#anti-zerith

Dismantled gives us an idea of what went through Aerith’s mind as she told Cloud about her role as a Cetra to save the Planet, as she said her farewell to her beloved, and revealed her reason for doing so.

Cloud... can you hear me? I'm talking to your heart while you sleep right now. I hope this reaches you okay, like when I hear the voice from the planet. Sephiroth is trying to summon Meteor using the Black Materia... He's trying to wound the planet badly. If Meteor really does fall, then everyone's going to die. People, animals, flowers... The life on this planet will disappear completely. The only one who can stop it is the last surviving Cetra. Me. I realize that. That was the duty of the Cetra. So, leave Meteor to me. You just think about yourself, Cloud. Remember your own ways... so you don't have a breakdown. Well, I'm off. When it's all over, we can meet each other again. Oh, Cloud... I enjoyed our date at the Gold Saucer. The view from the gondola that night was really beautiful. I'll never forget it. I'll never forget you, Cloud...  ~Aerith’s monologue; Dismantled

Aerith knew she was the only one who could stop Sephiroth’s plans because she was the last Cetra. Only with her help, with Holy, can Meteor be stopped and the Planet saved. And so she leaves for the Forgotten City to fulfill her mission and face the danger alone. But she did it with a heavy heart as well because she knew Cloud was suffering.

The mysterious voice and the young Cloud

Facing Sephiroth between the murals, he begins to lose himself. At this moment, the voice that calls for Cloud is Sephiroth’s voice that expects to awake him as a “puppet.” And it will make it clear when he gets the Black materia. But still, the “real Cloud” who tries to resist Sephiroth’s control is shown by the figure of his other self—the young Cloud. (->p. 179) When Cloud plans to hand him the Black materia and, when he loses his mind and attacks Aerith, players can control the young Cloud and call for him. Caption: The young Cloud is crying while trying to stop Cloud’s body. ~FFVII Ultimania Omega, p. 152

Sephiroth attempted to make Cloud his puppet, but Cloud resisted. His resistance was portrayed by the young version of himself. After Cloud managed to regain control of his body, he was in shock of what he was made to do. His actions had resulted in helping the enemy and attacking Aerith. He had tried so hard to stop it from happening but he failed, and his failure to do so left him in despair.

Remember that this occurred after Sephiroth forced Cloud to hurt Aerith and hand over what the enemy wanted the most. She knew how it had affected Cloud. He was in turmoil – his emotions and mentality in a fragile state – because of what happened.

The novella Maiden of the Planet gives us more insight on Cloud’s state of mind and Aerith’s resolve:

When she left her companions and headed for the Forgotten City, Cloud's heart was like an egg that was on the verge of cracking open. It wasn’t going to crack open like the way an egg hatched but, as if only the yolk was going to seep out of it. It was as if his mind was going to shatter. She wanted to comfort him. If she wasn't the last survivor of the Cetra she probably would have done so without a doubt.

However...

The pale black and silver white man, who was once a hero, had taken over the will of the "disaster that fell from the skies", Jenova, and was in a state of madness. He was going to summon the most powerful destructive magic, Meteor, using the Black Materia. Having been passed the mission from her Cetra ancestors, she had no choice but to carry it out. Sooner or later Sephiroth was going to summon the giant meteor that will surely inflict an enormous amount of damage to the Planet. It would cause a wound that could destroy the very Planet itself. Without a doubt, the Planet would then concentrate a large amount of the Lifestream to heal itself. It was Sephiroth's intention to make all that power his. After that, he would become one with the Planet and become something equal to a god. He would probably then burn all the humans he hates to death. The future of the Planet and the cycle of all life would all end as she knew it.

Aerith could sense from the whispers of the Planet that something could be done to prevent the worst from happening. She also knew that it was something that only she, the last remaining Cetra, could do. She could only obtain the in depth knowledge from the Forgotten City. But heading there also meant that she would become the greatest obstruction to Sephiroth's plans.

