A/N: You will probably find once again that this chapter makes references to my original FF7 novelisation, which may be slightly confusing. If this is so, please forgive me. I hope it's clear what happened between Cloud and Aeris before she was killed by Sephiroth. Also, I previously forgot to explain that it was Sephiroth's soul that the Lifestream used to bring Aeris back to life. Thus her character is changed, and there are several references to Sephiroth 'being inside her'.

Anyhow, I would also like to say a big thank you to those who have been following this story, and also a bigger thank you to those who have taken the time to review - your thoughts and opinions are greatly appreciated. :)

-oOo-

:: IX :: Ultimate Purpose

Cloud returned back to the others, and this time, his mind was oddly at peace. His inner turmoil had not lessened, but somehow his encounter with the dead spirits had eased his pain a little. The smile of that young pretty child had stayed with him, and filled his soul with warmth and joy. He did not know what she was, or even, if she were not real, what she symbolised. For all that mattered to him now was that she had come to him, and shown him a strange, unfamiliar love that he had not known before.

The others, contemptuous as they felt towards him, seemed to notice his dreamy state, and guessed that something had happened to him. Tifa, in fact, looked a little relieved, and Cid looked suspicious. Aeris, Cloud noticed, passed him several long looks that he was at a loss to understand. Her dull black eyes strove vainly to catch his own, and when at last they did, they seemed to be speaking to him, to be trying to tell him the things he could not hear.

Dusk passed into night, and eventually everyone retired to their tents. Cloud got into bed, but he knew somehow that he would not sleep. His thoughts were so full that his mind could not get rid of them, and his eyes, though tired, refused to close. Tifa, sensing his wakefulness, quietly rolled over to face him, her arms closing round him.

"Cloud?" she asked him expectantly, placing a gentle kiss on his chest.

"Not tonight, Tifa," he rebuked her, though not unkindly.

"Why not?" She did not sound offended, rather inquiring.

"Tonight I'm too deep in thought," he replied seriously.

Tifa sighed and rolled back over again. After a while, she fell asleep, and the soft sigh of her light breathing filled the tent. Cloud remained awake for many minutes after. From somewhere outside in the far distance, the distinct sound of thunder rolled. Cloud did not mind. It suited his mood somehow. He was trying to work out his feelings, the feelings of being led on this journey, of following the trail of an unresolved path to this place. The voices of the Cetra seemed to trickle through the canvas of the tent, like the murmuring of water.

'...sweet freedom

And the Promised Land.'

From where had the call come? From whom had this destiny been spoken? Was it that small girl? Had she been the one who had brought them all here again?

Cloud's mind jolted with the sudden revelation.

If so, for what purpose had they been brought here? What had been left unfinished?

He remembered Aeris' green eyes, and how black they were now. Aeris' eyes. She'd been looking at him earlier that evening, beseeching him with her stares. What had she been trying to tell him?

Cloud, without really thinking, got up and dressed. The crash of thunder sounded again, but Cloud did not heed it. Some tremendous force was dictating his movements now and he could not stop. Having pulled on his boots at last, he undid the zip of the tent and wandered out, closing the flap dazedly behind him.

He began to walk, without knowing where his legs were taking him. Past the other tents, past the derelict houses, towards the centre of the city. The thunder cracked into existence again, this time much closer, and, after a dramatic pause, it suddenly began to rain. Cloud's breathing became strained, and his gasps caught on the air as clouds of water vapour. In the distance, he could clearly see a figure walking, and he knew that it was this figure that he was meant to be following. He picked up his pace, and as he drew a little nearer, he realised somewhat beleagueredly that it was Aeris he was trailing. At the point of this realisation, she looked over her shoulder and straight at him. Her face set, she looked back and drifted into one of the conch-shell houses near the cluster of oak trees that led to the heart of the city.

Cloud felt mildly relieved, for he was wet and exhausted, and the prospect of shelter eased his whirling mind. On he walked, until he entered the tiny house at last. Mopping the moisture from his face, he looked around. This house was not as ravaged as the others, and unsurprisingly, it was here that the voices of the Cetra seemed to be at their strongest. In the centre of the room was standing Aeris, her hair damp and dripping at the ends, her hands clasped in front of her. Cloud was reminded of the moment when he had released her weightless body into the pellucid waters, and the thought caused him to shiver.

"I thought you might come." She spoke with a note of irony to her voice. He nodded weakly. He could not think of anything to say.

