"If that's true..." Artross said solemnly "Zeetan will stop at nothing to get it back..."
Marie turned to Spirit, a distressed look upon her face. He only smiled and hugged her gently "Don't worry, I promised I'd keep you safe, and I intend to!"
"Thanks..." she purred lightly, pressing her head against his warm chest before slowly falling asleep to the rhythmic beating of his warm heart. She woke up sometime later in his room, Spirit holding the orb. He forced a smile "I just didn't want the orb to lose any energy... sorry if I went through your pockets..."
"It's ok..." she smiled, hugging him "You did it for the twins... but does your father know...?"
He shook his head "Not yet, but I'm sure he'd approve..."

"It's weird... Seeing my father for the first time..."

Marie patted his head "You've wanted to meet him for so long... I'll understand if you want to go talk with him."

Spirit shook his head. "And leave you alone? Never!"

Marie smiled and scratched him behind one of his ears, causing him to purr uncontrollably. "You're such a cute lil' kitty" she said lovingly. Spirit blushed, but managed to let out a short laugh. Marie giggled back as she wrapped her arms around him, closing her eyes from the secure feeling she had with him.

"We'll beat Zeetan... I know it..."

She nodded "When we work together, we can do anything! Anyways, I'd like to go meet Artross myself..."
"Then let's go! He's out in the living room" Spirit took her hand, though her legs wobbled slightly she still managed to walk. The warmth she felt from holding his hand somehow made all her worries ease away, and she giggled.
"Out here!" he lead her to the living room, and upon the couch sat his father, wings folded down. Pure white, soft, and feathery like Spirit's. She timidly sat down by him, staring curiously.
"So you're Spirit's daddy?" she forced the words, wondering how he would react "I'm Marie..."

The Gaia turned to her, smiling as he rustled the fur on her head "You bet, but you can just call me Artross!" he stood up and walked over to Spirit, looking at him intently "You've definitely got your mother's eyes, but you have my good looks as well."

He then patted his bewildered son on the back. "Great work freeing me from Zeetan's mind control!"

Spirit looked up at his father, speechless from the millions of thoughts rushing through his mind. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you growing up, but you turned out better than could be expected."

Spirit let out a sigh of relief, seeing how his father acted so casually.
"And what's that you have there?" he asked, pointing to the blue sphere in Marie's arms "You're expecting?"
Her eyes widened as she hugged onto it. It cast off a warm glow, and was bigger than when they first got it. She paused and nodded with a blush "Yes, I am having twins..."
"And who's the lucky lad to be with a goddess?" he asked with a chuckle.
"Erm..." Marie forced a shy smile, her voice becoming quieter as she spoke, until Spirit spoke up for her, saying "I am..."
Artross looked as if he would burst out in rage, but quickly smiled in his usual carefree manner. "Guess I'm going to be a grandpa!"

Marie and Spirit both smiled back in relief, breathing heavily.

"You two must really love each other then... I know Cryssnan reproduction only occurs during a peak of intimacy." Artross said happily. The two blushed intensely, but were somewhat happy. Knowing their love caused a miracle was a pleasant thought.

"It was unfortunate that you had to be born mortally, but I'm sure you know by now that Gaias weren't made to be able to sustain life within themselves."

"Our origins never matter..." Marie nuzzled her kitten nose against Spirit's whiskers "It's what we choose to do with our lives..."
"Yeah, I guess you're right" Artross nodded, scratching his chin "And it looks like Spirit had to make quite a few important choices; getting a soul mate, being a father... so when are you two getting married?"
"Married?" Marie tilted her head "Our culture doesn't have marriage, we think that a kiss is binding enough..."
"But Spirit's culture does, and who knows? Maybe it'll be a pleasurable experience..." he said. Marie blushed "Umm... I never gave that much thought..." her voice became quiet again.

"It's okay... We don't have to have a wedding if you don't want to." Spirit said in an understanding voice.

