Chapter 10-1:
Ending Theme
After Sephiroth left, I was an empty shell. I had sat on the ground sobbing in front of the portal for over an hour. Anima and Luben eventually had to carry me away. When I returned home, the smell of decaying Xenos was overwhelming. With great difficulty, I burned the body and spent a week cleaning the blood away. The headlines appeared the day we returned home: Mysterious Black-Caped Man Flies Town to Town: Authorities Stumped; Man With Fake Arm Sets Five Towns Ablaze: Said to be Responsible for Kauko Forest Fire; Apprehended or Dead?: No Sign of Red-or-Black-Caped Men. I clipped every article, including a very horrid artist's rendition of Sephiroth, and pasted them into a scrapbook.
I returned to work and acted as if nothing had happened. My boss gave me a raise upon my return, and a week later, I was given a promotion. Everything was back to normal, sans Therapon. Everything should have been fine.
But each night was more sleepless than the one before. I longed achingly for the warmth of his body and the sound of his heart. I found myself waking in the middle of the night for seemingly no reason and bursting into tears. Each night, I tried to remember what Sephiroth told me that night in the cave: I'll always be there with you… When you're lonely, listen to the night wind for my voice…Remember my heartbeat when you long for me… Give you strength if you ask… Eyes will always be watching you… I promise.
It didn't help. No matter what or how hard I tried, nothing helped. His memory was fading, something I had prayed since the beginning would not happen. I no longer enjoyed playing the videogame. I had ultimately been part of the last chapter of that story. Everything in it was so wrong. About Sephiroth, Cloud, everybody. Anima and Luben tried their best to make me feel better. Anima sketched pictures of Sephiroth since I had only the one from the game. Luben called almost everyday to tell me some stupid joke he had heard earlier. I finally had to tell them to lay off when he began repeating himself. I didn't want to be cheered up. I wanted him. Nothing was going to change that.
"We miss him, too, you know," Anima pointed out a week after I received the promotion. I only looked at her sadly.
"But you didn't get as close to him as I did."
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A few nights later, I had an odd dream. I was standing in a meadow. It was full of the most beautiful flowers I had ever seen. I stared around before I realized that I was not alone. Someone was standing back-to-back with me. Sephiroth was turning to face me, his hand outstretched. I took it as he began speaking to me.
"My love, you must listen to me. I have been allowed to pull your soul into the Lifestream for only a few minutes. I have left the physical world. I can never return to you. I'm so sorry," he whispered, pulling me closer. "I want you to take my ring. Keep a hold of it and give it to her when she is fifteen."
I tried to speak at this point, but he laid a hand on my lips.
"You cannot speak, so do not attempt it." He then slipped off his ring, took my hand, and slipped it onto my finger.
"I don't care if she is given to another family or an orphanage. All I ask is that if she is, leave a letter that is to be opened no earlier than her fourteenth birthday. She is to arrive at your house on the day she turns fifteen. Then, you will explain everything. This is my last request. I love you, Michiko. I always will. I will be here, waiting for you. Now you must leave. I wish you didn't have to," he said quietly. He wrapped his arms around me tightly, a few tears dripping down both our faces. He kissed me softly, nothing like the way he had the morning he left. He held me close to his heart. "Close your eyes…"
As I did, the feeling of his arms and smell of his leather coat faded slowly. Seconds later, I opened my eyes to find myself back in my bed. I had only been sleeping for about an hour. When I looked at my hand, there were two wedding bands. Without questioning how it happened, I took Sephiroth's ring off, went into my jewelry case, and found a small, velvet one. I carefully slipped the ring into it and put it into a velvet bag. I found my small safe, opened it, and laid the ring there. While I was thinking about it, I wrote down what Sephiroth told me to do and gathered the scrapbook and everything else that reminded me of him. I put everything into the safe and locked it. I wrote down the combination and hid that, as well. As I lay in bed, it dawned on me: Who was the 'she' that Sephiroth was talking about? I didn't find out for sure until about six months had gone by.
