The last tear.

It hit the cold, hard ground, with no sound.

Vincent closed his eyes, in an effort to supress the tears. He began to remember.


"So, your name´s Vincent, right?" Aeris asked.

"Yes..." He said. He was still accustoming to being out of the basement of the Shinra mansion, and he didn´t feel like talking with anyone.

"I´m Aeris. Nice to meet you!" She said with a smile.

Vincent just nodded, to indicate he already knew that. The young man named Cloud had told him about the people in this strange group.

"So, why are you coming with us?" she asked.

"To pay for my sins..." he said, hoping that would be enough for the girl.

"Why? What could have you done while sleeping in a coffin? Snore?" she asked with a grin.

"Before I went to sleep, I was... different. Many things happened because of me."

"Cloud told me about Lucrecia and Sephiroth. And Hojo..." she muttered that name with a mix of fear and hate.

"Do you... know him?" Vincent asked, his curiousity picked.

"He killed my parents..." Aeris said.

"I´m sorry."

"It´s ok. It´s not like it was your fault or anything like that."

Vincent didn´t hear her. Instead, he silently added another sin to the ones he already had. Not protecting Lucrecia and her child from Hojo. Not stopping Hojo when he had the chance... and now, the death of Aeris´s parents. If he had killed Hojo at the instant he put Lucrecia´s life in danger, her parents would be alive.

"What were their names?" he asked. He wanted to know who else had paid for his sins.

"My mother´s name was Ifalna. My father was a scientist that worked for Shinra, investigating the Ancients. My mother was an Ancient, and, well... do I have to draw you a map?" she said, with a smile.

"A scientist interested in the Ancients..."

"Did you knew him?" Aeris asked, her eyes glittering with emotion.

"Maybe. There was a scientist called Gast in our team. He was interested in the Ancients, and he discovered one called Jenova."

"Jenova... My father discovered her?"

"Yes. He and... Hojo did research on the Ancient. Hojo wanted to experiment on humans, but Gast opposed him. Then, Gast was informed another Ancient had been discovered at the northern area. He left, and Hojo used this opportunity to... experiment on Lucrecia and her son. They almost died."

"So, my father released Jenova into the world?" Aeris said.

"Cloud... told me about Sephiroth... and Jenova. It was not his fault. He didn´t knew what would happen." Vincent said, trying to comfort her.

"If my father hadn´t found Jenova... Then none of this would had happened..."

She began to walk slower, then she halted. Vincent turned around to see her with her face turned to the ground.

"It was not his fault. Or yours." Vincent said.

"Does that come from "Mr. I have to pay my sins"? " Aeris said, trying to smile. She ran to catch up with the others. A strange girl, indeed, he thought.


Now, seeing her body sinking into the waters of the lake, he realizes this is his fault too. If he had stop Hojo, then Sephiroth...

"It´s not your fault..."

Vincent opens his eyes, puzzzled. Has he finally become crazy because of the weight of his sins?

"You couldn´t stop it. It was meant to be."

"Aeris...?"

"You may not comprehend yet, Vincent, but everything has a reason to be: My death. The death of my parents. And what happened to you and Lucrecia."

"The reason is... because it´s my fault..."

"NO! You must not blame you because of all those bad things. How could you know?"

"I should..."

" "I should done this... or that..." Vincent, you may not see it now, but for every tragedy that happens in our lives, there is a reason. The reason for my death was to make possible this Planet to live..."

"And what happened to Lucrecia... and me?"

"There is a reason too. But if I told you know, you wouldn´t understand. Trust me on this one, Vincent."

"But..."

"Trust me."

"...always."

"Now, Vincent do me a favor. Stop punishing yourself. And do the one thing I can´t do anymore. Live, Vincent, live. Can you do me that favor?"

"I´ll try."

"See you later, Vincent."

As the group left to follow Sephiroth, Vincent turned around to say four words.

"See you later... Aeris."

---