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A/N: Wow.
It's been about four years since I started writing this thing. Four years ago, Seth was just a little kid without a name poking at my brain and wanting to be written about... I'm glad I finally managed to bring him this far.
Everyone who's stuck with me through my inexcusably long hiatuses, I thank you profusely. I hope this chapter's a suitable ending. :) I am planning a short epilogue (and I hear you all screaming in agony now XD) but as far as the main story goes? It's done. Seth's battle is done, and I hope you've all enjoyed this half as much as I have.
With no further ado, and after a terribly long wait, I present to you chapter 16.
-
Zair lay flat on the Cetra bed, closing his eyes and gratefully relaxing into the mattress. It occurred to him that he had spent most of his day on Strife's back, with only a short rest in Icicle, and the days before that mostly on a raft; his body was now registering its complaints about this treatment. His back and neck ached, and his legs felt weak and tired. The bed was wonderfully soft, it was relatively warm inside the shell house, and Zair relished the chance to simply try to relax for a little while.
For over half an hour, Zair's thoughts didn't wander beyond the confines of the bed as he dozed in blissful, pillow-filled silence. Just as he was about to fall entirely asleep, however, Strife let out a sleepy coo and shifted his fluffy head on the side of the mattress, inadvertantly poking his beak into Zair's side. Startled back into full consciousness, Zair scooted away, and then sat up with a sigh.
The birds had come inside with them. Zair had wanted them to stay outside like the night before, but Zion had put up a holy fuss about being left by the door, obviously wanting to stay with Seth. And, of course when Zion had insisted on coming inside, Strife had gotten all indignant and annoyed until Zair was forced to let the massive gold come inside too. The end result was that you couldn't get to the door without having to climb over mountains of feathers that pecked you if you stepped wrong. Zair had pleaded desperately with Seth to control his bird, but Seth hadn't said anything, just shrugged helplessly and grinned vaguely.
Seth hadn't said anything since shattering the Materia, actually. Zair recalled the massive explosion of Mako that had erupted from the sphere when Masamune struck it, and the way it had all seemed to rush through Seth like a lightning rod in reverse. He also recalled Seth standing dead still after the light had rushed through his chest and his head and his hair, looking wind-whipped and shell-shocked. Turning his head to look at the other boy, Zair wondered uneasily what all that Mako had done to his head.
And how insane was that - worrying about the welfare of a dead kid? Zair shook his head in disbelief. Just last night, Seth had been dead. He'd seen it happen, had seen Aerin kneeling by Seth's side, had been witness to her hysterics at his passing. Seth had died, there was no doubt about it. But Seth himself had apparently not gotten the memo.
Crawling to the foot of his bed, Zair peeked over Seth's pillow for a discreet look-see. Seth certainly looked solid enough. The mattress sank slightly underneath him, so he had weight. Studying the other boy carefully, Zair determined that he did seem to be breathing.
Incredible.
"So, Seth."
Seth tilted his head slightly.
"You seriously back with us?"
Seth nodded. Zair sat back on his heels and marveled for a second. He felt nearly giddy, and for a second he thought he had to be dreaming. Maybe they hadn't gone to Icicle yet, and everything that had happened in the last day had all been a crazy dream. Feeling silly for doing it, Zair pushed back one sleeve of his jacket and pinched the exposed wrist harshly. It stung like hell.
So.
"Mind if I ask how?"
Zair watched as Seth's shoulders rose and fell in a helpless shrug. He frowned.
"Sure you're all there? Say something, you're making me nervous."
Seth rolled over onto his side and pushed himself up on one elbow, looking back over his pillow to meet Zair's gaze. A faint green glow followed the motion of his head, and Zair felt suddenly apprehensive. Seth's eyes had acquired a dim but unmistakable Mako light. Zair's mind ran with panicked thoughts of Cloud in his wheelchair and Sephiroth crystallized in Lifestream.
"Yeah, so," he said, trying to sound casual about it, "are we totally sure that Mako didn't fuck your head?"
Zair jumped as Seth chuckled unexpectedly, the first actual sound he'd made since the explosion. But he didn't speak, and Zair finally gave up, throwing himself back against his own pillow. Strife jerked back his head in surprise, and Zair reached out to pet him in conciliation.
Despite his earlier languor, he was unable to sleep for several more hours.
-
Huddled under the heavy blankets, Aerin turned over for the third time in the last half hour. Fed up with lying still, she sat up and hopped out of bed, trailing blankets behind her. Although the room was heated, she still shivered a little as she padded to the window and looked out at the village.
It looked pristine in the starlight. The only sign that there had been any disturbance was the multitude of footprints in the snow, leading from every doorway and melting into a huge, confused mass. Aerin smiled and shook her head, remembering the earlier chaos. Everyone in the village had seen the light show and wanted to know what had just happened, and if they were safe. Aerin had been answering the same questions for at least ten minutes before Vincent finally wrapped a protective arm around her and forced a way for them out of the throng. Aerin had barely managed to hold on to the Princess Guard, and in the confusion had forgotten her cloak entirely. She would have to remember to go get it in the morning.
Following the trail of footprints, her gaze finally landed on the night's battlefield, discernible only as a darker patch against the snow. Her heart gave a funny little jump.
It had been the life of the Planet they had fought for, triumphing against all reason over an undefeatable enemy. The Planet would begin to heal now, Aerin thought. The cracks would close up, the plants would return to the places ruined by war and pollution, the existence of all future generations was assured... and the only physical evidence of the battle that had decided it all was a melted patch in the snow.
Aerin's breath formed a cloud over the window glass, obsuring her vision. Turning away, she returned to her bed and sat on the edge, arms wrapped around herself to keep in the warmth.
Restless, she tossed her head up to stare at the ceiling. How were you supposed to go quietly to bed and sleep after a night like that? She wondered if Cloud had managed it the night after his last battle, or if he too had lain awake, his body filled with nervous energy and his head filled with thoughts of the battle, and of what it had taken to get there.
Had Cloud missed Aerith as bitterly as Aerin missed Seth now?
Pulling her knees up to her chest, Aerin buried her face in her arms and began to weep quietly. She wasn't sure of how much time had passed before she heard the sound of her door opening, followed by the weight of someone next to her bed. She startled and jerked her head up to see who it was, expecting Zair or, for a crazy moment, even Seth.
In the dim moonlight, she saw his face and relaxed. "Vincent," she whispered.
"...I heard you crying," he said in a low voice, awkward and uncertain.
He didn't go on, and Aerin didn't reply. Instead she flung herself against his shoulder, throwing her arms around him, and letting out a gasping, raw sob.
If Aerin had had her way, the victory night would have been spent in celebration, all four of them alive and unhurt and together. But if it was necessary that she spend it in mourning, then she was glad not to be doing so alone.
-
The edge of the sky was lightening as the Highwind sailed gently through the air above the western sea. Wutai was just coming into view over the horizon. One of Cid's trainee pilots was at the wheel, Cid having retired hours ago to rest up for the battle.
Nearly all of the surviving AVALANCHE members were on board now, and Cloud suspected that he was the only one out of all of them who was still awake. Cid had retired to the cabin shortly after they had picked up Tifa from Costa del Sol, leaving the flying to one of his trainee pilots. One by one, the other fighters had joined him. Even Cait Sith stood deactivated in a corner, with Reeve probably at home in a cushy bed. The bastard. Cloud had managed only a couple hours' restless sleep after tossing and turning for most of the night.
Restlessly, he wandered the corridors of the Highwind. Cid didn't show it much, but he really was a romantic at heart - the Highwind had been so faithfully restored that Cloud wouldn't have known the difference if he hadn't been on the ship when it had gotten in Holy's way. As he climbed up the stairs to the deck, Cloud thought that he would almost have preferred to be riding a brand-new airship, one that he could get lost in. At the very least, it would have given him something to do. And it certainly wouldn't be reminding him quite so much of AVALANCHE's last battle together.
