"Hey Flip..." Tifa walked out of the former bakery and looked at her teen friend. "Aeris healed Cloud up. He's still knocked out, but his body is in good shape" The boy turned his neck around to look at her; streams of rain running down his jacket and his body.

"We're going to need him. It's heading this way" A bolt of lightning charged up the sky. Phoenix shrugged his shoulders; the gray jacket falling off those same shoulders. Phoenix whipped his arms around and within a moment held the jacket in his hand. He casually tossed it to the side. Water splashed up from the puddle it landed in. "We need to be ready. This is our best chance at destroying this beast" Phoenix cracked his knuckles and ducked down.

"Right...hey...you know that huge blast you did when we killed Sephiroth?" Tifa cracked her own knuckles and looked forward. The distant roar was becoming not-so-distant. "How long do you think it would take for you to fire that off?"

"I'd need to concentrate for about ten seconds or more" His hands gave off a silver glow. "I'm not sure I can charge up that quickly now...."

"Look, when Aeris shows up, we can try to distract it for you. If you hit it hard enough, it may die" Tifa took a deep breathe. "Or I can get behind it...you know, if this thing gets out of here-"

"That is not an opinion" Phoenix did not allow her to finish. A shadow in the distance was moving closer and closer towards them. Tifa took a few steps up beside him; her feet splashing through the puddles. "Let the battle be joined"

"Remember; stick, juke, and move. We're faster than him...barely" Tifa and Phoenix both dropped down into a fighting stance as the shadow approaching became the monster. After unleashing his trade-mark roar and pose, he sprinted towards them. Tifa cart-wheeled to the left while Phoenix ran to the right. The monster swung its giant sword-arm at a now-standing Tifa, who ducked down and punched towards its face. But she missed by half a foot; Phoenix ran up behind it and kicked out its knee from behind. The monster stumbled forward; now Tifa unleashed a huge punch to the mid-section. Phoenix grabbed the staggering monster around the waste and planted his feet. Leaning backwards, Phoenix somehow found the strength to throw the huge monster of his head. He released the hold in mid-air and let the beast fall right on its head. Flip rolled forward and stayed on his hands and knees; Tifa waited until the monster starting standing until she made her move. She ran forward and sprung off the boy's back. Her extended feet caught the monster right in the chest and knocked it down onto its back again. "Yes...!" Tifa pushed off the ground and got to her feet.

"Watch out!" Phoenix tried to warn her but it was too late; Boomer had grasped her around the upper-chest and ran forward. Phoenix tried to attack the holding arm but he got swatted aside by the sword-arm. Tifa kicked her legs upwards and wrapped them around the monster's arm. Using its own movement, she pulled downward and catapulted the beast into the ground again. But she landed on the ground hard; air became far to scarce for her suddenly. The monster got to its huge feet before Tifa could catch a breathe. "Feel it!" A silver blast hit Boomer right in the chest. Phoenix came sprinting forward at him; he somersaulted off his chest and chopped his neck on his way down. Boomer did not move except to stalk closer. Phoenix landed on the ground and sent another silver blast into its massive body. Phoenix scrambled backwards, firing small blast and blast at the monster. Each one hit; each one failed to slow Boomer down.

"Get out of-" Tifa came up from the side and threw at kick at the hideous face of the creature. Instead of the face, it hits the large open hand. That hand clamped down on her thin leg and gave Tifa the unwanted ability to scream in total pain. Hearing his oncoming footsteps through the puddles, Boomer swung his sword-arm and nailed the young Flip right in the shoulder blade. Tifa somersaulted out of the leg hold as her only ally currently in the fight fell to the side of the fight. Tifa instantly blocked her face as he feet settled on the wet pavement; the monster's huge hand slammed into that protection and knocked her staggering backwards. Tifa balled her fists up and leapt forward; her fist glowing with energy. "Die!" Boomer roared in pain as the fist full of energy exploded on its face. Tifa fell to one knee as Boomer fell onto its back. The cold rain drops covered her face as she watched the monster get to its feet.

"Ka..." Phoenix weakly got to his own feet and held his hands back in a cup-shape. Streams of energy gathered around his hands as he pulled them backwards; his body twisting while his eyes were locked on the beast. "Me..." Boomer heard that line and turned towards him; his mangled eyes lighting up with anger. The beast sprinted, slower than before, towards his silver-haired target. "Ha..." Phoenix kept his eyes locked on the beast and kept trying to gather energy. Tifa got to her feet and ran behind the monster. "Me..." Flip grunted; the energy forming a sun-like effect from his body. Tifa threw her arms outwards and tried to grab the beast legs bug was two inches too short.. "Ha...!" Phoenix threw his cup-shaped hands forward; the energy beam flying upwards at where Boomer's head had been. Had been, for the monster had ducked down and used its large shoulder as a battering ram. That same shoulder was covered with the boy's blood after he spit up from the sudden impact to his chest.

