Chapter 26: Swan Song

Barret finished changing the kitchen lightbulb as Jessie stormed into the foyer.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Peachy," she replied sarcastically.

She then entered the kitchen, with a piece of paper in her hand.

"Don't tell me nobody showed up," he asked.

"Elena showed up," Jessie replied. "She's a true friend. It was what happened later that's eating me."

Then, the tears escaped Jessie's eyes as she flaunted the paper in Barret's face.

"It's a trespass warning!" Jessie sobbed. "I can never go back to Gold Saucer again!"

"What happened?" Barret inquired.

"Dio called me into the office," Jessie replied. "He was trying to be as nice as he could, but he said what he said. 'Look, freeing Sephiroth, convicted or not, is something Gold Saucer seriously frowns on. You seriously crossed a line there, and you'll have to go and never come back.' And that was that."

Jessie, completely defeated, dropped the paper to the floor and buried her head in Barret's chest.

"I'm not welcome anywhere!" she sobbed.

"You are with me," he assured her.

MEANWHILE…

Yuffie, Vincent, Zack, and Lucrecia stood outside the cell that the once mighty Rosso the Crimson stood imprisoned.

They were all aboard a vessel nearly the size of the Presidential Mansion that was currently navigating the open ocean. It was an amphibious vessel, with several bedroom suites, as well as the prison below.

It was called the Zack.

"I named it after the man I love," Yuffie said happily.

"So what am I going to do here?" Rosso the Crimson demanded from her cell.

"For starters," Yuffie began, "you should wear some clothes."

"Idi na khuy!" shouted Rosso.

"That didn't sound very polite," Yuffie said as she dropped a red jumpsuit through a slot. "Put those on. You can shower first. You'll have your privacy; try and escape through the floor and you'll breach the hull and drown."

Rosso sighed and disappeared into the prison bathroom.

Yuffie then sniffed, and grimaced.

She turned to the people from whom the sewage odor was coming.

"Guys," she began, "I don't mean to sound like a bitch, but-"

"We were planning on showering anyway," Vincent assured her.

"We'll even conserve water by showering together," Lucrecia added.

"Say no more!" Yuffie said with a smile. "You can have one of the empty suites. Just be sure to lock the door so I won't accidentally walk in on you."

"What's the big deal?" Lucrecia asked. "You'll see plenty of me at the bachelorette party."

Yuffie rolled her shoulders.

"I actually wasn't invited," she said.

"Not invited?" asked the perplexed Lucrecia.

"There will be beer and girly drinks," Yuffie explained. "And I'm unfortunately under twenty-one."

"I'm sorry," Lucrecia said.

"Don't be," Yuffie insisted. "I don't need to see anyone naked." She then turned to her love. "Except for Zack, of course."

MINUTES LATER…

Lucrecia, still in her sewage-drenched clothes, turned off the bathtub, which was now filled with water.

"Okay," she commanded. "Strip."

Vincent began to undress, and then stopped himself.

"What about you?" he asked, noticing Lucrecia was still fully clothed.

"This won't be CFNM," she assured him. "Who do you think I am? Tifa?"

At this point, Vincent had relieved himself of the last of his clothing.

"Good boy," she said. "Now get in the tub. I'll be back."

With that, Lucrecia took Vincent's discarded clothes and walked out of the bathroom.

Vincent sat in the tub. He felt cleaner as soon as his body touched the water. He somewhat wondered how his girlfriend suddenly gained a superstitious side.

A moment later, Lucrecia returned to the bathroom, dressed in a bathrobe.

"Sorry," she apologized as she stood behind him. "I needed to put our clothes in the wash.

She then undid the bathrobe.

The bathrobe fell to the floor.

The now-naked Lucrecia slowly stepped in the tub with her back turned, to allow Vincent to enjoy the show. She gently lowered herself on Vincent's lap, and relaxed in his arms.

"When was the last time we took a bath together?" she laughed.

"God only knows," he replied.

"Way too long," she said with a smile as she reached her head back and kissed him.

A few minutes afterward, Lucrecia drained the tub and refilled it.

