The Opening Statement: This story is being completely rewritten. I don't just mean that I'm going through what I already have and fixing some of the mistakes, I mean I'm starting from scratch. There was too much room for improvement in the old version. It wasn't worth the pain of trying to fix what was already written. Believe me, I tried. For some reason, people actually appreciated that story, which wasn't something that I was expecting, so it took a long time to realize that I wasn't giving those people my best effort. So, think of the old story as the first draft. Yes, the plot of this one is similar, but not identical, and when it comes to the characters and details, I don't even think there's any comparison.

The old story was inconsistent, and it fell into the biggest trap I set when writing these sorts of fantasy epics, namely, the backgrounds stories that people don't see were more vivid than the actual story itself. In other words, the chapters were short and forced, there was no real thought put into them, and I wasn't happy with them. My achievable goal with this story is to write a piece of FF7 fanfiction unlike any other, and my unachievable goal is to write the best piece of FF7 fanfiction there is. (Don't worry, I haven't, but that doesn't mean I won't try...)

With all that said, be prepared for the bigger and better version! More surreal dream sequences! More revealing flashbacks! More lyrics/poetry inserted into the story at vaguely inappropriate times! More painful angst alongside what I hope are heartwarming moments! More misplaced jokes! Oh God, I sound like a bad radio commercial for a used car place...

Sort of a Disclaimer: Though this story is rated PG13, and will stay that way, I should warn you that it really tiptoes the line between PG13 and R. Also, the events of Advent Children and any other prequel/sequel that is in the works are not taken into consideration. This is based off the original game only.

Chapter 1

The Other Wing

"Unnatural vices are fathered by our heroism"

–T.S. Eliot, Gerontion

Midgar, The Meteor Crisis

They had front rows seats to watch the end of the world. The eight people who had risen to the status of heroes in the eyes of a dying planet. Yet for all their efforts, they were now watching the aura surrounding Meteor reach out and strangle the vast city of Midgar. Thousands of screams were drowned out by the shriek of metal tearing apart, and the roar of the very air being singed by the sheer energy that was all about them. Sephiroth lay dead somewhere deep underground, Jenova's role as puppeteer shattered as the eight of them threw down her reunited form in the Northern Crater. Still, the end was upon them.

Had it all been in vain?

An unnatural hush fell over the city. Even the crumbling buildings seemed to obey the mystical silence. Time itself seemed to slow, and Meteor became a mere afterthought, pushed aside by a pair of green eyes. The eyes were wide and horrified, a terrible uncertainty causing countless hearts to stop beating, if only for a brief second. But then there was a great collective sigh of relief, as the horror was replaced by triumph. A smile on invisible lips was contagious to the people facing the end of their lives.

As if it knew that it was about to lose its battle, Meteor let out a great burst of blue light, tearing off the top of the Shinra building and sending it crashing onto the weakening plate below. A few renewed screams filled the air, quickly silenced and they joined the unlucky casualties of a war that was taking place beyond their existence and comprehension.

Finally, the source of the green-eyed relief became obvious. Great tendrils of glowing Lifestream were reaching out from the ground surrounding the collapsing city. The many-fingered hand of the Planet was reaching upwards and grasping at Meteor. At once, the crackling blue light faded away, replaced with the soothing pale green energy washing over the people of the city and those on the airship high above. The intensity grew, and the light became blinding. A terrible cry filled the air, the Planet was screaming from its own efforts. They were blind and deaf to everything now, their world was nothing but light and horrific noise. Were it not for the ethereal assuredness shown in those green eyes beyond their dying world, panic would gripped them beyond all hope of salvation. But those eyes kept them rooted to the spot, stunned and awed, as the battle was won.

The light faded and the noise drifted away on the wind, leaving them staring at a dark and empty sky. Meteor had vanished. Midgar lay in ruins a thousand feet below. Tifa Lockhart blinked away the last of the blindness and turned to Cloud Strife, whose vision seemed fixed on some point beyond the empty sky.

"Is it over?" she asked.

Cloud made no move a to show he had heard her. He stared, unblinking, at something only he could see, mouth slightly open as if he wanted to speak, but had no words.

