Welcome to the beginning of the end.
This chapter is insanely late, I apologize. Feedback truly appreciated and welcome.
Chapter Twenty-two: The Final.
-
Someone was crying.
Someone was crying inside his head.
Vincent opened his eyes but didn't wake up. He knew that he wasn't truly awake, this was one of those dreams when he just thought so. Quite like his life.
Looking around, he found himself in a cave. It wasn't familiar to him, he couldn't remember ever being here. Of course that didn't mean the place was new to him, Chaos might have come here at some point. Maybe it was one of its victims that was crying, sobbing in the twilight that twinkled, alive with the glitter of some unseen but nearby body of water.
He had thought that Hojo had killed him, but apparently he wasn't allowed to die yet. Maybe Hojo had survived as well, maybe the last battle was just to come. Maybe it would never end, a cycle going on forever and ever...
...damn but the crying was beginning to annoy him. Was oblivion truly so much to ask for?
"Who is it?" Vincent asked, hoping that the noise would cease.
"Vincent...?"
The voice was quiet and echoed strangely in the cave, but Vincent had no trouble recognizing it. His guts twisted with longing and pain.
"Lucretia?"
The crying stopped. Vincent wondered what was the point of this particular dream, what Jenova wished to achieve. He no longer dared to hope that it was the real Lucretia. Not even after the fight with Hojo, when he had thought he'd heard her. He turned slowly around but saw no one as a quiet voice started to speak.
"I wanted to disappear... I couldn't be with anyone... I wanted to die... but the Jenova inside me wouldn't let me die. Lately, I dream a lot of Sephiroth... my dear, dear child. Ever since he was born I never got to hold him, even once... not even once. You can't call me his mother. That... is my sin..."
Vincent felt so cold inside, the words had frozen him worse than anything. They were his own thoughts exactly.
"This is low, Jenova. If you wish to punish me for what I did to Hojo, come up with something better." He turned to leave, but the voice came back, desperate now.
"Back! Come back! Vincent... won't you believe me?"
"I find it hard to believe that this would be real after all that has happened."
"It isn't. This is a dream. But a true dream. Vincent... I'm not... I couldn't live like that. I had to get away... you're so near to the Lifestream now that I can reach you. You're free of the demons, you triumphed over them. You're free now, Vincent."
"..." Vincent bit off his angry response. He didn't dare to trust the voice. This dream gave him no reassurance that it was speaking the truth. It wasn't any different from the previous dreams, not in content. They always tried to make him believe their words.
"You don't have to believe me. Just... please tell me?"
"Tell you what?" Vincent asked quietly, feeling slightly guilty, even if it fought against all his senses of self-preservation.
"Is Sephiroth still alive? I heard he died five years ago. But I see him in my dreams so often... and, I know that physically he can't die so easily. Please, Vincent tell me..."
Vincent lowered his head and closed his crimson eyes. He had already accepted as a fact what he was going to say, but it didn't mean that it was easy. "... Sephiroth is dead... what remains is not him."
The voice said nothing more, but the wave of sadness that flowed over the cave, over him as well, was so strong and cut so deep that Vincent fell to his knees. The sobbing started again, and he was soon crying as well. Crying for his son, his love, both gone, lost forever. This sadness felt too real to be something of Jenova's making. The pain was like his, a parent's sorrow for a child they'd never known.
"Lucretia... I loved you..." Vincent whispered and laid down on the cold stone floor, giving in to the tears, crying until he was drained of them and all energy, crying until he fell asleep again. He could still hear her sobbing when he woke up again, in a warmer place that was completely white. He was still lying down, eyes closed, but he knew that everything was white. And he knew that he still wasn't awake. Not truly.
He was hearing words again, spoken somewhere, maybe inside his head, maybe on the outside.
"... so I'm going. Mr H. here will take care of you, tho. He likes the company. You'll want to kill him after three days. If we all survive the next three days."
He recognized this voice. Zax. So the Soldier was alive. But how was this possible, how come they were together? The last time he'd seen Zax was when the Soldier had run past them near the Crater. The last time he'd been conscious he had been fighting Hojo at the Nibel mountains.
No.
Wait.
Where had they fought? Why would Hojo have teleported to the mountains when Jenova was at the Crater? He hadn't paid that much attention to their surroundings, it had been cold and there was snow, ice and bare rock. The Nibel mountains were familiar to him, he'd just presumed that was where they'd been.
But Zax was talking again.
"... the end, I guess. If I don't take care of Seph... damn. I mean Jenova. If I don't take care of her now, it might be too late. So. Hope you make it, buddy. Hope you got to say goodbye to him. And don't worry..."
Vincent tried to wake up then, wanted to go with the Soldier.
"... I'll take care of Cloud as well."
"ZAX!" Vincent screamed, but only in his dreams. No one answered him, and the voice was gone already. Zax was gone. Vincent slept, unable to wake up.
Cloud looked up as he could feel the energies around him start to shift. He got up from the corner where he had momentarily dozed in. Looking up, and around, he realized that the warmth, the soft glow of the shield upon the Crater was cracking. Someone was breaking through it.
He looked around for Jenova, but she was nowhere to be seen. This was the first time that had happened since he got here. She was always there, somewhere near, as if she didn't want to leave him completely alone. Unguarded. As if he was her prisoner. He'd stayed back willingly when Zax had just turned and ran after his confession. Jenova had sheltered him from the falling boulders and debris, kept him safe, comforted him, encouraged him. She had been like a mother to him.
But that didn't stop him when Cloud decided to go up to the surface, to see what was happening, to feel the wind on his skin. If the shield was truly gone, he could get out without using her powers. She wouldn't know he was gone if he was careful enough.
Maybe he could get far from her before she'd even notice it.
Zax climbed up to the Gaea cliffs without taking a break, staying warm by rushing so. He guessed that someone would be coming soon to finish Jenova. Maybe even the Avalanche. But he'd get there before them.
He was about to start looking for a way down when something caught his eye. Something that moved. Zax's hand went instantly to his sword as he turned, scanning the black stone and white snow, expecting to see one of the monsters that prowled around the icy land. All he spotted was a white cloth, billowing in the wind.
Zax blinked, frowned, and with one more look around walked towards the cloth, surprised to find it a torn laboratory coat. He paled when images of a similar coat flashed through his mind, a coat seen through the thick glass, through a mako haze.
"It couldn't be..." the Soldier muttered and leaned over to pick up the cloth. Frowning and feeling dread, he sought out the shoulders and hung the garment before him. "It couldn't, but I'd bet my ass this is Hojo's... which means..." images, produced completely by his wild imagination, of a very naked Hojo frolicking around the snowy landscape were too much for his already strained mind, and Zax burst into hysterical giggling. Even more so when he realized the effect such cold weather had on most males. "Oh great, now that I got that image in my mind, it ain't gonna go away... but seriously, what the hell does this mean? Hojo stayed here when the Crater collapsed? Does Vincent dropping out of the sky almost on top of Mr. H's house have anything to do with this? There's gotta be some simple explanation to all this..." Zax muttered and looked around, squinting at the brightness created by the combination of the clear sky and endless plains of snow. Nothing, except for a few boulders here and there. Nothing out of the ordinary.
