Warnings: Wrapping presents always takes longer than expected.

Chapter 56: So Not Over

"We have to switch to the utility stairs on the far side," Sephiroth informed them when they finally ran out of stairwell.

"Can't we take the elevator?" Lazard asked. The General had cast Regen on the former director turned spy, and Vincent had added Haste so Lazard was managing to not pass out and to keep up, but he was still breathing hard. There was a fine trembling in his extremities that didn't bode well for the state of the bureaucrat's physical reserves.

"Everybody will be trying for the elevators," Zack pointed out.

"Only those trying to escape," Cloud argued, "which, from what was said earlier, is just Hojo's crew of scientists and some guards."

"Oh," Zack's eyes narrowed, "I wouldn't mind running into them." His hand flexed on the hilt of his sword.

Sephiroth looked at Lazard. It had taken them at least two days to walk down from the entrance they'd found into the crater and that was without encountering armed resistance. Their escape would be different. In order to exit the facility they'd have to climb all the way to the top; whether stairs, tunnels or elevators, there were likely to be guards, soldiers and creatures that they'd have to fight. If they were lucky, once out they could order a helicopter to pick them up. If they weren't lucky they'd be hiking back to Chocobo Bill's… He pushed away thoughts of spending another evening in the hot springs and brought his mind back to Lazard, who looked like a SOLDIER First but absolutely wasn't, and decided that neither option was viable. Lazard would either be dangerously slow or worse, he'd collapse and have to be carried.

"Since our path takes us close to the elevators, we'll see if they are functional and accessible," he decided. There were shoulder twitches and head jiggles that the General interpreted as agreement. He looked at Lazard, still panting, and hoped that both conditions would be true.

They were... once they got rid of the dog like creatures that were busy fighting each other in front of the doors. They all ignored the remains—Zack thought it had been human—that the mutated animals had been fighting over. While they waited for the elevator to arrive, Tseng ran a quick check on the computer console.

"The self-destruct is still dormant," he announced. "I've linked in my PHS so, if it does activate, we will be alerted."

Zack snorted. "Not that we'll be able to do much once we're stuck in the elevator," he whispered to Cloud.

"It'll work," Cloud whispered back. "After everything, I'm not going to let us stumble at the last obstacle."

"Big words, little man."

"Eat me, Zack."

Zack grinned at him and wiggled his eyebrows, "Any time, Spike, because you're so tasty." Cloud blushed, especially when he caught Sephiroth's gaze, hot and amused.

Vincent shifted uncomfortably under his cape. Sexual teasing was not a form of interaction he was familiar with. His family had been far too... restrained. It hadn't been until he was fourteen that he'd realized that his parents actually had to have had intercourse to have produced children. He'd looked at them, tried to picture them… together. It had been unfathomable and nausea inducing and he hadn't been able to believe it was true. Then he'd heard of artificial insemination and that was a far more comfortable theory than his mother having sex.

*If I'd been mated with your mother, I would have used a surrogate as well.* Vincent ignored the low level growl that indicated Galian's agreement.

"Vincent?" Tifa's voice was filled with concern but the gunman was saved from having to articulate a response by the arrival of the elevator car. It was small for eight adults and, thankfully, too small for private conversations.

"How long will this take?" Zack asked almost as soon as the door closed.

"Oh Gods," Tifa sighed. "Shoot him now."

"Hey!"

Sephiroth calculated that they were just over half way when Tseng's PHS beeped. The Turk keyed it open. "Two minutes," he warned.

"Not long enough for us to reach the top then," Sephiroth stated.

"We can fly faster than this thing moves," Zack said. He'd been saying it all along but that had just been complaining. This was a suggested strategy.

"We're short one flyer," Cloud pointed out. "And I don't think any of us can carry two fast enough to get clear.

Vincent cleared his throat, "Chaos can fly. And he will come out if asked."

*Can we carry our small warrior,* Chaos asked with a hum. *She clings so nicely to our frame.* Vincent was filled with a sense-memory of having Tifa plastered to Chaos' body after defeating Omega. He whirled his cloak around himself to hide his body's response. Chaos laughed.