"No... If it means we can express our love for each other... I'll do it." Marie wrapped her arms around Spirit as she usually did.

"But there's another problem... Zarconia is full of bounty hunters that are after me."

Artross casually shrugged "Maybe not... I have a feeling things will change soon enough..." Spirit looked at his father confusedly.

"You'll find out in time... For now, we have to keep Zeetan away from the final Materia."

"Which means that Marie should never go out of our sights..." Spirit said, holding her in his arms "I promised I'll always protect you, Marie, so I'm not leaving you alone..."
She blushed at this, cheeks becoming pink "Th-thanks, Spirit..." she said, her last bit of nervousness melting away with the warmth of love "I'll always be here for you..."
Artross could only stare on and shed a tear, proud of how his son turned out to be, yet regretting the fact that he wasn't there for him to grow up.

The rest of the day went on without incident, and Artross soon returned to the Gaian Realm to catch up on what had happened in his absence. Spirit and Marie slept soundly, comforted by the warmth of the ever growing orb. All they wanted was a world free from Zeetan, where the twins could live without fear. Spirit often wished he could see them as his love did, but knew that he wouldn't be any less surprised upon seeing them once they had hatched. Though, he still had faint memories in his dreams of seeing them in the reflection at Mira Mira. Marie, however, had dreams opposite of his. Nightmares plagued her; before her stood the form of Zeetan, plunging a ghostly hand into her heart. She begged and plead for him to spare everyone, yet he didn't listen, trying to retrieve the artifact in her. As she struggled, he lost grip, and she fell into the never ending dark pit below her.
"!" she awoke from her nightmare with a gasp, panting heavily as she looked over to Spirit, still sound asleep. She quietly crept out of the room, and closed the door.
"Maybe a walk will ease my mind..." she said, opening the door as she stepped out into the cold night. Her fur quivered and twitched, adjusting to the change of temperature as she walked down the dirt trail. Marie soon reached the sea-side hill that Spirit had shown her, and thought that staring off into the vast ocean could help clear her mind. Her worries seemed to drift away with the tide, until she felt a strong dark presence come towards her. She turned just in time to see Zeetan lunge at her, but he was quickly sent out of the way with a blow from Artross' sword. "Run Marie! Tell the others what has happened!" the Gaia shouted.

"Artross... You couldn't stand up to me in the past, and this time won't be any different!"

She nodded and ran down the path, stepping lightly upon the ground as it increased her speed. In the distance she saw a clearing, leading to her house.
"A-almost there..." she whispered to herself through the panting, when a dark figure appeared in front of her; Zeetan.

She gasped "No, Artross is fighting you!"
"Correction" he cackled "Artross is fighting an illusion, thanks to Janga!"
She backed away, trembling in fear until she turned around, ready to run back to the other Gaia, taking flight into the air. She was stopped in mid-flight though, Zeetan fazed in front of her, and she immediately flew in the other direction. Everywhere she turned to found Zeetan, until fatigue set in and she slowly fell back towards the earth, trying her best to stand. Her head throbbed and her wings were numb, she could barely stand at this point.
"Foolish goddess, you can never run from me!" he said, placing a spectral hand upon her. It instantly became shrouded in darkness, as he plunged it into her chest, trying to retrieve the artifact. Yet she still tried to fight back, concentrating her energy into bursts that stung his hand, but the darkness kept him from feeling a thing, and it wasn't too long before she finally passed out, and Zeetan retrieved the final Materia.

"It's mine! At last, the final key between the shadows and the light belongs to me!" Zeetan laughed hauntingly as Marie blacked out on the stony ground. Spirit and the others came rushing up, all ready for battle. The young Gaia took hold of his love before handing her to Sephiroth for protection.

"Well, it appears you're all in time to witness the beginning of the end!"

Spirit scowled at the demon as he summoned his sword for battle. At that moment, all of Zeetan's followers materialized around him, each grinning evily.

"We'll take you all on!" Sora shouted.

