Disclaimer: Final Fantasy is owned by Square-Enix. I have this story, s'bout it.
Liminality
Chapter 2: Farewell-formed Bonds
--
The days of reconstruction went as quickly as they came. Before the group knew it, all the major sites which needed the most helping hands in became enough for the citizens themselves to handle on their own. So, it was finally time for the group to return to their own individual lives. Much to Yuffie's delight, these few days passed smoothly, and she had pretty much forgotten all about the events from a few days ago. Now, she was just eager to go home and see the children happily returned and reunited with their families.
Cloud and Tifa will, obviously, be staying at Edge. Tifa will continue to run her bar, as many of the townspeople had already claimed that Tifa's Seventh Heaven was one of the few things that kept them going. Cloud will continue his delivery service in Edge, sure that the amount of customers will probably shoot up due to the amount of time the people will need to spend on reconstruction. Marlene will continue to act as the bar's waitress. Denzel, now cured of his Geostigma, was now willing to do anything offered to him.
Barret decided to stay a few more days in Edge so that he could spend more time with Marlene. Doing so also helped Cloud start up his delivery service again, as he would definitely be extremely busy during the first few days of his starting over. Though, Tifa worried greatly over the influence Barret might have over Denzel. There was no need to worry about Marlene, as she had long been used to having a deaf ear whenever her 'Papa' used some certain 'bad' language.
Nanaki will return to Cosmo Canyon, his rightful place to be, where he will continue to watch over the canyon his ancestors and parents worked so hard to protect. Reeve, having never left the World Restoration Organization HQ in the first place, left Cait turned off at Seventh Heaven, and returned to his work, looking after the planet and preventing any further damage to it.
Vincent, much to everyone's surprise, did not mention anything about returning to Nibelheim and the Shinra mansion. Cloud had even thought of exactly what to say to Vincent the moment he mentioned it. Rather, instead, Vincent said he will be traveling around the world. The group, not accustomed to the fact that Vincent had gotten a cell phone, protested as they thought they would end up losing communication with him in that matter. That is, until Vincent mentioned his possession of a phone. With a sigh of relief, the group accepted his decision and wholly supported it. A few days later after the announcement, after he felt there was no more need for him to assist with the reconstruction, Vincent left.
Cid, of course, will head home to Rocket Town as soon as he finishes dropping off those that required dropping off, and will probably continue to slave away at his airship, sipping Shera's tea as he worked.
Of course, all this was unbeknownst to Yuffie, save for Cid, because that was a given. It was no surprise, as when the group discussed the matter a few days ago, Yuffie had paid absolutely no attention whatsoever.
Yuffie looked down from the deck of the Sierra, waving her hands in the air, shouting 'goodbye's to the Seventh Heaven family of misfits. Nanaki made his way next to her, putting his front paws on the railing to get a better look at his comrades.
"Cid says goodbye, and best of '!' luck to you all!" Nanaki shouted down, earning quite a stunned reaction from Yuffie, as well as the others down below, as they had all suddenly stopped waving.
First to recover was Yuffie. "Man, I know you were quoting Cid and all, but… that's just so odd." Nanaki gave her his version of a shrug, and the two continued to say their goodbyes as the Sierra slowly lifted from the ground. Down below, Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Marlene, and Denzel moved away from the large airship to keep from being blown away. Together, they watched until the Sierra lift itself and fly off until the airship was out of sight.
"I'm going to miss having them around…" With a sigh, Tifa looked down dejectedly. Next to her, Marlene nodded silently in agreement. Barret gave her a light nudge.
"Hey, don't you be worryin' 'bout nothin', at least this time, we said we'd all meet up at least once a month." If anything, Barret disliked seeing a sad face on Tifa. He'd always known her as a vibrant girl, and the best role model Marlene could ever have.
Tifa looked up, facing the two men. Cloud nodded to her in reassurance. She turned to Barret. "Thanks Barret. You're right. It'll be different this time." Tifa smiled.
"Yea, Tifa, now all ya gotta do is jes' live." At this, Cloud looked at Barret.
It was a simple statement, but it spoke the truth, the very simple truth. All they had to do now is keep living.