When he stepped out onto the deck, he was surprised to find that he wasn't alone. Tifa was there as well, going through her katas and seemingly unaware of his presence. He shut the door quietly and went to the railing, letting Tifa finish her routine.
They were over the middle of the island when he became aware of Tifa's presence next to him.
"It's greener than it was," she observed quietly.
Cloud turned his head to face her silently. "They've been working hard to repair the war damage here since the battle," he said. "Yuffie said it's only really started showing in the last five years or so."
Tifa nodded once, and rested her elbows on the railing. "The Planet's getting back on its feet after all this time." She took a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh, frowning. "It could be knocked down again so easily..."
"I know," Cloud murmured.
There was a companionable silence for a while between the two. Idly, Cloud reflected that after Nanaki, Tifa was probably his closest friend. He had an understanding with her that was, in some ways, deeper than that between he and the cat. It had been Tifa, after all, who had walked around in his mind and helped put his fragmented memories together.
"I'm glad we lived to see this day," Tifa said at last, in a quiet tone. "If there had to be another battle, I'm glad we're the ones to fight it."
"Yeah," Cloud concurred after a momentary pause. "At least most of us made it here."
"You don't really think that Vincent...?"
"I don't know. I... really hope not."
"Me too," Tifa said softly.
The city of Wutai was coming into view. Cloud dipped his head.
"Aerin's out there," he said hoarsely. "I have no idea where, or if she's even alive or..."
Tifa straightened up beside him and put her hand on his shoulder. Cloud turned to face her.
She had changed so much with time - her face had filled out a little more, her hair had been cut short, and there were a few smile lines around her eyes. She had once been one of the palest members of the team, but had tanned in the Costa del Sol sun until she was a shade darker than even Cloud's new Cosmo brown. When she had boarded the airship earlier, Cloud had felt something twist in his chest. She had aged. He had not.
But some things changed less than others. The look of gentle concern on Tifa's face was one that he had seen seventeen years ago.
"I'm sure she'll be fine," Tifa said. "From everything you've told me about her over the years..."
"Yeah," Cloud said uncertainly. "Yeah... she's tough. But--"
"Heeeeeeeeey...!"
Startled, both Tifa and Cloud turned in the direction of the distant cry. Atop the very peak of Da-chao Mountain, a small figure clad in black was jumping up and down, waving a long torch. The two fighters on the deck exchanged a long look and a grin.
"Yuffie," they said in unison.
Some things really didn't change at all.
-
"Hey, you, lazy-ass," a cheerful voice said, cutting through Zair's dreams. For a moment he thought blearily that he was back in Cosmo and hearing Cloud. Memory soon provided other evidence.
"Got yer voice back," Zair observed, his voice tired and weak. There were tiny aches scattered all over him; and his body, already looking ahead to the upcoming chocobo ride to wherever the hell he was supposed to go now, was saying "fuck that and go back to sleep".
"Yeah, my head was kind of crowded last night," Seth said nonchalantly, kicking the side of Zair's bed. "Come on, dude, it's like ten already. The birds are outside and they're bored. There's half a bag of trail mix for breakfast if you want it."
Zair seriously contemplated going back to sleep just to spite the other boy, but then he sat straight up. "Crowded?"
"Memories," Seth grimaced, shaking his head. "It took me all last night just to sort everything out, it was like about eighty million people just dropped their baggage in my head and ran. I now know more than I ever wanted to know about Jenova's Planet."
Zair surveyed him worriedly. "You know, you've kind of got a bad track record with finding stuff out about Jenova you didn't need to know."
Seth waved his hand dismissively. "Yeah, well, last time it was personal and I was about as stable as a behemoth on a chocobo egg. I'll be fine, there's just like this huge pile of stuff in the back of my head. I'll write a novel about it someday or something."
"Damn," Zair said eloquently, feeling a pang of sadness as he got up slowly from the haven of comfort that the bed offered. "You musta got it sorted out damn fast, if you're this fucking chipper today."
"Nah. I don't think I actually even shut my eyes for more than five seconds." At Zair's incredulous stare, Seth laughed. "If we were still using Mako as power, I think you could light Midgar for at least a day by hooking me up to a reactor. I don't think I'm gonna sleep for, like, a week."
"I don't think that's a recorded symptom of Mako poisoning," Zair muttered, grabbing Strife's saddlebags and the satchel with the harp.
"How about being dead and then marinating in Lifestream for a couple days before being resurrected?" Seth shrugged, and grinned. "I hope I have some kind of weird lasting effects from this. I can confuse doctors for the rest of my life."
"Your eyes are still glowing," Zair offered helpfully as they made their way down to the exit of the shell house.
"Oh, yeah! Awesome, I can see in the dark then. And I can hide in dark corners and scare the crap out of people!"
They came out of the house and into the sunlight, and Zair burst out laughing. "Holy shit, you sound like me now. When I first got into SOLDIER, you know how much I liked to abuse the eyes?"
Seth laughed loud and bright, and everything was suddenly smooth and easy between the two as they saddled up their chocobos, scavenged new blindfolds for Seth and Zion, and prepared to leave. By the time they were nearly over the mountains and Zair was handing the empty bag of trail mix back to Seth, he had nearly forgotten that Seth had ever been dead.
-
Sunlight streamed in through the window, filling the inn room with light and hurting Aerin's eyes as she woke up.
Stubbornly, she shuffled down in bed and pulled the covers up over her head. It felt like much too early to be awake. She was, in fact, fully determined to go back to sleep, and she might have succeeded except for the noise.
It was a small, repetitive creaking sound that she couldn't quite shut out under the downy blankets, and it was coming from somewhere inside the room. She wanted to ignore it, but after several minutes with no apparent break in the sound, she finally sat up to see.
Vincent was hunched awkwardly over a small table in the room, methodically bending his ruined fingers back into shape. He seemed fully absorbed in his task. Aerin shifted forward, staring frankly at the process.
"Good morning," he said calmly, causing Aerin to jerk and guiltily tear her gaze away from his claws. "I hope you slept well."
Aerin sat back, pulling the covers up and drawing her knees to her chest. "I did, thank you."
"I've ordered breakfast, it should be ready in about half an hour," Vincent said, finishing the repair to his index finger with a last almighty wrench and then tapping each claw against the tabletop. "Hmph. The metal's been weakened. It won't hold as well now. I might have to find the schematics and see if Cid can cast me a new one."
"... That was very kind of you," Aerin said sheepishly, not quite sure what to say.
When all was said and done, what did you say? The journey was over, and their goal had miraculously been achieved. Jenova was dead and the world would live. What came next? Mumbled goodbyes and quiet journeys home?
Vincent turned his head to gaze at Aerin silently. Aerin doodled a pattern on the bedsheets with her finger, lost in thought.
"I explained everything to the people of Icicle when I went down to order," Vincent said softly. "They were all gathered in the inn, wanting to know the news. I answered all their questions."
"That's good," Aerin murmured.
Vincent nodded almost imperceptibly, and said nothing. Aerin crossed her arms over her knees and closed her eyes. She felt suspended in time, as though this moment would be all there was.
Across the room, she heard the chair creak as Vincent got up, and the dull thud of his footsteps as he moved to the window.
"We really did win, didn't we?" she said softly, opening her eyes.
Vincent inclined his head slightly, but did not speak. Aerin watched him anxiously, suddenly paranoid that he would tell her that what they had done was of no use, that Jenova would just come back all over again... she had managed it before when there was only slightly more of her left than there was now...
Vincent's shoulders sagged, and he sighed, as though relieved of a great burden. "We did."
Aerin's heart jumped, and she couldn't help but smile, relaxing as well. "Then the Planet will live. We'll all live. Everything will be all right."
Vincent turned to her, the faintest of smiles on his face. "Yes. It will."