"Yes, but can you take on me?" Zeetan asked ominously.

"I'll defeat you just like before!" Spirit exclaimed. Zeetan began to laugh, knowing something that no one else did.

"You fool... The body you see before you is nothing but a shadow of my true self! These materia are the key to summoning my body to this world!"

Everyone gasped at this, as the four jewels began to surge with dark energy "It is time! Your existance has come to an end!"

The materia floated into the air, forming energy strands that shaped themselves like one of Zeetan's control marks. A black vortex then opened behind it, letting loose the screams of lost souls. He laughed as his body disappeared, and a pair of demonic yellow eyes appeared inside the darkness. A form then began to appear out of the portal. Its claws broke free of the dimensional bond, followed by his head and body. The portal then disappeared, leaving only a frightening creature of pure evil in its place.

"It's... Impossible!" Spirit gasped "This is Zeetan!"

The creature laughed in an echoing voice, exposing a set of razor-sharp teeth "Look upon me, mortals... The true face of darkness has come!"

"S-Spirit..." Marie uttered in Sephiroph's arms as he carried her home "Spirit!"
"Rest, young one..." he said, trying to get her to a safe spot "You've done all that you could, leave it up to the Gaias now..."
She open her eyes weakly, filled with sorrow, forcing out every word "I... want to help..."
"The only way you can help is by resting up..." he gently laid her body in her bed, as she tried her best to sit up. Her body twitched and quivered again, her muscles unwilling to move and she frowned once again.
"Don't worry, the battle isn't over yet... as we speak, Spirit's fighting for us all out there, as well as all your friends... you must be strong for them all, strong for Spirit..."
"I guess..." she looked down to the orb at the foot of her bed, and he seemed to notice, handing it to her. She summoned what small amount of strength she had left to wrap her arms around it, and fell asleep to its soft light.

Meanwhile, Zeetan had yet to make a move, but enjoyed the fear that he had caused by his arrival.

"Are you surprised, Gaia? I was always watching you, and studying everything to prepare for this day whaen I would be set free! And now, there is nothing you can do to stop me!"

Spirit's wings materialized as he stood ready to fight "I can still defeat you!"

The young Gaia then lunged at Zeetan, who sent him back with nothing more than his aura. "What was that about defeating me?" The demon taunted. Zeetan summoned a collosal scythe, that seemed to darken the very air around it. He then phased into the shadows and reappeared in front of Spirit.

"Say goodnight, Gaia!"

With that, Zeetan struck Spirit through the chest, sending the young hero hurtling into a rock and slowly sliding to the ground in a heap.

"Well, Master... Are you going to finish him off?" Seymour asked.

"No need. That's pure dark energy I sent through him... He'll be dead within minutes!"

His eyes dilated, and he clung onto life, the darkness inside poisoning his body. His vision doubled, and he nearly passed out, until a pure white entity appeared before him. He tried to focus, the child laying a hand upon his heart. His pain eased away, the darkness being purged from his body.
"M-marie?" he looked to her, trying to rise as the entity plunged further down, becoming one with his heart. As he rose back up, his wings shining brilliantly and he felt a new power. Their hearts became one, and through their infinite love, he knew that he could take Zeetan down.
"Marie..." he looked down to his hand, materializing the Ultima once again "I feel your strength running through my veins..." he looked up to Zeetan "And I promise you I won't let him win!"

"I should have known... You don't die that easily..." Zeetan growled "However, all good things must come to an end!"

The demon fired a dark energy beam from his mouth, but as the dust cleared from the attack; Spirit was unharmed, and had blocked the shot with two swords.

"What!" Zeetan roared in anger.

"Dual weilding... That can only happen when two hearts work as one..." Sora gasped.

"It makes no difference... I'll crush you like an insect!" Zeetan tried once more to slash Spirit with his scythe, but the Gaia dodged it and sliced through the shadow lord's arm with one of the Gaia Ultimas. The demon roared with pain as dark energy seeped out of the wound like black mist.