--
"Oi! Cosmo Canyon's comin' up!" Cid called to Nanaki from the Captain's seat. "How ya wanna get down?"
Nanaki looked out from the windshield of the bridge. "My options?"
"Can't just pick a #! way yourself?" Cid grumbled as he lit up a cigarette. "I can bring up the Sierra close to your village, then you can $#& jump off yourself. We got parachutes. Either that, or I'll land the airship in a field nearby, then you can walk the rest the way or whatever &$# you want."
Nanaki grimaced, clearly remembering the last two encounters he had with the horrible parachutes. First was parachuting into Midgar. At least back then, the other Avalanche members helped untangle him from the burning parachute before his fur became crisp. Second was parachuting into Edge. That time, Cait had helped him. Nanaki had high doubts he would be able to escape from a parachute a third time, especially when he'd be dropping alone.
"I'll take the second option." Yuffie, who clearly remembered both incidents, snickered, successfully earning a look from Nanaki.
"Alright then, landing it $# is!" Yuffie's eyes widened in horror, and braced herself for the rocking and shaking of the ship. Cid took notice of Yuffie's sudden change.
"If you blow chunks over my bridge, brat, you'll $#& regret it!"
Yuffie glared at him. "Shut it, old man! Maybe if you piloted better I wouldn't feel so sick!"
"Brat, what'd you $#& say about my piloting?" Angered, Cid's attention was no longer on the landing. The ship began to shake and rock even more.
"Oh my gawd, just land this hunk of metal already!"
Needless to say, the ship had an extremely rough landing. Nonetheless, the ship did land. Out on the deck, Cid flung out the rope ladder for Nanaki to climb down with.
"I'll be seeing ya later, Red. Take care of yourself."
Nanaki smiled. "I will. You take care, as well."
"Don't you go burnin' the $ ladder on the way down."
"I'll do my best not to." Nanaki could still remember the first and only time that happened. Apparently, Cid still remembered as well.
Yuffie rushed out onto the deck. "Red, I'll miss you!"
Nanaki couldn't help but chuckle at Yuffie. "You know I wouldn't have left before saying goodbye to you first, Yuffie. You didn't have to rush. Are you feeling better now?"
Yuffie took a few breaths. "Ya, much better. Hey old man, you might wanna clean up your ship later, before it dries there." Cid looked like he was about to explode at that. "Kidding, kidding!"
"Alright, I'm going now. I'll see you both again." Red turned to make his way down the ladder.
"Wait!" Yuffie ran forward and kneeled, wrapping her arms around his neck in an awkwardly positioned hug. "I'll miss you!"
Nanaki nuzzled the back of Yuffie's head. "And I will miss you, Yuffie."
Satisfied, Yuffie released him and jumped back a few steps. Waving goodbye, she smiled, ignoring the sick feeling she had at the pit of her stomach that was there. Yuffie blamed it on motion sickness, despite how the ship was not moving. With one last look, Nanaki began making his way down the ladder. Cid joined Yuffie in waving goodbye, and the two of them watched Nanaki until he was just a tiny red speck across a grassy green field.
"Next stop, Wutai!" Cid called out as he headed back into the bridge. Shortly after, Yuffie followed suit.
At the bridge, Cid silently piloted the airship, while Yuffie stared at the view from the bridge, watching everything pass by below. To Cid, this was a fairly new experience, as he was rarely ever alone with her, and rarely was she ever this quiet. Her behavior earlier when Nanaki was leaving was, strangely, also on his mind.
"Yo, brat." Cid paused to make sure he had Yuffie's attention. When she looked at him, he continued. "What's up with you?"
Yuffie turned herself around to face him completely. "What ya mean by that?"
"Yer actin' weird." Yuffie looked at Cid like he was insane. "What? You were actin' all weird when Red left. Now yer all quiet."
Yuffie rolled her eyes. "What, I can't give him a hug goodbye?"
'Okay, maybe that wasn't that weird. But still…' Cid grumbled. "Yeah, yeah, that's fine an' all, but now yer standin' there not saying anythin'." Putting her hands at her waist, Yuffie put on an insulted look.
