Chapter 6

Cloud has always hated times like these. Waiting around for the enemy to strike, not knowing where and when the bloodshed would begin anew. He belonged on the battlefield, in the heat of the moment. Patience was not in his nature. But for now, there was nothing to do until Hojo revealed himself. The teams sent out by Rufus were busy pouring through the reams of data they had collected from the fiend attack on Cosmo Canyon, but aside from a few hints on where best to hit them, nothing of any real use had come of the weeks of research. Nobody was any the wiser as to where these fiends had appeared from, nor did they have any idea how Hojo was controlling them or why. The translator teams had spent the past few weeks staring at the stone tablet deep within the caves under Cosmo Canyon, but so far they still had no idea what language it was written in, never mind what it said.

However, life was not totally empty back in Costa Del Sol. Denzel's birthday was fast approaching. He had been a little quiet ever since the trip to Edge so Cloud and Tifa had planned a whole day out for Denzel and his friends to the Gold Saucer amusement park. They still had a lifetime pass they had acquired on their adventures almost five years ago during Meteorfall. Invitations had been dispatched discreetly around school, disguised as notes from the doctor about checking for signs of Geostigma. Naturally Denzel had asked why he did not receive one, but Tifa had explained that as he had already had Geostigma he was immune to it and did not need to be checked. By some miracle Denzel fell for it and their ruse was not discovered.

Everything was planned. Everything had been booked in advance. Cloud had also received a special invitation to participate in a contest at the Battle Square. While he had doubts that the Battle Square was the best place for the children, the organisers had convinced him that it would be good for the kids to see their hero in action. Cloud strongly suspected that they were only getting him involved to sell more tickets to the park, but he had eventually decided that a little practise couldn't hurt and agreed to fight.

They had also spent a long time wondering exactly what to get Denzel for a birthday present. He didn't seem to actually need anything. He spent most of his free time on the beach with his friends from school. Thankfully they had decide to take him shopping one day to see if he dropped any hints and he had, having spent almost ten minutes staring at a pair of football boots. They had allowed themselves a little giggle as they had gone back the next day to pick the boots up, greatly amused by having Denzel do all the hard work for them.

Barret had called about a week before the big day and had asked if Marlene could tag along to the party, agreeing to meet everyone at the Gold Saucer on the day. Tifa smiled as she thought of Marlene. The sweet little girl that Barret had adopted was surprisingly brave and understanding for her age. She was one of Denzel's best friends. Tifa had seen the way she had taken care of Denzel when he was suffering from Geostigma, sat by his bed all day, holding his hand. It would be interesting to see how their friendship developed as they grew. She realised that it was just one of the many moments she had to look forward to while she was a mother figure to Denzel, her heart glowing as she thought of everything else she would have to look forward to.

The big day finally came, a beautiful day with the sun blazing overhead, a gentle breeze stopping the heat from becoming overwhelming. Denzel had been most surprised when he woke up to Could and Tifa singing happy birthday to him, with his new boots wrapped up waiting for him on the breakfast table. Tifa had left Cloud in charge of wrapping Denzel's present and now knew she shouldn't do so again as she saw the tangled mess of tape wrapped haphazardly around the box. She shook her head at Cloud as he simply shrugged his shoulders. What would he know about wrapping presents?

They had led Denzel to the city gates where he had been surprised to find all of his friends waiting for him, most of them carrying presents of various sizes, singing happy birthday. The Sierra was hovering overhead, waiting to take them to the Gold Saucer for a day of fun and frolics. As they boarded, Denzel noticed that Cloud's sword was resting gently in the straps on his back, but chose not to question him on the matter. Tifa had also tucked her black leather fighting gloves behind her waistband. The Sierra blasted off and rocketed away over the mountains as Denzel's blonde technician friend passed him another present she had hidden underneath her control console.

As they sped towards the Gold Saucer, Cloud stood at the window, reflecting on his previous journeys through these mountains. Back then his life had been nothing but conflict. He was rather enjoying the change of pace of flying over the rocky peaks, looking out as the world flashed by beneath his feet. He silently wished that this latest crisis with Hojo would be over soon. Perhaps this would be the last time he would take to the battlefield and could finally enjoy the aspects of life he had always put to one side in the past. He looked over at Tifa as she pointed out various landmarks from their adventures to the kids listening intently. He allowed himself a smile. He had so many more adventures planned for the two of them.

