Streams join to become Rivers

Darkness… it's oppressive in here, it never lets up. Not that I disserve the darkness to let up. My sins, their deaths, haunt me even now, twenty-five years after they happened. And I disserve to be haunted by them. This is my punishment, my curse, and my destiny to be stuck in this coffin. Someone like me doesn't belong under the same sky as Lucrecia was under. Lucrecia, my poor Lucrecia, you died because I wasn't strong enough to protect you, to not listen to my orders just because they were my orders. I wasn't even strong enough to be able to save your son from Hojo. Worse, I couldn't stop him from destroying your soul even after you had died. No, I belong here, in this coffin, with my sins to haunt me, the memories of the pain of what Hojo did to my arm surfacing after the pain of watching you die. I belong here with the rest of the demons.

That's right, you're being punished. You failed to protect the woman you say you loved, and so you were put in here. Or did you allow yourself to be put in here? You were strong before we came, Vincent. And with us here, you are more than strong enough to get out of this coffin and to make amends. As much as I enjoyed watching you suffer for twenty-five years, I'm afraid that being one with that part of you that is still human has made me…emotional. I know you can get out of here and atone for your sins, and I'm willing to help.

Shut up, you damn mutt. You have no idea what an emotion is or how strong I am. You only know how to kill.

I am forced to agree Galian Beast, Vincent. Being inside of you has given us emotions. We know sadness, joy, and love. And we know that you're still in this coffin because you're afraid. Not of Hojo, or any monster out there, but of forgiveness. You're afraid that you might be forgiven of your sins and that you might forgive yourself. The wood around us is not holding you back, it never was.

Be quiet demon, just be quiet! And before you two say something, shut up! I don't need the advice of a mutt, a monster made from the corpses of others, a lunatic with a chainsaw, or a demon! None of you know what you're talking about. None of you could ever feel love! And none of you could know whether or not I was strong enough!

Then why don't you just end it, give your soul over to the planet. Let her judge you. Do you need help? Just relax your claw and I can end it, and you would be given the chance to pay for 'your' sins.

Hell Mask, be quiet or I'll…

You'll what? Death Gigas inserted. You'll do nothing because we are only voicing what you are thinking deep down where even you have no control over what is said. And besides that, how would you do it anyway?

Vincent could only seethe with anger through all of this. He was mad that he lost control over his emotions like he did. But he was also mad that they were right. And that made it worse. Good night you four.

We are not leaving it like this, Vincent. There is more to say.

Say all you four want. I'm going to sleep.

Hold it Vincent!

But it was too late; he was already asleep, where not even their voices could reach him. This dream was new though; it wasn't dreams of his sins. It was calm, peaceful. Vincent was standing on open plains, when he looked to his left and right he saw good memories, not sad ones. And he saw them from the sidelines. To his left were he and Lucrecia having lunch in Midgar, where they first met. And to his right was Lucrecia telling him that she was pregnant. When she had found that out, she was happier then she had been in months so he had been happy.

Watching these, Vincent felt something go down his cheek. When he raised his hand to it, he found it was a tear. "I thought I couldn't cry anymore." "You can't," came from a soft voice from behind him. When Vincent spun around, he saw a woman he had never seen before. She wasn't that tall, five, six at the most. She had long, flowing, dark blond hair with green eyes. She was wearing a simple but elegant dress, but no shoes. She was very beautiful, and Vincent found it hard to believe someone could be that beautiful. "What do you mean?" "On that day twenty-five years ago, you made a barrier around you heart that no tear or new love could ever get out. But dreams are part of the heart. Your fears, hopes, hurts, and joys are all here, laid bare for the person to see." "Who are you, and why are you here?" "Who I am isn't as important as to why I'm here. I need your help Vincent Valentine. The eight has been selected to save the planet, fate has seen to that. But they will need your help to face what is ahead of them. One in particular, and she is very important to me. You two walk a similar path and she will need your help most of all."

Distantly, he heard someone call his name. When he turned to his right he saw a person so far away, not even his eyes could see what this person looked like. Turning back to the women, he said "why me? What can I do for that person that no one else can do? And why am I even considering listening to this dream? It is a dream after all." "Because you know what is at stake when the rarest of chips are put down. It's not my place to tell you about the second one, you need find out what that is on your own. But as for the third, you know that this is not a dream. Please listen to me, Vincent; you will never be able to redeem yourself if you don't start forgiving yourself. Get out of this coffin and find Lucrecia, see if she blames you."

Everything started getting foggy around Vincent and he realized that this dream was coming to a closure. "Wait, you never said who you are." She smiled a kind smile at him, one a mother wears when looking at her son or daughter. "If you think about it, you'll realize who I am."

With those words said, Vincent woke up. About time you woke up! You've been asleep for three days! What do you mean, Chaos? I mean seventy-two HOURS has pasted sense you fell asleep! What were you dreaming of, you were smiling allot and at one point, a tear even slid down your cheek! I didn't even know you could still cry. Your not going soft on us now, are you?

Vincent closed his thoughts to the ravings of the four demons that had taken up residence in his head. And started thinking about the dream that he just had. A woman that beautiful can't possibly exist, can she? Then, it suddenly burst into his mind whom she was. Was, was she the planet? Could she have been the very soul of the planet? He spent the rest of the day thinking on this

Yuffie had been running through the forest near Gongaga running as fast as she could to get far away from those punks. "What a bunch of wanna bes. If they couldn't handle me, how do they think that they could possible make it as monster hunters. Ha ha, they did come nicely equipped for the job though, I'll give them that." Stopping when she got far enough, she looked through the bag full of materia and a few in her pockets. There was several basic magic and independent materias. One of the Lighting materias was even mastered. But that was it. Not an All among the bunch that she could see. Putting those from her pockets on the ground, she dumped the bag. Shifting through them, she discovered two Alls and an Added Effect. As she was putting the materia into a larger sack so all would fit, she noticed that not ten feet away was a mako fountain.

