Coral City of the dead

Ice melts into the water

Cloud walked in a daze through the paths of the Ancients.

He was finally here, finally at the place Aeris treasured. She had led him here for a purpose and his fragile mindfelt tampered with it, filling with unusual doubt as he attempted to lead his group with precision.

His eyes were glowing in the mist and he looked determined to continue. Yet he could feel a deep inner fear as if the whole place was an omen.

The way this mist seemed to move of it's own accord made it appear to be guiding the new visitors, gently pulling them down the right path. Cloud felt surrounded yet comforted, threatened yet welcomed…it was an odd place and it felt as if they were all walking into a dream.

A shiver suddenly crept down Cloud's back, but it was so slow he felt as if someone were stroking his skin with her touch…

It felt feminine. Safe. Like the fondest of farewells, a parting touch…

He paused for a moment and turned his head slightly, his eyes looking around him. And then for a split second, he could swear he felt breath on his neck and a soft voice whispering his name.

He whirred round suddenly, panting as his violent eyes darted over the scene before him. His companions halted, scattered around the winding paths as each was going at their own pace. But seeing their leader so distressed caught all of their attention. Barrett was a small way behind Cloud and the first to speak,

"Cloud?"

The familiar gruff voice seemed to snap Cloud out of his paranoia and the two locked eyes. After a short pause Cloud blinked and nodded at the man, only to turn around and continue as if nothing had happened. Barrett furrowed his brow and was about to ask what the hell was going on when he felt the nudge of a paw on his leg. Looking down he met the fiery gaze of his companion who spoke in a low growl. "Don't press him on the matter, he's uneasy. There's something he's not telling us." The beast began as they walked on slowly. "Either that or something about this place is confusing him. It would be useless to ask questions at this time because I fear he does not yet know the answers himself."

Barrett grunted in acknowledgement and they walked on in silence.

Something wasn't right and they all felt the nervous sense of foreboding before they even had a reason to.

Cloud most of all.

As he walked on alone leaving the others to follow, his chest ached with a new fear. He realised when he had turned around to face his companions that Tifa wasn't among them. It had just hit him when he expected to casually catch a glimpse of her warm smile and saw nothing. Not even a trace among the faces of his team.

The soft touch he had felt seemed all too real, the scent that hung in the air, it belonged to her. And when the mercenary had turned expecting to see her, orshare his fears with no other but her she was nowhere to be seen.

He had no one to talk to, no one that would understand and ease his mind of the thoughts of Aeris being in danger.

He felt completely isolated from the group behind him. He didn't even care if they were following his lead or not. They didn't seem like his responsibility anymore, not his team. With that one slender form missing it destroyed the bond between them completely.

And he was not the only one to feel it.

The hard gaze in Cloud Strife's eyes softened as he moved on. He had neglected her for a brief moment and was already beginning to struggle with the loss of her presence. Sephiroth could wait, all he cared about now was seeing that smile again and hearing her tell him that everything would work out, just like she always did. If not, he knew they never could.


Aeris could hear the ethereal voices so clearly in this coral city that she could almost feel them moving within her. They were like a pulse, gliding in and out of her thoughts at a constant rate. She smiled as she listened to their calming voices soothe her concerns and doubts until there was nothing but a smile and the look of utmost peace on her face.

Her hands were placed together, locked in a prayer. Kneeling there on the crystalline surface of the centre platform, the last Cetra guided the voices of the planet, channelling them into a final call for aid. She was encased in her thoughts completely. No human voices could get through to her; the precious link she shared with the planet was just too perfect to be broken by the living.

So when the beautiful sound of a certain female friend's concern broke through the silence that had encased this great open dome, the Cetra was left in blissful ignorance. The messenger's bare footsteps were desperately reached for by the souls breathing through the planet, but the innocent girl was not gifted enough to acknowledge them or receive their warnings…

Aeris sensed a sudden fear in the voices she was communicating with as they started to writhe uneasily within her, making her feel scared by the sheer panic that they were screaming through her mind. The ancient furrowed her brow and let out a short gasp of breath. Her body was almost trembling with the fear the planet was filling her with so suddenly. To go from being at the easiest peace to being overwhelmed by painful, frightened calls was the most unnerving feeling anyone could imagine.

