Hey! I got this idea from a combination of things...from stories where Cloud saved Aerith, and the book Wizard's First Rule. I'm really excited about this.

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing.

Enjoy!

Piece of Me

Chapter One

Shatter

The trees glittered like crystals, shining and dazzling in the night- beautiful and innocent, easy to break.

He thought that they were the mask that covered the dead city. Briefly, he wondered why such thoughts came to him at a time like this, but the thought was pushed aside as the reason that he ran through the glittering trees came again to the forefront of his mind.

The reason was something quite simple, really.

Someone, actually. Aerith Gainsborough, the flower girl with strange powers she was only just understanding. She had come here, to the Forgotten City, the place where her power and people had once thrived, to fight and defeat Sephiroth on her own. How, he wasn't sure, but the idea of Aerith Fighting Sephiroth one-on-one made him feel a surge of Anger and fear. Stupid, wonderful, selfless girl- why couldn't she just let him take care of Sephiroth? Of everything? But that wasn't who she was...no, being this way was a part of her.

But to leave all of them...to leave him...to go on a mission that was almost suicide?

Cloud cursed under his breath as he felt two strong tugs at his soul. One was Aerith, the brightness and warmth he had come to recognize as his connection to her- while the other was a great darkness that pulled at his mind. Sephiroth... Both the tugs were leading him in one direction, which meant that Sephiroth was close to her.

The fear that flowed through him then drowned out his anger. People were running after him, people he cared about, but they suddenly seemed to matter little as the brightness of Aerith's tug flared and Cloud flat-out sprinted through the remains of the city. He was panting, and didn't know what trap awaited him, but he didn't care. One coherent though floated in his consciousness:

-please...let her be safe...-

A loud heartbeat was ringing in his ears- one that was his, and yet was not. He tried to ignore the sound, rounding a corner to be met with a steep hill of stairs.

-...There...-

His sigh of relief seemed almost too loud for a moment. She kneeled at the top of the stairs, head bent and hands clasped together, not praying, but listening to what others couldn't hear. His friends skid to a stop behind him. Barret said something along the lines of "Go up there, Foo!" Yuffie gave him a thumbs-up and motioned toward the stairs, and even Tifa seemed to urge him forward, with a small, sad smile. But it didn't matter, he was already moving. Faintly he heard Barret speak again, something like "You owe me 1000 gil" to Cid, but paid the words no heed. The strange pulsing heartbeat in his ears nearly drowned it out anyway.

The sound of his boots on the metal stairs did not stir her, as he made his determined climb. Somehow, it felt as though he were about to clear a jump- the prolonging moments before where he seemed to hang suspended in the air, before he threw himself to the hands of fate.

When he reached the top, she still had not moved.

A faint light surrounded her, swirling and bright, it flecked across his own face as though reflected by a mirror, or water. Her clothes were dirty, and her hair was tangled, the braid looser than he had ever seen it- a greenish materia poking out from under the masses. Her fingers were laced together, and her lips seemed to be moving slightly, as if she were murmuring to a small creature held gently in her clasped hands. Cloud thought that he had never seen anything more beautiful. Or more mysterious.

That mystery frightened him- more than nearly anything else. The mysteries and secrets of Aerith Gainsborough frightened him because it was one more thing that pulled her away from them, their life, and him.

The pounding in his ears spread to engulf his body.

His eyes glazed over, and the pounding heart drowned out all else. He writhed for a moment, but then the pounding ceased and he pulled out his sword.

-Kill-

The abomination was still there, unsuspecting and foolish. He raised his sword, a strange eagerness flooding through him at getting rid of the only one that might have stopped Sephiroth, and destroyed mother- excitement to cut down the Ancient that he hated above all else...

-Hated...?-

"Cloud!"

The heartbeats returned, and Cloud dropped his sword with shaking hands.

"What did I...What are you trying yo make me do?!" His voice reverberated back at him, and he flinched at the sound. He had almost killed her again, almost struck her down with the sword he had promised to protect her with. If the others hadn't called out, he would have...

Cloud shook his head as the heartbeats started to get louder. He shouldn't be around her... not if he couldn't control himself.

Aerith looked up at that moment however, and he froze as her eyes found him and she smiled- knowing very well what had almost occurred. She smiled, and though the heartbeats filled him, it was all he could see. And though whispers pulled at him, her smile was all that was clear- all that mattered...

-Stay...- A voice within him demanded. -Do not move...-

He obeyed, staring at Aerith as she kneeled there, bright and like a flower at him. He body froze on the spot as a noise from overhead made his eyes roll upward out of reflex.

A black something with silver hair fell from the sky- sword drawn and pointing at her smiling form. Cloud's eyes widened as the monster fell toward her...

His soul was screaming.

