residentflorist

[she's just tired man. and the heavy notes of...anger, maybe. and guilt. grief. all of that.]

We didn't really fall asleep, I guess. We met back on the streets with the other three because we were planning to catch the killer. Set up traps and everything. But...the longer we were out there, the harder it was to think of anything but getting revenge on them. Finding who it was and taking from them in exchange for what they took from us. We started remembering...everything about the lab, too. That we were just copies. That we didn't mean anything outside of being testers. Something to help perfect what was needed to save the "real" version of us.

Looking at it now, it didn't matter to us that we no longer were even sure what we witnessed was real. Maybe Zack really didn't die, but it didn't matter. Other people did. That was enough reason to make them pay for it.

[ knowing how aerith feels about having that level of anger cloud is just going to ... squeeze her hand... ]

... Did you?

[ he's not curious about it he's just WORRIED. ]

[....]

The killers were right under our noses. And they were intending to kill us, too. For being soulless monsters. Demons, even. To protect innocent people from us.

[she'll answer his question in a second, she just wants to put that out there.]

... Aerith.

[ he can infer is the thing because she has only mentioned some names that haven't died and he knows how these things work, but instead of saying it himself he squeezes her hand again ]

You're not any of those things. It wasn't real.

[back to looking at the invisible zack. she's quiet, like she's thinking if that's true or not.]

...one of the others must have attacked Yuffie before I found her. She was already a mess by the time she crossed my path, but she didn't even recognize me. She just saw me as a Reliver, even though...[she shakes her head.] Maybe I stopped caring, too. She was just as guilty, taking those lives for a god that isn't even real. She tried to attack me first, but she was already pretty hurt. She said she was doing it because God was saving people like them. Like me. That killing them was the only way.

[...]

I didn't mean to hit her so hard the first time. [another wash of guilt, nausea, and despair mostly.] But it didn't matter. I had her right where I needed her, and the garbage can wasn't as heavy as I thought. Once I started, I didn't stop. I had to make sure she stayed down. After the third strike, it was over.

[ gently moves her head so she isn't looking at zack, with works because cloud isn't that expressive even when she is describing the fact that she had to kill yuffie with a garbage can. which is just making him more worried for both of them but they are alive now at least! yay. also just anger but its at this place for making her do this ]

... Yuffie's alright. She's fine. They messed with your heads.

I thought I was getting through to her, but it didn't work. And she wasn't even sorry about it [she acknowledges it wasn't real, she's just explaining to cloud. and then...]

...I left her body there. I went out to find the others, but Karlach found me first. She was at the end of the road. Her job was to remove us...the devils wearing human skin. ...so I ran, knowing she'd follow me.

[ [cloud in cosmo canyon voice] thats enough

he stares at her because that certainly explains why she wasn't asking about karlach, and despite knowing it wasn't real it does making him hold her a little tighter. ]

... And she did?

[ he hates this! so much ]

Yeah. Thought if I could get her far enough, I could get her before she got me. And for a little while it worked. I was able to slow her down a little, but I got lost and...it was a dead end.

[remnant to her actual murder here, really.]

She just kept saying she was doing it to keep the city safe. That it was my fault for going to the other side. Called us monsters. [...she's not sure she wants to tell cloud about how much karlach threw her around, actually, given her extremely broken everything. so.]

She had the hatchet from the beginning. I should have known. But she was just...she reminded me I wasn't real. The real Aerith had died, and I was only a replacement. Inhuman. And she was going to be the one to save the people from people like me.

[and she was hatcheted in the back a few times. y...ay.]

...I don't know what happened to her after that.

[ going by how fucked up karlach was she probably died too. or close to it. there is no satisfaction from that, it turns out, can people stop stabbing aerith in the back for TWO FUCKING MINUTES ]

None of that's true. You're not a replacement, and you're not a monster. [ he knows there's maybe no point repeating it but he doesn't know what else to say, so it comes off a little more desperate. ]

[she's busy leaning into his side, mostly quiet but emotions all over the place and erratic for a moment. there are a lot of messy feelings involved, especially because this involved multiple friends. so she's just clinging onto him uselessly for a few minutes, very clearly trying to calm herself down instead of explode in a wave of haphazard feelings.]

[ well that's fine he can hold her and try to keep his own feelings down to not add to the mess of feelings she's trying to deal with right now. if he runs his hand through her hair enough maybe it will help? he is so useless at this she needs a better boyfriend but her only other option is the ghost of evil zacks in this room so he will do his best ]

[zack's not even evil he was just so vague and she's so mad about it. EXPLAIN, SCIENTIST ZACK.

eventually though...from where she is, she says very quietly:]

I didn't want to die again. [which maybe is. a choice. but this keeps happening every time she comes to terms with actually being dead (?) at home and coming back. but a lot of her fears came from being chased and cornered again, dying alone and knowing she wouldn't be the one to stop a friend from hurting themselves or other people.]

[ [scientist zack voice] no

... what's there to say to that? she did. she did and there was nothing he could've done about it. it just makes his heart hurt, because aerith deserves to be living this over and over again the least out of everyone he knows. ]

You're okay now. [ the apology's on the tip of his tongue, but it's not helpful. not that saying this is any more helpful, probably. ]

[it's...something. yeah, she's okay. they're both here, everyone's still alive (ish), and everything's...yeah? hard to say, really, when she's still not entirely sure why zack is here and if she's even fully here, but that's. not something she needs to tell cloud because it's obviously not true. so she nods slowly, still sinking into him and clinging onto him for the time being.]

[ that's fine he can wrap both arms around her and hold her close as long as she needs. ]

... You're back now.

[ he really has no real platitudes to give this is horrid ]

[it's fine. she knows cloud isn't the best at this but not necessarily for a lack of trying. she'll figure it out. all she cares about is being with him at the moment anyway.]

...found that room you were talking about, too.

[ oh. ]

The one with the items?

[ pet pet. guess yuffie has some now? ]

Yeah, they took two of them. We couldn't grab them, just like you guys. But it was a multicolored lizard with a whole lot of teeth, and a rusted iron spike. One in a bottle, one in a box.

... Wonder if that's what they're always stored in.

[ multicolored lizard with teeth is a nightmare. he pets her ]

That's two more items they've got, then.

Yeah...they're building quite a collection. [the pets are nice, they are actually really helping calm her down to a quiet, more chill aerith who closes her eyes and stops staring at hallucination zack.]

How many more do you think we need to take?

... I don't know. [ he keeps petting her, because that's easy. ] We don't have a number of ingredients needed on our end. But... maybe four, with next week and the one after that.

[ imagine being wrong about when cyoas are gonna happen ]

[pets are nice, especially since she's also kind of shivering. she wanted less fabric because injuries, but also...cold...]

It sounds like they still aren't even sure what to do with them in the first place. [they do not know another cyoa happened this week yet.]

Neither are we. [ she's shivering so he grabs at the blanket, tugging it around her before holding her again ] Either we'll find out or they will. We just need more information.

[busy cocooning with him, bye.]

We still have a new tome from yesterday's party. That should open on Sunday if the pattern's still true. Maybe something there will help.

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