The planet was screaming because it was already too late.

Beautiful innocent hands pushed Aeris free from harm before the Cetra could even sense their presence. Aeris cringed in horrific pain at the sounds of the planet screaming beneath the falling blade. Turning her fallen body around in a haze of painful voices - Aeris opened her eyes.

The emerald gaze witnessed the final moments of a life she never had the chance to protect.

Tifa Lockheart breathed a last rush of air into her lungs as she felt the cold slice of death being dealt. Her chest heaved in shock, rising quickly after barely falling, yet still she refused to look into the face of her murderer and show him she was defeated.

Aeris' hands were shaking as she moved one of them to clasp her mouth. But her body couldn't even comply to her reflex. Her hand just hung limply in the air, over her heart as her body released the tears of the city. The planet's voices suddenly went mute, their sadness falling silently through Aeris' eyes as she watched evil itself plunge into an innocent life, taking it without care, without cause.

Barely finding the strength to stand, Tifa fought as hard as she could for survival, willing herself to breath. But she could slowly feel herself already shutting down…

It felt as if ice had suddenly fallen onto hot skin, a sharp pain shooting through all the nerves in the body, making each one of the senses almost too painful to withstand anymore.

Then the ice begins to melt away slowly, water leaking out in a fragile crimson river, numbing the skin until you don't feel as much as you did before.

The body slowly welcomes the soothing feeling as the initial shock begins to fade andis slowlylulled into a final calm…

Tifa Lockheart smiled one last smile before closing her eyes, never to open them again.

Aeris could only watch as her friend fell lifelessly forward.

"No…" She whispered, her voice cracking to give barely a sound. She took a step nearer, her eyes wide open as icy tears leaked from the edges of the two overflowing emerald pools. She clung to the hope that Tifa could still stand as she looked at her. But she knew she was merely supported by the blade.

The silver haired ghoul slid his sword from his young victim, jerking the blade so harshly from her fragile form that it was as if her murderer was discarding a mistake, one which he suddenly departed from.

The blade had been removed so forcefully that Tifa fell limply backwards, sliding down the delicate set of stairs where she rested now. Her hair spilled out onto the floor like silk gliding over glass, cradling her peaceful face as she slept on into eternal silence. From the waist downwards, Tifa's body rested up on the staircase. The image of her looked just as she had when Sephiroth's blade last discarded her years ago in her hometown.

But this time Cloud wasn't here to find her.

Her arms were lying lifelessly on the cold ground, held open as if she were offering her comforting embrace even in death. Aeris felt her voice whimper a small sound against her throat at the sight of the fallen friend she now walked closer to.

Aeris barely managed to make it down the stairs safely. Her eyes were not even looking at where her feet were going, and she only just planted her feet on each step as she descended. Her eyes could not leave the sight of her companion, it would feel as if she were abandoning her if she did. So Aeris slowly walked down the wide stairs, past the bare feet that lay half way up, and the soft material covered legs that lead the way down to the last step. Tifa was lying on her back motionless at the bottom of the stairs, and Aeris could no longer bare the silence of the room as it ignored her.

She screamed out in anguish and fell to her knees beside her fallen friend. Now she knew who the planet's screams had been for.

Aeris cradled Tifa's left hand in both of hers, whispering a prayer to ease her friend's passing.

"Tifa…" The Cetra began as she stroked her hand desperately trying to warm it as she felt the heat draining away. "I…I'm so…I…I'm so sorry!" She almost shouted the last words, her head sinking with the heaviness of regret and loss. Lifting her tear-glazed eyes to meet the face of the motionless fighter below her, Aeris continued to speak in a whisper.

"He should have taken me….not you Tifa…you…you deserve life…It wasn't meant to happen like this…" She paused, words barely audible beneath the crying sobs that wracked her body. "You…you are the best thing that…that has ever happened to all of us…you can't…you can't be taken away, you just can't…" She sniffed and fought back the tears as best she could. "You…you can't leave Cloud here alone Tifa…I…I'm not enough…all of us, we're not enough without you. We need you Tifa…come back…please just…come back. Without you…we can't…"

Aeris could no longer find the strength to stop the tears after that.


The stairway was like a mirage to Cloud at first.

