Elmyra shut the last of the windows, forcing out the fiery haze from Midgar, and flinched as Marlene let out another sobbing wail. Shaking her head heavily, Elmyra slowly and carefully descended to Marlene's bedroom—the weight on her shoulders on the verge of throwing off her balance with each step. She meekly eased on the edge of Marlene's bed, and gently stroked the top of the girl's head as she wept.

"It's going to be okay," Elmyra whispered.

Marlene shook her head violently, her face buried against her knees.

Unsure how to give assurance to the girl when she had run out of hope herself, Elmyra sighed and continued to pat Marlene's back. "Sometimes things don't happen the way we want them to, but that's still okay—"

"I miss Wedge," she sobbed, rubbing her face. "He knew…He knew…all the cats and they—they would come when he called. And Biggs, he—he played games with me—and Jessie, she read books the best. She did all the voices…But the plate…the plate…"

Like a stab to her gut, Elmyra was struck by Marlene's words and her jaw went slack. Marlene never spoke of the plate drop. "M…Marlene…"

"You said the sky couldn't fall!" Marlene choked out, raising her head. "You said—You said the plate can't fall here!"

Elmyra couldn't believe that she had let herself forget where Marlene came from. How long had Marlene had been suffering alone? Elmyra had let losing Aerith blind her. "Oh, Marlene…"

"It's falling!" Marlene sobbed, lowering her head again. "I don't wanna go to the Lifestream…I wanna stay here…"

Elmyra scooped Marlene in her arms, letting her cry against her. "It's not like the plate," she forced herself to whisper. For one, people said all life would be wiped out so quickly that no one would feel anything. It would just all be over. "J-Just remember your father is still trying to stop this."

"I miss Daddy…" she mumbled between shaky breaths.

"I know. Do you want…Do you want some ice cream?"

Marlene nodded her head into Elmyra's shoulder.

"Come on." Every step up the kitchen was a strain, Elmyra's footfalls like lead as she carried a limp Marlene. As she reached the kitchen she set down Marlene and gestured for her to sit at the table. "Do you want chocolate chips?"

Marlene nodded again, wiping her face. She no longer had the energy to cry in more than droning breaths.

Elmyra turned her back to get two bowls and the scoop, then heard Marlene call her name weakly. "Yes, dear?"

"I want milk, too."

"Sure. You can have some milk with your ice cream tonight."

"Nevermind, I want apple juice."

"Whatever you say," Elmyra chuckled tiredly. As she reached in the pantry for the chocolate chips, her hand paused over the tin of sleeping weed tea. Swallowing hard, she forced herself to reach past it. Would it be so wrong to have tea after ice cream? If the two of them woke up again, it would be a beautiful thing, but if they didn't, they wouldn't even know…

Elmyra was such a coward.

She snatched the bag of candies and pulled herself back up. No. Elmyra wasn't going to waste any more time thinking of her own sorrows. As she stood, she put on her bravest smile and turned to Marlene. However, it instantly fell when she saw Marlene had wandered to the porch doors and opened them, bathing the kitchen in the fiery glow over Midgar.

Swallowing, trying to steady her pounding heartbeat, her hold on the chocolate bag clenched. Elmyra ventured, "…Marlene, don't you want to sit at the table?"

"Did you hear?" Marlene asked, only a curious puzzlement in her face. "Didn't you hear the flower lady—I mean, Miss Aerith?"

"W…What did you just say?"

Reeve straightened the only clean shirt that had been available, a discarded T-shirt from some team-building event who-knew-how-many years before. In bold, deco text it read "The Future is Bright!" above a stylized mako reactor and the Shinra logo. It was not exactly his size, but it was absent bloodstains, so it had that going for it.

The rumbling in the building was getting worse as Reeve and Veld ascended the stairs, the small army of Turks following behind.

"If Meteor is like any other summon, ending the life of the caster immediately drops the spell," Veld said in a low voice as they climbed.

"…I don't know," Reeve said anxiously. "It…It's anything but typical. We didn't destroy Sephiroth to stop the summon, it was to allow another spell to be able to reach out of the Lifestream. Though it…certainly would be nice if the summon was disrupted…Just once it would be nice if something was less complicated."

Reeve opened the door to the crimson darkness on the roof, and a numbness fell over him as he stared up at the completely unchanged Meteor. A heavy weight pressed on his shoulders with every strained step to the center of the roof. He swallowed dryly, moving his hair aside as the violent winds whipped strands of it in his face. It had been nearly twenty minutes since Cloud claimed to have wiped Sephiroth from the Lifestream entirely.

There was no change in Meteor at all. Not a bit.

Where was Holy…?

Veld stood beside him, his arms folded across his broad chest as he waited. "…Was there nothing else that the spell you mentioned needed?"

