Chapter 6

"Yuffie!" Vincent called for his wife, who stood near the lake with her back turned to him. "Where's Erika?"

"My lady has been revived…"

"What?" Vincent held his ground. Something was wrong… VERY WRONG. She turned around, her head tilted onto her left shoulder. A green flow emanated through her eyes as she laughed hysterically.

"Mother has been reborn into Erika! Oh, what a glorious day!" Yuffie cackled.

"Yuffie, you-!"

"Yuffie?" She asked, clueless. "Ahhh, that short-haired energetic chick. I took over her body. Her consciousness isn't here anymore. She's taking a little nap." The poltergeist waved her hand.

"How dare you!" Vincent took out his gun, but the hesitated. It was Yuffie's body. If he killed the body, then-

"Yup, that's right Vinny!" The possessed Yuffie pointed her finger at him. "If you kill me, you kill your beloved wife!"

"Kh…!"

"Haaah!" The fake Yuffie didn't take anymore time. She ran up to Vincent, stabbing him with a dagger in his shoulder.

"Gah…!" He cried out, still trying to grab Yuffie and hold her down. However, she resisted greatly, and stabbed him once again. This time, in his chest. "GUAAAH!" He screamed in pain. The monster hopped back and slumped over. She pulled out her foldable pinwheel weapon and held it up.

"This is the end! It was fun while it lasted, Valentine!" She cackled. When she should have thrown the star, however, she stopped her hand. It was as if the bones and muscles in her arm had completely frozen.

"Vincent…! Do it…!" She cried with a hoarse voice. He stepped back, knowing what was happening. She knew that she was out of control.

"Yuffie! No!"

"JUST DO IT!" Yuffie screamed for his help. She was in so much pain, not just by being controlled, but also from seeing herself hurt her husband. He placed his hand to the trigger. He fulfilled his promise. He saved Yuffie from herself. The silver bullet from Vincent's pistol dashed across the big space between them, bursting into Yuffie's chest. With soft, weak eyes, Yuffie smiled and raised her arms like a T. She closed her eyes and let her feet leave the ground. She fell into the deep, dark, Ancient pool. She sank, and sank… And through the muffling of the water, she heard one last thing. It was his voice. But then it faded out. And she heard, saw and felt nothing.

It was completely silent inside that dimension of pure white. Yuffie awoke as she felt the blades of grass and flowers tickle her cheek.

"Where…?" She stopped herself and stood up when she saw a familiar figure. The woman wearing a pink dress and a red ¾ sweater looked at her softly.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." She smiled.

"Aeris…" Yuffie stuttered and pulled herself up. "Wait, am I…?"

"No. Not yet." She shook her head. Yuffie walked over to Aeris and bit her lip.

"You jerk…!" Yuffie croaked. "You took it all on yourself, and you went off and died…!" Aeris knew what Yuffie was talking about. When Aeris went with the white material to the fountain of the Ancients, she was killed by Sephiroth.

"I know I have caused many people pain…" She placed her hand to her chest. "But from here, I can give many people happiness. And now… I'm happy." She said quietly, and a tear dripped from her eye. "Ever since Zack left, I thought he broke up with me. I never heard from him. But then… As I was going into the Lifestream… I heard him call my name." She tried wiping her eyes. "I finally got to go back to him… My first… My true love." She sobbed in her hands. It was such a happy occurrence, even though she had passed away. And yet, she felt regret in her heart.

"Aeris…" Yuffie said, understanding her feelings.

"But Yuffie." Aeris wiped her eyes dry with the back of her hands and cleared her nose. "It's not your time yet. You still have things to do, places to go, people to be with." She hugged her friend and smiled softly like a mother. "It's OK. You can do it." In the warmth of her kindness, Yuffie closed her eyes and tried to listen for that voice. For his voice.