Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the Final Fantasy 7 franchise. All I own are my Orginal characters, their powers, origin story, and the magical land they come from.
A/N: This story follows the story of Advent Children the video game as well as Dirge of Cerberus. With my own storyline intertwined. Whenever you see text in [...] and Italisided then these are when people are having a telepathic conversation. I'm a little new to Fanfic .net so bear with me. I'm learning how to write and post stories here.
Cloud's P.O.V
'Where am I?' I thought as I feel like I'm floating is an empty space. 'The last thing I remember was, Esmee. She's alive again, but what happened to me, am I dead?' I thought as I continue to float around in this empty space. 'Well; I'm glad that this time, I was able to save her. Now I can move on then; knowing that I was there for her.' I thought happily, suddenly I feel a warm hand touch my forehead.
"Mother" I said out loud.
"Again, why is everyone calling me their mother lately?" said a familiar kind voice.
"I guess they must be fawned of you." Said another guy's voice that sounded familiar too.
"This one is a little too big to adopt." The kind voice said again.
"Tough luck friend, it sounds like; you don't have a place here." I heard a guy say. I then felt like I was slowly falling, till I lightly landed on the ground. I fluttered my eyes open only to close them again. Then it feels like I'm floating on water and someone his holding me still. I fluttered my eyes open again and this time I see I'm in the church. I look around and see I'm standing in a pool of water, where the flowers had been at. I looked around some more and I'm surrounded by little kids.
"It's like she said; wait here and Cloud will come back." Said a little girl with pigtails.
'She?' I thought.
"Welcome back." Said a sweet little voice I knew all too well. I look and see all my friends standing across from me.
"I'm back." I said as I look at all of them. Then I noticed that someone was missing and I know who. "Esmee-" I said but I'm cut off by a voice I've come to recognize.
"I'm alright. Thanks to you." Esmee said as she walks up from behind Tifa and looks at me.
"I'm glad you're okay." I said with a smirk as our eyes meet.
"You too." She said as she returns my smirk with her smile.
"There are still children with the Stigma." Red said as he walks towards Denzel and then he looks back at me.
"Yeah" I said as I walk towards Tifa and Denzel.
"Hey; let's get you fixed up." Tifa said softly as she gently holds Denzel's shoulder.
"Come on; I'm here." I said as I reach out my hand to him. Timidly he walks towards me and I pick him up and gently place him down in the water. I cup my hands and dip them into the water; then I pour the water onto his forehead. Then just as my stigma disappeared, so did his. Then everyone cheered as everyone started jumping into the water to cure their stigma. I couldn't help but smile as all the children around me are giggling and laughing happily as they are finally free from their pain. Out of the corner of my eyes I spotted something at the front of the Church. I look and see a familiar girl with brown hair with a pink bow holding it back. As she walks towards the door, I also see someone with familiar black hair standing there. When the girl reaches the door; she turns around and looks at me and I see her face; Aerith.
"You see; everything's alright." She said softly. Then she turns around and walks out of the door and pass Zack. He looks at me and waves before he follows her out of the church.
'I know; I'm not alone.' I thought as I look at the door one more time before I look back at my friends and see them smiling and laughing. 'Not anymore' I thought with a smile as I look and see Esmee looking at me and she smiles her kind smile at me.
Esmee's POV
After everyone was cured of the Geostigma; we all headed back to the bar to celebrate our victory and to tell them what happened. Cloud and Lazul begin to explain until it was my turn to talk and once did; I had surprise looks from everyone, except Lazul, Cloud, and Vincent. Most of them just sat there in shock that I was still alive and others, like Marlene, came running over to give me a hug "So how did you survive?" Tifa asked as she sat down on one of the barstools. So I explained to them how I had gotten so called killed and about where I gave my remaining power to Cloud.
"And that's what happened. I don't know what happened after that, because the next thing I know I wake up and see Lazul, Cloud and Vincent's face over my head." I explain as I look at everyone. Then Cloud steps in and explains what happened. After he defeated Sephiroth it started to rain and my once tainted stone became pure as the water touched it. Then my powers suddenly guided him back towards my body and Amethyst suddenly fused back into me again.
"Wow" I said surprised as I place my hand over my heart where Amethyst is at.
"Do you know why your stones did that, Esmee?" Red asks.
"We were told very little about the stone." Lazul said as he jumps on my shoulders.
"All I know is that Amethyst was born from inside me." I said as I look down at me hands for a moment. Then Yuffie jumps in front of me, scaring me slightly.
"Hey; all that matters is that you're alive now and breathing, right." Yuffie said happily as she smiles at me. I couldn't help but smile back at her as her words moved me.
"Right." I said with a big grin on my face.
"Yeah; let's get this party started." Barrett said as he and Marlene cheer.
