How Love is Lost
by d_Galloway

He held out the life materia. The water began to ripple and sway violently. Then it began to bubble, as mist slowly rose from its top like steam from a boiling pot. The sky grew dark, as even the sun was blocked out.

Then a beam of light rushed out of the materia and pierced the water. It burrowed its way straight to the bottom, where she lay, not the slightest bit decomposed, like still in an endless dream. The light went straight into her heart, and began to raise her out of the water.

Cloud watched in amazement as she was carried overhead and placed softly on the ground, as if by invisible hands. Cloud watched the beam of light move along with her body, before finally dissapearing. Then she began to stir.

"It worked!" shouted Cloud. Aeris was alive again. At last, they could be together.

"Cloud?" said Aeris, still regaining her strength after her long death. "What happened? I felt something go through me...then nothing. How'd I get here?"

Cloud couldn't find the words to convey what had happened. All he wanted to do now was feel her face, her hands, her body. He had missed her oh so much. Finally unable to resist himself, he ran to her, his arms open.

"At last," he though, "we can be together. Forever."

***

"I'm sorry, Mr. President," said the Squaresoft programmer, "but Sony is drilling our sake-filled asses about getting this game out. We'll have to cut some corners."

"Well," said the president, "how about removing some kind of subplot? I'm sure they can understand."

"Good idea, sir," said the programmer, "but what should we get rid of? We have so many we have going that..."

"The committee," said the president, "finds little need to revive Aeris. So let's keep her dead, get rid of the subplot, and release the game."

"But, sir!" said the programmer. "I don't think she'll like that very much!"

"BAH!" said the president. "WHO CARES? SHE'S A VIDEO GAME CHARACTER! NOW IF YOU'LL EXCUSE ME, I NEED TO DOWNLOAD SOME HARDCORE PORN!"

***

And so Aeris stayed dead throughout FF7. The next day, the president's corpse was found in his office. Also, the committee was wiped out in a similar fashion. The murder has gone unsolved to this day.

THE END