A/N: Thanks to Kelleyj17 for her beta! I hope you guys enjoy the chapter.

The world was dying around them as they held their last stand in her old church. No matter how hard they tried, they could never stamp out the dark influence oozing through the Planet, slowly killing off those who lived on the surface and adding to the corruption within upon death. They had tried to get an answer from the Planet, but he would interfere with communication.

It hadn't always been like that. After Sephiroth had been defeated, Aerith had been able to freely communicate with the Lifestream, helping create a farming region beyond the newly created city of Edge. The future held promise, until the day people and animals began to show symptoms of a strange and deadly illness called Geostigma. Geostigma, because the people insisted it was punishment from the Planet, no matter how much Aerith protested that it wasn't the case.

And as things died, her ability to communicate with the Planet weakened.

Edge was a city full of pus covered corpses, and the last bit of genuine voice from the Planet called Aerith to her church. The flowers still grew here, and she knelt down in the middle of the patch, Zack watching the spacious room for any danger as black Lifestream slowly swirled outside the broken stone walls. He wasn't one to give up hope, but he was feeling like perhaps today might be the day he finally lost it all.

Did they finally win, after all he and his friends went through, after all they had lost? It was just the two of them now. The others had either died or were also having their last stands in places around the world. He took a quick peek at Aerith from behind his back. She was praying, wearing that small brown leather jacket he bought her over an earthy green dress, her wavy brown hair cascading over her back. Her long brown boots peeked out from the flowers.

"Man, who'da thunk we'd have to fight in our special meeting place?" Zack mused to himself. He didn't expect an answer back as the last Cetra focused on the Planet and whatever last threads of pure Lifestream were left.

Aerith continued to pray, using her white materia as a focus to break through the rot and stagnation marring her communication with the Planet. Her consciousness weaved downward, looking for for her, Minerva. The goddess that challenged Zack years ago, the will of the Lifestream.

The Cetra felt herself come across what she interpreted as a seed of light in a space full of darkness. In her mind her hand came out to gently grasp it; was it this that would save the world, and finally allow her to salvage what she could on the surface?

You two have been chosen.

"Chosen? for what?"

Zack turned again to look at Aerith. "Huh?"

He looked up as black Lifesteam burst through the roof of the church, and malevolent voices began a chorus of whispers as it began to flood the sacred space. A humanoid shape with venom green eyes, shorter than Zack, began to form out of it; he readied the Buster Sword as he flashed a defiant glare at the entity. "Over my dead body you get to her!"

"...Alright." The shadow pulled two swords out of the darkness, and it lunged at the former Soldier.

Zack blocked the attack, then the next. He used the flat end of the Buster Sword to swat the shadow of the man he used to know into a supporting pillar, then dodged a tentacle of black Lifestream that was aimed at his chest. His opponent quickly recovered and began to approach Aerith as the rotted Lifestream distracted Zack.

The ex-Soldier finally took notice, then charged his opponent. He twisted about and shielded Aerith as she continued to commune with what was left of the Planet, his steel toe boots planted firmly in the flower bed as the full force of the shadow bore on the Buster Sword. Every time he came back, he was stronger, Zack lamented in his mind.

It was right after that that the ground shook violently, surprising Cetra, man and shadow. Zack and Aerith tried to hold steady as the stone pillars of the church began to crack and fall, and then they disappeared into the sinkhole that suddenly formed under them. They began tumbling through the darkness, and Zack caught and held Aerith, hoping his body could break her fall. The shadow man peeked from the hole above them, then melted away as more black Lifestream swirled into the church.

It was rapidly falling away.

At one point they both wondered when they would hit the bottom and finally die, and then they felt water rush about them. Their vision changed from darkness to light, and then they were standing right outside a bubbling pool surrounded by familiar yellow and white flowers. The air was humid but fresh and clean, and there was a chorus of animal life chirping and buzzing in their ears.

Zack slowly, cautiously let go of Aerith, but stayed next to her. He glanced at the muddy ground and found his sword, which he quickly picked up. He began to wipe away the mud, and felt a strange tingle from it. Disregarding it, he placed the Buster Sword in its magnetic harness on his back. "So..."

"I have no idea," she replied. "Minerva just said we were chosen, that was all."

"Oh." Zack took a deep breath through his nose. "She didn't say for what?"

Aerith shook her head. "No...Maybe we were chosen for a better afterlife than what everyone else got," she mused facetiously.

"Heh." Zack looked around again, then thumped his chest lightly. "I feel pretty alive, don't you?"

"Mhm."

