DEDICATION: This is dedicated to all those naysayers who say that Tifa should have died in FFVII, as well as those who say the opposite. Whatever. In retrospect, I guess this is dedicated to every true-blue FFVII fan, who, like me, have spent countless nights trying to off those pesky Ruby and Emerald Weapons and find all the Enemy Skills and secrets.

DISTRIBUTION: Anywhere, I guess, just as long as nothing is changed and my name remains on it.

AND ON A COMPLETELY SHAMELESS, SELF-PROMOTIONAL VEIN: If you like this tale, Ranma 1/2, anime, or Ranma 1/2 fanfiction, drop by my webpage at

http://move.to/dynasty/

Okay, good. I'm done ranting. Now go read... ^_^

(He loves Aeris, not me.)

Down below, Cosmo Canyon quieted down as the shadows began to lengthen, chasing away the golden pools of retreating daylight as the sun descended over the faraway peaks of Mount Nibel.

(Not me.)

She started at the sound of soft warbling coming from Lance, the golden chocobo she'd tied to a nearby tree.

With tired legs, she scrambled up from the rocky precipice she'd been perched on and brushed absently at the back of her short black skirt. Trudging over to her faithful steed, she allowed herself once more to mull over this latest--and most painful--revelation.

She'd never seen it coming, really. It was just one of those out-of-nowhere discoveries--the kind that laid low for a while and then without warning smacked you in the face when you least expected it.

It had happened earlier that afternoon, after she'd locked up her new Seventh Heaven in Midgar. Cid, Vincent, Yuffie, Reeve--in his Cait Sith body--and Red 13 had dropped by for a sort-of reunion. Together with Barret, the seven of them had made their way toward Cloud's summer villa in Costa Del Sol, like they'd planned to do after three months apart rebuilding their lives.

Everything had gone smoothly, until they reached the outskirts of Costa Del Sol. From the Highwind, Cid had pinpointed a blond dot down on the terrain some miles away from the resort town. They'd landed the Highwind in a matter of minutes, determined to investigate.

They found Cloud, all right--in a depressed state, mechanically hacking at rocks with his Ultima Weapon, seemingly oblivious to everything but his train of thought.

They'd been concerned for him, of course. Barret, who was already accustomed to Cloud's random bouts of melancholy the first month after their Planet-saving mission, had suggested to the group that it was best to leave him alone and come back when he was ready.

She, of course, had disagreed. While she had been with him as well during those first few months, she'd assumed that this little display wasn't serious--after all, it _had_ been three months already, and the whole gang was here to celebrate the fact that the Planet was alive and that they were all alive as well--right? Right?

Wrong.

She'd gone up to him, touched him on the shoulder, and told him exactly that, in the gentlest way she could.

He didn't react the way she expected him to.

He had recoiled from her, as if her touch were the vilest thing he'd known. To add insult to injury, he'd literally shouted at her-- shouted at her words that would forever sear themselves in her heart.

"Alive? What's the point of being alive?! If you could stop bein' so damn optimistic and cheerful all the time, you'd notice the fact that one of us ISN'T alive, Tifa! Aeris is DEAD! And you know what? There isn't a damn thing I can do about it! She's dead--and there's nothing strong enough in this world that can bring her back!!"

Aeris. So _that_ had been the thing weighing down on his mind, all those months ago. Restless nights and fevered days--his entire existence, eaten up with his thoughts of her and how she'd died.

Aeris Gainsborough, the woman who had saved the planet--and paid her life for it.

How could Tifa Lockheart possibly top that?

Sure, she'd fought as well. She'd hung in there the entire time, without complaint, without protest. She'd lost her sense of innocence along the way, learning how to kill, how to destroy, with nary a thought. She'd faced up against a past she would rather have remained buried, confronted truths that she'd wished were lies, and stood by what she believed in throughout it all.

And what she believed in was Cloud Strife.

Apparently, it wasn't enough.

She could give her all, give up everything she had, offer her entire world and all there was in it, and it wouldn't be enough. Nothing would ever be enough.

Because Cloud would never love her.

Aeris had won. It was terrible to contemplate it that way, but she'd won, and Tifa had lost.

She brushed away the tears on her cheek, an impatient gesture, and mounted her gold chocobo.

Where would she go now? She certainly couldn't go back to Costa del Sol and face Cloud again--she was sure she would break down if she did. And she couldn't go to Midgar either--no doubt Barret and the others would go there looking for her--and she was in no hurry to confront them either. Not when they'd heard the words Cloud had flung at her loud and clear.

Where could she go?

She urged her steed into a light gallop and rested her face on its soft feathery neck, not caring where they were going.

Just as long as it was far, far away...

"Did you find her?" Cloud Strife asked anxiously.

Barret Wallace and Vincent Valentine exchanged glances, while Cid Highwind morosely stubbed out his cigarette on a nearby ashcan. Beside him, Cait Sith delicately cleared his throat before speaking.

"Naw," he said. "We checked everywhere 'round Costa Del Sol an' Corel. No sign of her."

"We even hauled our asses all the way back t'Midgar," Cid added, his gaze fixed on the bar counter. "Nearly turned the damn town over lookin' for her."

Cloud's countenance paled visibly, and he slid off the barstool as he leveled with his comrades. "Are you sure you looked everywhere? Anywhere she might be? What 'bout Mideel? Or Junon? Gongaga, even?" Try as he might, he could no longer conceal the growing worry in his tone.

"Whoa, whoa. Take it easy, Cloud," Cait Sith admonished, raising his hands in a placating gesture. "We'll find her. Hell, maybe she's headed home right this minute. I'm sure she's all right."

A flash of guilt wafted by Cloud's Mako-blue eyes. A brief, awkward silence descended on the party as they sat in the near-emptiness of the Costa del Sol bar.

"Ya know, Cloud," Cid spoke up quietly, shattering the stillness, "that _was_ a pretty damn stupid thing you did to her this afternoon."

Cloud didn't even bother defending his actions. He _had_ been rather harsh with his childhood friend, but then again...

"I know," he replied, running a hand through his spiky blond hair. "And I'm not saying that it was the right thing to do, but...I--I'm still having a hard time 'bout this. Yeah, I know it's been three months and all, but...sometimes, it still...it just gets to me, you know...?" He trailed off, realizing that he was probably babbling.

"Y'been thinkin' 'bout Aeris, haven'cha?" Cait Sith prompted him bluntly.

Barret waggled his thick eyebrows up and down at this, but other- wise he refrained from saying anything. Vincent looked up a little, and there was something odd in his dark eyes.

"Aeris?" Cloud repeated, his voice faraway.

"Aeris," echoed the little cat, rolling his eyes. "Ya know, Aeris Gainsborough? The one whose star matched yours perfectly? The one who died savin' the Planet?"

Cloud deigned to make a reply.

Barret couldn't withhold himself any longer, and he let out a derisive snort. "And whatta 'bout Tifa, Cloud? Huh? You jes' gonna leave her now? Whassup wit'chu, huh?"

