When Cloud returned to his house at Midgar, he found Aerith sprawled onto the floor. Her face was pallid from fear.

"Aerith!" Cloud yelled. He took the small woman into his arms and shook her gently.

Aerith's eyes fluttered open and stared into the cold blue depths of her fiancée.

"Cloud...Zack...He – he came here," she murmured. Cloud parted his lips in shock but now wasn't the time to ask questions. He helped Aerith to the kitchen and made some coffee for her.

She smiled at him gratefully. They stared at each other, the weight of their lonely years pushing upon their postures.

The couple ran into an embrace and locked into a passionate kiss. Aerith wept on Cloud's shoulder who ran his hand through her curls, encouraging her that everything is alright now.

"I owe Zack, Aerith. He gave up his life so that I may live...I'm so sorry," he whispered. A solitary tear trickled down his cheek.

"Cloud, he came to me! He came in the middle of the night!" cried Aerith. Cloud helped her to a couch where she could settle down.

Aerith took a couple of deep breaths and her fiancée sat beside her, rubbing her shoulder for support.

"Zack paid me a visit from the Lifestream. He told me you went to deliver his message to Tifa."

"That wasn't very successful..."Cloud whispered.

"He knew that so he came to ask for my help. I will leave tomorrow to find her. He wants me to help Tifa to move on in her life." Aerith glanced at the blonde. There were dewdrops in her eyes.

Cloud nodded in consent. This was why he loved Aerith so much. She was like an Angel.


"Mummy, when is Daddy coming back?" Zachary asked her. Tifa tucked him into bed and kissed his forehead.

"Soon dear, soon," she told him and closed the door behind her. Tifa walked down the stairs, her face was straight.

So what if Zack died? She was the one who took care of Zachary. She was the one who had to wait for three painful years. What did he do? He went and chose to help a stranger over his own family.

Tifa peeked out of the window. Fog surrounded her garden. The Buster Sword was lying among the flowers, glinting in the moonlight.

She slowly opened the latch on the front door and stepped out. A lump formed in her throat. Tifa sat beside the sword. It looked so forlorn, lost in the midst of beauty.

But it had a piece of Zack. So what if the Buster Sword was hideous? Its owner was the most beautiful person Tifa had ever known. She held the handle slowly, imagining how Zack would hold it.

She tried to remember him. What did he look like? Tifa felt her senses dim to nothing. Every heart beat was like a dagger to her chest.

She couldn't remember Zack's face, his smile, his laughter. What did he sound like? His features were blurred in her mind. The harder she tried to remember him, the more she forgot.

Tifa screamed in anguish and thrust the Buster Sword away from her. She gripped the grass around her and cried as hard as she could. The pain inside her unbearable.

Tifa hung her head in sorrow. She swallowed her emotions back. What mattered now was the future. She needed to raise Zachery.

The memories of Zack had to be tucked away.


Aerith stood outside Tifa's lawn. The flowers had withered away. It was a pitiable sight.

"Anyone there?"

It was already cleared to her. Her only reply was the empty house.

Tifa had left Junon.