Cloud shook his head, turning back to the ladder, and climbed back up to the deck of the Highwind. He walked past the others and up to Cid. "Let's go-she's not there." Cid nodded silently, and the airship took off and turned south, towards the only place that would comfortably house the entire group-Gold Saucer. Cid landed the airship near Corel and the group filed out. They walked through the dusty street, past the disheveled tents and crumbling houses, past the faded Gold Saucer advertisement leaning against a pile of rubble, and up the steps to the Ropeway. They walked in, each one silent, thinking of the same person-the one who had saved their lives.
The Ropeway pushed off from the station with a jolt, and those who were standing staggered a bit, with the exception of Vincent. The desert passed by below them and soon they felt the tram slow and lurch to a halt inside the Gold Saucer station. They filed out, headed for Ghost Square, still remaining silent, though Yuffie was grinning slightly, finding something funny in the silent figures. Even Cait Sith was not his normal cheery self.
They assembled in the main chamber of the hotel at Ghost Square, much the same way as they had the night Cloud had gone on the date with Aeris...except that Aeris was not there. She was somewhere in the Lifestream, or, perhaps, the Promised Land, wherever that might be. Cloud took up his position by the door and looked at each of them in turn.
To his right, standing by the ghosts at the chess table, was Barret, staring at his feet, probably wondering whether Marlene was safe, wondering where she was, wondering when he would next see her. He often worried about that. But, I'm worried about Marlene. I really just wanna be with her...always.
Yuffie stood nearby, still grinning at everyone. She was battered and bloodstained-she must have taken a real beating in the battle with Bizarro Sephiroth and no one had bothered to Cure her yet. But she was still grinning. Maybe she had stolen someone's Materia and was waiting to see how long it would be before they noticed. This an' that an' everything...MINE! And I'm never gonna give any up!!
Cait Sith was standing in front of the stairs, not bouncing, not brandishing his megaphone, just simply standing there, waiting. He looked at Cloud, grinned slightly, but the grin was half-hearted. The moogle shifted its wings nervously. He, too, was thinking of Aeris... She told me to 'Be strong.' I feel so happy.
Vincent stood in the corner, dark and silent, cold red gaze fixed on something that no one but he could see. Cloud looked at him for a moment, unable to determine his expression. Vincent lifted his head, looked Cloud in the eye. He showed no hint of weariness, despite the fact that he had fought in the battle against Safer Sephiroth as well as Bizarro Sephiroth, transforming several times during the battle. Sadness, pain, and loneliness, but Vincent wasn't about to say anything about it to anyone. Too much hope is the opposite of despair. An overpowering love may consume you in the end...
Cid was sitting in a chair to the left of Vincent, his spear propped against the wall nearby. He was smoking a cigarette-as always-clamped in his teeth. He looked anxious, probably wanting to repair the Highwind, reconstruct it into an Airship again. All right, you jokers! Hold me down with everything you got!! Geronimo!!
Nanaki sat on the floor near the door to the back room, flaming tail swishing back and forth idly. He was visibly tired. He had been one of the three to fight against Safer Sephiroth and had been the weakest in the group, not that he wasn't strong, but it had taken a lot out of him. He glanced up at Cloud, then lay down on the floor, resting his head on his paws and staring at the floor. I'm going to see it through to the end. For our future... And that of the planet...
Tifa stood to Cloud's left, looking a little sad, a little tired, too. She smiled weakly at him, looked at her feet. Cloud wondered what was wrong. There always seemed to be some feeling she was hiding that he couldn't figure out. He shook his head. She stood there, head down, waiting for someone to say something. No matter how close we are... we were far apart... before this.
"It seems that our journey has come to an end," Cloud said finally. "Sephiroth is dead. Shinra has fallen apart. Midgar has been destroyed. We don't really have any reasons to stay together, except for the fragile friendships we've developed over the past week or two... Maybe some of us will stick together, and maybe some will just go their separate ways."
The others nodded their agreement and Cloud continued on for a little bit. "I think I'll be going back to my villa in Costa del Sol... I've got nowhere else to go. If anyone wants to come with me, I'd appreciate the company, if not..." He shrugged, a gesture they were all familiar with. Nobody seemed to want to say anything. Goodbyes seemed to final. Slowly, the group dispersed. Barret was the first to go, anxious to see Marlene again. Cait Sith went with him, as the little girl was with Reeve. Yuffie bounced out next, trying to look innocent. Cid blinked and stood up. He cursed and ran after her.