Sephiroth looked at the former Turk before nodding. "We have a plan."

"We do?" Lazard asked.

"I will need space for when Chaos emerges," Vincent stated. He felt prodding in the back of his mind. "He would prefer to carry Tifa, of course."

"He should probably carry Lazard," Zack suggested, "as he's the largest."

Tifa's lips twitched and she threw Vincent a teasing look. "Be warned, Chaos is a bit of a lech but I don't mind: he's my boyfriend." She gave the former-Director her most innocent ingénue look and even threw in a girly hip wiggle for effect.

*Do you think we'll have time—*

'No!' Vincent answered.

Cloud and Yazoo had already opened the escape hatch on the ceiling of the elevator car. "You should go up first," Cloud told the gunman. Vincent nodded and swarmed up and out the opening. The Corporal didn't even feel the air move as he passed.

"Who is that guy?" Lazard asked.

"More like a 'what'," Yazoo muttered low enough that they could ignore him. When Sephiroth explained that Vincent was the victim of another one of Hojo's experiments, Lazard nodded his head in understanding and let the subject drop.

"If we leave our packs here we should be able fly faster, right?" Cloud suggested, already shrugging out of his. "Maybe grab a potion or two but that's it."

"Good idea," Zack backed him up. They winced as the red light of Vincent's transformation bled through into the elevator car. "How we going to organize ourselves?" he asked. "Who takes who?"

"Chaos is taking Lazard," Tifa said.

*We will take you, my small warrior,* Chaos growled in everyone's minds. He dipped his horned head into the opening and laughed silently when Lazard backed up into the far wall. He winked at Zack. *Or we will take the little bat… we'll even hold the sylphic youth.* His gaze travelled over Yazoo and the clone touched his clothes, sure that they'd somehow disappeared from his body.

"Why not—" she started to protest.

"We don't have time for debate, Ms. Lockhart," Sephiroth said as he grabbed her around the waist and tossed her at Chaos. There was a squeak of surprise, a roar of excitement then the car rocked as the demon took off with his slight burden. Sephiroth jumped through the hatch. "Zack, throw them up," he ordered and Zack cupped his hands.

"Right," he said eagerly to Lazard, "You first."

Yazoo didn't wait before jumping out of the elevator car. He was through the hatch almost before the newcomer had moved from his corner. After all he wasn't a practically useless unaugmented human. When Lazard flew up through the hatch, he told Sephiroth to start flying and he would catch Tseng. Sephiroth gave him an assessing look, followed by a sharp nod and then his wings appeared; big, beautiful, awe—and envy—inspiring wings. Then they were gone in a rush of air.

It seemed like forever before the Turk came through. "How much longer?" Yazoo asked.

Tseng checked his chrono, "Sixty-seven seconds."

Yazoo looked up at the distant window that was the sky. It looked tiny. "I don't think that's enough time."

"That's okay, Sprite," Zack said as he landed lightly beside them. "I have an idea."

Cloud came through and shrugged his wings out, flicking them to warm up the muscles, "Surprisingly, it's actually a good idea." He didn't bother to dodge his friend's mock-angry swat. "Yazoo, you're with Zack since he just got back from being nearly dead. Tseng…" he opened his arms.

"I am larger than you," Tseng stated, not bragging. "The hold will be awkward."

Cloud's eyes narrowed. "Turks are supposed to be adaptable," he ground out, "so adapt. Zack, stop snickering."

"Forty-two seconds."

One second more and they were airborne, flying up the long column of stone and machinery. Cloud could feel the heat of muscle burn already beginning.

"Cloud?" Tseng's voice held a hint—just a hint—of concern. "They're pulling ahead."

"Not surprising," Cloud answered through gritted teeth but the point wasn't to reach the top before the explosion; it was to obtain a velocity that matched the elevator car's so that they didn't go splat when the bombs detonated and it shot out of the shaft like a bullet. Easy, Zack had said. Cloud snorted; he was soo gullible sometimes.

