Being pretty fast, Eloise caught up to Cloud and Tifa. Barret was close to be hit by the monster when she jumped and grabbed him.
"Fancy seeing you here, Els." It felt nice to be called that nickname. She nodded and looked up at the monster. Vincent started to shoot at it but it didn't affect the huge creature at all. Cid jumped on it and stabbed the monster's back. It started flying around like a lost bird and hit a tower; luckily Cid was saved by Red XIII who took him away just in time. Eloise was jumping from one place to another, throwing balls of electricity at the monster. The behemoth roared and got ready to attack but Yuffie and Vincent grabbed his attention.
Eloise stopped on a building and simply watched. Everyone was risking their lives while she wasn't using her full capacity. Yuffie was close to be hit by an attack when Cid jumped in and helped her. The ball of energy went upwards, towards Barret who got saved by Cloud. Now that Cloud was there, he had to do something. Everyone tried their best and he had to be the one to give the last blow.
He started to jump from one point to the other, trying to get higher in the sky, closer to the behemoth. He had the Buster Sword; Zack's sword. Seeing how hard Cloud tried to regain his real self Elly realized that maybe she should do that too. She should try toregain few parts of her old personality. She grabbed the rod she kept with her every time and shook it to the side, making it grow bigger. She jumped from tower to tower and finally on the creature. She hit it again and again but at some point it threw her back. Next was Cloud.
"Glad to see you doing something." She rolled her eyes but she wasn't mad. She hit his arm playfully.
"Shut up" She didn't have anything to lose. She had just a few old friends to gain back.
Eloise looked back to the monster to see it coming towards them. Cloud mixed the two swords and jumped at it again. He did push the monster and it did fall down but that couldn't had been all. Her eyes narrowed while trying to look closer at what was happening up there. The behemoth was in the middle of forming a huge ball of energy in its mouth. It flew up in the sky, Cloud was following it closely. Barret was the first one who helped Cloud fly further by grabbing and pushing him in the air. After hitting the creature a few times he fell but Cid came on time and pushed him with his spear. Red XIII flew by and pushed him further. Next were Yuffie and Vincent. Still he had to reach higher. He was getting closer to where Elly was. She closed her eyes and when she opened them, she had blue lines around her iris. When Cloud got close enough, she used her energy to help him reach higher. The creature was ready to strike. Tifa gave a last push.
Eloise fell next to Vincent, on a building and watched. The monster's ball of energy was huge and Cloud went right through it. She gasped. At one moment, Elly started to feel fuzzy on the inside. Her heart was beating faster. She saw a hand reaching for Cloud through that immense ball. It was weird but no one seemed to remark it.
"Zack, help your friend" She mumbled loud enough for Tifa and Vincent to hear. In the end he did kill the monster. The one thing that got both hers and his attention was the blue light coming from a close tower. It was Kadaj. Cloud rushed after him while Eloise choose to take her time. She knew it was his fight even if she was in pain as well. She knew that it wasn't her place; she didn't have to come in between. Not yet.
"Let's follow him closely" She told Tifa who nodded. She glanced at Cid who, understanding her wish, nodded. In no time they were in Sierra, going after Cloud. They couldn't see much because they weren't as fast as the ones below.
"Closer" She really wanted to know what was happening down there.
When they caught glimpse of Cloud, he was fighting Kadaj. Eloise's face was glued to the front windows of Sierra. Cid went closer and Yuffie shouted something about having materia.
"Hey, Cid! Land this junk heap!" Elly chuckled. She really missed her antics.
"Shut up! You want off, then jump! Get off my back!"
"Let them fight." Vincent shut them up instantly.
"It's their fight. But for how long" Her eyes were fixed on the two.
"Huh?"
"That guy is a remnant of Sephiroth. Think of him as a sort of larval form" He continued.
"Larva? You mean he's an insect?!" Elly almost forgot the level of stupid things Yuffie used to say.
"Calm down, princess." Cait shut Yuffie up.
"You mean that larval is going to become Sephiroth?" Red asked Vincent.
"Vincent, does Cloud know about Kadaj?"
"Maybe." Elly sighed. It was such a complicated matter.
"Kadaj is just a puppet" Vincent nodded towards her. That was more of a thought for herself but everyone ended up hearing it.
