The Price of Freedom is Steep

This is an independent and mostly-canon RP blog for Zack Fair of Final Fantasy, set post-Dirge of Cerberus, but willing to play other time periods.

[omnislashings-blog]

Although the tone remained playful, Cloud didn’t miss the ebbing sincerity. No, he wouldn’t, would he? After everything…

With a soft smile, he chose not to address the question. It was safer — there would be less potential for unwanted emotion. “Find anything?” he asked then, his delivery flat but the teasing glimmer in his eyes giving him away. (Always understated; always quiet.)

[nodisposablehero]

No, he wouldn't, everything be damned, but better to avoid talk of the past for now.  It was enough that the sincerity was known, and that Cloud kept on with the teasing.  The poor kid had never been the most outgoing, and after all that mako... "Sure seems like it.  You see, this hero came along, and come to find out, he's a mountain kid just like me.  It's pretty exciting"

[nodisposablehero]

"Dunno if I’d go that far, but it can’t hurt.”

[omnislashings-blog]

"Can’t hurt you.” There was a glimmer of a smile in his eyes, a playfulness in his voice, and as he crossed his own arms to (unconsciously) mimic Zack’s stance, he finally wondered aloud, “What’re you doin’ out here, anyway?”

[nodisposablehero]

"Yeah, and you know I wouldn't let anything hurt you, right, Cloud?" he asked, the facade of playfulness still in place because why be serious about something that didn't have to be, but he hoped his friend knew that.  Just getting Cloud to lighten up was a task, so he didn't want to ruin that now that the smaller blond was finally playing back a little, but it was important.

"Ah, I was just roamin' around, seeing it anything interesting came along."

[nodisposablehero]

"Yep.  Gonna keep buggin’ you cause I know it’s good for you."

[omnislashings-blog]

"You think you’re doin’ me a service?"

[nodisposablehero]

"Dunno if I'd go that far, but it can't hurt."

[gunslingersdirge]

"SOLDIER…" His eyes narrowed suspiciously as he approached the young man. After his experiences battling Shinra’s myriad experiments surrounding the SOLIDER and Deepground projects, he had earned the right to suspicion. Although he had also seen the good results of Shinra’s experimentation… Maybe this one wasn’t bad.

"What are you doing here?"

[nodisposablehero]

"SOLDIER, yeah...technically, you could say that."  He couldn't ever not be a SOLDIER after the mako enhancements and training, but that didn't mean that he owed Shin-Ra anything, or that their enemies were his.  He was pretty sure that he'd earned his own right to suspicion and a chance at freedom.  

"Lookin' for something."

[nodisposablehero]

"Fortunately, I don’t believe you."

[omnislashings-blog]

“Fortunately?”

[nodisposablehero]

"Yep.  Gonna keep buggin' you cause I know it's good for you."

[nodisposablehero]

"That a complaint?"

[omnislashings-blog]

"Sometimes."

[nodisposablehero]

"Fortunately, I don't believe you."

[nodisposablehero]

gunslingersdirge started following you

"Hey, tall-dark-and-brooding, something I can help you with?"

[nodisposablehero]

"If you say so, then yeah, for now.  Not admitting defeat yet.”

[omnislashings-blog]

"Of course — heh, wouldn’t be like you.”

[nodisposablehero]

"That a complaint?"

[nodisposablehero]

"Could say the same to you."

[omnislashings-blog]

"A stalemate, then?"

[nodisposablehero]

"If you say so, then yeah, for now.  Not admitting defeat yet."

[nodisposablehero]

"Nice try.  Pretty sure you’re more likely to loosen up than me turn shy."

[omnislashings-blog]

"Good luck with that."

[nodisposablehero]

"Could say the same to you."

[nodisposablehero]

"Aw, c’mon, don’t look so shy!"

[omnislashings-blog]

Was that even worth responding to? Well… “Heh. Maybe you shouldn’t look so outgoing.”

[nodisposablehero]

"Nice try.  Pretty sure you're more likely to loosen up than me turn shy."