"Alright; let's start cooking." Tifa said as she rolls up an imaginary sleeve as she walks into the bar and starts working on the drinks. As the party goes on; everyone is smiling and laughing again. I'm glad that everything is back to normal and that everyone is happy. I'm even happier for Cloud. During the time I meet him and staying here I noticed that he was holding a burden on his shoulder. And now they're finally lifted off of him, now he can live a happy life. While Tifa and I pass out drinks to everyone, fruit punch for Marlene and Denzel, the door suddenly bursts open and a familiar red head comes through the door with his fist in the air yelling,
"Reno is in the house~". And again cloud gets mad at him for nearly breaking the door. After all the yelling and arguing stopped, Rude came inside along with two other people. A woman with short blond hair and a man with black shoulder-length hair have a black dot in the middle of his forehead. Before I could introduce myself to them; I feel someone's arms wrap around my waist and pull me into a tight hug.
"I'm so happy to see that my little Sapphire is safe and sound." Reno as he continues to hold me close to him. Normally I don't mind but there are times that it makes me very uncomfortable.
"Hey Reno. Nice to see you too; now could you please let me go?" I ask shyly and as politely as possible while trying to get out of his hold.
"No way; I like holding my little Esmee bear." Reno said playfully as he rubs his face into my hair. "Reno" I said embraces as I feel my face heat up a little.
"Aww come on Esmee; you know you like-" Reno said but stopped midway as he screams in pain while jumps away from me, holding his butt in his hands.
"Gross Reno; don't overdo it with your cologne." Lazul said as he spits out a nasty taste in his mouth, while everyone bursted out into laughter.
"That's what you get for flirting with Esmee while her guard dog is around." Rude said as he pushes his cool glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"I can't help it; I like a challenge." Reno said as he dusts himself off and walks towards the others.
"Any way: so you're the one we've heard about." The blond haired woman said.
"Nice to meet you; my name is Elena." Elena said as she reaches out her hand for me to take, which I did and shake it.
"Hello; my name is Esmee and this is my friend and partner Lazul." I said introducing me and Lazul. Then I look at the man beside her and he reaches his hand to me and we shake hands.
"My name is Tseng; pleasure to meet you both." Tseng said politely to us. Before I could reply; I hear Reno challenging Cid to some drinking game, which he gladly accepts. I look back and see Tifa getting the drinks while Barrett takes the kids to the bar stools away from the two drinkers.
"There he goes again; trying to make a fool of himself." Elena said with a deep sigh.
"We better go over there. It'll take all three of use to keep him at bay." Tseng said as they both look in the same direction as me.
"That's for sure." Elena said with another deep sigh and walks towards the others.
"It was a pleasure to meet you both; have a good evening." Tseng said with a bow and follows Elena. As look at everyone I noticed that Vincent moved away from the group as soon as Tseng and Elena joined him and the others.
'That was weird, he looks really tense.' I thought but I let it slip my mind as Yuffie and Marlene call me over.
End of the party
When the party ended; Cid won the drinking game and both he and Reno are badly drunk. Luckily Lazul took the kids upstairs to bed before they could see them behave like loonies. It was funny to see them behave like this, but it got crazy when Cid's sailor mouth begin to run non-stop. It's a good thing that Tifa has control when it comes to theses sort of things. She called Cid's wife, Shera, to come and pick him up. It's was a good thing too, his mouth was getting worse. When she came; I briefly introduced myself to her, she's a very sweet and pretty woman. As she leaded him out of the bar; his mouth acted up and gain and this time it reached its max and I couldn't take it anymore. Out of reflects; I casted a silence spell to silence his voice. He freaked out and everyone laughed. I got a big thumb up from Yuffie. I apologize to Cid and Shera and explained that the spell will wear off after 10 minutes. After that everyone said goodbye and left, Tifa and I started to clean up, with some help from Cloud and Vincent. Vincent and Cloud cleaned up the bar while Tifa and I cleaned the cups.
"Hey Esmee; did you ever figure out who gave you the flower?" Tifa asks as she hands me a cup to dry. "Not yet." I said as I take the clean dishes and put them away.
"I think I got an idea who." She said teasingly as she washes another cup and then hands it to me. "Who?" I ask as I take the cup from her.
"You know who." She said in a teasing voice again. Then it hit me; she's talking about Vincent. The moment I think that I feel my face heat up.
"No; I don't think so." I said as I look down at the cup to hide my blushed face, but she saw and she giggled.
"Come on Esmee; it's obvious that he likes you and that you like him too. It's only natural to get someone you care for a flower, especially if they've been hurt." She said as she hands me the last cup to dry. "Yeah, but you would also get a friend a flower if they've been hurt. It's the same meaning, so I don't think it was him." I said and return the hug.
"You got a point there, knowing him he wouldn't want to be so obvious. So who then?" Tifa said as she dries her hands.
"It was me." Said a voice from behind us. We jumped at the sudden voice and quickly turn around to see Cloud leaning against the door.
"C-Cloud; hey what are you...How long were you standing there?" I ask shyly as I look at him with my face probably as red as Reno's hair.
"Long enough." He said with a smirk on his face as he walking in. "Don't worry; Vincent left before I walked in and heard your little conversation." He said as he stands in front of both me and Tifa.
"It was you why?" I ask.
"I wanted to apologize" He said as he looks away from me.
"For what" I ask.
"I don't know if you remember, but after our fight with Kadaj and when you became unconscious. Lazul was giving us directions to help you with your pain." He said.
