweetest smile as she asked, "Can we quickly go there before heading to Luca?"

[not2ndclass.livejournal.com]

Zack sort of frowned at her. It wasn't an angry frown, just a concerned one.

"Well, I dunno. You sure you really want to see your home all messed up?"

Although, if it had been such an important place to him, he'd go anyway. He knew that. She loved her home, and her little church, as far as he knew. So...he could guess what her answer was going to be.

[cetra-legacy.livejournal.com]

The frown was cute, but it didn't strip away her hopeful expression while he spoke those words. Aerith could understand his concerns, but while it would be hard to see her home and church in such a state, she had other reasons for going to visit the Midgar ruins.

"Mmmhm~ it will always be my home regardless of what it looks like," Aerith cheerfully said before reaching down to tug at his hand. "Besides, there's nothing to worry about if I have you there with me, right?"

[not2ndclass.livejournal.com]

Well, if she really insisted...

He took the phone back and put it back in his pocket. "Okay then! Let's go. But...don't be too sad, okay? Just remember that back home, the real deal is there, and it's just the same as ever! And you're right. You'll have me to protect you."

[cetra-legacy.livejournal.com]

Aerith's expression instantly brightened when Zack gave in. "I promise!" She said without hesitation. Elmyra was safe back in their Midgar, and Zack... Zack had evaded his fate by being here in this world. That was something that would keep the smile on her face.

"I think that all the monsters will run the other way with you there with me," Aerith said with an amused giggle before she turned and began heading off again. Now all they had to do was find their way to Midgar. That shouldn't be too difficult, right?

[cetra-legacy.livejournal.com]

There hadn't been any airships heading to Midgar, so Aerith had convinced Zack into capturing their own chocobos and using them to travel across the terrain. The sight of the First Class SOLDIER trying to catch his chocobo was one she couldn't help but laugh at. There was just so much enthusiasm in each of his attempts, and it reminded her well of how they used to be.

Zack had eventually brought the bird under control. Hers hadn't been as difficult to catch, and eventually they'd all been on their way.

She didn't need the map to know where Midgar was. While she couldn't hear the words from the Planet, Aerith could understand enough to know the direction. She hadn't explained how she knew the way to Zack, but had simply half-lead the way until Midgar came into sight instead.

The area around them had turned to night while they'd traveled, but the flower girl hadn't given it much notice while they approached. Slowing her chocobo, the flower girl couldn't help but stare at the sight of the overgrown Midgar. Her eyes were wide in surprise at what she saw. It was unlike anything that she'd ever imagined, and it took her breath away. Despite it being in ruins, Midgar was... beautiful.

"Zack," Aerith murmured to him before closing her eyes when the Planet tried talking to her again. She couldn't quite understand the words, but the warning was clear enough. "We'll have to be careful. Midgar's not safe." Turning her attention to the SOLDIER, Aerith smiled softly as she said, "Let's go~"

It wouldn't take them long to enter into the city, and once inside she'd know the way.

[not2ndclass.livejournal.com]

Zack had been a little annoyed at the chocobo, but once had finally had the bird under control, he kind of enjoyed it. The bird had a lot of spirit and he had to respect that.

He let her lead the way, though he checked his phone's map on occasion. He almost dropped it once because the bird under him stepped sideways unexpectedly, but he managed to hold on. The map was damnably hard to read while moving, though, and he eventually gave up on trying. She sure seemed to know where she was headed!

He pulled his chocobo up beside her and stared, too.

"Whoa."

He'd never seen anything like it. Sure, okay, he'd seen Midgar before, but this was...really incredible. He hadn't expected ruins to be anything but upsetting. These...weren't all that bad. And even from here, he could see little dots wandering around - moogles, just as promised.

"H-hey! That's my line, telling you it's not safe!"

[cetra-legacy.livejournal.com]

Zack's protests earned him an innocent smile in return as she murmured, "I guess I beat you to it this time~!" No matter how innocent she tried to be, Aerith couldn't stop the playfulness from entering her tone. She didn't give Zack a chance to respond either, as she gestured for her chocobo to begin running again.

The bird moved swiftly over the terrain, and continued on through the makeshift entrance into the ruined city. Aerith couldn't help but glance up at the remnants of what used to be her home while they passed through the remaining tall structures. It all looked so different that it was hard to believe that this was Midgar, but she knew within her heart that it was.

If Zack was paying enough attention, he might notice that Aerith seemed to know just where to go. It wasn't in the direction of where her church was, but in an entirely different direction as she made her way towards where Meteor had attempted to land - even if she had yet to learn the significance of the area.

[not2ndclass.livejournal.com]

"H-hey!" Zack called after her, surprised but not upset. He followed after her, managing to catch up and stay caught up.

This seriously didn't look like Midgar to him at all. He hadn't spent his whole life here, to be sure, but he'd been here enough times, hadn't he? To think that it would end up like this, just...wow. He'd have to ask someone if they knew how it had gotten that way.