Finishing what she was doing, she walked over to it. It was taller than she was with several openings that mako streamed out of. "I'm kind of glad the reactor exploded or this would have dried up by now." She sat down and just stared at it for a few minutes before she noticed that at the bottom was a couple of materias that were not completely formed yet and a fully formed Command materia. Reaching down and picking it up, she saw that it was a Throw materia. My father may get all the other materia collected today but you are staying with me. She put it in her shuriken, and pulled out a whistle. She put it to her lips and made a long note that no human could hear. With nothing else to do, she sat down by the fountain and waited. Two minutes later, a hawk with a six-foot wingspan landed in front of her, expectantly. She gave the hawk the bag and it flew off for home.

With that done, I might as well camp here for the night. She stayed awake just long enough to put up her tent and that's it. Her last thoughts were on her deceased mother and how she was glad that she couldn't see what she had to do. Her mother had wanted her to be the best ninja there has ever been, not the best thief there has ever been.

Her thoughts also wandered to when her mother had told her that if you ever find a mako fountain with a materia in it, taking the materia would bring you good luck. She didn't say where that luck would concentrate though. She just said 'I'll tell you when you're older and will understand the importance. But if you ever find a person that you truly love, you should give that materia to him."

But she wasn't able to tell her. When she was seven, her mother became ill and couldn't be moved from her bed. Her father, Godo, spent all his time with her, ignoring his duties and his daughter. Her mother was sick for a long time before she died, and the father that Godo was died with her. He became distant to everyone, to Yuffie the most. When she turned thirteen, her father sent her away to gain materia, the one thing Shinra had over them during the war that they lost. Gaining materia for Wutai has been the only thing that has kept her going through all of this. She has been alone for so long and she was tired of it.

In her dream she found herself on the plains not far from where she fell asleep. To her left she saw her mother and herself in the courtyard outside of her father's house, practicing martial arts. She had been so happy when her mother agreed to teach her that she didn't tire for three day, even with the training. When she looked to her right, she saw her mother at the piano, playing a song called the Moonlight Sonata, one of their favorites. Seeing these made her so very happy that she never wanted to wake up.

"Hello child." Yuffie turned around to see a grown women standing behind her. She had long, dark blond hair and green eyes and her smile was like her mother's was. "How are you doing Yuffie?" Something about her said that telling her the truth would be okay. "I'm tired of being alone. I miss my mother, I wish she had never gone away."

The sadness that had been threatening to overflow for months now finally came out and Yuffie kneeled down and covered her face with her hands as she started crying like she did when her mother had pasted away. The woman in front of her had knelt down beside her and was holding her, saying it was okay to cry and to let it all out. After a few minutes, she finally stopped and looked at the woman and said, "Who are you." She looked back and said, "I your mother, I'm the mother of everything you have seen and everyone you have met." "You mean your Terra!" "Yes, that right." The last traces of her tears disappeared as she stared at her. "W…why would you appear before me?" "Because you were alone and hurting. It pains me to see any of my children hurt. Tell me, can you be alone for a little while longer before you finally find the purpose your searching for?" "Yes, but what do you mean?"

At that moment, She heard someone call her name from behind her. Looking behind her, she saw someone just outside her clear line of sight so she couldn't tell what he or she looked like. "I mean that person. Do you want to meet him?" Yuffie's heart jumped at the chance of not being alone anymore and quickly said yes. "Then go to the forest near Junon and Fort Condor. Once there, listen to your instincts. Okay, Yuffie?" She nodded yes and everything started getting foggy, "then sleep well."

Yuffie awoke to what seemed like the next morning but she had a hunch that it had been longer then that. When her stomach let out a growl that scared a monster away, she confirmed that it had been awhile. After eating breakfast, she packed up her gear and headed for Costa del Sol, not really knowing what to expect but hoping for the best.

Terra looked at her handy work and smiled. These two were destined to save the planet and go back to how their lives had been, one alone in the mansion, the other alone in Wutai, never finding peace or love. But with her doing what she did, the path before them is clean and new. Doing this was the least she could do for them, their lives have been so hard up tell now. The only down side is that now, they might not be able to stop what is to come. Smiling, she knew though, that they would do it. She just hoped they wouldn't be alone after it's all said and done. She couldn't help but sigh when she thought about how mad Fate is going to be at her. "Oh well, how long could he stay mad for, five centuries, six? We have nothing but time on our hands."

Author's notes

This is my first fan fiction. I hope you all like it. You don't have to review but I hope you do.

Let's see, (flipping threw a notepad) what's left? Oh yeah, the disclaimer! I don't own Final Fantasy 7; I never have or never will. That honor goes to Square Enix. Nor do I own any of the characters mentioned above except Terra. God she is so beautiful, ahem. I modeled her after a girl I met once and fell I love with. Too bad I was never able to tell her that. Bah ha ha! Oh well, time moves on and you find new people to care for. Ludwig Van Beethoven wrote the Moonlight Sonata, it is not a name I just used for the sake of the story. It is a beautiful piece, try listening to it. Take care all readers and reviewers.

P.S.- for those who have not figured out who is speaking when, here is the answer, the type of font determines who is talking- Galian Beast, Chaos, Hell Mask, Death Gigas, and last but not least, Vincent Valentine and Yuffie Kisaragi.