"Perhaps you aren't as weak as I thought..." he laughed as his arm reformed "But, you're still no match for me!"

Zeetan then raised his hand to the air, and Spirit was instantly subdued by a series of dark energy chains that rose from the ground.

"It's over, boy!"

"No it's not!" Spirit shouted as his wings broke the chains apart. He then charged Zeetan, and sliced through his chest with both swords. The demon was sent flying back, and exploded into black flame that ignited the ground.

"You did it! Way to go, Spirit!" Sora congratulated.

"So... You think it's over, do you!"

Zeetan rose from the flames, dark energy seeping out of his missing limbs and fissures.

"Doesn't this guy ever die?"

"You fools! You have only just begun to taste the power of true darkness! You can't stop the apocalypse!"

With that, Zeetan's body broke into dark energy, that quickly seeped into the ground. Everyone waited expecting the worse; and they got it. A massive, pitch black claw lurched up from the ground, followed by a tremendous monster of horrible power and size. As its eyes opened, everyone was frozen with fear.

"You can never defeat me! I am the devil!" it said telepathically "This is my most powerful form; Bielzeetan!"

It let out a blood-curdling roar that instantly weakened everyone in the area; except for Spirit. "Go get him, Master!" Ansem shouted.

"Devour his soul!" Ridley chanted along. Bielzeetan stomped his foot on the ground, releasing a stream of Heartless at Spirit. He fought them off with little effort, soon turning his attention back to the demon before him. The creature opened its mouth, charging a dark energy ray. Spirit dodged it just in time and swiped at one of Bielzeetan's legs. It had no effect, and left Spirit open for a swipe of the monster's axe-like tail. As Spirit was sent flying into a boulder, he shook it off, ignoring the pain.

"Face it! You can't save this universe, any more than you can save your precious little goddess!" the creature spoke "Friendship, love, humanity... Weak concepts that hinder true power... The power attained from darkness!"

"That's not true!" Spirit said in a calm voice "You care of no one, and live only to destroy, but some of us fight for the ones we care for, and they give us strength. That's what makes me stronger!"

Spirit wings suddenly turned golden, and released a brilliant light that blinded the shadow demon.

"What... Is this!"

"Those who live in darkness are often blinded by the light, while those who live in light only gain strength from its radiance!"

Spirit then struck through the center of Bielzeetan's body, revealing a black crystal.

"No! how did you do that!"

With one final strike, Spirit hacked apart the jewel, which shattered into nothingness. "Impossible! I'm stronger!" the demon yelled as his body began to turn to stone. Pieces of Bielzeetan cracked off, as his normally evil eyes were now showing nothing but terror.

"It can't end like this!" he howled as his now solidified body imploded and shattered into the souls he had taken over the ages. Each of the life essences flew into the earth, causing the landscape to glow a bright green. Everyone looked around in awe as flowers bloomed out of the wreckage, showing that the evil that had plagued all life had been put to an end.

"Spirit, we're not done yet..." he heard the soft, serene voice of the entity in his mind and he nodded. Marie suddenly left his body, making him considerably weaker and he fell to the ground, caught by Sora. Before them a swarm of heartless appeared, coming out of a white door, advancing towards the group of warriors as the pure white Marie spread her arms at the mass of darkness. Her entity started to disperse, light flowing all around, pushing the heartless back into the door, every last one of them. Finally, the door shut, and Sora raised his keyblade at it, glowing at the tip as a final locking sound was heard. Back at the house, Sephiroph looked over to Marie, as her breathing suddenly stopped, and all movement in her body ceased, not even a twitch of her fingers. The remaining foes retreated, knowing they didn't stand a chance. Spirit awoke some time later in his room, suddenly realizing something.

"Marie!" he ran over to her room, seeing her laying in bed with Sephiroth looking over her. Spirit gave her a slight nudge, just to see if she was okay. No response.