Nanaki looked up, then stood slowly, stretching. He walked past Cloud, bumping his leg slightly, knowing that he was still upset about Aeris. Vincent sighed, stepped out from his shadowed corner. He turned his red gaze upon Cloud for a moment, then walked past him and out the door, not making any noise as he closed the door behind him.
Tifa looked around, realizing that she was the only one left. She took a few steps towards him, looked at her feet. After a moment, she lifted her gaze to his face. "Cloud, I......"
He shook his head. "I'll... I'll be all right. Time heals all wounds, right?" He managed a weak grin and another shrug.
She smiled hesitantly. "Yeah... But...... I..." She trailed off, having trouble getting the words out.
Cloud looked at her, slightly confused. "Something wrong?"
Tifa shook her head. "No... It's not that. Cloud..." She sighed and shook her head again. The words wouldn't come.
Cloud shrugged. "You can tell me later, okay?" Tifa nodded. Cloud turned towards the door, opened it for her. She smiled at him and walked out, then waited for him to take the lead. She followed him out of Ghost Square and to the Ropeway station. They had to wait there for a moment for the tram to return, then walked on, taking their seats. The gold chocobo, Sephie, had been brought down the Ropeway for them and was waiting in Corel for them. Cloud mounted, then reached a hand down to help Tifa up. She got up in front of him and he reached around her to take the reigns, heeling the chocobo lightly and setting it off at a trot, eastward, across the mountains towards Costa del Sol.
Vincent made his way south, along the side of the desert surrounding Gold Saucer, then turning west, up one of the mountains. Anything that got in his way, he killed in one shot. He always hit dead on, never missed. He continued up the steep, rocky slope, watching his footing, using his claw to steady himself, as his flesh hand held his Death Penalty. He reached the summit as the sun was nearing its peek in the sky. The lake at the bottom of the crater sparkled in the sunlight. He turned his emotionless gaze to the waterfall, but he was too far away to hear the rush of the water.
He started down the slope, taking his time, in no rush. Time no longer had any importance. It was suspended for him. He himself would never change, no matter what went on in the world around him. He would never die. Vincent shook his head. Shouldn't think about that now. Think about something else. Like what? Thirty years of nightmares only to be awakened to kill Lucrecia's son. He concentrated on his footing. No use thinking at all. It had never got him anywhere.
It was early afternoon when he reached the bottom of the slope. It did not matter. He turned, headed for the waterfall... and Lucrecia. It there was one emotion he had left, it was his hope that she was still there, still alive, that he could do something for her. The grass, flattened beneath his boots, sprang back up as soon as he had passed. Why could he not be so resilient? He was frozen, frozen in time. What he had said to Sephiroth... it no longer felt true. Now it seemed like it would be an eternity longer before his time finally came... if it ever would.
He reached the waterfall, paused to put his gun away, then walked behind it, not paying any attention to the water that splashed him from the cascade. Once he had passed through the hallway, it was surprisingly quiet. Lucrecia sat on the floor by the pulsing light that was her altar. Vincent walked over to her, silent, knelt down beside her.
She looked up at him, eyes saddened. "Vincent...... I was hoping... that I'd see you again... if I came here..."
He frowned in concern. "You sound as though you would not have another chance..."
She smiled slightly. "I wouldn't have. I'm... not going to be around for much longer. I can feel it. Even the Jenova can't keep me alive forever." Vincent nodded sadly, slowly accepting the truth. "But... I wanted to tell you some things..." She paused. "Most importantly, I want you to know that you never did anything wrong. None of this mess was your fault." Vincent opened his mouth to protest, but Lucrecia laid a slender finger over his lips. "No, I'll have none of that. And... I want you to look after Sephiroth..."
Vincent blinked. She let him speak. "But Sephiroth is dead..."
She shook her head. "Not yet. He has one more chance. I want you to watch over him, see that no harm comes to him. In five years time, he should return once more, just as he did last time... Vincent, promise me that you'll look after him." There was a pause. "Please, Vincent..."
He sighed, nodded. "I will. I promise."
