A/N- Hey everyone. Really hyped for the remake and decided to make this. The scenario may be off from my poor memory, but I tried my best XD. Hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer- I don't own Final Fantasy VII.

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Aerith? Cloud saw her praying, the only thing separating them were a few platforms he could jump over in ease. The ex-soldier grew weary, but it wasn't something that would be abated by simply falling asleep. He felt this restlessness since the Cetra left off on her own.

To see her again lifted his heart, he had so many things he wanted to tell her, and the relief that Sephiroth wasn't around made him feel better.

Cloud signaled the others to stay and jumped over the platforms to reach Aerith. The closer he was towards Aerith, the more excited he was. He was even feeling emotions that were unfamiliar to him. The feelings grew darker with every step; words began to vibrate in his mind louder and louder.

Kill her

Kill her?

Kill her now!

Cloud felt himself slipping, losing his normal conscience, the voices in his head growing stronger. He tried as hard as he could, he remembered all too well the last time he let Sephiroth control him. His determination wasn't enough; he gave in to the voices. Cloud walked towards Aerith, not as Cloud, but a puppet.

Aerith continued to pray. She felt the struggle in Cloud's heart and heard him scream in his mind Get away! She knew what Sephiroth was making Cloud do, but she didn't move an inch and continued to pray as if he wasn't there. The Cetra knew the battle going on inside Cloud and this was her way of telling him that he can overcome it. She believed in him.

Aerith's faith was put to the test as Cloud grabbed his Buster Sword and heaved it over his head, preparing for the greatest sin of his life, puppet or not. In that moment the ex-soldier looked at Aerith before delivering the blow. Cloud heard the others scream his name as he began his motion, and with every fiber of his being, he was able to control himself to stop the motion before he hit Aerith.

He won. The voices were gone.

The spiky haired youth was very relieved that he was able to overcome it. Aerith moved her head up and looked at him, thinking, I knew you could do it Cloud.

Cloud continued to stare at her, swept with relief and peace that she is alright. He didn't know what to do now, to talk to her, or to approach her, or even leave her alone in fear of him being controlled again. His concentration broke, a soldier's intuition telling him something ominous was about to happen. Cloud looked up and saw Sephiroth, sword first falling to the ground with Aerith as his target.

Cloud, with widened eyes and moved by adrenaline from the fear of what could happen, held his sword as hard as he could, and jumped to meet Sephiroth. The sounds of clashing metal were echoing throughout the capital. They continued their exchange before they both landed on the ground. Aerith moved away until she was barely outside the altar. Sephiroth looked at Cloud quizzically, shocked by his behavior, but the silver haired man remained calm.

"Get away from Aerith!" Cloud exclaimed, dashing towards Sephiroth, They clashed for a while until Sephiroth started to laugh. An awkward Cloud stopped and asked him "What is so funny?"

"That you are pretending to have these emotions," Sephiroth stopped laughing, "You don't really care what happens to the girl."

"Don't tell me how I feel Sephiroth!" Cloud said with shaking arms, "I won't let you kill Aerith."

"Puppets can't rewrite the script," Sephiroth readied his sword, pointing towards Aerith, "There is only one way this ends."

Just like 5 years ago, Cloud is confronting his ex-hero. The next few moments slowed down for Cloud. Everything Sephiroth has done to him has crossed his mind in flashes during these few moments. Sephiroth, the great Sephiroth, the man he once idolized, destroyed his hometown, is trying to destroy and world, and tried to kill Aerith, his Aerith. Aerith also felt these feelings stir inside Cloud, and also feels the pain that Cloud had endured from Sephiroth.

Sephiroth has terrorized everything that meant anything to him. To possess Cloud to beat up Aerith and then try to kill her, the thought of it left him swirling with indignation he never had before. Sephiroth always had his way with him.

But not today.

You've gone too far were the words echoing in his mind. On impulse he charged towards Sephiroth, landing a slash on him. Sephiroth, as great as a fighter he is, couldn't even stop Cloud now, nobody could. Cloud was too fast, even for him. The blonde haired man didn't stop there, he slashed him several more times, each too fast to count, the next one more intense than the last. Cloud paused only to charge the finishing blow but Sephiroth, tattered in blood, vanished, leaving no trace but a faint echo of laughter.