He traversed the room and sat at the foot of her bed, linking his mismatched fingers and giving a surprisingly luxurious stretch before draping his arms over his knees. "I'm surprised you needed me to tell you that, however," he said offhandedly. "You were bonded with Phoenix, you seemed to sense our victory before it happened..."
"Well... about that..." Aerin looked off to the side embarrassedly. "Phoenix... when she left, after the battle, she left me too. She'd sort of put herself inside me, I think, to help me. I don't think all this was supposed to happen so soon." She chuckled nervously. "I was supposed to be the Planet's weapon, but I guess I wasn't ready yet."
Vincent chuckled cynically. "So even the Planet has trouble meeting deadlines."
Aerin covered her mouth to suppress a giggle. "I guess so. Anyway, Phoenix is gone now, she went back to wherever it is that espers live... so, I mean, I felt like we were winning when it happened, but without Phoenix I couldn't really be sure now... so... how are you so sure, anyway?" she asked, suddenly curious.
"Jenova is in my body," Vincent said softly, ignoring Aerin's slight involuntary flinch. "Until recently she was not able to control me, but I have always felt her, as though she was standing just behind me, not making a sound, but still there..." He shook his head, bringing himself back to the topic at hand. "I don't feel that any more. Her cells will always be in my body, but the connection is closed. There is no life in her now."
Aerin sighed in relief, falling back against her pillow. "I'm glad..."
If Vincent had heard her, he gave no indication. He gazed into the distance, apparently mulling something over. And then, all at once, his eyes widened and he sat suddenly upright, a strange look coming across his face. Aerin grabbed automatically at the covers, slightly worried.
"Vincent?"
He turned, uncharacteristically animated, and reached out. She recoiled as he grasped her forearm with his right hand.
"What did she say?" he demanded, his voice urgency. "She told us she couldn't die. But she is dead. How did it happen?"
"I don't know," Aerin said, badly startled. "Vincent, what's gotten into you?"
Vincent let go of her arm and stood up, pacing the floor in long strides. "She told us very specifically that she could not die as long as her Materia was intact... And we were nowhere near the Materia..."
"Maybe she was lying," Aerin suggested, nervously rubbing her arm.
"She doesn't lie," he said insistently. "She twists the truth, she withholds vital parts of it, but she does not lie. Especially not when she has every reason to believe she has won. She was gloating, she thought her victory was assured, she had absolutely no reason to mislead us..."
"You're saying that what she said was all true?" Aerin was helplessly bewildered. "But... it doesn't make any sense! If what she said is true, there was no way we could have won, but we did anyway!"
"Aerin," Vincent said, his voice cracking at the edges with excitement. "She said there were two weapons that could destroy the Materia. One of them was Death Penalty, and she ruined it in front of me... But the other was never destroyed... Not Masamune..."
"...What?" The bottom seemed to have dropped out of Aerin's voice. "You don't... you can't mean..."
"It is the only explanation that makes any sense," Vincent persisted. "Jenova's life was safeguarded by the Black Materia. Zair took it far away, to the Sleeping Forest. The Masamune was there... Jenova's death can only mean that the Masamune was used to destroy the Materia. There is no other explanation!"
Aerin began to tremble softly. "But the Masamune is Seth's," she croaked. "And even Phoenix can't-- not for others!"
"If you can explain this otherwise," Vincent said quietly, "I am listening."
Bowing her head, Aerin took two fistfuls of the blanket. "...I want to believe it, Vincent," she said, small-voiced. "But if you're wrong, it... it's too cruel..."
Vincent moved to kneel beside her bed, looking up at her frankly. "Believe me, Aerin... I understand. But I, for once, have to hope." He laid his hand kindly on her shoulder. "And you know hope, now, better than anyone."
Aerin took in a slow, thin, breath. "I know... it's just... it would be like losing him all over again."
Vincent closed his eyes solemnly. "That, unfortunately, I understand too well. But just this once, I think it's worth the risk."
After a long, unsteady moment, Aerin raised a hand to scrub at her eyes, and turned to face Vincent. "What should we do?"
"For now, I think we should eat breakfast." The corner of Vincent's mouth quirked back in a half-smile. "It should be ready by now. Zair will likely be coming back now that it's warm enough to travel. We'll wait for him here, and then we'll see if I'm right."
Aerin looked up at him. This man, who had always been so solemn and distant, now seemed somehow more alive... looking into his eyes, Aerin wondered if she could dare to hope.
She smiled slightly.
"I guess we will."
-
Standing at the head of the cockpit, Cloud crossed his arms and took in a deep breath, letting it out as a sigh. He hadn't liked giving speeches that much seventeen years ago, and he didn't like it much more now. But AVALANCHE was gathered in front of him, all of them on their way to a reprise of the final battle. And regardless of time or age, he was still their leader.
"Well, this is it."
Scattered throughout the cockpit, his old comrades gazed back with stoic, serious eyes. All of them were here... all but the woman they'd lost years ago, and the man who had gone missing in the present.
"We're off to fight an enemy that should be dead. I wouldn't have blamed any of you if you hadn't come... but I'm glad you're all here."
There were a few scattered murmurs along the lines of "of course we came" and "what did you expect?" Cloud smiled.
"Now... you have to realize there's a strong possibility that this is a fool's errand. But maybe Jenova will actually stay dead this time. Maybe we'll find out something we didn't know before. Whatever happens, we can't give up hope. I know we're not as young as we used to be, but I think we all know... we can't turn away when the Planet needs us."
Murmurs of assent. And, Cloud thought with a stab of self-consciousness, they weren't as young as they used to be. Barret, who had taken up a more functional prosthetic after their first battle but had switched back to his old gun for this occasion, had gone slightly to seed and had grey creeping in at his temples. Tifa had her smile lines. Yuffie was no longer a young girl, but a surprisingly elegant woman. Cid, apparently opting to more closely follow the old traditions of the dragoons in his middle age, had grown his increasingly pale hair to his waist. Reeve was again unable to fight in person, but had met with Cloud when they came to pick up Cait Sith; the Shinra executive's neatly-groomed hair and beard had developed flecks of white, and many years of stress had been etched into his face. Even Cait Sith looked dusty, with threadbare patches that revealed hints of the machinery beneath.
In fact, Cloud and Nanaki were the only ones who the years had not taken their toll on. And even Cloud knew he had changed inside, profoundly and irrevocably. They were not the same people as they had been, those years ago when he had settled everything with Sephiroth.
But they were the same group, with the same hearts and the same aims, and even though all the evidence suggested that their fight was hopeless, Cloud felt no despair.
"And I don't know what it is," he said, breaking his momentary silence, "but this time I feel like we can do it. I can't explain it, but I feel more safe than I have in years. The odds may be against us, but this time, I think the Planet will be saved... No, I'm sure of it."
Yuffie's smile was the first, then Tifa's, and then Cid's cocky grin and Barret's whoop of confidence; in short order, the whole group was cheering, and Cloud's heart soared.
They were still, and always, AVALANCHE.
-
Leaning back and bracing himself against Zion's saddle with both hands, Seth arched his back and stretched.
"You know," he said, sitting straight again and pulling his cloak back over his arms, "after all this, it'll be a long time before I feel like riding a chocobo again."
"Tell me about it," Zair said with deep empathy, and then patted his chocobo's neck gently. "Strife's gonna get a nice long vacation when I get back to Mideel. All the greens he can eat, and his favorite kinds, too."
Strife warbled approvingly, and Seth laughed.
"I'll have to build a stable for Zion when I get home," he said. "Maybe I can get my mom to start growing greens in the back yard."
"Sounds like a plan," Zair said, grinning as Zion chirped his own approval. "So... what's the first thing you think you'll do when you get home?"
"Give my mom a hug," Seth answered. "Then I guess I'll tell her everything that happened... then I'm just gonna flop on my bed and not move. How about you?"
"Apologize to my parents," Zair said quietly. "I gave them so much grief over the years. As soon as I was old enough to talk, I started trying to tell them who I'd been."
