Chapter 29: What Friends are For
"He's gone." Red XIII said sadly as Cloud and Tifa caught up to him. They were on the outskirts of Alexandria, right before the great cliff that lead to evil forest.
"What do you mean he's gone???" Tifa breathed heavily as she caught up to Red.
"He turned into Chaos and flew off to the west."
Cloud caught up with Tifa, breathing heavily. "Where is he?"
"He's gone." Tifa repeated Red's words. "Something's wrong with him."
"I could have told you that from the start." Cloud moaned.
"He has no idea where he is or what he's against, but he throws his life away to fight." Red XIII said.
"The last thing he said was which direction is Burmecia. That's where EON is. Obviously he went to go fight it, but he's doing it alone." Tifa sighed.
"Well, lets get the others and go to Burmevilia or whatever it is." Cloud said.
"It's not that easy." Memoria appeared behind Cloud, standing with her hair in the wind and holding the baby moogle. "EON has defeated you once, you will need help to try to defeat it."
"Zidane! We can get him and his friends to help." Cloud snapped his fingers.
"How do you know they will help us?" Red asked.
"Zidane said he was having similar dreams, so he knows what we're up against." Cloud replied.
"But Cloud, even with all of us and all of them, we still might not be able to do it! It's the size of a mountain and you can't forget Judgement!" Tifa worried.
"Judgement is no different than Sephiroth. If we defeated him, we can take on Judgement!" Cloud said.
"But Cloud, what if we don't make it? What if he proves too much for us?" Red XIII sighed.
"Have faith. I know if you have the courage, you can beat em!" Memoria said.
"Right. We have to get there before Vincent!" Cloud said. "Let's mosey!"
Tifa and Red nodded and started to run back to the Alexandrian castle. Memoria stared at them as they ran off into the city streets.
"I hope you're right Cloud, but just leave Judgement up to me." Memoria whispered.
** *
"Are ya' sho' man dis doodad gots'ta hold out?" Barret asked as the Red Rose, the royal airship took off.
"Why don't we get the Lindblum fleet to take it out?" Steiner asked.
"Look, the Jonun fleet in our world didn't hold out, so I'm sure your fleet won't either." Cait Sith mumbled.
"Are you sure we should head off without Cloud, Tifa, and Red? I mean what if they get lost or something?" Yuffie moaned.
"I'm sure your friends can handle themselves out there." Freya said. Zidane had informed her rather hastily about the whole predicament as the Red Rose was being launched.
"C'mon people! Liven up! This will be the greatest fight we've ever been in!" Zidane said.
"Um, Zidane. I think that's a reason not to liven up." Vivi grumbled.
"Alright Zidane. How long til this flying boat gets to Burmecia?" Cid asked as he lit a cigarette.
"About an hour." Steiner replied.
A long whale like song was heard and in the distance, a hand like structure composed of metal and bone rose over the mountains. In the metallic palm was the red eye.
"Shi! It's evolvin!" Cid shouted.
"It' what?" Vivi asked.
"I's evolvin'. De mo'e it evolves de stronga' it digs" Barret said.
"I just hope Judgement didn't split into two also…" Yuffie sighed.
"Um, guys. EON evolved in our world also." Cait Sith yelled.
"%#$^&^$#%%@%@@%@^%#^^^!" Cid shouted as he stomped the deck.
"O.K. When we get there, I'm sure this thing has some minions, so we'll fight them until we find a way in. And then will traverse it until we find something like the brain. We then kill that and escape!" Zidane smiled.
"Uh, Zidane. I think you let all that fighting get to your head." Vivi said.
"I agree with master Vivi. This thing may be more than a match for us." Steiner said.
"This guy's real tough. And you forgot all about Judgement yo. Judgement is going to be like fightin Seph all over again!" Barret remarked.
"Oh great…" Yuffie grumbled. "Seph was almost impossible!"
"The word is almost. And Judgement is probably almost impossible too. So there's a chance we can beat him!" Cid said happily.
"If you kill it there, will it die here?" Cait Sith asked.
"I have no freakin idea." Zidane sighed. "But we gotta save Burmecia too. If you see any civilians, evacuate them!"
"I think it's too late for that. The EON spawn probably killed them all and used their souls." Cait Sith replied.
"What?! Impossible! There's no way that could happen!" Freya shouted. "Irontail's there, and he'll get rid of any monster that attacks!"
** *
"Why didn't you wait for your friends?" Kuriko, the little black mage, asked Vincent as he ran through the Burmecian rain. She was having a hard time keeping up to him.
"…I have no friends. You shouldn't be near me, you'll just get hurt." Vincent replied.
"Everyone has friends. Even Kuja had one friend. Uncle Zidane says that no one should die without a friend."
"He's wrong. I have never had any friends. I am incapable of a bond that creates friends." Vincent stopped. Kuriko and him were before the Burmecian gate, but before them loomed the enormous hand and arm of EON. Large, metallic, insect like creatures dripping with water and blood scurried everywhere. Lightning flashed in the background.
"You can't take on that thing alone. You will only get hurt." Kuriko said to Vincent.
"It is the only way to appease her."