The ex-Soldier looked towards the sky and noticed that there was something huge and manmade, covered in flora. "What is that? It looks like some ruins!"

"Huh?" Aerith looked the way he pointed, and she frowned. In the distance was some giant, rusted thing that looked eerily like the base support pillar for Midgar. "I don't know...We should probably get somewhere away from this place, though." She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to listen for...something, anything. A whisper came to her ear, telling her which direction to go. She pointed into the forest, away from what looked like a footpath. "We should go this way."

"You're the Cetra!" Zack walked side by side with her, letting her find whatever it was they were to find.

"We can set up camp here," Vincent said as he stopped the wagon for the evening. The group had finally come to the other side of the forest, and then tomorrow they would pass by a handful of villages before finally making it to Junon. "It should be relatively safe."

They were on a grassy knoll, forest on one side, more grass on the other, the Midgar Mountains to the south and the ocean far in the distance to the north. The sun was touching the distant tip of the Shinra tower. It was beautiful and reminiscent to those who had traveled together once before.

Vincent, Corent and Dilys began to work on the tents as Yuffie and Young Nanaki went to collect some firewood. Elder Nanaki took the cubs to the north for reasons unknown, but no one asked; they would be back regardless. Cloud, wanting to do something, began to clear away a space for a fire pit. Tifa and Vesta discussed what they would cook and how much. They had brought plenty of rice and root vegetables, and some salted fish.

"D'you think we could use some o' th' fish now?" Corent rubbed the back of his spiky haired head. "All that travellin's got me hungry!"

"You sat with Elder Vincent up front!" Dilys protested. "And don't say you made a tent, that wasn't that hard."

"You're always such a shark about food!"

Cloud overheard and stood from the finished pit, his black gloves caked in dry dirt that he patted away. "You want meat, huh?" Corent looked at him, then nodded. "Then we're gonna go get meat."

"Eh? I-I've never hunted, though."

Cloud shrugged. "We don't have time to catch a deer, so we'll let a monster come to us."

Dilys balked at the idea. "A...a monster? You want us to eat a monster?"

"There are Couerls and the rare Behemoth," Vincent said. "Both should be fine to eat."

"With the right spices," Tifa murmured. Still, the thought of getting some meat, even monster meat, sat well with her. She began to rummage through the small packets of seasoning Vincent had acquired.

"R-really?" Vesta looked at Tifa, then Vincent, then Cloud. Were the adults really going to catch and eat a monster?

Cloud took the Fusion Sword out of the wagon, then disassembled it into two blades, one larger than the other. He pointed one in the direction of the grassy knolls. "Get your spear, Corent. We're gonna catch a monster."

Tifa watched as the two walked off from camp, and she knew one monster was going to turn into a pile of monsters. Cloud was frustrated, and when that happened something would have to pay the price to calm him down. He wasn't the violent boy from her childhood anymore, but that issue of his had matured into this. Monster killing was his outlet.

He had brought it on himself. She was still miffed he had dared to attempt to sleep her and make her stay behind like a weak little housewife, tending to children. Maybe she was going to tend to a baby in some short months, but it didn't mean she wasn't capable. She understood he was afraid, but he had to let some things not be under his control.

Not that things weren't out of any of their control right now.

Tifa let out a sigh and took the wooden bucket that hung from the side of the wagon. They would need water for the rice, and water to clean up. There was a brook below them and near the forest that would do as a water source, and she headed that way as the others finished pitching up the tents. Tifa turned her head slowly before leaving the camp. "Cloud and Corent might be a while. I think we can start off with some tea."

Slogging through the underbrush of the forest for hours was tedious, but a refreshing difference from what they had left behind. It was all so curious to the two; where had they ended up, and why? Were any surviving friends here, too? They hoped so.

They had taken several breaks during their hike, and they would just quietly ponder while sitting on a large tree root or log while swatting a bug here and there. What little sunlight filtered down from the canopy was beginning to fade, and Zack's indigo eyes began to softly glow as the forest dimmed.

Zack began to fan his black turtleneck sweater, blessing his lucky stars it had no sleeves. At least his blue jeans breathed in the humidity. "Y'sure we're not lost?"

Aerith playfully punched his arm and chuckled. "I'm a Cetra, I know exactly where we're going!"

After their last break the forest seemed to ease up a little, and nighttime was beginning to creep up on them. Out in the distance they made out a glowing blob that looked a lot like a campfire. Taking a look at each other, they walked towards it cautiously, hiding behind some trees to see who was there.