"Flip!" Tifa watched in horror; the monster grabbed the boy around the throat and went running towards the closest building. And even though she could close her eyes, she could not close her ears. And the sound of the glass shattering from the boy's impact caused Tifa to shiver. "Damn you!" Tifa's eyes flung open with anger. Now fueled by anger, Tifa went running towards the beast. Boomer turned around and roared at her before running towards her as well; both moving towards at each other with bad intentions on their minds. Just as they were about to collide, Tifa jumped to the side and extended her legs backwards; the monster tripped forward. It's mangled face got even more mangled thanks to the hard cement. The monster rolled over and leaned up, but Tifa leapt onto its chest and slammed her fist into its face. "Stay down and die!" Tifa reared back and repeatedly punched the monster in the face; her fists pumping like pistons. The monster stopped stirring; which caused Tifa to stop punching its horrid face. A strange green ooze leaked out of some of the seems in the monster's face. "It's bleeding...it's going to-"

"Boom!" The monster's fist grasped Tifa's body and clamped onto it tightly. Tifa's body tried to cough; only a small trail of blood left her face. Boomer stood up and squeezed her body even harder; with her arms trapped under the hold, Tifa was helpless. Her head fell backwards; her mouth hung open as blood trickled out of her mouth. Boomer lifted its sword arm upwards and growled; Tifa leaned her head forward enough to know that the sword was aimed at ending her life.

"Braver!" Tifa heard the voice but did not see the voice. She did see the sword-arm of the monster for another moment, before it fell off the monster's body. Boomer dropped the near-dead Tifa and roared in pain. Through her tears and the sky's rain, Tifa could see her ex-SOLDIER angel standing over her. "I told you Tifa...always will protect you" Cloud turned to Boomer and held the Ultimate Weapon in his hands. He was gasping for breathe already. Tifa nodded her head and closed her eyes.

"Tifa...! Oh, I knew this was a bad idea...!" Aeris fell to her knees next to her friend and forced her hands together in a praying position. Just as her green energy gathered around her hands, Aeris looked up and around. "Where's my brother?" Aeris screamed and got to her feet; her staff bouncing around on her back.

"Building...building..." Tifa forced out before her body heaved out a large amount of blood. Aeris' eyes went wide as she placed a hand over her heard. That lasted only a moment until she knelt back down next to Tifa and began to gather her healing energies again. Boomer screamed loudly; green ooze leaking from where it's arm had been. The monster bent down and grabbed the arm and slammed it into his open shoulder-blade. It let the arm go and watched it fall to the ground.

"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Despite losing an arm, the monster seemed stronger than ever. Sword in front of him, Cloud ran at the monster as fast as his damaged body would allow him. The monster swatted at him with his only remaining hand, but Cloud ducked down and swung his sword into the monster's chest. Boomer reared back before, from no where, jumping in the air and spin-kicking Cloud right in the face. Cloud and his sword flew into the air in different directions; both bounced off the ground when they hit it. Thunder rocked the sky above them all. Boomer staggered over towards Cloud; its massive body covered in its sick green ooze. Seeing Tifa's damaged body breathing without struggling, Aeris stood up and pulled the Princess Guard off her back.

"Hey you!" Aeris took a few shaky steps forward; the rain dripping down her face. "Come on you big...jerk!" Aeris took a step back when the monster turned away from Cloud and sprinted towards her. She took a deep breathe and ran towards it, jumping and swinging her staff downward at its massive body. The staff never hit it; the monster's huge knee hit her right in the gut. Boomer grabbed her by the back of the neck and tossed her to the ground. Rolling over, Aeris got to her knees and groaned. Boomer ran forward and punted her right in the ribs. Aeris rolled along the ground and closed her eyes.

"Raaaaaaaaaaaa!" Boomer reared backwards; his screams sounding like laughter. Aeris forced her eyes open and got to her knees. She looked at the monster with horror; she knew Tifa and Cloud were both done. She got to her one knee and watched as the huge monster stalked towards her; it's bleeding body moving slower than ever. Then, from the building to the left, a bright silver light pierced through the darkness of the storm. Then a huge silver explosion erupted from the building. Boomer turned towards the building with the broken front glass window and watched as Flip gathered energy all around his body.