Seth's mouth fell open behind the drawn-up cowl of his cape, and it was a few seconds before he could find his voice. "Uh."
"Yeah, I know. It was harsh." Zair shook his head. "And I didn't shut up about it until they believed me... So, yeah. I'm going to apologize to them."
"Good idea," Seth said, for lack of anything better, and turned his eyes ahead. "You know... I wonder how I'm going to explain the whole dying thing to my mom. I don't want to upset her, but I promised my dad I'd give her a message from him."
"Huh." Zair adjusted his blindfold. "I dunno, be gentle about it and remind her that you came back. How did you come back, anyway?"
"Damned if I know," Seth said, shrugging. "All I know was that all of a sudden I felt like I was burning up inside, and I had this compulsion to go back. Had to fight the Lifestream the whole way, too - remember what I said about going to the island?"
Zair nodded. The first thing he had wanted to know as they left the city was what had happened to Seth after he had died; upon learning that Seth had not been stuck as a ghost the whole time, he had demanded details, and Seth had explained as best he could about the island and Makoforming and the criteria for going there.
"Well... if the island's where you go when you want to keep your identity, the rest of the stream is where you go when you're ready to give it all up. And if you're not ready, the stream tries to do it anyway. Mako's just souls and memories when you get right down to it, and it tries to pick up the memories in your head when you go into the stream, whether you like it or not."
"Damn. And you made it through?"
"Yeah. I almost didn't. But then at the last minute the fire came back, and..." Seth shrugged. "Then I pretty much just kept reminding myself who I was and made my way back to my body. Thanks for dropping me in the stream, by the way, it would've sucked if you'd actually buried me or cremated me or something."
"Thank Vincent for that, not me," Zair said, wondering why this topic didn't even seem strange anymore.
"Right. So, yeah, for some reason going back to my body gave it a jumpstart, and here I am. Don't know why it worked, but I'm not gonna complain."
"Me either," Zair said with a grin. "I don't think Aerin or Vincent will, either."
"That reminds me... How's Aerin doing?" Had Seth not effectively obscured his face with his blindfold and cowl, his look of concern would have been obvious. "She seemed to be holding up okay before I left, but..."
"She's... well, she'll be doing a lot better when she sees you again," Zair said quietly. "She really missed you."
"I missed her too," Seth murmured. "That was one of the worst parts... knowing I wouldn't see her again."
Zair was starting to answer when he first heard the sound. He shut his mouth and signaled Strife to halt, tilting his head.
"What's going on?" Seth asked, looking over his shoulder when he heard Strife stop. "What--"
"Ssh," Zair said. "Hear that?"
Seth listened. And he did hear it - a faint, distant rushing sound, gradually growing louder... like some kind of great machine--
"The airship!" Zair suddenly whooped. "Seth, it's the Highwind! AVALANCHE is coming!"
"AVALANCHE? Really?" Seth laughed. "Awesome! I get to meet all of AVALANCHE! Has it been three days already?"
The Highwind was above them now and passing quickly, the roar of its engines and the wind rushing over its hull much louder now.
"I don't think so," Zair yelled back, "but I don't care! C'mon, let's hurry so we can catch up with 'em!"
"Sounds great to me!"
Zair nodded, grinning, and spurred Strife on again. The gold chocobo broke into a run, with Zion following his lead. They sprinted across the snowfields, their rider's minds already on the end of the journey as they followed the Highwind.
-
Aerin hadn't realized, until she smelled the food, just how hungry she was. She hadn't really eaten since the previous morning, and after last night's battle had been too full of adrenaline and emotions to notice her body's demands. She hadn't even felt particularly hungry as she stepped out of her room, accepting her makeshift cloak back from Vincent and wrapping herself in its folds, but as soon as she reached the head of the stairs it hit her. Food - real, honest breakfast food, pancakes and eggs and bacon and oatmeal and coffee - suddenly took priority over all her other worries.
Vincent had been very generous with his order - there were heaping plates of nearly everything on the menu at the table he guided her to, and as they sat, he had indicated that she was welcome to her share of all of it. Aerin had gratefully taken him up on it.
By the time she was finished, she had cleared away half the table under her own power, Vincent calmly finishing up the rest. Sitting back and pulling her cloak further around herself, she let out a long, contented sigh.
Warm, and full, and comfortable... it was wonderfully pleasant, sitting there all bundled up and looking out the window at the mountains and the snow fields. Even Vincent had become surprisingly agreeable company; the only thing left to tarnish this moment was her still-unrelenting grief.
She wanted to believe Vincent. She wanted to feel it, wanted to be able to bring herself to feel that hope. But Phoenix couldn't raise the dead. Aerin knew that, she'd always been taught that, she had had Phoenix inside her and had felt the truth of that. That was the firebird's limitation. She herself did not die, she could heal any wound and make you whole, and even her smallest feathers had scraps of that powerful magic inside them. But her magic depended on life. She could heal anything, right up until the last moment before death - but when that moment was over, when the light had gone out and there was no life in the body, even Phoenix was powerless to reverse it.
Maybe there'd been some other way. They'd been able to put Masamune up at Seth's grave... maybe Zair had gone to the Lifestream crack, maybe the sword had let Zair wield it for the short time it would take to destroy the Materia--
Aerin's train of thought came to a screeching halt and derailed.
'The Lifestream...'
They had put him in the Lifestream. Phoenix's power depended on life, yes... and where was there more life than the blood of the Planet?
Suddenly, Vincent's wild hope didn't seem so unreasonable...
There was a clink, and Aerin looked up quickly. Vincent had just set down his utensils, tilting his head and frowning. She blinked, a little of her enthusiasm dampening as she wondered what could be wrong.
"Do you hear that?" he murmured before she could say anything.
"Hear what?" she asked hesitantly.
Vincent didn't answer, getting up from the table and striding to and out the door. Aerin followed him hurriedly, growing concerned.
"Vincent, what is it--"
Her question was answered as soon as she stepped out the door. Coming up over the mountains was a vast machine, engines roaring as it moved across the sky.
"An airship!" she cried out in surprise. "I've never seen one before!"
"It's not just any airship," Vincent muttered, watching as the ship came ever closer. "It's the Highwind... AVALANCHE's airship."
"AVALANCHE?" Aerin gaped for a moment, and then clapped her hands together in a sudden rush of delight. "Then my brother's here!"
Vincent ignored her, staring up at the airship as it moved. Very soon it would pass over them...
"Why are they here?" he wondered to himself. "Faris wasn't supposed to call them unle--"
Realization struck him mid-sentence, and he brought his right hand up slowly to cover his face with a small, heartfelt groan. At sunset last night, he had been across the continent, in the form of the Galian Beast. And Faris had been very clear on what to do if she did not see a flare.
He had to give his old comrades credit, then. They had moved quickly.
The Highwind was over them and moving ahead to a battle that did not exist. Shaking his head, Vincent looked quickly over his shoulder at Aerin.
"Stay here," he said, simply. Without giving the girl a chance to ask or protest, he hunched over slightly and was Chaos in a second, leaping into the sky and arrowing towards the airship. Aerin gaped at the suddenness of his departure, and then huffed, stamping her foot and crossing her arms petulantly.
"It's not like I'm too heavy to carry, you know!" she yelled at the rapidly-shrinking form and turned away in annoyance.
-
Chaos lighted carefully on the deck of the Highwind, his claws clicking on the polished wood. When he stepped forward, Vincent's boots made dull thudding sounds as he made his way to the stairs.
He smiled to himself at the nostalgia of it, the metal steps making little clanking noises under his feet as he descended below deck. Seventeen years and it seemed he'd been everywhere but here, traveling all over the face of the Planet on his chocobo's back. And yet it seemed exactly the same as when he had first boarded.
The bridge to the cockpit clattered as he crossed it. Reaching out, Vincent smiled honestly as he opened the doors to meet his old friends.
