COMPLETE
Who: Sora destinedsky, Zack existenta
What: brb crying forever
Where: Whatever location Sora happened to last be in
When: After this.
Somewhere in the back of his mind he'd believed that this was a very elaborate nightmare from the beginning. It had to be-or he had to keep thinking it had to be-and he'd eventually wake up to the fact that it really had all been in his mind. That there was no Nuadoria. That he was not walking through a half-demolished city, chest heavy with a sense of remorse that he couldn't even quite place anymore. That he was not searching for a young friend whom had just lost someone precious to them. When had his nightmare slowly evolved into a night terror without him noticing? Zack didn't know, but he craved the ability to wake. It didn't matter if waking up meant death back home; because at least it was still home. Death did not have sympathy in Nuadoria, either, and in some ways had presented far crueler realities than anything on Gaia.
Aerith, for example, was so far from him now, and in the least desirable situation possible. It left Zack grazing the frayed ends of his slowly slipping sanity, particularly with the sheer idea of simply waiting until Sephiroth made his terms for her return clear-if he truly had any at all.
Angeal had disappeared since the explosions. He'd attempted contacting his mentor, but his efforts had only ended in failure. It wasn't that he worried his mentor was among the missing or the dead, but his absence smothered another layer of discomfort over the ex-SOLDIER's weakening resolve as he continued his search.
Rinoa was someone he had not been able to find nor contact. She'd been acting strangely the last he heard from her and he only hoped she was among the okay. Ashe luckily was alive, although listening to her conversation with that other man made Zack wonder if being alive was truly the preferred choice in this day and age. Sasuke was dead. It left an almost bitter taste in Zack's mouth to know such a thing.
And then there was Sora. Out of all the people he'd met in Nuadoria, Sora was the one who had most successfully secured a place in his heart as a friend. So perhaps that was the real reason his chest burned and the back of his throat was tightening every so often in reflex, making it hard to swallow. Sora's best friend. Zack didn't have to be there to know what had happened. The thought itself bothered him enough as it was, but Riku's tie to Sora made it all the worse. Dying and leaving people behind was hard, no doubt, if you lived long enough to have the remorse. But the real victim in that tragedy of life was the one left living. No one deserved the pain of being the friend left behind. Oh no, Zack had been there, done that.
Absolutely no one.
The varying degrees of sound in regards to the aftermath coming from his communicator were deafening. Fear, hate, denial, sorrow, twisted delight: all knotted together so tight they choked one another amidst the chaos. It was funny how one person could strike at just the right time and send the world spinning into madness. Order was a facade too easily smashed apart. And here Zack was, his boots crunching over the remnants of it, grinding them into dust finer than powder. Silence was his companion for this journey and he accepted its company begrudgingly, giving only the slightest glance to his communicator to make sure he was in the right area. Unfortunately, red zone or not, no matter how disorienting everything was, he was sure he'd find the teenager around here somewhere.
But, that very fact did not make the difficulty of the matter any easier when he finally did find Sora. Zack stopped walking and for a moment he just stood there. Time stopped and the young man was sure the world was standing still as his eyes observed the scene before him. He briefly wondered if that was how he'd looked after Angeal's death. Sora, at least, had been able to cry. Zack had found himself shocked into silence, the reality only truly hitting him when he finally sought Aerith for solace. It was listening to the other, pulling on personal experience for empathy, and the overall sight in general that made Zack force his gaze to the ground. What to do? What could he do? Nothing. That was a good place to start. There was nothing that he could do so he simply wouldn't even try. Clenching his hands into fists, he hesitantly looked up and forced himself to close the remaining distance between him and Sora. When he was close enough, he brought his hand to press gently against the top of the teenager's head in a comforting gesture. Another look down at Sora, and his expression fell just a hint more, before he crouched down behind the other, not removing his hand.
You'll get through this, Zack wanted to encourage, but now wasn't the time to be optimistic. Now was the time where nothing in the world mattered other than the hurt inside. And so he said nothing, instead slipping his hand down from the boy's head to wrap his arm over the other's shoulders and around his front, pulling him back the barely present distance between them into a hug.