Hollow, Reeve shook his head. "It…It was already cast…it just needed Sephiroth's interference removed to allow it to reach its target…"

A violent boom shook the entirety of Midgar, and all of those on the roof were nearly thrown off their feet. From the looming Meteor, swirling gusts of wind danced between arcs of flame and plasma—tearing across the plates above and causing hideous groans through the supports. It was these extended, metallic shudders and the ominous rumbling that chilled Reeve to the bone, gripping his body in a primordial terror. He knew nothing in the infrastructure should ever emit that sort of moaning—and it was growing louder.

The plates would collapse on the undercities before Meteor ever got close enough to crush Midgar…

"Please, not like this…" Reeve whispered under his breath, visions of the Sector 7 plate's fall playing and replaying in his mind. He hadn't been there in person, but through Cait Sith's eyes he had seen it. Again Reeve saw the buildings and concrete crumbling, again he heard the collapsing metal, and the distant memories of the vaguest screams reaching him returned. "Not like this…" Reeve groaned, shaking his head.

A ripple flowed through the sky between Meteor and Midgar. Brilliant white, it spread and swirled, reaching in every direction and filling the air with a soothing glow.

"That's it!" Freyra shouted, jumping in excitement. "That's Holy, right?!"

A relieved laugh fell from Reeve, and he doubled over, propping his hands on his knees as his entire body gratefully untensed. They had made it in time…Cheers and jubilant laughter passed between the Turks. However, the celebration drained to silence. Reluctant to see what had changed the reaction, Reeve straightened back up. His stomach lurched, like the chord of an elevator had been cut beneath him.

Holy parted. The white magic fought against the Meteor, but its strength clearly failed. Searing red overtook the sky once more as Meteor pushed through the barrier, and the quakes throughout Midgar intensified exponentially. Reeve could see the approaching planetoid's aura ripping through the remains of Shinra tower above.

Several of the Turks fell to their knees, others held each other. One with a blonde bob cut wept openly, crying out that she hadn't been able to see her sister in time.

Numb, Reeve closed his eyes to return to the Highwind. Those who had fought for the planet crowded around the bow's windows, as dumbstruck as those in Midgar.

Barret slammed his natural hand against a control panel. "We can't let this happen…!" he seethed, then turned to Cait Sith, his face pale. For the first time Cait could see honest affection from Barret Wallace, his expression speaking what he would never form into words.

Reeve would be the first to die, all of them knew this. Their gazes fell on Reeve's surrogate in gnawing despair.

Unable to reply immediately, Cait looked between the others. Meekly, Cait Sith mimed wiping his eyes and shook his head. "Aye…Aye tried. Aye tried to get out as many people as Aye could. There's still so many in the undercity…Aye'm in…"

Nanaki rubbed against Cloud's legs, his voice strained as he said, "It's too late for Holy. It's feeding Meteor."

Reeve needed to say goodbye. Before he lost the chance. He just had to say it. Cait Sith opened his mouth to speak, then a voice beside Reeve interrupted his efforts.

"…I didn't…I didn't get to say goodbye…"

Reeve returned to Veld, taking in the shell shocked expression of his friend.

"I didn't say goodbye to Felicia. I was so sure…" Veld murmured. He stared up at the sky distantly, moisture rolling down his face. Startled by the alien sensation, Veld blinked several times and tentatively placed his fingertips to his wet skin. "I haven't once…Not…Not since my wife…"

In an identical daze, Reeve placed a hand on Veld's shoulder and nodded to him solemnly. Another hand rested next to Reeve's, belonging to a solidly-built young woman with long hair and a stern expression. Then Freyra set hers on Veld's other shoulder, then more hands reached for the Turk Chief and for one another, no words passing between them.

"It's been a pleasure to…be your Chief," Veld said quietly. "All of you."

Reeve wished he could have physically been with Cloud and the others, but being beside Veld in the middle of his closely-knit team was as good a place as any to be. There was no such thing as a good position now. Reeve and Freyra met eyes and he passed a pained grimace that matched hers.

One of the Turks, a boyish man with blonde curls, said, "W…Do you hear that?"

Over the groans of the Midgar infrastructure, despite the raging storms and gouts of flame, a new sound rose. Emitting whispers and chimes heard with the soul rather than with ears, rivers of lustrous emerald flowed from the ground, swirling upwards. One after another the dancing ribbons climbed from the concrete, and passed around those left in the city on their way to Meteor.

Marlene whispered, "It's coming."

Slowly, Elmyra brought herself to Marlene, her eyes wide in awe at the sight of the rapidly expanding net of lights forming between Meteor and Midgar. "That's…Is that the Lifestream?"

"Do you hear her?"

Elmyra gaped at Marlene, stunned. Marlene didn't take her eyes off the scene in the distance. "…Hear…Hear who, Marlene?"

