Chapter 24- Execution Day

The wind picked up, and was tearing leaves off of the frail looking trees of mid-September. As Sephiroth was being led into town, he couldn't help but feel like a leaf as well, floating at the whim of the people until he could find ground again. One could say that Sephiroth had 'made his peace' with death. Actually, he never made peace with anything.

As he arrived at the city square, his eyes became a witness to the chaotic atmosphere of the early morning. The only statement he uttered on the way to the chopping block was one of surprise. He stared at the bustling crowd and said, "Wow, you're up early! Please, just go back to sleep." Nobody moved.

As his eyes scanned the crowd, he saw all of his acquaintances. Well, most of them, anyway. Cloud was up front and center, stone-faced as usual. Barret stood beside him, appearing as if steam would emit from his ears. Vincent stood closer to the back, less concerned about Sephiroth, and more concerned about Yuffie staying home and keeping her nose out of things.

The Turks were all aligned to the sides of the chopping block, and even Cid and Shera braved the cold weather to watch the event. There were only two people in the entire town of Midgar that didn't show up for the ceremony: Yuffie and Tifa. No doubt, Yuffie was planning some last-minute scheme to set him free. Tifa, most likely, just didn't care.

"Where is she?", the pregnant ninja asked aloud. Time was rapidly running out, and her 'contact' was running late. Yuffie had turned on the radio, and heard the sounds of Sephiroth arrived at the square. Time had officially passed through the other side of the hourglass; there was no more time for waiting. Yuffie instinctually thought, 'I have to stop this atrocity!' Unfortunately, she had no car. Vincent had taken it.

So she ran. She was not supposed to, obviously. However, Yuffie's twisted mind enjoyed the act of snubbing her nose at the doctor's orders. 'They're just corrupt Turks anyway.' After a minute or so of jogging into the center of town, Yuffie noticed that this side of the city was completely empty. There was no activity going on at all, because everyone was at the execution. To make matters worse, the temperatures were dropping. Yuffie had completely forgotten about the rain that had pounded all through the night. She didn't stop to think that the roads may be starting to ice over.

After running a whole block, she began to feel a sharp pain…in her belly. Still, she couldn't stop. She cared too much to see Sephiroth wrongfully killed. (Or perhaps she cared too little about the health of her baby.) Everything seemed to be coming to a breaking point. Between the voices in her head, the pain in her womb, and the ice on the streets, something had to give.

As she turned the corner, just two more blocks away from the city square, Yuffie lost her footing, and began to fall. She had the foresight to shield her belly from hitting the pavement. Unfortunately, she couldn't shield everything.

(CRACK!)

Yuffie felt the break as soon as it happened. An extremely sharp pain instantly shot through her left arm. She could still walk, but it was the pain that had crippled her. Yuffie lay on the icy street, yelling, "Oww! Oh God, somebody help! Help me, please! My arm is broken! Oh God, is anybody out there? Help!!"

No response.

Yuffie cried like she had never cried before. She cried for her arm. She cried for someone to help. She cried for the life of her unborn child. Suddenly, Sephiroth didn't seem so important anymore.

Finally, she heard a far-off voice, calling, "Yuffie, is that you?"

Yuffie instantly recognized that voice. She did the best she could to turn around and look into the face of her rescuer. Sprinting to Yuffie's side was the lady that owned Sephiroth's sword….

….Elena.

The blonde Turk concernedly asked, "What's wrong?"

"I fell and broke my arm! I think the baby's fine, but I don't know. Elena, I'm so scared!"

"Can you move around, or stand up?"

"I think so, if you help me. But how will we get help?"

"Don't worry, Yuffie. I'll just hotwire a car, and I'll drive you to the hospital."

"You can do that?"

"Of course. I know cars like the back of my hand. Now let's go."

Elena carefully lifted Yuffie onto her feet, and she helped the expecting ninja into the passenger seat of the nearest car. Elena hopped into the driver's seat, and successful hotwired the car. She turned on the heater, cautiously drove toward the hospital. Between tears and painful cries, Yuffie managed to ask, "So…what about the sword?"

Elena looked back at Yuffie and answered, "It's not as clean as Rufus thought. I was still able to lift a partial print from the handle. I know who the killer is."

"How? I thought partials were worthless."

"Yes, but there was something helpful that I learned in school a long time ago. You see, animated characters all have one distinguishing factor in their fingerprints that separates them from humans: The ridges of their prints do not extend up to their fingertips, like most humans do. Because of a technical oversight, animations only have prints in the middle of the finger's underside."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Well, to keep a long explanation short, Sephiroth is definitely innocent, and I have proof."

"Then use it. Drop me off at the hospital, and tell someone!"

"It's too late, Yuffie. The execution has already started. The Turks have won."

"No, Elena! Go and tell the news. It's never too late."

"You know, I never expected you to find so hard for what's right."

"I never expected you, either. In fact, I…I…No. No! Elena, drive faster!"

"Please don't tell me you're going into labor!"

"No, Elena! Just hurry!"

With a look of concern on her face, Elena demanded, "Tell me what's wrong!"

Yuffie erupted in a fountain of tears. "Elena, I'm bleeding!"