That was where Aerith hesitated. Will she let all humans die or was she going to avoid such a disaster in exchange for her life... But she never did think about it and was already prepared. When she did hesitate about leaving Cloud in sorrow, she would think about how it wouldn't save her companions or the people of the world. She had already made up her mind. There was no other choice. It was all for Cloud too. ~Maiden of the Planet

Cloud’s state of mind was enough she to make her hesitate in fulfilling her role. She knew she would be “leaving Cloud in sorrow”. She wanted to stay and do something to help him, but she couldn’t. Because the fate of the Planet rested in Aerith’s hands. Even if she were to stay and help Cloud deal with his dilemma, it would have been for naught if Sephiroth and Meteor succeeded to destroy the very Planet Cloud lived on. And so she made up her mind to leave Cloud and the rest of their friends behind in order to save everyone and everything on the Planet. Most importantly, if she were successful, it was to save Cloud as well.

That doesn’t mean she didn’t try to alleviate Cloud’s distress before she leaves. Aerith makes use of her deep connection with Cloud to try and reassure him during their conversation in Cloud’s dream set in the Sleeping Forest.

(The scene fades in... a calm green forest. Aerith pokes her head around one tree.) Aerith: Cloud, can you hear me? (Cloud speaks, though he does not appear on screen.) Cloud: Yeah, I hear you. Sorry for what happened. (Aerith comes out from behind the tree; we see her profile as she faces to the side.) Aerith: Don't worry about it. Cloud: ...I can't help it... (She goes back behind the tree.) Aerith: Oh... (She jumps out from behind another tree on the opposite side of the forest, not visibly walking the distance between them.) Then, why don't you REALLY worry about it? (She runs forward and wipes one eye.) And let me handle Sephiroth. (She starts giggling, turns pure white, and disappears. She comes out from behind yet another tree.) And Cloud, you take care of yourself. (She walks back behind the tree, off-handedly leaning back so that we just see her head.) So you don't have a breakdown, okay? ~FFVII Script

So, leave Meteor to me. You just think about yourself, Cloud. Remember your own ways... so you don't have a breakdown. ~Aerith’s monologue; Dismantled

Aerith knew that Cloud’s actions had only been done under the influence of Sephiroth, their enemy. She tried to get Cloud to understand that too to comfort him – that he wasn’t the one to blame. She asked him to take care of himself and remember his own ways, alluding to the fact that she knew Cloud’s mental stability was already fraying at the edges and was in danger of collapsing. This is evidenced by the following:

Even though Aerith perceived that Cloud had lost sight of his true self, she still has great affection for him. As an Ancient, Aerith had planned to accomplish the mission. On the one hand, her last concern is Cloud. ~Aerith's profile; FFVII 10th Anniversary Ultimania

“So you won’t have a breakdown..”

Aerith appears in Cloud’s dream, she seems to console him with such advice. This line can infer that Aerith has seen through the essence of Cloud. ~FFVII Ultimania Omega, p. 156

Aerith was so selfless that she was prepared to give her life in exchange for ensuring that life would still continue on the Planet, even if she wouldn’t be able to be a part of it. But it wasn’t just that. Aerith didn’t let her love for Cloud, her desire to stay with him, hinder her from fulfilling her role – her destiny. She used the love she had for Cloud to bolster her resolve instead. This must have been so painful for Aerith because she knew she was forfeiting not just her life, she was also giving up the chance of a future with her beloved Cloud. But to Aerith, it would be worth it because Cloud would still be alive. Cloud would be safe from Sephiroth’s plan to end everything on the Planet.

Aerith’s efforts at protecting Cloud didn’t end there. Let’s take a look at this scene from Maiden.

Underwater... Aerith was sinking. Lying stretched out with an expression as if she was asleep, she quietly sank into the cold and tranquil lake. The net of light scattered by the ripples of the surface danced upon her motionless body. It was as if it was trying to tie onto her.

Her kind face could no longer have those expressions that were full of energy. The feelings of joy and fun that would spread to everyone around her, the anger she had towards the weak, and the endless tears she had in sorrow... None of them were going to appear again.

Her body was going to be silenced for eternity.

However, that didn't mean the end of Aerith. She was watching. She wasn't watching through her beautiful green eyes but through her soul... She watched within a discarnate body filled with the energy of life, as it overlapped her physical body. She watched as the surface of the lake drew further away. She watched as the human shapes gazed at her from the hazy other world (the world where things were alive was another world to her). She watched Cloud's face which looked as if his heart was going to fall apart from the sadness of losing her, the anger and hate he had for her being taken from him.

"Don't blame yourself. There's nothing to worry about anymore. It's going to be all right even if Meteor falls. So don't let yourself be dragged down by those feelings. Just think about how you can be yourself."

