Chapter Text
I don’t have time to think about Gideon. There are too many people and monsters to fight, and it takes all my brainpower to fire my gun and not fall off the back of the bike at the same time.
It’s actually nice, having something else to distract me. It doesn’t matter that Gideon’s dead; that my friends are dead; that my parents are probably dead. All that matters is protecting the friends I have left. What happens to me doesn’t matter, as long as they’re safe.
Cloud is driving like a maniac, but the thrill I feel overrides any fear. We’ve only been together for a short time, but there’s a quiet understanding between us. It might be the SOLDIER he used to be, but he knows exactly where to go so I get the perfect shot. We take down many of the enemies down together, leaving the others protected in the truck behind us.
We skid to a stop on the other side of a set of tollbooths. Cloud knocks the kickstand down, and I climb off after him. The others come out of the truck and join us without a word. Aerith glances over at me, her eyes wide until I look away. I don’t know why she’s staring, and I don’t want to know.
We move down the road. I fall back with Red. My gun feels hot in my hand.
Barret looks over his shoulder at me. “How’s your ammo?”
I shake my head. “Not good. Two or three cartridges left.”
“Make ‘em count.”
Cloud stops, eyes cast upwards. I follow his gaze and see Sephiroth above us, casually floating down until he lands on the road in front of us.
“Okay, asshole, let’s –”
Aerith holds out her arm, stopping Barret from his advance. I’m behind her, so she doesn’t stop me when I raise my gun and fire.
The bullet misses, even though it shouldn’t. Sephiroth turns to me, his eyes narrowing as he stares.
“Don’t!” Aerith says quickly. I lower my weapon as she takes a step forward. “And you…you’re wrong.”
“Those who look with clouded eyes see nothing but shadows.” Sephiroth says, his eyes finally leaving mine, and focusing on Aerith.
“Everything about you is wrong!”
Sephiroth remains silent for a moment. It almost looks like he smiles before he speaks again. “All born are bound to her. Should this world be unmade, so too shall her children.”
None of this is making any sense, but I stay quiet.
“The world won’t end today. But you will!” Cloud draws his sword. I lift my gun again, but have to lower it again quickly as the Whispers descend upon us, floating around us until I can’t see even Red, who was just beside me a moment ago.
And then the screaming starts. It’s so sudden and so piercing I have to drop my gun to cover my eyes. The very sound makes it feel as if my head will burst at any moment. I try to focus on something, anything, other than the screaming.
The sound fades after what feels like hours, and I manage to break free of the Whispers. But Sephiroth is gone, and only a dark abyss is left behind.
Without a word, Cloud moves forward, but Aerith is faster and grabs him before he can get too close. “This is the point of no return,” she says, and I can hardly hear her from where I’m standing. She releases Cloud and moves herself to the darkness. She raises her hand, and it becomes an almost blinding white light. There is so much we don’t know about her.
“Why did you stop me?” Cloud asks.
Aerith looks down. “I’m not really sure,” she confesses.
“What will we find on the other side?” Tifa asks, stepping forward.
“Freedom. Boundless, terrifying freedom. Like a great, never ending sky.” Aerith turns back to us. “What you heard just now were the voices of the planet. Those born into this world; who lived and who died; who returned. They’re howling in pain.”
“Because of him? Sephiroth?”
She nods. “They…their words, they don’t reach him. All these moments, precious and fleeting, they’re like rain rolling off his back. And when they’re gone, he won’t cry or shout or anything. He’d tell you that he only cares about the planet. That he’d do everything in his power to protect and preserve it. But this isn’t the way it’s supposed to be. There’s no greater threat to the planet than him. Sephiroth has to be stopped. He has to be! And that’s why I’m asking you to help me. I know that, together, we can do this.” Her eyes find mine, and I nod. I’m already in this. I’m not backing down now.
“But if we do, we’ll be changing more than fate itself.” She turns away from us, looking back at the glowing white light she transformed. “If we succeed, if we win, we’ll be changing ourselves. I guess, maybe that’s why I hesitated.”
“You said it yourself. He has to be stopped,” Cloud says easily. I know he agreed to help her long before this moment. “And frankly, I’ve heard enough howling for a lifetime.”
I step forward, and Tifa quickly follows me. “Never tried to challenge destiny,” she says in a way that almost makes me smile. It just sounds very typical Tifa.
“This could well be her last line of defense,” Red adds, coming forward as well. “It won’t be easy.”
We walk through the light together. I don’t care about destiny. Anything is better than this. I need something more. If I stop and think, I’ll never get moving again.
We end up where we left, but there’s something off about it. Like, everything has shifted to the right and we’re still stuck in the middle.
“Don’t know about you, but looks normal to me!” Barret calls from behind me.
The Whispers swarm us again; one gets close to me and suddenly all I can see is Hojo’s lab. I see him in his dirty lab coat coming towards me. There’s a different instrument in his hands, and I don’t like the look of it at all.
The swarm disappears as quickly as it came, and I stagger on my feet. I hear groans from the others and know immediately that they saw something too.
Without pause, I press down on the scar on my shoulder and focus on the pain it brings. I can’t think about being back at the lab.
“What the hell did I just see?” Barret demands, once again voicing what I don’t.
I share a look with Cloud as Red starts, “A glimpse of tomorrow if we fail here today.”
Like hell. I would rather die than be forced to return to Shinra.
Tifa turns to Aerith. “So, what now?”
“As long as Sephiroth’s still out there, I…”
“We can beat him,” Aerith says gently, her hand pressed hard against her chest. “We will.”
Tifa steps forward. “Count me in,” she agrees easily.
Red joins her. “If it’s to be a hunt, you could use a nose like mine.”
I step forward too. “I’m in,” I tell him simply. Where else will I go, I don’t add.
“I’m in too!” Barret says, turning around to join us. “Bastard wants to destroy the whole planet, doesn’t he? An enemy of hers is an enemy of Avalanche!”
Cloud takes each of us in, slowly looking between us. No one says anything, and finally he nods.
Something hits my forehead. I look up. The sky is dark, and I realize it’s raining. I hold my hands out, and feel the water hit my palms in quick, fat drops. The dirt under our feet will slowly turn to mud, but for a moment we don’t move. Each of us is taking in the rain quietly as it falls heavy.
I raise my head towards the sky, and allow the drops to fall onto my face. I grip my hands into tight fists. No matter what happens after this, I’m going to give it my all. I’m done being weak.
My heart begins to ache, and I close my eyes tightly against the tears that I know want to fall. I won’t cry, not now. Not when there’s so much to do.
I don’t have time to grieve the people I’ve lost.
I take a deep breath and start forward, following closely behind Cloud. We have different reasons for moving forward – we all do.
But I don’t care if I come back.
I press down one final time on the scar on my shoulder. It’s one of the many reasons Shinra has to be stopped. No matter what happens, we have to win.
I’m going to make everyone regret messing with Evie Ryder.