"Oh geez, how thick can I get..." The Soldier rolled his eyes before looking down. The snow beneath his feet was packed hard, and powder snow had blown over it, but he could still make out faint footprints, and signs of struggle. Kicking away some of the snow, he found more shreds of clothes and dried blood. A few yards towards the Crater, a gun without bullets, buried in snow.
"Ok, as intriguing as this is, I gotta get to the Crater. There's no time to lose. Can't be long before someone else gets here." Reluctant to leave the mystery behind, Zax tossed the laboratory coat away and turned back towards the crater. He kept kicking up the snow as he went, finding more signs of struggle, and a lot of blood. A trail of it, which lead to the Crater. It was very different from how he remembered it. But the Planet had given birth to the Weapons here, changing the scenery quite drastically. And there was only one way to go: down. Down into the bowels of the Planet, down along the uneven terrain which had nothing in the way of a path. Just cliffs and boulders spiraling down.
"Well, guess this is it. Here I go. No regrets, no hesitation." The Soldier chuckled with humor so dark it almost blinded him. "As if there's an action I've taken in the last... who knows how long that I don't regret." He made sure the Buster sword was still attached tightly, that the weapon wouldn't fall, and started walking down the stretch of ground that was still somewhat even. "I regret hoping." He stopped for a moment, thinking he'd heard something. "I regret trusting. Thinking that Jenova wouldn't be so strong."
A large swarm of bats, not unlike the ones in the cellar of Nibelheim's mansion, shot out of the hole in the ground, still several hundred yards away, startling him. "Shit! What else..." he moved to lean against the Crater's side, carefully moving along beside it when he reached a spot where the ground was about to give underneath him. "I regret not fighting harder for Sephiroth. For giving up on him." Zax grinned wistfully. "He could be an ass, but he was MY ass. My platonic ass, but still."
He'd come up here once from Holzoff's house after the shield had come up. He'd soon be where it had started. "I still regret not keeping in touch with mom and dad. But I already regretted that years ago, and did nothing when I had the chance. Great. Ok, so I regret a LOT of things. But..." he backed away a little, as much as he could on the sloping stone, then took some running steps and leapt over a chasm, barely making it. The Weapons could have considered other people here a bit. "... I regret nothing..." another gigantic leap, "... as much as I regret what I let Hojo do to me."
Zax had been speaking almost unconsciously, making noise just to chase away the horrible shroud of complete and utter silence around him. But when he heard the last words from his own lips he stopped to ponder on them. "What Hojo did to me... the few tests didn't really hurt, didn't matter. But what he did... he broke me. Took my trust in the future. In people. And... Cloud. Shit." The Soldier squared his jaw, pushed the thoughts out of his mind and inched around a boulder that blocked both his path and his vision.
He stepped on something squishy, and Zax hissed with pain and surprise when something small but apparently very toothy bit into his shin. Swearing, the Soldier batted it away, watching with disgust as a group of the small carcass eaters looked up from their meal and wondered whether he'd be tasty.
"Don't even think about it, fuckers." Zax muttered darkly and fired them with a spell. Their screeching actually gave him some sort of sick pleasure. He felt even more disgusted when he happened to look at the meal, and realized it had been a humanoid of sorts, with a head, two hands, and things that looked like two tails. "What the hell were you... poor bastard."
He was about to fire the thing as well when curiosity won and he leaned closer, to see what the creature looked like, and what had killed it. Well, the gaping hole in its chest answered the second question. Zax felt the small amount of food he'd managed to eat in the last few days start making its way up when he realized that the blackened strings coming out of the wound would be blood vessels... so, following logic, and the strings, the squishy thing he had stepped on...
"Oh FUCK!" Zax yelped and almost lost his footing in his hurry to get his boot clean. "Motherfucking shit!" He danced around the boulder, disgusted, and didn't think to look where he was stepping until he tripped over the corpse. His next expletive echoed all around the Crater. If Jenova didn't guess he'd be coming for her, she sure as hell knew now.
He was practically sitting on the creature's lap now, and sick curiosity won again. Zax swallowed hard and turned to have a look at the thing's face before common sense caught up with him.
When he saw the disfigured, mutated face the Soldier felt all blood leave his. Most of the flesh was gone, eaten already. Cheeks as well. Nose was broken, jaw twisted. Eyes gone. No hair. No scalp, as a matter of fact. But Zax had spent five years watching that face, hating it. Loathing it. Waiting for the day when he'd get to wrap his hands around the bastard's neck, and squeeze the life out of him. He'd know that face anywhere. He'd never forget.
"Hojo."
Zax felt the urge to scramble up as fast as he could, but he forced himself to calm down. To think.
Hojo was dead. Truly and utterly dead. Gone to meet his maker. Deceased. He hadn't had the pleasure to kill the man, but this was quite satisfactory as well. And he had an idea how the bastard had died.
"Fuck you, Hojo. You destroyed us. Hope Vincent gave you hell."
He started the fire at the tip of Hojo's tail, making sure it got to a good start before starting towards the Crater itself. The smoke from the burning carcass was reason enough to hurry, but he did take a few moments to turn and stare, to let this image of Hojo be the one he'd remember till the end of his days.
He soon passed the area which the shield had covered, the ground black as if burned where the spell had met it.
"Done with regrets. Now it's time to get over hesitation, and do this." Zax muttered, ignoring his emotions, locking them down, one by one, until nothing remained but his anger. He wasn't Zax anymore, he was the Soldier, the same one who had taken control in Wutai, in every serious battle he had been involved in. The one who made him so much like Sephiroth.
The one who'd keep him alive.
Zax took a deep breath, looked down into the Crater itself, and jumped down to the closest boulder.
Cloud had managed to slip past Jenova without her noticing. At least he hoped so. There'd been no signs that she was following him, or that she'd even noticed he was gone. She'd been in one of the larger 'rooms' which had survived the Weapons, staring up to the ceiling, talking quietly to herself and laughing. The sound had freaked Cloud out, and he'd passed the room as quickly and quietly as possible.
Jenova had made sure that even if the shield would be broken, their enemies would have a hard time reaching them. At some points, the 'path' was nothing but boulders suspended in air. Monsters roamed everywhere, but luckily they recognized him as hers and didn't bother him. Cloud still thought that he'd feel safer with any sort of a weapon in hand.
Slowly but surely he made his way up towards the surface. Many times he almost stopped and turned around, knowing that he could never truly escape from Jenova, that it was futile; she'd find him, anywhere he could go. It would be easier for him if he'd just go back and pretend he'd never left the small chamber. But he wanted to see Zax, just one more time. The Soldier, and the sky. To feel fresh air, and a wind around him. He could feel Jenova's anticipation, she knew that someone would come soon. Cloud wasn't sure he'd survive that.
The way wasn't long from the Crater to where he knew Zax was staying. From above ground he hoped he could teleport to the Soldier without Jenova sensing it. If he hurried, he could reach the Soldier and make some sort of peace with him before they'd be interrupted.
The path led him deeper and deeper into the warm bowels of the Planet. Zax was now aware of everything that moved down here, every creature that attacked or followed him. The Crater was free of any and all bugs and critters, all normal animals that wandered the Planet. Only the enhanced creatures remained here, her pets and guardians. He showed them no mercy.