Soon enough the Gold Saucer peered over the mountains in the distance, the giant golden tree covered in lights and people, a gigantic amusement park springing from the desert below. Cloud looked down at the swirling sands and shuddered. Every time he had gone near that desert he had been fighting for his life, from false imprisonment to the deadly Ruby Weapon, he had no positive memories of that wasteland. Hopefully today he would be able to avoid it and just enjoy himself. He snapped back to reality as the blonde communications officer sat back at her desk, flicking a row of switches on her control board as Denzel looked on.

"Airship Sierra requesting landing clearance." she said calmly into the microphone. She looked over at Cid with a smirk as if to say 'hopefully no trouble this time'. The speakers on her control board crackled and a young woman's voice came back.

"Airship Sierra, we have you cleared for landing at docking station 5. Skies are clear, Sierra. In your own time. Gold Saucer out."

The technician let out a sigh of relief and nodded towards Cid, who spun the wheel around to bring the ship in on its final approach, pulling on a lever at his side to lower the engine power to the minimum. As the ship approached the landing platform, Cloud could see the many people making their way around the park and the cable car slowly clambering up the long wires coming from Corel Town, which he could see in the distance. The town had made a solid recovery with Barret's help, now becoming a proper town instead of a collection of tents. The ship slowly but surely came to a stop on the golden landing pad and the thrum of the engines came to a stop.

As they disembarked, Tifa led the kids over to the main gates as Cloud stayed behind for a few minutes. He looked around to make sure that all of the kids had gone, leaving just him, Cid and the technician who was running checks on a few of the systems around the command deck.

"Cid, is there any news from the research teams yet?"

Cid shook his head. "Not much. It's slow goin', buddy. The wolf things are easy enough to kill, armour's weak under the neck and at the chest. But those scorpion things, they're somethin' else. Armoured all over. Shouldn't bother you much but a lot of our weapons don't work so good. We're workin' on it."

Cloud let out a sigh. "Well, keep me posted. Who's the girl, by the way? Denzel seems rather fond of her." he said, nodding towards the technician who was running a complicated diagnostic on one of the panels by Cid's wheel.

"Yeh mean Raven? She's my comms officer. Got a way with kids. Doubles up as our tour guide 'cause of it. She don't mind though, right Raven?"

Raven shook her head. "I don't mind. Denzel's good fun. He's pretty smart you know Cloud. He's been watching me work my controls. Picks up stuff real quick. Maybe he could work with the fleet when he's older."

"He seems fond of you. Wanna join us for the party?"

Raven shook her head again. "I'm ok. I have a lot of work to do here. Thank you though. You go spend the day with Tifa. Cid's told me all about you two." she said with a wink.

"Well let's just hope he's been saying nice things."

Cloud nodded silently to Cid as he turned to leave the command deck, leaving Raven and Cid snickering behind his back.

Cloud checked the edge on his sword as he made his way down the ramp out of the Sierra, glad that it was still sharp. He hoped he would not have to use it, but with Hojo still on the loose it was wise to take precautions. After all, with so many kids and innocent people around, today would be an ideal time for Hojo to strike if his objective was simply to cause chaos. He had been discussing the matter with Tifa days ago as she had been worried that something could happen. They had eventually decided that Hojo was just as likely to attack Costa Del Sol as he was to attack the Gold Saucer, so they would simply stay alert, inform the staff at the Gold Saucer to lay on a little extra security and Cloud would keep his sword with him, just in case anything did happen. They had also explained to the parents of the various children that they had taken every possible precaution, although they had not mentioned Hojo as they did not want to spread unnecessary panic and alarm.

As he snapped back to reality, Cloud saw Tifa and the children stood by the main gates, waiting patiently for him. For a moment he wondered why they had not gone inside to wait, until it dawned on him that the lifetime pass they needed to get in was in his pocket. Tifa sidled up to him as he approached, whispering in his ear.

"Are we using our family pass as an actual family this time, Cloud?"

He smirked. He should have seen something like this coming. A comment which looked innocent enough on the surface but naturally tied in to all of Tifa's hopes and dreams. He simply nodded, causing her to blush uncontrollably as they approached the brunette guard stood smiling by the gates.

"Good day sir and welcome to the Gold Saucer. Do you have a pass?" she asked, and Cloud couldn't help but think that her voice was a little rough, the harsh guttural slur of a woman who had a hard childhood perhaps. He produced the lifetime pass they had purchased years ago, with the photograph of how he used to look plastered on the front. He took a quick glance at it, shuddering at how cold and unemotional his old face looked, his eyes still shimmering with their faint glow of mako infusion that had since faded somewhat. The brunette looked at the pass, looked at Cloud, shook her head and passed it back to him.