It was Cloud who saw him first, standing at the head of the cockpit with all the rest of AVALANCHE gathered in front of him. The swordsman gave a start at the sight of him, dropping his heroic bearing entirely at the sight of the ex-Turk.
"VINCENT!"
And, almost as one, the others turned, eyes wide, to stare as the last member of AVALANCHE walked in as though there was nothing unusual about it.
"Yo, what is this?"
"Vincent, we thought you were out of commission!"
"Where th'hell'd you come from? Gimme a damn heart attack..."
Reaching the front of the cockpit, Vincent turned, looking at the assembled fighters.
"I'm sorry to have worried you all," he said. "I presume you are all aware of why you were called?"
"Yes," Tifa spoke up, standing. She held on to a nearby railing to hold herself steady as Cid brought the ship to a stop. "Cloud explained it to each of us when he called us together."
"We thought you were a goner, Vincent," Yuffie put in. "Why didn't you signal Faris last night?"
"Would you believe I was preoccupied?"
Cid gave a disbelieving snort, shaking his head in bemusement. His long hair rippled with the motion. "Musta been pretty fucking preoccupied," he muttered.
Vincent smirked at himself. "At the moment, I was in another shape and hunting Jenova," he said wryly. "My fault. It could have waited... I think it was for the best, however. I'm glad to see you all here."
"That's right... how's the battle going, Vincent?" Cloud turned to face him, looking concerned.
Vincent turned back to face Cloud, and the smile on his face caught the swordsman off balance.
"You shouldn't need to ask me that, Cloud," he said. "Your own body should already have told you."
Cloud looked honestly befuddled. "My own body? Wait... the Jenova cells?" At Vincent's nod, he suddenly understood. "She's dead?"
"For the final time," Vincent said, and no one there had ever seen him smile so widely before. "Cloud, it is over. We have won."
Stunned silence filled the cockpit, and then everyone was speaking all at once, with exclamations of triumph and disbelief and no end of questions for Vincent. He said nothing until Cloud finally raised his hands in a warding gesture and barked at everyone to back off. Murmuring thanks, Vincent cleared his throat and addressed the party again.
"It is a long story, and there is a lot to explain," he said. "I will start from the beginning, but first, Cid, I want you to land the ship and pick up Cloud's sister from the inn."
"How is Aerin?" Cloud asked anxiously as Cid grunted acknowledgement and turned to the ship's controls. Vincent turned to him again.
"She has... suffered, but she is unharmed. And she is the one who had the final hand in Jenova's defeat."
-
Having gotten over her momentary sulk, Aerin watched the Highwind with interest. The sound of its engines had changed as it came to a stop, and it was now idling over Icicle. She was apparently not the only one for whom this sight was a new and rare event; a few of the villagers had come out to watch the ship too.
She was just starting to wonder what it was like inside, and what was going on, when she heard a voice, far off but coming closer, calling her name.
Tearing her eyes away from the airship, she looked around, seeking the telltale flash of gold. She had a lot to tell Zair about, and she could hardly wait.
The voice came again, much closer and clearer, and from almost the opposite direction she had been looking in. Slightly embarrassed, she turned around. And felt as though her heart had stopped.
Strife gleamed in the sun as he ran between the buildings, Zair on his back raising an arm in greeting; but Aerin's eyes slid over them and fixed on the black chocobo just behind them, and specifically the chocobo's rider, shrouded in green.
The second rider's face was hidden, but Aerin could think of only one person it could ever possibly be... The chocobos sent up sprays of snow as they skidded to a halt nearby, and the green rider jumped off his mount and hit the ground running. And Aerin found herself moving too, forgetting to hold on to her own cloak as she ran forward.
The green rider tore off his blindfold and threw back his hood, and his silver hair shone suddenly in the morning sun, his painfully, wonderfully familiar face smiling and laughing, and Aerin thought it had to be a dream because there was simply no way this could really be happening, and then his arms were around her and hers were around him and oh, sweet Phoenix's fire, he was so warm and solid and there and her legs gave way and then they were falling, landing ungracefully in the snow, and he laughed so brightly Aerin's heart shattered and repaired itself in the span of a moment.
She struggled for words as she looked at him. He was smiling, his green eyes sparkling with life and laughter, and he was beautiful...
He sat up, pulling her up with him, and brushed the snow out of her hair, cupping her cheek in his hand.
"Hey," he said softly, his smile growing more gentle as he reached up to wipe away the tears that had come without Aerin even noticing. "Didn't I tell you not to cry?"
Aerin burst into ecstatic, sobbing laughter, and threw her arms around Seth's neck in lieu of words.
-
He'd missed this.
Existence on the island was an almost perfect representation of life... but it lacked substance. Even in the short time he'd been away, he had forgotten what actual touch felt like, accepting what he had felt on the island as equivalent to reality. But here, now, the snow was bitingly cold and the sun was too bright and Aerin was so very, very real in his arms... It was perfect.
Seth rested his cheek against the top of Aerin's head, smiling as he brought a hand up to pet her hair. He'd been able to see her again after all... and this time, if he had anything to say about it, he'd be sticking around a lot longer...
Aerin made a sound, muffled by his cowl. Seth pulled back slightly, tilting his head.
"Hmm?"
"I can't believe it," Aerin whispered, her voice broken through with tears and happiness. "You're real..."
Seth smiled warmly and kissed her forehead. "Yeah," he said softly. "I don't know how... but I'm here."
Aerin pulled away and wiped her eyes vigorously, giggling softly. "Geez, I-I've been such a crybaby lately..."
"You've had a lot to deal with," Seth offered quietly, catching one of her hands and impulsively bringing it up to his mouth, brushing his lips against the knuckles. Aerin looked up at him, startled, and then her expression softened.
"I guess that's true," she said quietly, bringing her other hand up to cover Seth's, bringing it to her cheek and closing her eyes, smiling gently.
Seth looked at her for a long moment. Her hair was disheveled, her face streaked with tear trails, redness tinging her dark skin from the cold, and he had never seen anything more beautiful.
She opened her eyes and looked up questioningly as he withdrew his hand, but then he pulled her into another hug and she relaxed, smiling.
"...c'mon, Vincent, let 'em have their moment..."
Aerin startled out of Seth's arms as Zair spoke, and the two of them, turned like children caught with their hands in the cookie jar, to see Vincent and Zair standing there - Vincent staring at Seth in disbelief, and Zair grinning cheekily up at the ex-Turk.
Seth coughed and chuckled self-consciously, getting to his feet and helping Aerin up as he did. He bowed his head slightly and scratched the back of his neck almost embarrassedly.
"I've got a lot of explaining to do, don't I?"
-
The day went by.
Over the Planet's central ocean, the Highwind glided leisurely across the sky. There was no need to fly at its full speed... no hurry at all. The chocobos were all on board, as were their riders and all their luggage. The journey had been difficult, but the way home would be easy.
It wasn't just Seth who had had a lot of explaining to do. The members of AVALANCHE had unanimously demanded a full retelling of the journey; before that could be done, however, Vincent had crept off to make an explanatory call to Faris. The captain had been elated to learn of Vincent's safety and the final victory, and had (rather predictably, in Vincent's mind) requested to meet AVALANCHE and congratulate the children.
The meeting with Faris alone had taken almost two hours. It turned out that she and Yuffie were reasonably well acquainted, and between their small-talk, Faris's joking proposals to marry Cid so she could divorce him for the Highwind, and all the congratulations and impromptu celebration that had taken place aboard the ship, the sun had been high in the sky before anyone had suggested retiring to the airship.
Faris was out on the seas again now, braving the early storms one more time to return home to Wutai. And the Highwind was drifting southward, aimless for the moment.
Once they had gotten underway, and Cid had entrusted the ship's piloting to one of his crew, everyone had gathered around the four who had saved the world again.