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All I remembered was excruciating pain. I had been talking to Anima and Luben when a sharp pain hit and I doubled over. I heard them yelling as I slipped into unconsciousness. When I woke up I-don't-know-how-much-later, I was disoriented. When I realized that I was awake, I was afraid to open my eyes for fear of the pain returning. I opened them anyway.
Everything around me was brilliantly white. I turned my head slightly to see a man staring out the window to my right. My vision was blurred, so I couldn't tell who it was. I said the first name that popped into my head.
"Is that you, Sephiroth?" I whispered. I tried to lift my head, but my entire body felt like it was made of lead.
"No," the man replied. I knew that voice, but for some reason, I couldn't place it. He turned towards me and I finally saw his left hand: it was made of metal. Cloud. A slight rush of panic hitting, I managed to lift my hand to my eyes to rub them clear. The man I assumed to be Cloud sat next to me, took my hand, put it to rest on my chest, and wiped my eyes with a wet cloth. "Stop. This will work better."
"Vincent?" I muttered when my eyes were clear. He nodded. "You cut your hair."
"It was starting to be a bitch," he smiled. It was now roughly the length it had been when he was part of the Turks. "Do you feel okay?"
"I will in a few minutes. Vincent," I said, a knowing ache building in my heart. I didn't have to ask, for he lowered his eyes knowingly, but I asked anyway. "Where's Sephiroth?"
"I'm sorry, Michiko. He's gone."
"How?"
"When we were thrown out of the portal, he had changed slightly. For some reason, he had one wing, and red on his coat and gloves. He fell to the ground the moment we arrived. I put my arm around him, gave him a shoulder to cry on, you know? When he calmed down, we realized that we hadn't been sent home, after all. We were in some sort of coliseum. This short half-goat, half-man ran it. Sephiroth challenged everyone in the coliseum. No one could defeat him. One day, a teenager (his name escapes me, now) came to challenge him. The boy used a giant key as a sword. Sephiroth beat him, but the kid kept coming back. Sephiroth finally lost."
"So a teenage brat killed him?"
"No. These fights weren't fought to the death. At least, not until Cloud showed up later that night. He came into the stadium while Sephiroth and I sat talking on the edge on top of the wall. Sephiroth reminded me of the promise I made. Upon arriving at that place, Sephiroth was also able to teleport. He did so then. When he did, the wind blew a feather from his wing down to Cloud. Cloud watched it and as it landed, Sephiroth, too, hit the ground softly. They stared for a few minutes before Cloud said, 'So we finally meet again…' to which Sephiroth replied, 'I was searching for you, too.' Cloud was getting impatient. He snapped, 'As long as you exist, I can't wake from this nightmare. You are my darkness.' Sephiroth, being his overconfident self, scoffed. 'If that's so, I will draw you into the darkness. Into the nightmare that forever deprives you of light, from which you can never awaken.' At this point, Cloud drew his sword, and Sephiroth reached for his. Electricity that generated from their power was crackling around them. They charged at the same time, and there was a terrible ringing noise as the blades clashed. They twisted, blocked, and attacked so quickly, I could barely tell who was where. They pulled apart for a second, and I knew then that Sephiroth would lose. He gripped his side and looked like he was in quite a bit of pain. They clashed for a few more minutes before Sephiroth teleported into the air. He offered his hand to Cloud and smiled. With that, they charged and clashed once more. The force was too great. Cloud threw him back and while Sephiroth was on his back, Cloud…" Vincent hesitated, not knowing whether to go on or not.
"Don't stop," I whispered sadly. I knew what was coming. The tears had begun to form before he even started.
"Cloud threw his sword to the side, took out a dagger, and stabbed Sephiroth, but not quite to death. No, Cloud wanted him to suffer a slow and painful one. As Sephiroth laid on the ground, Cloud just grinned. He smiled in such a way… I can't even describe it. The hate in his eyes and triumph in that smile…" Vincent shivered at the memory. "He didn't even wait for Sephiroth to die. Cloud kicked him hard a few times. Sephiroth screamed in pain with each strike. If Cloud hadn't sworn to kill me, too, I would have gone to help, but I had no one to fulfill my promise if anything happened to me. Then he left. I hurried down and held Sephiroth. 'You promised,' he reminded me one more time. I told him that he didn't have to worry. With his last breath, he told me that I'd better take care of you, or else he'd send Meteor to smite me. He told me to make sure you know that he loved you and always will. Then he died in my arms," he said quietly. I thought I saw a few tears in his eyes, but as my own were blurring, I couldn't be sure. I began crying. Vincent hugged me. "I'm so sorry."