From below came a hollow boom that echoed and rolled, gaining in volume and pitch. "Shit," Cloud muttered. He glanced down quickly; he could see the orange-white of the explosion seeping around the edges of the elevator car. "Shitshitshit." What had sounded workable in theory seemed a lot stupider in reality.

"Elevator goooiiing up!" Zack called from above him. The First sounded excited, which he probably was, but Cloud couldn't stop thinking that it could still go very, very wrong. He started a countdown in his head, glancing down occasionally to make sure the car's rate of speed hadn't changed dramatically.

Closer…closer… A few more seconds…

"Hold on," he tightened his hold on the Turk and bent his knees. He felt the roof of the elevator car beneath his feet and used his wings and his laboratory-given strength to reduce the impact to nearly nothing. Maybe a bit more than nothing but it was still only a bump and a momentary loss of balance, hardly worth mentioning. Tseng slipped and Cloud adjusted his grip. He'd be bruised, Cloud knew, but that was still better than being turned into a puddle of broken bones and exploded organs. He looked up—Zack wasn't that far ahead of them—and moved over to one side, balancing precariously on the jittering car. The car was acting like the plug on a bottle of fizzy pop; holding back a lot of pressure. Fire licked around the sides. This was such a bad idea…

Zack landed beside them with a grunt, Yazoo clinging like frost to a window. The car wobbled. "Once we're out of the elevator shaft," Zack shouted at him, "all that power will shoot out around the elevator."

"I know," Cloud shouted back. "We need to keep the box between us and the flames for as long as possible."

"It'll all be in the dismount," Zack nodded. He looked up and Cloud's gaze followed his. Sephiroth—hair and coat rippling with the speed of his flight—was only seconds away from joining them on the top of the elevator. Zack whistled sharply. Sephiroth looked down, took in their strategy in a glance, and altered his grip on Lazard just as Cloud had with Tseng. The General angled himself, feathers working to steer him to an empty spot. When the metal car touched his booted feet he just folded his wings and dipped his knees, and that was that: he was stable. The elevator car didn't even wobble.

"Show off," Zack muttered.

"How much time 'til we top out?" Cloud asked.

Sephiroth squinted up into the piece of sky they could see. "Seconds only," he answered. It was a darkish blue which meant it was either morning or early evening.

"I can't see Vinny," Zack said.

"Chaos was already out of the shaft when I started my flight," Sephiroth responded. "He actually left a contrail behind him."

"That's…" Zack voice trailed off.

"Irresponsible," Cloud spat. "Tifa won't be able to breathe at those kinds of speeds."

"Chaos can grow extra limbs, Spike. I'm pretty sure he'll grow something to cover her mouth and still let her breathe." Zack was trying to soothe him, Cloud knew that, but the image the First's words produced in his head made him shudder in horror and blush in embarrassment—he didn't want to think of what Chaos could grow or where he might stick it.

"The benefit of Chaos going first is that he's already taken care of whatever covering or equipment was at the top," Sephiroth pointed out. "And I'm sure that Ms. Lockhart will be unharmed when we see her again."

"We should angle to the east," Tseng suggested once their conversation tailed off. "All our intel indicates that Hojo didn't expand this facility much in that direction so the ground should be more stable." Zack considered the advice—it was sound—he looked over at his CO and saw Seph looking at him, a question in his eyes: did he agree? He nodded slightly, more a dip of the chin than anything, and the General voiced his support of the plan.

"I think the car is melting," Cloud announced. "My feet are getting warm."

"Great," Zack sighed, "Just fucking great."

"Ten seconds," Sephiroth announced. "I'm sure your boots can last that long."

Zack snickered at his CO's dry tone. Then he took pity on his friend and cast Ice on the top of the car—not strong though, didn't want the whole thing to explode or buckle or whatever else it might do under extreme temperatures. Then he prepared himself for the end of the ride; pictured it, tried to imagine how it would feel and what he'd do in response, how his body would react. He tried to imagine as many scenarios as possible knowing it would help when real life took over and blew all their theories and planning out the door.