"You can come here," she told him, almost impatiently. He obeyed. His mind was full of fate, full of the things that had led him on this journey. If this was its culmination then he would not refuse anything that was put to him.

And so, he stood in front of her, and she was looking up at him, almost inspecting him with her now glittering dark eyes.

"Do you know why you're here?" she finally asked him, and he could feel her breath on his skin.

"I know," he replied softly, "but not exactly."

She nodded, and then her face became sad, and her head dropped.

"I wish...it didn't have to happen like this," she whispered, her voice hoarse.

"Did it have to?" he inquired, full of questions now. "Did we have to follow this path that was laid out for us?"

"Yes, I think so." She looked up again. "Does that...frighten you?"

He thought about it.

"A little, I suppose. But for most of my life I've been called to do things anyway."

She almost smiled.

"So. Here we are again." She sighed, and a little of the tension had been released, Cloud sensed. "Cloud," she began again, "have you ever thought about destiny? Have you ever thought that everything we do has some sort of special purpose?"

"Ever since we began this journey I have thought about it," Cloud admitted, his mind still hazy. He laughed a little. "At first, I didn't want to believe it. Destiny? It seems so surreal. But now, I think I understand. That in life, we are given choices, and that what we choose to do affects the ultimate purpose."

Her eyes, he noticed once again, were shining brightly.

"Perhaps you are right, Cloud." She paused momentarily, for the rumble of thunder sounded again. Then she glanced up at him, and resumed. "Cloud, why do you think that we two are here together?"

He did not think, he could not think. He had been longing for this moment, for such a long time his whole life had been resting upon it.

"To love one another?"

"Is that a question, or a statement?"

He caught his breath, and for one mad moment he did not know.

"We are here to love one another," he said finally, with as much certainty as he could.

Another roll of thunder: she said nothing, but took his hand, and gently pressed it to her. Cloud held his breath, his mind reeling. Why not, why not? he thought. It was right - he'd professed it himself. She was waiting, waiting for him. Would he, or would he not?

Of course he would. It was inconceivable that he wouldn't. Because, of course, he had dreamed of having a second chance with her, of it not being too late after all. All vestiges of reality slipped away, all the last three years of his life - those he had spent with Tifa quietly became non-existent. He released his hand from hers, and let it touch the cold, soft dampness of her cheek. She gazed up at him, and it seemed to him that not a moment had been lost; that she was looking up at him the way she had used to, with that silent wonder in her eyes.

"I love you," he told her in a whisper, and he meant it.

She replied, her voice warm and alive.

"I love you too."

That was it, that was all he needed. He would not waste a minute longer. He kissed her hungrily, trying to make up for those long-lost years. His hands wandered the length of her body, and she sighed...and her arms, about him...he could not think, everything was too desperate, too fast, he was filled with her, filled with her love. It was like the first time, he had forgotten how it felt for them to be together like this.

And now they were on their knees, and his hands were on her still, he was trying to find his way into her, into her very soul. Find the way in, and no way out. They all had to make choices, and the choices they made would affect the ultimate purpose...because choices can't be undone - once you make them, there's no way out...

Cloud slowed, his mind thrown off track. She was still kissing him, and he was still kissing her back, but now, the action had no meaning. He suddenly realised how foolish and indecent it all seemed, and he dropped his hands, feeling ashamed of himself. Aeris realised immediately, for she pulled back, and looked at him expectantly.

"What's wrong?"

He looked down at his hands, and then to her. She was beautiful...and after all he had felt for her...everything that had happened...still, he felt ashamed.

"I can't do it," he replied guiltily.

"Why not?" she demanded, and there was a strangely determined tone to her voice.

"Because it's wrong."

"Why? Because we're different, because of Sephiroth inside of me, because you're with Tifa?" There was triumph, excitement on her face, and he hated it ; he was mad, furious with her.

"I don't know! I don't damn well know, I just know that I can't do it!"

He refused to look at her, and there was silence - except for the echo of the rain and thunder and lightning. After a while, she began to do up the buttons of her dress again casually, and he realised now how stupid he had been. His anger turned to bitterness, and he felt used, tricked, betrayed.

"You knew, didn't you," he told her, at last.

"Of course I knew," she replied candidly. He mulled over it.

"You don't love me," he accused her sullenly.

"Of course I love you."

"Then why are we here?" He was in despair now. "What is all this for?"

"You know the answer already. You said it yourself."

