Hi! The idea just came and I began writing and this was born!

An abomination of a madman's desire to control the gaming universe?

Uh…no. More like a simple oneshot about a certain event in DoC involving Cloud.

Oh…okay.

Disclaimer: I do not own DoC or anything else mentioned in this story that belongs to Square-Enix.

Sanctuary

By RenzokukenZ

It's been almost a year since I had to come back here like this. Except this time, Vincent is the center of attention; the main target. I feel relieved knowing that, but that still doesn't change the fact that I have to do this again. You think that after all those battles with Sephiroth, Shinra, Meteor, and Kadaj that no one else would bother us. I guess I was wrong. So now, here I am, inside a WRO truck waiting for my signal to join in the fray. I try to stay cool by not thinking much, but that's kind of hard to do seeing as our destination is someplace that holds too many bad memories, some of them recent. I snapped out of it when I heard Tifa's voice over the intercom giving me the go, then I see the back doors opening. I rev up Fenrir and drive out of the truck, making a U-turn towards the WRO's assault on Deepground's base of operations: Midgar.

Midgar. The glowing city. The once central capital of the world. Now it just lies in ruins, eroding away with every beat of the planet's heart. And don't get me started on the planet. I guess it's still mad at us, seeing as these Deepground soldiers are spreading its fair share of havoc. Another product of human lust for power. Perhaps we're not as forgiven as we thought we were.

As I approach Midgar, I can see many explosions and waves of gunfire aimed at the planes and trucks of the WRO. Some of those planes got hit and started kamikaziing on the Deepground's artillery. I wonder how many lives have to be lost to satisfy the planet's thirst. Maybe all of us. I looked up to catch a glimpse of the Shera ducking and dodging bullets while dropping off WRO soldiers and what appeared to be Vincent. I didn't get a better look, since I had to get out of the way from gunfire aimed directly at me. My attacker was the one known as Rosso the Crimson, member of the elite group known as the Tsviets. For some reason she reminded me of Scarlet. I drew out my sword and lunged at her, and she held fast and blocked my attack. I began swinging at her with all my strength, but she kept blocking with ease. Seems they weren't kidding when they said that the Tsviets were tough. It was her turn to attack, and when she hit, it sent me flying to the closest pile of debris. I haven't felt that much strength since Sephiroth…

Wait…I recognize this place.

Then I heard a scream and when I turned to face its direction, my worst fear about this experience came true.

Those soldiers…were approaching the church.

Her church.

…My sanctuary.

That church means so much to me. It's there that I fell and she found me, and it was there where I was resurrected and saw her one last time. I wasn't going to allow those monsters the pleasure of destroying her church. Ignoring Rosso, I rushed to the church with one thing in mind: I will not fail her. Not again.

They saw me approaching and began firing. I easily blocked their pathetic attacks, and cut them down where they stood. After disposing them, I entered the church to see who the source of the scream was. My eyes couldn't believe what I saw. It was two children, the same children 3 years ago who promised to look after her flowers while she was gone, and the same ones she thanked by the doorway when I was resurrected. But as I wondered why they were here, something else caught my eye. There was someone with the children, a young woman. She had a pink dress, and long chestnut hair tied in a ponytail, and she was kneeling and soothing the children, telling them that everything was going to be okay in such an angelic voice. It was her.

I couldn't believe it. I just couldn't. I wanted to say something, to say hello, but I lost my voice. She was here, she was always here. And now she was protecting these frightened children just like she protected us in our battles. My little reminiscent moment was short-lived, however, when I heard more Deepground soldiers gathering outside of the church. I turned to the doors, sword drawn, and ready to defend this place with everything I had, but then something happened. I felt someone beside me, a familiar presence, and as I looked to my side, my eyes grew wide. He was here, too. With that same smirk on his face he had since our days together in Shinra. His old sword was still rusty and chips abound, but he didn't seem to mind. He turned to face me, and nodded once. I nodded back, and we both charged for the crowd of soldiers.

I never thought I would ever have the privilege to fight alongside him. I only knew how good he was from his old stories, which I always thought he made up, but seeing him swing his sword washed all that away. We chopped down many soldiers until they began retreating, and I turned to see him, but he wasn't there. I entered the church to see if she was still, but no. Only the two children, his sword, and flowers tied together by her ribbon remained. The kids came up to me, telling me that the Flower Lady and the Funny Man came to help him save them and the church. I chuckled when they called him the Funny Man, and smiled when they mentioned the Flower Lady. I told them to stay here until the fighting was over, and they agreed. I reached down, picking up the flowers and the sword, and went by the end of the pool of water that was placed at the center of the church. I strategically placed the sword in front of pool so that it stands and overlooks the water, and underneath it I placed the flowers. The children appeared beside me and began praying at the sword and flowers, and I couldn't help but pray too.

I pray that the planet can finally forgive us, so that these children can live in a better future, and that they'll have this church to defend them and love them when needed.

After all, this is my sanctuary.

Our sanctuary.

Just to make things clear, there were two kids in the church in the game and the movie.

And yes, they are the same kids.

And you can guess who the Funny Man and the Flower Lady are. It's that simple.

But if you still don't know, it's Zack and Aerith (Aeris)

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