One Year Later
It goes so fast.
But a lot had happened since then, thought Cloud.
Since the Apocalypse, since Sephiroth died. Since Jenova vanished.
Since the new beginning.
He gazed out upon the golden fields that stretched further than the
horizon. To the left lay Fort Condor, standing frail and empty. They had
buried the dead there a few weeks after Judgement. People called it the
graveyard of humanity.
It was a fitting memorial, he thought. As, like a Phoenix, the human
race rose from the ashes of defeat to live again.
Yuffie walked slowly up to him, cradling the small Chao in her arms.
He gurgled sweetly at Cloud and closed his eyes once more.
Cloud grinned. “He’s a gorgeous baby, Yuffie.”
She laughed softly. “Gawd, don’t I know it. He takes after me... and
his father.”
Cloud held her close in a friendly embrace.
“Thanks, Yuffie.”
“What for?”
“For not stealing the materia.”
She chuckled. “Heh heh heh. I’m just waitin’ for a chance to strike,
ya know.”
“Where are the others?”
“Over by Reeve’s grave. Oh, except Nicholas. He went off to Craig and
Anthony-”
Cloud silenced her with a wave of his hand.
“I know. I think I’ll have a talk with him. Where is he?”
She pointed to a small dot in between the fields of corn. “There.”
“Thanks again, Yuffie. For everything.”
He left her on the hill and ran to Nicholas.
“Hi.” he said, as he walked up to the teenager.
Nicholas smiled back faintly. “Hello, Cloud.”
“I just wanted to say... thanks. For everything.”
Cloud shrugged at Nicholas’ raised eyebrows.
“Cloud? Why the sudden acknowledgement of thanks?”
He shrugged again. “Just because I’ve been busy, so I haven’t really
said it yet. And I think you’ve earned it.”
Nicholas nodded. “That means a lot to me, Cloud. Thank you.”
“What are you gonna do now?”
“I do not know. Perhaps I will return to the village. Perhaps. Find
a partner and settle down...”
“I’ve been thinking the same. I’m tired of fighting. I just want to
live in peace.”
“I think the same. I have seen enough bloodshed to last me a lifetime.”
“They were good men, you know.”
“Who?”
“Anthony and Craig. They were both great men.”
“...Yes.”
“I mean it, Nicholas. You should be proud of them. But I think that
you should be equally proud of yourself.”
“...Yes.”
“Are you coming? It’s gonna be one hell of a party.”
“No. I think... I think I will go now.”
“Will we see each other again?”
“I think it is more than likely. The world has become so small, now.
There are so few of us left.”
And he was right. Only six-thousand had survived the Apocalypse. The
rest had been killed in the battle.
“Then I guess this is goodbye. If only for a while.”
“Indeed, Cloud. Goodbye, and thank you.”
Nicholas turned and walked back into the forests lying to the right.
There was a hand on his shoulder and he turned. Tifa stood in front
of him, smiling in that way she did.
“Are you gonna come? Barrett and Cid are drunk again. Even Vincent
is a bit tipsy.”
“I bet that’s a rare treat.”
She laughed. “Yeah. What is it, Cloud?”
“We’ve come so far, but we’ve lost so much. Think of the thousands
that died, Tifa. It will take a millennia for the human race to fully recover.”
She touched his face fondly. “But... we’ll have each other, right?”
He grinned. “Yeah, Tifa. No matter what happens, it’ll always be you
and me.”
“I love you, Cloud.”
He was almost taken aback by her sudden declaration. But everything
was different, now. Everything...
“I love you, too.”
She kissed him briefly and held his hand. Far off in the distance she
heard Cid singing some dirty pilot song.
Together, they waded back through the corn as the sun dipped slowly
under the horizon.
THE END
Well, after months of furious writing, I finally finished that one!
By the way, I KNOW the Fourth book is only four pages long. But the whole
thing was so big I had to make an extra long epilogue. I hoped you enjoyed
reading it as much as I did writing it: if not then I’m sorry, it’s the
first fic I’ve done.
Anyway, whatever you thought, get ready for more stuff from me in
the future!
Sam Gayton