-Don't move-

-Aerith...-

-Stay still-

-No...-

-Destroy the girl!

-Aerith...!-

-Die...-

-No!-

-DIE ANCIENT!-

"AERITH!"

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Aerith blinked as she felt herself roll on the hard metal ground, the breath knocked out of her. Cloud had cried her name, dived at her, pulling her away from...

"Sephiroth?!"

She stared her for a moment before he smirked, and vanished.

She heard the others footsteps hurrying up the stairs, but paid them no mind as her eyes flashed around for her bodyguard.

He was kneeling, hands pressed flat on the ground and head bent, rigid. The light reflected off of him as his fingers curled and he began to shake. Aerith opened her mouth, still laying dizzied on the floor, to ask if he was all right, but his actions beat her to it.

Cloud threw his head back and screamed.

He screamed in a pain and desperation she had never heard, his hands clawing at his face, chest, and head, the scream echoing so that it seemed there were hundreds of people screaming in the one room. He screamed with a pain that terrified her. It was a horrible scream- eyes rolling back, body shaking – as he screamed as though undergoing brutal torture. Tears pricked Aerith's eyes as she lay there, horrified in shock.

Crying out and scrambling to her unsteady feet, she made her way toward him as the scream continued. It broke off – suddenly, before she was at his side, and he fell sideways, landing with a thump on the metal floor, eyes staring blankly ahead, breathing shallow.

"Cloud!" Aerith shrieked, grabbing his arm and face as the others surrounded them, picking him up together. He was alive, but pale and trembling as though only just. What had caused him such pain? Aerith knew, as the others spoke in frenzied voices about the subject, that she wanted to figure it out, and heal his pain.

(((())))

The whispers of her fingertips in the air were like a breeze as they stirred his hair. She had always wanted to touch his face, but felt hesitant doing so now. After all he had endured, and his current state, it would seem...wrong.

Aerith sighed, stretching a little from the chair at the side of Cloud's bed. She stared at him, at the sunlight brushing his face and felt scared. His eyes had only closed a little while ago, and the trembling hadn't ceased until after. What if he never woke up? What would she do then? How could she...go on? How would she be able to look to the next day if he wasn't there to greet her with his rare, precious smiles? For a moment the fear and sadness seemed to swell within her, and she shivered as his scream seemed to echo in her ears. Aerith placed a hand over her heart and closed her eyes- trying to control the feeling she had for his pain. It was suffocating. For Cloud to have screamed that way...

What could he have been feeling? It was something she didn't want to think about.

She sighed again, looking over at Tifa, whose eyes had filled with tears. "His condition has hardly changed..." She murmured, the tears falling fast down her face. Aerith blinked back her own tears, smiling weakly. "At least his eyes are closed now," she whispered. Tifa made a noise in the back of her throat. The door opened and she jumped a little, standing up. Barret, Yuffie, and Nanaki walked in, faces grim.

Aerith stared at their faces; her eyes shining with unshed tears. She looked away at their expressions. Nanaki butted his head against her arm. "We will do all we can," he said, deep voice quiet and assuring. Aerith smiled weakly, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I know," she murmured.

"Hey, Aerith," Yuffie's face was unusually somber, eyes glittering. Aerith looked up at the hesitant ninja. "Why don't you go down to get the warm washcloths and medicine the Inn's providing? You've been in here for, like, ages." Yuffie attempted a smile, over-emphasizing the last word. Aerith bit her lip, considering.

As loath as she was at the idea of leaving Cloud's side, it was very painful seeing him in his current state, and hard to think of what might have happened. She needed to clear her head and think- perhaps listen to the voice of the planet. She needed to find a way to help him. And she couldn't do that by staring at his motionless form.

"Don' worry," Barret said. "We'll take care of spiky here."

Aerith nodded, sighing a little as she smiled at her friends. Blinking back the last vestiges of her tears, she walked out the still-open-door, closing it firmly behind her. Out side the door she paused for a moment, leaning her head against the wood and closing her eyes. Vainly, she tried to dispel the wave of sadness that was in her heart. She sighed again, shaking her head, stepping quickly down the stairway, dress gripped in her hands.

Aerith quickly made it to the first floor lobby, stopping at the foot of the stairs. For a moment, her hand clutched the banister, the images of what had happened flashing before her eyes like a reel. Cloud had...saved her life. Unclamping her hand from the banister, Aerith began walking to the front desk, where she knew the items she needed would be waiting. A loud bang, like a door being thrown open, caught her attention.

She turned, hearing footsteps pounding down the stairs- a group of people was running toward her, chasing a man with spiked blonde hair, and wide blue eyes...

"Cloud?" Aerith began, stunned. "Wha-"

HE barreled into, arms clamping around her waist, falling to his knees upon the wood floor, making Aerith bend over a little, dumbfounded. He was trembling, as though he had been out in a blizzard without clothes for an hour.