Zack peeked from behind his hiding place, finding a group of friendly looking strangers. He counted six, and with a frown recognized four of them. One of them he knew was dead for certain, he had been there. He strained his ears to hear their voices, but he wasn't close enough to make out what they were saying. He looked back at Aerith, who looked as shocked as he was. "Maybe we are dead," he whispered back.

She bit her lip as she looked back at the group that was oblivious to the duo watching from the forest. After a moment of silent deliberation, Aerith marched through the last bit of woods and through the grass towards the campfire, a wary hope growing in her heart. The group stopped talking as they noticed the two entering the light of the fire, and four of those people recognized her, but only one seemed to know Zack's face.

Tifa.

"T-Tifa? Tifa, is that you?" Aerith whispered from the other side of the fire, wanting to get straight to the point. She watched as the dark haired woman shakily stood up and came to her, her hand outstretched towards the Cetra's cheek as she held a dumbfounded expression.

The woman's hand cautiously touched Aerith's cheek, her breath quickening as she looked her up and down with familiar ruby eyes. "Aerith..." she breathed. "You...Aerith, you're alive!"

"I think that's our line, Tifa." Zack stood to Aerith's side with a smug, warm smile.

Tifa gawked at him. "Y-you too? Oh, my God. Cloud—"

"Aerith!" Yuffie pounced on her, then Nanaki began to rub his side on her leg. Vincent had stood up to stand next to Tifa, blinking in a way that revealed how floored he was to see her.

"Oh, Aerith. It's so wonderful to see you again," Nanaki purred to her.

Zack's smile turned into a pout. "Hey, what about me?!"

"Sorry." Tifa tried to get everyone's attention. "Everyone, this is Zack." She looked at the two strangers, who were watching quietly. "Dilys, Vesta, this is Aerith."

The two mumbled greetings, still looking wary and more than a little confused.

"Oh. You're Zack, huh?" Yuffie gave him a once over after releasing Aerith from her grip. Nanaki was cautiously catching his scent, then looked up at him with a cocked head.

He frowned. "Don't you remember me?"

"Uh, no? I've never met you before."

Aerith shook her head. "What? You traveled with us, remember? You ended up stealing all of our materia when we took your advice to go to Wutai."

Tifa stared at him, then Aerith. "We traveled with you, not Zack. Zack was dead."

"I'm not dead! At least I don't think I am." He scratched at the scar on his jaw. "But you...you should be dead."

Tifa pointed at Aerith. "No, she...died. I was there when it happened, in the Forgotten Capital. Sephiroth..."

"You shoved me out of the way, Tifa." Aerith tilted her head to the side a little in bewilderment as the two tales did not add up. "Sephiroth—"

"Hey, we're back!"

Aerith and Zack looked towards the strongly accented voice, and a man that held a semblance to Zack walked into camp with a confident, satisfied smile. He was dragging the gutted corpse of an adolescent Behemoth behind him. They noticed a pair of glowing blue eyes lazily following him, then froze as the man who it belonged to was revealed fully by the light.

Spiky blond hair, short and skinny body, an angular face set with sapphire eyes that neither of them would ever forget. The only thing different was the black clothing he was wearing and the scruff growing on his jaw and neck. He was staring back at them with a shocked face, almost childlike in the awe that was growing on it. "Z-Zack? Aerith?"

He took a step towards them but stopped as the Buster Sword nearly sliced his throat, if not for his quick reflexes. He blocked the sword's trajectory with his own. His blue eyes went wide, and Zack's narrowed. "What are you doing here?!"

"Uh..."

Tifa put her hand on the sword and tsked. "What are you doing?!"

"He's the one that killed you!"

Cloud flinched. "Killed Tifa...?" He shook his head. "I wouldn't do that!"

Aerith looked at Tifa with a pained expression. "You shoved me out of the way, and he just...He almost sliced you in two, Tifa."

"He's been a trickster ever since Hojo got ahold of him. Then he began grovellin' at Sephiroth's feet." Zack kept his blade steady, and eyed the sword his opponent was using to shield him from justice. "What kinda sword is that?" he whispered to himself.

Cloud looked him in the eyes. "I-I had it forged to look like the Buster Sword...You said I was your living legacy, so—"

"There is no way I would ever call you my living legacy."

The blond sucked in a breath, as if the Buster Sword had stabbed him in the chest. Pain welled in his eyes, but he kept his face stoic. "Oh."

With that Cloud turned around and walked off into the darkness, leaving an uncomfortable silence in his wake. Tifa looked like she was about to scream and Yuffie was groaning as she slumped to the ground. Zack slowly withdrew his sword, but continued to stare past the flames and at the back of the monster that helped bring about the end of the world.