Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Running out of Time ❯ Ending 2: Never Alone ( Chapter 12 )

I realize a lot of you changed your minds and told me that I didn't really have to write this, and I thank you. But I made a promise. Thanks for reading the sad ending, anyway. I still consider the sad ending to be the REAL ending, but I'm writing this as an… alternative solution, but not the original. BTW, some conversations are cut-and-pasted from the other version when the content hasn't been altered despite the context.

 

Yo! I drew a sketch of a snapshot from the end of the OTHER ending. And by sketch I mean it's in pencil. Don't worry; I put effort into it. I'm not a crappy artist. Anwho, it's HERE:

 

http : / / www . deviantart . com / deviation / 59173294 /

 

(FFnet hates hyperlinks, so take out the spaces!)

 

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Disclaimer: We've been through this already. It. Is. Not. MINE! TAKE it! But you can't have Fluffy, the plot bunny.

 

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Running out of Time: Final Chapter #2, AKA the somewhat happier version.

 

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“Why don't you ask Aerith?”

 

Cloud blinked. He blinked again. Then, he smiled. Silently echoing Tifa's question of WHY, oh great holy Alexander WHY hadn't they thought of that at the beginning of this whole mess?

 

Aerith. I need you. I need help. Can you hear me?

 

He waited as the minutes went by. Finally, the light in the room seemed to condense into the form of the young Cetra. With a sad smile, Aerith opened her eyes to stand before them, an angel, she seemed, amongst the flowers. But only Cloud could see or hear her.

 

“Oh, Cloud…” she whispered. “Vincent is…”

 

Cloud stepped forward, a painfully hopeful gleam in his eyes. “Aerith… is there was way to save Vincent? Can't you do something?”

 

Aerith sighed. “Cloud… I… You know that the laws of nature mustn't be broken, don't you? I can't interfere directly,” she murmured, holding up a hand to silence Cloud before he could interrupt. With a smile, she spoke again. “But that doesn't mean that there is nothing that can be done. There has been a solution from the start. All you had to do was ask for help.” Cloud gave her an astonished stare. She could have mentioned said solution beforehand. “You remember how the Geostigma was finally cured?”

 

Cloud frowned. “It's kinda hard to forget. But, Aerith, that spring has long since dried up! Otherwise we'd be standing in water right now.”

 

Aerith smiled. “In truth, that water was just water that had been infused with mako from the Lifestream. There was an untapped well beneath this church that ShinRa had overlooked. It helped the flowers survive back when ShinRa was still sucking the mako out of the ground… Unfortunately,” she murmured, “after Omega played havoc with the flow of the Lifestream, all such wells within a hundred-mile radius dried up… but… can't you think of a place far away from here where the Lifestream came to the surface?” She prodded. Cloud shook his head, mystified. Aerith sighed. “The crater. The Lifestream there is untainted. The reason Vincent's body can't compensate without Chaos is that the current in his body has been disrupted.”

 

Cloud's eyes widened at the revelation. “Meaning…? What?”

 

Aerith thought a moment. How best to explain? “You know we have a current like the Lifestream in our bodies. Chaos was fused with Vincent all the way to the core. Even when dormant, that current flowed through Chaos as well. But Chaos was ripped away, taking his half of that life-energy with Him. It took a full year before Vincent's body began to respond to the shock, mostly because the mako jumped in to compensate. But it couldn't keep up for longer than that…”

 

Cloud still didn't understand what finding the Lifestream would accomplish, though. But Aerith wasn't done, yet.

 

With a smile, she continued. “Coming in contact with the pure Lifestream will redirect the flow of his life force and repair the damage done when Chaos left. He… will still age, Cloud. There is nothing to be done about that. But only slightly faster than you yourself will age. The mako injections slow the aging process,” she whispered, “but do not halt it… But, Vincent will be able to heal. Not quite as rapidly as before, I'm afraid… but old, healed wounds will not begin to reopen. It is not perfect… but he will not suffer as much. I can't do anything about the horrors Hojo inflicted on him…” She trailed off with a sad sigh. “His suffering will never truly end until he dies. The missing organs… the amputated limb… the aching scars both inside and out… those, neither Time nor I can heal,” she finished with a bitter smile. “At best, he will feel no worse than he did one year ago. I cannot be certain that his blindness will even be healed. You must be content with this, Cloud,” she warned.

