The rock was covered with a thin layer of dust, that crunched under their feet as they stepped from the Highwind's ladder onto the cliff face. There was a slight breeze coming from the north, but the air was warm, with an odd quality that was difficult to identify, almost as if the heat was rising from the rocks themselves. It looked much like any other day, but with one major exception, that did not make itself apparent except after some examination. The omnipresent black clouds that occupied the skies around Midgar were gone. There were clouds in the sky, but one could see the sun clearly as it rose on the horizon.
"#&! piece of —" Angrily, Cid kicked the airship's ladder with his heavy boot. "First, it can't go fast enough, and now it won't go at all! Why, if I were back in Rocket Town, I —"
"Cid," came the calm, slightly gruff voice of Red XIII. Shaking his fiery red mane, he nodded in the direction of the cliff edge.
The breeze had now reversed itself, and was now coming from the south-southeast. The clouds did not seem to know this, however, and were proceeding westward, as if fleeing the morning sun. It was strange, even, to look up at the sky and not see the monster that had haunted it for so long, hovering above and waiting to destroy the very life-force of the Planet with its unearthly power. Its presence had been like an open wound in the sky, but its absence now almost left one with an empty feeling, as if something was missing.
Perhaps, it was simply the realization that the fight was over. This was the end of the line.
"I'm still not sure I understand what happened," Tifa said. A lock of her hair had come loose, and was persistently intruding itself before her face.
"I doubt anyone really does," Red XIII said. "No one alive, anyway."
"Shi't!" Barret exclaimed. "I NEVER understood any of this!"
At its edge, the cliff gave way sharply before a tremendous fall. Looking out, one could see the landscape almost to the sea. The land was barren, the soil devoid of life, something made quite striking as the morning light cast long shadows from every irregularity in the earth.
In the foreground — as it were; in truth some kilometers away — sprawled the city of Midgar. Or at least, what was left of it. Meteor itself might be gone, but its legacy would be with the Planet for ages to come. The massive plates on which the city's upper class had resided were now all collapsed at least in part, and even the immense Shinra Building rested at a precarious angle, as if it might simply topple over any minute. The entire city was in ruin.
"Oh, no," Cait Sith moaned. The mechanical creature leaned over the cliff, trying to get a better look. "It's horrible. Maybe it would have been better just to let Hojo blow it up, and get it over with." The cat-creature shook its head sadly. "All those people..."
Tifa opened her mouth to speak, but could not find anything to say, and simply placed her hand on Cait Sith's shoulder, hoping the man at the controls could feel her.
"What happened back there, anyhow?" Cid asked. "One second, I thought we was all done for, and then all the green snakey things come up, and there was that huge flash and..." he trailed off, scratching his head. "It just don't make no sense to me."
Cloud stood on the edge of the cliff, his eyes fixed on Midgar below. The destruction looked complete and indescriminate, but if he looked closely at a certain spot beside the reactor marked 05, he thought he could see a small patch in the slums, that seemed relatively intact. Indeed, if he strained his eyes, he thought he could even see a tiny point of green. Or, perhaps it was just his imagination.
"She prayed to the Planet," he said, almost unconsciously. "It gave us its answer."
"It's not over yet," Red XIII declared. "Look."
The eight Mako reactors that had been positioned radially around the city, had not been spared from the ravages of Meteor. However, the massive towers which drew out the Mako energy from within the Planet were still basically intact. And, when they looked closely, they could detect a slight ripple in the air above the towers, and a pale, greenish smoke rising toward the sky. Even the Sector 1 reactor, which was all but completely destroyed, was spilling its contents up into the atmosphere.
"They're still functioning!" Tifa exclaimed.
Cait Sith shook his head. "The reactors are ruined. But once you make a path for the energy to escape, you can't close it again. Not until everything is gone."
"The Lifestream..." Cloud said. The very lifeblood of the planet was evaporating away before their eyes. "We defeated Sephiroth. Meteor's been stopped. But the Planet is still in danger."
"Well, what do we do then?" Barret demanded.
Red XIII shook his head. "There's nothing we can do. It's already too late."
They all looked out at the city, which even in its death seemed to vow to take the Planet with it. The sun, in its ascent, disappeared behind one of the advancing clouds. And it started to rain.
OMEGA
a FINAL FANTASY VII Fan Fiction
FINAL FANTASY VII and all corresponding characters and locations are copyright © 1997 Square. All rights reserved. This is a fictional, unofficial story created soley for entertainment purposes; no profit is made through use of aforementioned items — at least, not by the authour or with the authour's knowledge. Duplication of this work or any other work by this authour without the authour's permission or without giving said authour due credit will seriously annoy him. This text applies whether you read it or not. All your base are belong to us.