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.

(Parting Ways)

"In the end, when we alone weren't enough, the Planet decided to intercept." Astrid stopped and smiled, looking at the ground beneath her feet, "Gaia saved us… for working so hard to save her." She looked to the party standing before her and nodded, "That… was her thanks. Her thanks to us and everyone who believed in her in the end, and even those who didn't. Even if we mistreat her, Gaia still loves us."

The party nodded, still not completely understanding.

"So… what now?" Barret asked, scratching the back of his head.

Astrid shrugged, "The journey's over. I assume that we all return to our normal lives and move on… while doing the best we can to do what's right for Gaia, this time. We've been given a second chance to make things better, and I'm pretty sure after that display that the people will do whatever they can to help out."

"Home…" Yuffie sighed and shook her head, "Man, it's good to hear that." She then straightened and smiled brightly, turning and starting to walk off, "Well, bye everyo—"

"Yuffie." They all said, glaring at her, "Give back the materia."

The ninja stopped in place, turning to smile at them nervously, "Hehehe… heh." She then tore out a pouch and threw it at them, laughing maniacally and running off, "Bye-bye, you meanies!"

Tifa picked up the pouch and looked inside, sighing when she saw all of the marble-sized balls of glowing materia. "Looks like it's all here."

"I'll take that." Cloud said, taking the pouch and shoving it into his pocket, "This kind of power shouldn't be available to the people of Gaia. It's best if it's kept in one location…"

"And with someone we know won't use it." Cait Sith finished, nodding.

Falling silent, they looked at the planet around them, smiling at everything they saw. Then, slowly, they began to drift apart.

"We still have our PHS's, though!" Tifa shouted, "Let's all get back together some time!"

"Astrid! Wait!" She stopped and turned to Cait Sith, who ran up to her and looked at her in confusion, "Were are you going?! You don't…" He trailed off, shuffling his feet nervously.

"Have anywhere to go?" She finished, smirking and shrugging, "Yeah, I know, and that's okay. I don't feel like settling down, anyway. I kinda feel like…" She looked around and shrugged, smiling, "Wandering Gaia."

Cait Sith nodded, his voice dropping to Reeve's, "Well, if you ever need a place to go, just find me."

"Thanks, Reeve." She smiled and nodded.

"Or you could come to Rocket Town!" Cid shouted, turning and walking backwards to throw her a grin.

"Or come to AVALANCHE!" Barret shouted, waving from his spot by Tifa and Cloud. "We could always use more recruits!"

"Cosmo Canyon will always welcome you!" Red XIII shouted.

"Hmm… the Shinra mansion has been vacant for several years…" Vincent said, not shouting but still being heard.

Then, Astrid's PHS rang and she answered it, wincing when Yuffie squealed, "You should come to Wutai, big sister! We'd have lots of fun!"

Astrid laughed and shook her head, looking at everyone and holding out her phone, "Thanks, all. I think I'll take you up on you offers at one point or another, so be warned."

Over with Tifa, Cloud and Barret, Tifa looked at Cloud and tilted her head, "Cloud… do you suppose it would be okay to trust Astrid with a few materia? It's still dangerous to walk around Gaia unprepared, and her sword did shatter…"

Cloud sighed and shook his head, "I suppose if we don't give her something, she'll end up killing herself, won't she?" He took out the pouch and dug around for a moment, taking our four materia and looking up, "Hey, Astrid!" When she looked at him, he threw the materia, "Here!"

Astrid caught the materia and looked down at them, feeling them individually. 'Restore… Ice… Shiva… B…' She stared at the last one, blinking. She then looked up at Cloud and held up the last materia, "You sure about this one? This is a bit… powerful, isn't it?"

Cloud shook his head, "I have never heard of a materia answering to a summoning the way Bahamut ZERO did to you… You earned it!"

Astrid smiled and nodded to Cloud, "Thanks, leader!"

Settled and satisfied, they all continued to drift away.

Astrid stood where she was and watched them go, smiling to herself. Then, a thought hit her and she turned to where Vincent was walking, running after him.

"Big brother! Wait!"

Vincent stopped and turned, looking at her with a raised brow, "Must you insist upon calling me that?"

She caught up with him and smirked, shrugging, "I just remembered that I left someone back in Nibelheim. Mind if I take you up on your offer now and join you?"

Vincent shrugged, "If you wish."

They set off for Nibelheim, Astrid smiling to herself. 'Dark Nation and I… we're the only ones left who really cared about Rufus Shinra. And hearing his voice all of those times makes me question of he's really dead… So I'll start looking, and keep looking, no matter how long it takes.

'Because Gaia is my home now. It's as simple as that. And, if I'm going to last here, I'm going to have to do what I can to make myself fit in. A while on the road, looking for him, meeting new people, doing new things… I'll learn to be as Gaian as possible.

'Marcus may be gone, but I'm going to do what he would have wanted me to do. I'll adapt.'

It's time to let life start anew. It's time to start over.


Rayna Lissesul: ...Yep, I went there. Heh, even if you didn't like it, there are no regrets on my behalf. I am sorry, though, if i screwed up any in-game details. Other than that, though... I'm satisfied.