"Final....!" Flip put his hands together in front of his body; silver energy charging all around him. Boomer weakly ran forward towards Phoenix; its body now showing the wear and tear of the battles it had been through. The silver energy pushed forward; the glass blowing out totally from the window. Boomer mustered some energy and jumped towards the empty window opening. "Flash!!" Phoenix screamed; a giant silver energy beam emitted from Phoenix's hands and smashed into the monster's body. It went flying backwards on the beam; it sailed in the air for fifty feet until it smashed into the ground and rolled over a few times. Phoenix took a deep breathe and fell to his knees; his body begging for a rest. Then, a new groan entered his head; the building started to fall over. "Not good..." Phoenix jumped out the empty window as the building crumbled behind him. He jumped for safety and covered his head as the building looked like the rest of the buildings in Midgar; destroyed.

"Phoenix, move...!" Aeris's green eyes went wide as a large piece of rubble landed right on top of her brother. Her hurt body moved forward as fast as she could; her aching legs trying to go faster than they could. Phoenix groaned underneath the old wall as he tried to pull himself out. Aeris fell to her knees next to him and pushed the rubble up. "Come on, get out...!" Aeris wrapped her hands around his body and pulled him out from beneath the wall.

"So I stop the monster...and the wall hurts me..." Phoenix spat out. Bright red blood dripped out of his mouth. Aeris held his damaged body close to her; tears dripping down her face. The blood dripped onto her pink dress; giving it a new design that no one wanted to see.

"You're not dying...I'm gonna heal you; you're gonna heal yourself...!" Aeris' body began to glow its gentle green glow. Soon the trail of blood out of his mouth had stopped and his breathing came easier. "I told you...you're going to be fine" Aeris closed her eyes and smiled softly. Her brother had ceased moving; his body getting the rest it clearly needed. Aeris sighed contently and kept her green healing wind over him.

"Boom!" Aeris' eyes shot open; a shadow had covered over her. She looked up in horror to see the once black-monster standing over her. It's body was ripping apart it seemed; green ooze spewing from the busting seems of its huge body. Aeris pulled her brother close to her and put her hands over his body; ducked her head down and closed her eyes.

"Just die...!" Aeris looked again and wondered if the voice had been a mirage. Until the head of the monster fell off. Aeris squirmed backwards as the body fell forward; the green ooze spewing from its neck and covering the ground. Cloud stood there; his sword covered in the green ooze now. "It just never listened....never wanted to die" Cloud weakly grinned at her. Phoenix gently pushed away from his sister and looked at the headless monster.

"It's dead...I...we killed it" Phoenix went to stand up but stumbled. Cloud reached forward and grabbed his right arm; Aeris got to her feet and threw her body underneath that arm and helped him stand up.

"Yeah, we did..." Tifa limped over towards them. She stood next to Cloud and looked down at the ooze-covered monster. Cloud put his arm around her; Tifa instantly put her head against him and looked down. "If it gets back up..."

"I'm running" Phoenix calmly stated. Aeris looked up at him; her lips trembling with giggles. Aeris put her head against his chest and let her giggles out of the bag again. Tifa let out a few giggled but stopped and placed a hand on her injured ribs. Cloud just grinned at them, then looked down at Tifa. All of them stared down at the headless monster and watched the rain pound the body. The sky cracked with thunder and filled with lightning.

"Let's mosey..." Cloud turned and began to walk away; Tifa at his side. Neither was helping the other for neither could walk alone; they required each other to move along. Aeris began to walk but her brother refused to move. She looked up and blinked at him.

"What is it Phoenix...I mean, what is it Flip?" Aeris questioned. Phoenix blinked his mismatched eyes in confusion. He looked down at his sister in a total state of confusion.

"Did he just say mosey?"


"How did it turn out Overton?"

"Very well sir. As we suspected, they went after Dallin Overton instead of myself. His past hatred for Reeve proved to be more than enough reason to hunt him down"

"And there is no evidence suggesting they come after you?"

"If they have any, its not enough to kill me. Plus the Turks are leaving town"

"We were correct in assuming he'd contact them. I still wish we had killed him"

"We got what we wanted out of him. No sense worrying about him now Malore"

"I know Overton. Any news on Project B-6363747?"

"It left its containment area recently..."

"That does not worry me. I always knew it would leave one day. If we must kill it, we will kill it"

"We believe it is dead sir. It would have come back to the containment area for food by now"

"Impossible. Project B-6363747 is...

"Malore, we do not require Project B-6363747 anymore. We both know this"

"Regardless! Whoever killed Project B-6363747 will meet their end!"