At one point, Eloise narrowed her eyes at the sight in front of her and tightened her grip on her rod. She saw Kadaj falling down smirking but after a few more minutes, at a closer look, they all saw that wasn't Kadaj anymore.
"It's time" Eloise turned 180 degrees and walked towards the exit. She had to get down there no matter what.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" Cid shouted after her but she became deaf of any disturbing noise. She had just one aim.
She landed perfectly on the ground, in front of Cloud. His eyes scanned her from head to toe.
"Eloise, oh my how much you have grown" She kept a blank face and didn't say anything. Black clouds invaded the sky. However, her eyes didn't leave Sephiroth.
"One day we'll find a new planet and on its soil we'll create a shining future."
"What will happen with this planet?"
"Who knows, I guess that depends on you"
The two clenched their swords at each other. Eloise tried to get into the fight but Sephiroth was avoiding her. It was annoying. Cloud was being pushed and hit many times. Sephiroth's power was obviously bigger than his. She couldn't do anything but watch and it didn't look good for Cloud at all. She had to move a lot to see the fight. Sephiroth was trying to get as far as he could from her. She was confused but at the same time, pissed off. Cloud was on his sword while a big pile of rocks was ready to fall on him. She jumped and grabbed him out of the way quickly.
"Don't get in people's business, Elly. I thought you learned something from me" She glared
"Having you as a mentor helped me, Sephiroth. I got trained by you but you also became a friend. I opened my eyes and realized what real life is. I saw pain, disappointment, darkness but I also saw what happiness feels like. You opened up to me and I got see your feelings. Too bad you don't have them anymore" Her words seemed to cut deep into Sephiroth's soul. She was ready to fight. Her mako infused eyes started to glow as well as her right hand. From pure energy she created a sword; one she hadn't used in 2 years. She cut her finger on it and the blood started to flow through the sword towards the tip. The sword started to glow even brighter until it suddenly stopped. Eloise had in her hand a beautiful shaped sword, one that looked feminine but dangerous. She launched her first attack on him.
"You changed, Eloise. Was it because of your brother's death?" He asked through the sound of swords clenching. She put more force into her attacks after hearing about Zack. "Or maybe because your friends died?" She clenched her jaw and pushed her sword against his further, making him go several steps back. "I know. The reason is Genesis, isn't it?" She closed her eyes tightly and sighed. "He left you." He smirked knowing how he shot a nerve.
"Shut up." She mumbled. "SHUT UP!" She was mad. She couldn't control herself anymore. Her eyes glowed a dark blue and her energy went out of control all around her. She started to form balls of energy and shot them towards him. She didn't even see him when he got sneaked behind her. He hit her her hard in the back, throwing her into a building. However, she balanced herself in the air and landed on her feet. She lunged at him again, her sword ready to strike. For a moment, Sephiroth could swear he saw red lines along her sword. They looked almost the same as Genesis'. She definitely learned a lot from him and the rest.
The second attack held more force and was more exact. She hit him in the stomach and scraped his cheek. Unfortunately, she was lost into her rage and Sephiroth knew exactly where her weak point where. He blocked her right hand and grabbed her by the neck. He stuck his sword into her side and threw her into another building. She couldn't find any balance and fell like a rock. She started to spit out blood.
He fell down as well, more gracefully, and walked closer to her. He grabbed her by the neck again and pulled her face closer to his.
"You don't have to fight me Eloise. I am not your enemy. I taught you everything you know. I didn't kill your brother, I didn't kill Angeal and most definitely I didn't take Genesis from you. You don't have a reason to hate me. I was your mentor. I was the first one who gave you what you always craved, respect." Her eyes widened after she heard his words. He was right.
"You took lives, Sephiroth. You started the crisis. You started the pain" He shook his head lightly.
"You still don't understand, do you?" She looked a little taken back. What did he mean? His face was just a few inches from hers. She could feel his breath on her face.
"Let her go" Luckily Cloud came right on time. Sephiroth turned his attention back on Cloud. He glanced at her over his shoulder and smirked. It didn't look necessarily evil. It looked familiar. They began another fight. She slipped on the ground, clenching her side tightly.
"What are you talking about? What don't I understand?" He couldn't possibly have meant he had feelings for her. Maybe not now but when he was her mentor? But she knew that couldn't have been true. She never saw him like that. She never saw the signs because she was always concentrated on someone else.