"_Leave_ her?" Cloud stared at Barret, his face genuinely confused. "Of course not! I'm not gonna leave Tifa--I just don't understand how she could've overreacted like that! She oughta know that I didn't mean it that way. Aeris meant a lot to me, and I thought she knew that, too. I guess I can understand why she got upset, but still, she should know that already..."

The rest of the contingent shook their heads in exasperation. For all Cloud's sharp reasoning and strategic thinking, he could not seem to fathom the fact that Tifa Lockheart was head-over-heels in love with him. But as much as they were all tempted to just hit him on the head with that revelation, they all knew that it wasn't their call.

Barret was about to deliver a follow-up to his opening when suddenly Yuffie and Red 13--or more accurately, Nanaki--burst through the doors of the Costa del Sol bar. They were disheveled in appearance and out of breath, as if they'd been running.

"Yuffie! Nanaki! Did you guys find her?" Cloud queried hopefully.

The red-furred beast known alternately as Nanaki turned his unscarred eye onto the ninja Materia thief known as Yuffie Kusaragi.

"Sorry, Cloud," Yuffie offered apologetically. "But no luck. Me and Red looked all over, but we couldn't find her either."

"We did discover something, though," Nanaki volunteered. "When we conducted a search within the Highwind, the cargo man informed us that Tifa's chocobo disappeared shortly after she did, when he and the rest of the crew were out checking the Highwind's engine."

Cloud felt his chest constrict. When he and Tifa had raised chocobos over at Choco Billy's ranch, he'd jokingly promised her that if they ever managed to breed a golden one, he'd give it to her. So when the black one and the dashing one had given birth to a beautiful golden hatchling, he'd presented it to a delighted Tifa, who'd promptly named him Lance.

"Then that means that she could be anywhere," Cloud realized, the gears whirring frantically in his head. "She's got a whole planet to hide in..."

Cid straightened up suddenly, flinging his pilot's scarf over his shoulder. "Then what the hell're we waiting for?" he demanded. "Get off your sorry asses and keep on searchin'! Ya wanna wait 'till it's dark? Let's go, let's go, LET'S GO!"

The group got to their feet, momentarily revitalized by Cid's gruff announcement, and one by one they filed out the bar doors. Yuffie was muttering something about being always in a hurry, while Barret continued to berate Cloud for his behavior toward Tifa even as he exited.

Cloud was still deep in rumination when Cid caught him by the arm. "Cloud. Ya got an idea where the hell she might be?"

The younger man closed his eyes briefly, and then opened them. "Let's try Mideel," he answered, his jaw set. "That was where she helped me...find myself..."

Cid pinned him with a gaze that was sympathetic and patronizing at the same time. "You better hope so, boy," he said, and his tone was dark. "There's somethin' between you two, and if you keep up this kind of shit, then you're never gonna find out what the hell it is until it's too late."

The pilot was gone before Cloud could ask him what that was supposed to mean. So instead, he marched after him, his heart heavy, his brain whirling.

he thought through the haze of fog that had penetrated his mind.

(The Forgotten City...)

The girl slowly dismounted her feathery steed, her dark ruby eyes wide with awe as she took in her surroundings.

She really hadn't been paying attention to where she was going. Why should she, when she was past caring about anything anymore? If she fell off the face of the earth, who cared? _Cloud_ certainly didn't.

A wave of shame washed over her as she reviewed that last statement. It was unfair of her to conclude that he didn't care about her just because she realized that Aeris was the one he loved. Cloud did care about her--just not the same way she cared about _him_.

The same way he cared for Aeris.

Damn. Aeris.

Tifa had never hated Aeris. They didn't always agree on certain things, and of course, there was always that matter of winning Cloud's affections, but they were never enemies. And if Tifa was going to lose Cloud, then it might as well be to someone she knew and trusted--like Aeris--rather than a stranger.

Still, acknowledging that didn't make it any easier knowing that she'd lost Cloud to a dead woman.

Tifa heaved a weary sigh, squeezing her eyes shut. She was tired. Tired of running away, tired of being despondent, tired of everything in general. Tired of feeling...

She stood silently for some minutes just outside the Forgotten Capitol, investigating the rocky structures looming around her. Inwardly, she was grateful for the change in scenery. The tranquility of the Forgotten City was refreshing--a stark contrast to the turmoil that raged within her.

(Any special reason you decided to take me here, Lance?) she mentally asked the chocobo, who simply warked. Suddenly sentimental, she pressed her face into the animal's velvety side, and she felt Lance's head burrow into the crown of her hair.

Tifa pulled away, her eyes shining with unshed tears. This was the chocobo she and Cloud had raised together, and over time it had become very dear to her.

"Always there for me, Lance, huh?" she mused aloud, stroking the chocobo's golden beak.

The animal cheeped in reply.

With a tiny smile, Tifa let go of his reins and made her way up the shell path toward the large edifice to the left of the Capitol-- the building where they'd seen a last image of Aeris on the face of a waterfall.

Lance watched her go, warbling softly.

{"Alive? What's the point of being alive??"}

Tifa gasped and stumbled to her knees. The sound of rushing water roared in her ears as it streamed down around her in a liquid curtain.

{"If you could stop bein' so damn optimistic and cheerful all the time, you'd notice the fact that one of us ISN'T alive, Tifa!"}

Her breath came out in ragged gusts, and she put a hand on her chest, curling up in a fetal position on the cold, hard floor of the projection platform.

{"Aeris is DEAD! And you know what? There isn't a damn thing I can do about it!"}

Tifa clamped her hands over her ears. This was Cloud's voice--only it this time it wasn't Cloud was flinging them at her.

{"Aeris is dead--and there's nothing strong enough in this world that can bring her back!!"}

"Shut up," she whispered. An eerie feeling of deja vu threatened to overwhelm her. All of a sudden, she was submerged again in the Lifestream, searching frantically for Cloud, lost in a plethora of disembodied voices calling out to her...

Voices...

There were voices.

Calling out to her...

{"Nothing strong enough in this world..."}

{"...that can bring her back..."}

{"Aeris is dead and there isn't a damn thing I can do about it..."}

{"...but I would do anything...everything..."}

{"Why did _you_ have to live...while she had to die...?"}

Tifa reeled back as if she'd been slapped. The voice was Cloud's, but the words that spilled forth from everywhere around her weren't his. They were taking shards of his sentences and twisting them into something else--something hurtful and perverse.

"SHUT UP!! I DON'T BELIEVE YOU! THAT'S NOT WHAT HE THINKS OF ME!!"

Her voice echoed back at her from the unyielding stone walls, taunting her, reminding her that all she had for weapons were empty words and helpless rage.

{He doesn't seem to return your feelings, does he, child?}

{...you were always second best to her...}

{Just a little fool to believe...}

Tifa squeezed her eyes shut. "L-leave me alone. Just...leave me alone..." Her voice was barely audible over the gush of water. "Who are you? Why are you doing this to me...?"