Tifa reached out and took his hand. "Cloud?" she asked, her fear rising up once more. "What's wrong?"

"Snap out it, kid!" shouted Cid Highwind, his seemingly impenetrable tough-guy attitude firmly back in place. He seemed remarkably unfazed, but when they could all see his hands shaking when he lit up a fresh cigarette. The first smoke after the world had escaped the apocalypse was something to be savored.

Barret Wallace was standing on the other side of the deck, looking towards the village of Kalm rather then down at Midgar like his comrades. Hearing Cid's harsh tone made him crash back down into reality and turn to face the others.

"Cloud...?" he asked, unable to rebuild his own tough-guy attitude as quickly as Cid had. "The hell's wrong with you?"

Nanaki was lying down in the deck, his front paws covering his eyes. Yuffie Kisaragi, who had been cowering in a corner the whole time, stood up and did her best to look as if nothing had happened. She almost tripped over Nanaki as she walked over towards Cloud and Tifa, and looked down at the beast, wondering why he hadn't so much as made a sound when she accidentally kicked him. He remained as still as his father's petrified form in the depths of Cosmo Canyon. Yuffie knelt down next to him and reached out shakily to run her fingers through his fiery fur. His stillness was frighteningly unnatural. She bend down further and put her face right next to his.

"Guys!" she shouted, leaping to her feet. Barret and Cid both turned away from Cloud to look at her, but Tifa was still squeezing his hand with increasing desperation. "Red's not breathing!" Yuffie cried when she got someone's attention. "He's not breathing!"

Barret strode over quickly, reaching down with his one massive hand, and shaking Nanaki's shoulder. Not so much as a whimper escaped.

"Shit!" Cid shouted, a puff of smoke following his curse. "What the hell's goin' on!?"

Barret straightened up and paused, running the situation through in his mind before a deeply troubled looked came into his dark eyes. He whirled around and stared at Vincent Valentine, who, like Cloud, had been standing perfectly still and silent since the light had faded. No one had taken any notice, because this was not out of the ordinary for Vincent.

"Hey!" Barret said urgently. "Snap out of it, you damn vampire!"

Like Cloud and Nanaki, Vincent remained perfectly still. The only movement was his long red cloak rippling from the cold breeze that was still charged with a strange energy.

"What's wrong with everyone?" Yuffie asked, trying to hide the waver in her voice.

"It's everyone that Hojo fucked with..." Barret snarled. "He did something to them..."

They turned to look over at Cait Sith, the unsettling looking robotic cat perched atop a fat white mog controlled by Alexander Reeve. The cat was completely lifeless.

"Do you think Reeve got out?" Cid wondered aloud.

Barret snorted. "Who cares about that damn Shinra manager?" His worried expression didn't match his harsh words.

Tifa's scream got their attention once more. Cloud had suddenly leapt up onto the railing of the deck, the wind whipping through his spiky blonde hair as he balanced impossibly on the thin metal bar. Tifa was screaming as she pulled desperately at his hand, trying to get him back down onto the deck, but he was held there by a strength that was beyond her ability to fight. With a stream of curses and panicked shouting, Barret, Cid, and Yuffie all raced over to Cloud, and all four of them tried to forced him down to safety. The unseen power holding him there was stronger them all four of them together.

Cloud's mako blue stare was still fixed on that mysterious point beyond static reality. He was staring deeply into the green eyes that washed over a million Midgan minds in a soothing wave. The eyes that had faded away from everyone else had only become stronger to him. They were Aeris's eyes, and they were calling to him.

Amid the screams and shouts of his four comrades, Cloud shook himself free of their grip and leapt from the railing, plunging down towards the ruins of Midgar a thousand feet below. Tifa's heart stopped beating. In blind panic she reached over the railing and tried to grab him in that split second before he was forever beyond her reach. She lost her balance and would have followed him over the edge, were it not for Barret grabbing her by the ankle and pulling her back onto the deck. She lay on the hard wood and metal, sobbing and motionless. The other three watched in horror as Cloud fell, his body fading beyond their sight as it became shrouded in the faint green mist that the Lifestream had left in the air.