After awhile, his curiosity got the best of him. "Hey! Where are we going? You seem to know your way around, even though it's all ruined. Is something up?"

[cetra-legacy.livejournal.com]

Her chocobo moved fluidly over the uneven terrain while they made their way towards their destination. Feeling the curiosity behind her, Aerith momentarily glanced back over her shoulder while Zack spoke.

There was so much to tell him, but she hadn't yet gathered up enough courage to speak of what happened. Aerith knew that she had to, but it was something that she wanted to wait a little bit longer on. She cared too much about Zack, and that was, perhaps, the biggest reason to why her silence remained.

"Midgar might have changed in appearance, but it's still the same at heart," Aerith said with a smile. Unlike AVALANCHE, she had to remember that Zack wasn't aware of just who she really was, and it was yet another thing that would need explaining in all due time.

Turning her attention back to the road ahead, the flower girl sighted a large tree just off in the distance. That was where she could feel the Planet drawing her to, but it wasn't the only thing that she saw either. Her eyes widened at the creatures prowling around the area, and she didn't need to feel the Planet's warning to know that they meant no good.

"Zack," she said with a voice laced in concern. Chancing a quick glance back over to her friend, Aerith said, "We need to get up to where that tree is."

[not2ndclass.livejournal.com]

Zack's eyebrows knitted together. He looked serious, for once, though not angry. He was a little worried, though. There were quite a few monsters. He sized them up. With his sword, and all the abilities he had because he was a SOLIDER, they shouldn't be a problem. But he'd never forgive himself if something happened to her.

And he'd have to let the chocobo go, too. Fighting on a bird that wasn't trained for it wasn't really fair to the bird. PLUS he'd be at a total disadvantage, and the chocobo would probably spook.

"You sure you gotta get there? I can keep you safe, but, what's so special about that tree, anyway?"

[cetra-legacy.livejournal.com]

"Thank you," Aerith gratefully said while turning her attention back to the path ahead of them. The last thing she ever wanted to do was to put him in harms way. She felt bad for silently asking for Zack's aid in this, but the flower girl knew that she'd never be able to make it there without it.

The monsters had noticed their arrival, and she held herself firmly when they began charging in towards them. "I'm not sure what that tree is, but it was where I was told to go."

Kicking the side of her bird to move faster, she hoped to get up to the tree before any of the monsters came too close. Once there, she could let the chocobo go, and hear what the Planet had to say.

HANDWAVING FIGHTS IS MY SPECIALTY

[not2ndclass.livejournal.com]

Zack let the bird go, only giving it a small glance as it ran off towards safety. He wasn't quite sure how he was going to get anywhere fast on foot after this, but that didn't matter at the moment.

"Told by...?"

No, that didn't matter. He could ask her when they were safe. Luckily, none of the monsters were too big a deal. He got away from it without any serious injuries. Couple bruises, sure, but it was nothing a SOLDIER couldn't handle! And he was pretty sure the monsters learned not to mess with him, too. That was just a bonus.

Zack lowered his buster sword and looked around for Aerith. Oh, right, the tree! He made his way towards it, still keeping an eye out to see if any monsters had managed to sneak past him.

WHOO~~~<3

[cetra-legacy.livejournal.com]

"The Planet," Aerith answered before she disappeared ahead of him. There was so much that she had to explain to him, but now wasn't the time for such things. She wondered if it was just an excuse she was using to protect him from what she knew, but Aerith felt as though it was more the other way around, and that she was selfishly trying to protect herself.

She shook the thoughts from her mind before focusing on the task at hand. The chocobo safely took her up to where the tree was, and she dismounted before instantly moving closer to the trunk so that she could knee at the base.

Reaching forward to touch against the ground, the flower girl tried to ignore the sound of Zack battling in the background while she focused on the voice of the Planet. It was loud, much like it had been at the Temple of the Ancients, but Aerith found that she could understand the words here much more than the version they'd been pulled from.

"I don't understand," she murmured, and soon enough, the Planet answered her call as it informed her of the pain it was enduring. It was something that caused her heart to clench, and she pulled her hand away from the dirt when the Planet's voice drew quieter along with the battlefield around her.

Aerith ignored the heavy feeling in her chest, and moved to push herself back up to stand. Despite what she'd just discovered, the flower girl pushed it aside for now as she turned around to make certain that Zack was alright.

Relief washed through her when she caught sight of the lightly bruised SOLDIER, and she smiled at the sight before heading off to approach him. "You didn't get too hurt, did you?"

[not2ndclass.livejournal.com]

Huh, so she really COULD talk to the Planet! He'd heard that, sure, but he hadn't really known what to make of it. She seemed like it was pretty normal, though, so it made sense to go with it.

As she walked toward him, Zack just smiled and readjusted his sword.

"Me? Nah, 'course not! Nothing's gonna bring ME down, are you kidding? So...did you find out what you wanted to know?"