She tried to say it but her lips wouldn't move. There was no magic that would let her thoughts reach Cloud from her spiritual body as Cloud disappeared fast into the distance. The light that twinkled on the lake's surface became weak and distant as she sank. She fell smoothly into the depths of the Cetra ruins, The Forgotten City. Aerith, the last remaining survivor of the Cetra had fulfilled her mission to protect the Planet. The final place where she was supposed to reach had no boundaries no matter where she went... ~Maiden of the Planet

Aerith could see how devastated Cloud had become because of her death so she tried to console him. She even asked him not to focus on those feelings and just wanted him to focus on himself. She didn’t want him to be tied down by the chaos of his emotions. But her voice couldn’t reach him, and it was because of Cloud’s state of mind. More on this in a bit...

Aerith’s protectiveness of Cloud and her concern for his well-being was made more evident when Cloud’s mind finally shattered under Sephiroth and Hojo’s efforts, and he fell into the Lifestream, giving him Mako-poisoning.

Cloud was falling into the Lifestream.

He wasn’t falling into it as the dead or as a soul. He was falling into the Sea of Mako alive, in his living body. He was going to pass out.

In the Northern Crater, he found out that his memories were false. He was just a doll who the mad scientist Hojo had transplanted Jenova cells into. A being made to merge with Sephiroth for his resurrection. But as a failure, he was an inferior clone that wasn't even given a number.

He was thrown out like trash in Midgar. Then he met Tifa. He met his "real" childhood friend, Tifa Lockhart. That time, with Jenova's power to duplicate memories, the memories that Tifa had of Cloud was instantly transferred to him. The missing parts were then filled with his own memories of being in Soldier to complete it all. That was how the patched up personality of Cloud Strife, based on the young man that existed in Tifa's conscious, was born. While that "Cloud" held many contradictions about himself, he built up a fictitious character so that he wouldn't be doubtful of himself. That character was himself.

However, the disguise was going to be stripped away.

It started to fail a long time ago. After coming into contact with many Sephiroth clones, the resonance inside Cloud's conscious uncovered many suspicions. Before long after Aerith's death, the dam he had built holding back his suspicions started to overflow. Using the anger he had towards Sephiroth and the goals he had in mind he somehow managed to suppress it but, that only lasted until he met the original Sephiroth.

In the Northern Crater before Sephiroth who had Jenova at his core, Cloud's brittle character fell apart. Right after that, even his conscious came under his control as Cloud himself handed over the key to summoning Meteor, the Black Materia. Cooperating with the one enemy he hated and being made to turn against his own goal of stopping Meteor, Cloud's character completely collapsed. His false mosaic ego shattered into pieces and in his empty conscious, only the despair of how he was no one but a failed Sephiroth clone remained.

And so...

Now no longer of use, Cloud crossed into the Planet through the Northern Crater, - abandoned into the Lifestream. With his ego lost, what was going to happen if the highly concentrated Mako, containing the aggregated memories of the Planet, entered his system?

He was equal to a dried up sponge soaking up a liquid. His blank conscious and vast nonsensical memories were all going to be buried away. This state in which someone was expected to be extremely intoxicated was commonly refered to as "Mako poisoning."

With his mind being infringed beyond the point of recovery, Cloud floated within the Lifestream. Before long, his living body that shouldn't be in the Lifestream, was ejected through one of the natural Mako energy geysers into the nearby coasts of Mideel. With his character lost, he was now a crippled person in confusion. ~Maiden of the Planet

This part of Maiden shows the readers what was happening to Cloud as he lost himself in the Lifestream. How did Aerith react to this?

Aerith knew one of the reasons why there was a place that the Lifestream couldn't approach. That place had a barrier that Sephiroth setup. The disaster that would fall from the skies, Jenova, brought with it a meteor that created an enormous scar on the Planet due to its impact. Now that place, where lots of energy was gathering to heal the scar, had become a cradle for Sephiroth's resurrection. The flows of life all around were drawn into the unnatural swirl, preventing a discarnate entity like Aerith from approaching it.

Aerith was eager to talk to Cloud as his living body flowed out of the swirl. She had been trying to while his body was being carried to Mideel. But with his mind shattered and filled with despair, Cloud couldn't hear Aerith's voice. No matter how much she cried out, her voice wouldn't reach Cloud just like the time when they were separated in the Forgotten City.

