A NOTE FROM THE AUTHORESS

Welcome to Final Fantasy 7: The Story 3rd Instalment! This will hopefully be our third and final instalment. If you are new to this fic, I recommend you read the first two instalments located on my profile. Instalment 1 follows the game from Midgar to the Gold Saucer. Instalment 2 follows the game from Gongaga to the North Crater.

I hope you all enjoy the last instalment! I will try to get it finished before 2008! Thanks to everyone who has been following the fic since its birth! You know who you are! (Special hugs to Cloud-821 for being such a fantastic follower!)

DISCLAIMER

Emerald, Princess of Vernea does not own Final Fantasy 7 and is not associated with it or its creators in anyway. This is a novelisation of the text (writing up these things is a hobby), and Emerald only lays claim to the written form and original dialogue that does not appear in the game. Everything else is copyrighted to Squaresoft, the creators of Final Fantasy 7.

Final Fantasy VII: The Story 3rd Instalment

Emerald Princess of Vernea

Prologue

In the darkness, the Planet cried. Its cries could be heard by all those lost to the Lifestream, or by those with the ability to hear. Those who heard its cries described it as mournful. Mournful of the pain it had suffered at the hands of those who lived on it. Mournful of what would happen. Mournful of what it knew it must do.

Cloud sat alone in the darkness. He let the darkness sweep past him, even through him. Maybe here, in the endless darkness, he would find where he truly belonged. The light of the present hurt too much—he could never return there. Cloud let his head fall onto his knees and closed his eyes, ready to sleep forever.

"Cloud… Cloud…"

It was Tifa's voice that called to him. Her voice was a dagger through his heart—a reminder of the life he could never go back to. So he stood and turned his back on the light, and walked the lonely path into the shadows.

Tifa could only watch helplessly as her friend vanished into the dark. She tried to run after him, to bring him back, but the shadows soon swallowed him up and removed him from her sight. Weakly she fell to her knees and stared into the shadows where Cloud had gone.

Deep down, Tifa blamed herself for what happened. If she had told him sooner, maybe this wouldn't have had to happen. But how could she? How can you tell someone you care about… that they might not be who they think they are? Even as the darkness flowed around her, Tifa cried, wishing that Cloud would come back.

"……I didn't know what to do," she cried. "I was always like that…"

Her memories strayed back to the day that Cloud Strife arrived in Midgar.

Tifa entered the Sector 7 train station. Barret was late from an errand again. The 7th Heaven had been receiving bad press due to Barret's temper and lack of self-control, so Tifa had sent him out to keep him out of her hair. But he was running late again, so she went to the station to wait for him.

Something odd was happening when she arrived. The station guard and his dog were by the stairs, standing beside a handsome young man who had collapsed after getting off the train. He had an unusual glow in his eyes and was very pale, as though he had been sick recently. A large sword, dented and stained, lay by his feet.

"What's the matter?" the guard asked, giving the man a nudge.

The young man lifted his head. He stared groggily at the guard, his spiky blond hair falling damply around his face. His eyes were wide with fever. He tried to speak but could not form the words. "Ohhh…" was all he could manage. His head fell limp to his chest.

"……Poor kid," said the guard, looking down at the spiky-haired young man.

"Ooouugh……" the young man moaned.

Quickly Tifa ran forward, pushing past the station guard. The guard recognised Tifa as one of the residents of the slums and thought she would knew better how to handle the ailing young man. He walked away, his dog following closely at his heels.

"Are you all right?" asked Tifa, kneeling down beside the man.

Hearing her voice, the young man slowly raised his head to look at her. Tifa stared at his eyes, bright blue with an eerie glow. The man stared at her strangely, his mouth moving though no sound escaped his lips. His head lolled to one side and Tifa feared he was going to die right in front of her. But the young man recovered himself and lifted his head again, looking into her eyes and fighting to stay there.

"Oo… uh… agh. Uh… uh… Tifa?"

Tifa jumped, startled. How did he know her name?

The young man winced, breaking Tifa from her thoughts. He moaned and shook his head. Then he looked up at her again.

"Tifa…?" he said again, this time with a little more strength. Once again he groaned painfully and shook his head, as though he had a terrible headache. Suddenly he stood up, moving so rapidly that Tifa nearly fell back. The man stood up straight and looked at Tifa, a smile on his face. He flicked his hand through his blond hair. "Tifa!" he said excitedly.

"…………?" Tifa stared at him. Did she know this young man? There was something a little familiar about him. Where did she know him from? Not from Midgar—she would have seen him before. Nibelheim, perhaps? The flicker of a past memory appeared in her mind and she remembered. She had almost forgotten that boy… "Oh, Cloud!" she said after placing the name.

The man nodded. "That's right. I'm Cloud."

Tifa smiled, glad to run into an old childhood friend. "Is it really you, Cloud?" she asked, to be sure. "I never thought I'd find you here!"

Cloud nodded again. "Yeah, it's been a while."

"What happened to you?" Tifa asked him. "You don't look well," she added, noting his pale face and sweat-damp hair.

"……Yeah?" said Cloud, confused. "It's nothing. I'm okay."

Tifa turned away, suddenly feeling that something wasn't right. He had been very sick, unable to speak properly, on the verge of death even, until a few moments ago. Now he was standing and talking as though nothing had happened.

While Tifa's back was turned, Cloud suddenly grasped his head. His body shook with pain. When Tifa turned back, however, Cloud had returned to normal.

"How long has it been?" asked Tifa thoughtfully.

The question made Cloud twitch. Suddenly he moaned and grabbed his head again. Tifa watched, her eyes sad. She shook her head. When Cloud stopped shaking and was able to speak again, he answered, "Five years."

Tifa stared at him. "…………" Did he even remember he was sick?

Cloud shrugged dismissively. "What is it?" he asked, noticing Tifa's worried gaze.

"…It's really been a long time," answered Tifa, smiling softly.

"Actually, it's been seven years. You got your wish and joined SOLDIER, quit after the Sephiroth incident, and now you're a mercenary… You told me a lot about what happened after you left Nibelheim… But… Something's wrong. I felt there was something strange about the things you talked about. All the things you didn't know that you should. And other things you shouldn't know that you did…

"I wanted to make sure… But then I heard… you were going far away… And I didn't want that… …I didn't know what to do. So, I thought I needed more time. And that's why I told you about the AVALANCHE job. I wanted to be with you, watch you."

Tifa closed her eyes and cried.

Emerald: I didn't know whether to place this as an epilogue to the last instalment, or a prologue to this one. I decided with a coin toss. The gods have decided.