"I said I would
live out both of our lives..."
Cloud looks at the buster
sword on the hill with a pang of sadness
"I let you
die..."
Cloud sighs as some words echo through his
head
"Dilly Dally Shilly Shally"
Cloud smirks and
then sits down next to the sword
"Yeah I know, that is what
you would both say, isn't it..."
The sword remains silent and
cloud lies with his back facing the sky so he can see the stars.
"I
saw thos stars up close once, when we were saving the planet, it was
beautiful, and surprisingly I wasn't sick at all, until I got back on
the Highwind."
Cloud laughs slightly
"Yuffie even
tried to make me read something, I almost threw up. In a nutshell, I
really haven't changed since you last saw me."
Cloud sits um
and slams his fist into the grass.
"Why did you have to die,
Zack, you should've been there, you should've been the hero alongside
of me."
Cloud looks up at the sky again
"but, I'm
alive because of you so..."
Cloud's thoughts are interrupted
by the sound of beating wings and then feet landing on the grass,
Cloud grabs his sword and stands up to face whatever it is behind
him, to see a man draped in a red cloak and holding a red rapier with
brown hair glowing blue eyes and an enormous black wing on his left
shoulder.
The man walks forwards looking directly at Cloud and
then in a Harsh cold voice with noticeable accent speaks.
"are
you Vincent Valintine?"
Cloud doesn't falter,
"No,
but who are you to ask, and why?"
The man gives a slight
mocking bow.
"G, my name is simply G, all else was erased
from my past, and I have come to take revenge for the death of my
brother."
He holds his blade horizontally and runs his hand
down it creating flames along it.
"Now, Tell me where..."
G's
gaze falls on the buster sword behind cloud.
"That
sword..."
He gives of a pained gasp, dropping his sword as he
falls to one knee, grabbing his head in pain
"Angeal"
His
accent has slightly changed
"Sephiroth"
Cloud
tightens his grip on his sword, G has lost his accent completely but
his voice is still cold and harsh
"Z-Zack"
This last
name all the harshness has dropped out of G's voice but he still
retains a slight proper air of coldness in his voice, making it sound
natural as he speaks.
Cloud loosens his grip upon hearing his
friend's name.
G looks up into the sky and begins reciting lines
as if from memory
"When the war of the beasts brings about
the world's end
The goddess descends from the sky
Wings of
light and dark spread afar
She guides us to bliss, her gift
everlasting"
"Infinite in mystery is the
gift of the goddess
We seek it thus, and take to the sky
Ripples
form on the water's surface
The wandering soul knows no rest"
"There is no hate, only joy
For you are
beloved by the goddess
Hero of the dawn, Healer of worlds
Dreams
of the morrow hath the shattered soul
Pride is lost
Wings
stripped away, the end is nigh"
"My friend,
do you fly away now?
To a world that abhors you and I?
All that
awaits you is a somber morrow
No matter where the winds may
blow
My friend, your desire
Is the bringer of life, the gift of
the goddess
Even if the morrow is barren of promises
Nothing
shall forestall my return"
"My friend, the
fates are cruel
There are no dreams, no honor remains
The arrow
has left the bow of the goddess
My soul, corrupted by
vengeance
Hath endured torment, to find the end of the journey
In
my own salvation
And your eternal slumber
Legend shall speak
Of
sacrifice at world's end
The wind sails over the water's
surface
Quietly, but surely
Cloud looks puzzled but G
smiles,
"LOVELESS, have you ever heard such beautiful lines,
I am sorry for my misconduct before, You can call me Genesis!"
Cloud
steps back
"Genesis? The Genesis, Soldier first Class
Genesis?"
Genesis smiles,
"one and the same."
Genesis
looks down,
"You are the infantryman that Zack was protecting
weren't you... Cloud wasn't it?"
Cloud nods
"Where is
Zack because I would like to speak with him."
Cloud looks
down and then over at the sword and Genesis immediately knows
"He
is no longer with us... is he"
Cloud shakes his head
"but
he gave that sword to you?"
Cloud nods and Genesis Recites
one more line of LOVELESS
"Even if the morrow is
barren of promises
Nothing shall forestall my return
To become
the dew that quenches the land
To spare the sands, the seas, the
skies
I offer thee this silent sacrifice"
"That
line means more to you and Zack then it ever did to me, He felt like
you were to continue his honor and his dreams, cherish that,"
Genesis
begins to walk away, but then turns to Cloud,
"You carry on
his memory, and with it, the memories of both Angeal and Sephiroth,
my two very good friends, and for that, I think we can be
friends."
Angeal unfurls his wing
"Until we meet
again, Cloud."
Genesis Takes to the sky and disappears from
view.
Cloud looks after him for a while and then pulls the buster
sword from the sand holding it to his head, as he had seen Zack do
many times.
"Zack, he is right, by leaving this sword here, I
am degrading your image, you passed your honor to me, and through
this sword, I will keep it."
Cloud puts the Buster sword on
his back and with a new triumphant look on his face gets on Fenrir
and rides off.
---------------------------------------------------------
In
loving Memory of Zack Fair