The 'road' split in two at one point. Zax took a moment to rest there, at a plateau bathed in bluish light. Two smaller plateaus and a few maze-like caverns had preceded this place. One path led downwards straight to the right from where he was standing, and another one from straight across the plateau. The area was free of monsters, so he could let his guard slip for a moment. He knew that he couldn't afford to stay here for long, but he needed a moment to catch his breath and down a few potions. Jenova's creatures were not easy to beat, no sir! He'd have to mention that to her before he'd kill her.
"Nice hole, Mrs. J, but you got a reaaally bad pest problem here..." Zax muttered to himself and snickered a bit. "Ah, damn, that last one hit me kinda hard."
"... Zax?"
He barely heard the whisper, but still whirled around in an instant, Buster-sword again in hand, ready to take out whatever had come to challenge him now.
Across the plateau, at the point where the rock sloped down with the path, stood Cloud. The youth was staring at him, looking surprised and even a bit intimidated. Zax instinctively lowered his sword, but just a bit.
"So. She sent you to stop me, huh?" the Soldier said quietly, forcing himself not to feel anything for the blond. Cloud opened his mouth and closed it, shaking his head when no words came out.
"Well. Stay out of my way then." He turned away, not listening to Cloud's hasty protests.
"Don't go! Zax! She's down there. Please!"
The Soldier just ignored him, taking the closer path downwards. He could hear light running steps behind him, and knew that the blond was following him. Zax picked up his pace, rushing through the next cave which led him to an underground swamp area. He stopped for a moment at the entrance, shaking his head at the sight. The ground was covered with water and plants, roots or something sticking out above the water, creating pathways across the cavern. He was moving again before Cloud followed him in, still pleading for him to stop, to turn back.
The roots creaked and bent under his weight, and they were slippery with water and weeds. Zax swore and tried to pick up his pace, watching the water from the corner of his eye as something moved just below the surface. Maybe he'd get lucky and whatever it was would eat Cloud.
Instincts took over again when he heard the blond shout with surprise, followed by a loud splash. The Soldier turned around and smirked, seeing Cloud sitting in one of the pools, spitting out water, green weeds hanging from his hair. Zax realized that he had reached out his hand to pull the blond up. He quickly retracted his hand and wiped the smile from his face.
"Stop following me."
Cloud once again opened his mouth to say something, but Zax silenced him with a wave of his hand.
"But--" another swift wave. Cloud sighed and lifted a weed-covered hand to brush his wet hair back. He then pointed behind Zax's back with a finger. The Soldier looked over his shoulder only because he knew that the blond couldn't attack him from that position.
A Tonberry was standing right behind him, waving its small but surprisingly powerful knife. Zax paled and shrieked, turning around just in time to block the weapon. The Tonberry seemed so harmless, almost cute, it was hard to believe it was so dangerous.
'Kinda like someone else here I can think of...' Zax thought to himself and threw a fire spell at the creature. He'd have to be careful, at this rate he'd be all out of spells before he'd reach Jenova.
The Tonberry shook the effects off and stepped closer. Zax stepped back, hoping he wouldn't slip on the roots. He wouldn't have, had something not slithered from the pool and wrapped around his ankle. He fell under the surface just in time to escape the Tonberry's attack. But whatever had caught him had a good hold on him, and when he tried to attack the creature, his sword got tangled in the roots.
The pool was deeper than he would have thought, considering that no matter how hard he struggled he couldn't reach the surface. And he was running out of air. The Buster was still stuck. 'I am NOT going to die, not this close!' Zax protested, even if his actions seemed futile. His grip on the sword's handle was slipping already as the monster dragged him deeper and deeper.
Then the water grew suddenly very, very cold. The grip around his ankle felt freezing, until it unwrapped itself, letting him go. Zax didn't stop to think, just guessed which way the surface was, and swam. As soon as he reached it he looked wildly around for his sword, praying it hadn't fallen into the pool.
"Get up, I don't think I managed to stun him for long." A voice said nearby. Zax turned in the water to see Cloud, holding his sword casually over one shoulder. The Soldier stared at him for a moment, until he could feel the water around his legs move. At that, he shot out onto the root fast as lightning. Once he found his balance and managed to throw most of his soaked hair over his shoulder, he reached out for Cloud.
"My sword, please."
Cloud blinked at him but didn't say a word. The water in the pool bubbled, and a shadow rose near the surface. The Tonberry was gone. Zax reached his hand a bit farther, and the blond nodded. He lifted the sword up and twirled it around before offering the handle to Zax. The Soldier grabbed it immediately and took a few steps back.
"Hmh, thanks." Zax muttered, his voice barely audible, violet eyes looking at anything besides Cloud.
"Zax? Can't you forgive me? Or at least look at me? Just once? I've missed you..." Cloud said quietly, reaching out his hand. But the Soldier had turned away already, and didn't acknowledge his words in any way. The blond sighed and followed him at a distance.
They were soon out of the swamp area. Cloud's presence seemed to be enough to make the monsters leave them alone. Still, Zax could feel their hungry eyes on him. Not to mention Cloud's eyes. He wished the blond would go away. If had been easier to hate him when they were apart. Now, despite that his mind was trying to convince him that he hated the blond and wanted nothing to do with him, his body was yearning to touch him again. To feel warm and loved. He could feel the same urge radiating from the blond. What would it hurt? They could just leave here, and find a place where Jenova couldn't find them, at least right away. Where they could be together, in peace. Alone.
They could leave and let Jenova do what she wished with the Planet. It would be so easy to quit. Whoever had broken the shield would be here soon, to oppose the alien creature. They didn't have to worry about it.
"Could you please stop that?" Zax growled out. His mind cleared again when he heard Cloud stop in his tracks, surprised.
"Stop what? Following you?"
"Meddling with my mind. Where did you learn that, anyway?" he turned to face the blond. Cloud just blinked at him, clearly not understanding what he was talking about. They'd passed through a light cavern with green moss, and reached a stony path leading farther down into the earth. At places the far walls shone with the green of the Lifestream.
"Zax, what are you talking about?" the blond asked, taking a tentative step towards him. The Soldier immediately took one back.
"I'm talking about you putting thoughts into my head. Stop it." Zax said, even if he was starting to suspect that he was barking up the wrong tree. Cloud looked completely baffled, and shook his head.
"You give my pretty little child too much credit."
Cloud gasped and Zax could see his eyes go wide with shock and fear before he himself turned around. He shuddered when he saw her, couldn't keep it down. She noticed his weakness and smirked.
"What is it, Zackery? Glad to see a familiar face?" Sephiroth's mouth said with her voice. Zax shook his head to clear it, reminding himself of what he must do, and that this was not Sephiroth. This was someone who had murdered his best friend.
"Bitch. Shut up." The Soldier hissed and deliberately slowly turned his weapon towards her. Jenova's shoulders shook as she laughed quietly at him.
"You don't honestly believe you'll be any kind of a match to me? I suggested you leave here for your own sake, not because I felt any kind of fear towards you. You are an insect compared to me, human."
"Bugs bite, and can be poisonous." Zax commented with a smile, ready to attack her.
Jenova shrugged, and pulled the Masamune out of, apparently, thin air. She took a stance which was painfully familiar to Zax, and winked at him. "Bring it on then, little stinger."