"What, I can't think now?"
"No."
"What the… why not! And you answered so quickly too. What's that supposed to mean!"
Cid shrugged. "Just makin' sure yer alright."
At Cid's serious tone, Yuffie took on a serious face. "Well… thanks. I'm okay, Cid. Just…" Yuffie sighed and scratched her head. "I'm not really sure why. I have this funny feeling… like I'm not going to see any of you anymore, or at least, for a very long time."
'This brat…' Cid gave her a strange look. "Weren't you $ listening when we all decided to meet at least once every month?" Obviously, Yuffie doesn't pay much attention.
Yuffie scratched her head again, laughing. "I guess I must've missed that."
"Tch, well, does knowin' that make things different now?" Cid paused, before adding, "And don't #&$ lie about it."
Putting a finger to her chin, Yuffie paused to think. She blinked a few times. "Actually… Not really, the feeling's still there."
"That just proves it then." Cid's face looked proud, like as if he just answered a million Gil question.
Yuffie looked confused. "What?"
"Don't think too much into it." At the way Cid spoke, to Yuffie, it sounded like a consolation. That is, until Cid spoke again. "So I was right, you shouldn't, and probably can't, think."
'That… stupid, dirty, old man!' Yuffie crossed her arms and glared. "And here I was thinkin' of how I should thank you, you stupid old man."
Cid let out a loud laugh. "You didn't have to thank me, but yer welcome." Yuffie looked about ready to pound him in. "Don't you be gettin' any $ ideas. I got a Venus Gospel, an' I won't think twice about spankin' yer $ skinny ass with it."
In reply, Yuffie turned around and shook the subject at hand, her skinny ass, at Cid. Cid, at this point, had an extremely powerful urge to actually continue through with his threat, but decided against it. 'I'll get the brat the next time I #$& see her.'
"Hey brat, Wutai's close." At this, Yuffie looked outside eagerly, jumping up and down a few times. Stopping herself before she gets the urge to blow chunks at the Sierra's nice, clean, nicotine-smelling bridge, Yuffie stared at the hometown which she longed to return to.
"I'm gonna land the Sierra right outside Wutai."
Yuffie nodded, but didn't say anything. From the bridge, she watched as her hometown came closer and closer to view. Sure, her Wutai wasn't exactly the way she would've liked it to be, but no matter what, it was her town. Seeing her town, as it became closer and closer, she couldn't help but notice the awkward feeling in the pit of her stomach increase in intensity. Yuffie waved it off; perhaps it was just motion sickness, as the airship was beginning its descent.
She turned to Cid and motioned to the direction of the deck. Cid gave her a nod, and Yuffie made her way to the deck.
Yuffie braced herself for the large blast of wind that was coming to her. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door to the deck and stepped outside. Imagine her surprise as she felt a nice breeze whipping around her rather than gusts of wind which would've threatened to blow her thin body off the deck. Yuffie gathered it was probably the descent that the airship was currently undergoing that made the airship much slower. That or the pilot was actually worried and slowed the ship down so she wouldn't get blown off the deck.
'Yeah, right, like that'll really happen.' Yuffie laughed to herself for even having the thought. Either way, she stepped out further towards the railing. Her hands gripped the railing tightly as if her life depended on it, whether it was in fear of a sudden speed change, or the nervousness of returning home once more. She could see Wutai completely now.
Eagerly, her eyes scanned the entrance of her town. When she saw two figures standing at the sides of the gates, a wave of relief washed over her. If the guards were still there, things should still be under control, or back to normal. Godo, no matter how idiotic his decision was to make Wutai into the way it is now, wasn't stupid enough to not tell the guards to do something if the situation worsened. At least, he wasn't that stupid the last time Yuffie checked.
Moments later, the airship had landed outside Wutai and Cid had stepped out onto the deck. Yuffie had noticed the two guards that were at the front gates had ran to the Sierra and stood at the rope ladder before she turned to Cid.
"Well kid, I'll see ya around." Cid's voice was low, a lot different than the usual tone he takes when usually speaking to Yuffie. Yuffie seemed to notice.
