I finally found the file for this story, I've been searching for ages...

Anyway just a short one-short. Set after Advent Children, well a small part of it is in Advent Children, but you'll see what I mean.

The ruined city was quiet. Always quiet. Occasionally young children would scamper along the haphazard streets or a heap of cement and metal would give way to itself and fall in with a resounding crash. But the rest of the time, there was silence among the destroyed buildings and scattered metal. Somewhere in it all stood a lone building, one of the city's last. It was old, though how old was unknown to most. Most hardly knew much about it in the first place. Standing tall, with tall points and stained-glass windows, it was a strange sanctuary, and a relic, of sorts, of the past. Shafts of sunlight shone through the gaps in the roof, reflecting off a pool inside, flickering and dancing on the surface. Flowers grew among the fallen pillars and broken pews, adding a soft tranquillity to the place. They thrived in the building, no longer needing their carer, though they missed the touch of her hands as she would fix up their petals or righten a stem.

And then the silence of the city was broken.

The large doors of the place creaked slightly as they were pushed open by a young man, fully dressed in black. Behind him came a small girl, her brown hair tied up in a pink ribbon, and a young boy, watching the man closely. The girl skipped between the pews, kneeling when she reached the plants.

"Hello, flowers!" she said happily, adjusting a few drooping petals. The boy laughed quietly.

"What's that for?" asked the girl.

"I just wonder if they really care," he replied, looking at the flowers pointedly.

"Of course they do! Wouldn't you like a helping hand once in awhile?"

The boy looked slightly uncomfortable and didn't reply. He turned to the man instead.

"You still come here a lot?" he asked.

"Sometimes." he replied quietly.

"Well, his friends came here a lot didn't they?" the girl piped up.

"They did. I'm sure they still do... they would." He suddenly stood up from the pew he'd been sitting on. "Can you two stay here for a while?" He looked imploringly at them, his eyes slightly pleading, "I won't be gone for long."

"Of course we can!" said the girl proudly, "besides," she added, "there's more flower-tending to be done!"

The boy groaned inwardly as the sound of an engine roared into life.

Gently streaked clouds floated past the gaps in the roof as the boy watched the sky, waiting for his friend to return. The girl hummed to herself as she tended the flowers, her plait bouncing whenever she got excited by something.

"Look, a purple and blue flower! It's so pretty!"

The boy couldn't help but be relieved when the sound of a motorbike could be heard, stopping just outside the building. The man walked back in, sun catching on his spiky blond hair, a simply enormous sword in his right hand.

The boy and girl stopped and watched as he walked right around the edge of the pool, coming up to the large fallen support just behind it. He stuck the sword right in the center of it, where it could be seen the moment the doors were opened.

Its silvery clean surface reflected softly on the water. The fact it was a weapon was lost among the flowers.

"That's a great idea, it looks perfect there," said the girl happily. The boy agreed, but something struck him. He'd ask later...

"Well, he belongs here," said the man softly, walking back to the front of the water. "I guess we should be going now."

"Oh, but can we come back? Please!" cried the girl.

"Of course," he replied warmly, watching as she skipped back to the front doors. The boy sidled up next to him.

"Uhh..."

"Yeah, Denzel?"

"You know Cloud," Denzel said, unsure, "I've never..."

"Never...?"

Denzel looked at the flower bed, the water that had healed him years ago, and finally the Buster Sword, a symbol of dreams and honour of generations.

"I've never actually seen you use that."

Yes, I stole that line from Crisis Core! (Which is a brilliant game btw, go buy it if you don't have it already. Oh and Dissidia too.)

Lupiesden