Zax screamed with rage and rushed her, ready and willing to chop her into pieces. He wouldn't let the fear of her stop him. She probably could fight as well as Sephiroth, and they both knew that the times he'd won their mock battles could still be counted with the fingers of his own hands.
Masamune blocked the Buster easily, throwing sparks all around. Zax cringed when the clash of metal on metal made his arms ache.
"I barely felt your sting. You have to do much better than that." Jenova mocked him. Zax glared at her and pushed them apart.
"Why are you doing this? What do you want?" he said as he lifted the Buster-sword again, ready for another attack. Jenova stopped at that, even lowered the tip of the Masamune a bit.
"What do I want? What does everyone want, Zackery?"
"Just answer the fucking question, bitch." The Soldier hissed, aware that Cloud was doing something behind him, moving somewhere. He feared that the blond would literally stab him in the back soon.
Jenova lifted the sword again and smirked. "I want the Promised Land."
Zax shook his head and rushed her again, trying to get away from Cloud as well as finish her off. She blocked him easily, but didn't quite expect the boot to the groin Zax delivered right after the blow. Jenova might be female, but she was certainly in a male body.
The pain and shock was enough for her to lose her strength momentarily, and Zax drove on, swinging his sword as fast as he could. She was actually having trouble keeping up right then, and had to take a few careful steps back.
'Maybe that's why Seph always won. I never fought dirty with him...' Zax pondered and elbowed her in the ribs. The Masamune certainly was a powerful and impressive weapon, but a sword that long was difficult even for a master to use when it kept scraping against the stone surrounding them. Sparks flew as Jenova hurried to parry him. With every attack given in she was forced closer and closer towards the wall.
"You insolent human!" Jenova screamed at him and leaned forward, determined to claim the offensive. Zax pushed on, as determined to keep it.
But Jenova could play dirty as well. She suddenly hit him with a lightning bolt out of nowhere. Zax hadn't even noticed her call up the spell, he just found himself flying back from her, every nerve ending screaming with pain. He'd been hit with bolts before, he knew the pain would go away soon, but she certainly wouldn't wait for him to recover. Luckily he had managed to remain standing, and got his sword up just in time to block her blow to the head.
"I think I've had quite enough of this game. I think it's time for you to die now, Zackery Lindeman." Jenova said. Zax frowned, not missing the look in her eyes just a moment ago. She had sensed something.
"They're coming, aren't they?" Zax said and smirked. He'd just have to hang on for a while longer. No problem. Back in Midgar, fighting with Seph, he'd remained standing for a good fifteen minutes during their more violent fights. But they had never used spells much stronger than level one or two, and never more than a few of them. Jenova, on the other hand, rewarded his comment with another bolt which rattled the Soldier's bones and nerves, making him bite into his tongue hard enough to draw blood. He lost his balance and swore, hands too numb to keep the sword up. 'Damn, that was at LEAST a level four!'
"NO!"
Zax blinked, and blinked again. Cloud was there. Standing between him and Jenova. Just as he had stood between him and Chaos. The kid clearly had no common sense.
"Stop! Don't hurt him! Please!" The blond was shouting, jumping around, making sure he was between the two no matter where Jenova moved, trying to reach Zax who was struggling to get back up again.
"Stupid child! Out of the way!" Jenova shouted. Zax, standing again, lifted his eyes in time to see her step forward, grab Cloud by the arm and just toss him out of the way. The blond yelped but couldn't stop, flying across the stone area as he was. Zax winced when he heard the crunch of Cloud hitting the opposite wall. He dropped to the floor like a broken doll.
"You fucker..." Zax hissed, glaring at Jenova. The strength of his rage surprised even himself, and he put the anger to good use, attacking her before she had completely regained her balance and stance.
The flood of attacks took Jenova by surprise, and she had to retreat almost against a wall. Zax didn't let his guard down for a second, though, knowing that she wouldn't hesitate to use spells if she could concentrate long enough to hurl one at him.
"First you possess Seph and destroy him. Then you possess Cloud and destroy him. The Planet's next, right?" Zax growled when their faces were mere inches apart, trying to distract her from using spells. Jenova laughed.
"Oh, I didn't need to possess them. They came to me quite willingly. And why wouldn't they? Rejected by their own kind, their family and so called friends... I just gave them what they wanted. A home."
"Bullshit! They both had people who cared!"
"Really? Poor Sephiroth never felt he belonged anywhere. Even his best friend deserted him when he would have needed him the most."
"I did not, I was shot in the back!"
"And Cloud... poor child, his lover just left him when he showed his true nature. But you'd know all about that, wouldn't you, Zackery? Seeing how you were the one to betray them both..."
"Sh... Shut up!" Zax screamed, doubling his efforts to hack her to pieces. She smiled, even if he was the one doing all the attacking.
They both were bleeding by now, from several cuts, but nothing too serious. Zax kept telling himself to keep fighting for a few more moments, he could see her glancing upward from time to time. Other people were coming. If he could just stay standing for a while longer...
"Foolish child. Can't you see you can't destroy me? Kill me if you can, which I doubt... a part of me will live on. The Planet will be mine."
Zax could see her smiling when she spoke the words, but didn't quite understand why. Not until he talked himself into the trap. "No, I'll kill you, and everything else you've touched. I'll rid the Planet of you for good..."
"Oh really?" Jenova just about purred, nodding slightly to the other side of the cave. Zax dared a quick look before parrying her sudden strike at his head. There was nothing in the cave but the three of them. Jenova, himself and Cloud.
Zax's eyes went wide and he swore. "You... BASTARD!"
"Would you, could you kill him?" Jenova teased, gaining the offensive as he was momentarily stunned. She poisoned him before he could come up with any kind of an answer. "I am eternal, foolish child. The Planet, and foremost, the Promised Land, shall be mine."
Zax screamed wordlessly, attacking her head on. She laughed as she parried his shaky, patternless attacks, weakened by the poison. From the corner of her eye she could see that Cloud was starting to wake up again. She mentally suggested that he'd be better off sleeping a bit longer, and the blond fell back to the ground. Zax never noticed, the tears in his eyes almost blinding him.
He blinked furiously to clear his eyes, knowing that she would use the advantage of him not seeing anything. He managed to parry the high blow, but it pushed him hard against a wall. She didn't allow for him to remove the poison from his body with a spell or a potion, didn't give him time to breathe deep as the poison ate at him.
When Jenova lifted the Masamune for the next strike, Zax knew he couldn't bring his sword up in time to block it. This was it. He'd die now. But as the blade came towards him he still tried, realizing he didn't want to die yet.
It opened his chest from the left shoulder down to his right hip. Zax gasped with the searing pain, lifting his left hand to try and keep the blood inside. With the poison in his blood, the mako wouldn't be able to fix him before Jenova would finish him for good.
She stepped back, sure of her victory as he fell to his knees, right hand still clutching the Buster sword's handle tightly.
"You... bitch..." the Soldier whispered, gathering all his rage to one last glare.
Jenova looked down at him along the length of the Masamune. The look on her face was almost pitying, like she was about to kill a sick puppy. The tip of the sword was under his chin, and she forced him to look straight up to her.
