Chapter 11: Full Circle

The air was thunderous with the pounding feet of the spectators, their screams mimicking so many wild dogs hunting in the night… but he blocked them out. The blood was pouring from his wounds, hot and slick, draining him slowly… but he ignored the pain. The tears were drying on his face, his gut clenched in sorrow at the loss of another friend who he couldn't protect… but he felt empowered by the suffering instead of weakened.

Cloud placed both hands on the ground, the cool sand gradually allowing his fingers to sink deeper into the grains. He closed his eyes and focused on the control he had again, savoring the feeling of being truly alive once more; the air in his lungs, bittersweet, the sweat on his back, cold, the blood in his veins-hot and pumping and wonderfully his.

The moment was short lived as his senses pulled him outside of himself and back into the moment surrounding him. His friends were waiting for the next move, his enemies waiting for the next opportunity to attack and possess, the fans waiting hungrily for the next kill. Cloud opened his eyes. He reached for his faithful companion, bandaged and bloodied with Tifa's sacrifice. Steeling himself, he placed one hand on her cooling body and pulled, ignoring the sickening feel of her corpse sliding so easily from his blade. He stood, exhaling carefully at the low chuckle that reverberated around the arena.

"Oh, how sweet," Chaos cooed darkly. "What a sickening display of loyalty finished off with such finesse." He applauded, slow and mocking. "How did it feel, hero? Slaying your little friend and watching the light go out of her eyes?"

Cloud hefted his sword up with one hand, the blade lining up just under his eyes. "It will be much more enjoyable when you are dying on my sword," he said softly.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" The cloaked nightmare waved his arms out around him. "I am a god here, immortal in a way my Fiends could never secure."

Cloud's grip tightened. "We beat you before, we can do it again."

"Who, you and your little girlfriend? A little shorthanded, wouldn't you say?" Chaos scoffed.

"Aren't you forgetting someone?!" an angry high-pitched voice shrilled. "We're all ready to kick your ass, too!" Yuffie said, stepping forward to wave her fist in the air. Her momentum was halted by Cloud's arm, blocking her way. "Cloud!"

"Guess the hero doesn't want your help, child. Not that I'm surprised."

Yuffie's rant was cut off by Cloud's quiet reply, "Your fight is with me, Chaos."

"And me," Aerith chimed in, stepping closer to Cloud's side, her staff held defensively in front of them.

There was a soft rumble as Chaos laughed low in his throat. "Very well." Wisps of dark smoke formed behind him, spreading in a ring to surround the group of fighters. From the clouds stepped forth multiple horrific creatures, teeth gnashing and claws unfurling in anticipation of the imminent kill.

"Those are some really ugly sons of bitches," Cid muttered around his newly lit cigarette.

"You can say that again," Barrett agreed. He raised his arm up in preparation of the attack, his stance automatically turning to protect the backs of his companions. A quick scan revealed Yuffie on his right and Cid on his left, with Cloud and Aerith suddenly blocked by a new line of creatures. It appeared Chaos wanted to divide and conquer, but Barrett wasn't worried. They'd taken down Sephiroth, this was going to be a walk in the park. "Go kick his ass, Cloud!" he called out over the growling monsters. "We've got this covered!"

Cloud nodded, more to himself than to his friend, and brought his sword down to the ready. From the corner of his eye, he saw Aerith shift into a similar stance, a grim determination on her face. "All right, Chaos, let's do this."

"Yes… but just us." His arm shot out, releasing a bolt of black lightning that slammed into Aerith's chest. She had no time to scream as she hit the wall with bone breaking force and slumped to the ground, dazed.

Cloud stepped in her direction, his name on her lips, but she disappeared behind the expanding wall of demon soldiers zeroing in on his companions. He glanced at Chaos, his body torn between reviving her and attacking him.

"Leave her be, Cloud. I will have her soul soon enough, after yours. But until then, we don't want her interfering, do we?" A guttural growl formed into undecipherable words and the demon pointed in her direction.

A growl was returned, drawing Cloud's attention to the lanky form of Vincent, nodding at his master and making his approach to the stunned flower girl. He leapt high over the soldiers brawling with Avalanche, the red cape quickly disappearing behind the throng of opponents.

"Now there will be no interruptions. Better that way, don't you think?"

