A/N: I do not own Final Fantasy Seven: Dirge of Cerberus or anything related to the Final Fantasy titles
"Caley. When Omega ascends, I want you to go join the others." said Vincent as he looked at her.
"No! I refuse to allow you to face Omega alone!" yelled Caley. She was bruised and battered but she was willing to continue on, no matter the cost.
"And I refused to allow you to get hurt any further." said Vincent "This is my burden and I need to finish this alone."
"But Vincent-!" said Caley only to be cut off by Vincent giving her a light kiss on her lips before she felt a sharp pain in her stomach.
"I'm sorry." said Vincent as she fell into unconsciousness.
--------
----laboratory--Shinra Manor----
Grimoire is standing next to Lucrecia as she's working at the computer.
"Don't you think you are taking things a little too quickly?" asked Grimoire.
"And why not?" asked Lucrecia "All those people at Shinra who laughed at my thesis.... I have to prove them wrong!" She started typing quicker.
"Rushing into matters will get you no where, Doctor." said Grimoire before looking at the regeneration tube filled that contained a ball of dark energy "Hmm?" The ball
suddenly expanded quickly, filling the tube. Lucrecia gets up from her computer and turned towards the tube as it began to crack.
"Look out!" said Grimoire before shoving Lucrecia to the side as the dark energy escaped from the tube and hit his right side. Lucrecia got up and rushed over to Grimoire.
"Are you alright, Dr. Valentine?" she asked as she looked at him with concern in her eyes.
"I'll be fine." said Grimoire reassuringly "I'll be....."
----scene change---
Grimoire was laying on his back with Lucrecia by his side. His eyes were closed with green particles floating up from his body.
"Dr. Valentine!" said Lucrecia.
"Tell my son that I'm sorry." said Grimoire.
"Dr. Valentine!" said Lucrecia as she shook her head "Dr. Valentine!" There were tears in her eyes. Grimoire opened his eyes and looked at her as the green particles started to
float away from his body faster.
"My time has come to return to the Lifestream." said Grimoire as he vanished.
"No!" yelled Lucrecia "No! Come back! Why did you have to fade away?! Why did you....." She started sobbing heavily as everything turned to black.
----end----
Caley...
The darkness that surrounded her began to lift as a light pierced through it.
Caley...
Blurred shapes began appearing.
Caley.... It's time you woke up.
Everything came into focus before memories of what had happened registered in her mind.
"Vincent!" said Caley as she sat up with a jolt. She immediately regretted doing that as she felt intense pain before she began to hack and cough, bringing up some blood as
she did so. Someone came running into the room and Caley felt and saw the warm glow of a cure materia before the coughing fit ended.
"Easy there." said a warm female voice "You were pretty beaten up when we brought you here." Caley turned her head to look at who was in the room with her. It was a
woman in her early twenties with dark brown, almost black, hair that reached her mid-back and wine red eyes and dressed in black shorts with a black skirt that was short in
the front and long in the back, a black vest over a white tank top, and black sneakers.
"How long was I out?" asked Caley as she looked at her.
"About fourteen hours." said the woman "It's ten o'clock in the morning if you're wondering."
"That long?" she asked before looking around "Where am I?"
"My bar." said the woman "This is the Seventh Heaven Bar but I occasionally rent out rooms to people who need a place to stay."
"Then you must be Tifa Lockhart!" said Caley "Nanaki told me about you."
"You know Nanaki?" asked Tifa.
"Yeah," said Caley with a smile "We've been friends for the better part of fourteen years. He's my best friend."
"So that's why he's been acting a bit odd." said Tifa.
"Is he here?" asked Caley.
"Yeah." said Tifa "He's downstairs. Hey! You shouldn't be getting up just yet!" Caley had gotten out of bed and was currently walking out of the room. Tifa managed to catch
Caley before she could stumble down the stairs and she dragged her back into the room.
"If you're that insistent on going down stairs," said Tifa "At least get cleaned up. Your backpack is over there." she motioned to the chair in the corner where Caley's beat up
backpack was sitting "And there's a bathroom across the hall. Just come down when you're done, okay?" Caley nodded and Tifa smiled before leaving the room. Sighing, Caley
grabbed her backpack and went into the bathroom. After a hot shower, Caley dressed in her mother's old SOLDIER uniform and pulled on her black jacket, to hide the bruises
on her arms. Brushing her hair out, Caley pulled on her red scarf, goggles, and boots before walking downstairs. The first one to notice her presence was Faye.
"Caley!!" said Faye before attaching herself to Caley's waist and refusing to let go. Caley gently hugged the twelve year old as she began to cry.
"It's alright Faye." said Caley as rubbed Faye's back in a soothing manner "It's going to be alright."
"I was so worried about you!" said Faye as she sniffled "I didn't want to lose you!"
"Well I'm here, aren't I?" said Caley as Faye pulled back and looked at her. Caley noticed how sad Faye's eyes were and she felt a chill run through her blood. Had something
happened to Vincent?
"How are you feeling Caley?" asked Nanaki as he came walking over to them.