"Sorry sir, this pass is a fake." she said with a slight grin, as if taking a little glee in delivering bad news. Cloud stared blankly at her, trying to think of any reason why she could possibly have said something that stupid. While it was true that he looked a little different from his photo, they were plainly the same person. Not to mention that his face was known throughout the entire world, making it a little unlikely that this woman didn't know who he was.

"What makes you think that?" Tifa asked the brunette as Cloud stood looking both puzzled and appalled.

"This card belongs to a Mr Cloud Strife and his party."

Tifa swept her arm behind her to gesture towards Cloud and the kids. "Exactly. Cloud Strife and party. What's the problem?"

The guard began a long list of somewhat ludicrous reasons why she didn't believe that the blonde spiky haired guy standing two feet from her face carrying a big sword was not Cloud. The kids were starting to grow restless and Cloud was losing his patience with the daft guard. He sighed as she continued with her list, rapidly losing interest. A part of him thought about how much easier it had been years ago when if someone was in his way he could just swing his sword at them, but he decided not to do something so stupid, especially in front of the kids. He looked around, trying to find some way out of the problem, seeing Raven descending from the ramp of the Sierra.

"Sis, what are you doing?" Raven yelled as she strode through the crowd of kids, her face gloomy.

"Oh, it's you. The big high flier. What are you doing here?" the brunette growled back at Raven.

"I'm here with Cloud. I see you're here just to be a pain in the neck as always. You gonna let us in or am I gonna have to get you fired again?"

The brunette scowled and took another look at Cloud's lifetime pass, making some pitiful excuse about misreading the information. He simply shook his head and walked past her as the kids stormed forward, screaming with joy. Raven shot the guard an evil look and followed them in.

"So sorry about that, Cloud. That's my dumb older sister. She's always causing trouble. Guess she recognised the Sierra and decided to be irritating."

Cloud smiled at Raven as Tifa ran after the kids. "Why does she act like that? And what's this about you getting her fired?"

"I really don't know. I think she's jealous that I work with the fleet while she works here. I offered her a job back in Rocket Town and she just threw it back in my face. It's sad, really. As for getting her fired, I didn't mean to. Honest. She was causing trouble the last time I came here when she worked in the theatre. Caused a big fight and the boss sacked her on the spot."

"Well thanks for your help. I'd have had to call Dio and have her fired too."

Raven smiled. "No worries. Is that offer to hang out with you guys still open? Turns out the system I was supposed to fix isn't actually broken, it was just dusty."

Cloud nodded, eliciting another smile as Raven increased her pace to catch up with Denzel. He looked around at the sights of the Gold Saucer as he passed through the giant golden archway into the main hub. Off in the distance he could see the spooky hotel they had stayed in, the searchlights atop the arena, even the holographic raceways winding through the park where chocobos of many colours hurtled towards the finish line.

The children naturally could not decide where they wanted to go first, so Tifa had suggested they head to the rollercoasters over in the newly redesigned Speed Square. Cloud had removed his sword as he stepped into one of the many cars of the rollercoaster, leaving the colossal blade with the security guards as it would not fit into car without taking up the seat next to him as well. Tifa sat next to him as Denzel and Raven took the car behind, the rest of the children filling up the remaining cars behind them. Chained to each car were two light guns they were to use to shoot down the many holograms on the wild ride around the park. Cloud had played the game once before and had set a reasonable score, his training as a Shinra grunt finally coming in handy for something.

As the cars started to move, Tifa gave Cloud a quick hug and they drew their light guns. Soon enough the various targets sprang into view, and the rollercoaster accelerated to its top speed, hurtling around the corners as they all screamed, blasting away at the balloons and space ships flying at them from every angle. As the coaster powered through the new hologrammatical terrain of the new program, they found themselves speeding through a vast frozen cavern, a lake of fire with a giant red dragon flying overhead as bombs dropped from the ceiling, a mountaintop as the sun set in the distance and finally off into outer space to be attacked by aliens.