The First bounced on his feet in anticipation and Yazoo was forced to change his grip. "Watch the hands, Sprite," he teased, "unless you're offering yourself again." His wings shook themselves out, preparing for the end of this little adventure. "You know, I'm not sure this thing is travelling any faster than the elevators in the old Shin-Ra Tower at max speed. Those things could move."

"I don't even want to know how you know that," Tseng commented.

Zack grinned, "I'm sure you already know how I know that."

Sephiroth cut off the by-play. "Three seconds."

"Two," Yazoo whispered.

One…

They were soaring well away from the elevator shaft and the fireball that erupted from it. Chaos banked to improve their view of the explosion. The movement was quick and smooth and they enjoyed the pull of gravity against muscles that was the result. They also enjoyed scaring the rare bird silly enough to be flying near their path but that was another game.

*Are you well, my mate?* they asked although they could hear her heart beating fast. Her surface temperature was a little cool but that was easily fixed.

"I have officially decided I hate heights," she spoke into their chest where she had hidden her face when they emerged. They didn't mind; it made it easier for them to control the air flow so that their mate, lover, prize, could breath in the thin air. "I am never going up in a plane, or a helicopter—or even a tall building—again!"

Chaos roared in laughter and, because they could, rolled them lazily through the sky. The fact that the small warrior held them even tighter was… just a bonus.

The first thing Zack noticed was how cold it was in the outside air. Despite the flames exploding out and around the elevator car, it still cut into him like shrapnel. It must have been hotter in the shaft than he'd thought.

"It's starting to flip," Cloud announced and, as one, the three SOLDIERs jumped up and away, wings beating in a desperate attempt to outrace the fireball. It swirled up and around like a living thing, caressing the air, making it burn, before it disappeared, dissolving into wisps of condensation.

Sephiroth was aware of the heat but didn't feel it. It was as if the heat was an extension of his body and he wondered if this was one of Ifrit's gifts. SOLDIERs were resistant to fire but not immune. Lazard was sweating and shifting, and the General knew that the heat was affecting him as it would a normal person.

"Nearly clear," he said to reassure his former director-current ally.

Zack was up and to his left, Cloud just slightly in front and below, which was worrisome. He should've insisted on Zack taking the larger Wutaian and given Yazoo to Cloud. Odin was a ground based god whereas Shiva was at home in the air. She would've taken care of Zack. Then he remembered the incident when Tseng fell through the ice and decided that this configuration was best after all; he'd just have to keep an eye on the blond warrior…and find a stable landing area as soon as possible.

"Oh thank the gods," Lazard muttered and Sephiroth realized that the fireball was gone.

"Angle east, as Tseng suggested," he said and the others followed his instructions easily. They flew in a V—like migrating birds Sephiroth thought but didn't say. He was in front, cutting the air with his larger wingspan, and Zack and Cloud were flying in his slipstream to lessen their energy use.

"What about Chaos and Tifa?" Cloud asked and Sephiroth was struck anew by how fiercely loyal the Nibelheimer was.

*Don't worry, wolfling, I will deliver the small warrior safely to wherever you assemble.*

"Okay, that's officially freaky," Zack griped. "He's not even in sight."

*I am a child of Gaia, little bat.* Chaos' amused sense of dominance came through loud and clear, also his slightly contemptuous superiority complex.

"He did defeat a WEAPON single-handedly," Sephiroth conceded. "I can accept that he will feel a little… smug." Even so, his wings had an extra snap to their movement for the next several kilometers.

The Northern Crater, though in the same region as the rest of the mountain range, wasn't really a part of it, having been formed through cataclysm rather than tectonic shift. That obviously hadn't stopped Hojo from burrowing under the peaks around it. He searched for stable ground and watched avalanches and landslides rolling down the slopes as mountain after mountain settled into a new configuration. There were even ground heaves and small quakes in the foothills as the earth fell into tunnels and labs and storage areas.

