A/N: So today I was watching Final Fantasy VII: Last Order and I suddenly felt the need to write this. I've never dabbled outside of Final Fantasy X and X-2. I've played the games but never really written about them until now. This should be a short story. I'm not going to make it long. So we'll see how this goes. Hope you like it. And a special thanks to Anrixan for giving me some insight on my leading man.
For All Eternity
Chapter One: My Sacrifice
In the after life you have nothing but time. Your life here really doesn't begin until the ones you love arrive. Unless of course you are a social butterfly and choose to mingle with those already here. But most don't. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that you won't have a friend or two. I'm just saying that your life just doesn't really begin yet. Life is slow paced and you don't feel quite whole yet. At least I didn't. And so you wait. You wait for your life to begin once again. But in this life you have the memories of the past. And in this life you can still see those you left behind in the mortal world for the eternal one. You still see their struggles and their pain. And you pray that they can endure it and some how make it to the other side. All you can do is watch and wait. And that's what I did. Wait.
When you begin your eternal life its like you're reborn again. Only you don't start out as a baby. And it's sort of like those vampire movies you used to watch when you were a kid. How once you're bitten all your physical flaws disappear and you are the most beautiful thing that one's eyes can behold. There isn't a scar, blemish, or imperfection left on your body. Now your soul; that's a different story. You're still who you are when you died. Nothing changes unless you make a conscious effort to change. But most people don't. Most people don't see anything wrong with their personalities. They see that they now are physically beautiful and that they are perfect. Did I fail to mention that being in heaven doesn't make you perfect? Because it doesn't.
I wonder how I got here in the first place because I can't think of anything noteworthy that has merited me a get out of hell free card. I once as a child asked my grandfather what you had to do to get into heaven. And he told me that an act of pure selflessness would get you in for sure. That's when I though of Cloud. That day when we were in the truck riding off to our supposed new found freedom. I took that bullet for him. But I didn't see it as being selfless. I saw it as protecting my best friend. But that was my sacrifice. I wonder from time to time if I had made the right choice because when I look down on him from time to time to see how he's doing he doesn't look so happy. Like maybe he'd rather be here than there.
How do you know when you've done the right thing? And do you deserve a reward when you do the right thing? Should there even be one? Is that what heavens all about? I have so many questions that I need answered. I know that I should probably be out looking for my family but wouldn't they know if I'm already here? Shouldn't they have been looking down on earth to see if I was ok from time to time? I wonder if it just got to be too much to watch me after all I've been through. The events leading up to my death weren't exactly pleasant.
I guess that taking a bullet to the head for Cloud was the best thing I've ever done now that I'm thinking it over. And not for me. Because if he had died he wouldn't have a chance to tell the one he loves how he truly feels. I know that he thinks that he loves Aeris but I know that he doesn't. He only thinks he does because he thought my memories were his own and he was confused. I know that he loves Tifa and deep down he knows it too. Just the way he looks and talks to her is enough. I wonder if she realizes it. And where does that leave Aeris?