#i got thinking about cid and vincent and barret and tifa and *why* they follow cloud into the endgame | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

silver-wield · 4 years

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Fan fiction dork is back again. This is long.

"No!"

The flat refusal made Aerith pull a face and roll her eyes. "Such a mood." She turned towards Tifa, stationed over by the grill and asked, "How do you put up with him?"

Tifa glanced up, a questioning look on her face. "Huh?" Her gaze went from Aerith to Cloud, who had his arms folded and was staring at her like he expected back up. She shrugged one shoulder and went back to staring at the burgers sizzling away. "He's got his charm," she replied in a light voice.

When Aerith glanced at Cloud she caught the tail end of a smug smile. "You're so easily pleased when you wanna be," she teased, poking his bicep.

Cloud leaned away and scowled. "Is there a reason you're here?"

Aerith's eyes widened. "Wow, rude." She looked around the new Seventh Heaven and smiled. The people of sector seven really loved Tifa. They rebuilt the whole bar by the time the group returned to Midgar. Even better, they added a daytime cafe where Aerith could help out and spend time with her bestie. "I'm here to collect on a date," she said with an evil grin.

Cloud choked and turned to look at Tifa. "What!?"

Aerith would've bet all the flowers in her garden that he was hoping she hadn't heard that. Letting him hang in suspense for a moment longer than she had to, she finally put Cloud out of his misery by saying, "Tifa and I have a date in sector eight later." She was evilly amused at the sigh of relief from him. Leaning closer and ignoring how he moved away, she added, "Did you forget I have a boyfriend? Zack doesn't like you enough to share." She giggled when she spotted Cloud's face turning red.

"Quit it!" He got up and went to sit at the counter.

He's such a kid. Aerith shook her head and smiled fondly at his back.

Tifa looked over her shoulder and smiled at him. "You okay?"

"I've been better," he replied, shooting Aerith a dirty look.

Tifa sighed. "Can I trust you two to play nice while I call everyone in?"

"Tifa--!" Cloud pouted.

"Sure thing!" Aerith waved Tifa's concerns away.

"Great. Be right back." With a friendly nod, Tifa swiftly plated the food, set it on the counter ready for pick up, and came through the swing door. On her way out, she paused beside Cloud and laid her hand on his back. "Be nice," she whispered in his ear in a teasing tone.

"I'm doing my best," he replied, a small smile appearing and disappearing like lightning. With Tifa so near, Cloud took the chance to sneak a swift kiss on her cheek, leaving her blushing and biting her lip.

"Be right back," she repeated in a soft voice, before jogging out of the bar.

Aerith clasped her hands together. "You two are so adorable!"

Cloud pulled a face and rolled his eyes.

"I told you she was someone special," she went on.

"You want a medal?" he asked, half joking.

"You got a medal?"

"Nope." He got up and started moving plates to a long table set up that morning.

Aerith watched him move with methodical precision. Even a casual black t-shirt and blue shorts couldn't hide his natural grace. Nothing Cloud did was without purpose. He used words sparingly before he was himself again, but Aerith half-expected him to become more chatty afterwards. She hadn't realised Cloud was Cloud, just a little less moody, more obviously kinder and even more stupidly in love with Tifa. She supposed that kindness was the reason she and Zack survived in the end, despite what she did to fate. She wanted him to live so badly, she defied the will of the planet. But, as she said to Cloud that night in her dream, everyone dies eventually. Whether she and Zack have years, months, weeks, days or less together before that happens, they still have so many moments more than what they did before. She was more happy now than she can remember being in her entire life. She has a life and can laugh with the people she loves. She has friends and Zack. She has Cloud and everyone else to thank for it. Tears gathered in her eyes and she swiftly brushed them away.

Not swiftly enough.

"You good?" Cloud paused between the bar and table.

Aerith gave him a bright smile. "Sure am!"

He raised a doubtful eyebrow, but didn't pry further.

Aerith ducked her head and laughed to herself. Cloud never cared enough about her to want to dig deeper. And she never trusted him enough to want to share. Not like Zack. That was who she'd been so desperate to see in him when they first met, but it was all too obvious she was deluding herself when the way he acted wasn't anything like Zack. Not deep down, anyway. A few similar poses, a uniform and mako infused eyes didn't turn Cloud into her one true love. She flushed with guilt and shame thinking about the way she acted. Did I ever apologise for that? "You know, Cloud," she began, finding she couldn't look at him.

"Yeah, I know Cloud," he said, stopping a foot away from her and crossing his arms.

When Aerith looked up she saw a friendly smile on his face. She laughed and shook her head. "I'm sorry."

Cloud frowned. "For what?"

"For not being all that nice to you when we first met." She pulled on her bangs, using the physical pain as a focus. "I was...trying to make you someone you weren't. Someone you could never be."

"S'alright," he replied, shrugging it off. "I was, too."

Aerith looked at him then and nodded. "Yeah, I guess you were." She laughed. They both missed Zack so much they fooled themselves. But now they didn't need to because he was here. Alive. With them.

Cloud nodded. "So, we good?" He turned to grab the last of the plates.

Aerith felt lighter. "Yeah. We're good."

"I spy an angel." Zack greeted Aerith with a broad smile as he entered the bar, using the shirt he held to wipe his sweaty face. "You should have joined us, Cloud. Barret kicked the ball at Red, so he burst it with his tail!" He laughed and shook his head.

"Maybe later," Cloud replied, shrugging. Exercising in hot weather reminded him of pointless drills Heidigger made the grunts do until they dropped.

"What? Not a fan of team sports?" Zack headed straight for Aerith and squatted a little. He tapped a finger to his cheek and said, "To the victor goes the spoils."

Aerith laughed and put her hands on her hips. "Oh, I'm a prize now, am I?"

He turned his head to meet her eyes. "Absolutely, yes."

Cloud snorted and turned his back on them, muttering, "Weirdos."

Aerith giggled and playfully pushed Zack. "Oh, you!" As Zack rocked backwards Aerith grabbed his hand and pulled him to her. She wrapped both arms around his waist and hugged him tight. "Ew, you're all sweaty."

"Ah, sorry," he said, stroking her hair. "It's really hot out today. You guys made the smart choice staying inside." He tried to untangle her from him, but she held on tighter.

"It's okay," she buried her face against his bare chest, "I don't mind."

Zack kissed the top of her head.

Tifa re-entered the bar, followed by Barret, who had Marlene on his shoulder, Red, Yuffie, Cid, Vincent, Biggs and Wedge, who carried Cait Sith. "Great, everyone's getting along," she said, smiling at Cloud.

"You were only gone five minutes," he replied, a smile tweaking one corner of his mouth up. "How much trouble do you think I can get into?"

She leaned forward and smiled. "Lots."

Barret let out a gut busting laugh. "She's gotcha there!" He jiggled Marlene until she giggled. "Right, baby?"

"Uh huh, yeah!" Marlene nodded and wagged a finger at Cloud. "You're trouble, so you gotta let Tifa look after you!"

Cloud nodded, a serious look on his face. "Yes, ma'am."

Marlene giggled and Tifa smiled.

"Why's this boy such a goddamn fool, would someone tell me that?" Cid barged past everyone and took a seat at the table. "Well, we eatin' or not?" He slapped a hand on the tabletop.

Tifa looked flustered for a moment, then saw the food laid out ready.

"Maybe if the rest of you losers get to the table!" Yuffie mocked from her seat.

Zack's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "When did she--?" He stepped back from Aerith and put his shirt on, much to her disappointment.

"Ninja!" Yuffie gave him a finger gun salute and winked.

"Okay, everyone, let's sit down and eat before the food gets cold." Tifa urged with a cheerful smile.

"You know I don't need to eat," Vincent muttered, though he sat anyway.

"I appreciate the adaptation," Red said, perching on a footstool.

"You guys are family, and family eats together," Marlene said, wagging a finger at them both.

"You heard her, and nobody argues with Marlene," Biggs said, taking a seat beside her.

"I'm starving! If Vinny doesn't wanna eat I'll have his!" Wedge gave Vincent a huge smile.

"That's not my--"

"He'll still do it," Cloud said, interrupting him.

"Aww, thanks for sticking up for me, bro." Wedge targeted Cloud with an even larger smile.

Cloud gestured at him and said, "See?"

Vincent snorted, but pushed his plate over to Wedge.

"Okay, who wants drinks?" Tifa moved to stand behind the bar and grabbed a cocktail shaker.

"Ooh, can you teach me how to make something?" Aerith bounced up from beside Zack and darted over to Tifa.

"Uh, sure, I guess." Tifa smiled and nodded. "What do you want to drink?"

"Can you make a pink one?" Zack asked, turning in his seat and resting his forearm on the back.

"Pink isn't a flavour," Cloud joked, also turning around. His gaze locked with Tifa's. "Something sweet?"

"Oh, how about grapefruit!?" Aerith bounced on her toes.

Tifa looked at Aerith and tipped her head to one side. "But...that's not sweet?"

"I didn't ask for sweet, he did." She grinned and jabbed a thumb over her shoulder towards Cloud.

"Aerith likes drinks with a kick." Zack frowned thoughtfully. "Pineapple?"

Aerith clapped her hands together. "Yes!" She half turned and blew Zack a kiss. "You know me so well."

Zack looked stupidly pleased at her praise.

"Can y'all hurry it up. Feels like you're taking forever for just one drink." Barret gestured as he spoke. "People dyin' of thirst over here."

"Ah, sorry!" Tifa ducked her head.

Cloud got up. "I'll give you a hand." As he walked towards the swing door separating the front of the bar from the back, he said over his shoulder, "Beer good for everybody?" It's what they'd get even if they said no. A round of murmurs had him nodding.

"And juice for the kids," Cid added. "Two cups."

"Hey! I'm not a kid!" Yuffie huffed and crossed her arms.

"You're pouting like one." Biggs reached across the table to poke her cheek. "You look twelve."

Yuffie leaned back and stuck her tongue out at him.

Biggs chuckled. "And now you look like a ten year old."

As those around the table laughed, bickered and joked, Cloud moved around them and placed drinks within reach. He then went back to the bar, where Tifa, Aerith and Zack were still discussing cocktail combinations that included a bunch of fruit he'd never heard of. He felt like he couldn't contribute, so sat and watched Tifa. A slap on the back jolted him from his thoughts and he automatically scowled at the culprit.

"Woah, what'd I ever do to you?" Zack acted hurt, then chuckled. "Looks like you had something important on your mind," he said in a low voice. "Wanna talk?"

Cloud grimaced and half-turned away from the girls, just in case Tifa overheard. "Not really."

Zack put his hands on his hips and laughed. "You know, for a minute there I thought you changed, but I guess you'll always be the same Cloud." He ruffled Cloud's hair until Cloud slapped his hand away.

"Cut it out. It's not like that," he said, glancing at Tifa again.

"What?" Zack laid a hand on Cloud's shoulder. "Trouble in paradise?" He put on his best confidant expression. "Need some dating advice?"

Cloud shook his head and replied in a low voice, "It's been three months since, you know..."

"Sephiroth found his promised land, Jenova dissolved and we won it all?" Zack said this in a light tone, but tears still gathered at the corner of his eyes. The Sephiroth he knew wasn't the one Cloud hated for so long. He couldn't feel victorious about losing a good friend. Though that friend seemed lost for a long time, at the very end Sephiroth smiled like the man Zack remembered. He found himself again, and peace. Angeal and Genesis better be looking out for you over there. He blinked away the tears and focused on Cloud. "Yeah, so...?"

Cloud drew in a deep breath and let it out. "So, how long is long enough?"

Zack frowned. "For what?" He tried not to think too far ahead. Aerith already explained the planet could take them both back at any time, so he lived from moment to moment, never taking anything for granted. He had a home in sector five with Aerith and Elmyra, friends, his life and the freedom to choose what he wanted to do with the time he had. He was overflowing with gratitude and good cheer. And he'd promised some of that time would be spent helping Cloud not be such an insecure dork around the love of his life. Three months of dating and he still thinks she isn't as crazy about him as he is her. Zack wished Cloud could see the look on Tifa's face whenever he wasn't paying attention to her, scant as those moments were. It made Zack feel like a voyeur, and Aerith laughed hysterically when he said it because she felt the same.

Cloud sighed again. "Forget it."

"Has anyone ever told you that you think too much?" He patted Cloud on the back.

"No, Aerith, wait, the lid isn't--!"

Too late. Aerith turned the blender on and pink liquid sprayed up in an impressive geiser, tossing lumps of fruit in its wake.

"Tifa!" Cloud vaulted the bar and tried to get her out of the way.

Tifa cringed and tried to duck, but somehow both ended up covered, despite Cloud blocking the worst of it.

"Oops!" Aerith put her hands up and shrugged. Despite being the one to turn the blender on, she didn't have a speck of drink on her pink top or white skirt. She shot Zack a split second wink and he smothered a laugh.

"That's one way to help," he said to her in a low voice.

Cloud scowled to himself, then looked at Tifa. "You okay?"

She tried not to smile at how the juice flattened his hair. Reaching slowly, she picked a piece of pineapple clinging to his cheek and put it on the side. "Yeah, thanks."

Cloud stared into her eyes until they were all he could see. "Tifa, I--"

"You guys okay?" Wedge half rose from his seat before Barret and Biggs shoved him back down.

"Dummy!" Cait Sith hopped onto the table and hit him with its megaphone.

"Ow! Hey, what did I do!?" The ow was for show, Wedge had an indestructible body thanks to Hojo's "helpful" interference after he fell from the Shinra building. He was lucky to be more than a splat on the sidewalk, but that didn't make him grateful to the monster who made him.

"Gonna need to go wash up," Barret said to Tifa and Cloud. "Don't worry about us, we'll be fine by ourselves for a bit."

"Yeah," Aerith added, circling around them both and pushing them towards the stairs. "Better get that out of your hair before you have to cut it off."

Tifa drew in a sharp breath. "Right." She stopped and looked at the mess behind them. "What about--?"

"Don't worry about the bar."

"We got this!"

Zack and Biggs gave her a thumbs up.

Tifa looked at Cloud, who looked bemused. "Uh, okay, I guess. We'll be right back."

"Take your time!" Yuffie and Aerith said in unison. They looked at each other and giggled.

"What are they laughing about?" Cloud crossed his arms and tried not to drip too much as he and Tifa stood in the hallway outside the bathroom. He tried not to assume it was him, but old habits died hard.

"Hmm? I'm not sure." Tifa shrugged. She knew exactly what they were laughing at, but she didn't want to say and risk her face looking like a tomato. "Do you want to go first or should I?"

"You go, I'll wait out here."

Though they'd spent the night together before the final battle, they hadn't actually repeated it since. Maybe neither of them expected to survive, so if one night was all they got they'd make the most of it. But, they had won. They saved the planet and everyone got to go home. Together. Cloud kept up his merc work alongside Zack. The pair were almost too popular, and Cloud regularly finished his day emptying his pockets of scrap paper that had hastily written phone numbers scrawled on them. He pushed the pile across the bar and Tifa had the bin already waiting on her side. He always finished up by asking her to go somewhere with him.

Dates were fun and had no theme. Just the two of them wandering Midgar or going out on his custom bike the seller named Fenrir and Cloud developed a habit of treating like a treasured pet. The guy got a lifetime supply of food and drink from Seventh Heaven in exchange when gil alone wouldn't persuade him to sell. Tifa couldn't refuse when she saw the look of longing on Cloud's face. He had so little joy in his life until recently, there was no way she'd be responsible for taking any of it away.

The first time Cloud took her out on Fenrir, showing off and doing insane moves, it made her heart race with excitement. She locked her arms around his waist and laid her cheek against his back. She trusted him to keep her safe. She whooped and laughed, which encouraged him to show off even more. It was fun. When he eventually pulled up on a ridge overlooking Midgar, Tifa swung herself round to sit facing him. The look of adorable, wide eyed surprise made her beam. This was the Cloud she remembered best. Her Cloud. She leaned forward the same moment he reached for her. Their kiss, sweet and electrifying, left them both breathless and resting their foreheads against each other.

Coming out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel after a hasty shower, Tifa smiled at the sight of Cloud leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He had his eyes closed, so she could look her fill, though she could still feel a blush heating her cheeks.

"You done?"

Tifa jumped. Does he know?

Cloud opened his eyes, glanced at her, then smiled and looked away. "Can I get in there now?"

"Uh, yeah." Tifa tucked a strand of wet hair behind her ear.

Cloud pushed away from the wall and she tried not to smile at the drink stain he left behind. He thinks he's so cool. But, she found her feet stuck to the floor as he moved closer. Her eyes lowered from his face, which didn't improve anything because it drew her attention to his loose limbed walked instead. She swallowed and glanced at him through her lashes.

Cloud stopped with an inch of space between them. "Can I...get by?"

Flustered, Tifa realised she was blocking the door. "Oh!" About to step away, she caught sight of a teasingly smug smile on Cloud's face. She stopped and smiled back. "I dunno, can you?"

This time, Cloud swallowed. A slow blush lit his cheeks before he looked away. "You're dripping on the floor," he mumbled, pointing to the small pool spreading around Tifa's feet.

"And you're all sticky," she replied, gesturing at the patch on the wall.

Cloud glanced at the wall, then her and back again. "Uhh..."

Tifa ducked her head and laughed. Cloud never could keep up the bravado for long. She preferred his sweetness, anyway.

Surprising her by clasping her upper arms, Cloud gently urged Tifa aside while holding her gaze. His head darted forward and he stole a swift kiss before releasing her and heading into the bathroom. "Be right back."

Tifa licked her lips and tasted something sweet. "Uh, sure," she replied in a faint voice.

Was three months a long time to date before taking the next step? Tifa hadn't thought about it. She'd never dated before. Not really. Cloud lived at Seventh Heaven with her, but they had separate rooms. After the first time, she hadn't wanted him to think she was easy, or she expected anything from him. She didn't want him to feel pressured to move faster than he was ready for. Or maybe she was just scared. She didn't want to push for more in case he suddenly left. What if he didn't really feel the same way?

"You're a coward." Tifa sighed and stared out of the window. She'd changed into an aqua coloured dress and left her hair loose so it could dry. Thanks to the heat it almost was. "Why can't you just ask him?" She glared accusingly at the washed out reflection of herself framed in the window pane.

"Ask who what?" Cloud appeared behind her, dressed in a white t-shirt and shorts and roughly drying his hair with a towel. The gravity defying spikes were already rearranging to stick up in his signature style. When she didn't answer, he stopped and stared, then swiped a finger along her upper arm.

Tifa turned, eyes widening as he put it to his lips.

"Punch," he said, referring to the sticky drink residue.

"Oh." Tifa laughed. "Guess I missed a spot." She tried to hold onto the playful mood, but worry made her frown. "So, I guess everyone's leaving soon." She crossed her arms under her breasts and tried to smile. "They couldn't stick around forever, right? Cid and Yuffie have homes that aren't here. Nanaki, too. Barret wants to rebuild Corel, so I guess he'll be gone for awhile. It'll be quiet."

"Hmm." Cloud tipped his head to the side. "Not that quiet. Marlene'll need looking after and there's still Biggs, Wedge and Vincent." He paused and added, "And did you forget about Zack and Aerith? You really think it'll be quiet with them around?"

Tifa shook her head and smiled. "Guess not." She looked up at him. "I guess...I just hate goodbyes."

"It won't be for good. They'll come back and visit."

She couldn't help but look at him with hopeful eyes. "You think?"

Cloud swallowed and nodded. "Yeah."

She nodded, but grew apprehensive as she asked, "And you?"

Cloud frowned. "What about me?" He took a step closer. "I live here. With you."

"Yeah, we're neighbours again," she joked, referring to their separate rooms. Though, right then, Cloud was in her room and came in as though it belonged to him. She hadn't noticed, but he did that a lot.

"Don't have to be." His eyes were earnest and hopeful. He took another step, then waited, leaving her to close the remaining distance between them. "Tifa...You don't have to be afraid. I'm not leaving." He smiled and added, "So, suck it up."

Tifa ducked her head and laughed. "Did I really say that?" She walked towards him and he was already opening his arms to draw her in.

"Yup." Pressing his face against her neck he mumbled, "Scared the shit out of me. Don't go places I can't follow, okay?"

Tifa got the sense he meant emotionally, since there wasn't any place he couldn't find her if he wanted to. Oh. She wrapped her arms around his neck, threading her fingers through his hair. "I won't," she promised. Feeling daring, she kissed his cheek, then whispered in his ear, "You wanna sleep in here tonight?"

For once, Cloud one-upped her into speechlessness when he replied, "Every night." Moving to press a kiss to her lips, he added in a murmur, "But, can we save the sleeping for later? There's something else I've been waiting for first..."

As night drew in and the guests of Seventh Heaven cleared out calling goodnight to each other and still passing jokes back and forth, Aerith slotted her arm through Zack's and snuggled into his side. "So?" She looked up at him, a huge smile on her face and her eyes shining like emeralds.

Zack chuckled and tapped her on the nose. "Good job today! Mission success!"

Aerith giggled. "Those two." She mock sighed and shook her head. She stopped suddenly and pulled a face. "I didn't get my date with Tifa!" She growled with disappointment, making her sound like Red. "Cloud better appreciate this!"

Zack laughed. "Oh, I guarantee he does."

Aerith shook her head. "You perv."

He pointed at himself, then her. "If I'm one, so are you. It wasn't me who said those two need to stop overthinking things and just do it."

Aerith squealed and laughed. "Don't say it like that! People will send us to jail!"

Zack wrapped both arms around her waist and picked her up. "Wherever we go, it'll be together, so that's fine by me!"

Linking her fingers behind his neck, Aerith urged Zack to lower her enough so she could kiss him. "Yeah," she agreed, coming up for air and trying not to blush. "We're together and that's all that matters." She hugged him tight. "Let's go home. Mom's probably waiting up to give you a lecture."

Zack chuckled. "I'll win her over some day."

Aerith nodded. "Yeah, you will."

#final fantasy 7 remake #cloti #Zerith #Final fantasy 7 remake fan fiction #Cloud Strife #tifa lockhart #zack fair #aerith gainsborough #Silver wields a pen

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sometimesiwritetoo · 4 years

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Barret Wallace and the no good, very bad, ship war.

So I’ve seen a bit of shipping discourse that involves Barret Wallace because shipping discourse is a cannibalistic kind of discourse that tries to chew up and swallow everything I might like about a game. So, I decided to put my thoughts on a separate post rather than reply to people, because when you’re that far down the shipping rabbit hole ain’t nobody getting you out but you.

I’m not going to break this down by “sides” because, ultimately, I’ve seen various versions of these arguments floating around in the shipping space.