The ethereal quality of it seemed to lull him into a false sense of security, one that he doubted. But this was where all roads lead.

"This has to be the way." He assured the others before he began his descent.

Somewhere far below, Aeris lifted her head in sudden hope and saw the distant form of her strong protector coming.

She looked down at the broken form of Tifa once more before carefully resting her head back on the ancient floor where it had previously rested. Trembling, Aeris stood and looked down at her stained clothes. They were rich with the blood of an innocent and her hands were guilty of touching her body, covered in the same red taint.

Tears cascading down her sore cheeks, Aeris ran for aid, her heart clinging to the impossible hope that they could revive the fallen.

But as she ran, her energy drained to its core and she stumbled to a stand still near the bottom of the grand stairway. She stood alone waiting for her saviours to come, thought her silent tears betrayed everything as merely false hopes.

Cloud walked calmly down the illuminated staircase, descending further into the vast chasm of the Ancients. It truly was the forgotten City, nothing looked like a sole had been here in years.

Then his eyes caught the sight of Aeris.

In an instant he picked up his speed and found himself running the rest of the way, two steps at a time, literally throwing himself down them. Once he reached her he engulfed her in an embrace. His strong arms surrounded her and he held on tightly to her, relief washing over him. He had found her and he never wanted to let go. He wouldn't allow himself to fail her again.

But something wasn't right.

She was trembling.

Cloud gently pulled away to face her, still holding her in his arms. His eyes widened in instant fear when he saw the tears gliding down her smooth cheeks and she shook in distraught sobs. "Aeris…what…?" He whispered his confusion as he pinched her chin, lightly tilting it upwards so she would meet his gaze. Those emerald eyes he was so soothed by suddenly shot fear through his entire soul. He stiffened and waited for her to tell him what had happened to her. Had he been too late?

Aeris gripped his forearms as his palms held her, and tried to attempt a response. "Cloud….I…I'm sorry…but she –" The Cetra fell against him, her arms clinging around his neck wanting him to ease the unbearable pain.

But Cloud couldn't settle in her embrace. He felt something sticky on his bare forearm from where she had touched it, and lowered his gaze.

And it was then that he saw it.

Panicking he held her out at arms length again and this time took in the whole sight of her – she was covered in blood.

"Aeris! What the hell happened, what did he do to you? Is Sephiroth here?" By now, the rest of the team were assembling behind him and all waited with baited breath for her reply.

After agonising moments of silence Aeris finally shook her head.

"I…It's…It's not mine…"

Cloud stood in stunned silence as the sounds of Barrett's thundering footsteps echoed on ahead through the vast city.

Soon after, Yuffie sprinted past, screaming calls for someone, about something not being true, not believing it,along witha cat leaping off of a slower moving mog and bounding down the vast walkway itself.

Next came the heavy footing of the pilot, a cigarette tumbling from his mouth as he went past, leaving it to be crushed under the silence of Vincent as he followed in equal desperation.

Cloud didn't even hear the padding of Red's paws as he shot off through the City. His eyes were locked on the red stains in front of him. He was numb. He could hear nothing apart from the thumping of his pulse against his temples. The truth was sinking into him all too late and his protective hands immediately abandoned Aeris as he realised he'd been protecting the wrong one.

Running faster than any time in his life, he ran to her, to the woman who had never once asked for him, never once demanded him, yet never once left his side.

But he was too late.


Barrett stumbled to the ground by her side.

His dark eyes were blurred with water as he tried to see any signs of life. Rubbing his eyes clear roughly with the back of his hand he focussed on her face, trying his best not to look at the sickening wound that drowned in a pool of blood.

She was motionless, looking every bit the angel that Barrett had always seen in her.

He carefully lifted her delicate head up and into the crook of his right arm to rest while rough fingertips of his one hand pressed for the final answer that lie against her fragile neck.

Her oval expression was lifelike, yet incapable of changing as if he were holding a portrait that represented a once beautiful life.

All he or anyone could do now was look, simply look at her.

They could never hear her.

Never change her expression into open laughter with their words.

The wait for her eyes to flutter open with her awkward yawn would forever be in vain.

It would all be pointless. She was just a gentle, broken canvas torn down and left to fade with time.

