Final Fantasy VII [3rd Instalment]

Emerald Princess of Vernea

Epilogue: 500 Years Later

Five hundred years had passed since that fateful day in Midgar. The wounds of the Planet were slowly beginning to heal, but it would be a long time before the Planet forgot the trauma that it had suffered that day when Meteor nearly hit.

The Planet was not the only one that remembered that day. Nanaki, the last of the heroes of what history called the Jenova War, still lived to this day.

Nanaki was now over 500 years old, which equated to around 166 in human terms, but the hound was not one to brag about his age. He had more battle scars now, and the 'XIII' tattoo that had been branded onto his shoulder was worn and faded with age. His mane was thicker and his body was more well-built, more muscled. His large paws churned up the dirt as he ran down a path nestled between two tall, rocky cliffs.

Nanaki glanced over his shoulder. Running behind him were his two children. Though only thirty and twenty-four years old between them (which was around ten and eight years, if you really wanted to know) both children already showed the signs of becoming strong defenders, like their father and grandfather before them.

Nanaki turned his attention back to the path. It came to a dead end just up ahead, ending in a tall cliff wall, but that did not stop him. Without even breaking his pace the hound leaped up onto a ledge jutting out of the rock. He leaped again, and in just three bounds he head reached the top of the wall. The hound padded slowly across it and stopped at the edge.

His two children reached the top just seconds after, having to take a few more bounds than their father due to their smaller bodies. The two cubs came to stand beside their father, and together they looked out at the land beyond the cliffs.

The ruins of Midgar lay just ahead. Nestled in the middle of a vibrant and beautiful valley, the ruins were barely visible amongst the luscious wildlife that had grown over it through the centuries. The dry and withered land was gone, replaced by fields greener than Nanaki had ever seen in his long years of life. The Shinra Building, once a tower of terror and corruption, was now nothing more than a nesting place for the birds and creatures that roamed the land. Even the monsters had dwindled, in time, making this place one of the most treasured and beautiful places on the Planet.

Nanaki looked down at his children as they stood beside him, their eyes watching over the land that they would protect when finally the time came for Nanaki to return to the Lifestream. Perhaps one day the cubs too would become embroiled in a struggle for the life of the Planet they had been born to protect. And Nanaki—Red XIII—would be there to guide them, whether in life or in death.

One day the Planet's time would come, but that was a day that was far in the distant future.

This was today, and the Planet was alive.

~THE END~

A NOTE FROM THE AUTHORESS

And so it is that we finally reach the end of this long journey. It has been a very long road, and to be honest after my first major hiatus back in 2006/7, I didn't think I would ever come back to it.

It was on the 22nd June 2004 that I uploaded the very first chapter of the first instalment, and it is on this day, 21st September 2010, that I finally finish it.

Whenever I tell people that I'd been working on this for six years, they were amazed at how long I've stuck at it. The reason for that is simple.

During the first instalment I got a review from someone saying they really hoped that I would finish it, because they had seen too many people attempt to novelise the story and then give up partway through. I really did not want to be one of those people, so I made a solemn promise: that I would see this story through to the end.

And I've made good on that promise. Even though many of my original readers have moved on, I've gained more readers, and some in countries I never expected to see reading it, from America and England (where I hail from) to even Korea. I cherish every reader who takes the time to read my work. You have all been so kind and so patient and I have truly enjoyed writing this. I even achieved my target of finishing it before I went on holiday to Florida, so I get an even deeper sense of pride that I was able to give you a specific deadline by which I would finish it, and I have literally just made it.

I know Crisis Core was winning in my poll, but as yet I still have not finished taking down the script for it. As such I will be moving away from Final Fantasy 7 and moving onto Final Fantasy 8. It was a race between Final Fantasy 8 and Final Fantasy 13 over which would come next, but Final Fantasy 8 has been tugging at my heart strings for a while, so I will work on that one next (that and I also haven't finished script-taking for FF13).

I have not forgotten about Crisis Core, and I am still taking down the script. I will work on Final Fantasy 8, but once I complete the script for Crisis Core I will commence work on that as well, and try to do both stories at the same time, since I know people wanted to see that written up.

I should also say that after I come back off my holiday I am going to print off a couple of sample chapters and send them off to the SquareEnix offices in London. I hold no hope that they'd want to publish it, but after spending six years on this the least I can do is try.

So I guess I'll sign off here. There will be no more updates in this instalment from me. I really hope you all enjoyed my story.

Thank you to you all!

~Emerald Princess of Vernea~