The first one I encountered was that it is racist for depicting Cloud as Marlene’s dad over Barret and erasing Barret’s character. Which I’d argue can be true. Cloud may certainly be an influence, but he hasn’t put in the leg work of taking care of Marlene in the same was as Barret has. He exists more as an extended family figure. Certainly shaping her and taking care of her, but he doesn’t have to put in the work to making sure she is taken care of or make any sort of sacrifices for her. He can opt out, she isn’t his kid. And he doesn’t have to worry about the big picture that is her education, health, or future. Ignoring that it is clearly Barret who is doing that work and not Cloud does erase Barret.

But SQEX did it first.

I don’t know why that point only seems to be brought up in shipping discourse, and not in general. And to be fair, I think it’s a little bit more complicated then the developers intentionally erasing him. Final Fantasy is in the international market, but they are still a Japanese developer. And depicting fathers as leaving their children in the care of someone else while they work is pretty standard and not really an indication of how loving that father is. Plus Advent Children reduced basically every character’s roles from Cid coming in at the end to Red XIII’s one line. Arguably the only one expanded was Vincent. So, I don’t think Square noticed the unfortunate implications of separating Marlene from Barret the way they did. Marlene, in the og, fills a similar role as Dajh from XIII. They don’t have much of a personality, instead they exist more as a plot device to explain why their parental figures do what they do. And this is fine, we don’t need character development from a 4 year old. But that does mean that her role in Advent Children could have been fulfilled by any child, it’s not like she knew or did anything in the og. So separating her from Barret the way that they did, and giving her more scenes with Cloud, wasn’t necessary. But I guess they already introduced an orphan and so another one would’ve been excessive or something I don’t know.

But what I do know, is that if fan’s depiction of these events is erasing Barret then so is SQEX’s depictions. Which, to be fair, I do think that they dropped the ball with Barret in Advent Children, and that inevitably means that many fans will follow suit. But I like to think they learned from it since then given how Dajh is always shown in relation to Sazh and the bigger emphasis on Barret’s relationship with Marlene in the remake. Despite that I do see a lot of content where Marlene seems to defer to Cloud like he’s her father, and I was hoping that would change after the remake. I can see Tifa being considered a mother-like figure given her personality and the fact that she’s been putting in a lot more work for much longer than Cloud has.

(Though, hilariously enough, I’ve seen people also make the argument that Barret and Tifa are terrible at taking care of Marlene and that Aerith is the only one who seems to care about her because, you know, Aerith has put all that time in making sure Marlene is fed and clothed outside of the one interaction these two have on screen in the remake. It’s almost as if Barret .)

Another thing I’ve seen is that Tifa and the other AVALANCHE members intentionally exclude Cloud from their get together and this is somehow an indication of how she is horrible. Which is hilariously erasing Barret and his influence on this scene. It wasn’t that Tifa intentionally excluded him from her friend group. It was that Barret is the leader of AVALANCHE, and thus has the right to kick out someone who is not a member from the party that AVALANCHE, the group he leads, is throwing. Tifa is his subordinate, and having her “stand up” for Cloud ignores the fact that Cloud is an adult who can do so himself. He intentionally antagonized Barret, whom he knew was the leader of this group.Tifa standing up to Barret would have been an indication to the audience that there is something wrong with Barret’s leadership or that he was out of line in his choices. Cloud is the one who repeatedly insulted Barret’s beliefs and antagonized him. Barret has every right to exclude Cloud given that this is his team. And Tifa has an obligation to be there because it’s a team she’s a part of. This is a Japanese game. If a character shows disrespect to a leader, or ducks out of a group party, then that is indication that said character is either immature or disrespectful or that there is a deep issue with the leader. Neither of which can be said is true for Tifa or Barret.

That scene is a lot of things, but it’s not about Cloud’s love life. It’s another scene to establish Cloud and Barret’s characters. It shows that Barret has these sets of beliefs and will retaliate if challenged on them, and that he is well respected by his group. And this scene, plus Cloud’s flashback, shows that Cloud has a history of antagonizing or distancing himself from others. At most the takeaway from this scene is that Tifa trusts Barret, and trusts that he asked Cloud to leave for a good reason. And that’s probably why she keeps reminding him to be nice throughout the next chapter.

There’s an actual story in this game. Other characters exist outside of this shipping war.

#Barret Wallace #cloud strife #Aerith Gainsborough #tifa lockhart #FF7R

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flowersoldier · 4 years

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Not this Time

Chapter 1: Won’t let you Go

Chapter 2: Won’t let you Die

ff.net AO3

Cloud was practically dragging the others around like dead weight. They just weren't fast enough! He got in lots of fights with his teammates. Cloud yelled at Cid for making the Tiny Bronco go faster, Cid yelled back, then Barret yelled and then Tifa as she tried to stop their fight.

Trying to find out where the hell this Sleeping Forest is, was taking way too long. And now that they knew it, they should hurry up before anything happened! But instead they only slowed him down. “Can't this stupid thing go faster?!“ Cloud yelled at Cid yet again.

“How many fucking times do I have to tell ya this?! Sit down and shut the fuck up, it's going as fast as it can!“ Cid yelled back at him, making the ex-SOLDIER only angrier.

“Guys! Please.“ Said Tifa, before Cloud yell back at the pilot. Instead he huffed and stared at the sea. Deep down he knew that they're all effected by Aerith's disappearance. They're all extremely tense and edgy, but his worry for Aerith made him feel ten times worse. Aerith obviously planned all this and wrote everyone of them a letter. A farewell letter. Or...should he say suicide note? After all, Aerith was in danger more than ever. She was alone, Sephiroth was either in this city already or will follow her there and she knew it. She knew she might die, that's what she hinted at in the letters. 'In case I won't come back', 'if I don't make it' those where the things she wrote.

He didn't know what she wrote to the others but they might have a similar end. As everyone took their time to read them, he noticed that there were tear stains on every paper. She was obviously crying a lot and he was too unconscious to help her. And the others haven't noticed what's been going on with Aerith. Tifa and Yuffie have been crying when they read their letters, Vincent was just silently staring at it. Nanaki was mostly quiet, too, except for some sniffling noises. They became good friends, that much was obvious. Aerith always used to pet and tickle his ears and nose and even though he said he didn't like it, he didn't do anything to stop her. Cait Sith was silent the whole time and of course they could only guess what Reeve's reaction on the other end was. Cid's been cursing under his breath the whole time, he didn't even smoke once that day. Maybe because Aerith always told him to stop smoking. And Barret was mumbling things, too. He didn't sound as angry as Cid, more annoyed.

And then there's Cloud himself. He got two letters. One for him and one for Elmyra. He just didn't understand why she wanted him of all people deliver her this...He wasn't really Elmyra's favorite person. As the blonde waited impatiently till they finally reached their destination, he kept reading the letter over and over. She told him her plan in the letter, actually the same that she told him in his dream. She didn't say what she'll do, only that she's the only one who can do anything. He only wished she told him what it was she had to do. Was that really something none of them could help her with? Was it really necessary to go alone? They could've at least stayed with her and protect her, while she's doing her Cetra magic...

Cloud wasn't really sure where he should direct his anger to. He was angry at himself for letting all this happen. He was angry at his teammates for not keeping a closer eye on Aerith. And, of course, he was angry at Aerith for leaving him. Them. For leaving them. Cloud knew she could fight, she was a powerful mage, but there's no way she could beat Sephiroth.

When they finally reached Bone Village, Cloud was the first to get off the Tiny Bronco and ran ahead. He heard the others behind him calling him to wait and slow down, but that's not a thing he could do. He had to find Aerith as fast as possible! But he was stopped anyway. The people there told him he needed a Lunar Harp to even get through the forest. And in his despair he would've dug for it with bare hands.

But he was forced by everyone to be patient. Even wait overnight, goddammit! Of course he didn't get any sleep, he just wanted to find Aerith as fast as possible! He had no idea how everyone else were able to sleep. The guys luckily found the harp on their first try and then he went back to dragging his teammates around like the dead weight they were.

As they went through the forest, they noticed gigantic shells lying around. At some point it looked more like they're underwater. So this was the City of the Ancients...The team split up to look for any signs of where Aerith might be, but they couldn't find her. Although Cloud did feel something pull at his heartstrings, but it only lead to a dead end...After searching through the whole day, they eventually decided to rest for a while. Cloud desperately wanted to keep searching but he checked every shell building and possible hiding spots more than thrice. She wasn't here. Or...at least they couldn't see her. Because his heart told him that she was here. But there was really nothing he could do right now.

Cloud woke up with a start. He had no idea what woke him up, but his heart was racing in his chest and he felt the urge to hurry. The pull in his heart increased, as if trying to lead him exactly where he had to go. “Guys!“ He yelled at everyone, who were sleeping peacefully. Cloud jumped off the bed and grabbed his sword. “Wake up!“ The blonde yelled again, when his teammates stirred awake.

“What? Is something wrong?“ Asked Tifa sleepily and rubbed her tired eyes.

“I hope it's important spike.“ Grumbled Barret.

“We need to go.“ Was the only thing Cloud said. After all, he had no idea what just happened either or where they're supposed to go.

“Where?“ Asked Yuffie, saying the question everyone were asking themselves. But Cloud didn't have an answer. At least not a direct one.

“To Aerith.“

“So what, you know where she is?“ Asked Cid skeptically and Cloud couldn't hold it against him. They looked everywhere and couldn't find her.

“Not really...I know for sure she's here. I can feel it in my soul. Uh...“

Before he could feel embarrassed over his words, Tifa nodded, encouraging. “Lead the way then.“ And that he did. He went back to the biggest shell building, right in front of a lake. It was like he was pulled there by an unseen force. They looked there first, but it was empty, too. So Cloud expected that nothing changed.

“I smell her!“ Called Nanaki suddenly. Everyone looked at the wolf-like creature. He sniffed the air and the ground, before pointing to the stairs with his snout. “Up there.“

Cloud was the first that leaped on the stairs, running up till he saw a hidden path that hasn't been here the first time around. A very long cystal-like staircase brought them back down again, underground perhaps. But there was light down there and even an underground lake. And in the middle of it all, on a platform that looked like an shrine, knelled the flower girl, praying and seemingly unaware that she's been found.

“Aerith!“ Cloud jumped down the rest of the stairs and ran towards her, stopping right before the lake. The others quickly caught up to him. Tifa was about to go to her friend, but Cloud stopped her. He'll go first. The blonde hopped on the little platforms leading up to her and then he was right in front of her. There was so much he wanted to tell her. He wanted to apologize, ask her if she's okay, what she's doing and why she left on her own. But he couldn't get out a single word. Instead, the headache returned and his vision blurred. An invincible force made him take his sword. He held the sword tightly with both hands and slowly brought it up over his head.

Cloud tried to fight it, but he lost all control over his body. Something else was making him move and there's a little voice in the back of his head tellim him to 'do it'. Just as he was about to bring the sword down on her, his teammates pulled him out of this trance.

“Cloud!“ Called Tifa.

“Stop!!“ Growled Nanaki.

“No!“ Exclaimed Yuffie and Cait Sith horrified.

“What the hell are ya doin'?!“ Yelled Barret.

“Get a fucking grip, Spike!“ Shouted Cid.

“Snap out of it!“ Added Vincent at last.

Cloud backed away from the flower girl, shaking his head and letting the sword fall to the ground. “What are you making me do...?“ He grumbled, even if Sephiroth himself couldn't hear him. The fog in his mind cleared and he saw Aerith smiling at him. How could she smile when he was about to kill her? Or did she smile because he successfully defeated Sephiroth in his mind? Then something behind her glowed pale green and her smile brightened. Whatever she did there it must work.

They looked at each others eyes for a moment longer, before Cloud noticed something lurking from above. Something...black and silver. He didn't need to look to know what it was. And when something moved in the corner of his eyes, he moved too. To Cloud this felt like forever. How he ran to Aerith to push her away and cover her with his body. But it only took seconds. And when his brain caught up, he noticed he wasn't the only one to protect Aerith. Tifa was right beside him, having had the same idea as him. They were both lying on top of Aerith, shielding her with their bodies from whatever harm that may come to her.

And behind them he heard metal hitting the floor. Everything was a blur. He heard Barret and the others yell. And then gunshots. But for now he only looked down at Aerith. “Cloud. Tifa...“ She said surprised but happy.

“We got you, Aerith.“ Said Tifa, smiling at the flower girl happily. Aerith's eyes filled with tears and even though there was so much Cloud wanted to say right now, but now was not the time. He looked behind him to see Sephiroth already being attacked by the group. If they were just one second too slow...No, he didn't want to think about it.

“Tifa, stay with Aerith.“ The ex-SOLDIER ordered, only receiving a determined nod from the martial artist. Cloud got up on his wobbly legs and ran over to his sword, while Sephiroth transformed into another Jenova monster.

The team helped him fight the monster and Tifa made sure Aerith was save, even if they knew Aerith could fight too. But this time her safety was more important than ever, because they almost did lose her a few seconds ago. And there's no way in hell he'd let this happen again. Once they finally killed the monster, Cloud was by Aerith's side in a second. “Are you okay?!“ He asked, the panic was still in his voice. They may have prevented Sephiroth from hurting her, but she could've still hurt herself on the way here. Not to mention...the bruises she still had from him. But they weren't as visible as in his dream. She surely cast some healing spells to let them fade.

“I'm fine.“ She answered, sniffling slightly. “Thanks to you guys.“ Cloud's heart skipped a beat, when she wrapped his arms around her neck and hugged him tightly. He was pretty sure she could hear how fast his heart was pounding in his chest. But he was hesitant to hug her back. He still couldn't trust himself around Aerith. He attacked her twice now. Well almost twice, but still. “But you didn't have to do it. It...would've been okay.“ Aerith mumbled into his neck. He couldn't believe what he was hearing there. His jaw clenched tightly and he balled his fists. Did she seriously just tell him that dying was okay for her?! Now he did hug her back, his previous hesitance forgotten. His arms wrapped around her slender waist and pulled her as close as physically possible.

“Are you insane?“ Cloud wanted his voice to sound harsh and angry, but it sounded more desperate and broken. “Don't say this.“

“But...“ He felt her pulling away to look into his face, but he'd probably break down completely if she did. His left hand grabbed her shoulder and pushed her back against his chest.

“I said don't.“ He repeated, burying his face into her hair and taking a deep breath to calm down. Well...nothing could calm his nerves as much as Aerith's flowery scent did.

The blonde shivered, when Aerith's hand ran gently over the back of his neck and through his hair. His heart was still pounding as if he just ran a marathon. Well, it wasn't wrong...“Calm down.“ Aerith whispered, as she kept caressing him. She surely heard his fast heartbeat, his still rigid breath. The panic didn't let go of him, the adrenaline of the shock and battle was still flowing through his veins and he felt himself trembling. His grip on her tightened and as he recalled the moment...The moment where he almost lost her. Where Sephiroth almost pierced his sword through her...Despite himself he felt tears gathering in his eyes and before he even had the chance to fight them back, they're already gliding down his cheeks. Cloud gritted his teeth, not sure if he should feel embarrassed about it or just feel happy that he was able to save her. He decided for the latter.

Although, it was very embarrassing to cry his eyes out in Aerith's hair while the team was watching them the whole time. They surely wanted to talk with Aerith, too, but he wasn't done with her yet. “Aerith...“ He whispered with a broken voice. Cloud wished he could hold her tighter, but he was afraid he might hurt her if he did.

“It's okay.“ She said, her hand didn't stop running through his hair and over his neck. It was very calming, but Cloud was so relieved to have saved her that he couldn't stop crying. “Everything's okay, Cloud. I'm here.“ These two last words echoed in his head. Yes, she was here. He saved her. He and Tifa saved her. “I'm here.“ She repeated, letting him hold her for as long as he needed. Eventually she managed to calm him down. Her soft voice and the way she caressed him did their job. Still, he needed to take a few deep breaths before he was able to let Aerith go again. He really wished he could hold her forever and never let go.

Aerith very slowly pulled away and gave him the most beautiful smile ever. Her eyes were wet and red, too. She cried, too. Maybe she was just as happy as he was? “You good?“ She asked, tilting her head in a very cute way. He's learned a long, long time ago that she's not someone to take for granted, but now he'll cherish her even more from now on. For as long as he lived, he'll make sure she's safe and sound. Her safety was the most important thing. He didn't care about Sephiroth and his stupid plan. He'll only defeat him for Aerith's sake. Aerith wanted to protect the planet and he'll help her as best as he could.

Cloud nodded and then was led off the shrine by her. She held his hand, grounding him. Tifa went to the others while he had his breakdown. And the rest...they all went halfway back to the stairs, their backs facing them to give them their privacy. Now he felt bad for yelling at them earlier. “Guys.“ To his demise, Aerith let go of his hand once they reached them.

The group turned around and in a second Tifa and Yuffie hugged the flower girl tightly. “Aerith, don't ever do this again!“ Scolded Tifa, but hugged her tighter. Yuffie was right out crying.

“Sorry...I had to do this...“ Aerith said with a meek voice. Once the girls let her go, the guys approached her.

“Do ya have an idea what a heart attack ya gave us?“ Asked Barret, who wanted to sound harsh, but his voice was too soft. He gave her a bear hug, literally.

“We were all so worried about you!“ Said Caith Sith that still sat on his big Moogle.

Then Cid put a hand on her shoulder. “Do ya have an idea how fucking annoying Spike was once you left?“ Cloud and Cid glared at each other for a moment, while the flower girl giggled.

“I'm sorry, really. I won't leave you alone with Cloud ever again.“ She joked. Then Nanaki went to her and sat down.

“I'm glad you're okay, Aerith.“ He said and as she kneeled down to tickle his nose he let it happen. Even Vincent told her how glad he was that they could save her in time. He also looked at Cloud as he said this.

“I'm sorry...“ Repeated Aerith and looked around the group. “I didn't want you to worry about me...but I had to go. Only a Cetra can stop Sephiroth.“

“And how the hell are ya supposed to stop him when you're dead?!“ Yelled Cid at her, who earned himself death glares from everyone. Except Aerith, of course.

“What were you doing there?“ Asked Tifa then. At this, Aerith reached behind her head to the pink ribbon.

“The elders taught me a lot in the Temple...“ She began, as she pulled the ribbon off. “They told me everything about the Black Materia. What it can do to the planet. And how to stop it.“ Then she took her 'useless' Materia out of the ribbon and showed it to them. It was smaller than normal and now glowed a pale green color. Everyone stared at it for a moment. “They told me I've got it all along. The Materia my mother gave me...It's the White Materia. With it, I can summon Holy. And stop Meteor.“

“Wait.“ Interrupted Barret. “You're telling us we have what it takes to stop this maniac? And ya didn't tell us?“

Now Aerith looked down, guiltily. “I...didn't want you to get hurt.“ She said as she balled her fist around her Materia. “I know Sephiroth knew I have it. And we both knew in order to summon Holy I had to come here. I thought if I went alone you all would be save.“

To all of their surprise, Yuffie slapped her. It wasn't rough, but enough to snap them all out of this daze. Cloud couldn't help but glare at the girl's back and Tifa looked like she wanted to scold her, but then the little ninja was back in Aerith's arms. “You're a dumbass!“ She yelled, crying in the flower girls arms.

“Yuffie and Cid are right.“ Agreed Nanaki. “Did you really think we wouldn't follow you? After everything we've been through?“

“Did you think getting yourself killed would help any of us?“ Added Tifa, her eyes were still filled with tears. “It would've done us more harm than anything Sephiroth could ever do to us.“

Aerith looked at the ground guiltily, while still trying to calm Yuffie down. “I'm sorry.“ She mumbled, looking so sad that Cloud wanted to hug her again. But the group did it for him already. They all came together in a group hug. Barret had to pull him and Vincent in and Nanaki just rubbed his head on Aerith's leg. And last came Cait and the Moogle, squishing them all together.

Once they were all outside again, they decided to take a nap before they had to leave again. The battle was hard and they all had to recover from the shock.

Just as Aerith wanted to follow the others into these shell houses, Cloud held her back. He took her hand and didn't speak until the others vanished inside. Aerith just waited for him to talk, while he tried to get the words out. “Aerith...Promise me you won't leave like this again.“

The flower girl tilted her head to the side. “Cloud...“

“Promise me.“ He interrupted her harshly, but felt like apologizing the second she flinched.

“I didn't know you'd be so worried about me...“ She mumbled. Cloud knew she was stalling, but...

“Of course I'm worried about you.“ His grip on her hand tightened slightly, but not enough to hurt her. “Just promise me you won't run off again. I have no idea what I should do without...“ Cloud stopped when he realized what he said, but now it wouldn't make any difference anymore. “You...“ This might be a good chance to tell her his feelings. Something like this could happen again and he'd regret it till the rest of his life for not telling her. “You're very important to me, Aerith.“ He said, looking away from her gorgeous eyes. “I...“

Before he could say it, he felt a little finger on his lips. Then the hand cupped his cheek and turned his head towards her. She gave him a sad smile. “Are you really sure about this?“

Cloud had no idea what she meant with that, but yeah, he was sure and dead serious. “I love you.“ He finally said, staring into her eyes. Aerith's green eyes filled with tears and did something he wanted since they were alone. He pulled her into another hug, but this time to comfort her and not himself.

But her words was nothing he expected. “I'm sorry, Cloud. I didn't want to cause you so much pain.“ She said, her voice was muffled against his chest. “I thought if I could prevent you from falling in love with me...you wouldn't be that hurt.“

“You did a terrible job then.“ He mumbled into her hair. “I love you since we first met. Didn't help that Shinra kidnapped you. Or our date in the Gold Saucer. Or everything that happened since then. Just made me love you more.“ Now, Aerith hugged him back, gripping his clothes tightly.

“I love you, too, Cloud.“ She eventually said after a silent moment. This was enough to fill his heart wich such a warmth and it felt like a heavy weight was lifted off of it. “But Cloud, me dying here was supposed to be fate...“

“Screw fate.“ He grumbled, holding her closer. “We already defied it multiple times, heck we killed off the keepers of fate. You said the future is open and I want you to be in that future you're fighting for.“ Aerith was silent then. He just hoped he could reach her the way he wanted. “We're gonna protect you, okay? And if you'd just promise not to run off again we can save the planet together. Now that you summoned Holy, we're on a good way to prevent Sephiroth's plan. And with you by my- our side, we'll be able to defeat him easily.“

“I have the feeling you wanted to say something else.“ The old Aerith was back, teasing him like always. He could kiss her.

“With you by my side, I can defeat this son of a bitch.“

Now, Aerith pulled away slightly to look at his face. “Cloud Strife, did you kiss your mother with that mouth of yours?“

“No, that came after...“

Aerith's eyes widened in horror and realization. “Oh my gosh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that! Forget what I said!“

The blonde couldn't help but chuckle at her outburst. Sure, it still hurt talking and thinking of his mother, but that was normal when you lost someone you loved. At least now he could protect someone. Would his mother be proud? “It's okay.“ He said, as he pulled her closer again and leaned his head on hers.