Barrett held onto her with the care he had never been able to give her before now. She was always the tough one, watching his back and comforting him. Only now did he realise how hard such a task was to do, especially for someone you love.As he sank into a slouch, her lithe form enveloped within his arms, he couldn't believe the strength she had in her to always do this for everyone. He wasn't even strong enough to do it for her this final time.

He knew he was meant to support her, carry her to her resting place, all the while being the strength for theother members of the group.

Instead, Barrett Wallace was slumped on the blessed ground of the Ancient City, barely managing to sit up as he clutched the body of his lost daughter to his chest. His large hand buried itself in her silken hair, pressing her into the safety of himself. And he cried. Cried harder than any man should ever have to cry. His jaw lay slackened, heavy breaths quickly jerking it up with his sobs as the forever stern eyes closed, drowning in the tears he never knew he had in him to cry.

A young ninja was comforted in the unexpected embraced of a pilot. The wisdom of a canyon dweller diminished to leave just a naïve harmless pup behind. A small cat removed his crown and helfd it against it's chest in respect before being scooped up in a giant paw, snuggling into the mechanical chest to mourn.The enigma bit down hard on the trembling lower lip beneath his façade, maintaining a desperate hidden silence. A girl pretending to be the last Cetra knew she was too far from home. And a once great soldier became a man who had broken a boy's promise.

Tifa Lockheart was lowered into sight, still caught in cradling arms. The sharpness of greafted weaponry was forgotten as the wearer brushed delicate strands of hair from a cold face with his fingertips. His eyes looked down at the woman there and his cracked lips parted just enough to speak. "I'll be here Tifa. I'll always be here. So don't get lost out there…" He paused, swallowing the urge to cry. "…because you'll always have an old man's worthless heart looking out for ya." With that, he lowered his head to her. "I promise girl…" He whispered, his eyes closing to slip out one last tear as his lips pressed a kiss on her forehead. He didn't want to break this last contact but finally raised his head and with the hand that cupped her face, he smoothed his thumb down the curve of her face before finally letting go.

When he began to lower her to the ground, he stopped suddenly. Only now was he noticing the blood that had slowly been draining out of her body, forming a red blanket on the ground as she slept. Barrett held onto her desperately, afraid of the sight before him. He could now feel her saturate his clothing, his legs felt numb as they bathed unwillingly in her last lifeline. Before the crying resurfaced, he tried to hold onto his resolve and yelled orders in desperate anger.

"Take that Cetra home where she belongs. She is none of our concern anymore. Nor does she have a place on our journey." He said in a low tone that left no room for argument. His head turned slightly to be able to focus his glare on the pilot he relied on to fulfil his request.

Cid Highwind didn't hesitate. He simply lead a still fragile Yuffie under his arm toward Aeris. The Ancient looked for some reason to stay with her only friends, these people who she had a real life with for the first time since she could remember…but only saw the emotionless face of her transporter standing in front of her.

"Let's go Aeris."

His choked voice for once was not the result of his habit. And Aeris knew she had to go. With one last look at her hero in the distance she let herself be lead home once and for all. To remain protected for the rest of her life by the right person, a mother not a stolen stranger.


Rising at last, Barrett lifted Tifa in his arms and turned to the man who had been standing in silent patience behind them all this time. Knowing he was the one meant to bear her weight for her final journey, an old leader gave her away to the man she had promised herself to ever since he had known her. "I don't have to tell you what she would have wanted to say if you'd have shared her last words." He said in a fading voice before walking briskly away out of the now empty room. Last tears would fall in his own company.
In silence a soldier walked with his maiden in his arms.

She rocked slowly within his cradling hold as he walked, gently but sure.

The shoreline welcomed the warrior in a sense of calm that seemed to ease the unbearable pain within him.

As he reached the water's edge, he carefully walked into shallow depth, kneeling down to lower her in his embrace just enough to let the crystalline water sway the red stains of her injury away. Cloud pulled the gloves from his hands and nervously ran his fingers through her hair, rinsing away any traces of blood that may have graced her skin. All the while, she was supported in his left arm, holding her to face him, his eyes never leaving the expression he had seen her wear in her peaceful slumber whenever he had snuck in at night. He had been a restless sleeper for many years, and often found himself wanting to see her. So he would walk the halls of the inn they were paying for, or walk through the campsite they had made for a night, until he found her. Then he would find himself sitting beside her, and she would look just as she did now, within blissful secret dreams. And a few breathless times he had been caught off guard by hearing his name pass through her lips, unaware.

