Aftermath
The hands of the clock moved slowly past... Time ticked away... Never to return...
The dark eyes that had stared so hard at the passing hands of the clock blinked, snapping the owner out of the trance. A lot had happened lately, so there was a lot to think about. But then, she'd been thinking too much lately.
Yuffie smirked to herself and jumped up. Life was different now, sure, but she couldn't just sit around and do nothing.
After a moment, she sat down again, dejected. There were no monsters to kill anymore. Wutai didn't need the lot of Materia she had hunted before; with Midgar gone, Wutai had become more important. She sighed.
Tick... tock...
~~
"Are you sure you can do this, Cloud?" Tifa watched the blond man as he moved around the fronts of the buildings.
"...Yes."
"I mean, everything looks like it did before. It's our home."
"No. It's not. Our home doesn't exist anymore." Cloud shook the last drops out of the can, then tossed it into an empty building.
"I guess you're right..."
They stood back to back, each focusing on the small green orbs they held.
For the second time in less than ten years, the town of Nibelheim went up in flames. This time, no one came out.
~~
He watched through the window of his home as the North Corel inhabitants gave up reconstruction efforts for the night and went to their homes. A wistful smile crossed his face as he imagined the city growing great again, better than before.
"Daddy, will you read me a story?" Marlene's insistent tugging on his pants-leg caused Barret to look down. He grinned, then took the book she held up in his right hand, once again marveling at the wonders of medical technology today.
He sat on the couch and pulled Marlene up next to him. "'Once upon a time, in a land far, far away...'"
~~
He stood in the cave, looking at the empty pedestal and the light that streamed from beneath it. Careful motions removed his red cape and dropped it to the floor. His headband followed, then the glove from his right hand. He tossed his gun to the top of the pile, then kicked his boots off.
Vincent turned and walked to the entrance of the cave, closing his eyes as he stopped beneath the pounding waterfall. His black clothes and hair were instantly soaked, plastered to his pale, thin form. His task completed, his sins atoned, he allowed himself a smile as he dove into the water of the lake to join his love.
"Vincent!!" The ghostly form reached towards the waterfall... then lowered its head and faded away.
~~
The cup clinked slightly as it was set on the metal floor. The mechanic pulled his head out of the innards of the machine and looked up. He grinned. "Thanks, Shera."
Shera pulled the cigarette out of Cid's mouth. "You'll blow yourself up, smoking while you're working." She flicked it into a sandy patch of ground nearby.
Cid mumbled a few curses under his breath, then almost blushed at the look Shera gave him. He'd promised to try and clean up his language... he wasn't doing a very good job.
"How's it going?" Shera sat carefully, a bit uncomfortable with her growing body.
"Oh, the new rocket and the baby should be ready about the same time," he said nonchalantly, sitting back and sipping the tea she'd brought.
"You'd better hurry up, then. It doesn't look like it's that far along." She playfully swatted his head, knocking the goggles down onto his nose.
"Shera Highwind..." he said deliberately, allowing the words to trail off.
"And don't you forget it, Mister!"
They laughed. There was no tension anymore, no fear, either. The threat was gone, and life could continue. Or begin again, as the case was.
~~
The Cosmo Candle burned brightly, the flame-red guardian of the Canyon sitting at the edge and soaking in the heat, his head bowed. Nanaki's thoughts moved around the planet and through time. He remembered his friends, and the adventures they'd had. He remembered Aerith, buried by nature on the bottom of the lake in the Ancient City.
His thoughts had returned to them for one very strong reason. The cries of the Planet, amplified by Bugenhagen's machine, had begun again. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.
~~
Far to the north, in Bone Village, a seismologist watched her equipment. The tremors registered were increasing. A frown creased her brow. Either there was about to be a massive earthquake, or a volcano was about to erupt. But... there were no volcanoes, so that meant... an earthquake!?
She ducked as pieces of the ceiling began to fall around her as the earth bucked and trembled. Screams reached her ears from outside, and the distinctive sound of cracking rock soon drowned out all other noise. Crevices opened in the ground, and the village disappeared.
~~
Still further north, the earthquake cracked open the crystal cocoon. A hand reached to the edge, and another joined it. The power of two muscular arms lifted the strong, naked form of a man from within the shell of Materia.
The cries echoed around the chamber, causing the man to wince slightly at the volume and intensity. Here, so close to the Lifestream, anyone could hear the voices of the Planet. At the moment, he wished he couldn't.
With a thought, the legendary blade formed in his hand, retrieved from where it had been lost. A deep breath filled his lungs with oxygen. A menacing smirk formed on Sephiroth's face as he walked away from the broken chrysalises, awareness flooding his mind. He was his own again... and this time, there was no one in his way.