Cloud glared back at Chaos. "It won't change the outcome, Chaos. This ends here." He brought up his sword.

"You won't be able to do it, Cloud. You won't be able to finish me off. Give in now, and your friends walk."

Cloud scoffed. "You haven't even lifted a finger, and you're already begging out of the fight. I'm surprised, really."

"Think about it, Cloud. This was always meant to be. Everything we've done, leading up to this moment. Every moment of your life, leading up to this moment. You and me, together."

The blond shook his head. "Enough talk!" He sprinted forward and leapt high overhead, bringing the bandaged buster sword down with enough force to shake the arena. It was blocked with the sharp clang of metal, the glint off Chaos' smooth blade blinding Cloud for only a moment. He rolled to the side and sprung to his feet, backing away and staring at the arm that held his masterpiece, his First Tsurigi.

Chaos stepped around Cloud in a slow circle. His voice had become soft… and distantly familiar, unlike the low tone he'd used earlier. "Tell me something, Cloud. Did you ever wonder how you survived on those cliffs so long ago? A comatose weakling, unable to do anything other than drool all over himself, and he manages to crawl away from a bloody massacre?" A soft chuckle. "Certainly, you must have been curious, when your memory returned. So what was your answer? Magic? Skill?" The cloaked demon stopped. "Dumb old luck?" He began moving again, the sword twirling casually in the human-like hand. "Oh, come on. You're not going to make me guess it, are you?"

Cloud tensed, ready to attack again, but something in the demon's movements made him hesitate. His gut clenched with the certainty that something was very, very wrong. Déjà vu hit him hard enough to make him feel vertigo, and his hand tightened on the hilt of his sword. What was going on?

"Still no answer? I think it's pretty obvious, Cloud, and you know it." Chaos stopped, bringing the sword up to rest against his broad shoulder. "After all, you made a deal, too."

Cloud's head buzzed, filled with the white static noise he'd heard so many times when memories overwhelmed him. He shook his head and backed up, finding Chaos towering over him, his eyes widening at the face staring at him from under the hood.

The world spun to a whole new direction, confusion making her tense as she flew into a nearby wall. The impact drove the breath and a ragged cry from her before she slammed into the dirt. She heard her name from a distance, barely making out Cloud dodging a return attack from Chaos. She shook the dizziness from her mind, struggling to focus. The fight was on, and the crowd was delirious with delight.

Aerith couldn't make out the cheers from the screams, or clearly see the fight in the arena around her. Everything seemed gray and confused and slow. Her head and body hurt, and she didn't know what she was doing on the ground. She looked up, a tall shape standing over her, a man both known and strange to her...

Instinct made her roll to the right, her staff in hand as she crouched on her feet, staring at the charred spot where she once sat. Her gaze flicked to Vincent, grinning at her with glowing eyes. She growled in her throat. "I don't have time for this!"

Vincent chuckled. "The men are busy now, and that's no place for a girl to be involved."

Her eyes narrowed, a mocking smile on her lips. "Then I guess us womenfolk will just have to entertain ourselves." Aerith's hand curled into a fist, her mind conjuring a stop spell. The materia glowed warm in her bangle, ready to release its power, but Vincent wasn't stupid. She felt the world ripple as he cast reflect on himself. Now they'd have to fight physical, an area where he was clearly advantageous.

If there was one thing Aerith knew better than anyone else, it was when to stand and when to run. She couldn't help Cloud if she was dead, and she couldn't fight Vincent alone and win. His mouth cracked a crooked smile, made all the more monstrous by the glowing eyes of the demon inside. Aerith shivered under the invasive stare and clenched her fist in annoyance for showing such weakness.

"Cloud won't defeat him, what makes you think you'll make any difference?" the demon purred.

"Because we're stronger than all of you," she replied, and lashed her hand out with a mastered ice spell that blew the possessed Turk clear across the arena. "Barrett!" He looked up after ramming a demonic mutant into the ground, and she pointed toward Vincent. Barrett nodded and started clearing a path towards his next adversary.

Aerith looked over to Cloud and Chaos staring at each other and choked. No…

"You just don't know how to be any different, do you?" Chaos taunted.

"No!" Cloud shoved him away, "No! You lie!"