As the ride came close to the end, one final giant target appeared above them. When Cloud had played before it had been a giant alien space ship. Now it was an image of Meteor, which the kids all blasted furiously at, cheering as one final shot from Denzel shattered the flaming rock into thousands of tiny hologrammatical fragments. As they disembarked, out of breath through excitement and laughter, Cloud looked up at the score board and noticed that his old score was still on there, but he had been soundly thrashed by Denzel who had taken second place on the board with a score of over six thousand. The top score was almost ridiculously high at over nine thousand, and Cloud wondered if such a score was even possible without some sort of alteration to the game. He collected his sword from the security guard, returning it to the straps on his back as Tifa led them off towards the next area.

Arriving in the area known as Wonder Square, Cloud was pleased to see that there was no giant moogle waiting to read him his fortune this time. The kids all ran off in separate directions to try their luck at the various machines and games. Denzel looked over at the racing game G-Bike and noticed that the top score was actually posted by Cloud.

"Bet I can beat your score, Cloud."

"Oh we'll see about that."

As the clambered aboard the two bikes, Denzel selected a mission from the menu. It seems that Cloud's high speed chase along the highways above Edge had been programmed in as a new level. Cloud thought to himself that he may have an unfair advantage over Denzel in this particular game. After all, he had done these chases for real instead of just in a video game. Soon enough they were speeding along the highway as sections of the road collapsed ahead of them and the various enemies sprayed bullets at them. Denzel pulled to one side, pressing the attack button on the side of his bike and his virtual avatar struck out at his attacker, sending the digital assailant flying into the distance. As he did, Cloud sped forward, his character ducking beneath a flying piece of debris. The race soon drew to a close and while Denzel had put up a valiant attempt, Cloud had retained his place atop the scoreboards.

When they finally tired of the many games in Wonder Square, Tifa had suggested that they take a break and do something quiet for a while, leading them towards the theatre at Event Square. However, Tifa's plan for a moment's respite backfired badly as they were approached by the ushers. Once again two of the actors had 'fallen ill' and the ushers simply insisted that Cloud and Tifa take their place as the play was a recreation of Cloud's battle against Kadaj and the remnants. Denzel had pointed out that it wouldn't require much effort as they already knew the story, and seeing the hopeful looks on the children's faces they found themselves dragged off towards the stage. The play was easy enough to bluff through until Kadaj made him appearance. He had been portrayed as a total lunatic, complete with giant bulging eyes and wild flailing arms, which had caused Cloud to begin laughing hysterically and unable to act seriously, fighting off his nemesis as he creased with laughter at his ludicrous appearance. When Sephiroth had made his appearance Cloud had been able to calm down a little, having to focus. He had never actually tried to use his techniques without actually using them. He had put a little too much force into his final attack against his greatest enemy, and the giant cardboard costume had fallen apart revealing a very scared and shocked actor blushing uncontrollably as he dashed off the stage. The children had all cheered as Tifa had ran to Cloud's side to hug him. He wasn't entirely sure what it added to the plot, but he thought she had probably just wanted to hug him anyway.

Unfortunately children were not allowed inside the Chocobo Square, much to Denzel's disappointment. They had also decided that the gondola was not an option as there was not enough room for everyone. They made their way to the Battle Square Arena where they were met at the doors by Dio, the owner of the Gold Saucer. Thankfully he had decided to wear something other than is usual thong and smiled as he saw Cloud approach.

"Good to see you, boy. Ready for your bout? We've got some real tough ones lined up for you this time. Don't go dying on me. Bad for business, you know." Dio yelled. Much like Cid he was known for his excessively loud voice. Cloud smiled at him and pulled on his leather gloves.

As Tifa led the kids up to the balcony to observe their hero, the metal portcullis rose into the ceiling and Cloud strode somewhat arrogantly into the Arena. He looked around to see that many other people had made their way up to the observation platforms, but he could still make out Tifa, Denzel and Raven waving to him. He drew his sword, which he had given a thorough cleaning and polishing prior to leaving Costa Del Sol that morning, standing ready and nodding towards Dio in the commentary box high above the great steel doors at the other end of the arena.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the legend himself, Mr Cloud Strife makes his way to the arena. Let's see if those hero skills of his can match the strength of the world's greatest fiends. Open the gates, let battle commence!" came Dio's voice over the PA system as the crowd erupted into mayhem. The steel doors began to swing open as Cloud shifted his feet into a more comfortable position, raising his sword into a combat stance as he waited patiently for his first opponent.