"Cloud...?"

He was shaking, clinging to her as though she were a lifeline, small, childlike, noises of distress issuing from his throat. He dug his face deeper into her dress, her stomach, panting and whimpering softly.

Aerith couldn't help it- for a moment, she gaped, at her equally astonished friends, at the people that had stopped to watch, and at the shaking Cloud that clung to her. But the moment passed, and she found herself bending over, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. She didn't know what was going on- all she knew was that at this moment, Cloud needed her.

Wrapping her arms around his neck and shoulders, she smoothed his hair back, whispering gently- "Shhhh, it's all right. Everything is alright..."

"We thought he was having a seizure or something," Yuffie said, staring at them. "Soon as you left the room he just- started going berserk."

Aerith nodded, slowly. Cloud's trembling had eased into a gentle shaking, his face buried in her neck, almost like he was nuzzling her. Though that was rather distracting, and somewhat pleasurable, it alarmed her even more. Staring a the others with wide eyes, Aerith murmured- "Let's go back to the room."

"I'll get Vincent," Yuffie said, heading for the door. "He should have to remedies by now." She scampered out the door.

"Cloud?" Aerith gently took his arm. "Cloud? We need to go up to the room now." She tried to stand, but Cloud remained on the ground, arms wrapped tightly around her. Feeling a blush darken her cheeks, Aerith shook him lightly. He looked up at her then, eyes wide and somehow childlike in the vestiges of their fear and shock. Keeping her eyes locked with his, Aerith stood, and he followed her, gripping her shoulders tightly, as though afraid that she would step away. Looking up at him now, Aerith moved so that she was supporting him- and he hunched into her, seeming weary.

A moment of silence- then, "I'll help you," Tifa said, stepping forward and reaching for Cloud's other arm, wine-red eyes quite unreadable. But as soon as her fingers brushed him, Cloud lept away from her, once again clutching at Aerith- almost hiding behind her- eyes wide and frightened.

Tifa froze, mouth slightly open. "Cloud...?" She whispered, hurt shining in her eyes.

Cloud merely turned his head away, pressing his face into Aerith's hair.

Aerith stood stock still, mouth wide open. It took her a moment to find her voice. "Tifa..." She began, "I-"

Tifa stepped back, waving a hand to cut her off. "No, no, it's fine!" Her voice rose a little hysterically. Her eyes were shining and she was blinking more than usual. "It'll just... go up to my room now..." Tifa whispered, the last part just a mumble. She turned, and ran up the stairs, hair flying behind her.

Putting a hand over her mouth, Aerith stared after her, gasping. "Oh, Tifa..."

Aerith felt like she was going to faint. Blinking and steadying herself, she led Cloud up to his room. The whole way up there, he followed her like a shadow, until Aerith could stand it no more and grabbed his hand instead. It worked in a sense; he stopped literally breathing down her neck, but he seemed to find odd fascination in holding her hand, staring at their intertwined fingers as though he had never seen anything like it.

Settling herself into the chair that she had been sitting in before, Aerith coaxed Cloud to sit on the bed, leaning against the headboard and propped up pillows under his back- all the while with him still gripping her hand.

It was then that she allowed all her fears- all her confusion and amazement, and worry, to crash over her.

Her heart seemed to have clenched upon itself- beating painfully in her chest. What had happened to Cloud? Why was he behaving this way? What had...altered him so? And most of all- what could she do to help him?

Cloud's actions caught Aerith's attention quite suddenly.

His hand- the one not holding hers – was tracing along her fingers in his hand. His touch whispered over her knuckles, tracing from where their hands held the other, down her arm and up her shoulder. Aerith felt a blush spreading across her face as his gloved fingers moved up her neck and to her cheek. There was a quiet wonderment on Cloud's face – eyes bright with what appeared to be awe. His fingers traced her hairline, nose, and eyes, closing them gently as he pressed on her lids. His fingers continued their path downward, passing gently over Aerith lips, parting them slightly...

The door flew open, crashing into the wall, and they both jumped- and Aerith nearly falling out of her chair and taking Cloud with her.

"ALRIGHT!" Barret roared at the door, advancing on them. "I'VE HAD IT UP TO HERE-" he held his hand up to a considerable height- "WITH YOU SPIKEY!" His dark skin was turning an odd purple color. Cloud was shaking again, and Aerith stood up.

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU, BUT YOU BETTER SNAP OUT OF IT BEFORE I MAKE YOU! DO YA HEAR ME!? DO YA-"

"Barret, please!" Aerith said, standing in front of Cloud, glaring hard at the older man. He ignored her, continuing to shout., waving his arms erratically. In his frenzy, his gun arm came very close to hitting her face.

It all happened very quickly then.