"Sorry," she laughed. "I had to get rid of the stink somehow!"

She then relaxed in his arms again. The only thing she was still wearing was her ruby pendant, which rested gently above her exposed breasts.

And then, she noticed Vincent was quiet.

"What's on your mind?" she asked.

"You're a scientist," Vincent began. "What made you believe the Cetra doomsday prophecies?"

"When we were first together," Lucrecia replied as she scooched up, "I was a flat-out materialist. I didn't even believe the Lifestream existed. But then I saw too much that I couldn't explain. Could you please scrub my back, baby?"

"Sure," Vincent agreed as he took the washcloth as pressed it against Lucrecia's bare back.

"Ooh, that feels good," she purred.

"But how did it get you to predicting the end of the world?" he asked.

"The last chapter of the Cetra scriptures predicts that Meteor would come, and that Holy would destroy it. But we wouldn't just live happily ever after. Omega would come shortly after that."

"But you don't seem too worried," Vincent said.

"I'm not," she replied. "The timeline was changed when Bestla came back from 0016. Obviously, Omega failed."

"Good point," Vincent said.

Suddenly, Lucrecia stood up and wrung her hair.

"What's up?" Vincent asked.

Lucrecia turned her head and smiled.

"What could be more romantic than washing your girlfriend's ass?" she laughed.

MEANWHILE…

"Yuffie," called Zack. "We have a visitor."

Yuffie peered out the bridge window to behold a familiar-looking vessel approaching.

"The swan?" Yuffie asked.

"Could it somehow be connected with Deepground?" Zack inquired. "That just crossed my mind."

"It was first spotted years ago, and it's been sailing randomly ever since. I've seen it several times," Yuffie replied. "But there's only one way to find out for sure."

Zack gave Yuffie a skeptical look.

"You're not suggesting we board the swan?" he asked. "Nobody's ever done that before."

"Then we'll be the first," Yuffie said as she fiddled with the controls. "I'm hailing it now."

She sent the message to the swan, whereupon they both waited.

Two minutes went by.

"What are they saying?" Zack inquired.

"No response," Yuffie replied. "Two more minutes and we're going aboard."

Zack paused.

"Five," he said.

"Two," she insisted.

"Five."

"Two."

"Five."

THREE AND A HALF MINUTES LATER….

Yuffie stopped the lifeboat mere inches from the swan's hull.

"You sure about this?" Zack inquired. "God only knows what's in there."

Yuffie gave her love an annoyed look.

"Just fire the damn grappling hook," she commanded.

Zack fired the grappling hook.

Yuffie wrapped her arms around his waist as they were pulled up and over the ledge.

They now stood on the deck of the swan.

"Well," Yuffie began.

"Let's check the cabin," Zack suggested.

Yuffie nodded and followed her love to the door, which was, of course, locked.

"Hold on," she commanded.

Yuffie then picked the lock in two seconds flat.

"That was easy!" she said with a smile.

They stepped inside, and found the control room. It was a medium-sized room, with a control panel, and several chairs at the side of the room. There were also several overhead compartments.

Yuffie immediately checked the compartments, but found them empty.

What drew Zack's attention was the control panel.

"This thing's on auto-pilot!" he exclaimed. "It's moving on its own!"

"Why hasn't it run out of fuel?" Yuffie asked.

"Did you see the panels on the 'beak?'" Zack replied. "This thing's solar powered. It could move indefinitely."

Yuffie then turned to eye the door at the back of the room. She placed her hands on her hips.

"Well," she said, "no sign of Deepground here. Shall we continue?"

"Let's go," Zack agreed.

Yuffie slowly opened the door to the next room. It was dark inside at first, but she quickly switched on the light. It was a long room, with a kitchen and a sitting area. There were cupboards, a table, and a television.

At the other end of the room was another door.

Yuffie immediately began checking out the cupboards. They contained mainly cereal and pasta.

Zack, meanwhile, checked behind the television and all remaining compartments.

"I don't think this has anything to do with Deepground," he said.

"Bummer," Yuffie added. "But, hell, I've been wondering for years what was on this yacht."

"I didn't see anyone's credentials, did you?" Zack inquired.