“Cloud?“ Said blonde hummed, telling her that he was listening. “Look at me.“ He didn't let her go immediately, he took a moment to relish her warmth against him, her flowery smell, before pulling away enough to look at her face. Then her hands cupped his face again and pulled him down to her. And before he even realized what's happening, their lips met. It wasn't anything special, just a light brush that was over in a second, but it meant everything to Cloud.

It wasn't even his first kiss, but a kiss with Aerith. Now he could die a happy man. “I promise I won't run off again. We'll do this together.“

Cloud cupped her face and pulled her up for another sweet kiss. “Thank you.“ He mumbled, as he leaned his forehead against hers.

#clerith #cloud strife #aerith gainsborough #final fantasy vii #ffvii #se #square enix

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hamaon · 6 years

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IN DEPTH FANDOM QUESTIONS: Final Fantasy VII

WHO WANTS TO READ 3000+ WORDS WORTH OF THIS STUFF

Top 5 favourite characters: Cloud’s story is very impressive for a 90s JRPG protagonist, and the glimpses of personality you get over the course of the game and towards the end especially are divine;I gave my heart to AVALANCHE early on, a moment of silence for all those who died so young;the image I have of Elmyra is a lot groovier than what there actually is in the game, but I’m hanging on to it;Tifa won me over just by her battle animations, and from these modest origins it grew and grew;

Nanaki is so serious, and also a baby.

Other characters you like: The bravest pilot-in-training who could. I believe in you, little guy.

Least favourite characters: “The hidden optional characters”, is what I was going to say, but I like Yuffie much better than Vincent. I actively dislike her character design (what is even going on there), but she’s vengeful and proud. All the characters in this game are more enjoyable if you highlight their unsavory qualities.

Vincent, though, is a miss. An unfortunate combination of things that I don’t care about. His main contribution to the story is giving more insight on Hojo and Sephiroth (and the Turks, I guess), but what I’d like to know more about are things to do with Gast, the Ancients, and Aerith’s involvement, and he has nothing to do with that. Also, Shinra by itself just isn’t interesting to me, it’s their involvement with the main characters (especially in the first areas of the game) that is fun, and again Vincent misses out.

There’s also the fact that- if there’s one mythological being that I couldn’t care less about, it’s vampires, and he shares a lot of the aesthetics, and- I don’t like using him in battle. The only time I used him during my first playthrough was when the party first crosses the mountains past Nibelheim, and taking him to the boss battle at end of the dungeon was a bad idea. It liked fire, and Vincent’s monster form whatever-beast liked producing said fire, and one thing led to another.

I love his theme, I guess, but I don’t even think of it as his theme. It’s the theme of the basement of the Shinra mansion and its fantastic, creepymonsters.

Also, Aerith, but more on that later.

Otps: I’m into Cloud/Tifa, but less for the chemistry and more for narrative reasons. I just think it makes a good story? Watching them dance around their memories of their shared past is the true heart of the game, for me.

I like that it’s romantic on Tifa’s part, but when you go back to the beginning of the game, once you know what sorts of questions the characters have been holding back on… how much of it is romantic on Tifa’s part, again?

I like that it isn’t romantic on Cloud’s part… until you get to the Lifestream, and the cause of this mess and the most honest truth at the core of it all was just a little boy crushing on the popular girl next door.

I like the idea of them deciding to stick together, the two survivors, now that they can admit out loud that they never really even knew each other.

I like how, with all of his regrets and failures, Cloud never did fail her.

(And I kind of like that the underdog in the triangle got the guy, in the end.)

I used to be passionately into Aerith/Tifa, early on – her interactions with Tifa are the best I liked Aerith – but I’ve let go of it, since. It’s okay to enjoy relationships without making them romantic, past me.

Not sure whether this is is an “otp “or a “notp” thing, or something else entirely, but I‘ve become very attached to the idea of Cid/no one as of late. Maybe the plot circumstances forcing him and Shera to stay separated helps them realize that it’s healthier this way. I want Cid to be grouchy and middle-aged and difficult to deal with on his airship, with his loyal crew and no romantic interest ever again.

And honestly, I’d be all for an AU where Cloud derails the plot by running off with some random AVALANCHE member in the early Midgar portion of the game. Jessie is the best candidate. Let Cloud and Jessie elope.

Notps: Cloud/Sephiroth. Aerith/Cloud as a reciprocal thing, because I enjoy their interactions better if Aerith isn’t serious about him (Cloud -> Aerith is fine, though).

Favourite friendships: Barret and Tifa. It was framed more as “Barret supports Tifa”, but I imagine that Tifa used to babysit Marlene quite a bit when AVALANCHE was smaller, so it evens out somewhat. They have a lot of shared history between just the two of them.

Aerith and Tifa. And listen, this isn’t pretty, but I want to think that they didn’t like each other that much, at first, even if it didn’t show – because why would they be rude towardseach other? Why wouldn’t they want to rescue innocent people? Maybe Aerith is a bit dismissive towards Tifa, unconsciously. Overrules her on things, without thought. I want Tifa putting up appearances that she enjoys Aerith’s company more than she really does, when really at times she makes her uneasy in ugly, jealous ways. All of that beingsomething they are already correcting themselves on come Kalm, quietly. On the way towards the chocobo farm you can see them walking together more often than not, and it continues that way until Aerith skedaddles.

Cloud and Yuffie. I just think that the detail of the shared motion sickness is nice and genuine. And in general, Cloud is yanked around by the story so much, it’s nice that he has someone he can be a mentor figure to. Good for the both of them.

Favourite family: Cloud’s, painfully unexplored as it was. It would benefit the game if there was just a touch more about Cloud’s mother. Just one more little scene, late in the game, to underline that she was loved, and that she’s gone, and that he doesn’t want to talk about it.

Favourite episodes: The entire Lifestream sequence where player-Tifa finally gets some answers to questions that have been left hanging since the first five minutes of the game.

Actually no, the entire game starting from where Cloud starts unraveling at the Noozupooru and the title of player character bounces back between a couple of party members as you’re putting the story together, culminating in the Lifestream sequence. But especially the Lifestream sequence.

Favourite season/book/movie: Original game? I think I liked the short animation thingy, Last Order, when I saw it ~ten years ago, but I can’t be assed to rewatch it now.

Favourite quotes: Any, as long as it comes with rustic typos in it. Absolutely beautiful.

Best musical moment: “Overworld“, as I had originally written down, like Tina’s theme, is a beautiful epic that encompasses all the highs and the lows of the narrative, but having listened to it for way too long while watching my friend play the game I’m in the “can’t stand” part of my cyclical relationship with the song. So let’s talk about Cid’s theme instead!

My first exposure to Cid’s theme was in the form of a background midi on a friend’s angelfire page, and I had no idea where the song was from. The file that I eventually managed to download on my computer was named something to the effect of ff7-cid, which told me nothing. No one in my family played video games.

As I said, I downloaded song. I used some .mid-to-sheet-music converter software on our computer to make it playable and printed it out. It wasn’t made for piano (and I definitely wasn’t good enough at notation to make an arrangement of my own), so I’d just follow along the notes as I put the midi on. I never did learn to play it. I never got a group together to try to play it – there’s nothing impressive about this story.

Fast forward several years, and I played the game. At that point it had been a long time since I had listened to the original midi, but I still remembered that I had built something way more epic around the song than what actually went down in the game. Not that Cid’s quest for the skies isn’t impressive, but it had sounded like something that would play during a last stand type of scene at the end of a story. My bad.

It’s still an impressive piece.

Moment that made you fangirl/boy the hardest: You lose control of the main character! That’s pretty metal?

When it really disappointed you: My introduction to the game was Advent Children, which I don’t think I had many strong feelings about? But I saw people online mourning the death of Aerith’s character (made even worse by Crisis Core) and how she was supposed to have been amazing in the game. So I played the game expecting something truly spectacular and… well, FF7 doesn’t have bad writing, I don’t think, but the characters definitely need you to meet them halfway before you can truly appreciate their potential. And Aerith mostly just hit on Cloud, so I was unwilling to even try. Disappointing, in the truest sense of the word.

I have a history of hating most Final Fantasy romance, and most of the characters doing most of the romance-inclined things. Edge hits on Rydia? Shit character. Locke hits on Celes? Shit character. Rinoa hits on Squall? Shit character (okay originally I liked her for that and only started hating her later in the game, adding her to the list here isn’t fair). Zidane hits on Garnet? Shit character. Yuna hitting on Tidus initially made me label her as a shit character as well, and I can actually pinpoint the very line of dialogue that made me stop thinking of her that way, but my main point is that in the beginning of FF10, I hated Yuna.

Anyway, I like to think that every time Aerith is hitting on Cloud, she’s joking! Because that’s what the root of my disinterest in engaging with her can be traced back to! Most of my headcanons are about Aerith, honestly. I make kind of half-hearted efforts to like her, occasionally, but I need to do it on my own terms – in order to enjoy her character, I need to be able to own her character. Otherwise I’m in a situation where I don’t care for the character much, and every time people point out some feature about them that makes them “perfect”, the bitterness increases. The “I was pretty neutral on this character, but everyone talking about how they’re the best thing ever made me loathe them” feeling. Yeah.

Saddest moment: I’m currentlythinking about the Nibelheim flashback where Cloud just plain refuses to talk about his mother and that’s a sad moment, isn’t it?

Most well done character death: Rufus went out gloriously. The whole scene with the multiple delayed laser beams whose projections you had to keep track of was magnificent, plus a corrupt corporation sacrificing everything for the greater good was pretty nice. Redemption in death.

Glad he wasn’t retconned into having survived or anything, that’d just ruin everything.

Favourite guest star: Cid had his moment in the spotlight, before slinking back into the shadows until XII?

Favourite cast member: Character, okay. Tifa, probably. A bunch of neutral to positive character traits, distinct nostalgia in the character theme, some half-assed writing, best animations in battle, a role that was fantastically spot-on in unravelling the main character’s labyrinthine headspace.

It’s less who Tifa is as a character, and more the good vibes surrounding her role in the story and some of the aesthetic decisions that went into creating the character. I mean, she’s a female monk. Just give her a version of the AC outfit that isn’t all black and stillhas the suspenders.

Character you wish was still alive: Nanaki’s mom.

One thing you hope really happens: Nanaki’s mom becomes an actual character in the remake. She completely drops out of everyone’s consciousness once it turns out that the Dad was the Important One. You have this rare heroic mother who is remembered for her feats in battle, only for her to disappear from the story completely. I’d like for Nanaki to remember them together. Wasn’t she supposed to have been something of a role model for him, before?

Most shocking twist: When the nameless Shinra grunt took off his helmet.

I keep thinking back to that gifset of that scene with the caption “that’s what Final Fantasy VII is all about, Charlie Brown“, and. Yeah.

When did you start watching/reading?: After Advent Children came out.

Best animal/creature: I have so many feelings about that one house in the Sector 7 slums. Primarily ”how“ and “why“. And “rocket launchers”.

Everything inside the sunken Gelnika is super cool, too. As is the Ruby Weapon, or however you capitalize that. Ruby WEAPON.

Favourite location: First visit to Nibelheim, if I’m being honest. Basement of Gold Saucer, if I’m not.

Trope you wish they would stop using: Will they?? Or… won’t they?? Let’s drag this love triangle shit on f o r e v e r.

Like please, FF10 was the best because they settled the will they won’t they thing pretty early on, just let this matter be resolved so we can have some development in some direction, please. Let him get on with his relationship with Tifa so we can have some real progress, let him break it off for real, just do something. As long as it isn’t ”he’s hung on Aerith forever“, because that goes directly against the development at the end of the game. Give him a new love interest, if you don’t want to piss anyone specific off, just stop beating this horse, it’s been dead for twenty years.

One thing this show/book/film does better than others: That’s what Final Fantasy VII is all about, Charlie Brown.

Funniest moments: When I was playing the game with a friend, and she triggered the bug where you don’t get portable save point in your inventory, and we only noticed halfway through the final dungeon. We still beat the game without any save slots. It’s not a very difficult game.

Couple you would like to see: please just fuckign Cloud/Jessie.

Actor/Actress you want to join the cast: Anyway, I’d like it if there were more female characters in the party, with more varied roles. Any of the main party members besides Barret, Reeve and Vincent could have been female, I think (I like Barret as a father, and Reeve is such a late reveal that it wouldn’t serve the intended purpose. And Vincent is optional). Cid, Nanaki, someone new? Cloud? Maybe Jessie could survive?

Actually, unpopular (?) opinion time, somewhat related, hang with me here, but I don’t think Tifa being ancillary to Cloud’s story is a bad thing at all. He’s the main character, his story is the most important story of the game, and her story supplements his story beautifully. The problem is that after the first disc, she’s the only active female character of any real importance. That’s where her propping up Cloud starts becoming a problem.

More female characters.

Favourite outfit: I love Aerith’s design, it’s spectacular. At first glance all you can see is pink, but it’s super practical, and plain, too. Some of it is probably because that’s how the game is designed in general, no one is very decorated, but still, Tifa wears earrings.

A simple dress, practical shoes. A plain bow, crude metal bracelets, and some random string around her neck. It’s like she just picked one up one day and went, why the hell not? That’s actually something I do when I’m cleaning and find pieces of string or broken rubber bands. Just tie them wherever, arm, neck, around my head.

It’s my headcanon that her dress was originally white, but it was washed with something red (that seems to be her color, no?) and was accidentally dyed in the process.

The short jacket is my favorite. I like the idea that she’d go for that big-shouldered look in other outfits, too. It looks so weird. I love it.

Favourite item: All materia. The ‘all’ materia.

Do you own anything related to this show/book/film?: Nothing official aside from the game itself. A couple of art prints. There’s one with Nanaki with his cubs looking over the ruins of Midgar that I need to get framed at some point, if I have the money.

What house/team/group/friendship group/family/race etc would you be in?: AVALANCHE all the way. The concept of bitter eco-terrorists is something that resonates closely with so much of my youth.

Most boring plotline: A lot of Barret’s stuff could have had better focus, unfortunately. Tying things back to Marlene & Elmyra & the working class more would have been appreciated.

Most laughably bad moment: I can’t decide between the kidnapping of Elena and Yuffie in Wutai, and the cannon-top slapdown between a corporate executive and a lifetime martial artist. It’s a horrible tie.

Best flashback/flashfoward if any: So much is centered around the Nibelheim flashbacks, let’s pick something else.

Cid’s Rocket Town flashback is pretty good, it makes you feel the frustration, and it manages to humanize him at the same time. Also, it isn’t a montage info-dump flashback, which FF7 falls victim to, occasionally.

Most layered character: Much of the plot is about putting different aspects of Cloud back together, sometimes more than figuratively, so, Cloud.

Most one dimensional character: Palmer. You know, because he gets run over by a… truck…

Scariest moment: The Shinra tower, after you escape from the jail. There have been just enough uncomfortable elements shown to you beforehand. There was something unnatural in that tank earlier, but it’s gone now. The soundtrack turned Silent Hill all of a sudden. Maybe you could receive comfort from the masses, now that you are facing a shared enemy of a new, strange caliber. The tower was bustling with life just moments ago.

But where is everyone.

Grossest moment: Cid yelling at Shera. Shut up, shut up, shut up.

Best looking male: Once you get past all the associations you have with white/silver-haired men in Japanese media, and the fact that it’s Sephiroth, Sephiroth is quite pleasing to the eye. The boob window is nice. Looks strong without being overbearing.

But at the end of the day, it’s still…. Sephiroth.

Best looking female: Everyone is a pile of polygons, but in my mind’s eye I always imagine Ifalna as a breathtaking beauty.

Who you’re crushing on (if any): no.

Favourite cast moment: I don’t keep up with creator commentary. I like to live dangerously.

Favourite transportation: All chocobos are beautiful in their own way. Incidentally, nothing that came after the original game counts as canon to me, and Cloud became a chocobo rancher near Corel. He goes snowboarding with Yuffie, sometimes, when she’s visiting and he’s trying to catch rare breeds in the mountains.

Most beautiful scene (scenery/shot wise): Midgar, as a whole. The dirty neon lights hiding eco-terrorists and secret flowerbeds. The ruins in the epilogue, when you end the game unsure whether most of the player characters even survived Holy. It just feels like a lot of love went into creating Midgar.

Unanswered question/continuity issue/plot error that bugs you: I was discussing Cid’s small pre-final dungeon Loveless monologue with The Friend Who Played Through My Copy Of Final Fantasy VII, and we came to the conclusion that we couldn’t come to a conclusion. It’s just… vague. Is it talking about dying? Who/what is supposed to work as a parallel to this play?Is it just a bad translation?

While we’re at this sort of thing, let’s talk about sequel stuff! and how Zack is what finally ties all the loose ends back together. About Cloud. About Aerith. He’s an explanation and a motivator, and from a story perspective, unimportant as a character with motivations of his own. Ultimately it doesn’t matter why he did what he did, only that he did them. He should never have been in the spotlight. In Final Fantasy VII, Zack would never have been in the spotlight.

Moreover, he’s gone. Aerith, the one who’d most benefit from having some answers, is gone. And it was fine that way.

Best promo: Uh. The FF4 flash ads with ostriches in them.

At what point did you fall in love with this show/book: Nibelheim.

#essentialprocrastination #I'm listening to cid's theme and crying #autocorrect wants to autocorrect 'sephiroth' into 'stepbrother'#my drafts are clean now #ff7 #those kids from nibelheim

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lettersofsky · 7 years

Text

A Meeting at the End of the World

Written for the Fic Exchange over on AO3 for user frogslay. A threat in the Northern Continent draws the attention of the world's saviour, while investigating they meet someone eager to be of assistance.

“And why should we help you? This s the third time you’ve managed to screw things up.” Cloud fixed Rufus with a bland look, staring down at the older blond seated behind the desk. He had, of course, been expecting something like this when Shinra called him and asked to meet, but being proven right never failed to brighten his move.

“The second time wasn’t my fault,” Rufus reminded him, the slight furrowing of his brow the only indication that the older man wasn’t as unaffected as he made himself out to be. “Nor is this one. You can’t blame me for the results of my Father’s actions.”

“You’ll fine I’m very good with blaming the wrong people for things,” Cloud stated, crossing his arms over his chest and shifting on his feet. “Just ask Tifa, she’ll tell you all about it.”

There was a minute twitch of a fine brow before the business man took a deep breath, releasing it with a soft, almost inaudible sound. “Regardless,” Rufus said, emphasising the word. “That isn’t what’s important here. Are you going to help or not?” The question would have sounded short from anyone else but from Shinra, the words were almost desperate.

Cloud wasn’t cruel enough to turn the man down, despite how much he thought the other deserved it.

“Of course I am,” he shrugged, rolling his eyes at the stunned look he got from the business man at his nonchalant words. “Just because I hate you, doesn’t mean the Turks deserve to suffer for it. They’re ok sometimes.”

Rufus stared at him silently, peering at him with cold eyes. He took a deep breath before releasing it harshly, speaking in a blank voice. “Do you need me to send you the coordinates?”

“Nope, Reno sent them before you called. Cid’s probably already waiting for me so we can leave.”

There was another twitch, this one a bit more noticeable than the last. “I better not keep you then,” Rufus forced out through gritted teeth. “I hope to hear good things from my Turks when they return.”

“The fact that they’ll have returned will be good enough.” Cloud called over his shoulder as he turned and strode out of the office. Pulling his PHS from his pocket showed him that he had several messages from his friends, they were ready and waiting for him on the Shera a few miles away.

He put his PHS away and continued to stride out of the building, making his way to Fenrir with steady, confident footsteps. He started the engine and immediately turned in the direction of the airship.

When he reached the airship, he discovered that neither Barret or Yuffie could make it to help them, Barret was dealing with issues in Corel and Yuffie was swamped with things in Wutai. Cloud didn’t hold it against them, they were both quite busy with their lives and couldn’t keep dropping everything to deal with Shinra’s messes.

Reeve was updating Cait Sith so the one he sent with them was only for communication and wouldn’t be joining them in any battles. The small robotic cat sounded far too downtrodden when he informed them of that.

Cloud strapped Fenrir down in the Shera’s cargo hold and put himself against a wall in preparation of the journey, he really hated having to travel by anything that wasn’t his own two feet.

“If you fuckin’ vomit in my ship, then you’re gonna be the one to fuckin’ clean it!” Cid shot at him as he started the Shera’s engine, the airship rising rapidly into the air.

It was time to save the world once again.

Apparently, the Northern Continent was one of the best places to try to end the world, the other was Midgar but that was more than obvious. The coordinates Reno had sent led them to an empty, mountain range and a smouldering wreckage of a helicopter.

It seemed that being unable to land a helicopter safely was something common amongst all the Turks. Cloud remembered that Tseng had somehow managed to crash one on a beautiful day, with absolutely nothing wrong with the copter and while nobody was attacking them; it was kind of amazing, now that Cloud could think back on it.

Cid set them down a few miles away from the crash and they quickly made their way to the helicopter. The smouldering metal was a stark contrast to the snowy mountain around them, it wasn’t on fire so Cloud counted that as a win; it meant that they didn’t have to worry about the helicopter exploding on them.

They started searching for Reno and Rude then; Nanaki trying to find a trace of their scent as the rest of them searched for more visible evidence of their presence. They soon found the two hidden away in a cave and were almost shot for their trouble; the two had had a tough time of things it the number of injuries they had was anything to go by.

“He was some fucked up dude, yo,” Reno told them after he recognized who they were, the man was a little woozy but still coherent. “That fucking throne dude from year, ya’ know?” Rude nodded silently from where Tifa was casting a Cure Materia on him, sunglasses broken but still on his face.

Cloud turned to where Vincent was lurking in the shadows, peering at the mass of darkness that was the gunman. “I thought you said he died,” he questioned, tone more curious than accusing. “You’re usually so good about things like that.”

The shadows shrugged but made no other move to answer. Cloud rolled his eyes at the gunslinger and turned back to the Turks, looking them over critically. “We should get you back to the ship,” he suggested, staring at the way Rude almost fell over himself where he was sitting. “You both look like you’re about to keel over.”

“Yeah, we’ll let you guys deal with the fucker, yo.” Reno agreed, waving a hand drunkenly in Cloud’s direction. “Just point us where and we’ll let you guys get to the thing.” Rude nodded once again, muttering a soft “yeah” to Reno’s words.

“You might die if you go alone,” Cloud informed them bluntly, looking over his shoulder at Vincent as he continued. “Vincent will get you back safely, won’t you Vincent?”