"Spirit... Marie is gone..." Sephiroth finally said.

"Huh? But... She's right here..." The swordsman shook his head.

"It's her heart... It's gone..."

Spirit looked blind sided, not knowing how to react.

"It can't be... There's no way..." he insisted. The Gaia kept trying to nudge her awake, but it was no use. "I won't believe it! You can't be gone!"

He pushed on her shoulder gently, getting the same result "She's only in a coma, she'll wake up sometime, it's always been that way!"
"You must listen... I know it's hard to lose someone..." Sephiroph said as he lifted the orb "But you must accept she's gone, and take care of your future children... they'll need you without their mother..."
He took the orb, and stroked its glassy exterior, whispering as if to say something to the unborn children "Don't listen to him, your mother's going to be okay..."
But he was wrong. It continued for one painfully long week; after Spirit did his daily things, he'd take the orb and return to his bedroom to watch over Marie for the rest of the day. He never left her side, and Sora started bringing meals to his room so he wouldn't starve.
"I know you're ok..." he rested his head on her chest, trying to hear a heart beat, but only received a silence "You said you don't have a heartbeat... so..."
"She does..." Sephiroph said "Except it sounds very different from yours... that is only her vessel

for her elemental soul, and when she left it, she didn't get the chance to come back..."
"I told you that's not true!" he yelled at him in agitation before turning to Marie with a frown "I know you're there... somewhere, I can feel it..."

"He'll learn in time..." Sephiroth whispered to himself, before leaving Spirit to be to himself. Many more weeks passed after this, soon leading into months. Meanwhile, on a pure white plain, Marie wandered aimlessly, not knowing where she was or what had happened; only knowing that she was missing someone. Memories faded by her, but she couldn't remember any of them. She then found a strange sight among the absence of color; a red scarf. She cried into it, but didn't know why. It seemed like any other scarf, but it held a meaning to her. As all this happened, Spirit remained by her lifeless body, still refusing to believe the truth.

"Please... wake up..." one night, Spirit found himself begging "It's not right without you... there's an empty feeling inside me..." tears rolled down his cheeks as he threw his arms around her, sobbing onto her chest "Please, please don't leave me!"
Her body remained unresponsive, except for the sudden twitch of her finger. A glow came between the two, seeming to send energy into Marie's body as she awoke with a gasp, taking in air for the first time in ages. She raised an arm weakly, sore from idleness as she laid it upon Spirit's shoulder, staring out confused.
"Wh-what happened to me?" she asked "Is Zeetan gone? Why are you crying, Spirit?"
He stared at her, eyes wide in shock and didn't answer, hugging her tightly.

"Spirit? Why won't you answer?" she felt confused at first, but decided to not ask again and just return the warm embrace.

A few days later, Spirit received notice that the king and queen of Zarconia had died from unknown reasons, leaving his older brother, Taio, as the king.

"I didn't know you had a brother." Marie said in awe.

"He's actually the king and queen's true son, and he was always really nice to me. If he's ruling now, that means we can have our wedding there!" The two were overjoyed by this, and soon prepared for the big day. Gathering all their friends, they traveled to Zarconia to get ready. However, upon seeing the outfit she would wear, Marie became a little worried.

"Ummm... I really don't like dresses..." she said timidly at the sight of the elaborate kimono. "But it is Zarconian tradition." the fitting woman said.

"Isn't there something else I could wear? You know... pants, shorts... nothing at all?"
Spirit blushed up at the suggestion, as the lady wrapped measuring tape around her waist, saying "Oh heavens, no, we can't have a bride run around naked..."
"It's ok..." Spirit said, turning his face away to hide the blush "I'm sure you'll look beautiful in the dress..."
She smiled a bit "Yeah... I just don't like 'em, that's all..."
"The measurements are done!" the lady interrupted "We'll have your dress done by noon!"