"Negatory," she replied. "I couldn't even find a registration or a deed or whatever a yacht is supposed to have."

"At least we know what it looks like inside," Zack said.

Yuffie immediately started to giggle.

"That sounded really wrong," she laughed.

"Grow up," Zack sighed.

"I'm nineteen!" she insisted. "I'm a legal adult."

Zack turned his head to the door at the opposite end of the room.

"I'm going to see where that door leads to," he announced.

"Go for it," Yuffie approved. "I'll check the closets."

Zack made his way to the other door and opened it. Like before, it was completely dark until he switched on the lights.

This room was smaller, roughly the size of the control room. He looked to the left and saw a simple window. Straight ahead was a closet, which he opened.

It was empty.

He closed it, and stepped back.

"It's official!" he called. "There's no one here! The yacht's moving, but there's no one here!"

And then, he looked to his right, and slightly down.

He gasped in shock.

He had seen a bed.

And on that bed was a skeleton.

"Holy shit!" Zack exclaimed.

"What?" called Yuffie, whose head was in one of the closets.

"There's a dead man in here!" he replied.

"A dead man?!" she called back.

He then noticed the other skeleton to the left of the first one.

"And a woman!" he announced. "Looks like she's wearing a wedding dress."

"A wedding dress?!" Yuffie exclaimed. "So they just got married?"

"It appears so," Zack replied. "Though the guy isn't dressed up at all. God only knows what happened."

And then, he spotted an envelope on the counter.

He saw the writing on it.

He gasped in complete surprise.

"Holy shit!" he whispered.

"This I gotta see!" Yuffie exclaimed.

"No! No!" Zack exclaimed as he quickly grabbed the envelope and stuffed it in his pocket.

"I've seen corpses before!" Yuffie insisted.

"I need to confirm how they died!" Zack shouted. "In case it was a sickness!"

"Seriously?" she sighed in an annoyed tone of voice.

"There's nothing to see," he said. "They're down to skeletons."

"Damn," sighed Yuffie. "How long do you think they've been dead?"

"Anywhere from three weeks to several years," he replied. "I don't know."

"Well," she said, "here's what I do know. If they're skeletons, there's no viruses or bacteria. You're safe."

Zack nodded, knowing Yuffie was not easily fooled.

And then, Zack spotted the vial on the bed. The faded label read CN-.

"Well, I'll be damned," he said.

"What?" called Yuffie.

"It looks like a suicide," he replied. "It seems they got married and then drank cyanide."

"Why?!" she exclaimed.

"God only knows," Zack replied. "It looks like this Swan's going to remain a mystery after all."

"Okay," Yuffie said. "You win. Let's get the hell out of here."

Without further ado, he left the room and closed the door behind him.

"There's nothing Deepground-related here," he said. "Let's go."

MEANWHILE….

Tseng was reclining on the sofa when Elena entered the room.

"How did everything go?" he asked.

"Good, until the very end," she sighed. "I met Jessie at the gate, and we went to Wonder Square to play some games while waiting or anyone else to show up. Right when we finished, security snuck up behind us and asked for Jessie's I.D. She cooperated the whole time and gave it. Then they took her behind a wall and talked to her."

"And?" inquired Tseng.

"I wait there for fifteen minutes," Elena continued. "Then, Jessie comes back and tells us we have to go. She was trespassed."

"What does that mean?" he asked.

"It means she was barred from Gold Saucer for life," she replied. "So security walked us all the way to the tram. They told me that I couldn't come back for a month. Which is really messed up, since I hadn't done anything at all."

"Shit," Tseng sighed. "All over a drunk mistake."

"There's no proof she even made the mistake!" Elena exclaimed. "That's what so many people aren't seeing. We don't even know for sure if she freed him!"

Tseng sighed.

She did have a point.

"What now?" he softly asked. "Are you seeing her again?"

"Of course!" Elena insisted. "She needs a friend right now. We're meeting at the gym tomorrow."

"The gym?" he asked.

"Well, Shera's bachelorette party's coming up, and we have to look good naked, don't we?"

"I suppose," sighed Tseng.