She can't stop smiling. Aeris stands on the platform, her eyes boring into Cloud's. Help me, she tries to say. Her mouth won't move. Instead, it is fixed into that warm smile that always makes Cloud happy. Smiling is the last thing she wants to do right now. *He* is forcing her to stand there, staring at Cloud as if she is the happiest girl in the world.

She wants to scream. *He* tells her not to, and the feeling fades away quickly. Why? She asks *him*. Why must you torture me like this?

*My dear Aeris... I'm sure that Cloud wants his last memory of you to be of you smiling.*

As the sword pierces through her back, she finds that she still cannot move. *He* wants her to be in pain until the very end. Even as she falls to the ground, her beautiful eyes now dull and lifeless, Aeris is still smiling.