You know who she means, don't be silly.

With a gasp, Elmyra's hands covered her mouth. A figure like an after-image stood over Marlene, a delicate hand on the girl's shoulder. If Emlyra stared too hard the apparition would vanish, then come back into focus. Its tenuous presence was barely visible enough to make out the pair of gentle, green eyes, a long, trailing braid, and a loving smile.

"Aerith…"

Look, Mom. The planet heard us all. It's not just the Ancients' prayer, it's everyone's.

Afraid to turn her head away for even a moment, Elmyra lifted a shaky hand near the vision. "Don't leave me…"

I never did.

Swallowing, Elmyra shook her head. Dryly she whispered, "You were all I had."

The vision's face grew hurt, and the hand on Marlene patted her shoulder meaningfully. Didn't I bring them all to you?

"What?"

They're all kind of a mess. All of them. They'll need you. Gotta go.

"Wait—!"

The sky flashed bright beyond day, completely swallowed by a dazzling brilliance that erupted through the night. Elmyra stumbled back, hitting the floorboards and covering her eyes.

Then all was silent.

As reality gradually resolidified, Elmyra blinked away the white in her vision. Bit by bit it faded, forming into the kitchen table, the chairs, the rug, the patio. Marlene was rubbing her eyes and blinking as well, still standing at the porch railing. From Kalm below, Elmyra could hear voices joining in elation.

"Miss Elmyra!" Marlene squealed, hopping up and down. "Look! Look, the sky isn't falling. You were right, you were right!"

Dragging herself to her feet, Elmyra moved to the railing beside Marlene. Over Midgar the sky was still and quiet, all that had once been Meteor now a glittering shower of shining snow. Speechless, unsure of how to register the scene in the distance, Elmyra sank into one of the patio chairs. She could do nothing but gaze dumbly ahead.

"Miss Elmyra?"

"Yes, dear?" she whispered numbly.

"Can I still have ice cream?"

Elmyra allowed a bewildered laugh, rubbing her face. "Let's make ourselves sick on it."

Reeve held out a hand, allowing reflective particles to brush against his skin and vanish. In a shocked daze, his eyes drifted between the debris over Midgar like twinkling snowfall, and over those on the roof currently swept up in the release of weeks of dread and despair. The woman who had been crying for her sister was now crying even louder, limply sitting on the ground and bawling. Freyra grabbed anyone remotely near her space bubble and jumped in elation, screaming giddily. Others hugged one another, brandished their side arms in victory, and danced through the drifting remains of Meteor, overcome by the simple joy of living another day.

The nightmare was over.

"Hey, Tuesti!" one of the Turks, a slim, tall man with broad shoulders and red hair shouted. "You've made the List. That's right, the List is back on!"

Reeve arched an eyebrow in bewilderment. "I'm sorry…?"

Another slapped this man's chest, her slim face in a scowl. "Goddammit! Can you ever not ruin a moment, Claude?!"

"You're still on it, Violet."

"I will never be on your list—Get 'lesbian' through your tiny mind!"

With a sharp snap, Claude lowered his sunglasses to give her a grin. "I'm calling that 'penciled in'."

Running his hands through his sunny curls, the young man with nunchucks at his side let out stunned laughter. "You know what? Why the hell not? Cross my name off, Claude."

Without pause, Claude swept up the shorter man, draped him over his shoulder, and wordlessly strolled toward the stairs. The man slung on his shoulder continued laughing, throwing peace signs to his compatriots. "Later, guys!"

Cheers, whistles, and calls of "Later Corin!" followed after their dramatic exit.

Reeve started as Veld drew him into a firm hug, laughing. "You did it. You did it, you son of a bitch." He leaned back from Reeve, gripping his shoulders and a wide smile across his chiseled face. He promptly let out a surprised grunt as he was quickly overtaken by his overly-eager subordinates. "Get—!"

Watching Veld seething and struggling to pry himself from a tangle of simultaneous, emotional embraces, Reeve scratched the back of his head and chuckled. Reeve wasn't so sure he had done it, but he supposed he couldn't claim he had no hand in this victory at all.

A soft laugh shook his shoulders as the words repeated in his mind. Reeve had a hand in this. Beyond the shadow of a doubt, Reeve Tuesti had a hand in the next day's sunrise. For once, for once he couldn't deny responsibility for something that had done inarguable good. He had the chance to make things right. The whole world had the chance to make it right. Midgar could rest forever, but Reeve's work had only just begun.

Staring up, he spread his arms to welcome the last, glistening specks of Meteor into the silent, darkened Midgar.

Those of you who have reviewed my work, you are all appreciated! I do respond to them, but only on my forum. I won't respond to comments or reviews in the documents. _

Please leave a review, or if you'd like to join a conversation post on my forum.