What: brb crying forever
Where: Whatever location Sora happened to last be in
When: After this.
Somewhere in the back of his mind he'd believed that this was a very elaborate nightmare from the beginning. It had to be-or he had to keep thinking it had to be-and he'd eventually wake up to the fact that it really had all been in his mind. That there was no Nuadoria. That he was not walking through a half-demolished city, chest heavy with a sense of remorse that he couldn't even quite place anymore. That he was not searching for a young friend whom had just lost someone precious to them. When had his nightmare slowly evolved into a night terror without him noticing? Zack didn't know, but he craved the ability to wake. It didn't matter if waking up meant death back home; because at least it was still home. Death did not have sympathy in Nuadoria, either, and in some ways had presented far crueler realities than anything on Gaia.
Aerith, for example, was so far from him now, and in the least desirable situation possible. It left Zack grazing the frayed ends of his slowly slipping sanity, particularly with the sheer idea of simply waiting until Sephiroth made his terms for her return clear-if he truly had any at all.
Angeal had disappeared since the explosions. He'd attempted contacting his mentor, but his efforts had only ended in failure. It wasn't that he worried his mentor was among the missing or the dead, but his absence smothered another layer of discomfort over the ex-SOLDIER's weakening resolve as he continued his search.
Rinoa was someone he had not been able to find nor contact. She'd been acting strangely the last he heard from her and he only hoped she was among the okay. Ashe luckily was alive, although listening to her conversation with that other man made Zack wonder if being alive was truly the preferred choice in this day and age. Sasuke was dead. It left an almost bitter taste in Zack's mouth to know such a thing.
And then there was Sora. Out of all the people he'd met in Nuadoria, Sora was the one who had most successfully secured a place in his heart as a friend. So perhaps that was the real reason his chest burned and the back of his throat was tightening every so often in reflex, making it hard to swallow. Sora's best friend. Zack didn't have to be there to know what had happened. The thought itself bothered him enough as it was, but Riku's tie to Sora made it all the worse. Dying and leaving people behind was hard, no doubt, if you lived long enough to have the remorse. But the real victim in that tragedy of life was the one left living. No one deserved the pain of being the friend left behind. Oh no, Zack had been there, done that.
Absolutely no one.
The varying degrees of sound in regards to the aftermath coming from his communicator were deafening. Fear, hate, denial, sorrow, twisted delight: all knotted together so tight they choked one another amidst the chaos. It was funny how one person could strike at just the right time and send the world spinning into madness. Order was a facade too easily smashed apart. And here Zack was, his boots crunching over the remnants of it, grinding them into dust finer than powder. Silence was his companion for this journey and he accepted its company begrudgingly, giving only the slightest glance to his communicator to make sure he was in the right area. Unfortunately, red zone or not, no matter how disorienting everything was, he was sure he'd find the teenager around here somewhere.
But, that very fact did not make the difficulty of the matter any easier when he finally did find Sora. Zack stopped walking and for a moment he just stood there. Time stopped and the young man was sure the world was standing still as his eyes observed the scene before him. He briefly wondered if that was how he'd looked after Angeal's death. Sora, at least, had been able to cry. Zack had found himself shocked into silence, the reality only truly hitting him when he finally sought Aerith for solace. It was listening to the other, pulling on personal experience for empathy, and the overall sight in general that made Zack force his gaze to the ground. What to do? What could he do? Nothing. That was a good place to start. There was nothing that he could do so he simply wouldn't even try. Clenching his hands into fists, he hesitantly looked up and forced himself to close the remaining distance between him and Sora. When he was close enough, he brought his hand to press gently against the top of the teenager's head in a comforting gesture. Another look down at Sora, and his expression fell just a hint more, before he crouched down behind the other, not removing his hand.
You'll get through this, Zack wanted to encourage, but now wasn't the time to be optimistic. Now was the time where nothing in the world mattered other than the hurt inside. And so he said nothing, instead slipping his hand down from the boy's head to wrap his arm over the other's shoulders and around his front, pulling him back the barely present distance between them into a hug.