'Ha, he must be missing me already! Of course, I'm the Great Ninja Yuffie! Who wouldn't miss me?' Yuffie smirked inwardly. "Hm… what's wrong with you?" Despite her thoughts, she doubted that was the reason for the way Cid's acting, and so she asked, sincerely.
Cid waved her off. "Nothin'. Get outta here, brat, before I $ kick you off the airship myself."
Yuffie rolled her eyes. 'Stupid old man…' She ran to Cid and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. Surprisingly, Cid hugged her back.
"Kid… I'll see ya next month, alright? I'm personally gonna come pick you up. Better make sure yer $ ready." Cid hugged her just a bit tighter. Being this close, he could faintly distinguish a unique smell. 'Jasmine…?'
"Yeah, Cid, next month, I'll be back to bug the crap outta you." Yuffie smirked, and breathed in the strong smell of nicotine which practically emitted from Cid.
The two of them released each other. Cid gave her a quick, but genuine smile. Yuffie grinned and waved. Then, Yuffie broke the tender father-daughter-like moment between the two by sticking her tongue out at him and then back flipping off the deck onto the ground below.
Grumbling, Cid shouted from the deck to the ground below. "You $ brat! The next time I see you, I $ swear I'm gonna give ya such a noogie so hard you'll be $# beggin' me to stop!"
Cid could hear a faint reply. "Yeah, I'd like to see ya try, old man!" He smirked and watched the ground below until Yuffie was out of sight within Wutai.
Cid's smirk faded into a frown as he noticed the feeling that he'd been pushing down having increased now that Yuffie was gone. As he headed back into the Sierra, he couldn't help but wonder. Perhaps it was due to Yuffie's influence, from what she had said earlier, that made him start having this feeling.
'Why does it $#& seem like I won't ever see the kid again?'
--
Yuffie stood behind the gates of Wutai, watching the Sierra take off until it was far out of sight. Ignoring the growing feeling of sadness inside her, Yuffie turned to the two guards, both face and tone serious. "The children are back now, right?"
The two guards faced each other, and then faced their princess, the look of dread apparent on their faces. One of the guards replied. "No… Lady Kisaragi. They are not."
At that point, Yuffie felt a sudden weight fell upon her, and she found it hard to move her body. "None of them are?" Slowly, both the guards shook their heads, both in shame and in sadness.
The other guard spoke. "All of the children in Wutai are missing now, Lady Kisaragi."
Yuffie became absolutely paralyzed. '…All of them?'
The guard continued on. "As you know, Lady Kisaragi… Wutai isn't exactly in its best state." He paused to wait for any reaction.
'I know that all TOO well…' Yuffie could only nod for him to continue.
"We do not have enough men to send off to search for the children, to protect Wutai, and to protect Lord Godo efficiently." If the guard's grave voice could bring about the plague, plague would've spread throughout the whole world.
The statement struck Yuffie as odd. Having finally found her voice, she spoke. "What do you mean? Shin-Ra is already gone! I'm sure it's alright to send off some men from our defense to search for the children."
"Actually…" The first guard that spoke began. Yuffie immediately turned to him, her eyes sharp and demanding. "Actually… the men that we have sent haven't come back yet… and… Lord Godo…"
Yuffie felt that her whole world around her had just begun to spin in the wrong direction. Unfortunately for Yuffie, this was just the start of everything, and the time she had just spent on the Sierra and the smell of nicotine would become her only comforting memory for a very long time.
--
Deep within the planet, inside the large stream of consciousnesses known as the Lifestream, a single person's consciousness began to separate from the masses, and slowly began to take form. First was the physical body, and then it was her long, chestnut brown hair, her pink dress, her red jacket, and finally, the bow wrapped around her hair which held it up.
After waiting for her consciousness to become more solid, the flower girl known as Aeris stretched her awakened consciousness by physically stretching herself. Although it had made no difference in this world, as her senses were altered and distorted into different uses here. Having been awakened once before already for the events of Geostigma, she wasn't as surprised as she was the first time.