Seth was only too happy to recount everything that had happened from his perspective, only growing sheepish when it came time to explain his connection to the Masamune. The story grew slightly muddled and slow at the point where the two groups had separated, mainly because Aerin and Seth couldn't stop asking "oh, is that right?" and "so what happened then?" of each other during the telling, with Zair occasionally adding his two gil while Vincent quietly but pointedly urged them to get on with it.
When the collective narrative had reached the North Continent, however, all four had hesitated, glancing between each other as if unsure how to go on, or what really needed to be told. Yuffie and Barret had just started getting impatient when Seth finally took a deep breath and explained, as lightly as possible, the circumstances of his demise.
That came very close to sidetracking the discussion entirely, but Vincent had taken over, firmly moving on with the story and describing their continued journey north and their climactic battle with Jenova, up to the moment that AVALANCHE had arrived.
After that, the topic had returned straight to Seth, who looked more embarrassed than anything at the attention, shuffling over to sit closer to Aerin and put one arm around her.
"I told you I really don't know what happened," he said wearily, as the question of his resurrection was posed for the second time. "All I know is that I felt like I was on fire inside and that I had to get off the island and go up to where my body was."
Nanaki twitched his tail, raising his head to peer at Seth. "Fire is the element of Phoenix," he murmured thoughtfully.
"But Phoenix shouldn't be able to do that," Aerin protested quietly, glancing over at Seth for a second. "I mean, I'm happy... but I don't understand. He was floating in the Lifestream, but that alone wouldn't have been enough to make it work... and we were on the other side of the continent."
"But Seth over there's up and breathin'," Cid said rather bluntly. "And if I'm understandin' the timing right, it happened right about when you summoned."
"The evidence that Phoenix had a hand in this is very strong," Vincent murmured.
Leaning tiredly against Aerin, Seth sighed. "Well, if anyone figures this out I'll be happy to hear--"
His sudden stop led to a brief moment of silence.
"Is something wrong, Seth?" Cloud asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.
"No... hang on... be right back..."
The gathered heroes watched, utterly bemused, as Seth got up abruptly and dashed out of the room. Moments later he returned, clutching the sheathed Masamune in one hand and holding it up as if it were a trophy. Which was perhaps not the wisest thing to do in the company of AVALANCHE, but nobody did much more than twitch slightly as he jogged back to the group, holding the sword hilt-up for display.
"Aerin, your charm," he said breathlessly, pointing to the adornment tied around the hilt. "You told me back at Mideel this was a Phoenix down, right?"
Aerin's eyes widened with sudden realization. "Oh, that's right! I put it back on your sword for... for your funeral..."
"They still require contact to work, however," Vincent put in.
"Does it have to be physical, though?"
Vincent paused. "I'm... not quite sure what you mean."
Seth grinned, tapping the hilt of the sword. "Masamune's a part of me. It has a will of its own, but it was connected to Sephiroth, and now it's connected to me..."
Aerin suddenly clapped her hands together, smiling in understanding. "You mean, the sword is attached to your soul! Am I right?"
/My, but she's bright. I think it took you longer than that/ the Masamune grated in Seth's mind. Seth cheerfully ignored it.
"That's exactly it," he said, grinning. "So if the Phoenix down was touching the sword, and the sword's actually stuck to my soul..."
"And your body was floating in the life essence of the Planet itself," Aerin added, smiling brightly with her hands together.
Cloud suddenly laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. "Incredible. You actually set up a lightning rod for Phoenix's magic without even knowing."
Seth sat down beside Aerin again, and she hugged him tightly.
"I thought it had to be some kind of miracle," she whispered. "But it was just a lot of wonderful coincidences...!"
"That's miraculous enough... don't you think?" Seth smiled, returning the embrace warmly.
"Oh, don't be getting mushy on us now," Yuffie teased gently. "Can't you do that on your own time?"
'This is our own time,' was Seth's first thought. 'Every second we keep living is our own time...'
But they obligingly pulled apart, looking a little bit shy.
Cid stood up then, stretching and working a kink out of his shoulder. "Well, if that's the whole story, I think it's just about time I find a nice place to land the ship so we c'n celebrate properly," he said gruffly, flashing a quick, benign smile at the children.
"I recommend Costa del Sol!" Cait Sith said promptly, raising his hand. "I haven't had a good vacation in months and that place is perfect!"
"Not like going there would change the fact that you're still at home in Midgar, Reeve!" Yuffie said, getting up and poking the mechanical cat in the nose.
Cait Sith waved her finger away. "Come on, this body's old but it's still got some decent sense receptors on it! At least I'll get to hear the sea and feel the sunlight!"
Tifa crossed her arms, chuckling. "You all do remember that I run a bar there, right? I'll make a great meal on the house."
Zair grinned, raising a hand. "I'm for it. I always wanted to taste Tifa's cooking."
"Yeah, it sounds great," Seth agreed, smiling over at Aerin. "This time it'll be a lot more fun, don't you think?"
"Definitely," Aerin giggled.
"Well, if everyone's agreed," Cloud said, looking over the group, "Costa del Sol it is. Nanaki? Barret? Vincent?"
Vincent merely shrugged in acquiescence, but Barret beamed and Nanaki gave a toothy grin, slowly wagging his long tail.
"Been too long since AVALANCHE got together over some 'a Tifa's home cooking," was Barret's contribution.
"Arright, I get it, I get it," Cid said, waving distractedly as he headed for the cockpit. "Costa del Sol. We'll be there in no time."
"I hardly need remind you all it'll be a dry party," Tifa said lightly, putting her hands on her hips. "Seeing as the guests of honor are all underage."
"Why, Tifa," Vincent said calmly, "you flatter me. I know I don't show my age, but I never imagined I looked too young to be drinking."
Zair, Seth, and Aerin simultaneously burst out laughing. Tifa raised one armored glove threateningly, but she was smirking.
"I ought to beat you silly for that, but I'll let it go because you making jokes is something I want to encourage," she remarked, before turning and walking out of the room.
One by one, the older members of AVALANCHE followed, Yuffie and Cait Sith still playfully bickering about Holy knew what, their earlier topic having been completely forgotten. Vincent lingered in the room with the children; as Seth moved to leave, Vincent put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.
"I want to talk to you," he said, to all three of them. They turned around, with some apprehension, to face him. He gazed back at them, his face unreadable.
"You did very well," he said at last.
As the three of them blinked and exchanged glances with one another, Vincent smiled. "I do mean that as honest praise, you know. Each one of you... you did better than I ever expected. You all played an important part, and it is because of your efforts that the Planet now has a chance to live peacefully, without Jenova to plague it. I am very proud of you."
Then, smiling, he stepped around and swept out of the room before any of them could manage more than a stunned smile.
-
Hours later, the sun long set and the party well wound down, Seth wandered down to the beach, enjoying the residual warmth in the air. His cape, along with Masamune, were stashed with his luggage. Even for him, the North Continent had been far too cold, especially with the thin clothes he'd gotten from Cosmo. Costa del Sol at night, though, was just about right.
Pale-skinned, white-haired and dressed in white, Seth nearly glowed in the faint light from the town.
Scanning the shoreline, making his way by landmarks, Seth finally saw what he was searching for. He walked over slowly, in no hurry, and stepped up onto the rock.
"Hey," he said gently.
"Hey," Aerin said back from her perch on the rock, smiling over her shoulder at him. She scooted to the side and patted the space next to her. Seth sat, dangling his legs over the edge.
"It looks a lot different now," Aerin said, thoughtfully.
"Hmm?"
Aerin laced her fingers together and looked up at the stars. "The last time we were here, I was poisoned... I couldn't see beyond how much I hurt, right then. It was a little better with you there to help me, but..."
"I remember," Seth said quietly, looking over at her with a frown. "I was really worried about you."
"Mm." Aerin bowed her head, eyes closed, and then looked up again. "But now... I'm fine, the Planet's going to be okay, and even the last reason I had to be actually sad is gone... you're here now. And everything looks beautiful." She smiled tenderly at him. "Now all I can feel is hope. It's going to be a good future, Seth."