The din finally died down, and finally a single, soothing voice wafted into her ears.

{Tifa.}

The young girl stiffened visibly, drawing up her long legs closer to her torso. God, she hated feeling this way. Helpless and afraid. Exhausted and beaten.

When she opened her mouth to speak, her voice was clear and steady. "You know my name. Who are you?"

{The same ones who spoke to you when you were in Mideel. The ones who screamed when we were hurting. The ones who congregated at Midgar before Meteor was about to strike. The ones you and your party were trying to save. In essence, we are the spirit voices of the Planet itself--the Lifestream.}

She was still for a moment, digesting this new bit of information. "The Lifestream? You are...the Lifestream?"

{Yes.}

Tifa rubbed her hands up and down her arms. "Then...what do you want from me?"

{We were with you when you found that boy--Cloud Strife, I believe-- and healed his mind. You cared very much for him, didn't you?}

The girl stared at the structure, studying the spectrum of color that was refracted from the water pouring down all around her. She thought she was beginning to grow numb from the pain.

{We can help you, Tifa. If you want us to.}

"H-help me?" She looked up incredulously. "H-how?"

{Do you love him, child?}

She closed her eyes. She'd risked her life for Cloud Strife. She'd stood by him even as he descended into madness, and she'd stood by him to help him out of it. She would come with him to hell and back and move heaven and earth for him. Did _that_ count as love?

"Yes," she admitted at last, her voice soft and throaty and heart- rendingly honest. "Yes, I do love him. I love him so much I..." She let it go. There were no words to describe how she felt. There would never be any words.

{Good. Now we must know. Are you willing to give up everything you have to make him happy?}

Tifa clenched her gloved hands tightly into fists. What was it with the third degree? What was it they wanted to hear? The truth, she decided. Nothing but the truth. "Yes. I want him to be happy. I don't care what happens to me, just as long...as long as Cloud's happy, then...I--I don't mind."

{Very good, child. And what is the one thing that you think can make him happy?}

There was only one thing that sprang to her mind. "Aeris," she replied, and a white-hot pain tore through her heart--what was left of it, anyway. "Aeris Gainsborough."

{Then you will help him have her.}

Tifa was only vaguely surprised to feel the sting of tears behind her eyes. She'd been certain that she had no more tears left to cry. "But Aeris...Aeris is dead..."

{Not for long.}

For a tense, fleeting second, Tifa felt a tug of doubt. And then, all at once, realization dawned on her. Her muscles sagged in relief. Her body relaxed. The tight coil in her belly dissipated into nothing.

How could she have not seen it before? It was all so clear now--so perfect.

{Very well, then. You know what you have to do.}

Tifa nodded as she languidly got to her feet, her usually animated face now devoid of expression. There was no longer any fire in her burgundy eyes.

What fire she'd once before possessed, she'd given to Cloud.

Just like everything else.

"Yo! Yeah, you over there! Y'all seen a li'l honey come by here lately, yo?"

Cloud watched rather absently as Barret charged up to a nervous- looking old man and began bombarding him with questions. Cid, Yuffie, Nanaki, and Cait scattered throughout the little town, targeting villager after villager with a rain of inquiries. Cloud loped sluggishly after them, submerged in a fog of self-reproach.

She wasn't there. He'd known that the second he'd disembarked the Highwind. But, for some reason, he didn't have the heart to inform his friends that. Maybe because a tiny part of him still hoped that his instincts, for once, were wrong.

A brilliant light startled him, and he lifted his head. His aimless wandering had taken him to the back of Mideel, right toward the edge of the crater that glowed with the green of the Lifestream.

(We both fell in here,) he recalled, studying the energy-filled pit. (I was incoherent, unable to tell what was real and what wasn't. I honestly thought that I'd never return from there. Guess that just goes to show how much I underestimated her. She brought me back because she believed in me. She's never let me down...)

Cloud balled his hands. No. He wasn't going to let it end like this. Not after everything they'd gone through together. Not after everything they'd lost together...

"This isn't over, Tifa," he muttered aloud through gritted teeth. "Not like this. Not for us." Suddenly flooded with some fierce, inexplicable emotion, he raised his voice, hearing it drift beyond the treetops. "You hear me, Tifa? I'm never gonna give up on you! You listening to me, Tifa, huh? I'M NEVER GONNA LET YOU GO!!"

"Feeling a little guilty, my friend?"

Cloud whirled around, fumbling automatically for his Ultima Weapon.

"Easy, Cloud. It's me." A red-garbed figure emerged coolly into his line of vision.

The young man relaxed his hold on the gigantic sword. "Vincent. Sorry 'bout that. I just...lost it there for a moment, that's all."

Vincent Valentine flickered his gaze over the blond youth. 'Lost it' was right, he mused, noting that Cloud's eyes were still a trifle wild.

"You look the same way I did when I lost my beloved Lucrecia to Hojo."

Cloud rammed the end of the blade into the earth and rested his arm on the handle. "And what's that supposed to mean?" he countered, more than a bit defensively.

Vincent strolled over, halting beside him at the edge of the crater. "You've lost someone dear to you."

A harsh laugh ripped from Cloud's throat. "Tell me something I _don't_ know, Vincent."

"No, Cloud. You tell me." The older man glanced at the pit. "You felt something for Aeris. I know that. But apparently, you do feel something for Tifa as well."

"Tifa?" Cloud's voice was incredulous, as if he'd never even before considered the notion. "Tifa's my friend. Hell, she's my best friend. Of course I'm supposed to care about her. It's just that..." He sighed.

Vincent nodded. "It's Aeris you're in love with."

"I--" Cloud stopped. _Was_ he in love with her? He'd promised to protect her always, hadn't he? He'd been feeling lost and depressed those three months after her death, hadn't he? Did _that_ count as love?

He was on the verge of replying when he became aware of a sound coming from the crater. He turned around.

The humming that usually issued from the Lifestream was escalated into something that resembled muffled screaming. The green mist that bubbled out of the pit began to shimmer.

"What the--" Vincent murmured behind him.

Cloud stood speechless, unable to move.

The screams built into a dramatic crescendo, and a form suddenly materialized within the verdant fog.

It was a form Cloud hadn't seen for three months...

"Aeris?" he whispered, as if afraid that speaking too loud would scare her away from him.

She stepped out from the crater and walked toward him, hesitantly, tentatively, as if in a dream.

His eyes glazed over. (No,) he thought. (It can't be...you're dead. I saw you die...I held you in my arms, but you were dead...)

Vincent was obviously thinking the same thing.

"Cloud..."

God, she sounded so real. So...Aeris.

(No...you're dead...)

Cloud swallowed hard as she advanced toward him. Chestnut hair gathered up into a pink ribbon, long twisting ponytail, green eyes, pink button-up dress with a salmon-colored pullover...

