I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of the characters.

Final Goodbye

Cody stared at the files, Hojo's words swirling through his head as he read the words that seemed to blur and sharpen repeatedly, making him have to strain to read. but it was all there. Everything Hojo said. All of it. His father's crimes. His mother's crimes. His mother's job. Somehow, seeing it like this, even though it came from Hojo still, he knew it was all true. This really was who his parents were. What they really did. But he didn't know why. He couldn't understand why they would do it. his father especially. His mother was one thing. That was easy to understand. But his father was an entirely different matter.

"Cody?" Jessie's voice called out after hours of him sitting in the silence of his cell and reading. "Are you there?"

"Yeah," Cody responded, closing the file and setting it aside. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Jessie said. "Anyone else here?"

"I am," Cloud said. "Tifa's in here with me. We're both fine."

"Figures you two would get a room together," Cody said, thinking, but me and Jessie would be separated.

"I'm here too," Barret said. "So is that dog."

"You have the dog in there with you?" Cloud asked.

"Is he alright?" Aerith's voice asked.

"I am fine," a new voice said. "Now that circumstances allow it, allow me to apologize to you all for my actions before. I merely acted according to what Hojo expected in order to buy time for you all to find a way to get us out of that glass cage."

"What would you have done if we couldn't?" Cody asked.

"Nothing," the dog said. "I have the freedom of choice as well, and I had no intention of harming your friend, or of forcing myself on her."

"When he knocked me down, he promised not to hurt me but asked me to play along for a moment while you all found a way to free us," Aerith explained.

"I see," Cloud said. "Then I suppose we can't fault you."

"Aerith," Cody said. "How did you know my name?"

Aerith was silent for a long moment before responding. "I'm sorry, but that explanation would be better when we can talk face to face. I don't think it should be long."

"What do you mean?" Cody asked.

Just then, the door opened, Tseng staring at Cody from the other side in silence. Cody narrowed his eyes, only for Tseng to hold out his hand, Cody and Cissnei's bangles hanging from his fingers, along with Cody's watch.

"What...why?" Cody asked, taking them before he could change his mind.

"I'm not letting you out," Tseng said. "But this much should be fine."

Then, he turned, walking away before Jessie stepped through the door, throwing her arms around Cody, knocking him backward onto the bed. After a moment, she pulled back as Aerith stepped into the doorway, looking over at Tseng.

"Thank you, Tseng," Aerith said.

Tseng nodded mutely and Aerith stepped inside, allowing him to seal the door before he walked away.

"What's going on?" Cody asked.

"Tseng apparently owed one last favor," Aerith said. "This was to settle his debt."

"What did he owe you for?" Cody asked. "What, did you heal him after the final battle with AVALANCHE?"

"The debt wasn't with me," Aerith said, holding out her hand.

Cody frowned, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"You'll understand," Aerith promised. "It's easier this way."

He hesitated another moment before resting his hand on hers. Instantly, there was a dull buzzing in his head for a moment before it faded. He was about to ask her what it was when he froze, head slowly turning to his left before his body followed, his mouth falling open. There she was. Exactly as he remembered her, as beautiful in death as she was in life. She smiled brightly as he stared at her, completely at a loss for several long moments before the gears began to finally click back into place.

"It was...you," he breathed, Cissnei nodding slowly. "You made Tseng give Aerith a phone after the Sector Seven plate fell. You told Aerith how to save me, and what number to dial to call Jessie."

"Yes," Cissnei did, her voice feeling to his ears like water to a man lost in a desert. "But I was there before that too." She smiled as his brow furrowed. "I never left, Cody. you may have buried my body, but I've been at your side all this time. Remember? All those coincidences? The man talking about AVALANCHE being a better path? You seeing the poster that said the same? I never left your side, Cody." She glanced at Jessie just as Jessie took Aerith's other hand, gasping as she saw Cissnei. "Hello Jessie."

"Oh my God!" Jessie breathed. "She's beautiful."

Cissnei smiled. "Thank you." She looked back to Cody. "I...influenced that man on what to say, and I called out to you from the poster. All those times your feet carried you on their own, that you walked aimlessly. You never realized it, but you were never walking at random. You were following me. Even without knowing it, you could always feel me there. I knew that if I left you as you were, you would have just killed yourself, so I've stayed by your side all this time. I wanted to help you find a new reason. I wanted to help you find happiness without me. And I finally did."

"What do you mean?" Cody asked.

Cissnei smiled knowingly. "Do you have any idea how hard it was to find someone?"

Cody and Jessie's eyes both widened.

"Find someone?" Jessie asked.

"Someone who'd be able to win your heart was the easy part," Cissnei smiled. "I had to find someone that actually deserved it. That was ridiculously hard."

"And you chose me?" Jessie asked. "But...why?"

"Because I could read you heart," Cissnei smiled at her. "I can do a few things now that I'm dead. That's why I had you tell him he had expressive eyes. It was among the last things I said to him, so I knew he'd pick up on it."

Cody winced slightly and Cissnei's smile saddened slightly.

"I was never fair to you," Cissnei said.

"Life isn't fair," Cody said. "No reason anything in it should be."

Cissnei sighed as Jessie took a deep breath, narrowing her eyes.

"Who gave you the right?" Jessie asked.

"What?" Cissnei asked, brow furrowing.

"Who gave you the right to steer him where you wanted him?" Jessie asked. "Who gave you the right to manipulate his life? His choices?"

"Jessie!" Cody gaped.

"No!" Jessie said. "I'm saying this. You used him! You knew he hated Shinra and you manipulated him into being a Turk! You knew he was in love with you, so you used that to hold him in a job that he hated! You let Shinra threaten the person he loved most just so that he wouldn't go rogue!"

"No," Cody said. "She didn't know. She never knew Shinra was using her as a hostage. I made sure she'd never know. And she never manipulated me. It was my choice to stay. And I didn't join AVALANCHE because she forced me. I joined because I wanted revenge against Shinra, and because I wanted to believe that some part of Cissnei's will was watching over me. I had no idea about this, though."

Cissnei smiled.

"But why?" Cody asked. "You could be in the Lifestream now. You could be with Zack. Why would you choose me?"

Cissnei's smile saddened. "Because I couldn't bear the thought of you dying. I...I chose Zack. I couldn't live without him, especially knowing I was the one who cased his death. But that doesn't mean that I didn't love you, Cody. I'm sorry for causing you so much grief and agony, and I'm sorry for choosing Zack over you. I do love you. Had Zack not escaped, I probably would have chosen you. But..."

"But you love him more," Cody said.

Cissnei nodded. "I'm truly sorry. And I won't be able to stay much longer. I found Aerith by accident and realized what she was, so I held on until you two could meet so I could say goodbye to you properly. And I used that time to make sure I could be sure you'd be okay. That you'd be happy."

Cody nodded, tears running down his face. "I miss you."

"I know," Cissnei smiled sadly. "Even when I return to the planet, I'll still be with you. I'll always be with you. I'll always watch over you."

"I love you," Cody said. "I'll always love you."

"I love you too," Cissnei smiled. "Be strong. Live a long happy life for me. I'll be watching."

Cody nodded and Cissnei smiled one last time before closing her eyes, shimmering green for a moment before fading. Cody took his hand back from Aerith and staggered backward, sitting against the wall and resting his face in his hands. Jessie took a step toward him before hesitating. Finally she, sighed quietly, sitting against the side wall of the cell and Aerith sat on the bed. After about twenty minutes, Cody finally lay on his side and closed his eyes, laying there in silence for hours before finally succeeding.

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