"Hey Phoenix...how you feeling?" Aeris lifted up the old plastic tarp and looked inside the cave. The cave was not a real cave; it was made up from the rubble of broken buildings. Phoenix was sitting against the wall; a mound of soaking wet clothes sitting to the left of him. He was in dry new clothes; the tank-top and pants fresh from shrink-wrap. Aeris pushed the tarp completely up and walked inside. Her brown shoes squished from all the water they had taken in. Phoenix glanced upwards and let a small smile grace his face. "What? I think I look cute in this" Aeris defended herself.

"You look way to much like me" Phoenix grinned and nodded; the pants were obviously a size to big for her. The drawstring was pulled out so far it could trip her feet up. The tank-top was a better fit; it covered that which needed covered. "I'm glad Tifa found those outfit. Or we'd all be soaked"

"Yeah, well, you may not get this one back. Especially the jacket" Aeris crossed her arms and held the jacket close to her. It was big but that did help keep her covered. "Mind if I sit next to you?" Phoenix lifted his butt of the ground and moved over slightly; he patted the ground and waved her over. After stepping around a few rocks, Aeris gently sat down next him. "Thanks Phoenix...er...Flip. Where did that come from, anyways?" Aeris blinked and looked up at him.

"It was on one of the files Tifa and me found" Phoenix looked down at her for a moment then turned his attention back to the front of the tent. "And on the front is said "Project F.L.I.P. Or Fabricated Lifeform Interspecies Prototype...so she said she was going to call me Flip" Aeris kept looking at him and waited. Phoenix took a deep breathe and looked back at her. "I like it more than Phoenix...it has no negative attachments like Phoenix does"

"So Flip you are. To us, anyways" Aeris grinned and poked his shoulder. Watching him wince and bit his lip, Aeris gasped and gently rubbed the spot. "Sorry! I forgot he smashed that arm of his into your shoulder!" Aeris placed both her hands on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"It's not hurt, just sore. So I do not believe healing will help..." Flip blurted out. Aeris opened her eyes but kept her hands on his shoulder. She gently began to rub it. "I told you, I do not require-"

"I'm rubbing it to make it feel better silly" Aeris let go and gently smacked the back of his head. Flip rubbed the back of his head and made a face at her. Aeris smiled and titled her head; the huge mass of wet hair slumping over all at once. "You feel ok? I mean, besides being sore"

"Nothing long-term..." Flip looked forward again; the tarp swaying in and out of the man-made cave. "Thank you...I would not of survived without your help" Phoenix forced out. Aeris noted the tone of his voice and nodded her head.

"It's alright to ask for help you know Flip. We all need help at times...we needed your help to kill Boomer. And you needed our help to kill him. Face it brother-of-mine..." Aeris stood up and looked down at him. "You fit in well with us. And I don't mean as in a fighting unit. Now come on. Cloud and Tifa are making us some food. We're going to need it to get back to Kalm..." Aeris turned and walked towards the tarp. She stopped at it and turned around. "You are coming..." When he did not give an answer, she sadly pushed through the tarp and walked outside. After a couple of moments passed, Flip got to his feet and looked at the tarp whipping around in the wind.

"Family...relationships, not relatives" Flip walked forward and pushed the tarp upwards. Rain was still pounding away; the bright blue tarp over his head was keeping it off them. Aeris stood next to Tifa , who sat near the fire; the pants looking like she had fabric garbage bags on her legs. The tanktop was hanging on her shoulders; the jacket served it purpose in keeping her covered. Standing near the edge of the tent-like structure was Cloud. While the others swam in their clothes, Cloud was skinny dipping in his. The pants stopped at above his ankles and left about an inch between the pants and his boots. The very fabric of the tank-top was stretched to the limit; the pants and tank top refused to touch, leaving Cloud's belly to be exposed any time he moved.

"You couldn't be a few inches taller, could ya?" Cloud half-jokingly asked him. Flip made a face and looked at him with a very serious look.

"Well, even though my clothes are too small..." Flip stopped; Tifa and Aeris both looked up from the fire at him. "It is much better then wearing purple" Flip finished. Instantly, Aeris buckled over giggling while Tifa rolled onto the ground and away from the fire. Both girls giggled despite the pain it caused their aching bodies. Cloud just stared at Flip for a few moments; his jaw half-open.

"They're dark blue!" Cloud blurted out finally. Flip just blinked at him; confused. "They're dark blue! Navy blue! They are not purple!" Cloud's body was shaking. And it was not from the cold air or the chill from the rain. Flip merely walked over to the other fire they had going; all of their wet clothes except his were hung over this fire. Flip lifted up the sleeve of his shirt and pointed.