 

Cloud nodded silently. He was hoping… for a miracle, he supposed. Which this was, but it wasn't a cure-all fix. “Thank you. It's worth a try.”

 

Aerith smiled, already beginning to fade. “Make haste. He doesn't have much time left, Cloud.”

 

And at that, she was gone. Cloud turned to face Vincent and Tifa. Tifa looked at Cloud expectantly. Cloud remained silent for a moment. As soon as Tifa began to worry, though, he broke into a broad grin. “I've got an answer. Call Cid. We'll need the Shera,” he said hurriedly, eyes gleaming with hope again. Tifa immediately pulled out her phone to dial the pilot's number. “Aerith said that his internal current is all screwed up because when Chaos left, he tried to pull it out with him. Apparently, getting him in contact with pure mako from the Lifestream will cause the current to repair itself and restore the missing pieces. After that, he'll begin to heal slowly until he's made a full recovery.” I hope, Cloud added silently. “She said it won't fix problems from before, like the mess Hojo made of his body, but it should fix the new problems. You hearing this, Vincent?” The gunman nodded, slightly dazed. He decided not to point out that Cloud had been talking as though he weren't in the room anyway, so what did it matter? Cloud continued, satisfied that Vincent was paying attention.

 

“You'll begin to age again, but only as fast as you would with the mako injections anyway, so not much faster than me. So… I guess you get your wish. Not immortality, just longevity,” he explained before laughing. “I guess in the end, it'll just be me, you, and Nanaki left… the three of us can grow old together. Honestly, I have no idea how long that will be, though…” Cloud shook his head. “Anywho, we need to get to the Northern Crater ASAP. It'll take a while… it's pretty far from here… and the weather looks like it's gonna get bad,” he added, with a quick glance through the hole in the ceiling.

 

“Cid's on his way. He said we have a lot of explaining to do, though,” Tifa spoke up, slipping her phone into a hidden pocket under the half-skirt she wore. Cloud nodded and began gathering up their things. He pulled out a potion and pressed it into Vincent's slack hand. After Vincent swallowed it down, he bent down to whisper in the gunman's ear.

 

“Vince… Aerith said even she didn't know what to expect. About your eyes. So… I'm gonna let them know, all right?” A nod. “I'll hang onto the Protomateria for you until after you're fixed up, alright?” But Vincent shook his head.

 

“Keep it. I don't want it; I have no use for it. Or, better yet, give it to Yuffie. She'd love it.”

 

Cloud had to smile at that. “All right. She can add it to her collection. Are you sure? It's the one materia she's never managed to steal.” But at a shake of Vincent's head, Cloud sighed and pocketed it. “What about the claw?”

 

Vincent thought for a moment. “Help me reattach it. I want to have it attached when we do this… otherwise, in the rearranging of my life current, it might be excluded from circulation.” Cloud nodded and pulled the metal monstrosity out of the item bag, squatting down next to the gunman. Vincent held out his arm.

 

“There's a mechanism in the port that connects the nerve to the wires so I have full control over the hand. It requires a twist to release, but you only need to insert it into the metal socket to reattach it. It's actually very clever, as far as the locking mechanism goes. Though the design is somewhat awkward…” He trailed off with a chuckle. The thing was better suited as a can opener than as an appendage. But it had its uses.

 

Cloud carefully lined up the connecting pieces and snapped them together. He hadn't been prepared for the gunman's reaction, though. Vincent tried to bite back a pained scream that came out as a muffle moan; the metal limb jerked away from Cloud of its own volition, gouging a bloody gash on the blonde's arm. Vincent flinched at Cloud's startled yelp.

 

“Sorry…”

 

Cloud shrugged. “It's all right; it'll heal. I just wasn't expecting that. It doesn't hurt too bad; it's not that deep.”