There was a moment of nothing, Cloud imagined that Vincent was giving him a dirty look from where he was hidden in the shadows, before the gunslinger nodded. “I shall meet up with you as soon as I am able.”

Cloud nodded at Vincent’s answer, turning back to his other companions. “We’ll start by going back to where Nanaki picked up that scent a few miles back, Vincent will be able to follow us from there.”

His enhanced hearing allowed him to hear the words Vincent muttered under his breath, “I could track you in my slumber, in the dead of the darkest winter night.” He was sure the man was aware that he could hear him, so he ignored the other.

He got confirmation from the others and they informed Reeve of what their next course of action would be.

They left the Turks in Vincent’s care and set off for where Nanaki had picked up the scent of mako and blood.

“You sure they’ll be alright?” Tifa asked, casting a worried glance back at the cave they had just left. “What if he comes back for them?”

“Vin can hold off any fuckers that come at him!” Cid assured her, a wide smile on his face. “He’s a tough bastard! Nothing’s managed to kill him yet!”

Tifa nodded, looking reassured by his words. “Yeah,” she breathed, turning away from the cave to where Nanaki was already on the trail. “They’ll be fine.”

The Turks were, in fact, more than fine with Vincent.

And why was Cloud so sure of that? Because Weiss, the throne dude, made it obvious where he was.

A giant, glowing mako pool surrounded by large, terrifying monsters was not the most inconspicuous thing in the world. Then again, the world-ending threats never were inconspicuous; Sephiroth and Meteor couldn’t be ignored and Deep Ground made sure everyone paid attention to them.

Weiss immediately sent his beasts after them, content to sit back and watch them fall to his little (GIANT MAN-EATING) pets.

They might have been able to handle them if both hadn’t come at them at the same time. Two beasts, both larger than most houses were, bearing down on them at once, was not something they could handle easily.

Cloud almost screamed in frustration when a Limit Break did nothing against them, he did scream when one of them completely healed the other after they had almost whittled it down to nothing. Even Vincent joining them did nothing to turn the tides in their favour.

Then one of the beasts erupted into flames, writhing in agony as deafening screams of pain filled the air around them before it collapsed to the ground and went shockingly still. They stared at the corpse for a moment, shocked by the sudden turn of events.

Then a large blur of red slammed into the ground in front of them.

He stared at the man as he stood to his full height, he was tall and his red-hair fell to his lower back. He turned to them, fixing them with inquisitive mako-blue eyes before turning away with a scoff. “You’re lucky I decided to help, instead of letting these things tear you apart.”

There was a moment of silence, then;

“Aw, fuck you, you bastard! Come over here and say that to my face you fucker!”

Cloud sighed softly as Cid continued to swear at the newcomer, earning a cold look from the stranger. He decided not to bother with them for the moment and turned his attention back to the other beast; Tifa and Nanaki were divvying its attention between them while Vincent focussed on taking shots at the thing when he had the opportunity, he went over to assist them.

Taking the stranger’s example Cloud started using his Materia against the beast. While it’s twin had a weakness to fire, this other was taken down by a powerful lightning spell. Tifa and Nanaki were tired from their efforts, chests heaving with their breaths as the beast fell to the ground.

“Who’s that?” Tifa asked, gesturing towards where Cid was still shouting at the stranger. “Someone you know?”

Cloud turned to glance at the man, seeing that Cid was now shouting in the other’s face. The man looked less than impressed by what the pilot was saying. The stranger turned away from Cid suddenly, approaching them with a confident stride. “I don’t know him,” Cloud answered his friend. “But I’m not going to turn away any help we can get.”

“I agree with Cloud,” Nanaki said, watching the man approach them from the corner of his eye. “I doubt we’ll be of much help against the upcoming enemy.”

Tifa looked troubled for a moment but agreed with Nanaki. “You’re probably right about that,” she rolled her shoulder, wincing and reaching up to grasp her upper arm with her hand. “I think I’m out anyway.”

Cloud fixed her with a concerned look, “will you be ok?”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Of course I will be, I just pulled something.”

He nodded at her response but the stranger reached them before he could say anything else.

“What are we going to do about our friend up there?” The stranger asked, coming to a halt next to Cloud. He peered at them all with a judgemental look but didn’t say anything else.

“You, Vincent and I will be going after him while the rest wait here for our return. If things look like they’re going south, then they’ll come give us backup.” He turned to where Cait Sith was silently listening to them, “you got all that?”

“Ay lad, Reeve said yar in the clear! We’re ready to mark ya grave if ya don return.” The cat’s response drew a stunned look from the stranger and a surprised noise form his throat.

“Good, hopefully it won’t come to that.” He turned away from his friends then and stared at the man still seated above the mako-pool, it didn’t look like he had even recognized that his beasts had been killed. “Take shots where you can Vincent, just try not to hit us alright?”

Vincent scoffed silently but didn’t say anything and moved off to find somewhere to perch.

“Right,” Cloud breathed, nodding to himself. “Ok, let’s mosey.”

“What?” The stranger questioned, staring at him like he was insane. “What about a strategy of some kind?”

“I’m going to smack him with my sword and Vincent’s going to shoot him,” Cloud answered, continuing to move as he spoke. “Try not to die.”

A harsh sound came from behind him but Cloud focused on getting himself to Weiss.

Time to finish this.

Weiss wasn’t as difficult to take down as Sephiroth had been, even Kadaj-Sephiroth had been harder to take down. Maybe they’d been giving Vincent too much credit after the whole Deep Ground thing, especially if Weiss had been the strongest among them.

Weiss had gone down after two stabs; one through the stomach from Cloud and the other through the chest from the other man. Vincent hadn’t even gotten a shot in, it had been over so quickly.

“Is it always so easy?” The stranger asked, turning to stare at him over the corpse slumped over in the throne. Cloud shrugged in response, eyes trained on the other man’s sword; it was an impressive piece, a small SOLDIER sword retro-fitted with an ornate grip and etched with glyphs that pulsed with magic. It was also red, Cloud couldn’t tell if that was by design or something that had later been added to the blade.

“Usually there’s more destruction,” he admitted in a distracted tone, tearing his eyes from the crimson blade. “Midgar gets a bit more wrecked each time. Usually someone dies.”

The taller man blinked at him for a moment, trying to figure out if he was telling the truth or not. “Ok,” he breathed, turning away from the corpse to where Vincent was perched a few miles away. “I expected it’d be harder to save the world.”

“Vincent might shoot at you if you ask him,” Cloud offered, hoisting First Tsurugi onto his back. “Or if you tell him how awful he is if he lost against that guy.” He stepped down to the strip of raised ground connecting the platform the throne was on to the shore of the lake.

The other followed him quickly, keeping up with him by virtue of his longer legs. “Where are you going after this?” He asked from behind him, pressing forward to breath into Cloud’s ear. “I’d love to hear about those other times.”

Cloud glanced over his shoulder, seeing glowing blue eyes staring at him intently. “It’s not that interesting,” he tried to tell the man.

“It’s got to be more interesting than this,” the other insisted, gesturing to the silent mountains around them. “It’ll certainly make the trip a bit more bearable.”

“The Turks will love that,” Cloud said in a bland tone. “Getting to listen to how useless they’ve been.”

“Turks?” The stranger questioned, freezing in his stride. “There are Turks with you?”

Cloud paused, turning to look at the man. “Yeah, they crashed their copter so we’re taking them back.” He was quiet, staring at him without really seeing him. “You gonna be ok with that? I mean, a lot of people are uncomfortable around the Turks.”

“Hmm,” The taller man hummed, blinking lazily before snapping back to attention. “Oh, yes. No, I believe we’ll have to save those stories for a different day.” He stepped back then, a large black wing materializing behind him. “Until next time.”

He was gone before Cloud could do little more than take a shocked breath, leaping into the empty sky and disappearing before his eyes. Cloud blinked at the dark spec in the sky for a moment then turned to look at the presence that just appeared at his shoulder. “That just happened, right? He’s got a wing too?”

“Yes, it was quite impressive.”

“Right,” Cloud nodded at the man’s words, sighing and turning to where their friends were waiting. “Let’s go tell everyone the good news.”

He realized while walking back to the airship that the stranger had never introduced themselves.

Only he and Vincent could make it the next ‘potentially world-ending crisis’; the others were too busy with their own lives to come help them. Cloud didn’t blame them; if he had a choice, he would have stayed home and slept in too.

When they reached the battlefield this time it was to see the swordsman from last time get thrown across the ruins of Midgar by an enormous creature with several arms. Its lower body seemed to be melded with wires and its body was dripping with mako, it was odd to see something like this; a kind of meld between something organic mixed so closely with something non-organic.

Cloud raced to where the man had impacted the ground, dropping into the small crater around the man’s body without a moment’s hesitation. He was relieved to see that the man was conscious, groaning as he pulled himself to sit upright. He turned to Cloud with hazy eyes, blinking at him a few times before speaking. “I believe I was robbed during our last meeting,” he told him seriously, raising a hand to grasp Cloud’s shoulder “Also, you’re far too pretty.”

Cloud ignored the man’s words, focusing on casting a Cure on the other man. He watched as some of the larger wounds on the man’s arms closed before stopping his spell, looking over the man for a moment. “You’re not gonna die yet,” he informed the other, watching the way blue eyes focused on him. “Think you can keep going?”

The man nodded after considering him for a few minutes, lifting himself to his feet. “Of course I can. Can’t let you have all the glory again.”

“If its glory you want then you can have all of it,” Cloud informed the man, lifting himself from the crater. “I’m just here to kill things and get myself a pay check.”

That startled a laugh out of the stranger and they set off to engage with the giant creature, keeping a close look of the other’s back as they fought the monster.

They eventually found the creature’s weakness; the underside of its head was particularly susceptible to stabbing so while Vincent and the other swordsman distracted it, Cloud forced two of his smaller blades into the soft skin, ripping its misshapen head from the rest of its leaking body.

The other swordsman was nice enough to catch him before he fell into the gapping, open wound of the man’s neck. He picked him out of the sky between one beat and the next, carrying him with the help of enhanced strength and his large wing.

Cloud could admit to himself that it was kind of nice. The man had a tight grip on him so he didn’t have to worry about being dropped and he smelled like apples and something he couldn’t identify, it was a very nice experience.

The man set him down safely on the ground, far away from where the corpse was dispersing into the Lifestream, the oozing flesh fading away and leaving the mechanical parts behind.

“I wasn’t aware your sword could do that,” the winged man said, the feathered limb dematerializing into nothing as he fixed his gaze on the blades in Cloud’s hands. He lifted his eyes from the swords to meet Cloud’s. “Any other special tricks?”

��None I’d ever show someone without knowing their name,” Cloud informed the man, turning to look for where Vincent had placed himself. He hadn’t meant to say that. His attempted to diffuse the coming awkwardness with his next words. “My friends want to have some standards.”

A soft noise of consideration came from behind him. “I suppose that’s reasonable,” the other man moved into his personal space, raising the hairs on the back of his neck. “Is a name all I need to see these special tricks?” The question was almost purred into his ear, warm breath fanning across his flesh and freezing Cloud in place.

He hadn’t expected the other man to response like that, it was unexpected to say the least.

Cloud swallowed heavily, abandoning the search for his friend. Vincent would have made himself apparent if he was here, meaning the gunslinger had left him to deal with this situation on his own. He wouldn’t put it pass the man to do that. “Um,” he responded eloquently, frozen for a moment as he tried to figure out how to react to this new situation. “It’s a start.” The words were muttered a few moments later as he forced down the heat that was threatening to rise to his cheeks.

He was usually much better around pretty people, he shouldn’t be getting this flustered by some random winged stranger that flung magic like he had been born doing it and had a sword as pretty as he was.

… Cloud might be a little bit screwed.

“Well then,” the other purred, pressing flush against his back and placing lips against his ear. “Genesis Rhapsodos, I can’t wait to see those tricks of yours.”

A shiver ran down his spine before Cloud could stop it, the way the other’s mouth grew into a smile told him that the swordsman, Genesis, had felt it as well. “Cloud,” he muttered quietly, shifting a bit to brush his mouth against the other man’s. “I’m… I’m Cloud.”

“Well, Cloud,” the way Genesis purred his name sent another shiver down his spine, not helped by the way their lips brushed with each word. “Shall we go to your place, or mine?”

There was a bright smile on the man’s face and he was staring at him with warm eyes.

Cloud was definitely screwed.

He was awoken a few hours later by the shrill tone of his PHS.

He groaned, reaching out from beneath the thin blanket to grasp the device. He lifted himself a bit, dislodging the warm arm that had been wrapped securely around his waist as he did so, and answered the call. He lifted the PHS to his ear and spoke, “hello?” His voice was gruff from previous activities and heavy from sleep.

“Cloud?” That was Reeve. Why was Reeve called him? “How are you doing?”

“I’m fine,” he answered, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “Why are you calling?”

The warm body next to him stirred, tightening the grip of the arm around his waist. Genesis lifted himself from the bed and pressed his nose into the hollow of Cloud’s throat with a disgruntled noise. “Whoever that is better be important,” he muttered into the flesh of his shoulder. “Or I will set them on fire.”

“Is there someone with you Cloud?”

“Yeah, he said if this isn’t important he’s going to set you on fire.” He answered, glancing down at the man nuzzling into his shoulder. “He’s probably serious about that.”

“… Ok. I take it things went well, then?” Reeve asked, bemusement clear over the PHS. “With the creature that is.”

“Things went fine,” he responded, ignoring the distracting way Genesis was dragging his fingers over the skin of his lower abdomen. “It had re-joined the Lifestream by the time we left. Didn’t Vincent tell you?”

“You know that Vincent can be very… cryptic. He said something about a crimson angel and seduction that made his own look like a ‘masterpiece of a declaration of affection’.”

Cloud furrowed his brow at Reeve’s words, reaching up to run his hand through his messy hair. Genesis took the opportunity to capture the hand with his own, bringing them to rest against Cloud’s chest. Cloud turned his hand to thread their fingers together, feeling the smile that the other man pressed into his shoulder. “Yeah,” he muttered in a distracted voice. “Is that all you wanted Reeve?”

“Yes! Of course, my apologies Cloud. I’ll let you get back to what you were doing. I’ll speak to you later.” Reeve hung up then, the sound indicating he had hung up almost cutting off his last word.

Cloud pulled his PHS from his ear, closing the device and setting it back down away from the bed. Genesis pulled him back against the mattress, pushing him flat on his back and kneeling over his prone form. “I hope we won’t be having any more interruptions,” Genesis purred, eyes half-lidded as he ran a hand along Cloud’s side. “You haven’t shown me all your tricks yet.” His last words were accompanied by a smile, a warm, lazy curl of the other’s mouth that stirred a warm feeling in Cloud’s chest.

Cloud leaned forward to take Genesis’ mouth with his own, reaching up to sink his free hand into long hair. He wrapped his leg over the other’s hip, rolling up into Genesis’ space with an exaggerated movement. He used the moment of distraction to flip their positions, forcing Genesis back against the mattress before pulling from the other’s mouth.

He stared at the other with lidded eyes for a moment, staring down at him from his kneeling position. He shivered at the feeling of the man’s hand coming to rest on his side, pressing into the warm weight.

“I’ve got a few more things up my sleeve,” he breathed, using his grip on Genesis’ hair to urge the man up to meet his mouth. “Can’t promise that there won’t be any more interruptions, though. They might need us to save the world again.”

“Well then, we’re simply going to have to make the most out of our time. Aren’t we?”

#strifesodos #cloud strife #Genesis Rhapsodos #FFVII #FFVII Fic Exchange 2017 #gencloud #my stories #fanfiction #fanfic #Genesis tries to help save the world #It works out as well as can be expected #This was fun to write #little bit of implied smut at the end #Skyee Writes

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thesilverthreadsmith · 4 years

Text

Mako-Tinged Dreams, Ch. 1

Green...green as far as I can see...the eerie, radioactive shade of mako that we hated so damn much…

Cloud’s eyes opened...well, one eye opened. The other was still swollen shut, though a light touch proved that by the end of the day, it would most likely be open again. He sighed and dragged himself up off the ground and out of his sleeping bag, groaning at the pain and stiffness radiating through his back and hips from the last few days of fights...and smiled weakly as Tifa’s gloved hand appeared in his vision, palm open and ready to help him up.

“...I owe you one.” He sighed, taking it and standing up, shaking himself all over to loosen up, and she just rolled her eyes and shook her head. She looked pretty rough herself, her legs heavily bandaged under the rough shorts she’d made from the remains of her pants, and he wished she hadn’t taken the brunt of the fires; her legs would be weeks in healing. Cloud grabbed up his pack as he followed her out, rummaging a bit.

“No, you owe me a lot more than that. C’mon, Vincent and Yuffie just got back with supplies; we’ve got bacon, eggs, and fresh coffee.” He let out a moan of thanks, and followed her out of the shelter they’d made out of an old Shin-Ra building to a very welcome sight; a proper breakfast, and Cid’s Rocket Fuel Coffee. Vincent passed him an empty mug and the steaming pot from the fire while Yuffie fiddled with their communications equipment, and Cloud took both with a grin, tucking his pack between his legs, and settled by the fire.

Cid was working on their dual pair of jeeps as he poured a mug full and took a plate, wolfing things down one-handed, borrowed from the Turks (and Rufus), doing the filter and oil changes while Barret worked on the mounted machine guns on top. Nanaki and Cait were both patrolling the perimeter of their camp, and Tifa sat down on Vincent’s other side, reapplying fresh bandages to the burns on her legs. Cloud gave her a sympathetic wince, and having found it finally, offered his Cure materia; she took it with a tired smile.

“Thanks…”

“Like you said, I owe you. How’s everyone feeling?”

“Tired, but we’re managing. The Turks are on their way up to join us for the last push, after that, we’re declaring Midgar a disaster zone.” Vincent sounded more than tired; he was gray from all of his transformations, and his red cloak had been abandoned a few weeks back for some of the heavy duty SOLDIER gear they’d found in one of the old barracks. Everyone, in fact, was pretty much in the same boat; their normal gear just wasn’t strong enough to take the constant monster attacks…

Constant, and draining.

The WRO’s Special Reclamation Team was the combined forces of the Turks, and AVALANCHE, and they’d spent the last two months in the center of Midgar’s ruins, battling the nonstop hordes of genetic horrors that were Hojo’s twisted legacy. Jenova remnants, mutations, failed experiments that were the next thing to immortal...It was heartbreaking, some of the poor souls they’d had to free. And infuriating; all of this, all because of one man’s ego… Damn you, Hojo.

“About damn time; just Reno and Rude?”

“No, Tseng, Elena, Cissnei too, and a few of the Old Guard are coming to help. They’ll be airborne while we’re on the ground; we’ll have full air support the whole way in.” Cloud let out a sigh of relief at that. The final zone they’d left for clearing was the hole Omega had torn out of the center of Midgar three years prior, and Vincent had been the main scout...well, technically Chaos had been, and between the eldritch creature and the dour gunman, they had a rough idea of how bad it was.

Actually clearing it out was impossible; the concentration of spilled mako, genetic monstrosities, destruction...all of it was just too much to heal quickly. Or even, really, at all; Cloud was not confident in their ability to do much, if anything, to help the enormous wound in the earth. As it was, technically, only Vincent and Cloud could really go safely into the pit, and that was...not entirely proven yet. Today would be that day... He drained his coffee and ate a second helping, though, grateful for the rest and the food.

“Hey, Spiky, ya up fer helpin’ me out?” He glanced up at Cid, who was covered in grease, the cast on his arm included, and couldn’t help but smile a little bit sadly. Cid had a broken arm, nose, head, and probably hand too, yet he was in the thick of it just as much as everyone else, and Cloud couldn’t say no. He got himself up and hobbled over, the mako in his body healing him faster and faster, but not quite fast enough...he dug around his pack a bit more, and found another Cure materia, and with a quick murmur, cast the spell over the both of them.

“Sure, whatcha need?” Cid looked a little more relaxed as the spell washed over him, and he sighed wearily, rubbing the side of his nose where the bandages met skin.

“Jus’ some help keepin’ the jeep up fer me to get the pan out from underneath…Thank ya, by the way...I kinda needed that.”

“It’s no trouble, Cid...Why don’t you let me get it, and go sit down? You look just about as bushed as everyone else, and you’ve got the worst injuries.” To his honest surprise, Cid grimaced and nodded, if a bit reluctantly.

“Ya kinda gotta point...thanks.”

“It’s no problem, Cid...go lay down and get some sleep, okay? You were up all night.” The older man gave him a surprisingly gentle shoulder clap, limping away from the two vehicles, and Cloud was grateful to see Tifa and Vincent both helping him into the building. He hoped that all three of them would lay down to sleep; Tifa had taken the night shift too, and Vincent had done the night patrol before meeting Yuffie with the supplies, and he knew they had to be just as drained as Cid. He smiled as Tifa cuddled up between the two of them, Vincent’s arm draped over her shoulders. It was so sweet, and he was happy for them; they deserved happiness.

He shared a look with both Yuffie and Barret; they nodded, and Barret gave him a cheeky salute, after which Cloud flipped him off and finished up both jeeps. An hour later, he grabbed his gear and got ready to head out for scouting. Fenrir was, sadly, back in Costa, so he simply strapped on his swords and checked his pack and comm gear. A quick test with Yuffie and her grinning thumbs-up, and Cloud was set to go. He walked out of camp before leaping to the first craggy remnant of a plate, and followed the path Vincent had left a few days before.

It was...quiet, out here. The sound of the wind, a steady trickle of liquid that he hoped was water down through the shattered ruins...occasionally, a soft shh-shhing of new grasses growing in little cracks and crevices. He passed by the sagging, fallen church that had been Aerith’s beloved secret, and he touched the gray wood of the doorway in fond, sad memory. It was no longer safe to go inside; too much damage, and too many years. It was so badly broken, almost near collapsing, though he could see the glimmer of her pool inside, the softest white glow a familiar sight.

“Miss you, Aerith…”

Cloud... Her voice was a balm, a murmur from the shadows, and he gave the remnant of her spirit a soft smile. Here, perhaps better than any place on Gaia, was the closest path to the unsullied part of the Lifestream. The others…?

“They’re doing okay. We...probably won’t be able to come back. Things are...bad here, I’m sorry…”

Hush...better that way....stay safe.

“We will. I promise you, we will.” He smiled as the pool shifted, growing, and a silvery figure came towards him, pausing just before the half-light outside the doorway. She was as ghostly as the Lifestream itself now, but she was smiling, just like always. “Would you like me to tell the others, give them a chance to say their goodbyes?” She paused, thinking, and nodded, hands clasped before her, and Cloud smiled.