She looked like her. She moved like her. Hell, she even _smelled_ like her.

"Cloud, it's me," the figure breathed, reaching out toward him. Her fingers closed over his, warm and smooth and real.

Who else would it be?

"Aeris..." There was a lump in Cloud's throat, but he couldn't stop smiling. "Aeris, I..."

His words were interrupted as Aeris's hand snaked to the back of his neck, and suddenly she was kissing him.

He responded in kind, while in the background Vincent Valentine could only look on, dumbstruck.

Aeris Gainsborough had come back to Cloud Strife, and for the moment that was all that mattered.

"Look." Tifa Lockheart gestured toward the glimmering image, her voice filled with childlike delight. "Look at Cloud."

The hooded figure behind her obediently raised his head. Sure enough, Cloud Strife's face filled the void above their heads. There was a wide, glorious smile on his fine features. She'd asked to have one glimpse of him, and the Lifestream had granted her that.

"He's smiling," beamed Tifa. "He's so beautiful when he smiles, isn't he?"

{Indeed. Now are you satisfied?}

"Oh, yes." A flash of pain streaked by the girl's countenance as she witnessed Aeris maneuver Cloud close for a kiss. "I wish...I wish I could make him happy like that. I'd be so glad if...if I could make him smile...I've never seen him so happy..."

There was a slight pause. The voices of the Lifestream sounded strangely sad.

{Child, it is time.}

Tifa turned away reluctantly from Cloud's image, her cinnamon-hued eyes glistening. She swiped at them furtively with the heel of her hand, refusing to acknowledge them.

"All right." She straightened her shoulders. "Let's get it over with."

High above them, the Lifestream continued to hum.

"Aeris..." Cloud gently pulled away from her, cheeks flushed, eyes glinting with immense relief. "Aeris...how...?"

He was cut off for the second time as Cid, Barret, Yuffie, Nanaki, and Cait Sith barreled into the scene.

"Cloud! What the hell was tha--"

Cid's cigarette fell out of his mouth as he recognized just who that was in Cloud's arms.

"Well, I'll be a goddamn mother#$@!ing son of a bitch," he murmured.

Barret came up behind him, a similar look of disbelief on his face. "Ae-Aeris?" he stammered.

A sweet, coy grin played across the woman's lips. "Nice to meet you again, Barret," she said.

It was who Cait Sith closed the gap between them. "Ohmigod!" he crowed deliriously. "She's back! It _is_ her!"

And it was.

The next few moments were chaotic but blissful as Aeris was besieged on all sides by hugs and questions that she couldn't answer at once. Cid was scratching his head, marveling at the unpredictability of the world, while Nanaki received his customary pat on the nose and Yuffie checked the Princess Guard for any good materia. Cloud stood to the side, smiling proudly as Aeris was welcomed back to the world.

It was just too good to be true. Aeris was alive, she had demonstrated that she, indeed, returned his feelings, and everyone in their little party was now present and accounted for. Things couldn't be more perfect.

Then again, they still hadn't found Tifa.

"How did you come back?" Nanaki eagerly asked Aeris. "I mean to say, how could you have--there was no possible--"

Aeris giggled at the beast's youthful exuberance. "Oh, Nanaki, it's kind of hard to answer that. It was all a haze to me. I do remember, though, the Planet speaking to me even as I was part of the Lifestream..."

"An' what'd it say?!" demanded Yuffie, impetuous as ever.

The older woman considered this. "Well, I think it said something about coming back because...because I had to make someone happy..."

"Well, what about that?" Cid pushed back his goggles. "Even the Planet's lookin' out for your ass, kid." He elbowed Cloud, who reddened instantly.

"Y'all mean the only reason the Planet be haulin' Aeris back to the land of the livin's 'cause Cloud's got the hots for her?" Barret exclaimed incredulously.

"Barret, stop that," Cloud mumbled, somewhat mortified.

Cait Sith commenced a little jig. "Wa-hoo! I knew it! Didn't I tellya those two were meant to be together, huh? Didn't I tell ya? Heck, even the Planet don't want them apart!"

Vincent was shaking his head. "Maybe the Planet would be kind enough give me back Lucrecia once it sees how much I'm hurting," he remarked half-jokingly. Barret shot him a glance, obviously thinking something among the same lines.

"_That_ was why she came back?" Yuffie rolled her eyes. "That's so sweet--I think I'm gonna barf." She waved her arm dramatically. "Forget riding on the Highwind. This definitely takes the cake. Ewww."

Cloud chuckled in embarrassment. Aeris met his eyes and winked at him.

Was it true? _Had_ the Planet given her back to him because they were truly destined to be together? Was there really something to that whole "power of love" thing?

He wanted to think so.

He'd been so busy wondering at this extraordinary turn of luck in his otherwise catastrophic life, that he almost missed hearing Aeris's next words.

"...I guess our love was the one thing in this world strong enough to bring me back..."

"What did you say?"

Aeris paused in her narrative, training her bewildered green eyes on Cloud's distressed face. The others swiveled around as well, looking equally mystified.

"I was telling them about how I got--"

Cloud waved her off. "No, not that. The last thing you said."

"I said that our love was the one thing in this world strong enough to bring me back." She glanced at him again. He was staring at her so intensely that she felt a little uneasy. "Cloud? What is it?"

"That was--that was the same thing I told her before...before she..." Cloud trailed off. Maybe it was a coincidence. It had to be.

"'She'?" Aeris stared at him. "You mean Tifa?"

He stared back at her. "Yeah. Tifa."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I..." A row of furrows appeared on Aeris's brow. "I must have integrated your words into my speech..."

"You--you were there when I said those words to her?" He was suddenly overwhelmed with shame.

Aeris blinked. "No. I don't think I was...here yet." Her gaze grew faraway at the onslaught of memories that reaffirmed themselves from the farthest corners of her mind. "But I did hear you...before I came here. You were calling out to me...saying that I was dead, and that there wasn't a thing you could do about it. It was so real, Cloud. It was like you were actually there, with me, in the City of the Ancients--"

She was a little surprised to feel Cloud's hands suddenly grip her shoulders. "The City of the Ancients?" he repeated.

"Yes, the Lifestream showed me the city before I returned. That was where I heard your voice and saw Tifa standing near the altar--"

"Tifa?" Barret cut in, sounding flabbergasted. "Ya mean y'saw Tifa in the City of Ancients?"

Aeris nodded. "The Lifestream wouldn't let me speak to her, and before I knew it, I was in Mideel." She scanned their anxious expressions, looking befuddled. "What's the matter? Is something wrong?"

Nanaki hurried to explain. "Well, you see, Tifa disappeared on us a few hours ago. We are presently undergoing an extensive search for her, and that is why we were here in Mideel in the first place."

"Yeah, Cloud had this 'feeling' 'bout her bein' in Mideel," added Cait Sith helpfully.

