Epilogue
A New Journey Begins
Down on the road, Cloud Strife, Barret Wallace, Tifa Lockhart, Aerith Gainsborough, Red XIII, and the other members of Team SKYYYLAARC were all walking towards Kalm which was a long walk away from Midgar, after leaving the City of Mako behind, all except for Cody who wasn't with them.
"Hey, Barret. We really walking the whole way?" asked the brunette brawler.
"Yup," replied the gunner.
"Kalm's still pretty far, though, isn't it?" she said.
'Nother full day, give or take," assured Barret.
"I know what you mean. Now we're all going on a hunt for Sephiroth, even after we defeated him in the singularity and created a temporal imbalance, which means that all of destiny's pretty much in shambles," replied Kirito.
"Also, about Cody. I get the feeling that he's out there, somewhere. I just hope that we reunite with him soon," sighed Sora.
"We will, Sora. Trust me. Cody's a lot tougher than you think, and he'll come back to us in time," said Yang.
"Queston. When my mom says, 'a full day,' she means from the time you get up in the morning, till the time you go to bed. BUt for me, it means from the time you get up in the morning all the way through till the time you get up the next morning. So, which is it for you?" wondered Aerith.
"Gotta go with Elmyra on that one," he answered the flower girl.
"I agree, Barret. I really don't wanna stay up all day and night without any sleep. It'd be really unhealthy for me," said Leafa.
"Phew, that's a relief!" sighed the flower girl.
"Is it though?" questioned Tifa.
"Of course, Tifa," replied Ruby.
"Cloud. Bet you've had to hoof it from sunup to sundown tons of times. This is all just same old, same old, right?" asked Barret.
"That's right. But even so, we're all gonna need to stop and rest. Especially you," replied Cloud.
"My thoughts exactly, Cloud. Also, when people march into the unknown, it's not easy for them, unless we have a fearless leader who can show us the way," smiled Asuna.
"That's comforting," giggled Aerith.
"Of course it is!" grinned the gunner.
"Alright, everyone—let's stop here for a minute. Leader's orders! Now breathe in the fresh air!" he told the others.
They were about to, when Barret stopped himself and saw Midgar far away, but still very near.
"Actually, we should wait a bit until we're a far enough distance from Midgar," suggested Asuka.
"I agree. It's time we all bid farewell to the City of Mako, for a while," agreed Yumi.
Then the same bird from before during the city's construction flew overhead, and disappeared into the clouds. Everyone was now resting for a while on some rocks near the road, just as Aerith was being taught how to be a pick up girl.
"Like this?" asked Aerith.
"Yup. Just like that," replied Tifa.
"Cool," she smiled.
The brawler saw something that made face light up. It was a pickup truck filled with chocobos.
"Alright!" cheered Sora.
The two girls applauded each other, and very soon, Asuna, Leafa, Ruby, Yang, Asuka, and Yumi all joined them, as they signaled the truck. But Barret jumped up, and ran in front of it.
"HEY! STOP!" he shouted.
After climbing aboard, Barret was growing annoyed at the chocobo that was trying to peck at the top of his head. They didn't mind Cloud and Sora, since they were different from them, but the gunner was most annoyed.
"WHAT IS IT WITH THESE DAMN BIRDS!?" he yelled at Chocobo Bill.
However, Tifa braced herself as she placed her hand on Bill's arm.
"Sorry about that," she said.
"No need to apologize, ma'am!" he assured her.
Most of Team SKYYYLAARC couldn't help but laugh a bit, just as Barret started to sing about chocobos. After bidding Chocobo Bill farewell, they saw the storm clouds rolling in overhead, and rain began to fall, while quiet claps of thunder were heard, like the pounding of a great war drum, and the wind blew at them.
"Look at that… Where's a roof when you need one?" chimed Aerith.
"Gonna be okay?" asked Cloud.
"Should be, but… Weird… My stomach's in knots," she replied quietly.
"That's it's way of telling you it's hungry. Let's move," smirked Barret, and he led the way to Kalm.
As the group moved on, Sora stopped and looked back at the far away city of Midgar behind him.
"Cody… I hope you'll be okay," he murmured.
However, outside the church in the Sector 5 slums, Zack was passing in front of the entrance, wondering how he could greet his first real girlfriend. He was contemplating on how he could explain things to her, even after he somehow miraculously survived the Shinra soldiers that tried to kill him, while Cloud was in a comatose state. But finally, he decided to just go into the church instead.
"I'm back!" he announced, but his reception wasn't so well received.
All he could see were people in agony after a terrible calamity that befell several sectors, forcing them to take refuge in the church. And a sight that truly shocked him.
"Aerith…?" Zack asked in stunned surprise.