"I thought that dying by your beloved friend's hand would be enough of a punishment for your crime, but watching you withering to death like this is far more amusing..." she almost whispered, a sick glint in the mako-green eyes.
"What's... my crime?" Zax asked, trying to get back on his shaky feet. She wouldn't let him, though, she twirled the Masamune around and pierced his left thigh.
"You exist, human."
Cloud woke up when something nudged at his side. Everything seemed cloudy when he got his eyes open, and his body hurt all over.
"Wake up." Came Jenova's voice, and Cloud looked up to see her standing over him with a sly grin on her face. He quickly scanned the area and gasped when he saw Zax, bloody and still, lying on the stone floor.
"No! Zax!" Cloud struggled to stand up, but Jenova grabbed him tightly around his throat and lifted him up until he was standing, and up, up, until his feet didn't touch the ground any more. Her grip wasn't too tight, but it was making it hard for him to breathe. The blond tried to speak, to ask why she was doing this, but couldn't get anything comprehensible out of his mouth.
"Don't worry, my little puppet..." she whispered and tightened her grip. The world started to turn black at the edges of Cloud's eyes, but he thought he could hear voices other than hers. "I need you to live."
Nanaki and Cid, who had been scouting the area ahead of the others stopped when they stepped into the stone cave. Cid swore quite loud, realizing he'd just spoiled the element of surprise, but not really caring about it when he saw Zax lying on the ground, probably dead, or at least unconscious, and Sephiroth strangling the life out of Cloud not far from the fallen Soldier. The captain turned to shout for the others to hurry up while Nanaki launched into attack, leaping from rock to rock until he reached the enemy.
"Well, now we know what became of those two..." Cid muttered when the others reached him. He got ready to jump down from the cliff while Barret opened fire on Sephiroth. Tifa and Yuffie followed the captain into battle while Aeris called out spells to protect her friends. Nanaki was already attacking Sephiroth, although a protecting barrier somewhat nullified the strength of his attacks and spells.
When Cid, Tifa and Yuffie joined Nanaki, Barret started to run towards them as he could no longer shoot at Sephiroth safely. Aeris soon followed him down, but in stead of joining the fight she hurried to Zax. She kneeled down next to him, and checked for a pulse.
"Thank goodness, you haven't given up..." she whispered and quickly cast a Cure and Esuna on the Soldier. Aeris wished she could make sure he'd be alright, but Cid's swearing caught her attention, and she looked up to see Sephiroth drop Cloud to the ground when the captain's spear ran through his arm. The intimidating man forgot the seemingly lifeless blond at his feet and turned his full attention to the others.
"Shitface, pick on someone your own size!" Cid howled and pulled back his spear, twirling it around before thrusting it at Sephiroth's throat. The man in black leaned back and the tip of the spear scraped against the stone wall behind him.
"And you think YOU are my size, little human?"
Aeris got up and wondered if she could reach Cloud long enough to try and heal him as well. A small voice inside her reminded what the blond had done to her mother, but she silenced it, reasoning that it had truly been Jenova who had delivered the killing blow. But Sephiroth pulled out his sword then, not caring that his arm was bleeding severely from the spear wound.
The members of Avalanche smartly backed off a little as the Masamune slowly cut an arch through the air. Aeris quickly called the protecting walls around her friends back up when Sephiroth seemed to rise to the air a bit.
"What the hell now..." Barret growled, his gun aimed and ready even if he backed away.
"You can't win, little humans... you just can't." Sephiroth said through a smile. His voice was decidedly different now, more feminine than ever.
"Jenova..." Aeris gasped while Cid shook his spear at the floating man.
"And yet, we keep on tryin'!"
Sephiroth snorted and shook his head. "I guess I can fault you in all ways but that... you humans are stubborn."
"What the fuck?" Cid screamed and they all covered their eyes as Sephiroth's body started to glow, brightly as a star. Aeris managed to catch a glimpse of his shape changing inside the light, but it was too bright for her to watch for longer than a mere moment.
Loud noises, like thunder all around them almost deafened the fighters, drowning out their screams of surprise and horror. Winds rose and tossed them around as some tangible objects flew past them at break-neck speed. Still, the light was too bright for anyone to see anything.
Eventually the noise died down, almost completely, and the amount of light pushing its way through their arms and eyelids seemed to lessen. Carefully, fearing the worst, the Avalanche opened their eyes, and one by one gasped at the changed scenery.
The winds had blown away some of the rock walls and ceiling, even the ground. The slabs of stone they were standing on seemed to be floating in the air. They were surrounded by green glowing walls that seemed to shift around, and the glow was the strongest underneath them, where heat and the stinging scent of the Lifestream rose from. Rock moaned and sizzled down below, and screams and wails of beasts could be heard from above.
Aeris quickly looked around her, to see that everyone was still more or less in one piece. She was also relieved to see that Zax and Cloud, both out cold, were still with them. But she couldn't see Sephiroth anywhere. Not until Yuffie shrieked and pointed up.
Sephiroth was clearly Sephiroth no more. His skin was still somewhat pinkish, and his features something alike a human's, but that was where the similarities ended. His long, pale hair was floating around a clearly feminine torso. Jenova had taken over completely. Her face was twisted into a sick grin, eyes glowing a strong mako green. Her left arm was still human, but the right, injured one was replaced by a multi-coloured wing. From the waist down she was also covered with feathers which formed intricate wings to keep her in the air.
Cid managed to put their collective thoughts into words. "Oh shit."
A pulse of green light passed through them all, causing them pain. Yuffie shrieked as another pulse tore her weapon from her hand.
"It feels like my tail will tear off..." Nanaki growled while Jenova laughed at their attempts to reach her.
"This is definitely not good... he... she... whatever! Is way outta our league." Cid shouted and swore at another pulse of light. They were fighting just to take a few steps towards her. At this pace they'd be dead before they'd manage to move three feet.
"I don't know if I can go on!" Yuffie moaned. She'd reached her weapon, but with her small size was having trouble just standing up.
Aeris stood her ground, refusing to admit even to herself that this was looking bad. Beside her, Tifa was stubbornly making her way towards Jenova, who kept rising higher into the air the closer they got. Barret was shooting at her, and both Nanaki and Tifa threw spells as often as they could.
The pink-clad girl looked around, desperate for anything that could help them. And after another pulse passed them, she thought she could feel something. Standing still, she concentrated on the feeling.
"Holy," she whispered, feeling stronger just at the thought. "Holy. It's there. The Holy is shining! Mother's prayer... she did it!"
"Holy..." Tifa repeated the word.
"It's not over yet! This isn't the end, don't give up!" Aeris shouted. "Holy is with us!"
"You hear that, you cold, blue bitch from hell? Come down here and make this a fair fight!" Cid shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice almost breaking halfway through the sentence. Jenova laughed at them, but raised a Wall to protect herself.
"Fair? The world is not fair, life is not fair! I certainly am not fair!"
"Well neither are we!" Cid seemed almost as certain as his words.
"And we're not giving up! We're not gonna lose!" Tifa shouted and aimed a Flare at Jenova. The Wall around her took some of the spell's power, but the floating woman was clearly hurt by it.
"Someone take down that Wall!" Barret shouted. Yuffie had crawled forward on her hands and knees, and joined the battle with a spell that did just that.