She smiled, leaned against him, closing her eyes for a moment. "And one more thing before I return to the Planet..." He waited. "......Vincent...?"
"Yes?"
She opened her blue-green eyes, looked at him. "Do you still love me?"
"Yes."
Lucrecia smiled. "Good."
"......why do you say that?" he asked.
She took his remaining hand, held it in both of her own. "Because it's nice to know that you're loved back." It took a moment before Vincent understood. He blinked, stared at her, disbelief showing on his face. Lucrecia smiled at him, though her smile was tired now. "I have one more thing to ask of you, and I know it's going to be hard...... I want you to kiss me." Vincent blinked at her, not comprehending. She laughed quietly, lifted one hand up to touch his face. "Maybe it's going to be harder than I thought..."
After a long moment, Vincent freed his hand from her loose grasp and lifted it to her cheek. The skin was warm beneath his fingers. Hesitantly, he leaned forwards. I want you to kiss me. He brought his face close to Lucrecia's, closed his eyes, and gently pressed his lips against hers. Warmth... After a moment, he pulled back slowly, opening his eyes and looking at her. Lucrecia smiled, leaned against his chest. He held her to him. Warmth...
"Vincent... I have to go..." she murmured. "Goodbye..."
The crimson eyes glistened and he said softly, "Goodbye, Lucrecia...... I love you..."
"I love you, too," she whispered. The blue-green eyes slowly closed, her chest ceased to rise and fall, her heart stopped beating. Vincent sat there, holding the still form, fighting back tears as the warmth left the body. Finally, he lowered his head and wept silently, the sobs shaking his body, the tears falling from his face onto her soft brown hair. The minutes stretched into hours, the hours into days, the days into eternities as he wept. Slowly, the tears stopped falling and he lifted his head, looking at Lucrecia. She was dead... truly dead... He wondered to himself what he was to do with her body now that she no longer occupied it.
He stood, lifting the lifeless form with him, and carried it to the altar. The light was dim now, no longer bright, no longer pulsing like the beat of a heart, like the inhale and exhale of air. He laid the body down in front of the altar, knelt beside it for a moment. Lucrecia... I have nothing more to give you. I only hope that I can fulfill your wishes......
Vincent straightened, wiping the salty tears from his face. With a final glance at the body of Lucrecia, he turned and left the cave, heading up the opposite mountains, towards Nibelheim. The sky was lit with the brilliant fire of sunset, but he could not see the beauty in it. Lucrecia was gone. He reached Nibelheim after the sun had disappeared over the horizon. The sky had clouded over, the moon just barely visible, half-shrouded in clouds, casting an eerie glow upon the sky.
He entered the mansion and walked down to the basement. The side room was locked, as it always was, but he had the key in his pocket. He had always had a key. He opened the large wooden door and stepped inside, letting the door fall shut behind him. And all was darkness. Pitch black. But he had no need to see here. He knew his way around.
Vincent made his way to the one coffin that remained intact and opened the lid. He climbed in, laying back against the velvet lining, and closed the lid over top of him. There was no air, but he had long since stopped breathing. The blood-red eyes closed, and the nightmares began...
Nanaki paused at the bottom of the stone steps, looking up at his home town from below. He sighed. Things would not be the same, without Buganhagen. He walked slowly up the stairway, still tired, walking past the gatekeeper and not even noticing the man as he was welcomed. He was so tired... Nanaki pulled himself up onto the stone platform and lay down by the Cosmo Candle. He rested his head on his paws and quickly fell asleep.
His dreams were muddled, full of the yells of the Gi tribe and images of his father, the brave warrior, fighting them. There was the blurred image of his mother there too, tears in her eyes, telling a young cub that his father had run away. And there was the fading image of Seto standing atop the cliff, roaring defiance as the poisoned arrows of the Gi sank into his flesh...
Nanaki awoke during the night, standing and looking about for his mother, his father, before he realized that both were dead. They had been dead for a long time, and he was no longer a cub... He jumped down off the platform and headed up the stairway and inside the cave passages of Cosmo Canyon. He paused in front of the great sealed door, found the concealed button that opened it... and pushed it with his nose.
The door slid open with a groan, and he walked swiftly inside, making his way through the dark passageway and across the lakes of blood. He reached the end of the wide tunnel, where the ceiling opened up to reveal the moon, visible through misty clouds. The sky held an eerie glow to it, and his father's stone form was silhouetted against the light.