Helplessly watching Cloud's body return to the surface, Aerith stood in the sea of Mako in dismay. ~Maiden of the Planet

Aerith was desperately trying to reach out to Cloud as his mind fractured, but the tumultuous state of his mind prevented her from doing that. She likened it to the time when she tried to do the same after her death as I’ve mentioned above. Like the time when Cloud was overcome with suffering from losing Aerith, Cloud’s mind had become closed off during his mental breakdown that prevented Aerith from reaching him yet again.

"How can I save Cloud? How can I stop Meteor? I didn't think that Holy would be held back. At this rate, the Planet's going to end up the way Sephiroth wants it... What can I do? Tell me, Cloud..."

Aerith cried as she thought about the shattered Cloud that even her prayers wouldn't reach. His wrecked character could no longer be fixed. If he wasn't Cloud in the first place then, who was he? Knowing him only as a former member of Soldier, there was no way she could guess. She embraced the feeling of helplessness that she couldn't put into words.

"Cloud... I miss you. I miss the real you..."

Her whispers and thoughts became expanded into waves and spread out in the Mako.

Her memories of being with Cloud came to mind again. Her impression was that even though he wasn't very social, there was some cheerfulness about him.

"I felt something odd about him but, was everything really just made up and part of his false character? Cloud wasn't real at all? ...No, that can't be true. There were things that only Cloud could think of. Things that he done because he was Cloud. He was never an empty vessel to begin with!"

But she couldn't figure out the truth. Her thoughts just went in circles. Aerith delved into her memories again. Memories that showed Cloud's individuality. The way he walked. She remembered all his actions one by one... ~Maiden of the Planet

Aerith knew of the existence of the real Cloud within all the fabrications, something she wanted to convey to him. She was desperate to help Cloud mend the broken pieces of his character, but the chaos in his mind prevented it. It’s the same as when she tried to console him when she died. Cloud’s mind was in a state of turmoil, blocking him from Aerith’s reach.

With Cloud crippled by his mental breakdown as a result of Sephiroth and Hojo’s lies about Cloud’s past, Aerith didn’t have the necessary tools to mend his shattered persona. She wasn’t the one who possessed the memories necessary to piece together Cloud’s jumbled past. But Aerith didn’t give up. This was hinted at in a certain scene after Cloud was taken to Mideel to heal.

Mideel Doctor: I'll say it again, he's got Mako poisoning. I've never seen a case this bad... An immense amount of Mako-drenched knowledge was put into his brain all at once...... No normal human could have survived it...... It's a miracle he did! ~FFVII Script

The doctor was baffled at how Cloud was still alive despite the severe case of Mako-poisoning. He even goes on to say that a normal human wouldn’t be capable of such a feat, that it was a ‘miracle’. Now, one of the villagers also made an interesting comment if players choose to talk to him when the party comes back to Mideel to check on Cloud and Tifa.

Mideel Villager: It's amazing he recovered. When they carried him here after they first discovered him, I thought for sure he was a goner. That boy must have one powerful guardian angel watchin' over him. ~FFVII Script

Who could this guardian angel be? Well, it could only be Aerith who was watching over Cloud even in the afterlife. Do recall that it was Aerith who was the party’s healer. Also, interestingly enough, Aerith’s limit break ‘Great Gospel’ has angels in it. Coincidence? I think not.

Coincidences aside, Aerith has already proven how protective she is of Cloud. It isn’t a far-fetched notion for her to try and keep him alive despite the seriousness of his condition. In fact, it is through her help that Cloud recovers. Aerith was able to find a way to help her beloved restore his broken mind.

Under pressure with the Meteor drawing near, the Planet released its massive biological destructive Weapons and the flow of the Lifestream was disrupted by their activities. The amount of energy that surged up onto the surface was never seen before. Gushing out into Mideel, Cloud who was peacefully resting there with Tifa nursing him by his side, both of them get swallowed up into the Lifestream.

Both of them were engulfed by Mako as they fell into the Planet. For Cloud, it was the second time but for Tifa, it was her first experience.

Aerith risked everything she had in this golden opportunity.

She desperately tried to talk to Tifa who was about to get intoxicated by the highly concentrated Mako. Guiding her conscious, Aerith took her into Cloud's closed heart.

