Chapter 9: Second Final

Tifa sat on her bed, Denzel and Marlene in her arms. Tears were flowing from her eyes. She sniffed and wiped her eyes.

"Mom?" Denzel asked.

"Yeah?" Tifa answered.

"Why are you worried. Cloud will come back. The blue haired woman told us…"

"Who?"

Cloud gripped Masamune's protruding blade, with both hands, and flicked his thumb with as much force as he could. Masamune's mithril blade snapped with a thunderous crack. Cloud snatched up the broken blade and Tsurugi and slashed out.

Sephiroth jumped backwards. "I will not be a Failure! I will Kill You!!!"

"The sooner you can accept your fate is the sooner you can change it!" Cloud shot back, and lunged, both blades glowing, blood coating them in various degrees. Cloud jumped into the air, both swords raised behind his head, then brought them done in an X. Cloud stepped back as Sephiroth fell to the ground. Cloud's breathing was heavy.

God, he'd never felt more tired in his life. As omni began to fade, Cloud's vision went dark, and then sleep enveloped him.

Cloud opened his eyes to a room of white marble, draped in thin white curtains. His body was whole, and First Tsurugi was in his hand.

A woman dressed in a simple white gown walked into the room, pushing aside curtains. Cloud's breath was taken away. She was unnaturally beautiful, with long, smooth-as-silk blue hair and deep red eyes. Her dress only barely hid her nipples, which showed through, erect.

"The Fayth didn't think you had it in you, Cloud. But I know you did." In that moment their minds touched, and Cloud instantly knew who she was.

"How come you didn't look this way before, Jenova?" Cloud asked, a touch of resentment in his voice.

"Sephiroth had drained me too much. But He's lost the powers I granted him, and now I'm free to roam the Lifestream as a true soul."

"Am I dead?"

"Nope. You're not that lucky, yet. Neither is Sephiroth. Now he knows the truth. In fact, he saw his own birth. Through Vincent's memories."

"Vincent wasn't there." Cloud argued.

"So he says. Would you want to admit to seeing the birth of the Nightmare? The World-Ending One-Winged Angel?"

"No, I wouldn't. Not really. I'd feel obligated to kill him then." 'And I'm thinkin' 'bout killin' you if you don't tell me what the hell is goin' on.' Cloud added to himself.

"That wouldn't have stopped what happened at Nibelheim. Your Grandfather would've come back and done it himself if he had to."

"My Grandfather wasn't a Monster like him!" Cloud roared.

"If it meant a bridge between the Fayth and the Lifestream, he would destroy the planet! Luckily, you came soon. Now they can join, and Gaia will be paradise. I'm going to be watching you, Cloud Strife." Jenova leaned into him, barely touching lips with him.

& & &

Cloud opened his eyes, awake, to the sound of a preacher's voice. Tifa was standing beside him, in a white version of her usual outfit.

"I must've been drunk, cause I don't remember meeting this particular angel." Cloud said with a smile. Tifa turned to him, smiling back.

"Welcome back, Cloud." Came Sephiroth voice. Cloud looked. They were all here. Even the ones that were dead, he could see them. His parents, Tifa's father, Vincent, Aerith, Zack, Cid and Shera, a year-old baby in her arms, Yuffie, hyper as ever, Barret, Gun arm wrapped in…Cloud tried to ignore the lace wrapped around Barret's gun arm, Red XIII, two cubs and a Mate, with Cait Sith riding on his back, Rufus, the Turks, Lucreicia, with her arm around her son for the first time.

"Do you-" Cloud didn't hear the rest. He was too wrapped up in the moment.

& & &

Cloud, with a few more casts than was normal for a human being, stepped into the Seventh Heaven, groaning. 'Just a few months...' he thought, then a paticularly nasty wave of pain forced him to groan even louder.

"Told ya, not. Enough. Fucking. Morphine! OOWWW!" Cloud screamed, trying to walk forward.

"Oh, come on, Big baby, Sephiroth walked out with twice the number of casts, and he didn't feel any pain!" Tifa cried.

"He was raiding the Morphine cabinets! I know! He gave me my last shot!"

"How do you know? You were asleep."

"My ass still hurts." Tifa giggled.

(Honeymoon and several boxes of condoms later…plus removalof casts )

Cloud walked into the street, gripping his-non armored shoulder. Still a little sore. A Blond man in shorts, and a brunette with the look of a sexy fortuneteller were standing near Fenrir. The Blond was holding a blue-bladed sword, which looked nearly translucent. Cloud was stopped dead by the pair. He knew them...from somewhere.

"Can I help you? Strife Mercenary services. Well…if it's a small job. I'm married now, so..."

They both turned.

"He looks like you, Tidus." The brunette whispered.

"Yeah. You're right, Yuna. Got his Grandmother's chin, though."

"You know my Grandmother?" Cloud asked. The Pair shared a smile.

"It's a long story. I'm Tidus, your Grandfather. Yuna is your grandmother, here."

Cloud just stared. "Can we go inside?"

& & &

Now, the payoff. I was alluding to it for seven freaking chapters by now, so I you didn't get it, here it is. Ta da! Now Review!