"Alright." Caley replied, noticing the somber mood of the room "I've felt better and I've felt worse. Let's just leave it at that." She glanced around the room and noticed that
besides herself, Tifa, Faye, and Nanaki, there was Shelke and two kids, a girl of about seven and a boy of about nine or ten.
"Cloud, Barret, Yuffie, and Cid are helping Reeve assess the casualties and damage over in Midgar." said Nanaki "They'll be back later, so you can meet them then."
"What about Vincent?" asked Caley.
"I'm sorry Caley." said Nanaki.
"You're sorry for what?" asked Caley.
"We can't find Vincent anywhere." said Tifa "We think he might still be alive but we haven't been able to find him yet." she pulled something out of her pocket and set it on the
table "All we could find was this." Caley's eyes widened when she saw the Cerberus keychain that always hung from Vincent's gun.
"It's not the most encouraging sign," said Nanaki "But Vincent is immortal, so it would take alot to kill him. Unfortunately, with the opponent he went up against, it's quite
possible he met his end."
"We'll still keep looking," said Tifa "But if we can't find him in the next week and a half, then it's likely...." She didn't finish her sentence, seeing the looked on Faye's face. Caley
managed to keep her face in a neutral expression but her eyes said everything.
"I understand." said Caley "But I won't give up hope."
"Vincent." thought Caley as she sat on the front steps of the Seventh Heaven bar with Nanaki "It's been almost a week since that day. The Lifestream has returned to the
planet and has begun to flow normally once again." She glance through the window and saw Shelke sitting in one of the booths drinking a cup of tea "Shelke had begun to fill
the ten-year hole in her life..... or at least started to try. While I've made some new friends. I guess you were right about me, Vincent. The people here see me for who I am,
not what I am. As for Faye, she's been missing you quite a bit. I've already started working with her on how to control her Aftereffect, among other things." Caley glanced back
through the open door of the bar and saw Yuffie standing next to Tifa, who was cleaning a table.
"Have you heard anything from Cloud?" asked Yuffie.
"He hasn't found anything." replied Tifa.
"Ain't going to make this easy for us, is he?" asked Yuffie. Caley smiled a bit before placing her hand on Nanaki's head. Nanaki cracked open an eye before closing it again and
going back to his nap.
"Vincent." thought Caley "Do you remember how we parted? And my promise to stick by you no matter what?" Caley pulls her phone out of her pocket and flips it open. A new
message popped up onto the screen from an unknown number. Furrowing her eyebrows, Caley opened the message and began to read it. Her eyes lit up as she read the
message before she jumped to her feet and ran inside.
"Well, I'm going to find you Vincent, because I always keep my promises."
-----------------
Vincent looks up at the large crystal he is sitting in front of. Encased within the crystal is Lucrecia, clothed in a white dress and she appears to be asleep.
"Lucrecia." said Vincent "Everything's alright now. Omega and Chaos have returned to the planet." He stands up "Thank you. It was you. You were the reason I survived." He
pauses for a moment before adding "And it's because of you I have a reason to carry on living. I have a feeling that it was you who brought Caley and me together, and I
thank you for that as well. Farewell, Lucrecia." With that said, he turned and walked away from Lucrecia's crystal coffin as a tear slid down Lucrecia's face. As he walked out of
the cave, he noticed that someone was waiting for him outside. Her back was to him but he could clearly make out a familiar head of black, spiky hair as the she looked out
over the valley below.
"Ya know, you've had everyone worried Vincent." she said "Pulling that disappearing stunt of yours, I mean." Caley turned and put her hands on her hips "And I really didn't
appreciate the stunt you pulled before taking on Omega by yourself." A smile crept across her face "But I just can't be mad with you and I understand why you did it." Vincent
smirked as he walked up to her and as he came to stand next to her, he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close to him before capturing her lips in a passionate kiss as
she wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
"That's my boy." said Grimoire with a chuckle as he and Angeal watched them from a higher cliff.
"You'd better take care of her Vincent Valentine," said Angeal as he crossed his arms "Or there will be hell to pay." A warm smile crossed both of their faces as Lucrecia
appeared.
"Are you ready to move on Doctor Crescent?" asked Grimoire as he looked at Lucrecia with a soft smile on his face.
"Yes." said Lucrecia "I am. There is nothing else left for me to do in this world."
"Good." said Angeal as he turned "Then let's get going." He stopped and smiled back at his daughter before he disappeared into ribbons of green light. Grimoire and Lucrecia did
the same and the ribbons floated past the fragments of Omega before disappearing into the blue skies.
The End!
If you want more, you'll have to review to get it!
Plus there's no more Chaos! Though strangely, I'm already missing him.
Vincent: Yes, very strange but now that the story's done, I should be leaving as well. (Disappears with a sweep of his red cape)
Now I'm all alone......... Well, at least I still have you...... Instant Ramen! (Pulls out ramen cup)
So please review and this is LegendarywriterZephyrStar signing out! (Starts slurping ramen while walking away)
