Blue Ocean – Chapter 5
By: Bahamuts AngelVII
A/N: She's supposed to come off as a … haha but you'll see what happens in the end. Italics means thoughts, and during flashbacks I've decided to put it in italics too, WITHOUT quotes. I'm totally going over the edge.
Chapter 5
"I sure hope Cloud's alright. Do you think so, Reno?" Yuffie turned to ask. She put her hands on her arms. The air had become distinctively chilly. Reno took off his jacket and put it on Yuffie.
"I think they'll be alright... I wonder what'll happen to Tifa."
"Yeah... Reno, can we... Can we go to where Aeris died? I want to see the place where she died…"
"Yeah." Yuffie leaned into Reno and he held her as they walked on the crystal-like stairs that lead down to the small but beautiful altar.
When Reno and Yuffie reached the small stone steps that led up to the spot where Aeris died, Yuffie was flooded with sad memories. Her eyes were moist and she hugged Reno avidly. He held her and whispered in her ear. She sniffled and cried as Reno hugged her close.
"Shh... It's going to be okay, Yuffie. Let's focus on what we're here to do… What the hell?"
Yuffie lifted up her head and wiped her eyes. She turned to see what Reno was looking at, and she saw a re-enactment of when Aeris died. Yuffie thought it was actually Aeris, but then she saw that Aeris, Cloud, and Sephiroths' images were flickering. She looked behind her and saw Tifa and herself running forward.
"Is that...?" Reno asked her.
"Yeah..."
Yuffie gathered Reno's hands and let go. He reached out for her, but then he decided not to. She walked closer, and her footsteps echoed loudly. Someone's voice started speaking.
"Who is that?" Reno asked.
"It sounds a lot like Aeris... But she wasn't talking like that... Was that what she was thinking?" Yuffie asked herself.
"You're acting very mature, Yuffie." Reno said.
Yuffie laughed half-heartedly and listened to what Aeris was saying.
I never thought this would be the end... I was looking forward to Cloud... Becoming friends with Tifa... I love Cloud, and he loves me... We'll be together, I know it... One day... It hurts, but I can't let Cloud know I'm in so much pain... If he knows… He would think it was all his fault… But I love him…
Yuffie felt a surge of emotions going through her; she felt the need to cry. Yuffie spun around and bounded back to Reno, who held her with his strong arms. He patted her hair and held her tight. After a few moments, Yuffie looked back up with tears in her eyes, and watched the death of Aeris, again.
Reno and Yuffie watched the flickering images of Aeris disappear into thin air. She whipped around to see her and Tif's images fade away too. She grabbed the edges of Reno's coat and shook him over-excitedly, mumbling words quickly.
"You'll have to slow down, Yuffie. I can't understand you!" Reno shouted over Yuffie.
"Oopsie, sorry. I was saying that we have to-to go, uh, to, um, Uhhhh…" Yuffie stumbled over her words, and Reno put his hands on both her shoulders.
"Spit it out!"
"Uh! Okay, so. We have to go to where Cloud put Aeris into the little pond type thing, and we have to dive down. You know, like Cloud did! We have to tell him about what Aeris said! We have to," Yuffie screamed, "or else we won't know what Cloud will really do!"
"But Yuff… Don't we want him to go with Tifa?" Reno asked.
"Well, yeah, I mean, well, it's who HE wants, not what we want. If we don't tell him about this and then he finds out later somehow, you know he'll never forgive us! Let's go!" Yuffie yelled behind her, as she was already leaving the room.
When they saw Tifa's limp, and pale, body lying still on the surface, Reno moved her over to the side and laid her down gently. He ran back over to Yuffie who was busy studying the hole in the ice, looking for Aeris under the watery surface.
"Hey! There!" Yuffie yelled.
Reno dived in first and Yuffie came after him. They swam down as fast as they could. When Reno reached Aeris, he motioned his hand to Yuffie. She nodded and swam closer. They touched her hands and found themselves going through the same things as Tifa.
When they reached the altar, Yuffie stepped down, followed by Reno who jumped onto the platform. They heard an odd chattering sound, as if there was a studio audience.
"Cloud!" They both yelled together.
"What? Yuffie! Reno!" Cloud waved and ran to meet them.
"…What are they doing here! This isn't… They're messing it up!" Aeris turned and faced them, mumbling under her breath.
"Aeris! Where's Tifa?" Yuffie asked.
Aeris angrily pointed at the statue of Tifa. Yuffie gaped at the stone statue of Tifa, and ran over to the statue. Then she turned around and her eyes narrowed at Aeris.
"What'd ya do! Why did you do this to Tifa!"
"She deserved it. She stole my Cloud."
"I'm not yours, Aeris." Cloud interjected.
"What? I thought you said you loved me too."
"I do, Aeris! But..."
"There shouldn't be anything to think about Cloud. Just decide. You know who you really want, but you're forcing yourself to believe something." Reno cut in.