"But instead, we found _you_," seconded Yuffie. She snorted. "I guess he wasn't too far off, though. Just the wrong girl."

"I see." Aeris clapped her hands. "Well, I suppose that means that we have a rendezvous at the City of the Ancients, then."

"All right, ya lamebrains, you heard 'er," Cid declared in his trademark gruff manner. "Next stop's the City a' Ancients--wait a damn minute, what the @#$% is Cloud doin'--?!"

Cloud already running toward the Highwind. The cold night wind stung his eyes and his chest throbbed with every step he took, but he was past caring.

He didn't know how and he didn't know why, but deep inside he knew that he had to reach the City of Ancients before it was too late.

(Too late...for what...?)

"Can't you land this thing any faster?" Cloud shouted over the howl of the wind.

"Fer cryin' out loud, kid! Those damned numbskull engineers're practically pissin' in their pants tryin' ta bring this thing down fast as they can without crashin' it!" Cid shouted back, holding on to the rail on the lower deck of the Highwind.

"Yeah, what's the hurry anyway?" demanded Cait Sith, latching his furry Mog arms onto the rail for dear life as the ship spiraled downwards.

Cloud gritted his teeth as the vessel shuddered. He couldn't answer Cait's question, mainly because he'd been asking himself the exact same thing.

Barret glanced at Aeris. "Any idea what bug crawled up his spiky ass _this_ time?"

Aeris brushed a chunk of brown hair out of her eyes. "I--I don't know! It's like he panicked when I told him that I saw Tifa in the City of the Ancients--" She gasped as the ship gave a sickening lurch. "Did--did something happen between Cloud and Tifa?"

"Yeah, unfo'tunately." Barret winced. "See, Cloud here lost his head for a moment an' started mouthin' her off, an' then b'fore we know it, she damn split on us."

Aeris nibbled on her upper lip, looking troubled. "He...he yelled at her?"

"Somethin' like that, yeah," Barret replied. "So now that li'l pointy-haired foo's feelin' a little guilty and--"

"CLOUD! CLOUD, WHAT THE @#$% ARE YOU DOING??!"

Barret and Aeris whipped around at Cid's shriek, just in time to see Cloud clamber up the railing and jump.

"CLOUD!!" Aeris shrilled, sprinting over to peer over the edge of the deck.

Yuffie slammed her hands over her face. "I can't watch!" she screeched, parting her fingers and opening one eye.

Cid joined them at the rail, spouting a stream of choice words. "Stupid, stupid little *!@$!#&$#!$@%--"

"*Uhf*."

Cloud grimaced as he hit the ground on all fours. The aftershocks of his landing were still coursing through his bones when he scrambled to his feet and hastened down the tiny shelled path that snaked all the way into the Forgotten City.

His nerves tingled with an urgency that could no longer be denied, and the voices of warning in his head had intensified into screams.

{...hurry, hurry, hurry...}

{Too late now, too late, too late...}

(Too late for what?)> he yelled silently. (Too late for _what_...?)

{Too late...}

And then he was there. The craggy formations of the Forgotten City loomed before him, still and statuesque and mysterious, divulging none of its ancient secrets.

Cloud didn't even spare them a glimpse, instead focusing on the road as it diverged into three separate paths. If he remembered correctly, the one on the left led to the Forgotten Capitol, the right led to the North Cave, and the middle one...

...the middle one led to the spot where Aeris had been killed.

It was deja vu all over again.

(Tifa...Tifa's here...)

Cloud exhaled deeply, willing his heart to slow down its frantic beating. Every fiber and synapse in his body fizzled with anticipation, and he had no idea why.

(Tifa...I feel her...she's here...)

"Cloud!"

He didn't even turn as Aeris, Barret, Nanaki, Yuffie, Cait, Cid, and Vincent approached him from behind.

Aeris jogged up to his side, concern registering on her pretty face. "Cloud..." She was panting, obviously out of breath. "Cloud, what's wrong?"

"I-it's Tifa...I can feel her..."

"Tifa? Somethin' wrong with Tifa?" Cait Sith babbled, elbowing past an indignant Cid.

The muscles in Cloud's throat worked up and down. "She--she's in danger..."

"WHAT?!" bellowed Barret. Tifa had been one of his closest confidants ever since she'd joined AVALANCHE, and he was very protective of her--and sometimes, in Cloud's opinion, overly so.

"Cloud, tell ya what," Cid began. "We'll split up and search for her. In the meantime, all you gotta do is calm down and take a rest--"

"I can't!" Cloud swiveled around abruptly, nearly bowling Aeris over in the process. His eyes, Vincent noted with detached concern, held that look he'd had when he'd been standing beside the crater, yelling for Tifa. "She needs me--I can't just sit around while she's--"

The voices came again.

{She's waiting...}

{...waiting...}

{...in the City of the Ancients...}

Cloud began to run.

At his heels were Aeris, Barret, Cid, Vincent, Yuffie, Cait Sith, and Nanaki. They all refrained from calling out to him, because they all knew that Cloud could no longer hear them.

They all nearly collided into Cloud's rigid form as they poured into the odd-looking dwelling at the end of the middle path.

Cid exploded. "Kid, what the hell's the matter with--"

He stopped as Cloud gestured numbly toward the little pond that resided in the middle of the corkscrew-shaped domicile.

The huge, unmoving goldfish that barred the gateway to the City of Ancients was gone.

center>* * * * * *

Tifa Lockheart licked her lips.

{Are you ready, child?}

She nodded mutely. Oh, yes, she was. She had never been more ready.

A beam of pure silver light filtered down on her from high above, causing her to shut her eyes. All around, the opalescent hues of the surrounding structures gleamed and winked at her, as if reminding her of the last time she had stood here, after Aeris had been murdered by Sephiroth's blade...

(No. Aeris is alive, and she's with Cloud now.) She felt the familiar sting of tears behind her eyes, but she willed them away. What was there to cry about? Cloud was happy. Wasn't that the thing that mattered the most?

Oh, but she wished that he knew how much she loved him.

{Let it go, Tifa. Just...let it go.}

She cracked open one eye and idly noted that a shadow had fallen across the pool of light that shimmered high above her.

{It's all over, Tifa. Let it all go...}

She could love him enough to let him go.

It was deja vu all over again.

Everything was the same--the pillar of light that spilled across the altar, the rainbow-hued texture of the surrounding crystal formations, the anticipatory hum in the atmosphere, the sense of helplessness that crackled like live wire amongst his friends...

Everything was the way Cloud remembered it, three long months ago, except for one essential thing.

This time it was Aeris Gainsborough who was hovering at his back, while standing there at the altar was Tifa Lockheart, her back to him, head held high, her mind a million miles away...

He knew what was going to happen. He'd seen it in his mind's eye a hundred billion times. He'd played it over and over in his head until he feared that his mind would snap. But his mouth wouldn't formulate the words.

He reached the steps to the altar.