She tried to continue watching what she could from her fight. But, her vision got blurry and she couldn't make out their faces anymore. In the end, she blacked out.
She woke up in what looked to be a garden. It was beautiful. It made her feel safe.
"Am I dead?" She asked no one particularly. However, she heard someone chuckling.
"No. You are definitely not dead" She looked over her shoulder and saw someone she missed a lot.
"Zack! But if you are here them I'm dead" He shook his head and walked closer.
"Not yet" She scoffed. He smiled softly and messed her hair. "You didn't change at all, sis"
"I miss you, Zack" She placed her hands around his torso and hugged him tightly. He sighed and placed his hand around her as well.
"You have to go back and live your life, Elly. You'll see, things will change. Just wait a little bit longer." She raised an eyebrow and commented something but it was hard to understand. The sound was muffled by his chest.
"What?" He winked and laughed lightly.
"Hope can change the fate" That was the last thing he said before he disappeared.
"Take care of yourself Eloise. And never give up on those who care about you" She glanced around and saw the shadow of a woman. After that she fainted again.
Eloise woke up under the intense stare of several people. She opened her eyes and rubbed her forehead. She glanced around and realized she is in Aerith's church, right in the middle actually, where the flowers once were. Now, instead of flowers was a lake. A few feet from her was Cloud who had a few kids around him. She walked slowly through the water towards him. Her hands placed on her side unconsciously but there was no wound. He looked fine, as well. Her eyes traveled around and saw a lot of people there, looking at her and Cloud.
"It's like she said. Stay here and they will come back" A little girl told them. It was the same she tried to protect and talked to before. Cloud glanced to Elly.
"Welcome home" It was the child with deep green eyes. Cloud raised his head while Eloise looked down at her hands.
"Home"
That was a word she almost forgot. A word she haven't used in more than 2 years. The entire group of friends she made during the crisis was in front of them, watching them with smiling faces.
"I'm home" For Cloud, it meant home but for Elly, she didn't know what it meant. He grabbed her hand and pulled her closer. "I won't let you go away again. I made a promise" She knew. She could remember that. He promised Zack that he will take care of her and won't let her fade away. She also made a promise to Genesis. That she won't fall behind. When he will return, if he will return, she had to look beautiful so that he would fall for her charms all over again.
"Fine" She finally responded. She let herself be content and smiled. They smiled back.
"There are still children with Stigma." Said the wolf. Cloud nodded. Elly stood there and watched as Cloud dropped water on the little boy's head. His stigma started to disappear. Everyone started to cheer, seeing how the water was the cure to the Geostigma.
"Last one in is a rotten egg!" Elly chuckled at Cid's words.
"It worked! It worked!" Yuffie was really happy, as everyone else. Eloise watched how everyone was jumping in the water or cheering. She started to laugh by seeing children around them. At one point, while her eyes were traveling all around the church, she saw something that made her heart and smile drop instantly. It was Aerith kneeling in front of two little kids. Elly sqeezed Cloud's hand and grabbed his attention. She pointed towards the entrance. Aerith walked further in the back where there was Zack. Elly tried to rush there there but something didn't let her. She looked at her hand to see Cloud had a tight grip on it.
"See? Everything is alright" She tried harder but his grip tightened. After Zack waved at them, they both walked into a bright white light.
"I know. I'm not alone. Not anymore" Maybe Cloud felt like that but not Eloise. She bent her head, trying to cover the small tears that formed into her eyes. She let them fall down on her cheeks. "I will never let you go again, Elly. You're stuck with all of us, now" She looked up and realized that everyone was smiling softly at them.
Back at the bar was the real surprise. She didn't think they would make such a big fuss over her decision to stay.
"I'm so glad you'll stay here, Elly." Tifa grinned excitedly. Yuffie was jumping around and everyone looked pretty content. Marlene walked to Elly and smiled sweetly. Behind her was the young boy.
"Elly, are you going to live here from now?" She nodded. That made the small girl jump in her arms happily. Eloise was surprised but hugged her back nonetheless. After she got off, she stared at the young blushing boy.
"I am Elly. Nice to meet you-" She stopped not knowing his name.
"Denzel" She nodded to him and stuck her hand out. He shook her hand and smiled.