Disclaimer: Same as before, as usual

Chap. 26

The group of Avalanche has landed away from the explosion and it had cleared up now. Jenova was gone, as was Sephiroth. The Planet was safe once again...at a cost.

"Zack."

Aeris was seated on the ground, holding up Zack's head. Zack's eyes fluttered open and focused on her.

"Hey...good-looking. Did...we win?"

"Yes. We won. Now be still."

"Aeris. I just want you to know...I have and I will always love you."

"Zack." Tears began to streak down her soft face.

"Please...don't cry. You are too...beautiful to cry."

Aeris sniffed a bit more before stopping herself. She held his head up to her lap.

"Can you...so something for me?"

"What?"

"Smile." He raised his hand to her cheek,  "Let my last image of you be that way."

Aeris nodded and kissed him tenderly. When she backed away, she had a small smile on her face. Zack gave a small sigh.

"Thank...you...Aeris. Goodbye you all." Zack's eyes closed and he whispered, "Aeris. If you can...show me...the way to the...Promised Land."

His arm fell down and he stopped breathing.

"Zack."

Tifa looked over to Vincent, who had placed Lucrecia's body on the ground and was bent over it.

"I'm sorry Vincent."

Don't be. She got to do what she wanted. And in the end, she smiled.  As long as she was happy in the end, I will feel no sorrow." His hand dropped down and caressed her cheek.

"Goodbye...my love."

"Ahh."

Everyone turned to see Aeris surrounded by globes of white light. A green wave emanated from the ground.

"Aeris?"

"It's time. I have to go back."

"Back?"

"Yes. My work here is done. I have to return back to the Planet."

Cloud looked up at her sadly, "Must you go?"

"Yes. This is how it must be, Cloud. This is...who I am. The last Creta and the guardian of this world."

Cloud walked up to her as the energy continued to swirl around her and stood face-to-face. Tifa fidgeted slightly, but remained still. Cloud then embraced Aeris in a warm hug in which Aeris returned.

"So I guess this is goodbye."

"No. I will always be here." She began to fade and the energy sprinkled on Zack and Lucrecia, causing them to fade as well.

"Think about me, will you all?"

Barret nodded, "Sure."

Red XIII agreed, "Always."

"No problem." Yuffie added.

"Okay." Cid answered.

"Thank you...for everything, Aeris." was Tifa's response.

Cath Sith jumped a bit, "We'll miss you."

Cloud simply nodded and Aeris whispered to him, "Remember what we talked about."

"I will. Goodbye Aeris."

The sparkle of light grew even more and Lucrecia and Zack faded away. Aeris turned to give one final wave before completely disappearing.

"See ya around."

With that, the young flower girl disappeared into the sunset. As they watched, Tifa moved closer to Cloud and let her hand drift. Cloud noticed and let his hand down and clasped hers, squeezing it slightly. She returned it and gave a small smile. But they seemed to have forgotten that there were others with them.

"About time." Barret and Cid grumbled at the same time.

Years later...

"So how are they, doc?"

The group had reassembled at the hospital. Barret with Marlene, Red XIII with Yuffie, in human form, and Cid with Shera.

"Are you family?"

"Friends."

"Mrs Strife is okay and resting comfortably. As for Mr. Strife, I believe he's still nursing his hand now."

Barret laughed, "Hahaha. I wish I could have seen that." Turning back to the doctor, "Can we go see them?"

"Oh yes. But it'll has to be brief."

As the doctor lead them to the room, Cait Sith noticed something.

"Where's Vincent?"

Cid answered him, "No one knows. He went traveling awhile ago and no one has seen him since."

Shera shook her head sadly, "Poor guy. I guess he took her death a lot harder than I thought."

"Now this is hardly the time to speak of death."

Everyone's head snapped up. There standing in front of the door was...

"Vincent!"

Vincent waved at them.

"When did you get here?"

"An hour ago. Good thing too. I had to help Cloud out to get his hand checked out. Man, can he scream."

They all entered the room to see Tifa in bed. She looked exhausted, but was smiling.

"Hey guys."

"Heyy, Tifa. You look like crap."

She gave a fake frown, "Thanks for the encouragement."

The nurse then brought in two bundles of cloth.

"Mrs. Strife. Your son and daughter."

Yuffie smiled, "Wow, twins. I know how that feels."

Red XIII cringed a bit, "Yeah."

Yuffie saw his expression, "I said I was sorry. You try giving birth to two children at once."

"That doesn't mean you should try and bite my head off. Literally."

"Speaking of which, where's the proud father?"

"Right here."

Turning to the side, they saw Cloud come in. His right hand was wrapped in bandaged. Everyone laughed, even Red XIII and Vincent.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Get it out. Get it all out."

"So what are their names?"

Cloud sat on a chair next to Tifa as she answered, "Aerith and Zack."

"Those names?"

"Yeah. Without them, we wouldn't even be here. I figure this would be our way of honoring them."

The group nodded and the doctor returned, "Alright, it's time for you to leave now. She needs her rest."

Everyone headed for the door and walked out, leaving Cloud, Tifa and their children.

"Mr. Cloud, you too."

Cloud nodded and gave Aerith and Zack a small kiss on their foreheads and moved over and gave Tifa a tender kiss on the lips.

"See ya in the morning."

Tifa smiled and nodded and Cloud left the room.

Aeris, Zack. I will always remember you. And yes, even you Sephiroth.

Unbeknownst to all of them, a shadowy figure was watching everything from outside. She had a sweet smile on her face as she saw what transpired. Another figure soon joined her.

"Did you hear? They named them after us."

"Yeah. You always were the best, Cloud."

"It's strange."

Two more figures joined them, one male, and the other female.

"What is, Sephy?"

"One, don't call me that. Two, its about Zack. His hair is...like mine."

"Don't worry. I'm sure the children will be in a real, good family."

Sephiroth moved toward the window as Tifa slept. Opening his fist, he left a shining red materia near the flowers and moved away.

"I have given them so much pain. But perhaps a time will come when I can help them."

"Sephiroth. I though you were going to let it go."

"I am. This is the way I will do it. As a summon."

"Come on. We've been here long enough. Let's return."

"Yes, mother."

AN: Finally finished. You know, this came out a lot better than I planned. I'd like to thank everyone for your reviews and even if you didn't, thanks for reading. Sayonara.