He was not disappointed as a mighty Dual Horn stomped through the doors, a large bull -like fiend noted for its deadly horns and powerful charge attacks. Cloud knew he could handle it at the drop of a hat, but he decided to put on a bit of a show first. As the fiend charged at him, he spun out of the way at the last moment as the crowd gasped and cheered. The Dual Horn grew angry at his teasing, turning around and thundering towards him again. Cloud smirked as he focused his energy into his legs, leaping high into the air as the beast sped by underneath him. Eventually he grew tired of teasing the poor beast, and allowed the fiend to charge at him one last time. He raised his sword and as the deadly horns of the fiend lunged forward towards his almost unprotected chest, he swung the might blade, slicing off both horns with one blow, sending the defeated Dual Horn skidding across the floor into the spikes around the edge of the arena, killing the poor creature as the crowd cheered and chanted for Cloud.

"That was just the warm up, boy. Don't get cocky or this one will be the end of you!" came Dio's voice over the tannoy as the doors once again swung open. Now the real challenge began as Cloud saw the mass of dark green tentacles writhing towards him in a great black smog. A Marlborough. They had become somewhat rare in recent years. Noted for their harsh whipping attacks and extremely poisonous breath. Cloud looked up at his admiring fans to see Raven throw something down to him. He caught it in midair to see it was a pink ribbon. He looked up at her as she mouthed 'use it' to him with a smile. He understood. This was no ordinary ribbon. He quickly tied it around his wrist and raised his sword, facing the approaching Marlborough.

It unleashed its foul poison breath against him, yet Cloud simply stood unfazed and unflinching. He could feel the magical protection of the ribbon coursing through his body, creating an unbreakable barrier against the horrific poisons trying to assault his internal organs. The Marlborough tried again with no effect, growing restless and striking out at Cloud with its vicious barbed tentacles. As he dodged the flurry of attacks he struck out at the wildly flailing limbs, severing many of the dark green tentacles and spilling the creature's stinking acidic blood onto the floor of the arena as it screamed in pain. As it recoiled from his attack, Cloud leapt forward and thrust his sword deep into the stomach of the vile creature, twisting it to the side as blood poured out of the wound, before tearing the blade to one side, rending flesh as it moved, cutting vital arteries and veins. As he leapt to safety, the Marlborough gave one final piercing cry as it breathed its last, falling to the ground dead. The hole in the centre of the ring opened up and the dead beast plummeted towards the disposal area below as Cloud waved to the cheering fans.

The doors opened without warning this time and Cloud whirled to face his latest challenge. A great wave of fiends surged forward, and his heart skipped a beat as he recognised them as the fiends that had attacked Cosmo Canyon. Dio's voice returned, confused and worried.

"Cloud, something's not right. That isn't what we had for you. What's going on?"

An alarm began to sound and the entrances to the arena were sealed off, red warning lights suddenly flaring up. The steel doors were jammed open and the fiends were pouring out in droves. Tifa and Raven dove down from the observation platforms as the arena staff led the children to safety, Tifa pulling on her fighting gloves while Raven looked around wildly for a weapon. One of the security staff joined them, passing his pistol to Raven who took aim at the oncoming fiends.

The security guard opened fire with his assault rifle, picking off two of the black wolves that came charging towards him and quickly ducking beneath a leaping third. Cloud felt waves of power surging through him and slammed his sword into the ground, sending a glowing blue energy wave speeding across the arena, cutting through a line of approaching scorpion fiends. Blood began to collect in a pool on the floor as the energy wave tore through the fiends, ignoring their heavy armour plating and leaving over half a dozen of them dead. Another wolf dived headlong towards Tifa but she had learned from her previous battle, dodging to the side and striking the creature with a spinning heel as it passed, sending it crashing to the floor. Tifa planted her boot on its exposed neck and stamped down hard with a sickening crack of breaking bones. She turned to see another wolf leaping towards her but it never got the chance to attack as it dropped from the sky having been blasted in the back of the head by Raven, who whirled on her heels and fired on another scorpion. Her bullet failed to find a weak spot but distracted the creature long enough for Cloud to close the gap and strike it hard in the head with his powerful blade.