It was an impressive amount of destruction, and the effects would reach out from the Northern Continent to affect the entire globe. "Once we land, we must attempt to communicate with Neo-Shinra and the Wutaian government," he said. "We need to warn the coastal regions."

"Yes, sir," Cloud's voice came back to him. It sounded strained so Sephiroth renewed his search for a safe landing area. Thankfully it didn't take long.

A wide strip along the coast was relatively unmoving. It was even snow free, kissed by warm trade winds from the south. He dipped lower and knew, without looking that Zack and Cloud were following. Going down was much quicker than going up and it took only seconds for them to land on the tufted arctic grass. Cloud, once he released the Turk, collapsed to his knees, panting.

Lazard did the same but it wasn't to Lazard that Sephiroth directed his concern. "Cloud?"

The blond waved him off, "I'm good, Sir. Just need to catch my breath." He knew his eyes would be glowing but no more than Zack's.

Tseng was already talking into his PHS and Cloud could hear him giving instructions to whoever was on the other end to send out the alerts Sephiroth had ordered so he didn't have to worry about it. Good, all he wanted to do was breathe. He watched the Turk talking into his phone. He didn't frown or pace or do anything. At least he looked a little rumpled now, Cloud thought, maybe even a little singed. It reassured the Corporal that the Wutaian actually was human and not some experiment unique in its ability to remain unruffled in any circumstance.

Okay, he was a little more tired than he'd thought because that was totally a stupid thing to be thinking about. There were more important things—

"So how we getting out of here?" Zack asked.

—like that, Cloud smiled and then decided that laying down was a good idea.

"We don't have the supplies to survive a night out here," the First finished.

He tucked his wings away and stretched out on his back. It was still light enough to see individual clouds and the sunset was adding brilliant pinks and oranges to them. It was very pretty, especially as he was alive to enjoy it. There was a salty moisture in the air and Cloud knew it was from the waves hitting the shore with abnormal force. He hoped that the warnings for the coasts went out fast enough. They'd worked so hard to save everyone, it would suck to lose a bunch now.

"I have arranged transportation," he heard Tseng say to the General.

Yazoo laid down next to him, hands clasped serenely over his stomach. "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing. Everything," Cloud answered. Yazoo said nothing and Cloud could feel his confusion. "We made it out," he explained.

"Hmm," Yazoo's smile was audible.

"When will it be here?" Sephiroth asked.

"Look," Cloud pointed. "That cloud looks like a chocobo—a gold one."

"Not long. It took off when they saw the explosion" Tseng answered.

Yazoo tipped his head. "It looks more like an S-19 assault rifle with optional laser sight than a chocobo."

"Seriously?" Yazoo hummed his affirmative. Cloud looked at it intently before giving it up—no way did he see a gun. "That one looks like a bush."

Yazoo disagreed, "It's a deathclaw, preparing to do its laser attack." Cloud had only seen pictures of deathclaws; he'd have to take the clone's word for it.

Zack snorted and sat down, "Trying to teach the sprite the fine art of cloud-watching?"

"Not much else to do until our ride gets here," Cloud answered. "A starflower," he pointed out another one. Lazard joined them, fiddling with his clothes until they were just so.

"A fragmentation grenade, point seven seconds after detonation," Yazoo countered and Cloud could finally hear the teasing in the youth's voice. Yazoo was teasing him, like Zack did and Tifa… He smiled as a little ball of contentment settled under his breastbone: Yazoo was going to be okay.

"What's that?" The former director pointed at a large orange-white ball visible through the clouds. Cloud's smile dropped away.

"That," Zack responded gravely, "is Meteor."

"And that is the sound of a helicopter," Yazoo said happily as he bounced to his feet. "The surface isn't very comfortable," he explained, "and I was getting seeds in my hair."

"We should go find the others," Tifa suggested.

*They are fine. You don't need to worry about them,* Chaos assured her. They didn't mention that they liked the way the strong female clutched at them in her worry—it made her seem very feminine—after all, they may have been reckless but they were not stupid.

"We should go find them anyway," Tifa repeated, "Especially if they're, you know, on the ground."