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They returned to where they rested before in the capital of the Ancients, only Aerith was with them now. They all agreed to stay there for the night. The fear of Sephiroth coming back was scary, but the day was just too exhausting and the thought of having a bed nearby was too strong.

Other than everyone asking if Aerith is alright, the mood was quiet after the encounter, most of them going to sleep. Barret, Tifa, and Aerith stayed awake, talking about where to go from here. Cloud stayed by the water near the altar where Aerith almost died.

The spiky haired youth didn't talk to anyone, just lost in thought. Thinking, about what he could've lost today. As painful as it was when he was being controlled to beat up Aerith, to see her almost die was too much. He lost faith in himself, in his ability to stop Sephiroth, and in his ability to protect Aerith.

There is a part of me I don't understand. Cloud pondered, I should probably leave tonight, if I stay... Cloud didn't finish the thought but let it linger on in his mind. Flashes of worst case scenarios ran in his head, until he heard some footsteps behind him. Cloud didn't turn to see who it was.

"You okay Cloud?" but then again, he didn't need to turn to know who it was.

"I don't know Aerith." Cloud replied. Aerith continued to walk until they were standing side by side.

They both stared at the water in silence. Cloud's mind was repeating the same thoughts that have been with him since Sephiroth showed up. Aerith could feel that inside he was hurt, mostly at himself. The Cetra waited for Cloud to talk when he was ready. It is one of the things that Cloud loved about Aerith, that she let him be himself. The ex-soldier chose not to look at Aerith, but continued to look down and avoid eye contact with the Cetra.

"You were right to come here on your own..." Cloud spoke in a solemn tone, torn at what he planned to say, "Even if I was being controlled, I can never forgive myself for almost killing you. Sephiroth will keep coming after you Aerith, and he will use me again, it's not safe for you to be around me."

Aerith stayed silent, allowing Cloud to keep talking, "That's why I should quit this journey," Cloud suggested, "Before I do something terrible. So I will go after Sephiroth on my own. If something happened and I ended up hurting you again, I-"

But this was too much for Aerith to hear. She grabbed both his shoulders, moved him so he was facing her. She was broken up, and she can feel that Cloud in his heart truly feels this is the way to go. "No," She started, "I shouldn't have come here alone. But you need to know, I didn't come here alone because I was afraid Sephiroth was going to control you again."

Aerith paused, a tear streaking down her face, "I felt like after I was done, I was going to die, and I was ok with that. But when you are near me, I don't think I can go through with it Cloud! And I couldn't think about that." Aerith was quiet for a moment, wiping a tear and shaking her head. Cloud continued to stare at her.

"And don't you think about leaving us!" Aerith continued, "I know it's tough and I can't imagine what that is like, but you overcame it just now and you can do it again. We need you too much, I need you..."

Aerith's last 3 words resonated in Cloud's mind. He felt at ease, for this first time today, he was ok. Aerith was able to see that Cloud was clearing up as well. Aerith moved closer to Cloud, removing whatever separation that was between them,

"And I will help you Cloud," Aerith continued, "I promise to never run off ever again." she let out a smile. There were few things that could make the ex-soldier smile, but seeing the Cetra smile herself was one of them. Cloud knew he was beat.

"Ok," Cloud said, "I'll stay." Their moods lightened, ready to put the day behind them.

"Thank you, my bodyguard." Aerith quipped, with feelings of both joy and relief. Cloud smiled back.

"We already had a date, another payment is due." he joked.

"Well, " Aerith started before putting her arms around him, "I guess we have to go on another date then.." and before they knew it, they closed their eyes and embraced each other, sealing the deal with a kiss.

Later on in the night, they both sat down, heads leaning on each other, watching the water while holding hands. The thought of them losing each other was too strong, and they wanted to make the most of the time they had now. For this night, nothing else mattered to them, just each other. I hope this night never ends Cloud voiced in his mind during his moment of peace, knowing that Aerith is fine, and with him.

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A/N- If you made it this far, thank you for reading my fanfic (even if you didn't read it at all and just read this, thank you anyway :D). It has been an idea to continue the story for the rest of the game, just with Aerith alive, but I don't have faith in me being able to finish it XD. If people like it enough I would consider it, but people liking my work, that's "a very big if" *runs