And what happened in the next few seconds would be seared into Cloud Strife's memory for all time.

It all unfolded before his eyes like a movie running on slow motion. Tifa turned around to face him, and her soft, long hair swirled around her body. There was something descending from the void high above, hurling toward her, picking up speed as it came closer...

Cloud opened his mouth and screamed her name.

"TIFA!"

The fine, sharp blade of the Masamune sword found its mark on the small of her back.

The world screeched to a grinding halt.

He approached her slowly, his features frozen in shock.

He could hear his heart pound in his ears.

Tifa had lowered her head, gazing wonderingly at the steel tip that protruded from her belly.

"Oh, God, Tifa..."

His heart continued to pound.

She lifted her head, and her glassy mahogany eyes drilled into his disbelieving blue ones. He was astonished to see the flicker of confusion that crossed her face.

"Tifa..."

Pound, pound.

Sephiroth slid the blade out of her flesh, accomplishing the motion in a gentle, almost reverent fashion. Tifa slumped to the floor.

Pound...

Cloud dashed forward, but Sephiroth tossed away his sword and caught her first.

A rush of sharp bitterness filled Cloud at the sight of Tifa in Sephiroth's arms. As if on cue, his silver-haired adversary relaxed his grip on her and held the girl out silently toward Cloud. The blond youth gathered her up, not even caring that his mortal foe was kneeling at his side, unarmed and virtually defenseless. He didn't hear his comrades clatter up the stone steps behind him, didn't bother to answer when Aeris called out to him.

All he was aware of was the girl that lay in his arms.

Behind him, Sephiroth stepped back into the shadows and melted away.

There was no gash, no wound, no blood.

Too little air.

Tifa shuddered violently. She was dead, wasn't she? She _had_ to be dead. Aeris had been stabbed the same way, and she'd died immediately and without mercy. Why wasn't she dead yet?

She heard his voice as if it had come from an enormous distance.

"Tifa...Tifa, wake up..."

She clawed her way up from the umbra she'd been submerged in and gasped for air.

"Tifa..."

With great difficulty, she opened her eyes.

And found herself two inches away from Cloud Strife's face.

His breath caught in his throat as she stared at him, and a huge, resplendent smile appeared instantly on his lips.

"Hey, there," he said, his voice cracking a little.

Tifa shifted, noticing dimly that she was lying on his lap, his arm tucked firmly behind her back. His free hand moved restlessly against her bare shoulder. She coughed. "Cloud...how did you know where I--"

"Well, I called ahead, and they told me the City of Ancients had a reservation for one Tifa Lockheart," he joked weakly, trying to inject a bit of humor into his tone. A little embarrassed, he let his thumb stroke her cheek. "Hey, Tifa, rest. Just rest. Okay? We're here. We're all here."

Cid genuflected beside Cloud, brushing her damp bangs away from her clammy forehead. "Tifa, listen. There's something you ought to know. You know we're all here, right? Of _course_ you do. Tifa, look. There's Barret, and Cait, and Nanaki, and Vincent, even Yuffie and--and Aeris's here, too. She's back, Tifa; she's come back to us..."

At this, a familiar form materialized beside Cid, as if from thin air.

Aeris Gainsborough.

Of course.

Tifa surveyed them all, a rush of warmth coursing through her. They all looked so concerned for her, although she could tell that they were battling to remain strong and stoic in the face of her deteriorating condition. Her lungs hurt every time she inhaled--a motion that was getting ever harder to perform--but even so she felt content. Her friends were here--all of them, and they were by her side. There was nothing more she could ask for.

Still...

"Cloud." A violent cough racked her chest.

"Tifa." He lay the back of his palm against her face. "Tifa, don't talk. Please. Everything's gonna be all right, okay?"

"You heard 'im, honey," soothed Barret. "You gonna pull through. Vincent's gettin' the Restore materia. We gonna fix y'all up good, y'hear?"

Vincent hurried to the ailing girl's side with the green orb in his hands. He had barely begun to channel the materia's healing powers into her body when she suddenly waved him away.

"No."

Nanaki regarded her in amazement. "But Tifa," he argued, "we must heal you..."

"It won't work." God, her voice sounded so weak, so tiny. Nearly inaudible. "It's too late for that now, don't you see?"

There was a stunned pause, and then a look of fierceness suddenly stormed into Cloud's gaze. "No." He tightened his hold around her. "No, it's not. Don't say that, Tifa! You're supposed to be the optimistic one--and I'm the one who's supposed to say those kinds of things..."

He knew he was babbling then, but he didn't give a damn this time. Tifa wasn't serious. She _couldn't_ be serious. She'd survived worse things than this, hadn't she? The bridge on Mt. Nibel had collapsed under her feet and she'd fallen down the chasm, but she'd lived. Sephiroth had slashed her when she was fifteen, and she'd lived. She'd been imprisoned in a gas chamber without anyone around to help her, but she'd lived. She'd fought by his side against the Diamond, Ruby, and Emerald Weapons, and she'd lived. She was one of the most resilient people he'd ever known. She couldn't die--not now. Not after everything she'd survived against. Not after everything they'd been through together...

And then, all of a sudden, it all came to him.

"You...knew this was going to happen, didn't you?" His words were quiet, collected, but underneath them Tifa could sense an underlying anger, a righteous indignation that simmered just beneath his composed surface. "You decided to exchange your soul for Aeris, didn't you? You struck some sort of deal--and decided to give up your life so that she could have hers back!"

"Cloud..." Aeris laid a hand on his shoulder. "Cloud, please..."

Cloud turned his head away from her, not wanting anyone to see his wall of calm finally crumbling down. "I can't believe you did this, Tifa," he stammered. "I can't believe you--why, Tifa?" His voice was hoarse, pleading. "Why...?"

Her words were like roughened silk, like textured satin. "Cloud..."

He succumbed at last, and his eyes met hers--his agonized blues meeting her brown ones. She was looking at him now with an intensity that made him shiver, and a clearness that caught him off-guard.

And there it was. His answer.

It was all there in her eyes.

(She loves me.) The realization hit him with all the force of a bullet, wedging itself deep into his heart, causing him to reel backwards--as if mortally wounded, as if intoxicated.

(She _loves_ me.) All those years of self-loathing, of doubt, of incertitude...

(She loves _me_.) All those years of pushing himself to the limits, trying to prove himself worthy to her, trying to make her understand that he was just as good, if not better, than Johnny, or Zack, or anyone else...

All those years, all rendered insignificant in the light of her silent admission.

Part of him refused to believe her. She _couldn't_ possibly be in love with _him_. He was too big a risk; he had too many demons. He was bitter and lonely and self-destructive. There were plenty of other men who deserved her more than he did...

And yet, a tiny part of him desperately wanted to believe otherwise.

"Tifa..." He caressed her cheek with his knuckles, blinking rapidly to keep back the moisture that filled his eyes.

She moaned, a low, awful rattling sound surging from deep within her throat.