"By getting yourself killed? I don't think anyone would want that."
"I must defeat EON by myself."
"No! I won't let you."
Vincent turned to look at the little black mage. So innocent, so pure. Something he could never achieve. "What do you know about my pains, about my sufferings? You are just a little girl! If you get in my way, I will be forced to kill you."
"Be that way, but I'll be your friend, Mister Vincent! Not even you deserve to die without a friend. And if my death is the only way you'll become aware of that, then so be it." A tear began to form under her little yellow eye.
"Why are you willing to sacrifice yourself for me. Friendship means nothing to me. Only to gain her forgiveness." Vincent was amazed that such a small girl that barely knew him would sacrifice her life for a point as trivial as friendship. This reminded him of someone, someone he barley knew. In the rain and thunder, amongst the bloodshed and evil, Vincent gave a small tear.
{Stop pretending you have these emotions. You are incapable of these feelings. Because you are…a puppet.}
{A puppet?}
{Yes, a puppet.}
Sephiroth than escaped, and Jenova life was slain. The team had watched from the shore, as Cloud carried her body into the clear, blue lake. Tifa had run off, crying her eyes out. Yuffie was crying on Barrets shoulder. Barret had his hand on his heart. Cid looked at the ground, trying not to cry. Cait Sith was indeed crying. How a machine could weep was beyond Vincent. Red XIII howled at the moon in her honor. But Vincent did not move. He did not blink. He stood there, without a care in his heart, but a question in his mind. Why would someone that barely knew him and the rest of the planet sacrifice her life? She had so many things to live for, but selflessly threw it all away so she could save the lives of people that didn't even know her. Cloud was the most affected. He had never seen Cloud cry before. A strong man like him shouldn't have cried. But he did, and Vincent felt sorry for him. And now, this little girl was willing to do the same Aeris did for him. And now he understood.
"You were doomed ever since you lost the ability to love." Memoria said. She appeared next to Kuriko and gazed into Vincent's crimson eyes. "I gaze into your eyes, searching. Searching for the monster you claim to be. But I do not find the monster because he doesn't exist. These are not the eyes of a monster, but the eyes of a man."
"A man that has forgotten how to love. How to embrace another. How to have friends and care for them. I'm sure whoever she is that you care for so much would be disappointed by your actions. Willing to die for the smallest reason, without any friends…" Kuriko said. The rain poured even harder and the EON spawn started to approach, but Vincent did not care.
{We all feel loss Vincent, but we all must get over it. Cloud lost Aeris. Barret lost Dyne. Tifa lost her father. I myself have lost my grandfather Bugenhagen. Reeve lost everything he knew when Meteor struck. Cid lost his first chance at going into space. You see, we all feel loss, but we have all got over it. Life is too short to spend it suffering due to something you had no part of. If she could see you now, she would probably be disappointed.}
{…You think so?}
{I know so. We got a new threat to think of.}
The EON spawn grew ever closer, spanning their four butterfly wings as they stalked their new prey. Lightning flashed and thunder roared. The whale song of EON called out to the world, and the dead silence of Burmecia gave to the scene. Yet Vincent did not care.
"You must have friends, or you do not live after death. In who's memories will you live on in if you do not have a friend?" Kuriko asked.
"You see, you have already won her forgiveness along time ago. She was never mad at you in the first place, it was all in your mind. She died because she refused to do anything after her son was taken away from her. She died because of her own actions, not yours." Memoria said.
"EON is just trying to make you go crazy. Don't listen to the voices. I only listen to the voices that are good and have something to say. I hear the planet talking to me all the time." Kuriko said.
The EON Spawns were only a few yards away from the troubled man and the two children. Their mechanical feet slopped in the mud as they opened their gruesome jaws to let loose shrieks of insanity.
"It takes all of us to defeat him. Judgement and EON cannot be stopped by a single man, but by a force of love, they can be stopped." Memoria said.
"…Thank you…" Vincent sighed.
Vincent raised his head and looked in the direction of EON through the rain. He slowly raised the death penalty and aimed it at the oncoming horde. "…Thank you…Aeris…" He whispered. "I will be joining you soon. I can't take all these things."
Vincent then shouted at the top of his lungs. "BUT I'LL TAKE OUT AS MANY OF YOUR SPAWN AS I CAN AND FREE THEIR SOULS, EON!" He fired into the horde, taking out one. "FOR LUCRECIA!" he fired again, killing another. "FOR AVALANCHE!" He repeated fire on another. "FOR PLANET!" Another shot. "AND FOR AERIS!" Yet as how many times he fired, the horde seemed to continue. There was always one to take the place of a fallen.
"Are we friends?" Kuriko asked as she let loose a volley of fireballs into the rain.
"…Yes. Thank you, friend Kuriko." He fired.
"Ultima Spire!" Memoria shouted. A green tower appeared in the horde and the exploded, killing many of the spawn, but a small dent it made in the horde numbers. Memoria vanished.
"At least you'll die with a friend." Vincent said as he shot another bullet. The EON spawn were now on top of the two. They were no longer seen under the amount of insect like beasts.
"Lucrecia would have been proud…" Memoria whispered from far above.