Thank you...there is...old danger...ahead...but also...a friend... He blinked, but didn’t ask her to elaborate; she was having a hard time holding herself as it was, and he knew he couldn’t ask much of her. He’d seen her a dozen or more times around Gaia, but they’d never felt her, or seen her, as strongly as here, in the heart of her power and her love. Elmyra had never forgiven him for taking her after Sephiroth...To this day, he still blamed himself, despite everything.

“Okay. I’ll keep my eyes open, and let the rest know.” He earned a winning smile at that, and she vanished into mist, leaving him all alone in the shadows under the plate. Vincent’s path followed the safest, darkest route, and for once, Cloud wasn’t interested in testing the limits. The fallen plates were in various states of decay, the mako in the air and water and earth degrading the metals a great deal faster than most people realized. The temperature too, would change from one moment to the next, between freezing and sweltering, much to the team’s annoyance. They could see it, so close and personal now, and while Cid and Reeve found it fascinating…

He found it horrific. Cloud eyed the spidery patterns of rust and decay across one of the panels that Galian Beast had propped up days earlier, and pulled up his facemask when a too-cold gust of wind blasted him with a face full of fine, powdery rust. That triggered a nasty coughing fit, and he did his best to muffle the sounds, drinking a little too liberally of the cinnamon whiskey Cid had left him, and when it passed, continued on to the point where Vincent had stopped, surveying the area beyond the plate.

Most of the last scouting mission that had ended in Cloud’s battered body and cracked leg, Cid’s broken bones, Tifa’s burns, and Vincent’s latest transformation had been a nasty skirmish, and they’d retreated to call for aid from the Turks. The decision to hide hadn’t really sat that well with all of them; they were all fighters, used to running to the front lines. But...a lot had happened in a short time, and none of them were fully healed, even now; retreat just made sense. He tugged out the radio, and Yuffie picked up right away when he called.

“Hey Cloud, what’s up?” He surveyed the already decomposing bodies of the remnants they’d fought days before, and once again, cursed Hojo to the deepest depths of hell, because this was atrocity piled upon atrocity.

“I’m at the stopping point from a few days ago; it’s not gonna be safe for us to explore much more, and no one who’s unenhanced should. It’s...pretty bad.”

“Damn. Alright, I’ll let the others know. Anything else?”

“I’m about to send some photos to Tseng, then I’ll probably be on radio only for a bit. Want me to send them to you, too?”

“Nah, just let Tseng know. I’m holding the fort here, Barret’s running out to meet with Reeve, and Vin, Cid, and Tifa are all three out cold. Nanaki’s napping too, so it’s just me and Cait. We’ve got this, so you focus on exploring carefully, alright?”

“I will. Thanks, Yuff; I’ll be back before dark, I do not want to be out here at night. It’s...pretty damned creepy.”

“Preachin’ to the choir, Cloud, I won’t go any farther than this, shit glows during the day. Be safe, take it slow. Radio if you need help, I’ve got a direct line to the Turks, so they can swoop in and get you out of there ASAP.”

“Thanks, Yuffie, I will.” Cloud tucked the radio into his belt, and sighed through his mask, getting his goggles and oxygen mask ready and then Cloud pulled out his phone to snap a quick few photos to send to Tseng; it wasn’t ideal, but it gave Reno a starting point for piloting the chopper into the area. The message back was short and simple, just “Be safe, will land at campsite first, then find you. Keep the beacon on.” Cloud checked his tracking beacon, and relaxed at the stable, solid green light on his belt. He texted his thanks back, then tucked his phone back into his pack and loosed his smaller sword, leaving about an inch of blade free so that he could draw it fast if needed...and into the Pit he went.

The Pit was the twisted, broken remains of the central tower, the gaping wound deep into the planet where Omega had fallen, revealing the remains of Deepground, the many, many failed experiments...The whole area was almost a wasteland, it was so huge; the remains of at least two or three mako reactors, falling in on themselves, three fallen plates and the remnants of another...And halfway in, the gaping hole that opened into Deepground, not unlike the gates of Hell. White-hot mako seethed underneath it all, and he winced at the metallic stench, then started marking the trail carefully as he made his way around the fourth mako reactor.

It was agonizingly slow; most of the walkways were completely destroyed, and the remaining ones were in terrible shape, the mako vapors eating away at them. More railings and steps than he liked completely disintegrated at a touch or a step, and finally, he found a safe way around, making his way carefully into the lower reaches. Here, he actually needed his oxygen mask; the gases were just too much, even for his enhanced constitution, and he pulled out his radio again to let Yuffie know, not trusting his phone’s ability to survive.

“Yuffie, it’s me again.”

“What’s up? ...Are you wearing your mask?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty rough down here. Tell Tseng to stay back; I won’t be in here long, but I need to get to the base of the Pit and give it a look around, then I’ll head back. I can feel the mako burning now, and if I can feel it, it’ll hurt Vincent even. Heading down now, give me one hour, alright?”

“You got it. But only one hour; I don’t hear from you after that, we’re sending in the Turks.”

“Deal. One hour, see you then.” He sealed the radio back into his pack, pulled on his goggles and made sure his mask was in place, and started to ease his way down the side of the reactor. Here, he could use his natural abilities, since no one other than Vincent would follow him, and climbed like a monkey down, jumping and catching himself easily. It was...scary, and thrilling, and Cloud felt his blood heat with anticipation...when he paused, eyes narrowing as he saw something...unusual. Something that hadn’t been in Vincent’s initial Deepground report right after he’d returned from Omega’s demise. An old friend...

Tucked underneath an enormous slab of Plate Three, Cloud could see part of the original Shin-Ra medical facility. Somehow, it had slid from the central tower to the Pit, and while it looked pretty roughed up, it was still standing, and the heavy concrete looked more stable than the metal around him. And Cloud felt drawn to it. Something was there...and he had to know what. He climbed up a little higher, heading back up the way he’d come, and with a quick calculation, jumped from the top of the piece to land harshly on the rocks just below the building.

“Son of a bitch, that hurts…” Super soldier he might be, but those landings still hurt like hell, and he stood back up with a grumble, limping down the gravel to the building itself. He had to tear the remains of the door off to get in, and felt a cold wave of air blast over him. Thank Gaia for the mask; he could feel his eyes watering a little from the stench, and he pushed his way in, setting aside barrels, boxes, and massive ropes of rotting wiring as he explored the inside.

It, like many of Shin-Ra’s buildings, was a great deal deeper than the outside let on, and it was a difficult task to clear a path, but something called to him, something...familiar. A good familiar too, and Cloud found himself wondering if it might be Zack’s remains. He had buried his friend out on that frontier, or so he’d thought; certainly, the sword had remained there for several years as a grave marker, but Cloud was hardly surprised when he’d discovered an empty hole five years ago. Annoyed and aggrieved, oh yes, but surprised? No.

He’d known someone would come looking for the remains of a SOLDIER, be they Turks, Rufus Shinra himself, or Hojo...and his money was bet on the last. But that would explain the connection; all the SOLDIER candidates and leaders had a sort of...well, almost a blood connection, Cloud supposed. It explained how Sephiroth had found him, and vice versa, and how Zack had found Angeal and Genesis years before. And if all he did was lay Zack’s body to rest in Gongaga for his parents, then that was enough for Cloud.

He pulled apart another door, flicking on his chest light to survey the room, and sighed when he noticed the still glowing mako tube in the corner. Bastards...of course Hojo would have tried to reanimate him. Too bad...Zack had so many bullets in him it was amazing he still survived long enough to say goodbye. And I know I saw him in the void with Aerith; he’s dead, dead and finally at peace with the world. Still...it was infuriating, and Cloud made another path as he moved closer, feeling his anger manifest in kicks to the barrels, a few punches too. That sociopathic monster had lived long enough; he was glad Vincent had killed him at long last.

Finally, he was in front of the tube, and he felt his stomach churn as he peered through the dull green glow. It was definitely Zack alright; unsurprisingly, the mako had healed his body, and judging by the breathing tubes, Hojo had succeeded in reanimating his body at least. But power had been gone from down in the labs for the better part of a year now, and there was no indication of life signs, so Cloud sighed, brushing his gloved fingers over the dusty glass.

“...For what it’s worth, I’m sorry, Zack. I’m so very sorry. But we’re gonna get you home, buddy. Where you belong.” He drew his heavy knife and popped the clasp on the tube, ignoring the hiss and sudden gush of sludgy mako that drenched his boots and pants, and caught the falling body carefully in his arms. It was...a bit more awkward than he liked to admit, and he winced as he smacked Zack’s poor head against the casing twice, but he managed to get the body out over his shoulder, and laid him over a few of the boxes to wrap him in a tarp. Not the most respectable way to be carried to his rest, but Cloud really didn’t have a lot of choices, and at least this way, it would be less shocking…

He started at Zack’s feet, wrapping and binding him carefully in the tarp as he went, all the way up to his head, and Cloud paused to stroke back his long black hair, soft and soaked, those elegant features so still. Cloud turned to check the area again, checking the time on his radio...when he heard it. A rattling noise, followed by a soft wheeze, then slow, steady breathing...and Cloud whipped back around to Zack’s prone body, eyes huge and heart pounding as he studied the tarp, barely hoping...there. Zack was breathing... Zack was breathing! Not only that, Zack was sleeping ; Cloud knew that soft snore anywhere.

He didn’t know if it was a miracle, or if his best friend would wake up a monster, but he didn’t care; he had to get Zack back safely. He carefully checked the tarp, tying it enough that he could carry Zack back with ease, and pulled his spare mask out of the pack, pulling it on and putting the nicer one on Zack. The downside was that he only had thirty minutes to make it back to the safe zone; the spare tank was a small one, and this mask wasn’t as strong as the other, but Cloud didn’t really care; he could take it.

He levered Zack into his arms, and back over his shoulder; still not the best way, but he needed a hand free to climb, and he could move faster like this. Cloud headed back out at a lope, glancing around for an easier slope to climb...and that’s when he noticed the remnants. Genetic mutations spun out of control by the unleashed mako, the remnants were the bane of Midgar and Edge, and the one reason that reclaiming the ruins had been such a nightmare...and now, he felt his heart sink as he realized just how many remained.

Most were the hooded, ragged failures of Sephiroth; sickly silver hair and blind green eyes, their faces a hideous caricature of his unearthly beauty, clawed hands reaching out. He knew from experience now that scent and sound were their strongest senses, and while they were weaker than the three his team had fought before, and infinitely weaker than Sephiroth himself...they were more than strong enough in sheer numbers to take down even someone as strong as himself. That’s why Vincent was still so tired; he’d had to summon Chaos, the eldritch demon being the only thing that could fight them easily.

He swallowed, shifting Zack a little higher, and felt his heart rate ratchet up even more when he noticed them following the sound of the tarp, and carefully, slowly, he loosed his shortsword, taking a careful breath. Twenty minutes. Time’s wasting, Spiky. Oh, this is gonna suck so much... He crouched, just a little, and jolted forward at a dead run, cutting down the four in his path as he leapt up for the last walkway, and he had to stab one of the panels as his feet slid when he landed, panting behind his mask as he climbed for dear life now.

He freed his other hand after clipping Zack onto his armor, and just hauled ass up to the walkway, heart pounding as the monstrous nightmares howled and screamed at his heels, surging up, climbing one another in blind, rage-filled hunger...and Gaia, it was terrifying . He made it to the walkway finally, panting hard, his mask and goggles fogging with his exertion, and he took off at a sprint down to the safe zone, so sure that he could make it. I can make it...I can make it...c’mon, Cloud, just a little more…

“STRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIFE~!” The hoarse scream came out of nowhere beside him, and a dozen of the bastards flew out from under one of the plate pieces, slamming into him and Zack, and Cloud choked as he brought his sword up to guard, back almost bend double over the walkway’s railing. It groaned in protest, but Cloud was too busy trying to fend them off, protecting Zack while trying to draw his other sword. The remnants just hounded him, too far gone to be frightened by the slashes and his muffled yells, and they got in a dozen or more slashes with those poisonous claws…

And then the railing cracked. Cloud felt his heart freeze, and the biggest of the remnants snarled and launched at him...and then all of them were falling. The whole walkway shuddered and collapsed under the weight of all the remnants. Cloud couldn’t help the fear now, couldn’t fight the terror, and as the remnant tore off his mask, his cry for help was to someone long dead, someone who’d held the world safe…

And Aerith answered .

The whole of the Pit lit up, so bright it blinded him, and all around him, the Lifestream surged up and surrounded them. He jerked as the light caught them, and it was almost a blow in its own right, leaving him dazed, and Cloud blacked out, throat burning, Zack still in his arms...but Aerith’s gentle hand on his brow.

Rest, Cloud. He’ll need you. He’ll need you…

“...--ENO!! Get them out of here!”

“Tryin’, Boss, but the chopper’s struggling, and Rude can’t land her!” Cloud came to with a sob of pain, every nerve feeling like it was on fire...and he realized with a panicked start that he couldn’t see anything but white light. He tried to flail, shuddering as the pain rippled over him, gunshots sounding over his head, and Reno dropped to a knee next to him, and with a sharp word, cast Curaga over him, voice muffled in the mask he wore. “Stay with me, Spiky, it ain’t time for you to bite the bullet yet. Fair’s alright, he’s still breathing, how , I don’t fuckin’ know, but he is, and after the blow up in the Pit, we’re just amazed you two didn’t get fried.”

“Ah...Aerith…Aerith saved us...” Reno paused, and Cloud found his vision clearing, the panic fading as he tried to focus in on the Turk.

“...Well, that explains how most of those ugly fuckers died so quick. Tseng and Cissnei are holding back the horde, Elena’s making a bomb, and we need to get you two on the chopper so we can all get the fuck out of here.” Cloud nodded, swallowing the blood and bile back down, carefully sitting upright, and Reno helped him up, casting the healing spell again.

“Wait...don’ waste it…”

“Relax, my bat’s got four slots and only one’s Fire. C’mon, up you get, I’ll get Fair taken care of...oh thank fuck, Rude’s a fuckin’ gem. RUDE! COME HELP ME GET THE SPIKY IDIOTS.” Cloud had to laugh a little, blood trickling from his lips, and let Reno drag him to the chopper, Rude following close behind with Zack in his arms. Cloud glanced back, trying to focus in on the slowly retreating Turks...and that’s when the Lifestream flared again out of the Pit, Tseng and Cissnei yelling a retreat...but a figure stood there.

She still looked so goddamn strong, pink dress and that long brown braid fluttering in the hellish hot winds that whipped through the spires towards the chopper, her back to them and facing the monsters boiling up out of the Pit once again, her staff in hand as she brought it up...and that’s when he heard her voice, her real voice, for the first time since that fateful night.

“GREAT GOSPEL!” The heavens opened up above them, pouring down healing rain...and Reno shoved him into the chopper, the rest of the Turks piling in as the redhead wiggled to the front for the controls. They took off with a scream of the helicopter blades, and Cloud tried to reach out for her because she was real and she was whole...she was alive. But Tseng and Rude held him back, despite his pleas, and they fled Midgar as the whole of the place was consumed in a massive, ancient storm.

It seemed insane as they popped out of the clouds, into brilliant, blinding sunshine, and Cloud knew his face was soaked with more than just the rain...but as they headed towards Edge, the two jeeps speeding along below them through the remains of the city, he knew…he knew. Aerith had to have been planning this, to ensure that Zack escaped, that she could finish what she’d started with Holy. And he knew too that she wouldn’t let anyone into the storm until the Pit was healed...and that would take years.

“...Cloud…” Tseng’s voice was oddly gentle, something he’d never seen from the elegant, professional Turk, and Cloud took a little comfort that this had affected them too. He wasn’t surprised by it, actually; Tseng and the Turks had never agreed with the President on allowing Hojo so much leeway. Nor had they agreed to Gast’s and Ifalna’s murders, Aerith’s kidnappings...and given the way they’d thrown themselves into the WRO, even Reno, he was grateful for the change of heart. He took a deep breath, letting it out, then another; he had to do what he could to help Aerith, and right now, Aerith needed him to take care of Zack.

He turned now to the Turks, to Zack, and carefully undid the tarp around the SOLDIER’s head, Zack’s tanned skin pale now from years in mako and death, but his chest rising and falling, still snoring, still living. It was...well, he knew what it could be. He knew that there was a chance that when...if...Zack opened his eyes, they might be green and cat-slit, rather than blue...but he had to take that chance. For Zack, for Aerith...and for himself. He had his memories now, fragmented as they were, and all the guilt…

“...Cloud...he might not be Zack anymore.” Cissnei sounded so sad, and he nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat.

“I know. I know. But...I think Aerith led me down there. I know she knew about him, she just...didn’t have anyone to get him free. And if Aerith trusts that he’s alive, that he’s okay...then we might just see the one miracle Hojo’s bullshit ever created.”

“Even so...let’s get grounded before we wake him up. I won’t risk it in the air.” Tseng had a very good point, and Cloud sat back, watching Zack as they made their way to the main encampment out on the southern plain, Reno landing so gently it was barely a bump. He motioned for the Turks to go out first and eased himself out, still hurting, still a little blind, then scooped up Zack in his arms. They all moved to protest, and he shook his head gently; he had strength enough for this. “Where to, Cloud?”

“...Over there.” Cloud motioned with his chin, pointing to the small bluff to the north...the bluff where Zack had died. The first time. Reno and Rude went pale, and Tseng gave him a look he couldn’t quite parse.

“...If you’re sure. We’ll follow, you lead.” He nodded, and they walked into camp, Yuffie wandering up...then gasping, in horror.

“Cloud…Cloud, that’s…”

“Yeah, it is, Yuff. You don’t have to come with us, but...well, we might just have another member to the team.” She glanced up, dark eyes huge, and he gave her a soft smile. “Yeah. Aerith...well, Aerith saved our skins twice today. She’s cast Great Gospel on the whole of Midgar now, and she led me to him. We’re going up to the bluff to revive him...and if he’s himself...well, we’ll explain things. If not…” She grimaced and looked away...He felt a bit heartbroken himself, but waited her out, no matter how much he ached; Yuffie was the one other than Aerith who’d known Zack the best. Finally, she looked back up, tears glimmering in her eyes.

“...Okay. Let me get my shuriken.” She was but a moment, ducking into the tents, and Vincent came out, looking exhausted but armed, but calmed as she spoke to him; Cloud couldn’t hear the words, and he was too blind to lip read, but he knew what she was saying anyway. Vin glanced at them, red eyes taking everything in...then nodded, returning to presumably pass back out around Tifa. Yuffie came back up to him, her blade on her back, and nodded, taking a deep breath. “Sorry, Vincent was a bit annoyed…”

“It’s okay, thank you for doing that. C’mon. Won’t be long…” The walk was quiet, and Cloud let his feet lead him up the familiar, gentle slope of the bluff, once barren and nothingness, now a vast field of grasslands and wildflowers, a seeding project Reeve had started last year that had borne incredible yields. The first Buster sword, Angeal’s blade, stood despite the rust, the weather...and carefully, Cloud propped Zack up against it, taking the mask off and remaining crouched in front of him as the Turks ringed the area, Yuffie nervously almost hiding behind Elena, who in turn was protective of her equally tiny girlfriend.

Cloud carefully tilted Zack’s head up, swallowing, and took a phoenix down out of his pouch, the tiny red feather twirling in his palm as he licked his lips.

“Raise…” The feather became a glowing golden light that settled over his heart, and Zack’s eyes fluttered, his breathing labored...and he came to with a broken scream, blue eyes wide as his whole body spasmed. His eyes darted about as he fought to break free of the tarp, everything flooding his system in berserk mode, and that’s when Cloud cast Esunaga, the shadowy soft light soothing away every bit of panic and fear and fight. Zack settled back against the sword with an audible thump, panting...but those sapphire eyes, still glowing with mako at their depths, were lucid now as he took in everyone around him...then zeroed in on Cloud.

“...hey there, Chocobo-head.”

#threadsmithwrites #fanfiction #Final Fantasy VII #FFVII #the after years as I saw it happening #as canon compliant as possible #zackxcloud #vincentxtifa #cidxairships #yuffiexelena #rufusxreeve #more pairings to come

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s-ephiroth · 6 years

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Silver Birdcage [Chapter 25]

Greetings. It’s 4 in the morning and I’m having ice cream. I’m also updating my fic because that’s something one should do when one wakes up with a huge craving for ice cream.

Anyway, before I stop making sense. Your casual reminder that we have a suicidal character in this. Also I didn’t edit this because it’s 4 in the morning and I just want to update before I feel tempted to rewrite this entire thing tomorrow or something.

Onto it.

[From The Beginning] || [Current Update] || [Ko-fi]

He listened intently to the sounds as they approached the room, while staring distractedly at the bags he and Cloud brought along with them after leaving Cosmo Canyon; not that much clothing, but enough to be comfortable. Those took a little space out of the third bed in the room, away from the door that would open at any moment then. His shawl was folded neatly near those, along with a certain, charging Cait Sith.

“Yeah, he’s really okay,” he caught Cloud saying outside, “I mean, not okay because he’s dealing with everything that happened, but you get what I mean.”

Safe to be interacted with.

Someone yelled about that not making much sense, in a rather crass way, to which Cloud just laughed and concluded it’d make more sense after they all talked. The sound of his voice like that had something inside Sephiroth fluttering gently.

Tifa chose that moment to reappear from the bathroom.

“Well, it’s time… I guess,” she just said and sat down on one of the beds, doing her best to avoid as much eye contact as possible. He couldn't really blame her when he couldn't bring himself to make much eye contact without feeling weird, either, focusing on anything else — Cloud's warm and familiar voice among the others’ outside, footsteps, shifting around — just so he could find some peace of mind to prepare himself.

Sephiroth felt even less ready for it when the door opened, when the very first person he saw was the heiress of Wutai herself.

She turned around to say something to Cloud but was simply told by someone else to “just get in already,” which she did, calling Tifa’s attention for a quick hello but staying as far from him as possible. For her, it was something to tease Cloud a little with a harmless, unconscious Sephiroth around, but it was something else entirely to interact directly.

With each one who followed and took their places in the room, clearly avoiding to sit in the same bed as him, the little reminders of everything Sephiroth took from them seemed to haunt him even more than they usually did.

The fact that two, different colored Cait Siths were having some sort of family reunion on the corner didn’t help much with setting his mind at ease.

A blanket of silence covered all of them completely for a long moment after Cloud sat down by his side, eerie enough that he preferred to stare at his lap than at any of them. He’d never liked big meetings back in Shinra, nor saw the need for his presence in them. He wasn’t a board member, didn’t have much to add that would please said board members and Hojo was present in most of such occasions. They only made him feel overwhelmed. So longer after, away from that company and in the presence of different people, he still felt as though he would rather drown than have to bear the weight.