"You hear that, Marie?" Spirit took her hand, causing her to blush.
"Yeah, I get to be in a dress at noon..." she said sarcastically as he chuckled.
"No, I mean we'll be married by sundown... you and me..." he hugged her gently, letting her listen to the comforting sound of his heart "Imagine it, you, a bride..."

The time soon came, and the ceremony took place in what looked like an open church with only pillars and a back wall, all made out of white marble. Spirit stood at the end, waiting for his true love's appearance. He saw her come up to him, blushing a bit from her clothes.

"How do I look?"

"I think you look beautiful... But there was never any doubt that you wouldn't." he answered in a somewhat mature manner. She smiled at him, then took his hand as they went down the aisle. "Today, we stand before the gods and the Gaias, and ask that these two may be joined in an unbreakable bond of the heart." the minister began. "Once this bond is created, no force shall be able to break it. So, Spirit Macardi, do you take Marie Elana to be your eternal wife?"

"I do..." Spirit said, gently holding onto Marie's hand.

"And do you, Marie Elana, take Spirit to be your eternal husband?"

"I do." the goddess spoke up after summoning all her courage.

"Then, by divine mandate, I pronounce you both husband and wife!"

"You may now kiss the bride..." Marie heard, turning to Spirit. Though she's kissed his cheek many times, this time was very different, and she felt a nervousness as their lips met one another. Through the intense blushing so many emotions flowed, happiness, joy, and soon the nervousness melt away as he took her in his arms shyly.
"See, that wasn't so bad..." he whispered into her ear, though she heard his heart beat much faster than normal. She nodded, her blue eyes meeting his "It was actually... kinda nice... now can you fetch my pants?"
He chuckled at this, and lifted her up "That can wait; for now, we must celebrate!"
Marie nodded "We need cake, and lots of it!"

The rest of the night was spent eating and celebrating, and the next morning, they left back to Earth. Things seemed peaceful with Zeetan gone, and his followers soon met similar fates. The Space Pirates were captured by Samus Aran and the Galactic Federation on their home planet of Zebes, and their leader, Ridley, was placed under strict lock down. NME's forces were taken down by a team of remnant Star Warriors, though the mastermind himself was never found. Without Zeetan's dark energy to support his body, the evil Janga soon faded into nothingness; a cruel fate for a cruel villain. Vaati set off on his own to find a way to reverse the curse placed on his body, though whether or not he found it remains a mystery. Ansem and Seymour had their own agendas, and the young boy Riku remained a hostage in his own heart. However, Luce gained what she always wanted; freedom. With Zeetan no longer controlling her mind, she set off to find her place in life. Two days after all this, a miracle happened: The orb that Spirit and Marie had taken care of for months finally hatched on a visit to the temple in Cryssna. The children inside were a pair of orange furred hybrids. A boy with ears and wings like his mother, and a girl with pricked up ears with tufts of white at the end. Both had big, blue eyes like their parents, and seemed to carry with them a vast potential.

"They're beautiful..." Marie said as she gently cuddled the boy.

"Are we still going with the names we decided on?" Spirit asked as he petted the little girl. "Yes... Tsuki and Runoa fits them perfectly..."

"Meh..." Bendilen watched on, as the children stared up wide-eyed. Marie cradled her new baby boy, and shown him to the chaos deity.
"And this is your godfather, Bendilen..." she said in a cheerful voice, as Runoa stretched out his arms, as if trying to touch the bigger Klonian with a smile. Even if Bendilen had a grudge against mortals, he came to accept Spirit, probably because of a feminine influence in his life.
"I see great things in the future for them both..." he said, patting the infant gently as he grabbed onto his finger "One day they'll both be saving the universe for us..."
Spirit chuckled "Not just yet though, it's not like we've retired..."

And so, while one story ends, another begins. Tsuki and Runoa have a world of good ahead of them; but where there is light, there is also shadow. Zeetan may be gone, but hatred and darkness still exist. In any case, the twins have their whole, immortal lives ahead of them, and who's to say what can happen in an eternity?