Chaos laughed, easily regaining his feet and dancing around lightly, his hood falling back with his antics. "With a face like this?" He gestured, his broad smile beaming and his blue eyes glinting with the mischievousness that only Zack could possess. "I could never!"

Nausea overcame him in a wave that hit with crippling force. The antics were so familiar, the voice and the laugh and the eyes so real, so believably real… "No," Cloud hissed, looking away in disgust. "No, he couldn't-."

"Oh, but he did, Spike!" Chaos chanted. He flicked the cloak off and spun the sword onto his back, latching it with ease onto his standard issue ShinRA sword halter. "He begged and begged for you to live, his little dead-to-the-world companion, his only friend left on all of Gaia." Chaos rocked on his boots and examined his hands, smooth and unmarred like when Cloud had last seen them. "But he was a lot less trusting than you. No surprise, he was always better than you." He looked up, his blue eyes sharp. "At everything."

Cloud looked back, his own eyes narrowing.

The demon broke the stare, spinning away with his hands on his head. "But then you both reached the cliffs of Midgar, and the end was inevitable. He knew he was done for… and that meant you were, too. He couldn't protect you anymore, so…"

"Zack would never make a deal with you," Cloud hissed.

The demon tilted his head, the black spikes bobbing lightly with the movement. "But it's in his nature, isn't it? To do whatever it takes to succeed, to risk everything for what he believes in. Is it so hard to believe he would sacrifice for you? I mean, you're so much like him, you followed him step for step, right into my hands, just like he did! Of course, he had no idea who I was at the time, just like you. But that's ok. Everything came back, eventually. And now," the demon tapped his temple, "he keeps me company all the time."

Cloud blanched, his hands tightening on the hilt with nearly crushing force. The nightmare he'd lived those past few months flashed before him, each moment more painful than the last, and he shook at the thought that Zack had been suffering so much longer... right there in front of him... the whole time...

"Would you like to talk to him? He misses you-."

"Shut up!" Cloud shouted.

Chaos smiled. "Yeah, maybe it would be better not to. After all, he'll just say for you to kill me, to end it all, for both of us. That was what you wanted, and you've been my pet for half the time he has."

"Shut up, you bastard!"

Chaos crossed his broad arms over his chest. "So what do we do now, Cloud? If you kill me, Zack suffers. If you join me, you both live for eternity." Chaos smiled. "Want to make a deal?"

Cloud was moving across the arena before he knew he was attacking, the sword feeling like nothing as he swung with every ounce of pent up hatred he had ever felt. Chaos blocked easily, still smiling, still mocking. The blond screamed and attacked again, blind fury making him move without thought, searching frantically for that killing blow.

His ire grew as he saw opening after opening… and hesitated every time. And most frustrating of all… Chaos knew it.

The world buzzed around her. It wasn't possible, Zack couldn't be there fighting Cloud right before her. Zack was gone, she knew that, Zack was gone…

But Cloud didn't, and Chaos knew that.

Chaos/Zack grinned with a block that brought their faces close. "You can have him back, Cloud, just like Aerith, just like you came back."

"No," Aerith yelled. "It's a trick! Don't believe him!"

But Cloud didn't hear her, or didn't listen. He attacked, again and again, and even Aerith could see it was without the drive he needed to win the fight. Cloud was falling for the lie, and it was costing his strength. Each missed opportunity to take out Chaos left Cloud open. The demon took the advantage, stabbing and wounding enough to weaken.

Cloud was quickly losing the fight.

Her hands grew hot with their chokehold grip on the staff. Her eyes dropped to her hands and she found them glowing. The staff was red, pulsating with heat. Was it her fury… or his? A shiver ran up her spine and she felt him close by.

…Let me in, Aerith. Let us both in….

The weight of two hands, one distinctly larger than the other, pressed onto her shoulders with firm comfort. The warmth spread from her hands, the red glow turning blue, then green as the Great Gospel limit break brewed stronger and stronger, begging to be released.

Like the cold fury Cloud embraced when he last faced Sephiroth over the ruins of Midgar, Aerith embraced the love for her friends and broke the plane of her limit. The world buzzed with static and the room turned white as the sky split apart. Everyone froze, Chaos and Cloud falling back from the explosion of light and sound above them.