Cloud put a hand in his shoulder, effectively keeping him from drifting away any further, and assumed the leading role that anyone else in that room refused to pick for their own reasons.

“So, we’re here because Teef found something in the Shinra manor and because I’m now in charge of an oversized, sad ball of feathers.” He gestured at Sephiroth. “Ask me anything.”

That seemed to lift the mood at least a little bit. Just enough for a few of them to try to disguise any sort of laughter, Sephiroth included.

Cid raised his hand to ask, “Does he still have that long ass sword of his?”

“I don’t know. Sephiroth?”

“I…” He hesitated for a few seconds. While he was associated with Jenova, he could summon it out of thin air if it was needed. But Jenova was long gone, so maybe… “I’m not sure. I haven't tried to call for it ever since I woke up.”

“Try,” Cloud suggested, “To clear out any doubts as soon as possible.”

“...Here?”

He got nothing but a nod and some urging for him to stand as a reply.

That made him even more nervous than he already was, even as he took his distance to avoid any possible accident. Enough people had been stabbed by that blade as it was. To increase that number would be to increase his already countless sins.

He caused Masamune to appear with the same ease he had in the past; the weight of it gradually becoming real in his hand. However, once it was there, something quite… peculiar happened to it. Green light washed all over the blade and changed its shape, darkened the metal while coloring the edges a gentle violet and spreading silver details all over. A wing-like shape formed near the hilt, reminding him of Genesis’ beloved weapon.

Something about it felt… Ancient, in the way the Black Materia had felt in his hand.

“What the fuck?” Asked both Cid and Barret at the same time.

“I didn't do anything.” Sephiroth felt like clarifying, somewhat shocked, himself. “I just… summoned it.”

Something in the air carried a slight fragrance of flowers.

If he didn't know better, he’d doubt what happened, even if it had taken place before his very eyes. He suspected it had something to do with a certain someone handing over a familiar blade to him. Maybe that much was enough to change its very essence, to transform it into something new and to free all of them from the memories associated with its original appearance.

To make it a Cetra Blade.

He didn’t dare mention that, of course, as he realized that particular flower girl was still a sensitive matter for everyone present.

Cloud stood to take a closer look at it with the expression of someone who’d recognized something about that, even though he wasn’t saying anything out loud other than a comment or another about how the new blade seemed to be stronger than Masamune’s or how it suited his style.

Once Cloud seemed to have enough of it, Sephiroth let the sword fade away from existence once more, leaving nothing but dissipating black feathers in its departure.

“Alright,” Cid said once the two of them were sitting again, “so he still has a long ass sword.”

Tifa chose to ask what everyone was wondering about that.

“I suppose that if we take it from you, you’d be able to summon another one, right?”

Sephiroth nodded, though he seemed a little uncertain about that. He grimaced when realization hit him of why exactly she was drawing that conclusion, of a certain Masamune left behind in the Shinra building. He closed his eyes a little pained by that thought. Granted, President Shinra had been someone vile in life, but many people who worked at that place did so out of other options or due to Shinra painting itself for the masses as a good company. Oh, the things he did while associated with Jenova…

“I don’t intend to repeat any of what you saw of me before,” he said a little quieter than usual, “When I came back to my senses and I could see all I did, before Cloud helped, I… All I wished for was my death. Even now part of me still wants it, as punishment for what I took away. Because I understand my existence after all that happened will be a problematic one for myself and for others. But...”

“You aren’t doing that,” Cloud interrupted, “And you aren’t gonna sleep your life away as some sort of ‘closest solution,’ either.”

Vincent, who initially planned to just listen to the entire thing before offering any thoughts, had something to say when it came to that.

“I tried that. I can’t recommend it.”

“We can’t fully trust you just yet,” said Reeve through Cait Sith, “But I don’t think any of us would sit back and watch if that’s how you feel. If Cloud accepts you and if he nursed you back to health willingly, you count as Avalanche. I guess. So we’ll help.”

The entire room fell quiet, processing that. Well, it wasn’t exactly wrong, that. It was just… very unusual. Not that the way the others joined the team was in any way usual to begin with.

“I… thank you. I was going to say that, even if I really wanted to do it, I… I can’t die. The Planet doesn’t accept me because of who I am. It’ll either tear me apart or trap me in my own mind, and I don’t want to go through neither of those things again. So I want to help instead, if I can.”

There was a certain reason why Sephiroth’s eyes ended up on Yuffie as he said that, but it was something he didn’t feel quite ready to talk about with so many eyes on him and so many ideas already popping up among the others about ways he could help without possibly being recognized by anyone who could cause mass panic.

It was a good thing that they were distracted enough not to notice or comment on Cloud gently squeezing his hand and offering him a little smile before calling the others’ attention to the other things they had to discuss.

#sefikura #arkeefic #silver birdcage;#as a fun fact: if i put all i wanted to put in this chapter initially #it would be double the size #and it would be the second to last chapter #so it's a split #and we'll see if there are only two chapters left

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kalta79 · 7 years

Text

That’s A Wrap!

“Well, that’s fine. Hey, you’re my publicist, make it public that I’m just like everyone else, I have to work for a living like everyone else, that’s why I wasn’t on the campaign trail during the filming. Now I have to go to the wrap party. We’ll finish this discussion tomorrow morning, alright?” Elena hung up the phone and turned to her husband. “Are you ready to go?”

“Just a minute.” Rude grabbed the baseball cap he had bought after he picked her up from her doctor‘s office and shoved it on his head. Elena smiled at that, let her election staff complain about the movie only slightly improving her poll numbers in the target demographic, it had improved her in more important ways.

***

“Does this dress look alright?” Yuffie asked Reno.

“It looks as nice as the others did.” Reno gestured to the four dresses laying on the bed.

Yuffie frowned. He was back to being as distracted as he was when they first started filming, and she hadn’t missed how he kept looking at his watch. She was worried he might not forgive her for keeping secrets. He had come back to bed that night she told him the truth, which was a great relief to her, but things had been different since then. She was eager to get this wrap party over with and get back home to their regular lives, hopeful that would help mend things between them. “Let’s go.” Yuffie said, and headed out the door.

***

“Is that what you want to do?” Cid asked Shera.

Shera nodded. “Not only can I make more money as a gofer on film sets, the benefits are better, and it’ll be safer. Plus the variety will be a nice change...there are only three kinds of passengers to deal with as a stewardess: the drunks, the whiners, and the virgin fliers. The faces change, but not the personalities. It’s just the same old, same old…each film would be like a new adventure. The money we’ll get from Advent Children will let us put a down payment on a nice-sized house between town and the airport, right on the monorail line, so you’ll be closer to work, and if I need to fly out to film locations, it’ll be easier for me too.”

“I suppose you’ve got a house picked out already.” Cid said as he casually lit up a cigar.

“It’s got four bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, and a large fenced backyard.” Shera handed the flyer to Cid.

***

Reeve was ecstatic…Rude had called him earlier and asked if he was still available to be hired as a private driver, and promised to discuss terms at the party.

***

“Oh! I didn’t expect to see you until the wrap party.” Aerith exclaimed as Rufus walked into their apartment.

“You’re moving out?” Rufus looked the boxes everywhere.

“Yeah.” Aerith taped up the box she was holding. “That’s the last one. Oh, before I forget, here’s my share of the rent for the next two months.” She handed him a check.

“Vincent Valentine? The teacher? He gave you this check?”

“Once I get paid for the movie, I’m going to pay him back.” Aerith put her box on the stack, then got them on the handtruck.

“Are you going to move in with him?” Rufus asked.

“He feels I might get bored with him if I’m around him all the time, so we agreed on a trial period before he gives me his answer.”

“Answer? You asked him to marry you? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, though I bet he was. He’s been good for you.” Rufus had noticed the change in her wardrobe since she got involved with Vincent. The simple dress she was wearing now managed to be demure but extremely attractive at the same time. Aerith had shifted from nightclub to country club, and had quit pissing off every attached woman in the immediate vicinity.

“I could say the same about you and Scarlet.” Aerith smiled at him. She had noticed Rufus’ behavior becoming more mannerly, and Scarlet becoming less prissy. “Could you help me out to the van?”

“Sure thing.”

When they got down to the minivan she had rented, Aerith turned to face Rufus. “I would suggest that you ask Scarlet to move in with you, but I don‘t think she‘s the type.”

“Not without a wedding ring.” Rufus agreed.

“So propose to her! Who’d have thought that I’d end up with a high school English teacher who’s nine years older, and you with an older socially correct virginal nanny?” Aerith opened the sliding door and started putting her remaining boxes in the van.

“What?!”

Aerith laughed at the expression on Rufus‘ face. “You didn’t know? Boy, do you have a lot to learn about women!” She put the last box in the van, and then put the handtruck in as well before closing the door.

“I just thought she didn’t think it would be ‘proper’ for too much affection in public, or to be alone with a man without a marriage certificate.

“Well, I’ve got to go to Vincent’s and unpack and return this van to the rental place before the wrap party, so I guess this is goodbye. At least as roommates, I’ll probably see you at the wrap party and the premiere.”

“Good luck with Vincent.” Rufus told her.

“And you with Scarlet.” Aerith went to kiss him on the cheek, but Rufus turned his head, and they were both pleasantly surprised to feel nothing when their lips touched. “That was a naughty boy!” Aerith wagged her finger at Rufus. “You better wipe that lipstick off your face before Scarlet sees you.” Aerith got in her van and waved at him before driving off.

***

“Smile, everyone!” The photographer said as the cast and crew huddled around the wrap party cake so he could take their pictures. “Okay, now just the cast.” He snapped pictures of them, then just the crew.

“My face was going to freeze that way if I had to keep smiling any longer.” Yuffie commented to Elena as she massaged her cheeks to relax the muscles. “Why is Rude wearing a hat anyway?” Yuffie asked as she saw him talking to Reeve, who left after Rude handed him a piece of paper. She had been upset that the children weren’t there, but maybe it was for the best.

Elena smiled. “My official doctor confirmed my pregnancy this afternoon. And that there’s more than one fetus, but he didn’t know how many yet. Rude freaked out momentarily at the news and accidentally hit his head. He’s got a cut on this head that looks worse than it is, didn’t require any stitches, but he bought a cap to hide it instead of explaining it.”

***

“I’ve got something to do, I’ll be right back.” Zack told Shalua before walking towards the exit, stopping when he saw Sephiroth and his cousins. “Hey Sephiroth, I heard you want to be a director. You want to be my assistant for the next film?”

“Really?” Sephiroth was excited.

“Definitely. Talk to Shalua, she’ll give you the info.” Zack said, and then went out the door, heading upstairs to the special effects lab.

“Who’s there?” the man focused on something on the screen of one of the computers asked.

“Hey Biggs, I thought you’d be up here, since you weren’t downstairs for the pictures.” Zack said.

“Just making sure what you asked me to do is error-free. I don’t know why you wanted it done, but…” Biggs waited a few moments, then took a disc out of the computer and put it in a case before handing it to Zack. “There ya go.”

“Thanks buddy, now will you come downstairs and party with the rest of us?” Zack put the disc in his jacket pocket.

“Sure!” Biggs hurried out the door.

Once Zack was sure Biggs was gone, he found the files that he had burned onto the disc, and deleted them from the computer before heading back downstairs.

***

Yuffie suddenly realized she didn’t know where Reno was. Looking around, she saw him off in an alcove, talking seriously to Elena, who had a large manila envelope in her hands, which she handed to Reno. Full of curiosity and dread, she approached them. “What’s going on here?” she asked.

“Follow me.” Elena took Yuffie by the hand and led her outside. “Any minute now…” Elena said, looking at her watch.

Suddenly a fancy town car with tinted windows in the back pulled up to the curb, and Yuffie was surprised to see Reeve come out of the driver’s seat, and walk around to the back door facing her, and opened it. Her jaw dropped when Denzel and Marlene got out.

“Yuffie! Yuffie!” they exclaimed together as they ran to her, hugging her. “Reeve said we were going home with you…can we?” Marlene asked.

“What?” Yuffie looked from Elena to Reno as she held her children. Reno handed her the manila envelope, and Yuffie opened it, taking the papers out. “These are adoption papers…”

“Already signed and approved by Judge Gast. He’s an old friend of my family.” Elena explained as Reno took the children to their car. “What’s the fun in being a Mackintosh if you can’t throw your weight around? You helped me get a family, I can help you get yours.”

“Do they…” Yuffie felt herself getting choked up.

“They know only what you told them. Judge Gast was hesitant about signing off on this until they told him how nice you were to them during the filming. Now why don’t you go home and get them settled in?” Elena suggested. “I’ve been to enough socially required parties to tell you that there’s no reason to hang around now. Unless you want to get hassled by reporters, that is.” Elena went back inside.

***

Tifa wasn’t feeling much like a party, but she was determined to make the best of it. Cloud had shown up, with some girl who introduced herself as Lisa. She seemed to be quite hyper. It made her feel less guilty about attending with Tseng, but Cloud still wouldn’t talk to her unless he absolutely had to.

“How is your wrist, Barret?” she asked, seeing him alone at the punch bowl.

“It’s healed, and wearing that damned prop is over for good, thankfully.” he grumped. “Say, would you be interested in investing some of your earnings in real estate?”

***

“Um, I have a confession to make.” Rufus said as he and Scarlet were eating their pieces of the cake.

“What is it?” Scarlet was worried he was going to tell her they’d never see each other again now.

“Aerith and I were roommates, but for a one bedroom apartment, and we shared the bed.” Rufus admitted.

“Oh, I knew that.“ Scarlet breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

“What?” Rufus was surprised.

“You don’t know much about women, do you?” Scarlet asked, then realized his choice of words. “Were roommates?”

“Yeah, she moved out this afternoon.” Rufus looked over to where Aerith was trying to take some selfie pictures of her and Vincent next to what was left of the cake, but people kept coming to get more and ruining her picture.

“So what does that mean? Are you going to be homeless?” Scarlet asked.

“Oh no, I just…uh…was thinking that maybe someday, it might be a good idea to…uh…” Rufus wasn’t even sure what he really wanted to say, so he had no idea how to say it.

“Well, maybe someday it might be a good idea for me to give you an answer, once you properly ask.” Scarlet smiled at him.

***

“I’ve never worn a tuxedo before.” Vincent said, feeling uncomfortable to be so dressed up.

“Well, consider this a trial run for our wedding.” Aerith smiled up at him. “Everyone will be staring at us, so we need to look our best. And you do…I can‘t wait to see everyone ogling my handsome husband-to-be.”

“They’ll be staring at you, not me.” Vincent couldn’t believe how beautiful she looked in the formal dress she had picked out. It was cream-colored silk with a subtle floral pattern handpainted on it that gave it an Asian feeling. The neckline that was only low enough to be teasing with cleavage, especially with the black pearl necklace she wore, having a pendant that dangled provocatively between her breasts, and the skirt went down to just above her ankles. Brand name three-inch black heels and a evening purse that matched the dress completed her outfit.

“Well, they can look all they want, but only you get to touch now.” Aerith was about to kiss him when the doorbell rang. “That must be the limo the studio sent, let’s go!”

***

“The limo’s late!” Kadaj complained as he paced back and forth in front of the window.

“Might be traffic.” Yazoo said.

“Or construction, or an accident.” Loz chimed in.

“It’ll get here when it gets here. Just calm down or you’ll ruin your tux.” Sephiroth told Kadaj.

A few minutes later, it pulled up. “There it is!” Kadaj would have bolted out the door if Sephiroth hadn’t suddenly blocked his way.

“What are you doing?” We’re late already!” Kadaj exclaimed.

“I’ve got a confession to make. The limo’s late because it picked up a special guest for you. So calm down and don’t make a fool of yourself.” Sephiroth explained, then opened the door and serenely walked out to the limo, standing in front of the back door until all his cousins were there. He waited until he saw Loz discreetly get out his camera to begin the surprise. “In honor of your first red carpet as a major character in a movie, I present to you…” Sephiroth opened the limo door. “Your mother!”

Loz snapped pictures repeatedly as a slow flush creeped over Kadaj’s face and neck as his mother got out of the limo.

“Oh, doesn’t my little man look so handsome!” she exclaimed. “I was so excited when Sephiroth called and told me that you wanted me to come to the premiere with you. I wasn’t sure what to wear to such a fancy event, but he told me to wear my bingo best.”

Kadaj took in her dowdy floral print dress that resembled a muumuu. And her shoes looked more like slippers than shoes. He felt his face go numb as she pinched his cheeks. The whole ride to the premiere, he couldn’t bring himself to speak, but he was able to glare at his cousins. How could they do this to him today?

***

“The stars have started to arrive for the world premiere of Advent Children, the latest film put out by Avalanche Films. Everyone is eager to see the results the director, Zack Fair, was able to achieve with a motley crew of novice actors. With the exception of Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockhart, that is.” Celebrity reporter Genesis Rhapsodos spoke into his microphone. “Word is the well-known couple has finally called it quits for good. And here she is, Miss Tifa Lockhart with her manager Tseng.” Genesis hurried over to them. “Miss Lockhart, is it true that you and Mr. Strife are no longer together?” he asked, then shoved the microphone in her face for an answer.

A sad expression came over Tifa’s face as Tseng put an arm protectively around her. “We’re here for Miss Lockhart’s film career. If you have questions about that or her outfit, we’re happy to answer them. But her personal life is off-limits.” Tseng coldly told Genesis.

“Yes, my dress is a Rosso original, obviously. She made it specially for this premiere” Tifa referred to a fashion designer known only for working in shades of red. She modeled her dress for the cameras. It was dark red with a tight fitting bodice, only one sleeve, and a loose flowing skirt, embroidered tastefully with crystal butterflies. She wore a matching diamond necklace and earring set that had been a birthday present from Tseng.

“Oh, here’s the newly elected Mayor, Mrs. Elena Mackintosh and her talented chef husband, Mr. Rude.” Genesis announced into the camera, walking away from Tifa and Tseng, who went over to Tifa’s fans so she could sign autographs for them before heading inside.

“Mrs. Mackintosh, do you have any plans to continue in the film business?” Genesis asked Elena.

“No, I’m fully committed to improving the lives of the citizens of Midgar. And making Midgar more attractive as a filming location might help with that, I didn’t know how many people needed to be employed to make a movie until now.” she replied, flashing a smile at the cameras.

“Fascinating.” Genesis drawled, wondering why he even bothered asking a politician a question like that. “May I ask who you’re wearing?”

“Certainly, Nero custom-made this dress for me, to accommodate some recent changes.” Elena ran her hands over her growing belly, a genuine smile spreading over her face as she did so.

“How far along are you in your pregnancy?”

“I’ll be five months tomorrow.”

“Are the rumours true that you’re carrying septuplets?”

Elena frowned, and Rude stepped between her and Genesis, towering over the reporter. “Back off.” Rude said before offering his arm to Elena and leading her inside.

“Jerk…” Elena muttered under her breath. “That was a cheap tactic to spout a false rumour so I’d automatically correct him.”

“Don’t stress yourself out, Elena.” Rude said. “It’s bad for the babies.”

“I’m fine, I won’t do anything to risk them.” Elena told him as they took their seats. The studio had a special chair for her to sit in so she’d be more comfortable. It was also located closest to the ladies’ bathroom. Elena sighed as she gratefully sank into the chair. She was glad she wasn’t carrying septuplets. The quintuplets she was actually carrying were enough for her. She could already tell they had separate personalities based on the movement she felt in different areas at all hours of the day and night. The advantage of having so many children at once, there was no need to fight over names, there was enough to go around.

***

:”Good to see you again, Mr. Strife. Who is your date, and what is she wearing?” Genesis asked, putting the microphone in front of Cloud.

Lisa grabbed the microphone out of Genesis‘ hands, resisting his attempts to reclaim it. “I’m Lisa Fields, and this silk patchwork dress was made by my two nieces, Jean and Louise. Hi mom and everyone back home in Sioux Falls! I love you all!” Lisa blurted out and then gave the microphone back, following Cloud as he went to sign autographs.

“Yes, well, that’s very nice, I’m sure. Oh, and here’s the custom-painted limousine that is owned by the director, Zack Fair. Let’s see who is gracing his arm this time.” Genesis walked towards the limo with film reels painted on all the doors, and a director’s chair on the hood.

“Zack, we’re here. Zack! We’ve got to get inside.” Shalua half-heartedly protested his nibbling on her neck.

“Let me just get inside you first.” Zack said, sliding his hand up her thigh. “Besides, it’s always best to appear that you’ve got more important things to do than what you’re doing, and they won‘t start the premiere without me. You know that.”

Shalua had just started giving in to his desires when they were interrupted by a knock on the window.

“The world awaits, Mr. Fair. Care to come out and tell us what we can expect tonight?”

Zack and Shalua both groaned in disgust as they recognized Genesis’ voice. “I’m sorry, babe. I promise we’ll try again on the ride home.” Zack straightened his tuxedo before opening the door, leaving Shalua inside to put herself back together.

“So, how proud are you of this film?” Genesis asked Zack.

“All I’m going to say is that this will be a night to remember for years to come.” Zack smirked, then turned to help Shalua out of the limo, now that she had made herself presentable again.

“Is that a hickey on your neck?” Genesis held the microphone up to Shalua’s mouth.

“Let’s get inside now, Miss Rui.” Zack said, taking her hand and pushing past Genesis, not even stopping to sign autographs.

”Maybe we’ll have better luck with this next group.” Genesis muttered under his breath as he moved on to Sephiroth and the cousins, with a much older woman accompanying them, who stared around in awe at everything as she clung to Kadaj’s arm.

“Is it true that none of you have acted professionally before this movie?” Genesis asked as he approached them.

“Oh, they’ve always been little actors when they got in trouble. I remember their stunts when I used to babysit them when I would visit my sisters. This one was the sneakiest one though.” Kadaj’s mother patted Sephiroth on the arm. “Do you remember me having to constantly scold my little Sephy-Wephy?”

Kadaj started instantly feeling better as his mother started humiliating his cousins as well, but then she changed topics.

‘To all you single women out there, my son needs a wife. He likes sandwiches for lunch with the crusts cut off and hot dog casserole for dinner. He usually doesn’t eat breakfast. And when he gets sick or hurt, you just have to rub his big toes while reciting the Three Little Pigs to make him feel better.” Kadaj’s mother said directly into the camera, not noticing how her nephews were smiling.

“That’s very good to know, but…” Genesis started to say before she started again.

“Oh, and my nephews also need a woman…Sephiroth needs his food divided into bite sized portions before you give it to him, Yazoo will only take a bath if you sing to him while he’s in the tub, and Loz can’t sleep without a nightlight and his Silly Billy Goat stuffed animal.”