It was remembering this that finally broke him.

Kneeling there, his head fell in a heartbroken cry. Sobs wracked his body uncontrollably and he succumbed willingly for her, never feeling exposed with her. She was the only person to ever see him cry, and even in death she was still here to hold, to share the pain, to be at his side through every moment. Cerulean eyes shut behind heavy lids shed stinging tears as the warrior grit his teeth, his masculine voice crying audibly in his struggle to accept her death.

"I wanted you to see me…" He choked, before opening his eyes. "I wanted you to realise I was there Tifa…" Raising his head, he looked at her beautiful face and strained in a cry for her upon sight. Swallowing, he regained a bit of his composure and continued. "I – I wanted you to wake up to know I came, hoped that you'd realise I was always there with you, that I wanted to be by your side always. To have you open your eyes and see for yourself that I want to say just what you wanted to tell me but that I too didn't have the strength. I wished every night I found you Tifa, that you'd wake up and see that I love you…Then neither of us would have to say…I want that now Tifa. I want that to happen now!" He almost screamed the words, the anguish of knowing it never would and she could never realise he loved her in return was too much for him to understand or accept. "See me now Teef, know that I'm here, please just open your eyes. Then you could know that I have always been right here…that I…the only reason I never said was because I was never brave enough…please tell me you never thought it was because I didn't care…"

Pulling her close, Cloud held his childhood girl in his embrace and let out his anguish in unashamed cries that passed through the Ancient City fully heard.

Time carried on without them.

Knowing the whole world was lying within his arms, Cloud Strife knew he had no plight left to continue saving the planet. His place was here. If he was to be the world's saviour, he only had one final battle to fight – the one with his life.

Swimming to the centre of the lake, Cloud brought Tifa safely into his embrace.

And stopped.

Their weight gave in to the gentle pull from the water's depths and Cloud felt himself taken down from the surface. He didn't hold his breath, but welcomed the calm of the chasm he was falling into with her. His eyes stayed open as he felt the first urging of his reflexes to breath. He simply watched as the silken river of dark hair swam freely around Tifa. He smiled and pulled her closer. Looking at her, he realised he had never once kissed her. Never in his life had he fulfilled the first longing of his heart, before the desire for Soldier,for revenge – a simple brushing of lips was the first and strongest yearning of his young life. His smile faded into seriousness as he felt the jolt of his empty lungs once again, but his expression was for her. With the last ounce of energy his drowsy body had left, he pulled Tifa close, her body gliding through the water and he closed the distance between them and kissed the lips that were never meant to feel so cold…

The surface was never broken again.


A's N's : Finally, I've completed a multi-chapter. I meant to complete my other ones, but I'm slowly working through that, I just hope you'll be happy with this in the meantime!

Okay, onward to clearing a few things up. When I said 'the girl pretending to be a Cetra' I haven't gone doolally and think she isn't a Cetra, I meant it in the sense that she's realised she doesnt live up to expectations, she is simply a girl beneath it all. And regarding Cloud's final act, I don't believe he would have had faith to carry on, even with Aeris there. He would never have made it to where he is without Tifa, so if he lost her, I think he would want to fulfill his promise in some way and be with her no matter what - and so in my fic, guarding her in death. I have a lovely thought of them meeting in a lifestream sense like in the game, but this time being in a happy version, drifting together somewhere within the green place. Aww...fic anyone? I'll leave it to someone else to write that one because I daredn't touch this fic with another chapter!

So, all done. I would now like to officially declare this fiction COMPLETE!

Thanks to everyone who read this, I enjoyed writing the emotional parts, because though you see Cloud being the one to discover Tifa in a heartfelt moment in a lot of fics (nice don't get me wrong) I think Barrett would want to go to her just as much!

Anyway feedback would really be welcomed, I am so nervous about what you'll all be thinking because I still don't think this is 100 and I have agonised over it too much already! So please, let me know even if it's brief, what you all think.

Until next time!

Xx Jessie xX