What Lies Beneath

Epilogue

Happiness Depends

At a bar in Midgar, Reno and Rude sat drinking. The two emptied glasses together before ordering another shot. The bartender brought them their drinks, Rude down his immediately while Reno stared at his.

"Hello and welcome to the six o'clock news." the announcer spoke.

Reno swirled the alcohol in his glass as he stared into it. He and Rude listened quietly to the news. Not that it would surprise them anyway.

"Our top story today: Rufus Shinra, President of Shinra Electric Company died this morning. An official statement is yet to be released. The company has yet to release an official statement about the death and who will be taking over as president. A private funeral service will be held for Rufus Shinra later this week. We will have more on the story once we receive more information."

The camera panned out to a second news announcer. "Such a shame. President Shinra was a very young man."

"One has to wonder how much this will effect the company. When the president was diagnosed the company's space division was closed to pour money into finding a cure."

Reno lifted his glass to his lips and before drinking it he eyed Rude. Rude looked at him from behind his dark glasses.

"Think the new boss will be better or worse?" Reno asked.

"Does it matter?" Rude answered.

"Not really," replied Reno before downing his drink.

The news announcers continued to talk. "President Shinra was one of the rare cases as the disease effects mostly children."

"Yes, that is true ninety-seven percent of the cases are children under the age of twelve."

The first announcer than added, "Apparently one of the lead doctors in the study of the disease died as well."

Reno held up his hand, signaling he wanted another drink. The bartender opened up a bottle and poured him a drink. He slid the glass in front of him and then held the bottle up to Rude. Rude shook his head. The bartender shrugged and put the lid back on the bottle and placed it on the shelf behind him.

"Coming up after the commercial," the announcer said as the news theme began to play, "Three men were arrested for causing a riot in downtown Midgar claiming to be looking for their mother."

The second announcer than added, "And later, the Wutai have retreated back their homeland after losing a major battle to SOLDIER. These stories and more coming up after these messages."

Reno placed his glass back on the counter after he emptied the contents. He sat up off his stool and Rude followed. The two placed a large sum of money on the counter, for the pay and tip and turned to leave.

"So much for a happy ending," Reno sighed as he and his friend walked to the door.

"Depends on whose ending your talking about." Rude replied.

Reno smirked. "Yeah, that's true."

The two stepped out in the evening air. Reno stretched out his arms and looked up at the sky. Rude stepped next to him.

"Not even a star in the sky." Rude commented.

"As if we could see them from all the lights. Come on we better get to work. Lucky for us no one will notice we've been drinking before work."

The two shared a laugh and walked off.

Far from the lights and the sound of bustling city, Aerith sat in a field of flowers. Despite the darkness she could still see the yellow petals under the starry sky. The wind rustled her hair and she found herself tightening the pink ribbon holding her brown locks together.

She looked up at the night sky to see thousands of stars glittering. The young woman tucked her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. She rested her chin on her knees all the while continuing her gaze. For a moment though, she closed her eyes as a twinge of pain entered her heart.

I look at the stars and all I can think about is how happy I am but at the same time I feel sad. I feel so small out here in this world. I 'm scared but I know I'm not alone.

Suddenly, the sound of feet crushing the leaves and flowers under the weight of the owner alerted her. Aerith was startled at first. She got up and turned her head to look at the person who had interrupted her thoughts. Relief washed over her and a smile formed on her lips.

Cloud.

The End

Author Note- Unedited Version. I have to first and foremost apologize for the unedited chapters. I seem to have lost my beta.

Secondly, I would love to thank you for taking the time to read my story.

Third, I would like to comment on the romance as to why there is no kissing or lovemaking. I pictured Cloud and Aerith as a new couple and both recently ended their former relationship. Whereas Cloud was in a loving relationship and Aerith was in an abusive one. The two are unsure of one another but both make attempts to be together and understand the other. I wanted Cloud to be the one who always had to sacrifice things in the relationship until he was sick of it and wanted out. Aerith then gave him what he wanted but it was not what Cloud really wanted. Of course you also add some crazy fights,a twisted and messed up history, a ton of secrets and you get this.

Cloud is the hero but he himself does not see that he is a hero but a failure since he could not save Tifa. He sees Aerith as a way to redeem himself and of course nearly fails despite the fact that Aerith gave him what she believed he wanted.

Aerith's character is an enigma throughout the story. Cloud trusted her so when all the questions about the games popped up he did not have any answers because he just went on what Aerith was saying. Aerith smiles a lot, trying to hide her fear because of her past. She believed that she alone could not escape it and Sephiroth because of the fear instilled in her. Aerith's long walk through the church shows the hardships that she had to endure (in a physical sense) to be free or her abuse when it would have been much easier to stay and feel hopeless. I think leaving a relationship (good or bad) can be hard and scary.

Again, thanks for reading I enjoyed writing this for you all, my readers.

Princess of the Knight