Nanaki leaped from rock to rock until he was standing beside his father. He looked up at the stone face, the mouth set in a ferocious snarl, the paws planted firmly on the ground, the arrows of the Gi tribe protruding from the stone flesh. Nanaki nuzzles his father's cold flank and lay down beside him. He watched as tears of crystal and diamond mingled with his own of salt and water...
Yuffie paused, looking across the short distance left to her hometown of Wutai. Her grin faded as she stared at the buildings. She felt in her pocket for the materia she had been allowed to keep. Not much. A few blues, some greens, and a red. What would her dad think? A measly eight materia? Another thought occurred to her: what if he wanted the materia she had equipped, too? Dad had always been greedy...
She crossed her arms and said to no one, "Well, I don't care. He's not gonna get any of my materia! That lazy old man never did anything to deserve it!" Yuffie stuck her tongue out at the town and marched confidently in...
Cid turned the Highwind away from the Wutai continent where he had dropped off Yuffie-though as far away from her hometown as he could manage. He headed back towards Midgar to drop off his crew. They had decided to go help out there, so he would let them off there and return to the remains of Rocket Town... and Shera. He didn't like to admit it, but he actually did love the woman. That was why he had saved her, right?
Cid shook his head and looked down at the ground below him, his gaze focusing on a tiny blue figure that was waving their arms up at the airplane...
Barret sat on the bed at the inn at Kalm, hugging Marlene to him as he rocked her back and forth. "Daddy, don't cry. Your whiskers hurt!" she told him.
If only Dyne could see her now... His little girl, already four years old. But Dyne was gone now. He had killed himself because he had thought his hands were too stained with blood, that he had nothing to live for. Barret shook his head slightly, still rocking back and forth. His weren't any cleaner, but he was going to stop the fighting now. Shinra was gone now-no more need to fight. He just wanted to be with Marlene...
Reeve peeked into the bedroom where Barret sat, holding Marlene. He paused to smile, then walked back down the stairs, not wanting to intrude upon the reunion. He stepped out of the inn and into the sunshine, squinting up at the clear blue sky. He sighed, looked down, stuffing his hands in his pockets. What was he going to do now? Shinra was gone-he was out of a job, not that he liked it very much anyway. He had never really fit in with the others of Cloud's group. They all knew him as Cait Sith, a bouncy, happy stuffed cat. But he wasn't like Cait Sith at all. He just liked pretending to be happy.
He looked down at the blue cobblestone street, kicked at it. Maybe he would go find the other Turks. It would be easier for him if he was in a group, even if the group was somewhat diminished now that Tseng was dead. Or, at least, they all assumed him to be dead. After the Temple of the Ancients, not one of them had seen him again.
Reeve sighed again and started walking out of Kalm, towards what remained of Midgar. He might as well check up on how the people were doing, see if Reno, Rude, or Elena were there...
Ifalna climbed up the ladder to her treehouse, seeing that her daughter was still in the same position as she had been for the past day or so. Aeris continued to watch the mirror, without moving. Ifalna sat down next to her, looking at the mirror as the view changed from Reeve to that of Tseng, lying on his back in the middle of the forest, dried blood coating his jacket. His eyes were closed, but his breathing was just barely audible.
Aeris's eyes widened. Tseng was still alive? After all this time? She wished that she could get word to the other Turks, to Elena, to anyone... There might still be a chance of saving his life... maybe. The sound of an airplane came into her range of hearing and she leaned forwards to watch what would happen to her childhood friend...
Tseng was vaguely aware of the noise of something rushing through the forest, running... He wondered if it was a monster-perhaps the thing could finally finish what Sephiroth had not. Days of laying there, apparently assumed dead, bleeding, suffering. He heard a voice exclaim something, but in his state of mind, he was unable to make out the words, or figure out who was speaking.
A moment later, he felt some of the pain subside and it took him a minute to realize that someone had used a cure spell on him. He struggled to open his eyes, saw a blur of blues and greens and browns. No good... he blinked a few times, then focused on the figure of Elena, crouched beside him, looking worried. He tried to speak, but his throat was dry and there was old blood in his mouth. He coughed, and winced, for this, too, was painful.
