The Killing Moon Chapter 29: You Still Have All Of Me, a final fantasy vii fanfic

The next chapter's up! This one was written to the song "Come What May" from Moulin Rouge (yep, I like to listen to lots of music to set the mood when I write.) so it might be a little sad..

Wow...I can't believe I've finished my first ever fanfiction!

Thank you so much for reading! I really hope you enjoyed it. I should start writing another one soon, hopefully.

We were back in the field once more, surrounded by the immaculate night that had blessed us previously. The full moon was high in the sky, glowing and illuminating the otherwise empty field..but this time, there were no assassins. There was just us. Myself, and Elena..

"El...Elena..!" I began, lost for words. Had I not just witnessed her death mere moments ago...?

"Vincent." Elena began, taking a small step towards me. Even in dreams...even in death, I loved her...and she appeared as astounding as usual. She looked like she always had...only, her angelic features seemed more apparent. Her white-blonde hair hung down, one side seeming longer than the other, and a gentle smile graced her soft lips as the moonlight hit her in a way that gave the illusion that a halo ringed her head... it even looked as though some kind of holy light was surrounding her body...moonlight truly is a mystical thing, to give such illusions. Those honey-coloured eyes were gazing at me, and me only...after all this pain that she had suffered, she was still able to stand before me and smile. My gaze moved to the rest of her body...I found myself embarrassed to look at her face...perhaps I was nervous...or perhaps I was trying to determine whether or not this was reality. I stared. I just stared at the beauty before me: the pale skin of her body underneath the Turk uniform, which was bloodstained in some places. I couldn't help but smile sadly as I recalled touching that skin. My line of sight moved to her hands: pale as always, yes, just like the rest of her body. Small, or..maybe petite is a kinder term...but on one hand, something caught my eye...there was a small, silver ring on one slender finger, a clear white stone glittering in the light. The soft sound of Elena giggling brought my attention back to her face. She was...laughing...? "Vince, didn't I say that I really wanted to say yes to you?"

A blush came to my cheeks as I remembered, but I also looked away once more in sadness. Yes...she had wanted to agree to marry me, but then she had..died...but I was confused: if she had died, how was she standing before me now? How was she wearing the ring...?

"Why won't you look at me, Vince? Why...why won't you talk to me?" Elena's voice questioned, sadder now.

"I...I'm sorry..." I heard myself murmur. "For...everything..." I sighed, forcing a small smile for her as I gazed at her. It appeared that she was satisfied with this reaction, as a smile came to her lips once more. "I'm...confused, though, Elena."

"I was waiting for you to say something like that, you know!" Elena admitted fondly, her head tilted to one side as her smile gained more love and warmth. "But...it's alright, so don't worry, ok?" Approaching me, she embraced me tightly, and I didn't hesitate for a second before wrapping my arms around her and pulling her close. As confusing as this situation was, at least embracing her was natural. Being so close to her...it just reminded me how much her death had hurt me. Trembling, I couldn't hold back my tears... "Sshh...don't cry, Vince..." she whispered kindly, stroking my hair gently as my tears flowed down my cheeks, dripping to her hair. "Smile, or something?"

"How...how can I possibly smile, Laney...?" I sobbed, holding her tighter...somewhere deep inside, I just knew that this would never be the same again. "I can't...I just can't...not now that I know we'll...we'll never be together again..." I paused, taking in a shaky breath. "I...I just want you back again, Elena...I...I just want to love you...but it can never be, now...everyone was always trying to stop us...I wanted to love you, but no-one will let me...all I ever wanted was to be by your side...just to be with you, always...I love you so much, Laney...why...why can't anyone understand that...? Why can't the planet understand...?"

Elena leant up, pressing her lips softly to mine, and whispering: "I...I am with you, Vince. I promise. It might not be the way you want, but I am with you. I can't do anything for you physically, and I can't be by your side, but...but I can watch over you from afar. I can be something like a guardian angel, I guess." Tears filled those beautiful eyes as she spoke, and I reached out my hand to tenderly wipe them away. So...this...this separation was hurting her, too... "I can't be by your side, but...but I can be in your heart. You still have all of me there with you, Vince. That's the best I can do for you. I'm...sorry." she added quietly.