[nodisposablehero]

"Cloud?  Over here!"

[omnislashings-blog]

"…" There was a beat before a gloved hand rose while a small smile unfurled. "Hey."

[nodisposablehero]

"Aw, c'mon, don't look so shy!"

[omnislashings-blog]

     (It’s been a while…)

[nodisposablehero]

"Cloud?  Over here!"

[pulchralilium]

Empty | Zack

It was a rare day that Aerith felt like this, so down…so….alone. Surrounded by the small yellow flowers, Aerith continued lying on her side. Tears cascaded down her cheeks, her empty eyes staring ahead of her. The planet’s cries were loud, the voices filling the silence around her. Most days Aerith handled it well, could push it out of her mind or try to soothe the ache she felt from the life force. Yet today, Aerith wasn’t strong enough to do so. In an almost lifeless manner she laid amongst the flowers, a small comfort to the broken girl. The ache that had settled in her body was a mixture of the planet and her own loneliness. She was after all still a mortal being, despite being a Cetra. What could pull her from this depression? It seemed nothing could, not when the pain she felt wasn’t entirely her own. Aerith was alone in feeling this sadness; she was alone in this world full of humans.

Aerith shifted slightly, turning her face into the rays of light that fell in patches on the flowers. Still, tears rolled down her cheeks as green eyes stared out at the ceiling. No one was there to comfort her, just the sweet flowers that brushed gently against her skin.  Even they could not put a smile on her lips nor could the shining sun. It had been like this for a short period of time. Death had been peaceful, living was painful. 

[nodisposablehero]

Perhaps it was fitting that it be this day that Zack Fair found his way back to the church, spit back out of the Lifestream for some reason utterly unknown to him.  Having woken up on that ridge where he'd been gunned down, the rain of the previous day falling down on him much like it had when he'd last been there with poor Cloud's world collapsing around them (nevermind Zack's), his first thought had been to go to the church.  Whether he'd find Aerith there or not, how long it'd been or what had happened, didn't really hit him properly until sometime just before he reached the ruins of Midgar.

Ruins.

That helped, even if it was a harsh shot of reality, to ground him somewhat and clear some of the confusion away, which was a damn important benefit making his way through what had once been the city.  He was more familiar with it as it was now than he'd have thought, though it felt like a more vague, distant sense, but he was remembering more as the minutes ticked by.  

It was a long walk, so there were a lot of minutes.  

At some point, he rested and thought about it all, about Cloud and Aerith, Angeal, Genesis, Sephiroth and Shin-Ra, and he tried not to think too hard about Hojo and the Science Department; even apparently returned from the dead, those weren't the best memories.  He felt a little lost, in all honesty, like he'd been asleep and dreamed of so many things, and was only now realizing that some of them had been real.  He had to get to the church because he'd promised Aerith that he'd go see her and that was where he'd been taking Cloud.  She'd like Cloud, except Zack didn't know where he was now.  The only thing he knew was that, if Aerith was going to be found, this was it.

Zack also knew that he was using the door this time.  Heavy and creaky as the door was, it only took one time through the roof to teach him that it wasn't the way to go, but it also served to announce his presence should anyone be inside.  He was muddy and tired, expression carefully serious in preparation for a let-down as he scanned the inside of the building, falling first on the flowers and then on her.  That was when the smile broke.

"Aerith!"

[daretodreamthenfly]

nodisposablehero started following you

"Huh, can’t say y’look familiar, but it is rather odd that there’s someone out there wearing the Soldier uniform still."

[nodisposablehero]

"Should I look familiar?"

[lilyoftheancients-archive-blog]

nodisposablehero

"I can recognize that face anywhere. Hi, Zack!"

[nodisposablehero]

"Aerith!  I'd hope so!"

[nodisposablehero]

✗

outofdreams:: SO, I'm horrible and had drafts sitting when I vanished, SORRY!  I tagged the drafts I still have sitting, so let me know if you want a response out of them, or if you want a new thread, or just aren't interested anymore.  Same token, if you want a thread, hit me up! <3