Vincent couldn't take much more of the gaudy spectacle of flaunted murder. His phone rang, giving him an excuse to leave. It was from Yuffie. 'Emergency.'

When he arrived at the hospital, Vincent was led off to the side by Yuffie's doctor. Vincent queried, "What's wrong with my Yuffie?"

"Apparently, she's fallen and broken her arm. But that's not her only problem. When she fell, she ruptured a blood vessel, and pinched a few nerves. She has several torn muscles in that arm. The tendons and cartilage don't look too good. She was bleeding fairly badly when she came in, but that's lessened now."

"What about the baby?"

"It's fine, but the stress is causing Yuffie to go into labor. She doesn't have the strength to do that right now, so we're going to perform an emergency C-Section."

"Can I see her? No, I'm on my way now to transfer her to surgery."

"I don't care. I'm seeing her."

When Vincent walked into the room, he saw that Yuffie's arm was extremely mangled. It looked like the bone had been completely shattered. Other than that, she looked fine.

"Yuffie, the doctors are going to perform a C-Section."

"What?! No! I have to be strong! I'm going to deliver this baby, and no one is going to stop me!!"

The doctor finally walked in and replied, "Yuffie, you're hurt!"

"So what? What do you not get when I say 'I'M DELIVERING THIS CHILD!!'"

The doctor wisely backed off, and allowed her wishes.

"Ohhhh…Vinnie, it hurts so bad! Hold my hand!"

"Remember the breathing patterns, Yuffie."

"To hell with the breathing! I don't need to breathe! I need to push!"

"Do you want an epidural?"

"No, what I want is for everyone to shut up!!"

Yuffie grunted and groaned for what seemed like an hour before she pushed for the final time, and heard the cry of her newborn child.

The doctor held up the baby boy and asked, "What are you going to name him?"

"Hunter Valentine."

Without being told, Sephiroth obediently placed his head onto the metal platform. President Rufus issued the query, "Do you have any last words?"

"No, just do this already."

"Fine with me. Headsman, commence the execution!"

"Wait!" screamed a voice from the front row. The voice belonged to Cloud. "Doesn't the law of this city provide for a sacrifice, so that he could go free?"

Highly shocked, Rufus finally muttered, "Well, sure, there is."

Cloud took the stage and proclaimed, "I want to die in Sephiroth's place."

The crowd gasped in shock, and the rest of Cloud's friends defiantly cried out, "No, Cloud! Let him die!"

"I can't! I know he's innocent, and I can't rest knowing that I caused this. I have caused so much pain in my lifetime, I can't bear to cause anymore, whether it be through aggression or through the actions of this 'New Cloud'. I finally see it now. All of Tifa's cuts and bruises flash in my head, and my sin is ever before me! I don't deserve to live!"

"But Cloud, he doesn't deserve it either!"

"I don't care."

Rufus cast his head down and replied, "Fine. If you're going to be an idiot again, then I can't stop you. But are you sure?"

Sephiroth turned his head to look at Cloud, and commented, "Don't do it, Cloud! He's right. I deserve this, not you. You're making a terrible mistake!"

"If you're talking about innocence and guilt, Sephiroth, then I have made no mistake!"

"No, Cloud! That's not what I mean! If you take my place, you're going to regret it. I can't say how, but you will, trust me!"

Cloud looked back toward Rufus and said, "I'll do it. I want to die in Sephiroth's place."

"Alright. Sephiroth, you can go free. But I swear, I have my eye on you."

Sephiroth got up and walked away, fading like the night through the shocked crowd.

"Headsman, set the sword to the 'ready' position."

The Headsman tugged on a rope, which activated a pulley system, locking the sword into place directly above Cloud's neck.

"Alright, Cloud. Sephiroth warned you that you wouldn't like this."

"I said I don't care."

"Fine. Do you have any last words?"

"Yes. Tifa, I don't know if you're here, but I just want to say that this is for you. I've admitted everything. I know this is how you would have wanted it."

The Headsman tapped Cloud on the shoulder. When Cloud turned around, his executor took the mask off of her face. The person who held Cloud's life in her hands was Tifa Marie Lockheart.

Rufus gave the command, "Drop the blade!"

Cloud pleaded, "Tifa, no!"

Tifa was beginning to cry, but still she replied, "Yes, Cloud. You're absolutely right. It's what you deserve."

The blade came crashing down, killing Cloud instantly. To the side of the stage, Reno and Sakura stood, mouths agape. Rude leaned over and whispered in Reno's ear, "What do you think about your plan, now?"

Elena did not make it back to the square in time to see what would forever be remembered as 'The Day That Justice Was Served'. She couldn't help but think that this wasn't the kind of justice that Yuffie had wanted. The square was empty now, and there was no one left to tell her secret to. There was only one more thing to be done. Elena returned to the hotel room that she was staying at, and began to put pen to paper.

To the Midgar Times Newspaper:

My name is Elena, and I alone hold the secret to the identity of Marlene's killer. The following is an account of what ShinRa would never tell. Without further ado, these are the final moments of the life of Marlene:

(To Be Continued In The Final Chapter)