He's right...Cloud looked down at his shoes and put his hand to his chin. He then looked up and took a step towards Aeris.
"Aeris… Listen to me," Cloud started, and suddenly all the "chatter" died away, leaving an eerie silence. Everyone started listening to Cloud. "Aeris… You know… You know that I love you, right? You know that you mean everything to me. You… You are my life! My light of my life! You know ever since we met, I've felt like I could connect with you! Aeris, you are exactly what I want. But…" He trailed off.
"But what!" Aeris glared.
"Tifa… Tifa was something special to me. She's my best friend ever, and I can't imagine my life without her. Though you are my special light, Tifa is my… is my star. She's… she's so different, so, so… I don't know… I just love her. I love her so much. She's my best friend, and she's always loved me, no matter what. She loves me, so much, I know… I know she always will."
"That's not true! I love you too! I love you the most! I..." Aeris looked up and saw Cloud, Yuffie and Reno staring at her. She felt anger flare up and she ran over to Tifa's statue.
"I won't let it go! I love you! Not Tifa!" Aeris raised her staff above her head and brought it as hard as she could onto the top of Tifa's head.
"NOOOOO!" Cloud yelled, and ran over. He knocked Aeris aside, but then helped her up again.
"Aeris, you have to understand! I love you Aeris! This is, this choice, is only something I can understand. You have to believe me! You have to… You have to believe me."
"I..." Aeris suddenly fell forward and onto the ground.
"Aeris!"
Cloud ran forward and cradled Aeris in his arms. He stroked her bangs back, and held his head close to hers. Suddenly, her emerald eyes flew open.
"Cloud…? Where the heck are we…?"
"Maybe she was possessed... "Yuffie said.
"I, I think… I can't remember anything! What in the world…?" Aeris reached up and touched Cloud's face.
"I think you were possessed by yourself..." Cloud answered.
Cloud pushed away some more of her bangs, and kissed her lightly on the forehead, and smiled at her. She smiled back.
"What do you mean, Cloud?"
"What I mean… What I mean is that, you know. How there was always a love triangle between us," Cloud motioned to the three, Tifa, Aeris, and himself. "I think that part of Aeris didn't want Tifa to be happy. I'm sorry, that sounds really mean. But, I think it's what happened."
"But, I don't really feel like that."
"I know you don't Aeris, but there is a small hidden part of you..."
"It may not seem like I know a lot, but I do, from working with Hojo for so long," Reno interrupted, "I think that when Sephiroth pierced her with his sword, some of his evilness joined with her... Or something... I don't know. Hojo was talking about it, but I didn't really pay any attention to him... 'Cause, you know... he's a crazy lunatic."
"Cloud, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do anything... What did I do?"
"Look at Tifa..." Yuffie pointed.
"I think I know why I did that... I'm jealous... Tifa always had your attention, no matter what. I'm so sorry, Cloud..."
"Really, Aeris. Don't apologize. You know I love you… Don't make this harder than it is. But really…"
"What's wrong, Cloud?" Aeris moved her face within inches of Cloud's.
"I love Tifa too."
The silence was deafening, and no one moved an inch, except for Aeris. Cloud could feel her breathing tense, a small gasp escape her perfect lips.
"I… I'll give her back to you." Aeris finally managed in the quietist whisper. Her breathing shook, and Cloud could feel tears coming to his eyes, and he knew that Aeris was going to cry too.
"…Aeris…"
"Cloud… Cloud…" Aeris choked out, her eyes blurring with tears. She stood up and walked to Tifa.
Aeris sat down across of Tifa. She placed white materia in her frozen hands, and put her own on top of Tifa's. She muttered a few Ancient words, and then closed her eyes.
"Aeris…" Cloud felt feelings of sadness even I, the creator of this story, could not describe. My love for you can not be said in words, but can only be seen by those who have truly felt love…
Aeris glowed brightly, and it slowly faded away, until she was just a dim outline of a figure.
"Cloud. I love you. Never forget, I will always love you. Be happy with Tifa, do not put her aside."
"This is the hardest thing I've ever had to do… Good-bye…" Cloud said. This wasn't the only hardest thing… It's just a repeat of before… I…
Aeris opened her eyes and smiled at Cloud before she disappeared from sight. Tifa was now fully awake, and she looked around. The frozen tear disappeared and Tifa tried standing up. Her body was already stiff, and she had a hard time getting her joints to work. Cloud came over and held her elbow.
"Cloud? Yuffie? Reno? ... Where's Aeris? Is she alright?"
"Shh... Tifa... She's gone to the great beyond. She's fine... She's gone..."
Cloud shook and then started to cry, and Tifa held him in her arms. She rested her head on his, and he wrapped his arms around her. Reno reached for Yuffie and pulled her close to whisper in her ear.
"I think we'd better go, come on, Yuffie."
Yuffie and Reno turned around and held hands and started disappearing in the same manner Aeris did. Yuffie turned her head around to watch Tifa and Cloud before they disappeared out of sight.
