o1st strife; [ video post ]

[traumastrike]

[ the recording starts off shaky but it's only a couple seconds later that his face shows up, grimace clear on his face as he holds the gem carefully. ]

...strange device.

[ there's a quiet sigh before he moves it around for a better view, peering into it curiously before giving up entirely, leaving it to record as it pleases. ]A classic battle

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voice.

[allfair]

[ There's silence. A whole shitton of silence before Zack speaks, sounding uncharacteristically somber (he's still not sure how he's not dead) but still with a hint of affection in his voice. ]

... Always knew you'd pull through, kid.

voice.

[traumastrike]

[ that voice...no, it can't be. he strains to speak, as if finding it hard to find the courage within himself to ask who it is. ]

...who is this?

voice; video.

[allfair]

[ Zack chuckles. ]

Don't tell me a little bit of mako poisoning made you forget all about me.

[ There's a bit of fumbling before the feed switches to video and Zack gives an amused (and still slightly confused) smile. ]

Boo?

video; WHY DO YOU BREAK MY HEART LIKE THIS

[traumastrike]

[ his breath catches completely unintentionally when the video feed starts, and he can't do anything but stare, mouth slightly opened as he almost drops the crystal in response. ]

[ when his grip is stable again, he swallows, seeing aerith was shocking enough but that, that he could chalk up to momentary lapse of sanity. he had those before, sometimes having visions of aerith speaking to him but zack...now that was a guilt that plagued him so intensely he tried hard to block all visions out. ]

[ yet here he was, smiling at him like nothing had ever happened between them. as if his death wasn't on cloud's hands. ]

...Zack.

video; BECAUSE CLOUD ANGST IS A REQUIREMENT 8)

[allfair]

[ Try as he might, Zack can't help but chuckle slightly at that face Cloud's pulling, but he gets it. Cloud looks like he's seen a ghost, and as far as Zack remembers, he probably has. After a moment though, his expression turns almost sheepish and he runs his free hand through the back of his hair somewhat awkwardly. ]

Yeah... In the flesh, if you can believe it.

video; YOU ARE AN AWFUL HUMAN BEING DO YOU HEAR ME :(

[traumastrike]

..you and Aerith...how...?

[ is he dreaming? there's no real logical explanation for this and right now, it's a bit more than he can handle. he feels like grasping at straws if that'll help him gather his bearings somehow and at the same time, there couldn't be a worse time for the two of them to come back into his life. not with the way he is, his geostigma, his...lack of strength. ]

video; 8) *preens*

[allfair]

I keep asking myself the same question, kid...

[ He pauses, then looks startled as the other name Cloud mentioned sinks in. ]

Wait-Aerith's here too?!

video;

[traumastrike]

...I...yeah, I was talking to her before but I still couldn't believe it.

[ in fact, he still can't believe it even now. ]

video.

[allfair]

Yeah, it's a lot to take in. But I guess her being here is no different than you or I being here, right?

[ Clearly, he and Cloud are not on the same page and for obvious reasons. ]

video.

[traumastrike]

...yeah except you guys...passed away. You came back to life Zack, why aren't you more...

[ shocked? surprised? FREAKING OUT? he can't quite find the words right now. ]

video.

[allfair]

[ Woah, hold the phone. Now he's really confused and it shows on his face; first in the form of distress at the thought of Aerith being... then a frown as he tries to comprehend what Cloud is actually going on about. ]

What are you talking about, kid? I know things looked pretty bad on the cliff back there and I'm not too sure how I made it out of that and wound up here but Aerith... She's fine, right? I mean, she never...

video.

[traumastrike]

[ oh god, that's right. zack doesn't know, does he? how could he begin to explain how he let them both down, how he failed to protect aerith, how he had almost been the one to strike her down. his throat closes up and he can't look at the feed anymore, unable to match zack's gaze or even so much as supply an answer. ]

video; sorry for the late reply!

[allfair]

... Still with me, kid?

[ He gives a sympathetic smile and kind of shrugs. He's not going to press if it's that difficult for Cloud to talk about. ]

Just forget it for now, huh? What's done is done and there's no point trying to make sense of it here. We've got bigger things to worry about, right?