*Just a few more minutes, my warrior, and then we shall return you to your normalcies.* They felt more than heard Tifa's soft whine. *You should see the moon from up here, my mate,* they coaxed. *It is a view even the coldest heart would find… exhilarating.*

"Absolutely not going to happen," Tifa said firmly. She shuddered in emphasis and tightened her grip to a level that would be bone-breaking on anyone else.

Chaos sighed, but one consolation was that their mate was clutching them so tightly they could feel her from crown to toes. She felt… very enticing… *Do you think…*

"Not even a glimmer of a chance."

They watched the approach of a large helicopter decorated with the Neo-Shinra logo. The winds were gusting, first from the west then from the south, and the machine bobbled and jittered but it also flew steadily closer. Sephiroth knew who was at the controls even before he saw the distinctive red hair.

"Reno is flying?" his voice was calm, confident and certainly not shaking.

"I thought the environmental conditions might become unstable upon completion of the mission," he explained.

"And Reno is the best pilot for unstable conditions." Sephiroth stared down at the Turk with his inscrutable expression. There was something…

"Exactly."

Zack snorted. "Considering the self-destruct blew up half the mountain, it was a good call," he commented from behind them. "Reno's just the pilot we need for this."

Sephiroth's eyes narrowed in sudden comprehension: the day they decided on this mission, Reno had been in Junon assigned, semi-permanently, to Miss Gainsborough yet he had been here, cooling his heels—as the phrase went—waiting for a call that might never have come. It should have been a waste of resources as they would never have needed the talents of Shinra's favourite red-headed terror if the self-destruct had never been activated.

And Tseng had stayed at the computer terminal for quite a long time…

"It was excellent planning," the General agreed smoothly. "Although it's unfortunate that all Hojo's research and the DGS technology has been destroyed." Tseng hummed. "I'm sure Neo-Shinra's science department would've liked to have acquired it."

Tseng's eyes were placid when they met Sephiroth's. "It is indeed unfortunate."

"Wait…" Zack poked his head forward, looking between the two. "Are you saying Tseng activated the self-destruct?"

"Of course not," Sephiroth said even as his tone indicated the complete opposite.

"Destruction of assets the Board considered of great possible value to Neo-Shinra would not be tolerated," Tseng added repressively. "I would not risk it."

"But you would risk destroying something that would harm Rufus," Zack countered. "And, from everything I've heard, he doesn't need the kind of pressure a recovery of this kind would put on him—since he's a kinder, gentler corporate dictator now and you want to keep him that way." The only indication that the First's comments had hit their target was the slight flush on the Wutaian's cheeks.

"You know, Tseng, one day he's going to guess you're completely besotted with him." Tseng said nothing; there was barely even a tightening of his jaw. Zack let the subject drop, both because the helicopter was landing—with barely a bump because Reno was a show-off like that—and because Tseng was kind of a friend and the bouncy First never mocked a friend's emotional pain.

The ground rumbled.

"I think that's our cue to depart," Sephiroth said. He ran to the helicopter in a half crouch that should've looked awkward but didn't. He slid the door open and waved the others in. Lazard had to be helped, unable to lift himself that far off the ground, but it was only moments before the General was engaging the door latch and thumping on the pilot's chair. He strapped himself in and braced himself. This flight would be rough, he knew, and he wouldn't even be able to blame the pilot.

He was right. Once off the ground, competing air currents tossed the machine around like kupo nuts in Mog House. Up, down, sideways; rinse and repeat then do it all backwards… Even with SOLDIER enhancement, Sephiroth figured they'd have bruises where the safety harness strapped them in.

"It's gonna take 'bout 'n hour to get back to the ship. They had to go out farther so the boat didn't get thrown into rocks or something." Reno's lazy voice sounded excited by the danger. "It's not gonna be fun… for you, anyways, so you all should strap in and shut up. And don't forget to use the barf bags, yo."

"Wonderful," Sephiroth muttered and crossed his arms across his chest.