Yet more creatures surged from the open doors, overwhelming the poor security guard as they dragged him down to the floor, striking him in the chest with their fatal stingers. With his final breath he threw his rifle over to Raven, who grabbed it and opened fire on the murderous fiends, screaming for revenge as she blew them apart. As she dashed forward in an effort to close the doors, a wolf leapt at her and though she dodged her timing was off and the beast sank its powerful fangs into her leg as she cried out in pain. Tifa leapt to her side and punched the attacker hard in the side of the head, causing it to release its grip on Raven. It reared its head to strike at Tifa, only to find itself without a head as Cloud's sword slashed across its neck with deadly precision. He handed the pink ribbon back to Raven, who wrapped it around the bleeding teeth marks in her leg, feeling the magical protection begin to stem the bleeding and counteract the creature's venom.

The creatures suddenly stopped as the wind whistled through the arena. They began to withdraw, and Cloud looked around to see many more security guards rushing in from every corner of the park, armed to the teeth and firing on the retreating fiends. Cloud looked around wildly. Hojo was here somewhere. He had to be. Fiends lacked the intelligence to break into the Gold Saucer without help. A shiver began to crawl up Cloud's spine.

"Show yourself, Hojo. We know you're here somewhere. Come out and face me." he whispered, lowering his sword as he looked around.

A gunshot rang out in the darkness, striking Cloud in the chest and he staggered, dropping his sword with the shock. A second hit him, lower than the first, striking his stomach and he dropped to the floor in agony as Tifa and Raven ran to his side, screaming hysterically. The guards formed a protective circle around them as Cloud coughed and spluttered, blood seeping from his wounds. His vision began to blur, his hearing faded, he felt cold. The strength left his limbs and he went limp, Tifa clinging on to him, tears streaming down her face as she begged him to hold on. Raven tore strips from her uniform and tied them around his chest in an attempt to stem the bleeding, but to no effect. She screamed for a medic and several came running into the arena, but it was too late. As Cloud began to slip into the abyss of unconsciousness, he heard a twisted whisper from the darkness.

"So much for you, Ex-Soldier."

How long had he been in this endless darkness? Time seemed to have no meaning here, this eternal void, no form or feeling, no ground or sky, no gravity or wind, simple nothingness stretching beyond every horizon. Alone with his thoughts, Cloud continued to drift, wondering to himself. Perhaps it was his time to die. But then he'd been shot before. And much worse beyond. Surely he was tougher than this?

But he realised. Before, when he had been drifting in this void, he had been given a second chance. Sent back to the land of the living. She had given him a second life.

Would she grace him with a third?

He couldn't die now. He would not accept it. Not now, when his plans were finally starting to come together. His life with Tifa, his well earned peace, waking up and not feeling alone. He had so much more to experience, so much left to do with his life. The battle against Hojo, seeing Denzel grow up, enjoying his new family life with Tifa. How could he leave her now? He had spent so long unable to tell her how he felt about her. Now that he had finally found the courage to be with her, he would not give her up so easily.

But what if he hadn't earned one final chance? What if she couldn't send him back this time? Would the others defeat Hojo? Would Tifa ever recover? What about Denzel? Would he be the same if his hero and father figure was taken away from him?

The darkness fell away, leaving only pure white light, brighter than words, blinding him. He became aware that he was now standing, feeling a slight sense of gravity return and the soft sensation of invisible grass beneath his boots. A faint scent of flowers filled the air as his eyes slowly became accustomed to the light. He looked around, the white expanse still empty.

But he was not alone.

She stood there before him, smiling in her own cute way, her bright green eyes piercing his very soul. As beautiful as the moment he had crashed through the roof of her church.

Aerith Gainsborough.

"Hello, Cloud." she said slowly, her voice only just above a whisper.

"Am I dead?" he asked, his voice echoing in the endless expanse.

She shook her head, smiling. "Not even a hello? Where are your manners, Cloud?"

He tried to take a step towards her, but found his legs unwilling to co-operate. "Aerith, am I dead? Tell me."

"I would have thought you would have been pleased to see me." she whispered, tilting her head slightly and smiling more.

"I am. But where am I? Where are we?"

She swept her arm to the side, gesturing towards the empty space around them. "This is my home, Cloud. Sorry if it's a little under furnished right now.". She giggled as he gave her a puzzled look. "The Lifestream, Cloud."

"So I am dead then. This is it. End of the road."

She shook her head. "That depends entirely on you, Cloud. Is there any reason why I should send you back?"

He nodded, thinking of all the many reasons why he wanted more time. He knew there was one that stood above all others, smiling as her face appeared in his mind's eye.

"There's a lot more I have to do. A lot more to experience. People to be with."

"The same is true of all who die, Cloud. Life isn't fair. Death is no different. Sometimes we can't always get what we want."