Genesis was feeling so embarrassed just by witnessing that scene that he decided to leave them alone and move on to the next couple. “And here is Miss Scarlet, being escorted by Rufus Shinra. Miss Scarlet, which designer are you wearing? I’ve never seen a dress like that.” Genesis remarked.

“This dress is…” Scarlet was about to explain her disdain for ‘fashion’ and that she just used the dress she wore to her high school prom, with the barest amount of alterations, when she heard her name being called. She turned to see Marlene and Denzel running towards her, Reno and Yuffie following at a slower pace. They threw their arms around their former nanny, and she hugged them back.

“We missed you, Scarlet.” Marlene said.

“Ah, here are the child stars of the film. Is it true your parents died during the filming of this movie?” Genesis asked Denzel and Marlene.

“Sir, please leave the children alone.” Scarlet requested angrily, tightening her arms around them as she felt Marlene start to tremble.

“How does it feel to have to have been adopted twice?” Genesis persisted, sticking the microphone in their faces.

Rufus and Reno started to charge Genesis, but Scarlet was quicker. Genesis wasn’t sure exactly what happened, but the next moment he was laid out flat on the red carpet and the right side of his face hurt bad, with Scarlet standing over him with a balled fist.

“A gentleman is never supposed to refuse a request from a lady. You sir, however, are no gentleman, so I don’t need to be a lady.” Scarlet declared, giving him a good swift kick in his ass with the pointed toe of her high heeled shoe.

Rufus stared at Scarlet for a moment, in awe at her sudden violent rage. He never thought she had it in her…when she went to kick Genesis some more, he reluctantly tried to stop her, and Scarlet accidentally kicked his leg hard.

“Oh, I’m so sorry Rufus!” Scarlet exclaimed as Rufus fell down on one knee, and something tumbled out of his tuxedo jacket pocket. “What’s that?” she asked and went to pick it up.

“No, don’t open it!” Rufus protested too late as Scarlet opened it, then dropped it in shock.

“Well, I guess it’s too late for the surprise I had planned for later this evening.” Rufus grabbed the little blue velvet jewelry box off the ground. “Since I’m already on bended knee, Scarlet, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?” Rufus held the box up, presenting her with a two carat diamond engagement ring.

Aerith and Shera, who had just arrived separately with their respective partners, squealed when they saw Rufus proposing to Scarlet, and hurried over to her.

“Say yes! Say yes! You two already look like those figurine couples on wedding cakes! That was so romantic…well, except for the whole beating up the reporter thing.” Aerith excitedly told Scarlet, hugging her from the left.

“You can have the wedding at our new house…it’s got a large enough backyard, and it’s fenced to keep out trespassers. Oh and the actual house is big enough for lots of guests too…please say yes, I want to prove to Cid that it can handle being a high traffic house for when we start our family!” Shera blurted out to Scarlet, hugging her from the right side.

Still on the ground in pain, Genesis brought the microphone to his mouth. “There you have it, ladies and gentleman, assault and battery with a surprise proposal right here on the red carpet. The whole world is awaiting Scarlet’s answer.” Genesis announced as security showed up to escort him off the premises.

Reno helped Rufus up, who kept his eyes on Scarlet, who remained stunned by it all. “Please say something, Scarlet.” Rufus pleaded.

Scarlet opened her mouth to say something, but no sound came out as she fainted. Luckily Aerith and Shera were still holding onto her so she didn’t fall onto the ground. “Is…is that a maybe?” Rufus asked, looking around at everyone for an answer.

***

Rufus carried Scarlet inside after Yuffie checked her vitals and assured him she was okay. The change in temperature as they entered the building revived her, but she was disoriented for a moment and thought Rufus was carrying her over the threshold.

“My husband.” Scarlet murmured, putting her arms around his neck. Then as Rufus put her gently in her chair, she remembered his proposal. She must have passed out, and she felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment. It wasn’t so much that he had proposed to her in front of worldwide cameras, it was that she had lost her temper and acted very unlady-like, injuring Rufus and forcing his proposal, then Aerith and Shera had mobbed her, and Aerith had whispered in her ear how much she was going to love having sex with Rufus on their wedding night, and it had been too much for Scarlet, especially when she couldn’t think of any proper etiquette to handle situations such as that.

***

“I don’t see Barret anywhere.” Tifa said, looking around at the other tables.

“I heard something that he’s got something in the works that changed his plans for tonight.” Tseng told her as he inspected the appetizers on their table. “Dammit!” Tseng suddenly swore, and Tifa looked sharply at him, then realized he was looking at something, and she turned her head to see an usher guiding Cloud and Lisa to their table.

“This is so exciting!” Lisa exclaimed as she and Cloud sat down at the table opposite from Tseng and Tifa. “Oh, I’m Lisa Fields, it’s nice to meet you.” She stuck her hand over the table to them, keeping it there until they both shook it. “I probably shouldn’t say this, but I’m so happy that you left Cloud for him.“ Lisa blurted out, looking first at Tifa, then at Tseng. “Otherwise I wouldn’t be here with Cloud,” Lisa paused to smile adoringly at him. “And you two look so cute together…you have matching hair!”

They all just stared at her for a few moments until they noticed a hush falling over the room, and saw Zack Fair walking up the steps to the stage with the huge screen behind him. Taking his place at the podium, he began speaking into the microphone.

“Thank you all for coming! Before we begin, the appetizers on your table were provided by one of our stars, Mr. Rude, whom you all know is a very talented chef. Those of you with allergies, the blue platters have nuts in them. The red platter is vegan, so there’s no dairy. And for the first surprise of the evening, I’d like to welcome Barret Wallace to the Avalanche Films family. He is now in charge of filming locations. For those of you who don’t know, he graciously allowed us to use his properties to film Advent Children. Let’s give him a big round of applause!” Zack started clapping, and everyone joined in.

Barret came out on stage, to the podium where Zack moved so Barret could use the microphone. “Thank you everyone. I hope our esteemed Mayor meant what she said, because I’m looking forward to finding many more good filming locations in Midgar.” Barret said before nodding at Zack and leaving to sit down at his table.

“And now, let’s welcome the man responsible for this all, Mr. Hojo!” Zack started clapping again.

After a few moments of applause, Hojo stormed to the podium, annoyed that Zack had taken so long to introduce him. “You skeptics who don’t think great film can be made without great talent in front of the camera, don’t understand the risks and experimentation needed to create cinematic history! Start the film!” Hojo yelled and headed back to his seat.

***

As soon as the end credits started rolling, Zack excused himself to Shalua. “I’ll be right back.” he said before quickly leaving the room and heading up to the projector room. “Hey, can you do me a favor?” he asked the worker.

“What’d ya want?” the woman asked as she took a swig from her soda can.

“I’m going to go get on stage for another little speech, and when I’m done, please start playing this.” Zack took a plastic case with a DVD inside out of his jacket pocket. “Thanks a million.”

“Whatever.” she said as Zack left, hurrying back downstairs to the stage.

“I hope you all enjoyed the show. I have one more surprise for you all, a special thank you to Hojo! ROLL IT!” Zack yelled, then went back to his seat.

Images of Hojo dressed like a baby girl complete with pink bonnet and slippers, in one of the actors’ trailers, appeared on screen. “Where’s that damned Shera with my bottle? I need a diaper change when she gets here!” His ranting was interrupted by a knock on the door. Hojo immediately curled up on the floor. “Gaga!” he exclaimed before sticking his thumb in his mouth.

“Stop this right now!” Hojo stood up so fast his legs were stiff and he hobbled to the podium. “This is a lie! I only recorded the actors in their trailers, never myself! And pink isn’t my color, I only wear blue baby clothes! You will never work in this town again!” Hojo yelled at Zack, unaware of the mob of angry actors that started heading towards him when they heard him admit to spying on them.

“Shame on you, you bad man!” Kadaj’s mother snapped at him, causing Hojo to turn to face her when he heard her, and was rewarded by being backhanded by her purse.

“Do you know the criminal and civil charges that can be filed against you for that invasion of privacy?” Elena’s eyes glinted dangerously as the actors backed him up to the edge of the stage. “Judge Gast would be very happy to rule over your cases.”

“You all are nothing without me! I made you all! Don’t threaten me!” Hojo turned to leave and fell off the stage. Yuffie ran to check him out, and then took out her cellphone to call 911.

“I have a broken arm and possible concussion at 5671 Silver Screen Drive, please send an ambulance.” Yuffie told the dispatcher before hanging up. “He’ll be fine, he’ll just need to spend a couple days in the hospital.” She said as she looked up to her cast members peering over the edge of the stage.

“He’s the one who will never work in this town again.” Elena stated, taking out her own cellphone. “Reeve, we’re ready to go.”

***

“Hey, can I grab a ride with you guys?” Barret asked Cloud and Lisa.

“Of course!” Lisa exclaimed. “Right, Cloud? Pleased to meet you, Mr. Wallace. I’m Lisa Fields.”

Barret smiled as he got into the limo seat opposite them. Cloud didn’t say anything, he had kind of learned that was the best course of action with Lisa, because she was such a chatterbox that he rarely had a chance to say anything anyway. He wasn’t sure if he had done the best or the worst thing in his life when he called her after Tifa confessed about her relationship with Tseng. He frowned over thinking about her with another man. As if divining his thoughts, Lisa took hold of his hand and squeezed it, then kissed him on the cheek. His frown faded as he thought about how the only way he could usually get her to stop talking was to have sex with her, which really worked for him except that he didn’t feel like actually talking then either. And she was a nice girl who was obviously devoted to him alone, which didn’t hurt one bit. He squeezed her hand back, wishing they could have some privacy right now.

“Wasn’t that such a romantic proposal on the red carpet? Do you think Scarlet will say yes?” she asked Barret and Cloud, who both just stared at her, then shrugged.

“I don’t even know her.” Barret said.

“Isn’t she a few years older than him?” Cloud asked.

“That just means Rufus really loves her.” Lisa stated emphatically. “They should rent a yacht and take a month long private cruise for their honeymoon, just the two of them and the world.” Lisa sighed dreamily.

Barret was relieved when they stopped in front of his house. That girl’s nonstop chatter, especially about romance, made him feel like he was trapped in a nightmare. How could Cloud stand her?

“Hey, this isn’t home.” Lisa said a little while later when the limo stopped again, this time in front of a classy hotel. “Why are we here?”

“You’ll see.” Cloud said, taking her hand and leading her inside to the front desk.

“Oh my God, this place is beautiful.” Lisa let go of Cloud’s hand and turned in circles, taking in everything in the lobby.

“I’ve got a reservation, Mr. and Mrs. Cloud Strife.” he told the clerk, as Lisa stopped moving and looked at him with her mouth open in surprise.

“Oh yes, the honeymoon suite.” the clerk said after typing the names into the computer. “Will you be using the credit card you reserved the suite with to pay for your stay?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, here are your two keycards, everything you requested is in the suite waiting for you. Enjoy your stay with us.” The clerk flashed an artificial smile as he handed Cloud the keycards and went to ignore him in favor of the next client when the other clerk, a woman, nudged him.

“What’d you do that for?” he asked his coworker.

“Don’t you know who that is?” the woman replied under her breath to him, before turning to Cloud and smiling winningly at him. “Please forgive him, Mr. Strife, he lives under a rock. I can’t wait to see your new movie!”

“No problem, Miss…” Cloud peered at her nametag. “Miss Crescent.”

“If there’s anything you need at all, please let us know.” she called after them as Cloud took hold of Lisa’s hand and led her to the elevator.

On the ride up to their floor, Cloud was pleased that he had managed to surprise her into stunned silence with his secret holiday he had planned for them. The elevator came to a stop and he led her to the door of their suite when she finally regained her voice.

“What is all this?” she squeaked out as Cloud opened the door and she followed him inside, staring at the rose petals on the bed and strewn around the sunken marble bathtub nearby.

“I planned this two weeks ago.” Cloud admitted. “There’s a wedding chapel on the first floor, fully licensed. Of course, this might seem less romantic to you after watching Rufus proposing to Scarlet, but…”

“Rufus has nothing on you!” Lisa blurted out excitedly as she flung her arms around Cloud’s neck and kissed him.

***

“Where is this?” Rude asked as Reeve pulled to a stop in front of an unfamiliar house.

“This is where Hojo lives. Give me your book of matches and stay in the car. I’ll be right back.” Elena put the matches in her purse and grabbed the two bottles of champagne that she had grabbed from the premiere party before managing to get out.

“Do you think the video recordings from our movie trailer are here?” Rude asked. Against his better judgment, he wondered what it would show of their attempts to conceive, and wished he could watch it just once. Of course he didn’t know she was trying to get pregnant then, he just thought it was due to the movie set atmosphere and wanting to make sure he wouldn’t be tempted by Aerith’s flirtatious ways with every man on set. All those mornings he had woken up feeling so drained from her when he knew the level of shape he kept himself in, made him want to see the video evidence of how she did that to him.

“Trust me. Just stay here, I’ll be fine.” Elena replied, and headed to the side of Hojo’s house. Peeking through a window, she realized it must be a guest bedroom. Breaking the window by hitting it repeatedly by one of the champagne bottles, she then broke open the bottles by hitting them on the window ledge. She doused the thick curtains, then threw the bottles into the room, one landed on the floor, one on the bed. Lighting a match, she threw it onto the carpet. “Let those video recordings burn!” Elena declared as she hurried back to the limo as fast as she could.

“Take us back home fast, Reeve, but stay under the speed limit.” Elena ordered as Rude helped her back in.

“What did you do?” Rude asked.

“What my pregnancy hormones told me to do.” Elena said with an enigmatic smile. “Oh!” She suddenly clutched at her stomach.

“What‘s wrong with the babies?” Rude paled.

“Nothing’s wrong, don’t worry.” Elena relaxed and kissed him on the cheek. “It’s just I think I have a boxing match going on in here.” Elena patted her stomach, then closed her eyes and leaned against her husband. “I’ll be glad when I don’t have to feel them fighting for space anymore.”

***

Marlene and Denzel had fallen asleep between Reno and Yuffie on the limo ride home, worn out the by the day’s excitement, which was a huge relief to Yuffie. Reno had been subtly pushing her to tell them the truth, but she kept putting it off, unsure how they would handle it. If Hojo had been recording her and Reno in their trailer, then it would have recorded her telling him that Marlene and Denzel were her children. She would have to tell them tomorrow before they found out from someone else. Yuffie hoped they wouldn’t run away when she told them…it had been hard enough losing them away the first time, it had taken a year for her to not hear Denzel crying for her when she gave them away every time she closed her eyes, and until the day they came back into her life, she still heard it when something happened that deeply upset her, like losing a patient.

***

“How come you didn’t tell me you were all playing such bad men in that movie?” Kadaj’s mother asked her son and nephews.

“You didn’t ask.” Sephiroth muttered, and she slapped his hand for his impudence.

“You asked for it…this was your idea after all.” Yazoo smirked until she slapped his hand too.

“I see I’m going to have to call your mothers when I get home.“ she told her nephews.

The atmosphere was far from cheery as the men all sulked and pouted while the limo drove to a hotel near the airport where Sephiroth had reserved a room in advance for his aunt to stay in overnight before returning home, and it didn’t get any better without her in the car. Kadaj was still mad at them for their prank, and they were all feeling upset to be treated like they were five years old again, and realizing they were acting like little children again didn’t help at all.

***

Rufus and Scarlet were silent as the limo started driving them back to their separate apartments, both lost in their own thoughts about Hojo‘s revelation that he had been spying on them. Rufus didn’t want any sex tapes of him and Aerith surfacing to ruin his new life. Scarlet was just upset at the thought of someone spying on her, it was just so…improper. She shuddered at the thought of someone watching her shower or change clothes or use the toilet. Scarlet felt dirty and violated, and she didn‘t know what to do about it.

“Would it help if I kill him?” Rufus suddenly asked, startling Scarlet, who didn’t realize she had spoken aloud.

“I don’t want to visit my fiancé in jail!” Scarlet snapped without thinking.

Rufus brightened. “Does that mean your answer is yes?”

Scarlet opened her mouth to say it was a slip of the tongue, but she looked at his hopeful expression and realized that was a lie, she did want to marry him. Scarlet nodded to answer him. “You did ask properly, after all.”

***

Tifa laid her head against Tseng as soon as they were in the limo, and his arm automatically went around her. “That was without a doubt the most interesting premiere I’ve ever been to.”

“Hojo will pay for what he did, don’t worry.” Tseng promised her.

“I’m not worried about that anymore, I’m worried if I’ll be able to fulfill my contract to film Jade Locket next.” Tifa confessed.

“You mean because of this?” Tseng put his hand on her as-yet flat stomach and barely squeezed.

Tifa smiled at him. Her pregnancy seemed to her as a blessing and sign that her life was exactly as it should be. She had tried on infrequent occasions to conceive by Cloud, hoping to salvage their relationship by having a child, but had never succeeded, and now without even trying, she was having Tseng’s child. And she was getting better film offers, and hints of her own TV show. “I don’t want to jeopardize our child.”

“Everything will be fine.” Tseng reassured her.

“Everything is fine.” Tifa corrected him as she curled up against him. She couldn’t remember ever being happier, especially because despite his sullenness at their table during the viewing, Cloud had occasionally looked at Lisa in a way that Tifa had once wished he would look at her.

***

“Well babe, I’ve got a promise to keep to you, don’t I?” Zack gave Shalua a wicked grin as the limo started heading back to Zack’s place.

“Are you sure we won’t be interrupted this time?” Shalua asked as he slid his hand between her legs again.

“Definitely. I gave the driver a hundred to take an extra hour on the return trip.” Zack said before kissing her.

Shalua enjoyed being with him, but she wondered how long it would last. She knew his reputation, and gave it two more months before he got bored with her.

***

“Why did you tell that Scarlet woman that we would have her wedding at our house? The backyard is only big enough for my workshop!” Cid protested as he and Shera were let off at their house, and the limo returned to the rental agency.

“You are not building an aviation hangar in our backyard! You can have a barbecue and a horseshoe pit, and that’s it!” Shera exclaimed. “We already talked about it when we signed the papers, remember?”

Cid wanted to sulk, but he knew he really couldn’t build his own plane, because there was no runway for him to take off with. And he liked grilling his food…playing with fire made him feel so manly.

***

“I bet Scarlet has already told him yes.” Aerith told Vincent as he unlocked their front door.

Vincent only nodded. They didn’t talk on the ride home, because they had both fallen asleep almost right away. He was a still a little groggy, and was looking forward to some more sleep. He headed straight for the bedroom, and Aerith closed and locked the front door before following him. “Care to help me take my dress off?” she asked him, presenting her backside to him as he sat on the bed taking his shoes off.

Once he unzipped her, Aerith carefully took it off, and rezipped it before hanging it up in the closet, then she sauntered over to Vincent. “Can I help you undress now?”

As they lay entwined a little while later, Aerith drew circles on his chest with her finger. “I’m glad you have tomorrow off, cause I was thinking we could try something new then.”

“What do you want to try?” Vincent was nervous…he was always worried that somehow he would disappoint her and she’d leave. He had been lonely when they met, but he had gotten used to it. Now he had gotten used to seeing her smile at him first thing in the morning.

“Getting pregnant.” Aerith informed him.

“What?!” Vincent was suddenly wide awake.

“I want to have a child with you.” Aerith calmly said.

“But we’re not married yet…”

“So? Think of it as getting more ‘street cred’ with your students.” Aerith suggested. “Imagine their shock upon realizing their stuffy and boring old English teacher is living in sin with a younger woman.” she couldn’t resist teasing him.

Vincent mulled that over for a moment because his students had been nicer since word got out that he was in an action movie, and when Aerith had occasionally dressed up in one of her clubbing outfits to bring him his lunch when he forgot it. And the thought that she actually wanted his child was amazing.

“If that’s not a good enough reason, just consider it lazy sex.” Aerith continued, trying another tactic.

“Lazy sex?” Vincent asked in surprise.

“Yeah, because we don’t have to take the time to take any precautions. We can just have sex whenever we want, and just enjoy ourselves.” Aerith started caressing his chest. “Let nature take its course…”

***

Scarlet sat in the special chair Aerith had told her to sit in, wondering why she had agreed to this. She had chosen Aerith to be her maid of honor at Rufus’ suggestion, he was hoping it would cheer her up some. He had been worried when he had seen an article in a tabloid at the checkout line about Aerith, someone had leaked her recent medical records, and told the whole world that she couldn’t have children. Rufus had called Vincent and got them invited over for dinner. Scarlet wasn’t exactly fond of Aerith, but she had been startled by the change in her. Despite any lingering feelings of jealousy she might have towards Aerith, she had to admit that the woman was naturally upbeat and friendly, but as they ate dinner, it quickly became obvious that Aerith was seriously hurting...she had only barely smiled once. So now here Scarlet was at her bachelorette party, wondering with a certain amount of dread as to what Aerith had planned.

“Don’t you think you’ve had enough coffee?” Shera asked Elena, startled when she saw the bags under the mayor’s eyes.

“Five babies who all have their own sleeping and feeding schedules, even with day and night nannies…no, I don’t think I’ve had enough coffee.” Elena said as she took a sip from her fourth cup. She wasn’t looking forward to Scarlet being on her honeymoon and losing her day nanny for two weeks. The only thing that she was looking forward to was Rude taking time off from work to be take care of their children in Scarlet’s absence. The nannycam would give her priceless entertainment as Rude found himself knee-deep in dirty diapers and baby spittle. After all, if it wasn’t for his stamina in the bedroom, they’d probably have only had two or three children.

“Even one sometimes feels like one too many when you‘re not sleeping.” Tifa chimed in, waiting to get some coffee for herself. She wasn’t really complaining though, she loved her infant daughter more than anything. She and Tseng had named her Joy, because that’s what she was to them.

“Are you okay?” Aerith asked Tifa as she took her cup of coffee and sat down in a corner, almost as if she was trying to hide herself.

“Just the regular obsessed fan issues that come with being an actress.” Tifa told her in an offhand way, not wanting to admit how worried she and Tseng were. Whoever had been sending her letters that seemed to get more threatening as time went on, they knew things that meant they had been spying on her, but she couldn’t see how, they were very careful at home, and when word reached Elena about the problem, there had been a sudden increase in police patrols in the neighborhood Tifa and Tseng lived in.

Aerith wondered if there was some truth to the rumours that the cast of Advent Children was cursed. Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo had died when a drunk driver hit their taxi on the way to the airport. She couldn’t have children, and now Tifa had a stalker…

Listening to Tifa and Elena talk about sleepness nights, Shera was glad she and Cid had decided to wait to start their family until they had enough of a nest egg to afford Shera’s maternity leave. She wanted to stay home in the final months of her pregnancy, as well as the first year of their baby’s life. So they wanted two years of her income saved up to make sure they were covered in case of emergencies. And tomorrow’s wedding would give her a taste of what babies were like in a social setting. She had suggested to Scarlet and Rufus that they get married exactly one year to the day after he proposed, so she and Cid would have time to settle into the house and then get it ready for the big day, and they had talked it over and agreed. It would double as a reunion for the cast of the film as well.