Elena bit her lip and held a cup of water to his lips. Tseng drank, gratefully, tried to sit up. His muscles didn't even respond. "Tseng..." Elena murmured. "What happened to you? We all thought you were dead..."
He grunted, spoke, his voice rasping. "Sephiroth... but... why did you... come back...?"
Elena shook her head minutely. "A hunch, I don't know..."
Tseng nodded, tried to reach for the cup again, but his hand only moved a few inches before falling back to his chest. Elena held it out for him to drink again and he did. He swallowed. "I... don't think... I'm going... to make it..."
Elena shook her head firmly. "No, you'll be alright. We can Cure you, right?"
Tseng winced. "No... won't work... anymore..."
"Then... we'll use a Phoenix Down," she said, eyes glistening.
"That... won't work either... Masamune... kills..." Tseng managed. Elena bit her lip again, a tear ran down her cheek. Tseng tried to smile. "Don't cry," he told her. "I was... already dead...... right?"
Elena shook her head again, said desperately, "No, you're not going to die!"
"Tell Aeris... that I'm sorry. I should never... have become a Turk..."
Elena blinked, then realized that he hadn't heard the news. "Tseng... Aeris is dead."
"Tell her... anyway," he insisted. She nodded silently, the tears streaming down her face now. He managed to lift a bloody hand to her cheek. His thought was blurred now, he didn't really understand his own words-knew that they made no sense anyway-as he said softly, "I'll be back with the snow." With that, his eyes closed, and everything faded away into nothingness...
Elena held his hand to her face, closing her eyes as she wept...
Tifa opened the door a crack and peered into Cloud's bedroom to see if he was awake. He was lying back on his bed, hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling. She opened the door further and he sat up, looking over at her. Tifa walked hesitantly over and sat down across from him on the other bed. "I, um, wanted to talk to you..." she said nervously.
"Okay," Cloud said. "You mean that thing you were trying to tell me before?" Tifa nodded, biting her lip. "So what's bothering you?"
She wished she could be so calm about this, but it was hard, so hard to tell him, after all this time. "Cloud, I......" She shook her head. "I don't know how to say this..."
Cloud shrugged. "Just say what you're thinking."
Tifa smiled at his attempt to help. "Yeah....... Well, you see, you're... more than a friend to me......" She trailed off, unable to say anything further. At least she had managed that. She took a deep breath, let it out, a bit relieved. Cloud was watching her, not quite comprehending, but looking somewhat uncertain. She waited a little, then continued. "I mean, I know you... you love Aeris... but..." She swallowed, made herself meet his blue eyes. "I love you, Cloud." There. She had finally said it.
Cloud stared at her, trying to speak, but not getting out any words. It wasn't surprising to her. All this time he had just considered her a friend, not even noticing the undeclared rivalry between Tifa and Aeris, though the two girls were friends. "But... but... I thought..." Cloud stuttered.
Tifa smiled weakly and lowered her gaze to the floor. She could feel her cheeks darken. "When you left Nibelheim that first time, I had you make that promise... I didn't want you to go... I guess I sorta had a crush on you then, like you did on me, but now... I know you don't... love me back, but I...... needed to tell you anyway."
Cloud finally understood. He nodded, looked down at his hands, nervous now. There were several minutes of awkward silence between the two. Finally, Cloud spoke. "Tifa, you've always been a good friend to me... but I don't know what to say......"
Tifa looked up, found herself meeting his gaze. "Your heart is elsewhere. It's not your fault, so don't worry about it. I'm more worried about you... because she's not here for you."
Cloud's expression saddened and he looked down again. "I... I don't know what to do. I really thought I was going to see her again. I almost thought I did... but I guess she's in the Promised Land... I hope she's happy there." Tifa nodded in agreement and another stretch of silence followed. "Tifa, what are we going to do?" he asked softly. Tifa was surprised by the question and she looked hard at Cloud. He really did look lost... so unlike the strong leader he had been. "We don't have anyone or any place to go back to, not like everyone else. There's just the two of us here, not knowing what to do."
"Cloud..." Tifa said, her voice just above a whisper. "I just want to stay by your side. I'm sure you'll figure out what to do someday." Cloud nodded silently and the two just sat there for several hours, in silent contemplation...