Final Fantasy VII and PlayStation are owned by Square Enix and Sony, respectively, meaning they do not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original Final Fantasy VII storyline (such as Astrid and Marcus) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts.
(Gaea Aegis)
Gathered back at the mouth of the final crater, the party lay back and waited… for a sign… for something… for anything.
"This was all we could do." Cloud said, standing at the lip of the crater and looking down at the core, "What we could do… we did it."
"What about the Planet?" Barret asked, frowning, "Meteor didn't stop… so what about Holy? What do we do?"
Cloud shook his head, "I'd imagine… that that's up for the Planet to decide."
"Holy was already summoned, long before this." Astrid mumbled, sitting on the ground and leaning against the wall tiredly, her eyes closed, "It was always there, but it was being held back by Sephiroth. Now that he is gone, it should theoretically act on its own. Seeing as we're not Centra, we have no influence there."
Tifa looked between Cloud and Astrid, shaking her head, "You two are right, I suppose… We've done all we can do."
Blinking and turning away from the core, Cloud faced the party and nodded, "Alright, everyone. It's no use thinking about it. We'll leave all of our worries here." He raised a hand and clenched it, smiling, "Let's go home proud."
A thought struck Astrid as everyone began to file out. She stood wearily and looked at Cloud, shaking her head, "Not yet, Cloud."
He looked at her, frowning.
Astrid shook her head again, "You're not done with him yet." She watched him fall to the ground and start to mumble gibberish, Tifa falling at his side and holding him. Astrid felt bile raise in the back of her throat. 'Why… why did I know this was going to happen?'
'You're the author, remember?' She answered herself, blinking, 'Now that you've come into such close contact with the Book, it's not entirely surprising that you're seeing these things.'
"Astrid!" Tifa cried, looking to her, "What's going on?! What's wrong with Cloud?!"
Astrid sighed and shook her head, "He's facing his final demon." She nodded to Tifa, "Stay with him." She then turned and followed the others, leaving Tifa calling her name. 'Sorry, Tifa, but you're all he needs right now.'
Walking a ways down the tunnel, she joined with the rest of the party, smiling serenely.
"Let's go to the Highwind, shall we?"
They looked at her in confusion, Cid grumbling, "What about Tifa and Cloud?"
Astrid shook her head, "We'll let them have their moment. Now, onward, if you please."
They walked back down the tunnels to the Highwind, stopping suddenly when the ground shook out from underneath their feet.
"Wha's going on?!" Barret roared, falling to his knees.
"It's starting!" Astrid shouted, bracing herself against the wall, "Meteorfall! Come on! Back to the Highwind! Tifa and Cloud will be around soon!"
They ran up, stopping when they came to a clearing and saw Tifa and Cloud sitting across a gorge, looking down into a pool of mako.
"Hey!" Tifa waved, "Good to see you all okay!"
Astrid rolled her eyes and shouted, "This is hardly the time to be having a sit-down! Get up and let's—" She was cut off by a roar from above, and they all looked up and watched as the Highwind crashed into the crater.
It screeched to a stop by them, at which point Cid shouted, "Everyone, on! Now!"
They all jumped and grabbed on, holding on for dear life as a spout of mako shot up from underneath them and slammed into the belly of the Highwind, launching them into the air.
"SHIIIIIIIIT!!" Cid shouted, everyone turning to him as he reached for something in front of himself, pulling down hard.
The Highwind shuddered and transformed again, growing wings and smoothing out. It then shot forward, exiting the mako stream and flying over Gaia.
Astrid screamed as the incredible speed of the Highwind made her ears pop painfully. Then, as suddenly as the flight started, it stopped, the Highwind hovering over the ocean just south of Junon.
As soon as the party regained the use of their legs, they all jumped to their feet and looked to the sky, wincing when the atmosphere rippled like water and a vicious red light spread all over the sky, Meteor finally entering the final stages.
"Come on…" Astrid muttered, searching the horizon, "Holy… come on… do something!"
Meteor descended, falling quickly onto Midgar.
"Do something! Holy!"
Then it came. A white stream of magic shot across the sky, coming to a stop above Midgar and fanning out, a giant net ready to catch Meteor.
Meteor touched down, flames bursting up around it.
"Come on!" Cid shouted, "Let's get inside before the heat wave hits!"
On the bridge, everyone gathered at the window and watched the spectacle, one fact becoming increasingly clear.
"Holy… can't stop Meteor." Astrid muttered, watching as the Holy magic changed from white to pink, and from pink to red. "It came too late… Meteor's built up too much momentum."
She listened to the others talk, her mind working as they spoke of the inevitable.
'There is one thing… that might work.' The thought hit her, but she didn't say anything, watching as Holy continued to wane.
"What the hell IS that?!" She heard Cid shout, and she looked to the horizon, smiling at what she saw.
"…Lifestream." She heard Cloud mumble.
Three great tendrils of Lifestream gathered and melded together, curving and undulating their way towards Meteor and Midgar. As they moved, three more tendrils rose up and joined the first three, the wave growing.
Above the Highwind, millions of thinner tendrils gathered, forming a giant net over the Planet.
As each part of the Lifestream swooped down towards Meteor and Midgar, there was a blinding flash of light that forced everyone to close there eyes.
Astrid closed her eyes slowly, a smile forming on her lips and her head leaning against the glass as the cool wave of air from the Lifestream brushed into the Highwind, knocking it around.
For a moment in time, everything was lost in white.
Then, it was over. The light was gone. When they looked again, Meteor was gone. Midgar still existed.
The Planet… was saved.