Angels did not descend. A man and a woman appeared on the arena floor, surrounding Chaos. Green glowed around Cloud's form, Aerith's healing touch revitalizing him and pushing his own limit break to overload. The blond warrior looked at his body, now healed and glowing white, and he looked across the arena. Glowing in blue, Tifa winked at Cloud before bringing her fists up for the fight. Across from her, Zack stared down his doppelganger with a fury only a SOLDIER could give. The red glow around his body wavered like so much contained heat.

Chaos growled, his face turning ugly with rage. The blue eyes blazed with fire, the skin melting away to reveal the hideous demon boiling beneath. "You will not win this time!" he screamed.

"Watch us," Zack answered quietly, but his voice carried as if he shouted the words back. He brought his buster sword up and flicked his glance to Cloud, flashing the briefest of smiles before summoning his devastating Chain Slash. Tifa called on her Final Heaven, and Cloud felt his veins surging with Omnislash.

"I WILL KILL YOU ALL!" Chaos roared.

"Never again," Aerith whispered. And the Guardians of Light attacked.

It was a blur of color, a rush of sound, replica over and over again of the three warriors as they struck, one after the other, hit after hit with no room between to breath. Chaos' body was thrown, slammed, punctured and torn, the pummels coming so fast he had no time to scream. The remains of Zack's stolen image faded away and the twisted bones beneath shattered into dust. The glowing eyes died out to specks of black and nothing more, and the tornado of attacks blew away the last of his destroyed form.

The dust settled, and the arena was silent.

"YEAH!" Yuffie screamed, making Cid topple over and glare at her with a raised fist.

With the broken silence, the arena became a fury of movement. Demons and spectators swarmed toward Avalanche, ready to destroy those who destroyed their master.

"Aw, hell," Cid spat. He held up his lance, ready for the glorious death bound to come, when the floor shook. A crack thundered through the roaring enemies and the arena began collapsing.

"Time to go!" Barrett yelled.

"How?!" Aerith yelled, seeing the way out blocked by thousands of claws and teeth.

"You think that Great Gospel only worked on Cloud?" Barrett asked. Limit breaks abounded, the remaining group members blasting a hole to the outside world.

"Come on!" Aerith waved everyone forward. She tensed as saw Tifa and Zack remaining in the arena. Cloud slid to a halt as he caught her stare.

"What are you doing?! Come on!" he shouted.

Tifa shook her head and Zack smiled, throwing out a dismissive wave. "You've got the watch, Spike! Don't let me down, buddy." The two turned their backs to their companions and threw themselves into the way of the raging demons. Clouds of dust and chunks of the ceiling fell and the warriors disappeared from sight.

"No!" Cloud lunged forward, barely restrained by the panicked grip of his flower girl. She shook her head and pulled him back.

"They're gone, Cloud."

He looked at her, and she repeated the words. Tension hung in the air, Cloud's fists clenching and releasing at his sides. His eyes closed, he released his breath, and waved them on. "Let's go home-."

A screech ripped the air, a lone demon flew with claws released at the unprotected throat of Aerith, and a single gun shot rang out. The demon fell headless at Cloud's feet and everyone looked at Vincent.

"Yes, let's go home," he said and holstered his gun. "Now that we're all free to do so." He nodded at Cloud and began leading the way, his cape billowing behind him. No one hesitated as the arena completely disappeared behind them, silencing forever the screams of the tortured and blood thirsty.

It had been one week since the battle with Chaos, and since Tifa's memorial. Life continued forward, as it always had, and everyone went with it. Mostly.

Cloud tried hard to let go of the guilt, but he found himself going to the cliffs over Midgar every day, losing himself in mourning for not just one but two close friends. He tried not to feel guilt for his fallen comrades. It was a losing battle.

"Dilly dally, shilly shally."

Cloud looked up. His body tingled as he found himself in a cross roads right next to the field of flowers that started it all. Peace filled him instead of fear, and a warmth radiated around him, making him relax. There was a surreal quality to everything. He was dreaming again.

"You wanted her back. You got your wish… don't waste it."

"I never wanted to lose you either." He turned around, searching the empty streets. She was there, on the road heading towards a deep blue ocean, her hair blowing softly in the breeze.

"You didn't… I'm right here, and I always will be. One thing is for sure, Cloud Strife, you'll never lose me… or Aerith. Now go love your woman… before she finds another SOLDIER to love."