"Yeah." He smiled back warmly, moving to hold her hand. She clasped back happily.
"You know, you can come visit me in Cosmo any time," she said hopefully. "Zion's your bird, you'll be able to keep him..."
"That sounds great," Seth said. "I'll be going back to Nibelheim, so it's not that far. You feel free to come to Nibelheim any time too, okay? I'll build an extra stall for Gypsum, even."
Aerin giggled. "I think I might have to take you up on that. I want to see Nibelheim, now that I know there's a Nibelheim to see."
Seth rolled his eyes at her teasing tone. "Yeah, that was an honest mistake, okay? I've got to admit I'm a little ticked that Vincent never told me he stopped the fire, but I guess I can understand why he was a little gun-shy with me."
"Well, I don't," Aerin said, frowning. "Anyone can see you're just Seth, if they look."
He grinned crookedly. "Then why'd it take me so long?"
"Because you worry too much," she said cheerfully. "I told you, but did you listen?"
"Yeah, yeah, okay," he said, holding up one hand in surrender. "At least I know now. And AVALANCHE seems to get it too... with all of us."
"I hope so." Aerin bit her lip. "I know Cloud's clear on the difference, but I'm really worried the others will think of me as a replacement for Aerith... There was nothing wrong with her, she did good things and I'm proud to have been her... but I'm not her now, and that's all there is to it."
Seth nodded. "And I'm not Sephiroth. Whatever else is the same, we're different people, with our own lives and our own dreams." He laughed suddenly. "Which is good to know, because otherwise this would be really weird."
Aerin giggled. "That's true, our past selves didn't like each other much, did they?"
"Not really, no." Seth grinned.
"But I like you," Aerin said softly. Seth's heart skipped a beat, and he turned to face her, eyes wide.
The shock didn't last long, however, and he was soon smiling.
"I'm glad," he said. "I like you too."
Aerin fell against his shoulder, giggling. "Mom's not going to be happy about me having a boyfriend I've known for... what... a week?"
"I think she might just have to deal," Seth said, smirking a bit. "And my mom will probably be thrilled enough for the both of them."
"You've got to introduce me to your mom sometime," Aerin laughed.
Letting go of her hand, Seth wrapped his arms around her, chuckling. "She wants to meet you, so that can be arranged any time you want to come by."
"I'll look forward to it," Aerin said.
Seth happily kissed the top of her head, holding her for a long moment. Suddenly, he jerked away, reaching into his pocket.
"Oh - before I forget -"
He pulled the charm out of his pocket, brushed at the feathers a bit to uncrumple them, and held it out to Aerin.
"I did promise to give this back to you... the first time didn't seem to take," he added with a lopsided grin.
Aerin laughed. "Would you put it in for me?"
"Sure, pull your hair back..."
Aerin did so, gathering her hair into her old ponytail and holding it there. Seth took the leather ties on the charm in hand and carefully began to tie them around her hair.
"You know," he said softly, as he pulled the cords tight and knotted them together, "this did bring me good luck."
He dropped his hands, the charm securely tied into Aerin's hair. She turned, smiling, and their eyes met. For what seemed like a small and wonderful eternity, Seth gazed into her eyes without saying anything. Slowly, he brought a hand up to trace her jaw lightly, and then, cupping her face gently in his hands, he dipped his head.
Aerin slowly, languorously draped her arms around his shoulders and returned the kiss.
-
Zair flipped his knife open, studying the blade. It reflected back his own face, and the men standing next to him in the harsh light of the streetlamp.
"Thanks for helping me with this," Zair said to his companion without looking at him, testing the edge of the knife. "Should be sharp enough..."
"Not a problem," Cloud said, watching as Zair brought the knife to the nape of his neck. "I can understand where you're coming from."
"I'm glad," Zair said, closing his eyes, setting the angle for the cut. "...Time to say goodbye, I guess."
He brought the knife up in one quick, sharp stroke.
His ponytail came loose in his hand.
Flipping his knife closed and stowing it once more in his pocket, Zair shook his head and ran a hand through his now short hair.
"Much better," he said. "Man, I didn't realize how heavy it actually was..."
The corner of Vincent's mouth quirked. "Indeed."
Zair tossed the sheaf of hair to the ground of the alleyway. "Alright. Lemme see Master Magic for a sec, Vin."
There was a small click as Vincent extracted the green gem from its slot and handed it to the Midelian. Zair slotted it into the Hardedge, concentrated for a moment, and then muttered the appropriate incantation, flicking his hand towards the hair on the ground. It burned away quickly, and Zair returned the materia to its owner.
"Thanks again," he said. "So how's the rest of it look?"
"Slightly uneven," Vincent said.
"Like either of us can talk," Cloud said, smirking. "It'll do you until you get to Mideel."
"Cool." Zair ran a hand through his hair again. "You know, I don't think he ever actually wore it short..."
"Not as far as I can remember," Cloud said quietly.
"Good." Zair straightened his jacket and looked at the two men. "Well... here's to a brand new life."
"Live it well," Vincent murmured.
"I will." Zair looked at Cloud. "...I hope this is a good enough goodbye."
Cloud smiled vaguely. "That's up to us and the future, really. You were... he was always an important person in my life. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to let him go completely... but I think I can at least start, now."
"I think I can, too," Zair said, his voice low. "So... the chocobos are just on the other side of the bridge, right?"
"Yes," Vincent said. "Strife is already saddled and loaded. He will be expecting you."
If Zair was self-conscious about his chocobo's name being used so easily in front of his namesake, he didn't show it. "Heh... hate to keep him waiting, but I've got one last thing to do before I head out. One more goodbye."
Cloud laid his hand on Zair's shoulder. "Alright. I hope you won't make yourself a stranger... I think I'd like to get to know you, yourself. You're a good kid."
Zair quirked a smile. "Thanks," he said, and turned, heading out of the alley. He stopped momentarily and glanced back over his shoulder, seemingly searching for something more to say. Finally he just shook his head, smiling, and waved, disappearing down the street.
-
Having decided that they would eventually need to sleep and that it would be preferable to do so in the inn, Aerin and Seth had somewhat reluctantly left their secluded little perch and begun making their way through the streets.
Everything was suddenly new, exciting, confusing - Seth began to realize as they walked that he was painfully underexperienced in this sort of thing, and had no idea how he was going to be a good boyfriend to a girl that was a fair distance away even by chocobo. As wonderful and thrilling as this was, it was also mildly terrifying.
But the fear was, like many things, just another reminder that he was alive. Seth was appreciating those little reminders a lot now.
And if he had dealt with a talking sword, battle, poison, dead memories, a menace from the stars, and death itself and come out of it all okay, he felt fairly confident that somehow, he would manage a relationship.
For now, he was choosing not to worry about it - for now, Aerin was warm and soft against his side and her arm was around his waist and his was around her shoulders, and for now that was all he really cared about.
"Hey, you two."
Seth looked up suddenly, Aerin beside him doing the same. The last member of the three reincarnations was leaning against the inn's front wall with his arms crossed, smiling benevolently at them. They pulled apart, startled.
"Zair," Seth said, his mind slightly stalling out, "what the hell happened to your hair?"
"I cut it off, obviously," Zair said cheekily and pushed away from the inn wall, walking towards his friends. "Glad I caught you two before you turned in."
"What is it, Zair?" Aerin blinked. "Is something wrong?"
"No, no - actually, now I think something's pretty damn right." Zair grinned. "I just wanted to say goodbye."
"Are you going home?" Seth asked.
"Yeah... back to Mideel." Zair took a deep breath and sighed. "First, though, I'm heading to Gongaga to lay some things to rest. Then, straight home."
"What things?" murmured Aerin.