Something was wrong with the sight. Cloud's body appeared to be getting closer, rather than disappearing forever in the mist. He was flying back up towards the Highwind. Three astonished pairs of eyes watched as their friend and leader soared back up to their level. A great white wing had emerged from his back, and soon he was looking down on them, a genuine smile on his face, something they hadn't seen since before Aeris's death at Sephiroth's hands. He spoke no words to them. All he did was smile and nod. At once, the shocked silence was broken by a painful howl from Nanaki as he leapt to his feet and began pacing wildly before recomposing himself and staring up at Cloud with as much surprise as any of them. Vincent moaned slightly and ran his human hand backwards through his raven hair, and after a moment of confusion, he too was staring at Cloud in wonder. With a quick wave at his friends, Cloud vanished in a brief flash of pale green light.

He found himself standing at a silver gate, intricately inlaid with words in a language he could not understand. The language of the Cetra. There were countless people staring at him from the other side, but only one that ran forward. The only one who mattered With tears in her eyes, Aeris ran from the crowd and stopped just inside the gate, offering him her hand. Words were beyond him, so Cloud silently took her hand and stepped inside. They stared at each other in wonder, grasping each other's hand tightly as if to confirm that it was all real. Finally, Aeris threw her arms around Cloud's shoulders, and their lips met. He wrapped his wing around her to pull her in even closer. Countless generations of Cetra watched as a human became one of them. Cloud Strife, one of the greatest heroes known to the Planet, was the first human ever to be allowed past the gate of the Cetra Promised Land.

After what could have been an eternity, Cloud stepped back and looked at Aeris, a single tear running down his cheek.

"Is it over?" he asked.

Aeris looked suddenly downcast. "It was selfish of me..." she said sadly.

"What was?"

"Bringing you here..." she said. "It's... it's not over, Cloud. But your part is. It's up to the others now. If they can go on without you... I don't know if you realized how much you mean to all of them..."

"Didn't we do enough? Isn't Sephiroth defeated?"

Aeris nodded. "It's not him. I don't know what's going to happen... But this isn't how it ends..."

"So, how does it end?"

Aeris shook her head. "I don't know... I asked the Planet to help them all... however it can..."

Seeing her guilt, Cloud pulled her close again. "They can handle it," he said softly. "Whatever it is. After all, our part is finished, right?"

Aeris nodded and sniffed, wiping away another tear. Hand in hand, they turned their back on the gate and walked into the depths of the Promised Land, knowing that they were now only observers. The fight for the Planet's life had fallen onto the shoulders of those Cloud had left behind.

"We're free now..." Aeris whispered, leaning her head against Cloud's shoulder.

------

"What the hell just happened?" Cid demanded.

Barret was still staring vacantly at the point where Cloud had disappeared. "He's gone..." he stammered. "I don't believe it..."

"The wing..." a soft, calm voice said from behind them. They all turned and stared at Vincent in wonder.

"They gave him Sephiroth's other wing. Now he's at peace."

Author's Pointless Monologue: Don't worry, I'm not giving up the pointless monologues! They're back in spades, my friends. Be prepared for my scorn of George W. Bush to increase exponentially as the American elections get closer. Anyway, a few words about this story, mostly for the people who haven't read the old version. When I read FF7 fanfiction, I see four characters that are written about far more than any others. Cloud, Aeris, Sephiroth, and Vincent. In keeping up with my goal of writing a story unlike any other, I've taken three of those four right out, leaving only Vincent (hey, I can't get rid of Vincent!). That's not to say the other three won't be mentioned, or have the occasional dream/flashback appearance, but this is not a resurrection fic. I'm seeing if it's possible to take the game characters and turn them into realistic people (though often in unrealistic situations) and yet still keep them in line with who they were during the game. The jury's still out on how well I'm doing...

By the way, if there's anyone reading this who lives close to Ottawa, will you do me a favor if Bush wins in November? Go the House of Commons and smack Steven Harper in the back of the head, because I'm sure he'll be grinning like a jackass. Tell 'em a strangely coloured dog sent you.

Oh, and for those of you who have read this before, don't assume that you know everything that's going to happen, because some things are going to be different!