She turned and began walking down the road. Cloud reached out his hand, stepping forward to stop her, when he caught something out of the corner of his eye. A broad hand, a large smile, and blazing eyes that lit up the fields. Zack made a shooing motion with his hand, before tapping on his watch. He then turned, lacing his fingers behind his head, and began walking down another road, the setting sun blazing at the end.

Cloud stared, watching both his friend walk their paths, out of his life. Or rather, this life. Cloud turned and spotted a lush forest on one road, and snowy mountains on the other. He shivered, realizing what these roads meant, and knowing there was only one path he could take.

His path.

He turned slowly once more, taking in each road and the fields of flowers surrounding them. He didn't feel sadness, like he expected. Just the drive to move forward. This wouldn't be the last time he came to this place, and he knew he wouldn't be here alone. He never was, every time he returned.

Smiling, he faced the road to the mountain range, and moved forward...

Warmth surrounded him when he woke. Light streamed in through the window, highlighting the golden red strands of the brunette sleeping peacefully beside him. It pained him to see that she had been faithfully by his side since their return from Hell's arena, and he had been pushing her away with his pain and guilt. He'd kept thinking he'd needed forgiveness from Zack and Tifa… but he needed forgiveness from her. Forgiveness for being weak, but mostly for being fallible. He was the cause of everyone's pain, because of his own selfishness to find the woman he had fallen in love with. Now that she was here, safe and sound in his life, he was running away because he let himself be driven by the guilt of his decisions.

He couldn't change his past… but he could shape his future. Tifa helped him with that, and he smiled as he thought of her. She'd held him together so many times, and he never told her how much she meant to him… even though he knew in his heart he could not be the hero she longed for. "Not in this life…" he'd heard her whisper, making his soul buzz with a sudden rush of peace.

"…Dilly dally shilly shally…" Cloud smiled at the memory. Tifa was right, he'd wasted enough time. He woke Aerith, gently smiling at her as she came back to awareness. He kissed her, and she smiled in return.

"You seem happy," she murmured.

His grin spread. "I feel lighter. I must have lost some weight, all that dilly dallying." He stroked her face as she became confused, and he laughed softly. Without waiting to be asked, he answered, "Just something an old friend told me."

"Tifa?"

Cloud nodded.

"I'm so sorry, Cloud."

He frowned at her.

"It should have been me-."

"No!" He pulled her to him, into a tight hug, and his voice became soft with a touch of desperation. "No, don't ever say that. If anyone should be sorry, it's me. I should have told you the truth…"

"You never should have wished for me."

"I'd do it again."

She pulled away from him. "What?"

"Aerith… I can't live without you again." He stared at her, his hand stroking her face as he scanned her features. "You complete me in a way I didn't know… until you weren't there anymore. I can't explain it… but I feel empty without you."

Aerith swallowed, her cheeks blushing under his intense gaze. "And Tifa?"

Cloud broke her stare, looking away towards the window. For a few moments, he didn't speak. Then he took her hand and put it on his chest, right in the center. He pressed against her hand, keeping it firmly against his warm skin. His heart beat steady beneath their entwined fingers.

"She's here. I can't explain it, but I just know she's here… like you were… after…"

Aerith reached up her hand, putting her fingers under his chin when he ducked his head. "I believe you. When you see her again, tell her thanks."

Cloud had no time to say anything as she pressed a chaste kiss against his lips. Before she could pull away, he wrapped his hand around the back of her neck, slowly lowering them back onto the bed. They fell into slumber and dreamt of friends who have passed, waving happily from the other side as they wait for their next adventure… in their next life.

The End

Note: I looked up "Dilly Dally Shilly Shally" and this is what Urban Dictionary had to say on the subject:
An expression used to chastize someone who is wasting time, focusing on unimportant things, procrastinating, or otherwise being an emo blond-haired sissy boy.

Well, everyone, that is the end of this adventure. Thank you for joining along for the ride. I do not see myself writing anymore Clerith stories in the future, as I will either by focusing on Clack or on original fiction in the hopes of one day getting published.

Thank you to everyone for the reviews, favorites, and followings. It has been an honor to share this with you. Take care, gang!

Happy Mother's Day!

~D