"So, Zack," Cloud said, voice bumping along with the ride, "Chances of crashing this time?" Sephiroth frowned: no need to encourage the red-head.

Zack smirked and slanted a look at Tseng, "Well, Reno's flying so we'll only crash if he wants us to."

"Or if he's showing off," Tseng countered.

A plaintive, 'yo, I can hear you' came over the head-sets and Zack flashed Cloud a grin. "The engine might fail," he said as if to say their future crash wouldn't be Reno's fault.

"We could get shot at again," Cloud added. "That always seems to work."

Just then the 'copter banked harshly to the right, nearly tipping over on its side; limbs and loose weapons flew around the cabin as Reno fought to regain control—helicopters weren't designed to fly on their side and they were slipping down toward the churning sea. "I was just kidding!" the Corporal's voice was plaintive.

"Reno!" Tseng's voice lashed out in command.

"Huge motherfuckingsonofabitch just shot out of the water, yo!"

"It's a WEAPON," Sephiroth said, peering out the window into the sky. "Emerald I think."

"And there's another one of the bastards…" Reno announced as he banked the helicopter to the left. It also bounced up nearly two meters but Sephiroth decided it was a result of turbulence rather than piloting.

"That's Ultima," Zack stated, "Wow, it's really booting it. I wonder what's the hurry?"

Yazoo's voice pulled their attention in from the outside. "What's wrong with Cloud?" Sephiroth turned to see a familiar, if unwelcome, blankness on his lover's features. He reached out a hand but stopped before he made contact. If it were a message from the Planet then he supposed they should hear it.

"The Squire rejected Destiny, the Yearning Ones are gone, and now the Planet's Jewels gather to fight the Heaven's Stone. The Growing Lady's gift set the Lifestream's course. The cycle is continuous and the End returns to the Beginning. All will be well," Cloud's voice was dreamy and soft and somehow both reassuring and completely disturbing. "The Chosen Ones have done well and have the Planet's gratitude."

"Nice to know we did something right," the First muttered before a wave of… of well-being, for want of a better word, spread through them. Sephiroth felt healed and energized, balanced and calm, peaceful and strong. It reminded him of what he'd often felt in Aerith's little garden in Junon but magnified by a nearly infinite amount.

"What was that?" Yazoo asked sounding panicked as he hadn't been when they'd been dropping and jumping like a drunken bee.

"I think that was Gaia saying 'thank you'," Sephiroth answered. His attention was still focussed on his blond lover and, as soon as Cloud blinked, he was touching him, murmuring to him. They all politely ignored the exchange except for Reno who snickered then he swore as a particularly hard wind caught the helicopter and forced it to the left. They were quiet after that, although Lazard's lips were moving in prayers or curses. Sephiroth couldn't hear and didn't care. He laced his fingers through Cloud's and let their joined hands rest on his thigh. He shifted his feet until his ankles hooked around Zack's who was sitting across from him. This was good. This was right. For the first time in three years, he felt at peace.

"Boat's in sight," Reno announced into the noise of wind and machine fighting for control. "Landing in a couple minutes… if the sea stops bouncing it around long enough."

"Okay, everybody check your straps," Zack said. "If you need barf bags, get them now because there probably won't be time later."

Yazoo sneered at him, "No one threw up when we nearly turned upside down and fell into the sea."

"That was a while ago," he responded, "and landing's going to be a whole 'nother ball of wax." Zack smiled because, shit yeah, they were nearly done, nearly home: land on the ship and the next stop was Junon where a certain little cutie was waiting for him. Then Cloud kicked him… hard. "Hey!" he protested.

"Don't jinx this, idiot." Cloud frowned at him, eyes fierce. Zack stared down into them and thought that Cloud looked like an aggravated kitten, which was a sad statement about a guy who had wolf DNA. Following impulse he loosened his harness, leaned over, and gave that stubborn bow mouth a kiss.

"Whatever happens," he said, "we're gonna be fine." Because they were free, because they were together, because they were world-saving badasses. Just because.

And Cloud smiled back for the exact same reasons.