A knock on the door caught everyone’s attention, and Aerith smiled. “The entertainment’s here!” She hurried to the door and opened it just enough for her alone to see who it was, and when she just stood there, the rest of them came over, and when Tifa opened the door all the way, they all got rooted to the floor as well by shock and disgust.

“Ah, so we again!” Hojo exclaimed. “I’ve been hired to provide the night’s entertainment. Which one of you is the lucky girl?”

“Get out of here now!” Elena ordered, having found her voice.

“Uh-uh, I have a signed contract. If…” Hojo took the contract out of his pocket and looked at it. “Aerith Valentine refuses my services, the cancellation clause means she owes me $1000.”

“Let me see that.” Elena grabbed the contract out of his hand. “Dammit! He’s right, everyone. We have to pay him $1000 if we want him gone.”

Hojo smiled grotesquely as they pooled all the money they had and paid him off. “Pity you didn’t want to save some money by letting me perform. After all, I’ve already seen all you naked.”

Some time later, he woke up bruised in a nearby gutter. He was relieved to find his money safe. After he was blacklisted by the film industry, he come up with a new scheme…he’d get women to pay him to leave them alone. It was perfectly legal, and because each event he got hired out for only took him ten minutes at most to get asked to leave, he could easily get ten grand a night in cancellation fees. He’d be back on top in no time.

***

“Are you ready?” Aerith asked Scarlet as she helped the bride into her wedding dress, as Shera, Yuffie and Tifa got into their bridesmaids’ dresses in the adjoining room.

“I hope so.” Scarlet replied.

“Well, I never gave you my present at the bachelorette party last night because it wasn’t anything tangible, so I‘ll give it to you now.” Aerith told her.

“What is it?” Scarlet was nervously curious.

Aerith whispered into Scarlet’s ear so the bridesmaids wouldn’t overhear, and a few moments later, Scarlet’s cheeks turned bright red. “That’s what you can expect from Rufus on your wedding night, and what he really likes.” Aerith concluded. “Trust me, you’ll enjoy it.”

***

“Okay, I think the women are ready now, let’s get your bachelorhood over with.” Cid told Rufus.

“I’m ready.” Rufus stated.

“Are you sure the women are ready?” Vincent asked. All the women who attended Scarlet’s bachelorette party had come early, and their men had been worried about them, because when the men started to undress for bed, each woman’s face turned Christmasy, being an unique mixture of green and red coloring.

***

“Doesn’t she look beautiful?” Lisa blurted out excitedly to Cloud as they watched Scarlet walk down the aisle from their seats in the front row. “Of course, our wedding was the best.” She smiled at Cloud and kissed his cheek, then they sat down as Scarlet took her place next to Rufus. Lisa was imagining her and Cloud up there getting married again when she noticed something on top of the fence behind the bridesmaids that seemed funny to her.

“What’s that?” she asked her husband.

“Probably the paparazzi.” Cloud said, frowning as he watched it move as the minister asked if anyone had objections. “Oh shit, that’s not a camera, it’s a GUN!” Cloud yelled out the last word and total chaos erupted.

Yuffie, on the bottom step of the special gazebo that had been rented for the wedding, grabbed Marlene who was standing on the ground next to her in her role as flower girl, and threw her down on the ground, covering her daughter’s body with her own as a single shot rang out.

Cid and Rude had started running for the fence as they saw where the shooter was, who tried to escape by clambering down the other side. They just about vaulted the fence to catch him, and the guests heard sounds of a fight, then another gunshot.

“It’s okay, he’s dead!” Cid yelled over the fence. “Is everyone okay?”

The guests picked themselves and looked around, freezing when they heard Shera scream. Everyone turned in her direction, seeing Aerith and Tifa unmoving on the gazebo steps, covered in blood.

“Dammit!” Yuffie cursed as she examined them. “They’re still alive, but barely…somebody call an ambulance and tell them we’ve got two female gunshot victims with massive blood loss.” Yuffie looked up as Tseng and Vincent stood over here, looking dreadful. “Give me your jackets. They’re going into shock, and we need to keep them warm. Tseng, put your hands on Tifa hard to stop the bleeding. It looks like the bullet went through her before hitting Aerith. Both wounds need to stop bleeding.” Yuffie was more worried about what internal damage Aerith had, since the bullet had entered where it could damage multiple organs. Shera had brought a dozen hand towels, and Yuffie was doing what she could to control the bleeding with the help of Vincent and Tseng, though their hands were trembling so much that it was hard for them to keep the pressure on the wounds.

Finally the ambulances arrived and the police moments later. IVs were quickly set up for Aerith and Tifa before they were loaded onto the gurneys and into the ambulances, their men riding to the hospital with them, Yuffie speeding behind them.

Aerith briefly woke up during the trip when she felt Vincent’s hands take one of hers in a viselike grip. “You don’t look so good.” she told him. “You don’t have to worry, it’s just the movie curse, remember?” Aerith smiled at him before closing her eyes again.

***

The ambulance carrying Tifa pulled over, and Yuffie barely slammed on her brakes in time to avoid hitting it. She got out and ran to the ambulance. She banged on the door.

“What’s wrong?” Yuffie demanded to know when the door was opened by Tseng, who looked like he was going into shock as well.

“She’s crashing!” the paramedic tending to Tifa exclaimed as he got the defibrillator ready.

Yuffie was grateful that Elena had been able to get some grants to upgrade Midgar’s ambulances recently with better diagnostic equipment. She glanced at the monitor with Tifa’s dropping vitals clearly visible. “Charge to 300!” she ordered the first paramedic before focusing on the driver. “Get us to the hospital!” Looking at Tseng, she realized he was about to collapse from stress. She took out her cellphone and handed it to him. “Call Reno and tell him where I left the car.” Yuffie hoped that would distract him long enough to calm down.

They successfully stabilized her, and as the ambulance pulled into the emergency bay of the hospital, Tifa had regained consciousness. “Tseng?” Her voice came out as a whisper.

“I’m here, honey.” Tseng responded, squeezing her hand.

“Why can’t I feel my legs?” Tifa asked.

***

Two plain-clothed police officers knocked on the Highwind‘s door, and Cid answered it, staring at them almost rudely. “I’m Detective Hewley, and this is my partner Detective Hollander. We’re here to investigate the shooting today. May we come in?” The taller man asked.

“Sure.” Cid said as he stepped aside, noticing the shooter’s body being loaded into the medical examiner’s vehicle.

He led the two detectives onto the patio where all the guests and the wedding party were waiting to be questioned and released. The crime scene investigators were all over the two scenes, the first being the fence and surrounding area where the shooter was when he fired the shot that hit Tifa and Aerith and then was killed, the second being the gazebo where Tifa and Aerith were hit. The whole area was taped off.

“We’re trying to identify the shooter.” Hollander said after introducing themselves to the crowd. Hewley went to see what the CSIs had turned up as Hollander showed a picture to the crowd. “Do any of you recognize this man?”

“That’s Biggs!” Shera exclaimed.

“Biggs?” Hollander asked, writing the name down.

“He did the special effects for the movie we were in. Well I wasn’t in the movie, I was the on-set gofer, so I’d take him things every so often. Sometimes he‘d seem nice, other times he seemed a bit creepy.” Shera explained.

Hewley came back. “Well, there isn’t any evidence yet that there were more than two shots fired from the gun recovered next to the body. And the M.E. said from her preliminary exam here on scene, it looks like he died during a struggle. Anyone care to tell me what happened?”

“I will.” Elena said, walking out of the house holding one of her babies over her shoulder, obviously trying to burp them.

“Oh, Mayor, I didn’t know you were here.” Hollander said as Hewley asked her for her story.

“I was upstairs tending to the babies since Scarlet was their day nanny and she was the one getting married. I was changing a diaper when I heard the first gunshot and I ran to the window, where I saw Cid and my husband jumping the fence to tackle a man who was trying to run away on the other side, then that man collapsed. Then I heard Shera scream and Yuffie started working on Aerith and Tifa.” Elena told the detectives.

“Okay, well then we’re going to need to test Cid and your husband’s hands for gunshot residue.” Hewley said.

“Fine, but please hurry up, I’d like to get to the hospital now.” Elena requested as Hollander waved over one of the CSIs to administer the test.

“Ma’am, we’re also going to need to take their clothes for examination.” Hewley said.

“No one watches my husband strip but his doctor and I.” Elena coldly snapped. “My lawyer will meet us at the hospital to make sure we cooperate legally with your investigation. I shall leave you gentleman to it.”

***

The wedding party found Yuffie trying to calm down Vincent and Tseng in the waiting room, all of them still in their blood-stained formal wear.

“Any news?” Shera asked hopefully.

“No, they’re both still in surgery. I know both of the doctors operating on them, and they’re in good hands.” Yuffie replied. “I’m thinking Tifa will be out of surgery first. The bullet most likely missed any vital organs based on her entry and exit wounds.” Yuffie refrained from mentioning her fears about Tifa’s spinal cord being damaged, based on the bullet’s entrance wound being so close to her spine, and Tifa’s comment about not being able to feel her legs.

“Aerith Valentine?” a bloodied doctor asked as they came into the waiting room.

“That’s my wife!” Vincent stopped pacing and looked at the doctor. “Is she okay?”

“She’s very lucky. The bullet somehow didn’t damage any organs, it just bounced around inside her causing bruising on them, and it took us a while to find it. The blood loss was the main issue. We’re going to keep her for a couple more days to make sure there’s no sign of infection.”

“Can I see her?” Vincent asked.

“She won’t be awake yet, but she’s in room 219 if you want to wait til she’s conscious.” The doctor shrugged and left.

Everyone was feeling more hopeful as they waited to hear about Tifa, and a little while later her doctor came out.

“Miss Lockhart came through the surgery. She’s recovering from the blood loss, unfortunately the bullet nicked her spine, and there’s no way to tell if the damage is permanent or temporary. We‘ll keep her for observation for a week to have a better idea of her condition. She’s in room 335, but only immediate family visitors please.” he told Tseng, and as he left, Vincent came back.

“Aerith is asking for you two.” Vincent told Rufus and Scarlet, who looked at each other in surprise, and then followed him to their room.

Aerith managed a weak smile when she saw them come through the door. She was still quite pale, but the monitoring machines she was hooked up to all seemed to be alright. “Vincent told me what happened, and I was wondering if you two could do me a favor?” Aerith asked Rufus and Scarlet, who had to listen hard because she was still recovering from the anesthesia and was slurring her words a bit.

“What?” They asked together.

Aerith looked at Vincent, who went and opened the bathroom door, and the hospital chaplain came out. “I want you two to get married right now. You’ve waited long enough already.”

***

A few minutes later, Rufus and Scarlet walked back to the waiting room with bemused expressions on their faces.

“How is she?” Everyone asked them.

“She’s still weak, but I think she‘s going to be okay.” Rufus said.

“She had the hospital chaplain marry us.” Scarlet blurted out. After their first failed attempt with a fancy wedding with all the trimmings that ended in near tragedy, it felt so anticlimactic and unbelievable to succeed in less than five minutes with an impromptu ceremony by a chaplain who had been hiding in the bathroom.

The members of the wedding party congratulated the newlyweds, and Elena suggested they go back to Scarlet’s room in the Mackintosh mansion for their wedding night. “Everyone’s okay now, and you’ll be safe from the police and media there until this is all sorted out. Of course the babies are two rooms down, but that might remind you to be careful.” Elena explained. “Reeve, would you take them back home now?”

“Yes ma’am.” Reeve said, and led the couple out to the limo.

***

“This is a nice room.” Rufus said as Scarlet opened the door to her suite of rooms. “Wait!”

Scarlet froze mid-step. “What is it?”

“I’m supposed to carry you over the threshold, remember?”

Scarlet breathed a sigh of relief. “Don’t do that to me again, I thought there was another shooter!”

“Nope, just proper behavior.” Rufus picked her up and carried her inside, kicking the door shut and finding the bedroom. “Now it’s time for improper behavior…”

An hour later, a slow flush was spreading over her face as Rufus collapsed on top of her. “And that’s what sex is like.” he said as soon as he caught his breath.

“That’s not what Aerith told me it would be like.” Scarlet heard herself say, distracted by her body still tingling with excitement and pleasure.

“Well, that’s because Aerith didn’t rate the wedding night special. That’s something only you get.” Rufus explained, kissing his bride. “And I have quite a few other specials to show you tonight…”

***

“I’m ready.” Tifa told Tseng once she had her dress on. “Where’s Joy?”

“I’m here, Mommy!” She ran into her parents’ bedroom and plopped down on the bed. “Are we really going to a movie party?”

“Well it’s not really a party, it’s the 10th anniversary of Advent Children, the film I was making when I got pregnant with you.” Tifa lovingly stroked her daughter’s hair.

“That’s where that bad man who tried to kill you came from.” Joy frowned. “And that’s why you’re in a wheelchair now.”

“Just when we go out for long periods of time. I can walk with my canes around the house, don’t forget.” Tifa pulled her daughter into her lap, hugging Joy. Her daughter had been her main motivation for all those painful months of physical therapy to try and get some mobility back. No one but her family and her therapist knew what a triumph it had been to just be able to get out bed on her own steam.

“And don’t forget that bad man is dead so he can’t hurt your mommy anymore.” Tseng told their daughter as he checked his tie in the mirror. He would have killed Biggs himself anyway. The police had searched his apartment and found evidence out that he had been stalking Tifa for years before she started filming Advent Children, and that he was the one recording the stars’ trailers on set, turning it over to Hojo. Except for the footage from Tifa’s trailer, he had edited it to take Cloud and then Tseng when they were with her, and put himself in their place.

“And now it’s time to leave or we’re going to be late.” Tifa said, and Joy got off her lap as Tseng picked Tifa up and gently put her in the motorized wheelchair. “Come on honey, get back on my lap and Mommy will give you a ride out to the car.” Tifa patted her lap, and Joy climbed back on, excited as Tifa sped them through the house to the garage as fast as she safely could.

***

“You look so pretty, Mommy!”

Aerith nearly jumped. “Oh, Hope, don’t sneak up on people like that. Where’s your sister?”

“She’s having Daddy put her shoes on.” Hope explained. “Are you ready?”

“I just have to finish putting on my makeup.” she told her young daughter. It was hard for to believe her twin daughters were already five years old. The doctors had no explanation for how she got pregnant finally, it just became the accepted view that something happened when she got shot, and then was operated on, that made her able to have children. Aerith hadn’t needed to even think of names for them, Hope and Faith seemed perfect. “Alright, let’s go get your sister and your daddy, and go to the reunion…I’m sure there’ll be ice cream there.”

As they walked down the hall to the twins’ room, Aerith had to stop for a moment and catch her breath. Even though they said there was no permanent damage from the bullet, sometimes she would suddenly feel serious pain in the area the bullet had been found and removed. But if that’s what she had to deal with in order to be a mother, it was a small price to pay. Regaining her composure, she and Hope found Faith chattering on to Vincent about butterflies and fairies as he tried to convince her to put her dress back on.

***

Elena was grateful for the suggestion that getting a van for transporting the quintuplets around would encourage the voters to see her less as the Mackintosh heiress and more like them. Today not only did she and Rude have to go to the cast reunion, but Rufus and Scarlet as well, with their four year-old. Reeve was driving. An oversized passenger van is the only thing that was suitable for this excursion.

***

Cid and Shera were trying to get out the door with their two year-old son when Cid’s cellphone rang.

“Yeah? I’m off today, I’ve got…no, I understand. Fine, I’ll be there.” Cid hung up the phone, with an angry expression on his face. “Roberts is drunk again, and there’s no other pilots available to take his flight.” he told Shera, who sighed.

“Well, I’ll drop you off at the airport and then head to the reunion. But you’ll miss out on cake.” Shera told him.

“Save me some.” Cid said as they got into their car. “But no fruity cake nonsense.”

***

“They’re all dressed and ready to go.” Lisa said, referring to their daughters, as she walked into her and Cloud’s bedroom, where he was getting dressed. “They’re looking forward to being stars for the day. We’re not going to be late, are we?”

“If we are, it’ll be expected.” Cloud replied. He couldn’t believe it had been ten years…his relationship with Lisa had been such a whirlwind because of her naturally high energy level, that before he knew it, they were married, then she started getting pregnant about every couple years. After she gave him three children, he got a vasectomy so he didn’t have to worry about changing more diapers. He sometimes had the uncomfortable feeling that Lisa knew exactly how to manage him, but his marriage had been a happy one, so he never made an issue of it.

***

The auditorium was packed with reporters and fans, and the noise level subsided when the announcer strolled out on stage, stopping in front of the tables for the cast to sit at. “Thank you all for coming to the cast reunion of Advent Children.” he spoke into his microphone. “You will all have an opportunity to ask questions, but please be respectful of them, and no requests for pictures or autographs, there is time set aside for that afterwards. But you will be searched if you want your picture taken with one of our guests. Now let me welcome our guests, the cast of Advent Children!”

The applause was deafening as the cast filed out onto the stage and took their assigned seats, each with an assistant to fetch them anything they needed. Tifa was at the end of the table to accommodate her wheelchair. The video cameras were set up so the stars could be seen on the giant screen behind them by the attendees in the nosebleed section.

”Now who would like to ask the first question?” the announcer asked.

“Before we start, I’d like to request a moment of silence for my cousins who died just after filming ended.“ Sephiroth spoke into his microphone, and Shalua squeezed his hand under the table, sitting next to him as his assistant. When Zack started having starlet hopefuls come around, she had taken up with Sephiroth, who had constantly been around as Zack’s protégé. And she knew how guilt-ridden he felt about the prank he had pulled on Kadaj by inviting his aunt to the premiere to humiliate his cousin, and having his cousins die the next day.

The other cast members quickly seconded his idea, and after the cameraman was handed a promo group shot of Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo in their costumes, he put in front of the camera so it showed up on the big screen. The moment of silence was then started. “Thank you.” Sephiroth spoke again, concluding the tribute.

A hand was raised in the audience, and one of the security guard ushers handed the man a microphone to speak into.

“Do any of you feel there’s any truth to the rumour about the curse haunting the cast of the movie, given the tragedies many of you suffered?” Genesis asked.

A gasp was heard from an attendee in the front row, as Hope and Faith ran naked onto the stage, wearing eye patches and waving their dresses behind them, which each had a skull and crossbones drawn on them obviously with a thick black permanent marker.

“We’re pirates! We’re pirates!” they shouted as one of the daycare workers hired to take care of the actor’s children appeared as well, trying to chase them down. Vincent and Aerith each grabbed one of their daughters.

“There is no curse, just a blessing in disguise.” Aerith loudly proclaimed as she smiled at Vincent putting their daughters’ dresses back on them as they protested being clothed again. With a warning to them to behave if they wanted ice cream, Vincent handed them back over to the daycare worker, who took them backstage again to the temporary playroom.

“Where are Denzel and Marlene?” a reporter asked.

“They’re in college studying for finals.” Yuffie answered. She couldn’t believe that Denzel was getting married after he graduated in the summer. Yuffie found it hard to think that she might become a grandmother in the next few years.

Another hand went up, and when the microphone was handed to the woman, she rolled her wheelchair out into the aisle. “I’d just like to thank Miss Lockhart for her work on behalf of disabled actors trying to break into the industry.“

“Thank you.” Tifa replied. Once she was recovered as much as she was going to, she had been amazed at how hard it was to find acting roles without being able to walk more than a few steps at a time, and it went against her sense of fair play, so she had established an advocacy foundation to fight the idea that only people in perfect health could act. Her former cast members had supported her, and Elena had used all her connections to get tougher anti-stalking laws enacted. Tifa was willing to believe that Aerith was right about a blessing in disguise.

“Is it true that Avalanche Films and Shinra Corporation are involved in real estate disputes?” a reporter asked next, addressing his question to both Barret and Rufus. “My business is not limited to the film industry.” Rufus said. After he had gotten his business degree, he had decided to start his own company that his children would eventually inherit. Scarlet had given him a son that he hoped would want to follow in his footsteps.

“I signed all my properties over to Avalanche Films, we have all the filming locations we’ll ever need.” Barret added.

***

After the two hour Q&A session was over, a cake that Rude had prepared in secret was brought out. It was a model of the Bahamut summon with the faces of the cast airbrushed on the back. A professional photographer snapped a few pictures of the cake and the cast, then the right side of the auditorium was set up for pictures with the cast, and the left side for autographs.

“Where is Cid?” a little boy asked Shera as he approached her in the autograph line.

“He had to fill in for another pilot as we were leaving to come here.” she explained.

The boy frowned. “I wanted to give him this.” He held up a little model of the airship. “I made it myself.”

“Oh, that’s very nice. I can give it to him for you, if you want. What‘s your name?”

“Brian.” the boy said as he reluctantly handed his creation to her.

Shera whispered something to her assistant, who went and talked to Brian’s mother.

The autograph and photo sessions lasted two more hours, and then the cast headed over to Elena’s where the cast could catch up on the last ten years in private.

***

“You made it!” Shera exclaimed as Cid showed up at Elena’s estate.

“Yeah, I sobered up Roberts really quick after the first flight.” Cid replied with a nasty grin.

“Well, I have something for you.” Shera handed him the airship model. “A little boy named Brian made it for you. I got his address from his mother if you want to send him a thank you note.”

“I think we’re outnumbered by the kids here.” Reno told his wife as they put their eight year-old son in the playroom with all the other kids of their former cast members.

“Just remember, when we get home he’s going to be on a sugar high from the dessert buffet Rude made for the dinner party.” Yuffie reminded him.

They took their places at the formal dining table, and Elena showed them the monitor she had for the children’s playroom so they could all keep an eye on them while eating dinner. One of the maids would be bringing the children the dinners and desserts their parents picked out for them.

“A toast to the next ten years being as successful as the last ten have been.” Rude lifted his champagne glass.

“Hear hear!” the other cast members exclaimed.

Tifa took a sip from her glass, then suddenly spit it out. “Are you okay?” Tseng asked her worriedly. She just pointed at the children’s monitor in response, and everyone turned to look. Elena turned on the volume with the remote.

“We’re pirates! We’re pirates!” All the children were waving their dresses or shirts around, each marked with skull and crossbones on them, except for Hope and Faith who were just clapping and giggling in the middle of it all.

“There’s the next generation of actors.” Zack remarked as the parents just stared dumbfounded at the screen.

#ffviiac #ffvii #lemon #drama #romance #humour

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