"Tifa, no. Stay with me." He was rocking her like a baby in need of comfort. "I didn't mean what I said, Tifa. You know that, right? Right?"

The others watched, too numb to say anything. Aeris, in particular, sat next to Cloud, her arm touching his, and yet she might as well have been nonexistent to him. Her pale cheeks were streaked with rivulets of tears.

"I'm sorry, Tifa. You know I'm sorry. I was stupid to say that to you...that's the way I always am, you know. Stupid. That's me--a stupid little puppet."

Something was stinging the back of his eyelids.

"I never wanted to hurt you, Tifa. Honest to God, that's the last thing I ever want to do..."

(Don't. Don't hurt her anymore. She's been hurt so much already... why does she still have to hurt? It isn't fair...please. _Please_. I'll do anything. Don't let her leave me. I can't live without her. I _won't_ live without her...)

"Don't go, Tifa. Don't go. Please. I need you with me, Tifa--do you understand? I need you with me...I..."

(I what...?)

{You love her.}

Did he really?

She was the reason he'd departed Nibelhelm to join Shin-Ra in the first place. The reason why he'd confronted Sephiroth in the Nibel reactor. The reason why he kept on fighting--no matter how tough the going got, no matter how incredible the odds were. She was the reason he kept on believing, because with her by his side, everything would be all right...

Did _that_ count as love?

He couldn't bear to think of life without her. She knew that, didn't she? She had to know that he loved her too. He loved her in a way that he could never love Aeris. A love borne out of the innocence of child- hood. Forged in the fire of hate. Strengthened in the rage of war. Yes, he did love Tifa Lockheart. Without question. With his whole body, heart and soul.

"Tifa...I--"

Her finger touched his lip, effectively silencing him. He gawked at her, aghast. "But Tifa, I--"

On her face was the most beautiful, radiant smile he'd ever seen. "I know, Cloud. I know."

He was shocked at his respiration, which seemed to be pacing itself at the same rate as Tifa's. A breath for a breath. A life for a life. God, it was all so simple. For the first time, Cloud could understand his heart clearer than ever before. So simple. How could he not have seen it?

Tifa stirred in his embrace, her breath growing even more ragged. Her chest heaved arduously as she fought for precious oxygen. Cloud had to swallow the terror that was rising fast inside him.

"Tifa. I forgive you for doing this, but you gotta fight back. Please. For all of us here, Tifa. For me. For _us_..."

She was fighting. Even though she knew it was for naught, she was fighting. In spite of himself, his heart swelled with pride. That was the way she was. His Tifa. She had never been a quitter.

And then, without warning, her muscles slackened. She tilted her head back, arching her body, exposing the soft symmetrical lines of her white throat. Barret started forward, but Cid detained him, shaking his head. There was nothing they could do.

Cloud rocked her harder. "No. Stay with me, Tifa. Stay with me. Stay." He chanted the words over and over, like a mantra.

But he was losing her. He could feel it as much. He could practically see the light was fading fast from her eyes.

"No, Tifa, no." Cloud buried his face in her hair, inhaling her sweet scent, committing it to memory. "Don't give up, please..."

She looked up at him, and her eyes were glazed with pain. Her breath was slowing down. He read her unspoken message, and he couldn't suppress the cry of dismay that rose to his lips.

"No! It doesn't have to be like that! I'll give up everything if you can just come back. I'll do anything to reverse this, Tifa, I swear..."

She used her final vestiges of strength to work her vocal chords one last time. "No, Cloud. If this...if this's the way it's gotta be, then so be it. Don't blame yourself for this, Cloud. It...was my own decision. Let it go, Cloud. Just let it go."

A teardrop splattered on her cheek, and he tenderly wiped it away. "I don't care," he whispered, his voice vibrating with emotion. "I won't let you go, Tifa. I'm never going to let you go..."

Her breath felt like butterfly wings against his ear. "Yes, you can. At least for a little while. But you'll see me again. In the Lifestream. When you're ready to go." Her voice was nearly inaudible. "I'll never leave you, Cloud. Never."

She released her breath in a sigh, and then she was gone.

Cloud's entire frame was shaking as he continued to cocoon his body against hers, as if attempting to shield her, protect her, in a way he hadn't been able to when she was alive. The others were now at the bottom of the steps of the altar. He had insisted on carrying down her body, and there was no way in hell he would let anyone else take that last labor of love away from him--not even Barret.

He remembered telling Tifa a long time ago that there was nothing strong enough in this world to bring Aeris Gainsborough back.

He was wrong.

There _had_ been something strong enough, and it hadn't been the love Aeris shared with him.

It was the love Tifa Lockheart had _for_ him.

He just knelt there, unmoving, drowning in his own grief. He'd been telling the truth when he'd told her that he couldn't live without her.

His free hand strayed to his back, unnoticed by the others, where it closed over the cold handle of his Ultima Weapon. For a second he toyed with the notion of unsheathing the sword and running himself through so that he'd be put out of his misery. There was nothing left for him now.

{Nothing? What about Cid, and Barret, and Yuffie, and Nanaki, and Vincent? And Aeris? You kill yourself, and Tifa's sacrifice would be in vain...}

He released the handle, his vision blurring again with tears.

He would not let her down now. He would live his life to the fullest, just the way she would want him to--live his life for the two of them. He would see her again, one day, just like she promised.

(Goodbye, Tifa. I wish I could come with you, but...in my own time. When I'm ready. Wait for me, Tifa...)

He got to his feet, never tearing his gaze away from the precious burden in his arms. Then he lifted his head, blinking in the sudden brilliance that shone down on the altar. He looked back toward Tifa, inspecting her face. Her lips were still red and moist, her cheeks flushed, that he could almost believe that she was merely sleeping. She looked young, innocent, and more peaceful than she'd been in a long time. Maybe because she was now in a better place--one where there was no pain or suffering, where there would be no one to hurt her, ever again.

How he longed to join her...

(Wait for me.)

"Cloud, yo...y'all sure you wanna do this?" Barret queried.

Cloud Strife rested the handle of his Ultima Weapon on his hand, as if testing its weight. "Yeah."

Cid Highwind took a long drag of his cigar, flicking the ashes off as he stared at the grass. "So whaddaya gonna do 'bout Villa Cloud?"

"Sell it." The blond youth ran his finger experimentally over the opalescent blade. "If you want, you can have it. It's all yours."

"You don't have to do this, you know," Vincent informed him quietly.

The younger man shrugged. "Hey, come on. It's not like I'm going off the deep end or anything. You have my word on that, right?"

The others traded looks, and Barret cleared his throat. "Cloud, we know...how much Tifa meant to you, but that's no reason to--"

"Chill out, Barret. I'm fine." Cloud shot him a halfhearted grin. "I know it's a little sudden, but trust me, I'll be okay."

"Cloud." Yuffie spoke falteringly. "Cloud, where're you gonna stay?"