"Zax, mostly," said Zair seriously. "I'm always gonna remember, 'cos I clung to my memories like a stubborn bastard, but I've finally figured out that Zax is, you know, dead." He smiled sideways. "I've actually got you two to thank for that."
Aerin bowed her head briefly. "I'm sorry... it must have been a disappointment that I wasn't your flower girl."
"It's not your fault," Zair said. "Hey, don't worry about me. I'm fine. I'll be more fine when I get home and start making up with my parents."
Seth held out his hand, smiling. "Good luck, Zair. Have a great life."
"Hey, I'll keep in touch," Zair said, shaking Seth's hand firmly and grinning cheekily. "I'll try to forget about who we were, but not who we are. You don't just walk away from people you've saved the world with."
Aerin hugged Zair tightly. "You can visit any time," she said. "You know that, right?"
"And I probably will." Zair returned the friendly hug with only the smallest of pangs. "Meanwhile, you two... congratulations."
Seth coughed and turned pink in the face, not quite sure what to say, and Aerin giggled.
"Thank you," Aerin said, saving Seth from having to say anything. "I hope we'll see you again soon."
"We'll see," Zair said with a smile, turning away and waving. "I'll catch you later."
And moments later, he was gone.
-
Yawning loudly as he made his way to the Highwind's chocobo stables to feed Zion, Seth was the very picture of exhaustion.
His eyes still glowed faintly, but the immediate Mako reserves that had kept him utterly sleepless the night after his return seemed to have been tapped out. Last night, he had remained conscious just long enough to crawl into bed and curl an arm around Aerin, and had slept more deeply than he had in years. And even after having breakfast and getting all his stuff together, he was still tired.
When he got home, he decided as he pushed the stable door open, he was going to take a long, well-deserved nap.
And home wasn't so far away, now...
Blearily digging in his supply bag and handing slightly wilted greens to Zion, who seemed to take them quite happily despite this, Seth realized that the journey was finally over.
He'd ventured by ship and on chocobo-back over what felt like half of the damn Planet looking for Jenova, and had finally been one of the deciding factors in her defeat. He'd met every single one of his heroes, and now stood on roughly equal footing with them. He'd died, met his own father as well as Sephiroth's parents, and come back. He'd kept his promise to Lucrecia and Hojo, delivering their messages to Vincent; the gunman had gone very quiet, and thanked Seth in a surprisingly faint tone. His eyes had seemed to take on a new light afterwards...
And, Seth had fallen in love.
He wasn't sure "just Seth" was an accurate descriptor, anymore... the boy from Nibelheim who had never held the Masamune and never dreamed he might be anything more than an ordinary kid, was probably lost forever. In his place was a boy who knew what it was like to be a hero, and how it felt to save the world.
Seth didn't really regret the change.
All things considered, though, he thought as he finished feeding Zion and gave the black chocobo a scritch on the head, he was glad it was all over.
It was time to go home.
-
One by one, the Highwind dropped its passengers off at their respective homes.
Tifa simply stayed in Costa del Sol, wishing her old friends luck and a safe journey. Vincent had declined a ride, taking Mari off into the wilderness once more. Barret had been the first to be dropped off, then Cloud, Aerin, and Nanaki together. Seth had bid the three of them his momentary farewells, scratching Nanaki behind the ears, kissing Aerin goodbye and then being gently teased by Cloud. And then, they were gone and the Highwind was moving towards Nibelheim.
Seth lurked in the cockpit, feeling aimless and jittery. It was just Cait Sith, Cid, Yuffie, and him left, and he felt more than a bit self-conscious.
"Is this how you felt after you beat Sephiroth?" he said after a while. "Like... you weren't sure what was coming next?"
"Well," Cid said gruffly, looking up from the controls briefly, "we had our hands full for a pretty damn long time after that."
"That's right, rebuilding Midgar and everything," Yuffie put in. "Reeve can tell you some horror stories about that..."
"Please don't get me started," Cait Sith said, rubbing his forehead.
Seth shook his head, grinning. "Okay, so I guess it's my problem."
"Well, not totally," Yuffie said as Cid let out a loud bark of a laugh. She walked over to Seth and smiled at him. "I was about your age when we fought Sephiroth, y'know. And even though we were all really busy helping with Midgar, and generally putting things back together, there was always this sense of... well... when's the other shoe gonna drop?"
"Seventeen years later, apparently," Cait Sith commented.
"Shush, Reeve," Yuffie said, turning to the cat and then back to Seth. "We just had lots of stuff to do to keep our minds off it. So... if it's bugging you, just keep busy and before you know it, life will be normal again."
Seth looked thoughtful for a moment, then smiled. "Well, I do have to build my chocobo a stable..."
"There you go!" Yuffie patted him encouragingly on the back. "You'll be fine."
"Yeah... Thanks, Yuffie," Seth said, smiling at the woman.
"Hey, it's what I'm here for," Yuffie grinning, giving him a thumbs-up.
"Hey, kid," Cid said suddenly, "we're just about to Nibelheim. Better go get your bird ready, I'm landin. Yuffie, help 'im out?"
"No problem, Chief," Yuffie said, getting up with a salute, and taking Seth's hand. "C'mon, Seth, let's get you home."
The last-minute inventory check, the quick goodbyes to the remaining AVALANCHE members, and the disembarkment all blurred together in Seth's mind; before he really knew it, he was on Zion's back and racing towards home.
This was it, then. The last distance he had to go.
The relief he felt was almost palpable when they passed through the town gate and the earth under Zion's feet changed to cobblestones. There were people out and about, who wisely parted before the huge bird trotting through the streets. Several familiar faces called out greetings, which Seth distractedly but happily returned. He did not slow Zion's pace until he came to his own street, whereupon he stopped and dismounted the chocobo as they passed his house. Unlatching the side gate, Seth carefully guided his bird through to the back yard. All the while, a little voice in his head kept going "Home, I'm home, I'm home, I'm finally home", like a triumphant song.
"This is where you'll be living now," Seth told his chocobo with a grin as Zion looked over the fairly expansive yard. "I'll get some real chocobo food for you as soon as I can, but until then... well, just avoid the rowan tree and we'll be set."
Zion cooed approvingly and waited patiently as Seth unloaded his bags and saddle before dashing forward to peck at a likely-looking stand of vegetation. Seth laughed cheerfully and proceeded around to the back door.
It was unlocked, so Seth let himself in, pulling off his boots before wandering in, slow and relaxed.
"Mom?"
"Seth?" Lucy's voice was slightly muffled. "Is that you?"
Following the sound, Seth found her in the front room, smiling as he entered. "Yeah, Mom. I'm home."
Lucy got up immediately and pulled Seth into a powerful hug. "Welcome home, sweetie!"
Seth felt ready to explode from sheer happiness. Over, it was over... Jenova was dead, the Planet was safe, he could go back to his old life now, though he would never, ever forget...
"It's good to be home, Mom," he said softly, then pulled away to look her in the face. "I've got so much to tell you... you won't believe half of it..."
"Ssh," Lucy said, putting a finger to her son's lips. "You can tell me everything later. I bet you're tired, and you're probably hungry too."
"Not really, I had something to eat before I came home..."
"Don't try and put me off, young man," Lucy admonished gently, tapping his nose. "You look exhausted. Why don't you take a nap, and I'll cook you a proper welcome-home meal. Don't argue."
Seth smiled, the last of any tension in him dissolving away. "I won't, Mom. That sounds great. Thanks."
Lucy smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "Then shoo and get some sleep, silly boy."
Seth didn't say anything. Hugging his mother one more time, he wandered to the part of the room partitioned off to the bedroom and fell into his bed, barely thinking to shed his cape first as he crawled under the covers.
There was a lot to think about, but Seth felt all right leaving it be for now. The last thing echoing in his head before he fell happily asleep was Yuffie's words - "You'll be fine."
She was right, he thought as he drifted off. The Planet was safe... he had Aerin... he was home... everything would be fine.