Hope Gone
Summary: Cloud's idea doesn't go as planned.
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Don't own it.
6 months later...
A baby. In all the chaos in the hospital Aeris
managed to bring a life into the world. A baby boy, Ewan Joseph Charles
McGregor, or E.J. as his parents call him. Little E.J. was a blessing from
the Lifestream to bring two drifting people back together. Aeris and Seth
had not fought since Aeris told him she was pregnant. Especially after
a mysterious assassination attempt almost took Seth away from her. Three
inches to the left and E.J. would have no father. After that day she had
forbade Seth to die, he was not about to leave her like her parents had.
Cloud Strife was the angriest person in the Midgar
Union Hospital on the day of E.J.'s birth. His plan to have Seth killed
was thwarted by an amateur hit man. If it weren't for him, Cloud would
be the one holding Aeris's hand as she pushed a child out of her womb.
But no, it had to be ruined by the miss of a single bullet. One bullet
would have changed the whole outcome of today. For one thing, he would
not be in a waiting room with his closest friends while the women he loved
screamed in pain.
The worst part was when Seth came out of the delivery
room with E.J. in his arms. The baby was so small and fragile. Everyone
except for Cloud swarmed around Seth to get a good look at the newest member
of Avalanche. The child's hair was was ash colored, his eyes were a shimmering
blue and most of his facial features seemed to be modeled after his mother.
This wasn't fair. Cloud was supposed to be the
one with a new baby in his hands, his friends crowded around him. He was
supposed to be the one on the receiving end of the first time E.J. called
someone daddy. No, Seth had to live, he just had to pull through. Three
inches. That would have made the difference. Three inches and Cloud would
be a father.
"How does it feel?" Cloud asked Seth later that
night. Nobody but the two of them and Seth's sleeping son were in the room.
Everyone had headed back to their headquarters near the hospital and Aeris
was sleeping peacefully. Seth looked up from the book he was reading, sleep
so far that night had not found him that well.
"How does what feel?" Seth asked innocently. Cloud
sat down in the empty chair beside him and stared down at E.J. McGregor.
"To be a father," Cloud replied. He looked up
to look into Seth's blue eyes, the were the same that had passed onto his
son. Seth smiled lightly as though Cloud had just told him a fairly amusing
joke.
"It's like nothing else I've ever felt before.
It's incredible," Seth answered. Cloud looked away from him. He just couldn't
look into those blue eyes, sparkling with hope of a bright future. He reached
into his pocket and felt Vincent's handgun with a silence sitting idle,
waiting to be used.
"I have a present for you," Cloud said. Surprise
took over Seth's handsome features. He wasn't expecting a gift from Cloud,
not even if he had just had a son. Horror replaced surprise as he saw the
gun in Cloud's hands. Cloud was shaking from head to toe. He looked as
though he were ready to cry. He stood up, gun still pointed at Seth and
stood in front of the former scientist.
"Please, Cloud, not in front of my son. I don't
care if you kill me, just not in front of my son," Seth pleaded. Cloud
actually seem to think over this idea. The tad bit of compassion on his
face was soon dispersed by anger and hatred.
"All I wanted was Aeris and you just couldn't
give her up. Why?!" Cloud asked. Seth flinched as the gun was moved closer
to his face.
"Because I love her too much. You know that if
you kill me she'll never be able to forgive you," Seth said. Cloud nodded
his head vigorously. Tears began to will their way into his eyes and fog
up his vision. Seth sat, staring at the end of the gun, unafraid.
"I know! She loves you! Is it too much to ask
for her love?!" Cloud yelled heavenward. For a moment it looked as if he
expected and answer back. "Why did she have to love you?" Cloud whispered.
"Put down the gun, Cloud. You're her friend and
she cares for you," Seth replied. Slowly Cloud lowered the pistol, but
kept it hanging loosely in his hand. Seth stood up carefully and placed
a hand on Cloud's shoulder as the blond man began to cry, his head sagging
sadly. Suddenly an idea presented itself to Cloud. His head snapped up
as if he were waking suddenly from a dream. He began to walk toward Aeris's
room.
From a distance he heard Seth call his name. Cloud
did not answer, but instead trudged into Aeris's room, it almost seemed
as if he were sleepwalking. She sat awake, staring out the window in thought.
She turned her attention to Cloud as soon as he had stepped through the
door. She gave Seth a questioning look to which he shrugged in reply.
"Aeris," Cloud whispered, it seemed almost to
himself, "I love you"
Before Seth or Aeris could say or do anything,
Cloud raised the gun to his temple and pulled the trigger. Not a sound
came from the gun, the silencer doing its job well, the gun doing its even
better. Cloud slumped lifelessly to the ground, blood pooling around him.
Seth raced to his body, frantically checking for a pulse as Aeris repeatedly
pressed the call button. It was all for none. Cloud Strife was finally
at home in the Lifestream.
The sky was gray and angry over head, but no rain
fell from the dark clouds. Avalanche stood in a semicircle around an open
grave, the marble tombstone above it simply reading: CLOUD STRIFE. The
priest who had performed the surface had left long before, but Cloud's
closest and dearest friends could not force themselves to leave their leader's
side.
"I can't do this any longer, Vinny. Let's go,"
Yuffie cried. Vincent nodded his head heavily and placed his human arm
around her shoulders, leading her away from the grave. Barret shook his
head in sorrow, he was now the leader of Avalanche. This was definitely
not the way he wanted it to happen.
"Good bye, buddy," Cid whispered almost inaudibly
and followed Barret back to the Highwind. Tifa kissed her finger tips and
placed them over Cloud's first name. She walked away without saying a word,
tears spilling down her cheeks. Red and Cait Sith just stared down the
into the ground where Cloud's casket lay.
"Is it all right if I say good bye alone?" Aeris
asked Seth. He nodded his head and followed Cait Sith and Red to the Highwind.
Once he was out of ear shot she kneeled down and picked up a handful of
dirt. An hour before they had all pick up dirt and threw it onto his grave,
but right now it was more intimate. She threw the dirt to lay upon the
rest of the dirt.
"Cloud," Aeris voice said, barely above a whisper,
"I love you, too."
The End
Author's Note: Dudes, okay, I know it looks bad that I
killed off Cloud, but that was the best ending I could think of. I actually
like the pairing of Cloud and Aeris, but I just thought it would be more
fun to write if I didn't put them together. Sorry to all the Cloud/Aeris
fans out there. I'll write another fanfiction that centers around them
as a couple, okay? Hope you liked the story. R&R, please!!!