Cloud came to again, his throat hurting and head throbbing. He had no idea how long he'd been out; last thing he remembered, it had been just Jenova, Zax and himself. Now, the walls were gone, everything shining green around him, and the members of the Avalanche were fighting what he immediately recognized as Jenova.
She had been hurt, but she had dealt her own share of damage as well. Yuffie was out of the fight, lying very still just behind Nanaki, who was sitting but seemed as out of it as she was. The others were still standing and fighting, but Jenova's spells and attacks were strong, and battered against their protecting Walls and bodies without mercy. From the tingly feeling on his skin Cloud could tell that she had just summoned something. It was also obvious from the way she concentrated on the spell, not caring about her enemies.
Groaning with pain, Cloud pushed himself up to his knees, stubbornly ignoring the dizziness that threatened to throw him back to the ground.
Zax.
For a moment he had almost forgotten the Soldier, but now that he was up, he could see the man still on the ground, a safe distance from the battle. Knowing that he wouldn't be of much use in the battle, Cloud crawled towards him as quick as he could. Whatever Jenova had summoned hit the area with a roar that drowned out all other noise, and a white light almost blinded him even when he was facing away from it and had his eyes closed. Aeris's voice frantically casting Cures on her friends assured him that at least some of them were still alive.
For the record, he thought, he did care about the others. He truly and really hoped that they would beat Jenova, destroy her completely, and save the Planet. But, at that very moment, when he reached Zax's body, the Soldier was the only thing on his mind. He didn't want to lose Zax, one of the very few people who had ever been kind to him. Maybe the only one who had loved him, and not just because they had to, like his mother. Even if Zax had only loved him for a while, it had been wonderful.
"Zax? Please, be alive..." Cloud whispered and leaned over the Soldier's chest, pressing his ear to the man's heart. He couldn't hear anything over the fight, but to his relief he could feel the strong beats. He sat up next to the man, and started to shake him gently but firmly.
"Wake up. Hurry!" The air seemed to grow slightly colder with the amount of magic being used. Fearing the worst, Cloud dared to turn to see what was going on. Nanaki and Yuffie were still out, and Tifa was sitting on the ground, bleeding a lot. Cid and Barret were pestering Jenova, keeping her busy while Aeris apparently summoned something. Cloud hoped it would be big. He could feel that Jenova was weakening, but it was obvious that with only the three of them standing and fighting, she'd win.
"Zax, please, wake up. We need to help them..."
His voice disappeared again as the sheer amount of magic in Aeris's summon seemed to drain all air, sound and light from the area. Gasping for breath, Cloud turned to watch over his shoulder.
Everything seemed black. The only thing he could see was Jenova, floating in the air, trying to fight whatever was coming, but unable to move inside the spell. Then, something Cloud identified as a knight from old, old bedtime stories appeared from the darkness, flew towards her, and slashed her with his huge sword before disappearing.
Cloud's eyes opened wide. The summon Aeris was using, he had thought it was as much a matter of fairytales as the knights that it summoned.
Another knight appeared then, attacking Jenova in passing. Cloud could feel the shadows of the attacks through the link he shared with the woman, but the pain was nothing. It meant that she was hurting so much worse, and that was merely a good thing.
A third knight, then a fourth. All the way to the twelfth. He watched all their attacks with awe, losing all sense of time and place, until the world went black again, heralding the appearance of the last knight, the king himself. The king flew straight at Jenova, raised his sword high over his head, and brought it down with all his power. A small moan escaped his lips, the attack was so powerful.
The king gone, the world was black again, until a shred of light tore through the darkness, shattering it to pieces. The light almost blinded him; Cloud had to close his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, he saw Aeris, Cid and Barret still standing there, staring up at Jenova. Cloud followed their gaze, and felt his mouth fall open.
She was still hanging in the air, her wings flapping gently to keep her afloat. But she didn't attempt to attack them, she didn't even raise her walls up again. She just hung there, limp and swaying a little.
"I... lost?" she eventually whispered, and slowly scattered as ashes into wind. In mere moments she was gone, with no sign left of her body. Cloud and the members of the Avalanche could only stand and stare at where she had been.
"It's over?" Aeris dared to whisper after a long, quiet moment. Cid sat down heavily, dropping his spear. The clatter of the weapon broke the spell, and Cloud realized he'd been holding his breath.
"Where the hell did you guys get Knights of the Round?"
Everyone started, Cid actually jumped back up, spear in hand once again. Cloud had almost fallen over at the words, and turned around just as Aeris exclaimed "Zax!"
The Soldier was sitting up behind him, staring at the others with an expression of awe and disbelief. Relief washed over Cloud; Zax was all right!
"Never mind that!" Cid shouted, sitting down again, "Could we just cure these guys and get the hell out of here?"
Cloud sat still while Aeris and Barret cured their friends enough that they could leave. Zax had stood up and reclaimed his sword before returning to stand behind Cloud. The blond wanted to turn around, to speak to the Soldier, but found himself afraid to.
When all the members of the Avalanche were able to stand and walk again, Cloud decided to test his own legs. His knees felt a bit wobbly. He still hadn't dared to even look at Zax, remembering how angry the man had been with him. So the steadying hand on his shoulder came as a total surprise.
"Cloud... I'm... I'm glad you're ok." Zax muttered before walking past him, towards the others. Cloud felt himself blush almost violently, and his stomach fluttered like the proverbial butterflies had just woken up.
"So, what now?" Zax asked as soon as he reached the others.
Cid shrugged, far calmer now that he had a cigarette in his mouth again. "Is there anything else we can do? We killed the bitch."
"But what about Holy? What's gonna happen to the Planet?" Barret asked, and everyone turned to Aeris. She rolled her eyes, tired.
"Why do you think I know?" she said, but smiled. "We really have done all we could. I think that the rest is up to the Planet. We should leave here, and go home proud."
"You heard her!" Barret shouted, waving his human hand. "Let's get outta here! About time I checked on Marlene, anyway..."
"Do we really gotta walk all the way back up?" Yuffie complained. She had been healed of her injuries, but it would take rest before she'd be completely well again.
The members of the Avalanche were already walking away, past Cloud. Aeris motioned for him to follow. The blond nodded but waited a moment. Zax followed the others much slower, and stopped just after passing Cloud, so that their eyes couldn't meet.
"Come on. We'll see this to the end, and... figure out where to go from there. Ok?"
Cloud smiled and sent up a small thank you to any god willing to listen. "Yeah. That sounds good."
Zax nodded and started to walk again. Cloud turned to follow him, but stopped when he felt it. Faster than a lightning, gone almost before it was noticed. Zax stopped as well, and Cloud noticed from the corner of his eye that the others had turned to stare at them.
"What happened?" Tifa asked. Aeris was rubbing at her left temple, and took a few steps back towards Zax and Cloud.
"You two felt it too?" she asked, and Zax nodded. Cloud just lifted his scared eyes to them.
"She's still... here." The blond turned and started to walk to where they had last seen Jenova.
"Cloud!" Zax called out, and started to follow him. Another flash stopped him, and nearly brought Aeris to her knees. The members of Avalanche were hurrying towards Cloud and Zax, weapons ready. Yuffie stopped to help Aeris.
"She's laughing. She's-" the pink-clad girl winced as her knees gave out, and she fell to the ground. "She's not gone yet!"