"I should be apologising...I failed to protec-..." Before I could finish, she had interrupted me by kissing me, and soon pulling away once again.

"Don't blame yourself, ok? Blame me. It's my fault you're here, feeling this, you know? I've...done all I can to help you for now, so I hope you're gonna be alright but...I don't know if it'll be enough. Whatever happens, remember that I love you, ok?"

"Help...?" What did she mean by 'help me'? Before I could get an answer from her, deafening gunshots filled the area, and I put my hands over my ears, shutting my eyes tightly. I refused to witness this again! I heard her screams of agony, the strong smell of spilt blood and the sound of her body falling to the ground. A strange, light-headed feeling came over me, and I found myself unable to move. However, upon awakening, I heard my voice screaming her name again and again...

"Vincent! Vincent!!" I heard her voice softly call.

"ELENA!"

"VINCENT!" she screamed, and my eyes shot open as I awoke in a cold sweat, my heart racing and my breathing heavy. Although my vision was somewhat blurry, I found that I was lying in a bed in a rather small, white room that I soon recognised as a hospital ward. Around me, there were several machines monitoring things such as heart rate, and so on...but those were not what I was looking for. I had heard her voice, but where was she...?

"'Lena...?" I called out weakly, my voice sounding so quiet and small. An awkward silence hit the room for a few moments, before a voice that I recognised as Reeve's replied gently:

"I...I'm sorry, friend..."

"Sorry...? But...I...I...spoke to her...I heard her as well...just now. I heard her just now..!" I tried to force myself to sit up in order to get a better view of the room, but I felt a sharp pain fill my body, the agony causing me to cry out in pain. "Where...where is she?! I want to see her...! Let me see her!" I felt myself be forced gently back down on to the bed, and my friend stood beside me, a look of melancholy and sadness about him. Clearing his throat and running his fingers through his thick, dark hair, he explained softly:

"You..cannot see her, Vincent. I, too wish that I could, but we...cannot."

"Why...?" I asked him, my voice sounding a little croaky and cracked from the shouting I had been doing. "Why...?"

"Do you not remember...? She has...returned to the planet.." he murmured, turning away and gazing up at the ceiling. Before he had turned, I had thought that I had spotted a tear glinting in his eye, although...it could have been a trick of the light. As well as this, my own view was rather obscured by tears and sweat... "In truth, it's amazing that you survived. You had lost so much blood due to your wounds being so heavy...we thought that we had lost you, too. It truly is a miracle.."

It was then that Elena's words from my dream returned to me:

So this was what she had meant by 'help'...she had somehow managed to preserve my life..to save me...but yet, she had been unable to save herself... "Thank you, Elena..." I whispered softly to myself, looking over to my left to gaze out the window. Perhaps it was my mind playing tricks on me, but I could have sworn that I saw the faint outline of her figure slowly walking away...

I left the hospital soon after I had fully recovered, and now I sit here in the room of the Nibelheim inn, where I have always been since the day I met you, Elena. Our room. Here, I spend my days remembering our experiences and emotions, and I thank you for the day that you came here...I owe my happiness to you. Some days, I sit by the window much like I had on the night that we had met, admiring the full moon in the sky and watching our for you, for I know that you are there somewhere. Some days, I feel that you are here, beside me...those are the happiest of these days that I spend in solitude with only my thoughts of you --and you only-- to keep me company. I just wish that our plans had worked out...that we could be happy together, but I suppose that we were just never meant to be, my love...for you now reside in the Lifestream. All of my thoughts, feelings...and all of these days I spend alone have only one thing in common: no matter where I go, what I do, what I am thinking or how I feel, I hold you and your words close to my heart.

"I love you, my darling, and I know that you love me, my...guardian angel...and that love won't fade. Not whilst you are still by my side, watching over me...for I know one thing for certain: In my heart, I...still have all of you..."

Those memories, kisses, embraces...and the happy times that we shared...I shall cherish them...and they shall never be forgotten.

"Even in sadness, I am the happiest man alive..because I have you..."