What surprised her was, although the movement of time within the Lifestream was different than that from the living world, she was positive that Geostigma was still considered a very recent event, so why did the planet allow form to her consciousness again? Unless… there was still something the planet needed for her to do.
All of a sudden, she felt an abundance of consciousnesses enter the Lifestream. She watched as each of them entered with their forms still intact, and then slowly disintegrating to become a part of the large stream of consciousnesses. She could tell that their memories of the surface were being added to collection of memories that was the Lifestream. Focusing mainly on the memories of those that had just suddenly arrived; she found that most of them were filled with a place familiar to her, that she had once visited.
She remembered a nice town that she had once visited along her travels with Avalanche, a place known as Wutai. Aeris remembered that their reason for going there wasn't for fun, despite how the town had many tourist attractions; it was to retrieve their lost possessions from Yuffie, her comrade from before in the living world, who had stolen their materia. She remembered the reason that Yuffie had stolen their materia, to restore her Wutai to its former glory.
Then it made sense to her, why some of the memories of Wutai from these consciousnesses were so different from what she had seen. They were memories of Wutai before Shin-Ra had affected it. Aeris smiled at how nice these memories of the old Wutai were. Yuffie was sure born in a great city. Then she frowned, realizing how tough it must be for Yuffie that her beloved city was in the state that it is now.
As if reacting to the emotions she imagined her friend Yuffie was feeling, she felt the consciousnesses of those from Wutai which had just entered the Lifestream. Although they didn't take any form, she could feel the strong feelings that they had towards their country, their hometown, and the strong sadness that they felt for having their homeland the way it is now.
Aeris then paused, noticing how short the memories of some of these consciousnesses were. In sadness, she realized that these consciousnesses were children. She was angered, saddened, and curious. Angered at whatever had caused the deaths of so many children. Saddened that so many deaths occurred even after the horrible events the whole world had just finished suffering through. Curious as to who it was that had done such a horrible deed.
Suddenly, a consciousness began to take form in front of Aeris. Aeris noticed that it was a female, a beautiful one, at that, dressed in a traditional Wutai garb. She could tell by how long it was taking for her consciousness to form, that this female had been dead for a really, really long time, as the bits and pieces of her consciousness were so hard to find and even harder to piece together. Finally, the woman's consciousness solidified, although still lacking in density as compared to Aeris.
"Miss… did you… did you know Yuffie? My little… well, probably not so little anymore… Did you know my daughter?"
--
Greetings again, in this second chapter! Again, I'd like to thank you very much for taking the time to read this story. Again, also thanks for a review. I appreciate your opinions!
To the reviewers:
Gining: Thank you very much, my first reviewer! I'm glad you like it, and I hope that you'll continue to enjoy this story as it progresses.
GirlEnigma: Thank you for the review! Here is another update; I do hope it's soon enough for you!
Maddy02: Yes, indeed this will eventually become a Yuffentine. I'm glad that I'm doing a good job! I will do my best to keep going as I am. Thank you for the review!
Chaotic Rei: Thank you for the review, I'm glad you liked it! I'm glad that the length was alright, I was scared it might've been too short or too long!
saharasfury: Yes, I also wonder how they'll sort this lie out once it comes back to bite them in the butt later! Or, you know, rather than sorting it out, it could be 'a white lie comes true' situation. Just 'maybe'… Anyway, thank you for the review!
ignoredflower: Thank you for the review, as well as the compliment, lol. I hope you'll continue to enjoy my inexperience in the future!
I'd also like to note that I've read the short stories that have relations to Final Fantasy VII: On The Way to a Smile, The Maiden who Walks the Planet, and also the game script for the cell phone game Before Crisis, so much of the content of this story has and will be based from what those stories have told me, such as the interpretation of the Lifestream, which is based on the explanations of 'The Maiden who Walks the Planet'. There will also be assumptions within this fanfic later on based on what information is currently given about Dirge of Cerberus.
I would have posted a link to note which website I had received this information from, but I wasn't sure if it would be considered advertising or not, and I wasn't too sure if advertising a website would violate the rules, so on the safe side, I didn't put the website here. If you would like to know it, please let me know and I will privately reply to you the website address.
Many thanks again!
