Pixel
The Pixie King
Events to be covered:
Watching meteors destruction - convo with tifa - convo with others to go back to Aerith's lake.
Lake scene from Cloud's POV
Hand out of ribbons... maybe by Tifa or Yuffie
They travel to Nibelheim
Then to Corel
Catch a ride on a boat from Costa del sol to Kalm? Mukki's boat?
Expanded scene in Kalm, talking to Elmyra about Aerith's death... remember she already knows Aerith is dead from Reeve.
They go to Midgar, see the extent of the destruction.
First night sleeping beneath the plate, with rumours it would collapse (spread by the Turks)
Here's something to get us started
On The Way To A Smile - Case of Cloud
The door flung open, filling the church with light. Cloud stumbled across the worn floorboards, clutching his left arm. Taking a few strained steps forward, he fell to his knees. His skin felt like it was boiling. He fell to the side, writhing in pain. As he rolled onto his back, he caught a glimpse of the warm light flooding through the hole in the roof. Memories flashed into his mind as he drifted in and out of consciousness. He lifted his hand infront of his face. With the light breaking through his fingers, he could see that it was covered in a dark liquid.
"Damn it...", he murmured.
Cloud blacked out.
Midgar - The lifestream surged from every direction toward the city. The brilliant green light converged on Meteor, wrapping around it, entombing it.
Cloud watched the events unfolding from miles away, aboard the Highwind, together with his friends. He stood there with his eyes closed, letting the undulating waves of light wash over him. When he finally opened them again, he was overwhelmed with a sense of stillness. It was like the world had fallen silent.
It's over, he thought.
That moment he saw her beautiful, jade green eyes.
"Aerith?"
He could feel her presence all around him. Bittersweet memories of the flowergirl flowed through his mind. Her smile, her kindness, the way she used to tease him. Even though she was gone, Cloud knew that Aerith would live on in the hearts of everyone who had the fortune of meeting her.
Unknowingly, a smile of contentment slowly crept across his face. Of course, there was sadness, but he knew that her death was not in vein. They had defeated Sephiroth, and saved the planet. None of them knew what the future would bring, but life would go on.
Suddenly, he noticed Tifa gazing at him.
“What’s wrong?”
"Cloud, you're smiling", she replied.
Tifa's voice pulled him back from his trance. Cloud's childhood friend was standing by his side, just like she always had, looking at him with amazement. It had been a long time since he had anything to smile about.
"I am?"
“Yeah.”
He looked back at midgar in the distance. Thousands, no, millions of points of light drifted slowly through the air as the lifestream bombarded Meteor.
“It all starts now. A new…”
He paused, searching for the right words.
“A new life."
He wasn't sure if Tifa would understand, but she did. Everything he was feeling, she felt too.
“I’m going to live. I think that’s the only way I can be forgiven. We've been through … a lot.”
“Yeah…”
He looked over to Tifa again.
"Considering all the other times I thought my 'new life' was starting... it's funny."
“Why's that funny?”
"'Cause I always screwed it up."
He noticed a caring smile on Tifa's face.
“That’s not funny.”
“This time… I think I’ll be okay.”
Cloud paused for a moment, considering if he should say what he wanted to.
“...Because I have you."
He sheepishly lost eye contact. He thought maybe it was a little presumptuous of him. He looked down at her hand, softly holding onto the guard rail next to his.
“You’ve always had me.”
He felt the urge to move his hand over to her's, but fought it. He could feel his heart racing as he nervously looked into her eyes again, and smiled.
“What I mean... is kinda different,”
Suddenly, Barret interrupted.
"Hey Cid! How much power does this thing have left?!"
"We're pretty much on backup power now. The mako cell's been depleted quite a bit. We should take the old girl back to Rocket Town and set 'er down. No chance we're gonna get 'er charged up after all this."
Everyone stood on the deck. They all knew this was the end of their journey. Cloud stepped forward.
"Can we make one last stop?"