He reflected on it a moment. "That we make choices, and that what we choose affects the purpose." He looked at her again. "But I chose not to make love to you. What can that possibly mean?"

"You chose to leave me," she told him calmly, "and to stay with Tifa."

"Is that a good choice?"

"I believe it is."

"But why...?"

She shushed him, then quietly spoke.

"Dear Cloud, there is so much we have to talk about."

"I suppose there is," he replied dismally.

"I'm sorry," she said at last. "I wish it wasn't like this. But here I've wasted so much time on wishing."

He gazed at her face, and noted the sorrowful, whimsical look in her eyes.

"Aeris, if I was here to make a choice, then did I make the right choice? And what did I make the choice for? I don't understand."

"I don't really understand either," she replied wistfully. "But tonight, after what we almost did...I remember how it used to be."

Cloud said nothing. He felt sick inside himself, almost repulsed by the memories now. She ignored the look on his face.

"Do you remember that time? Do you remember how we knew, instinctively, that it would happen? Don't you think that that night we shared had some deeper purpose too?"

He looked up at her sharply, and she smiled at his sudden understanding.

"Yes. We chose to share our secret love for each other, and created something very special between us."

"What?" Cloud's mouth was dry. He was afraid now, and she was too. Her eyes were downcast and her hands were clasping and unclasping, in and out.

"That night," she began softly, "I knew something would happen, but I didn't know what. The voices of my dead ancestors told me. That I must leave you all for a while, and then I would awaken again through the new life within me." She paused, took in a breath, exhaled. "Yes. Inside me was a small life, and that was my saviour."

Cloud listened, and found it impossible to take in the words she was saying. Jumbled thoughts, memories and experiences were colliding in his brain, and then, finally, some sort of sense seemed to emerge from her softly spoken statement.

"What?!" he leaned forwards, took her shoulders, shook her hard " Aeris, is it true?!"

She did not look at him.

"The sword that Sephiroth pierced me with did not only take my life." She smiled with a hint of regret on her face. "The Cetra and the Planet wanted me to return to the world of the living in order that I may watch over the rest of mankind, but there was no way of doing this. They chose the dormant life of our child and breathed it into my lifeless body. That, and the immortal soul of Sephiroth is what brings me here today. You see, I'm not the real Aeris you knew, but an eternal puppet of the Planet. And in breathing our child's life into me, that child's soul was set free into the Lifestream, to pass into other living things. For that, I am grateful."

Cloud gripped on to her still, unable to speak. He thought, swimmingly, of the small, auburn-haired girl who'd appeared to him earlier in the day.

"Our child?" he whispered.

She did not reply. He needed no answer anyway.

It was later, and they sat close to each other against the cold wall of the house, and listened to the sound of the rain outside.

"Aeris," Cloud began thoughtfully, "if my choice today was so important, what does it have to do with what you just told me?"

"You'll understand, in due time," she replied mysteriously.

"Do I have to wait?" he asked, troubled.

"It won't be long," she assured him, and he asked no more on the subject.

"I saw her today," he told her, with a sigh.

"Did you?"

"Yes, I did. She was beautiful, and I loved her, even though I didn't know who she was at the time."

Aeris did not answer, but her hand reached for his and held it tight.

"Is it all right for us to do this?" he questioned doubtfully.

"Yes."

"Then I wish I wouldn't have to let go." He turned to face her. "I really do love you."

"Really?" She looked mildly interested.

"Yes," he admitted. "Though the love I have for you has changed. I wish I could stay with you, and find out whether it would stand the test of time."

"You can do that," she told him, "until the day you die."

"I'll still love you then."

"You'll be doing an awful lot of loving then." she joked, then her face turned serious "Doesn't that frighten you, Cloud? That when you're gone, and your loving's all over, I'll still be here, while you pass on into the Lifestream? All your love will have been for nothing."

"No, I'm not afraid," he shook his head. "Because the old Aeris's soul is in the Lifestream, and I'll meet her there."

Aeris smiled up at him, the old smile that he knew so well.

"I really do love you too," she told him, and he knew it was true, at least, to a certain extent. He leaned forwards and kissed her softly, knowing it would be the last time. He thought of the quest, of now; of his daughter and the future. Questions still needed to be answered, but all would fall into place now. He was entering the future, and he was happy.

But for now, he was content to let sleep fill him up instead.

Next: First steps towards closure for many, but will that include Aeris herself?