"A little but yes." I said.
"Well; when Lazul told me what I had to do to help, I left." He said sadly as he looks down at his feet. "Why?" I ask softly.
"Because watching you... going through all that pain brought back memories I thought I sealed away." He said still looking down shamefully. "During the time you spend with us, you reminded me more and more of Aerith, all those memories returned and I couldn't handle the pain from my past." Cloud said as silence filled the room, before I could speak, he spoke again. "I blamed myself for what happened to her and to you. But after our fight with Sephiroth, I'm beginning to move on and let go of the past, thanks to you and the others; so I'm sorry and I'm hope you can forgive me." He said. I'm so surprised, and relieved. He's finally able to accept what happened.
"We're friends Cloud; I never blame you, not once. You were there for me and that's all that mattered." I said as I walk towards him and place my hand on his arm, causing him to look at me. Then I wrap my arms around him and hug him, he's surprised at first but gives into the hug. Then we let go and I smile at him which he returns.
"So uh...how did you-" I said as I push some of my hair behind my ear.
"I noticed that you have feelings for him and that he has feelings for you; since the day you ran away from us." He said as he places a hand on my head and rubs my head like a little kid. "Don't worry; I won't say anything. It would mean a lot more if you told him." He said with a smile. With that he left the kitchen and walked to his room.
"Well that mystery has been solved." Tifa said as she walks towards the door.
"Yeah." I said as I follow her out of the kitchen.
"I'm so glad; thank you Esmee." She said as we head up the stairs.
"For what?" I ask.
"For being here with us, I'm glad we met someone like you and Lazul. You've helped Cloud overcome his past." She said as she places her hand on my shoulder.
"I don't think I did anything." I said shyly as look down at the floor as we reached the top of the stairs. "You're wrong; you knew what Cloud was going through and you know what it's like to experience loss. You gave him the strength to move forward, so thank you Esmee." She said as we stopped in front of her door.
"What are friends for?" I said with a sweet smile. She chuckles and pulls me into a hug.
"Good night Esmee" Tifa said as we let go of our hug.
"Good night" I said as I walk to the door, but suddenly I thought of something and I turn back to her. "Tifa; I-" I said. 'I want to move forward, but this is something I have to do.' I thought as I stopped mid-way in my sentence, and then shake my head.
"It's nothing." I said with a smile.
"Well good night Esmee. Sweet dreams." She said with a smile as she waves at be.
"You too Tifa." I said as return the wave and walked to my room. Once inside; I take a deep breath and take off my hoodie and place on the dress. Then I take my shoes off and lie on my bed, careful not to wake Lazul, and fall asleep.
Author's POV
As the city of Midgar continues to sleep throughout the night; one wondering mind cannot find the will to sleep. Esmee opens her eyes and slowly sits up in her bed, still covered with the soft blankets. She lifts her head up and looks out the window and sees the city still sleeping. With a deep sigh she rests her head against the bedpost and closes her eyes; wishing she could sleep but she know too well that she can't because she knows what she has to do. "Lazul" She said softly, with her eyes still closed, to Lazul as he rest peacefully on one side of the bed they share.
"You really want to do this?" He asks as he opens one of his eyes and looks up at her. Esmee raises her head off the bed post and turns to look at Lazul.
"Yes" She said as they look eye to eye. Lazul looks deep into her eyes and the spoke.
"Alright" He said. He jumps off the bed as Esmee pushes the sheets off and stands up and walks towards the dresser and mirror. She picks up her rope bag and opens it and digs through it looking for something. When she finally finds it; she pulls out a small bag and sticks it into her pocket. Then she walks towards the other side of the bed and grabs her hoodie. As she puts it on; Lazul jumps on the nightstand and looks up at her.
"Are you sure you want to do this Esmee?" he asks as he watches her zip her jacket halfway.
"I'm sure of it. I need to do this." Esmee said as she attaches her jewel pouch to her pants and then pull her hoodie up. After Esmee ties her shoes and checks that she has everything she walks towards her balcony door.
"Besides; I need to say goodbye to them; the right way." She said with a smile as she opens the door and looks outside. The night air rushes into the room and cools her skin with a gentle brush. Lazul nodes his head and runs out the door and jumps over the railing. Just as Esmee is about to follow; she looks back into her room and remembers what she plans to do and about her friends. With a flick of her wrist, a glowing white light appeared on her dresser. Esmee pulls her hood on as she closes the door and looks over the railing and sees that Lazul has transformed into his tiger form and is ready to go. Esmee jumps off the railing and lands perfectly on him. She then pats his side, telling him that she's ready to leave. So Lazul starts walking out of the alleyway and into the empty and quiet streets. Then he breaks into a fast and steady pace towards their destination.
"I don't think it was a good idea to leave like that and not tell everyone?" Lazul asks Esmee as he continues to run.
"I know; but I left a note. I doubt they'll worry too much." Esmee said with a smile as she looks straight ahead as the sun begins to rise in the horizon.
we are at the end of the adventure of Advent Children. now we are getting a glimpse of Esmee's past. and now we will see what happened.