"But what about my life? Everything I fought for. Am I supposed to just let it all go and accept this?" he said, his voice starting to lower as he grew angry at the thought of this being the end.

"Are you saying the world wouldn't get by without you? A little arrogant, wouldn't you say?"

"What about my family? I fought to protect those I love and you'd take that all away from me now?" he snarled. She lowered her head, breaking their eye contact and turning away from him.

"You mean….her."

Cloud paused. What was that tone in her voice? Jealousy? He nodded slowly, not wanting to aggravate the tension.

"So you love her, then?" she whispered.

"Tifa. Yeah, I love her. You know that. I always did. It just took me so long so say it."

"Do you love me?" she whispered back.

"What?" he asked, stunned by her direct approach.

"Do you love me, Cloud?"

He thought for a moment. She had always had a place in his heart. It would be unfair to lie to her. He nodded slowly, unable to put his feelings into words.

"So which is it? Her or me?" she asked, turning to look him in the eye again.

Cloud froze. He had never expected such a blunt approach. She must know how he felt about all this. Perhaps she simply needed to hear it from him.

"Aerith, you told me to move on. I did. It took time, but I'm happy with Tifa. I'm sorry."

She looked down and he could see that she had finally started to cry, crystal-like tears glistening on her perfect cheeks.

"I never thought you would move on from me." she whispered through the tears. They stood in silence, the emotion too much to bear.

"But I had to."

"Not any more. We could be together here, Cloud. For eternity, just the two of us." she said, looking up at him, her eyes full of tears but shining with hope.

He didn't want to say what had to be said. But it would be cruel to give her hope when there was none.

"It's not just Tifa any more, Aerith. What about my family? Denzel, my friends, my life? What about the world? It's still in trouble, I can't leave it now."

"Don't lie to me, Cloud. Is it me or her?"

He took a deep breath. He had never wanted to break a heart before. He looked into her eyes with a frown, and without a word she understood. She brushed the tears from her face and took a step backwards, stuttering as she whispered.

"So you truly love Tifa, then? If you're willing to give up eternity for her."

He nodded. He knew how he felt. He wanted to be with Tifa. He would give up anything for her. Aerith sobbed as she finally realised that she had lost his heart forever. As she cried into the soft cloth of his Soldier uniform, he held her tight, giving her this one last moment. She looked into his eyes, longing for him to kiss her, like he never had when she had been by his side. But it was not to be. She broke their hold, stepping slowly away from him.

"Aerith, I'm sorry. But this is how it has to be." he said, looking away.

"Well I shall just have to accept it then, won't I?" she whimpered.

"So you're sending me back?"

Aerith nodded slowly, starting to smile again.

"I'm not allowed to keep you here, Cloud. So I'll send you back, one last time. Be careful this time. I won't be able to send you back again. Ever."

Cloud nodded, a lump forming in his throat. Even though he was happy to be returning to life, it was never easy to give up immortality.

"Promise me something, Cloud."

"Anything."

"Live your life to the fullest. With Tifa at your side. Love her like you might have loved me if things had been different. I'll find eternity alone a little easier if I know you're happy. Make her happy every single day and never let her go. Live every moment to the fullest, and maybe I'll feel alive watching you from time to time."

"Well, you can always visit. We're friends, right?"

Aerith smiled, turning to walk away one last time.

"So what's gonna happen now?" he asked, the echo in his voice now gone.

Aerith turned to face him, pursed her lips and blew him a kiss. He felt the warmth of her lips meet his and…

His eyes slowly fluttered open, struggling as the pain returned to his chest. He could feel the warmth of his blood running underneath his shirt from the bullet holes in his chest, cold hands roaming his body trying to stem the bleeding. He forced his eyes open fully to see Tifa knelt by him, her face awash with tears. She caught his eye and gasped, pushing the many doctors out of the way and wrapping her arms around him.

"I thought I'd lost you. I thought you were dead." she stuttered through the tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I'm not going anywhere. Not until I've told you I love you." he whispered.

Her breath caught in her chest. He had finally said it. The words she had waited so long to hear from him. He had come back from the dead to tell her. And there was only one thing to say in return.

"I love you too."

As she held him tight, she could hear a voice whispering to her in her mind.

"Take care of him for me, Tifa. His heart has always belonged to you."

She smiled. She knew that voice. "Don't worry, I will." she thought, knowing that somewhere out there, Aerith could hear her.

"Thank you."