A roar sounded from behind her, and Aerith found herself staring at Cloud's back as he pinned Barret to the wall, a snarl on his face. Barret, in complete shock for a moment, began shouting at Cloud again. Cloud seemed unable to hear him as he pushed against Barret's shoulders, the wood of the wall cracking underneath them. Cloud's hands then dived for his throat-

Without thought, Aerith launched herself at Cloud, grabbing him from behind. Embracing him. She heard fluent cussing as Barret crashed to the ground, and Cloud moved in her arms, so that he was hugging her back. Peeking over his arm, Aerith saw him give Barret a very dirty look, before turning back to her with a bright, shy, smile.

And Aerith felt her eyes widen.

(((())))

"What should we do?"

"Sephiroth cannot be left to his own designs," Vincent said, standing in the shadows of a corner. "We must still search for him." He paused. "Or I shall search. I need to atone-"

"Yo! I'm still trackin' Sephiroth!" Barret shouted, waving his gun-arm for emphasis. Now that Cloud was sleeping, he felt little need to tone it down. "An' what 'bout the Shinra?!" He glared around the room, at Nanaki, staring meditatively at his paws- at Yuffie, who was loading and re-loading her materia slots over and over- at Cid, who was smoking as usual- at Tifa, who was staring and the ground and completely silent, and at Aerith, who sat at Cloud's bedside, his fingers still loosely curled around hers.

"But what about Cloud?" Yuffie asked. "He can't like, fight Sephiroth like this."

"He coul' hardly fight Sephiroth before," Barret growled. Then he sighed. "Look, I don't like this either, but what about the planet?! We don't know what the hell's wrong with him, or if he'll get better, an' right now he wouldn't be a help!"

"But you need me." Aerith didn't even look up as she spoke. She was met with a deep silence at her words. "It seems...that Cloud can't go anywhere without me. And I need to fight Sephiroth. He will find me, even if I don't look for him. I'm the last Cetra. Sephiroth wants me dead. And you need me to fight him."

The others said nothing, and Aerith looked up, seeing that they realized the truth of her words- if a bit grudgingly for some. She tried to avoid Tifa's gaze. She felt uncomfortable about that as it was- uncomfortable and guilty. For hurting her friend, and for taking very small pleasure in what had happened.

Nanaki spoke up. "I have a suggestion," He began in his low growl of a voice, looking around at them all. "If you are welcome to it-" He addressed Aerith- "We could take Cloud to see my grandfather. He might be able to discern this anomaly, and perhaps a way to cure it."

Aerith felt a smile light her face.

"F&," Cid grumbled. "Stupid kid's more trouble then he's worth."

It was decided.

(((())))

"Wait," Nanaki said. "I will explain a little, let him know why we are here."

He bounded through the doorway, calling out: "Grandfather!"

Aerith bit her lip, curling her hand a little tighter around Cloud's. He almost refused to let go of her hand now. She looked up at him, and saw that he still had a bright smile in place. Aerith looked away, blushing a little. As much as it innerved her to see Cloud smiling so much- the look really did make him undeniably handsome.

And it seemed that his near-constant smile was fascination- fascination with her. Everything she did, every way she moved, he seemed to regard with wonder. Aerith bit her lip again as he started to play with her hair. It felt oddly good, but she hoped that he wouldn't unbraid it. His hand came around to her face, brushing her long bangs, and hovering over her cheek.

Aerith's blush deepened. "Cloud," she said, reaching up to pull away his hand. His eyes brightened as soon as she spoke. It was something else that took his wonder- her voice. As soon as she made any sort of sound- unless it was unhappy- he immediately brightened even more.

Aerith wasn't quite sure why or how, but she felt sure that he still didn't know what she was saying when she said his name. He never responded to it. He always responded to whatever she said, whether it was directed at him or not. He wouldn't do what she asked- even if she asked him most of the time- because he didn't seem to ever understand what she was asking.

Nanaki appeared at the doorway. "Come," He said. "Grandfather says that he will help in any way possible."

"What did you tell him?" Aerith asked, walking forward, with Cloud immediately following.

"Little. I don't understand, so there is not much that I could say."

Aerith frowned, sighing a little. She really hoped this would work.

"Ho, ho, ho!" Bugenhagen voice came from down the hall. "What can I do, what shall we do? Ho-ho! Let me have a look."

Aerith rounded a corner to see Bugenhagen, his wrinkled face quite friendly. As soon as Cloud rounded the corner after her, his smile vanished instantly. His eyes widened, and he began shaking uncontrollably.

"Grandfather?" Nanaki questioned.

He was ignored. Bugenhagen raised a shaking, lined finger. "What," he demanded, voice angry. "Have you done to that man's soul?"

Reviews make me smile inside! Hope you liked. :)

AerithHeartilly