"It's purple" Flip merely stated. Cloud stomped over with purpose. The sound of two giggles and hundreds of rain-drops swirled around them all. Cloud snatched the sleeve away and looked at it.

"This is not...blue...how did my clothes turn purple!" Cloud's eyes went wide. Aeris merely looked around innocently; hoping no one would notice her. Tifa saw the look on her face and squealed in delight.

"You washed your clothes together!" Tifa screamed before she fell over laughing again. Aeris shook her head no, but the smile on her face said yes. Cloud looked down at the ground and let out a deep sigh.

"Why didn't you tell me this whole time I had purple clothes on...!" Cloud's voice dripped with mock sadness. He lifted the sleeve up again and dropped it out of his hand.

"It's only purple looking when its wet" Aeris cheerfully said; she clapped her hands together and smiled at him. Cloud looked up and tried his best to look upset. His best was not good enough. "Besides we can make them blue again. Or leave them purple. It really does not matter"

"She's right. Now get over here you" Tifa forced her giggles to stop as she checked the food she had on the skillet. "Dinner is served" Cloud strolled over towards them; Flip remaining where he was. Cloud sat down next to Tifa and looked at the skillet. Flip just watched; his eyes locked on the three of them. Tifa looked up at him and gave him a look. "I said dinner was served. I'm not bringing it to you Flip" Tifa smiled at him; her eyes just as welcoming as her smile. "Now come on over and eat with us. Then we can discuss how we're getting back to Kalm"

"Very well" Flip walked over towards them; a certain spring in his step. "Once we get to Kalm, I need to call Reeve and ask him to send the files there" Flip sat down next to Aeris and looked at them. Aeris instantly smiled; the happiness nearly blinding him. That was expected. The grin on Cloud's face was no surprise. The genuine smile of happiness on Tifa's face was the real surprise.

"Right, exactly. We can get that done, for sure" Tifa began to places pieces of bacon and eggs onto plates and passed them out. "And we can certainly use your help building our new house"

"Yeah Flip...and I'm sure we can find you some room to live there. If you want" Cloud added before he began to eat his bacon. Aeris was just smiling; the pure happiness she felt needing no words.

"Very well...that would be...good. One thing though" Flip asked. Everyone turned their attention to them. The piece of egg hanging out of Cloud's mouth drawing attention away from his questioning eyes. Aeris' eyes willed with a mix of worry and wonderment. Tifa chewed on her bacon as silently as she could, waiting for him. "No one turns my clothes purple. That's Cloud's color" And all the questions and worry went away. In its place, laughter and giggles filled the air around them.


Author's Notes: That's all folks. Yes, with that Dead Streets is over and done with. It is only half as long as From The Ashes, but it only took a few months to do. In fact, the first four chapters where done August and September while the last six were done in December and January. That is why from Chapter 5 on the work is a much higher quality. Those last couple chapters are some of my best work and I'm fairly proud of it.

Before I go further, thank you to CT for once again being my editor and all-around machine. I swear, he listens to me bullshit so much about this stuff he must not even want to read it. But he does. That's why he's my editor. In particular, the purple bit, some of the fight scenes, and most of the general feel is thanks to him. Also, thanks out there to anyone who read and reviewed the story. Thanks.

Now, since From The Ashes was a remake of Misguided Beliefs, this was a partial remake of the sequel to Misguided Beliefs. That story was absolutely terrible. It never came close to be finished. The only thing that came from that was the idea that Tifa and Flip could form a bond.

A couple more notes:

- The politcal sub-plot was just my desire to do one. It also gave me a way to work the Turks into this story. More than one person wanted them in the first story; so this was the best I could do.

- I hate stories where all the characters show up and serve no purpose. That's why Barret, Red XIII, Cid, Yuffie, and Vincent do not show up. I had no reason for them to show up so they did not.

- The whole story has a horror-story feel to it. Especially when Boomer is around stalking them. And yes, Boomer is based on a character from another video game. I leave it up to the reader to guess who, though.

- I got sick of reading stories where monsters got killed with one or two sentences. So I spent a ton of time on one monster and two fights.

And let's hit some important notes from the story:

- Aeris and Tifa did not kiss. I repeat: did NOT kiss. They were just messing with Cloud. And while the two are becoming extremely close, it seems neither has gained Cloud's attention yet. That whole thing is still developing.

- Phoenix actually makes a couple of connections in this story to other people. He also gained a nickname and now has his hands on some new files.

- Reeve appears to be safe for the moment. Even though the Turks killed the wrong Overton.

- Boomer is dead; he has only one arm left. And no head.

- Someone is making monsters again.

And that's it. I hope everyone enjoyed it. And to quote Strong Bad: It's over!