Cloud had reached the spot, and could feel her presence. But she was dead. Gone. He was sure of that. The final summon had destroyed every last bit of her body.
Of that body. Cloud felt dizzy when he realized it.
"Oh. Shit. Fuck. No. No no, shit no..." Zax's mutterings, growing in volume and anger behind him told Cloud that the Soldier had realized it as well.
/Don't worry, my little puppet.../ she had said, /I need you to live./ He hadn't understood her then, when she had been strangling the life out of him. But now it made sense. And Cloud realized that for the world to be rid of her, it had to be rid of him.
"Cloud... shit..." Zax was still swearing. Cloud turned to him and was surprised to see the Soldier crying. The man was trying to say something, but nothing came out of his opening and closing mouth.
"Once I have known her, I must die..." Cloud whispered softly. No one but Zax could hear him, and that was how he wanted it. The Soldier shook his head, trying to swallow his tears. "You... do care for me, after all?"
"Of course, you moron." Zax tried to grin and took a step closer. The members of Avalanche seemed to sense that the two needed some time alone, but the looks on their faces demanded answers. Cloud didn't care.
"Will you... kiss me, then, one last time?" Cloud was almost afraid to ask, but he felt he was entitled to one last request. Zax answered by grabbing him in a tight, almost bone-crushing hug, holding him so tight that Cloud felt he could just sink into the man's chest. He could feel tears in his own eyes now when he realized that that was exactly where he would be living, from now on.
Zax loosened his grip enough to tilt the blond back a bit, just enough to kiss him. Gently at first, but soon with more strength and desperation.
"I don't wanna let you go..." the Soldier whispered when they had to come up for air.
"...Thank you, Zax. I love you." Cloud said and pulled away. If he didn't do this now, he'd lose his courage.
Zax tried to hold on for a moment longer, but eventually let his arms drop to his sides. But his eyes never left Cloud's as the blond walked backwards towards the edge of the plateau. Lifestream glowed underneath, its strong stench enough to destroy all sense of smell.
"I love you too."
They smiled, one last time, as Cloud stepped off the stone, onto nothing.
What happened afterwards was like a movie he watched through a thick curtain. Even though Aeris healed all the wounds of his body, Zax felt broken, his grasp on reality severed. He fought with Avalanche as they made their way up from the Crater. The Highwind met them halfway through, which was good as the Lifestream was boiling beneath them. That was the only word Zax could use to describe it. Bursts of it shot towards the midnight skies, until it all seemed to rise into the air as one shining pillar. The Highwind barely made it out of the Crater before it, and was swept away with it, towards Midgar. People inside the airship were thrown around like small pebbles in a waterfall, and it was a true miracle that everyone was alive when Cid finally managed to steer the ship away from the flow.
They told him a Weapon was terrorizing Midgar, even after receiving a face full of ammo from the Sister Ray. They told him Rufus and his people were keeping the monster at bay, but with great costs. But with the Meteor in the sky and the stream of light rushing towards the city before them, Zax figured that a Weapon was the smallest of their worries.
Destroying Jenova had not stopped the Meteor. Aeris told them not to lose hope yet. She said that they'd come too far to lose hope now. She was sure that the Holy would do something.
Cid had eventually told everyone to tie themselves down tight to something sturdy, and had guided the Highwind back into the stream. They wanted to reach Midgar quickly, and this was, at least according to the pilot, the fastest and easiest way to do it. When asked about safety, he'd just said that that was why they had to tie themselves down.
Despite numerous suspicions, they reached Midgar in a matter of hours, and mostly in one piece. Meteor was hanging lower than ever, its belly almost scraping against the Shin-Ra HQ, which miraculously was still standing. Radio connections were down, so they had no way of knowing if anyone was still in the building, or even alive. Cid steered the ship well away from the pillars of wind and lightning that sucked in everything that came too close. The light streaming from the Crater was pillowing the Meteor's descend, but the fiery ball of stone was still falling, no matter how slowly.
"We have to do something, we can't let this happen to Midgar!" Barret had roared, frustrated. Nanaki had noted that they should be more worried about the Planet at this point. Aeris still held her firm belief in Holy's power. Others were ready to give up, when the miracle happened. It even roused Zax from his stupor.
First, it was just a small, shining light far down on the ground, but it grew fast, stretching into a long tendril which glowed green. Tifa noticed it first, and shouted in surprise. Everyone rushed to the closest window, and were soon spotting new tendrils growing out of the ground, stretching their way first up towards the skies, and then towards the Meteor. Soon enough, the ground was covered with a green, moving carpet. Tendrils grew together and their light shone stronger, as all of Midgar was covered, protected from the Meteor. The light grew stronger, brighter, and was soon too much to bear.
When they could see again, it was as dark as the hours just before morning were supposed to be. No red glow of the Meteor, no white light of the Holy. Just the Planet and the skies above it.
The sun rose a few hours later.
Midgar was a sorry sight; Hojo's creatures, the Weapon and Meteor had all wreaked havoc upon it, and despite that most people had left the city during the creature's attacks, many had stayed, had not been able to escape in time or had believed that they would die anyway, and were now lost in the rubble of collapsed houses. The plate had collapsed almost completely, the Shin-Ra HQ was barely standing.
Rufus surveyed his broken realm from the top of one of the houses still standing. When the sun had risen, he'd immediately called for the Soldiers and Shin-Ra personnel that had survived, and sent them out to look for survivors.
"B-b-b-but sir!" Palmer quivered, Heidegger at his heels, "We're Shin-Ra executives! What will the people think-"
"Maybe they'll finally accept us, you morons!" Rufus almost spat at the man. He was bandaged and bruised from when the Weapon had gotten too close for comfort. "Everyone's doing their share! Even Scarlet!" He pointed to the woman who stood on the street below them, overseeing some volunteers who were gathering food and water. Palmer and Heidegger stared, their chins dropping.
The red dress was gone, abandoned when she's worked with the cannon, replaced by old, blue overalls. The blonde hair was tied to a messy ponytail and her face was streaked with dirt. It must have been the first time either of the men had seen her looking anything but immaculate. She must have felt them staring, for she turned to glare at them.
"Stop staring and get to work!" She shrieked, and the two obeyed from sheer shock.
Bugenhagen started when the robot in the corner of his observatory suddenly came to life again. It had been days since the last time, and the old man had worried that something had happened to the man behind the machine.
"Humm, good morning, Cait Sith! And how is Midgar?"
The cat atop the mog straightened its crown and waved at the man. "In pieces, but most people had fled already. In a way, I suppose it's better this way. With Midgar gone, I mean. We all get a fresh start at things.
Bugenhagen nodded. "Yes, yes, just goes to show that all change is not bad, even if it would seem like that at first. Now we can make things right with the Planet."
The cat bobbed its head a few times before falling into nervous silence. After a moment it cleared its throat. "Umm, Elder Bugenhagen... is the Planet going to be all right now?"
The Elder smiled and floated to the robot. "My, I thought that you were the fortune teller here!"
"Oh, right, I forgot!" Cait Sith bowed, and the mog started its dance which ended with the fortune slip printing out. The cat took it, and Bugenhagen leaned closer curiously.
"Well?"
