"Cloud."

"...Hm?"

"How long has it been since we've been here?"

"Quite a long time, Tifa."

The church was far more decrepit, so far in the future. It had been sixty-three years since the creation of the healing spring which still bubbled forth here, the Moon's light shining through the holes in the sacred building. The couple shuffled forward, their old bodies aching from such a long trip; it used to be nothing at all for them to travel here from the still in business Seventh Heaven, the place they spent their days still.

Denzel and Marlene grew up, had children, and those children had children of their own. They were great-great-great grandparents to a handful who were born just a few years ago, and they passed the bar's upkeep to one of Marlene's grandchildren who found she enjoyed the bartending life. Cloud had passed on his delivery service and Fenrir to another when he was seventy, Tifa demanding he retire already so they could have some time to themselves. The two had taught their fighting skills to multiple generations and they were proud of the large family they helped bud out of the ash of a ruined world.

Edge was still growing. With the discovery of several types of effective fuels that wouldn't drain the planet within the last twenty years, technology was developing quickly again. The Midgar Wastes had shrunk in size every year, though it still lingered for miles outside of the city. The couple knew there was still a long road ahead for humanity, but they had done their part in securing a fresh start for civilization, one that could live with the Planet instead of attempting to be its master.

A planet they were all a part of. A planet that was gently calling them back.

That call was becoming louder with each passing month. Nanaki would worry and fret as they gave over to casual talk of their impending ends, the two ready for their release from their old bodies. What good is living when you're old and wizened, Cloud would ask. He knew he had an expiration date, and it didn't matter that he was Cloud Strife or that she was Tifa Lockheart; the Planet had a fixed time for them to return to it again. After so many decades, they could accept it.

Tifa took a seat in a front pew with a good view of the spring. Her silver hair hung loosely instead of her usual bun today, and her gentle red eyes shined in the reflected light. As Cloud slowly sat next to her, he noticed she almost looked like her younger self, almost. He was sure there were shadows of his former glory on his face, too. His hair was stark white and messy as always, his eyes never losing that soft mako glow. The old warrior took a deep breath and sighed, glancing at the serene pool. They were both silent for many minutes, the only sound the lapping of the waters.

"We...had a good life, after it was all said and done." he opened.

Tifa nodded. "It seems strange that it's ending, after all we've been through."

"Yeah." Cloud straightened up a bit and looked over at the elderly woman. "You know, Tifa..."

"Mm?"

"Remember when we fell into the Lifestream? That's the closest I've ever felt to you. Not that I don't feel close now, of course." He gave a wry grin before continuing. "I want to feel that again."

Tifa slowly nodded. "It won't be just us, this time. Cid, Barret, Reeve..."

Cid had died twenty-five years ago during a test rocket launch. Ironically, he died trying to save the life of the young pilot in a twist reflecting how Shera saved him. His last words were as bold, brash and defiant as could be as he fixed whatever malfunction had hounded the interior of the rocket, dying moments later. Barret died twenty years ago, and was buried in New Corel, where Marlene retired to after the funeral. The couple still kept contact with their former ward, the now old woman telling tales about AVALANCHE to youngsters.

Reeve died fifteen years ago of natural causes. Cait Sith still ran about visiting Edge and Junon, the AI having that flicker of the old Shinra Executive's sense after his death as if his ghost occasionally hijacked the robot.

"...Zack and Aerith."

Tifa smiled. "Hm. That leaves Vincent, Nanaki, and 'Empress' Yuffie."

Vincent occasionally visited them when he was in town, the younger children shying away from him until they acclimated to the sinister looking man. The couple noticed that he had warmed somewhat over the decades, though a wariness emanated from him quietly with each friend's passing. Yuffie, despite her age, was still a firebrand of a ruler though her selfish nature had been reined in by her responsibilities and her caring of the sick during the Geostigma plague. Nanaki was almost an adult now, and he fretted with each passing; ironic considering his home was a place that studied the Planet. We came from the Planet, and we will return to the Planet. We are a part of the Planet.

Cloud frowned. "Nanaki isn't gonna be happy that we went all the way out here without saying goodbye."

"We tried getting a hold of him, but he already left Cosmo Canyon." She sighed, returning her gaze to the pool. "He'll understand. We left him that note."

"Yeah." The old warrior leaned back into the pew. "I'm tired, Teef." There was a tingle in his bones he couldn't blame mako for. He and Tifa both knew it was time; they were being pulled back.

Tifa nodded. "So am I." She put her hand over his and squeezed. "Let's go meet them, Cloud."

Cloud smiled one last time, his glowing eyes looking over everything one last time before he shut them forever. The hole that he fell through into a bed of flowers, the corner he spent a few weeks wasting away with Geostigma, the spot in the pool he awoke in surrounded by his friends and family and all those children. Tifa, who was looking about and finally stared him in the eyes with a peaceful smile matching his own. He moved her stray bangs out of her face, then embraced her; the short, innocent kiss was the sweetest thing in that moment to him before she laid her head on his chest and drifted off, and he leaned his head on hers before doing the same, still smiling. 'We'll wait for you, guys.' he thought, as his body slowly numbed; his last thoughts were of his memories, the good and the bad, the ones that made him happy and the ones that made him sad. He squeezed Tifa's body closer as the last vestiges of life seeped from his body, the tinkling of the stream and ever growing voices murmuring in his ear as the moment came.

"Hey. You finally came back."

"I think this one's just right, now. Think we can adopt him?"

Cloud grunted. He opened up his eyes to a sea of green. "...Adopt...?"

"Everyone's here, Cloud." Aerith said from somewhere nearby. "Well, not everyone just yet."

"Yeah, Spike! Wanna travel together?" Zack cheerfully asked.

"Where are we going?" He asked.

Tifa's giggle came from somewhere else. "We're going to travel the Planet again, of course."

"Wasn't once enough?" Cloud asked, smiling. He could feel her in him again, and Aerith and Zack, Barret and Reeve and Cid. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to travel again."

The warrior dissolved into the green strands of the Lifestream, becoming one with everything he ever cherished once more, a bead of consciousness that weaved about the Planet with the memories of all he loved and held dear in his long life. He was happy, he was content. He was at peace, finally.

'We come from the Planet, and we return to the Planet.'

I needed to get this story off my chest. We all have to come to the unsettling realization that we will die, and this story I felt put a peaceful, comforting face to passing. Or, so I hope. We are all given life, and that life returns back to where ever it came from, no matter what we do to stop it.