Cid looked at him, and nodded with a knowing expression.
------------------------
Cloud and his comrades made their way to the Forgotten City, setting the Highwind down near Bone Village, and made the long trek through the sleeping forrest. They stood in silence around the small lake, Aerith's final resting place.
Cloud watched as Tifa crouched at the edge of the water and lay a single flower on the surface. She had picked it on her way through the forrest. It reminded her of Aerith's favourite flower. The white lillie gently spun as it floated in the ethereal light reflected on the water's surface.
As she stepped back, Cloud could see her shoulders starting to tremble. She raised her hands to her face.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
Cloud went to her and place a firm hand on her shoulder. Tifa suddenly turned and lay her head against his shoulder, placing her hand on his chest.
"Huh?"
Cloud wasn't used to physical intimacy, and definitely wasn't used to comforting others, but as he felt Tifa trembling in his arms, he knew he had to be there for her.
"All those people... I..."
Tifa seemed inconsolable. Cloud didn't know what he should say. He just took her hand in his, and let her let it all out.
Nanaki raised his head to the sky and let out an emotional howl. It was too much for Yuffie to bear. She broke down in Cid's arms. Vincent just stood in the background, as usual, it was impossible to know what he was thinking. Barret nodded to Cloud as he looked around, wondering how he should react, as if to say "You're doin' ok."
After a while, Yuffie remembered something. She put her hand in the pocket of her shorts.
"I um... figured you should have this."
She pulled out a pink ribbon and held it out to Cloud.
"It was lying on the alter after Aerith... I didn't want to just leave it there."
Cloud gave Tifa a quick look, then without saying a word, accepted the ribbon from Yuffie.
"We must never forget her", said Nanaki.
"We won't", replied Yuffie, gently running her hand through his fur.
Cloud stood, absentmindedly gazing at the ribbon. Tifa took his hand and spoke softly to him.
"Maybe we should split it between the eight of us."
She seemed unsure of what she had just said. Cloud just continued looking at the ribbon. Everyone looked on, as if waiting for a response.
"Ok", murmured Cloud.
Tifa was slightly shocked that he had agreed to it. Aerith occupied a special place in his heart, a place that not many could reach.
Cloud lifted his Buster sword from the ground and held it vertically. Tifa took the handle and he knelt down infront of the blade, pausing for a moment, contemplating what he was about to do.
He held the ribbon to the edge of the blade and took a deep breath. With one smooth motion, the sharp edge of the blade glided effortlessly through the pink ribbon. He handed the first strip to Tifa.
Each of their companions silently stepped forward to accept their piece.
Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Cid and Vincent tied theirs to their left arms. Yuffie helped Nanaki by tying his to a lock of his hair, and tied Cait Sith's to _____. She then tied her own piece to her shuriken. Not a single word was spoken for what seemed like an eternity as they stood at the edge of the lake, gazing at the water.
The time for them to part ways eventually came, as they knew it would.
Cloud, Tifa and Barret stood, watching the friends they had only recently made, leave in what felt like a heartbeat.
It was time for them too to leave this place behind. Cloud gave the lake one last momentary look, silently thanking Aerith for everything she had done, then turned and left, possibly never to return.
The three made their way back to Bone Village. From there, they managed to catch a ride on the only boat running, which was heading South-West, past Nibelheim. After everything that had happened, everyone was understandably reluctant to use machinery which relied on Mako power, so large steam powered transportation from a time before Mako was discovered, which relied on coal as fuel, were crucial now. Unfortunately, Mako energy had become ubiquitous, so not many of these types of machines existed anymore.
Barret seemed strangely comfortable helping out shovelling coal in the engine room. Coal was definitely something he understood.
They disembarked at a small beach south of Nibelheim. They wanted to make their way back to Kalm to see Marlene and Elmyra as soon as possible. Their plan was to head East to Corel, then on to Costa del Sol. From there, they were sure they could catch a boat across the ocean toward Midgar and Kalm.
< I'm being facetious here.