"Cloud... I'm so sorry. I, I just wanted you two to be happy! I mean, it's obvious you would've wanted her more than me! I must've messed up somehow! I'm so sorry…" Tifa cried.
"No, Tifa. It's not your fault. Don't be sorry, just remember it's not your fault. If you keep thinking it is, you will never be happy. Tifa, nothing went wrong."
"I… What?"
"I told her that I wanted you."
"You wanted… me?" Tifa said, her words coming out slow and uncertain. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Could he really love me? Could he really…
"Tifa, yes. Yes! I wanted you."
"Cloud… Let's go."
Tifa and Cloud also disappeared into a blinding white light. They reappeared on the blood-spattered altar where Aeris was stabbed. Tifa turned to go down the stairs, but Cloud grabbed her hand.
"Huh?" Tifa said, and she jerked back around to face Cloud.
"Thank you, Tifa."
"I didn't do anything Cloud."
"Yes, yes you did."
"No, not really."
"Tifa, you know. I would never be here if it weren't for you."
"What are you talking about, Cloud?"
"The lifestream… Mideel. It was thanks to you I got back here."
Tifa was taken aback. She blinked dumbly and finally reached out and put Cloud's face between her palms. She took a few steps closer to him, as if they were about to kiss.
"Cloud, you don't need to thank me. I need to tell you something..."
"Yeah?"
Tifa looked away and laughed, one of those fake laughs that people force themselves to push out. She knew Aeris had said it many times before and probably even said it when she was on a date with Cloud.
"I..."
"Tifa?"
"I… I love you. I always have, since we were little kids. I love you, Cloud. And, and ever since Aeris appeared, I knew I had no chance. I just didn't want to see it…"
Tifa turned to leave. She didn't want to hear Cloud speak words of rejections to her, although undoubtedly (In her mind) Cloud was going to.
"Tifa! Wait!" His words echoed into the blackness, and Tifa froze. She spun around and looked at Cloud.
"Tifa. I love you too. When we were kids, remember? At the well? Don't you remember… the promise?" Cloud asked her, his voice lowering to a soft voice.
The promise…
Flashback
Sorry I'm late. You said you wanted to talk about something?
Come this spring... I'm leaving this town for Midgar.
...All boys are leaving our town.
But I'm different from all of them. I'm not just going to find a job. I want to join SOLDIER. I'm going to be the best there is, just like Sephiroth!
Sephiroth... The Great Sephiroth. Isn't it hard to join SOLDIER?
...I probably won't be able to come back to this town for a while.
Will you be in the newspapers if you do well?
I'll try.
Hey, why don't we make a promise? Umm, if you get really famous and I'm ever in a bind… You'll come and save me, alright?
What?
Whenever I'm in trouble, my hero will come and rescue me. I want to at least experience that once.
What?
Come on! Just promise me.
All right... I promise.
End Flashback.
"Oh, Cloud. Of course I remember! But… Now you've fulfilled your promise. You don't have to come and save me anymore. I'll just go and I wont be a burden anymore." Tifa said.
"No! You don't get what I'm saying, do you? I'm saying that now I've fulfilled my promise, I can't let anything happen to you! And there's only one way to make sure that never happens… I want to be with you."
"Tifa… I love you." He said quietly.
Tifa smiled the biggest smile ever, and she reached out to hug him. Cloud… You have no idea how long I've wanted to hear those words… Cloud pushed her away and brushed back her hair, as Tifa had seem him do so many times to Aeris. But this time, this time he was doing it to her, this time it was for her. She let her smile go loose, and she reached out and bravely kissed him.
"Cloud," Tifa said breathlessly, "You don't know how long I've wanted you to say that."
Cloud kissed Tifa again.
"Tifa, let's go. I want to leave this behind. Not Aeris, but everything else… All the bad memories."
"Alright."
Meanwhile, Aeris watched them from above, hovering in the evening sky. She was holding her flower basket, as well as a beautiful tulip. She smiled down at them, happy that finally everyone could move on. He knows how much I love him, and now we can both move on.
"Aeris!"
Aeris turned around, facing a door. The door led to the lifestream, where all the spirits lived. She turned to see Zack. Zack, her long lost love. At least all of us will have a happy ending.Zack held out his arm, and Aeris took it. They smiled at each other, and as the sun set onto them, they both disappeared back into the lifestream.
Tifa and Cloud turned to leave. They walked out of bone village and got on their Chocobos. Without talking, they started walking, then running toward the ocean. The sunset was blazing, and after one brief kiss, Tifa and Cloud set off. Tifa watched the evening sun turn the ocean orange, red, and yellow. The starry, cloudless, sky showed a giant full moon hovering above them. And as Tifa sat on her chocobo, she couldn't help but admire the beautiful, endless, blue ocean.
The End
A/N: How'd you like it? Please review! I really want to know what you guys thought so next time I can make changes