"No…" I gasped several times. My sobbing had become uncontrollable. After a few minutes, my tears were gone. Vincent and I only looked at each other for a moment.
"Do you remember what happened yesterday?"
"Yesterday?" I furrowed my brow.
"Yeah, it's only been one day. I got here while they were operating. Anima said you were at her house when you screamed and fainted. They wanted to make sure you didn't hurt the little one."
"May I see him?"
"Sorry, no," Vincent shook his head. He then smiled. "You can't see him, but you can see her."
"A daughter?" I gasped happily. Vincent suddenly became grave.
"But you may not want to get too attached. Did you feel any pain before you blacked out?"
"Yeah," I said.
"Well, that's because you were going into premature labor. They had to operate to get her out, and…" Vincent sighed. "The truth is, the doctors aren't giving you much hope that your daughter will live for very long. They have her in one of those incubators. You'll have to go there to see her."
"This can't be happening. I lost my husband. I don't want to lose our daughter," I shook my head as new tears formed. Vincent laid a hand on my shoulder.
"Let's go see her. I think all she needs is her mother to hold her."
A few minutes later, Vincent was helping me walk to the room in which my daughter was sleeping. The nurse handed her to me carefully. We looked into that tiny face, a softness in Vincent's face that I never would have imagined.
"She's pretty," he whispered after a long silence. I didn't reply.
This was who Sephiroth was talking about. He knew that I was pregnant, and he knew that it would be a girl. This thought coming into my head, and the thought that I would be unable to fulfill his last wish, I began crying again. I merely kissed my child and, my head against hers, cried.
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Me: ((sniffle)) Yeah, only one chapter left. It'll be really short, and written in a slightly different style than the rest of the story. My one disclaimer is the title. The title is from the last instrumental piece in Final Fantasy X.
Sora/Riku/Kairi: HEY!!!
Me: ((grins embarrassedly)) Oh, right. Sorry guys. I have one other disclaimer. The way Sephiroth died was in the Showdown of Fate, an event on the Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix game. Damn Square-Enix for only releasing it in Japan… ((pouts))
Vincent: ((is grinning broadly while bragging to Cloud)) I get my own game! I get my own game! I get my own game! I get my own game! I get my own game! I get-
Cloud: ((scowls while Vinny continues in background))
Me: Yeah, he's been really happy about the new FF7 game lately. Rpgamer, Gamespot, and Ign all have articles on it. And 'eyesonff' has the first trailer for it as shown at Tokyo Game Show. Or you can go to 'google' and type in 'Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII.' I'm SO excited about it. ((glances at Vincent)) I'm obviously not alone…
Vincent: ((comes over and starts with me)) Guess what? I get my own game!
Me: LEAVE ME ALONE! I KNOW! I'M THE ONE THAT TOLD YOU, REMEMBER???
Vincent: ((calms down and thinks)) Oh. ((laughs)) Right. I knew that!
Me: ((sweat drop)) Um… yeah. Ahem. ONWARDS!
Trance: No, but Chapter 10-2 is. I'm thinking of writing a sequel, but I haven't made up my mind. Still need to think of a plot for one… And thanks for reading my song-fic! ((bows graciously))
Soul Vagabond: No, I don't think it was overdone. All good romance goodbyes are a bit overdone. Or were you being sarcastic? I couldn't really tell. Thanks again for reading my song-fic. How could it be better? Other than the Vinny-Sephy-Hojo all being roommates and the length?
Kadaj: ((hands model of his sword to SV)) Get well soon!
Me: … What's with the sword?
Kadaj: Well, ((shrugs)) she likes swords.
Me: ………… Moving on…
Mediciner: Well, was this fast enough for you?
Me: KH: The Final Destiny will be up ASAP; I just figured I'd go ahead and update early.
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