In truth, Aerith really wanted to do it herself. But she couldn't carry out the task. That's why she entrusted Tifa with it. She entrusted Tifa with all the feelings she had for Cloud in her heart. She entrusted them to the one that was going to "live" together with Cloud...

And so, Tifa accomplished the task. Collating her own memories with that of Cloud's, she looked for the things that only the real Cloud could know. Proofing it all, the closed door was opened. Not leaving Soldier allowed Jenova's power that was implanted in Cloud to copy the Soldier traits of his close  friend, Zacks. Drawing out the deep memories that were firmly clammed up inside all of that, she reconstructed his original character instead of the fake character he created to protect himself. ~Maiden of the Planet

With Aerith dead and now in the Lifestream, the only thing she could do in order to help Cloud was to guide someone else into Cloud’s closed heart. That someone else was Tifa – Cloud’s ‘childhood friend’ and the only person who could validate Cloud’s memories of being a child of Nibelheim, not someone who was born from an experiment of Hojo’s as he was led to believe.

Additionally, this is the second time that Aerith was mentioned in connection to Cloud’s heart. Aerith was able to say her farewell to Cloud in his dream by connecting with his heart.

Cloud... can you hear me? I'm talking to your heart while you sleep right now. I hope this reaches you okay, like when I hear the voice from the planet. ~Aerith’s monologue, Dismantled

Maiden reveals how Aerith was able to gain access to Cloud’s heart which was closed to everyone else. This speaks of how deeply rooted their connection had become that she was able to do so. It shows that Cloud and Aerith’s hearts are connected, implying a deep romantic affection for one another.

This scene in Maiden also points out how Aerith wanted to be the one to help Cloud, but it was not within her power to do so. And so she settled for the next best option: entrust the task to Tifa who would was still alive.

Aerith’s love for Cloud was so selfless that she accepts her inability to help her beloved. She even went as far as entrusting the task of mending Cloud’s shattered mind to Tifa, the one who fans considered as a love rival. For Aerith, it didn’t matter as long as Cloud would live and be safe. Her devotion to Cloud was just that strong.

And I feel compelled to add this in: Aerith’s devotion to Cloud continues even after the years had passed. After all, in Advent Children/Complete, Aerith continued to try her best to comfort the sadness and ease the guilt that Cloud was carrying from losing her. And by the end of Cloud’s confrontation with Sephiroth, Cloud had almost died. But Aerith chose to heal him and guide him back to the world of the living despite the fact that it would separate them yet again. Aerith knew Cloud was still needed in the living world, and so she helps Cloud go back to truly live now that he was free of his guilt and wouldn’t suffer in loneliness, knowing that even if they couldn’t be physically together, Aerith was still watching over him.

Aerith loved Cloud so much that she was willing to give everything up just to ensure he would live, that he would be safe and stay that way, even if it meant she wouldn’t be beside him or that there would be times when she wouldn’t be able to help him and just watch other people do it for her. This is the kind of selfless devotion and love that Aerith holds for Cloud.

RANTING STARTS HERE:

This is something I believe with every fiber of my being. It’s one of the reasons why arguments like “Zack and Aerith reunite and fall in love with each other again/get back together in the Lifestream” absolutely pisses me off. These fans are belittling Aerith’s love for Cloud when in fact it’s the relationship between Zack and Aerith which meant so little. I didn’t feel this way about the Z/A ship before, but I have had enough of rabid Z/A fans pushing with this idea that just because they had a past, and are now in the same place, Zack and Aerith would just choose to be with each other and resume their obsolete affair in a snap, as if Aerith hadn’t fallen deeply, completely and irrevocably in love with Cloud. Shame on these rabids for smearing on Aerith’s feelings for Cloud just to comfort themselves for a relationship that ended ages ago.

I know there are fans who find the idea of a young love/first love, which the Z/A ship represents, more appealing. I can even understand that their love for the ship would make them hope and daydream for a reunion in the Lifestream because, hey, they’re both dead. So why not, right? But I won’t tolerate extremely overzealous insistence of this fantasy as fact just because they had previous ties and are on the same plane of existence, passing this as the only possible and realistic recourse left to Zack and Aerith. There have been no indication of such, and there never will be because, and please once and for all understand this, Aerith has moved on from Zack, from their past as a couple, from a relationship that was never serious in the first place.