"It says: 'Today is a good day to start that new project'"
Bugenhagen laughed. "Well, that seems like a good fortune to me! Now, when you see Nanaki, could you tell him everything's all right at this end?"
Zax was ready to just lie down on the rubble and fall asleep. He'd gotten used to long, hard days already back in Soldier, but this was ridiculous.
Basically, anyone who was up and able was helping dig up the survivors and bodies. Everyone from slum dwellers to Shin-Ra executives did their share. The work wouldn't be over in a while yet.
"Sir! Sir, come quick!"
"No rest for the wicked," Zax muttered and turned to the man who was running towards him. He forced a tired smile on his face and lifted a hand in greeting. "What can I do for ya?"
"Sir, come quick! We found survivors!"
Zax started to run immediately after the man, racking his brain as to where the nearest medic would be. He realized he had no idea.
The man lead him a few hundred yards to where a group of volunteers were digging away at rubble from the top of a collapsed house. The men were shouting questions, and Zax thought he could hear muffled voices from the pile of rubble. When he got closer he realized to his surprise that some of the men were laughing.
The Soldier rushed to the diggers, and carefully leaned over to peek in the hole like the men were telling him to do.
Zax realized he was looking through a window into a toppled over house. On the opposite wall, which was now the floor, sat two men, playing cards. From the state of their undress, Zax presumed the game was strip poker.
Reno looked up when he heard a groan. The redhead's face lit up with a smile. "Oi! Zax! Took you guys long enough!"
It took a few days before they could spare an airship to retrieve Vincent and Mr. Holzoff from the Northern continent. The Crater had stopped spewing light out, but the area was still so unstable that they had managed to persuade even the old climber to leave his home. They'd dropped him off at Icicle Inn, and Vincent could only imagine the man's homecoming after so many years as the airship continued on towards Midgar.
The ex-Turk was nervous. Exhausted still, but nervous. He tried to sleep during the trip, but not knowing what would expect him once they reached the ruins of the city (he knew that much) kept him up and pacing around.
The sight of the city hit him harder than he had expected. He had never had much love for the place, but it had been a home, of sorts. Once upon a time. He didn't have much time to mull over his musings, though, as the airship landed.
He hadn't expected anyone to come and meet him. But there they were: Aeris, professor Gast, captain Highwind, Barret and his small daughter, Tifa, Yuffie, Nanaki and even Zax. He hadn't expected to see Cloud again, not after waking up on the night of the Holy, as it was already called, and feeling the connection between them, no matter how weak it had been, severed.
As Aeris wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug of welcome, Vincent hoped that Cloud was at peace, and that he himself might finally find peace as well.
For the first time in a long time, it was warm, whatever he was lying on was soft, and he was not hurting at all. Dying didn't seem to be such a bad thing after all.
Cloud opened his eyes and marveled at the clear blue sky above him. It wasn't exactly what he had been expecting, but it was better than the option, he figured, and closed his eyes. He was lying in soft, green grass, and now that he listened he could hear a stream nearby.
Not bad at all.
A rustle of cloth, and a soft laugh. Cloud opened his eyes again to see Ifalna leaning over him, a smile on her peaceful face.
"Hello, Cloud."
"Hello, Mrs. Ifalna."
She smiled and reached out to brush his hair out of his eyes. The soft fingers traced the side of his face, and stopped there for a moment. "The view is much nicer near the stream."
She held out her hand, and Cloud took it, allowing her to help him up.
"So... is this the Promised land?" Cloud asked after they'd walked a while on the grass.
"Almost. There's someone else we have to pick up, and then I can take you there."
"Oh? Who?" Cloud immediately thought she meant Zax, and was both happy and sad at the thought.
"You'll see." Ifalna lead him towards the sound of the stream. There was no hurry, the sun was bright and warm, the grass beneath their bare feet cool and soft.
The scenery started to look somewhat familiar to Cloud, and soon he realized he'd been here before. Years ago, during a car trip to Nibelheim. With Zax and Sephiroth. This grass area, the stream ahead, this was where he and Zax had sat fishing.
There was someone sitting by the stream now, but as soon as he came to view from behind a small rise, Cloud could tell it wasn't Zax. Tendrils of white, almost silvery hair trailed in a slight wind.
Cloud stopped dead in his tracks. "Sephiroth?"
The silver-haired man turned at the sound of his voice, although he must have heard or sensed them coming. He stood up and took a few steps towards them. He was still wearing his trademark black trousers and the long jacket, but he'd discarded his boots and gloves, and the various pieces of armour he'd worn previously. Cloud expected Ifalna to flee before he realized who exactly had delivered the blow that had killed her. The woman seemed to read his mind, she put a calming hand on his shoulder and smiled.
"Hello, Cloud. Mrs. Gainsborough." Sephiroth greeted them, and bowed a little. Ifalna curtsied. Cloud just stared.
"Hello Sephiroth. Caught anything yet?" Ifalna asked, and the blond only now noticed the fishing rod, near where Sephiroth had been sitting.
"No, but I believe it's because of my limited experience with fishing. Zackery once taught you to fish, didn't he?" the tall man turned his green eyes to Cloud, who nodded after a moment. "Well then, would you care to join me, for a moment?" He gestured towards the fishing rod. Cloud nodded again, no less hesitantly. Ifalna gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Once you're ready, you can just cross the stream." With that, she turned and walked into the water. It rose no higher at any point than her knees, and soon she was on the other side. Cloud and Sephiroth watched her go until she disappeared behind the grassy hill.
Sephiroth gestured towards the rod again, and Cloud followed him. Soon they were sitting side by side by the stream. Sephiroth's longer legs reached into the water. The rod lay between them, on the grass, the other end of the line in the clear water.
"Umm, so..." Cloud muttered after a while, staring at the water. Dying certainly hadn't made him any braver around the older man.
Sephiroth smiled a little. "I just wanted to talk with you for a while. To thank you. For being there for Zackery. And to apologize. For everything I put you through."
"It was Jenova, not you. She's dead now."
"I know. But if I had fought her harder, realized that she was using me, all of this wouldn't have had to happen." Sephiroth waved his hands, frustrated.
Cloud thought in silence for a moment before shrugging. "I forgive you. There's no use worrying about something you can't change anymore. So, I forgive you. For what you did to me. I can't speak for other people, though."
Sephiroth actually chuckled. "Thank you."
They sat in silence a while longer, until Cloud took a hold of the fishing rod. "You haven't caught anything yet?"
"Not even a cold."
"How long have you been sitting here?"
"Oh, for a while now. After she took my body, I woke up here. Now that it, and her, are gone, I'm good and well dead."
"And you still haven't caught anything?" Cloud smiled as the man shook his head. He'd been watching the water long enough to spot the problem Sephiroth had. He put the rod back down and leaned back, letting the sun's warm rays engulf him. "Well, to catch fish, the trick is to get them to relax. You gotta talk about whatever comes to mind, get them hooked on the conversation..."
Sephiroth took the fishing rod, leaned back as well, and relaxed.
-
A.N: I'm done. Took over three years. The end became incredibly sappy, but hey, they deserved a good ending. The fight scenes royally suck, sorry, my excuse is that I'm a pacifist ;)
Don't go away yet, stay tuned for our short feature of the day, The Epilogue!