Advent Children

Conclusion

Coward! You'll face dragons, demons, even weapons but you can't face one eighteen year old woman?!

Vincent kept walking. As he did, Reno came running up to him. "Hey, Boss!"

"Reno, I told you when you were fourteen not to call me that and I was the boss then. What on Terra makes you think that I want you to call me that now?"

"Hey, come on, were still buddies, right?" Reno asked, knowing that he was annoying his friend.

"…Go away."

"Eh, sorry, I can't. You see, I'm here to distract you."

Vincent silently cursed as he spun. But he didn't do it in time. Rude got him under the arms and Tseng and Reno grabbed a leg and lifted him into the air. "Time to drink!" Reno said, throwing up his free arm.

Yuffie saw this and smiled. "Well, maybe I wasn't the only one to miss him." Following them not far behind, Reno, Rude, and Tseng carried him to the closest bar. "Hey Elena, Rufus, we got him!" Reno called as he entered.

They threw him down on a seat while Vincent once again regretted the choice of teaching these three stealth and distraction procedures. Not to mention falling for the same trap again.

"Hello Vincent, I don't believe I've had the pleasure of meeting you," Rufus said, offering a hand.

Vincent didn't take it. "Let's just get this over with. What's the game this time? Ninety-nine bottles or Whisky, Tall to Small."

"No game this time Vincent," Tseng said from beside him. "Just a few drinks with old friends and new."

One of the other patrons started the jukebox and Vincent almost laughed at it.

I walk along the avenue

I never thought I'd meet a girl like you, meet a girl like you.

With Auburn hair and stormy eyes

The kind of eyes that hypnotize me through, hypnotize me through.

And I ran, I ran so far away.

I just ran, I ran all night and day.

I couldn't get away.

A cloud appears above your head.

A beam of light comes shining down on you, shining down on you.

The cloud is moving nearer still.

Aurora Borealis comes in view, Aurora comes in view.

And I ran, I ran so far away.

I just ran, I ran all night and day.

I couldn't get away.

Reached out a hand to touch your face.

You're slowly disappearing from my view, from my view.

Reached out hand to try again.

I'm floating in a beam of light with you, beam of light with you.

And I ran I ran so far away.

I just ran, I ran all night and day.

And I ran, I ran so far away.

I just ran, I couldn't get away.

Despite himself, Vincent ordered a beer. "So, how have things been now that Shin-Ra doesn't exist?"

"Things have been…Boring," Rude said, pausing to take a drink from his beer.

"Hit the nail on the head with that one," Elena said, her words already a bit slurred. "We haven't done anything besides exercises and info gathering these past two years until we went after that damn head. And look where that landed us."

"…Tseng, she has no tolerance to alcohol, I want you to work with her on that," Vincent said, for a moment falling back into being their instructor and leader.

"Yes sir," he said before tipping back his glass.

"And you Rufus," Vincent said, getting back to him, "what have you been doing?"

"I've been trying to clean up my mess."

"Good, in that case," Vincent reached a hand over and shook his. "I hope you have one hell of mop." Reno, Rude, and Tseng laughed while Elena and Rufus, and Yuffie from the corner table, stared at him. Those three, having been with him one several drinking excursions, knew that he would occasionally joke while he was drinking. But to the other three, it was almost a sign of Armageddon.

"Oh, you want to talk a mess, what about you and that ninja, Yuffie?" Reno asked. "I mean, you love her, she loves you, why don't you just go up to her, sweep her into your arms, tell her, and give her a kiss that will make her knees give out." To emphasize this he tried to do it to Elena and was given a punch that sent him across the room.

"Like that just without the punch," Reno said, getting back in his seat.

"Because the problem is that I want to do just that. I want to hold her and to forget the rest of the world. But…"

"But…"Elena prodded.

"But I can't stand the thought of being with her and being unable to grow old with her. You three must have realized by now that I'm not aging. I…I won't watch that." Vincent said, talking as loose as he has ever.

"Well, that's stupid. Why don't you just get rid of the cause," Elena said, fully drunk now.

After that, they changed the subject and continued to drink until they each passed out. But Yuffie didn't care, because at last she knew why. She got up and walked over to him. In his claw hand was a long black box with her name on it in gold lettering. Opening it, she smiled at the necklace and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"I'll wait, Vinnie, as long as you need me too, I'll wait.

Author Notes: There you have it people, the conclusion of Advent Children. You didn't think the title meant the whole thing, did you? I know that this chapter was a bit short but did it really need to be long?

You know, it took me forever to figure out how to get it all out in the open without closing the story. And then it hit me. Why not have a drinking scene with the Turks? And after that, it was easy. And I really needed to do something more with Vincent knowing them from back when they were only fourteen and fifteen.

The song is 'I Ran,' by A Flock of Seagulls. Is it me or did that describe Yuffie? Anyway, I don't own Final Fantasy 7 or Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children.

ONWARD TO DIRGE OF CERBERUS!!!