He slipped the sword into the scabbard that was strapped onto his back. "I don't know, Yuffie. I honestly don't know."

"Forgive me for voicing this, but that's a bit vague, my friend," pointed out Nanaki, not bothering to suppress the anxiety in his tone.

"It is, isn't it?" countered Cloud, rummaging through his leather skin bag. "I _told_ you, I'm just gonna wander around for a bit. See the world--or whatever I haven't seen on it yet. I just need some space, you know?"

"We're talking about the entire planet here, Cloud." Vincent flipped his blood-red cape over his shoulder. "That's quite a bit of space, if you don't mind my saying."

Cloud pulled his lips back in a toothy grin. "The easier then, to get lost in it, eh?" he quipped, hoisting the bag onto Lance's back.

Cait Sith timidly traced a circle on the ground with his big Mog foot. "I still don't get why y'all're doin' this."

"Simple." Cloud patted Lance's beak, and he warked in reply. "I want to. I need to. I need _this_."

Cid racked his brain for a reason--any reason--that could somehow convince Cloud to reconsider his decision, and came up dry. "Y'know, I hate feelin' so damn mushy and all that $#!%, but I can't just let you wander off into God knows what. If you need somewhere to stay other than Midgar or Villa Cloud, you're welcome to stay with me and Shera--I mean, me--at Rocket Town. 'Course, she'll be distracted all the time 'cause of that new rocket she's workin' on that she'll forget to pour the goddamn tea or do them damn house chores--"

"And to echo Cid's offer of hospitality," Nanaki interrupted Cid's rambling, "if you want, you're always welcome at Cosmo Canyon..."

"Yeah, or Wutai," chirped Yuffie. "And I won't ogle your Materia-- much."

Cloud smiled at his friends, but he shook his head. "I'm touched by the offers, guys, but really, that's not necessary." He swung up onto the saddle of golden chocobo and seized the reins. "I'm a big boy. I can take care of myself, right? So don't worry! I'll be all--"

"Cloud, wait!"

The assemblage swiveled at the interjection of a female voice, and sure enough, it was Aeris Gainsborough.

"Cloud--Cloud, wait, I want to give you something first," she told him breathlessly as she loped up beside the chocobo.

Cloud glanced down quizzically at her. Her arm snaked out from behind her back. She was holding something.

"Here." She handed the object to him.

It was a single, perfect white rose, barely past its blooming stage, its petals slick and wet with dew. Cloud smiled as he ran a finger down the blossom. The color reminded him of the shirt Tifa always wore...

"I hope that every time you look at it, you'll think of me," Aeris whispered, clasping and unclasping her hands as she stared up at him.

Cloud's face darkened for a second, feeling a twinge of guilt, but he schooled his features back into a gentle smile. "Thanks, Aeris," he said politely.

He turned then, but Aeris grabbed his hand and held it fast in her own. Twisting around, he studied the brunette, a perplexed expression registering on his face.

"Aeris...?"

"I love you, Cloud." The words came out in a rush, unbidden, unrestrained. Her green eyes were bright with tears. "You understand, right? I love you...I've loved you since the beginning...I..." A melancholy laugh rippled out of her throat, and she sniffled. "But I guess that it won't make any difference now, will it?"

"Aeris..." Cloud tried again.

She waved him off and stepped back. "I know, Cloud. Believe me, I know." She dusted off her pink dress, smiling slightly, Princess Guard dangling loosely at her side. "Goodbye, Cloud."

Cloud regarded her wordlessly for a moment. Aeris was still feeling remorseful about the fact that she had failed to mention to Cloud that she'd spotted Tifa at the City of Ancients. If she had revealed that to him the minute she returned from the Lifestream, would they have been in time to save Tifa? Cloud wondered. Then he pushed the notion away. He'd blamed Aeris enough that first week after Tifa's death, and he'd already regretted it immensely. What was the use in pinning the blame on others? It certainly wouldn't bring Tifa back.

He wished that Aeris knew just how sorry he was for her. Unrequited love was never easy--he knew that more than anyone, having undergone seven tortuous years of it. But he knew that he was doing the right thing leaving her. Aeris deserved better than a man whose heart already belonged to another.

He dug his heels into the chocobo's side and guided it into a light trot.

"Are we gonna see you again?" Cait Sith wanted to know.

He ran a hand through his blond hair, glancing off toward the sun- set. "I don't know," he replied honestly. "Maybe. Maybe not." He urged Lance into a light trot.

"Cloud!"

He looked back one more time.

It was Cid. "We meant what we said. If you ever need a home, if you need someone to talk to--if you need anything at all--we're here for you, all right?"

The corners of Cloud's lips tugged upward. "All right."

And that was how Cloud Strife galloped out of Barret Wallace's, Cid Highwind's, Yuffie Kisaragi's, Vincent Valentine's, Cait Sith's, Nanaki's, and Aeris Gainsborough's lives.

They were still gazing after him until he became a speck on the orange-speckled horizon.

Aeris squeezed her eyes closed, and two fat tears trickled down her cheeks and splashed onto the grass at her feet.

(I'll always love you, Cloud.)

Cloud swung the Ultima Weapon with well-practiced expertise, reveling in the weight and feel of the powerful sword as he maneuvered it back and forth, twisting and twirling it in his hands.

He paused at the sound of soft warbling coming from Lance, whom he'd tied to a nearby tree.

Breathing hard from his exercise, he drove the blade down into the ground and looked up.

Rays from the setting sun seeped into his spiky blond hair, making it glow a vivid golden hue. High above him, the sky was a canvas of mauve and crimson, with fleeces of golden clouds strung across for added effect.

(It's beautiful,) he remarked mentally.

{Yes, it is. Beautiful.}

He smiled at that oh-so-familiar voice. It held the softness of a summer breeze, the richness of autumn leaves, and the texture of a mountain brook bubbling with life.

Down below, Cosmo Canyon quieted down as the shadows began to lengthen, chasing away the golden pools of retreating daylight as the sun descended over the faraway peaks of Mount Nibel.

(Be dark soon. Think I'll stop by Nibelhelm and get a room, for old times' sake,) he thought.

{Okay.}

With tired legs, he scrambled up from the rocky precipice he'd been perched on and brushed absently at his loose dark pants. Trudging over to his faithful steed, he immersed himself once more in a conversation no one else could hear.

(You were right, you know. You never left me.)

{Of course not. I promised you I wouldn't, right? Even here, in the Lifestream, I'm all around you. All you have to do is feel...}

He closed his eyes as a gust of wind ruffled his clothes and hair. He couldn't stop smiling as he untied Lance and hauled himself onto the saddle.

She hadn't broken her promise. She was part of the Planet now, and yet part of him as well. No matter where he went, or what he did, she would always be watching over him, making sure he lived his life to the fullest.

(I love you, Tifa Lockheart,) he said silently.

{I love you back, Cloud Strife.}

She would be waiting for him in the meantime.