 

Vincent grunted. He was still upset that he had injured the blonde at all. They both turned to look as Tifa came over.

 

“Cid says he has the ship and is waiting outside Edge for us. Let's go. Can the Fenrir carry three?”

 

Cloud shrugged. “It'll be a tight fit, but we'll manage. Vincent, we're gonna sandwich you between us so you can't fall, alright?” Vincent nodded. Cloud rose to pull Tifa to the side so he could warn her about Vincent's blindness; she gasped in horror, but didn't comment. She and Cloud agreed that Cid should get a warning, so she quickly pulled out the phone and redialed Cid's number. After a hushed conversation, she snapped the phone shut and turned to face Cloud and Vincent.

 

“All right. We need to get going.”

 

Cloud bent down and pulled the gunman up, slinging the human arm around his shoulder. Carefully, he led Vincent to the Fenrir. He helped Vincent onto the bike before climbing on himself. Once Tifa had slid on behind Vincent, Cloud revved the engine and took off without a word.

 

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Cloud and Tifa climbed off of the Fenrir first before Cloud lifted Vincent down. Handing the gunman off to Tifa, he quickly rolled the motorcycle up the ramp and onto the Shera. That done, he came back down and the circled around to the actual entrance. Cloud lifted Vincent to carry him in his arms up the stairs, much to the gunman's displeasure. Cid greeted them with a hearty hello, but his enthusiasm died the instant he saw Vincent. Cloud set the gunman down on his feet gently, but Vincent couldn't stand without leaning heavily on Cloud for support.

 

Cid shifted awkwardly. “Damn… You look like shit, Vince…” He leaned in and laid a hand on the gunman's shoulder. “I hope to Holy that this crazy-assed plan is gonna work. `Cause otherwise, I don't know what we'd do without ya, Vince. All right!” He shouted at the crew. “Get yer asses in gear! We got LIVES dependin' on how fast you can get us to the Northern Crater! Let's go!” The crewmembers hastily began to power up the ship.

 

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The ride to the Crater didn't go a planned, however. They had to detour around a massive storm cell that had parked itself directly in the fastest route to their destination. Cid flew as close as he dared to the dark mass of clouds. Even so, the ride was so bumpy that Cloud was feeling more than a little queasy with motion sickness. Vincent was not doing well. The stress of the jarring flight had already thrown him into two coughing fits before they had even gotten to the northernmost continent. Cid looked on in horror as the gunman seemed to be hacking up enough blood for three people. Feeling guilty for causing the attacks through the bumpy flight, he made it his personal task to find a towel and clean up the mess. He honestly couldn't complain when the situation was so dire. Had it been any other time, he would have screamed at Vincent for staining the floor of his precious baby. But he kept that to himself. The gunman already had enough problems to deal with.

 

“Sorry… about… the floor…” Vincent whispered. Cid gaped for a moment before clapping a hand on Vincent's shoulder, squatting next to the gunman.

 

“It's fine. You just get better, all right?”

 

Vincent nodded weakly. He slumped sideways to lean against Cloud; he was exhausted. If only he could sleep… Shaking his head, he struggled to remain alert. But the motion caught Cloud's attention.

 

“Vincent, just hang on a little longer. We're almost there.” Vincent nodded, closing his eyes. So tired. Cloud shook his shoulder. When the gunman only mumbled in response, Cloud shook him harder until he cracked an eye open. “Vincent, come on. Stay with us! Cid,” he called, “How much longer!? Vincent's not doing so good!”

 

“Five more minutes!” The pilot called back.

 

Cloud cursed. He tapped the gunman on the shoulder and began a conversation, trying to keep Vincent from drifting off. It worked for a minute or two, but…

 

“Vincent! Come on!” He shook the gunman's shoulders hard enough to knock his head against the wall, but Vincent wasn't responding anymore, and his breathing was shallow and alarmingly slow. “Dammit!” Cloud cursed. “Tifa, Cid! Help me; we're losing him!”

 

With muffled curses they ran over to try to help. Talking and yelling was getting them nowhere. Cid stood helplessly to the side. With tears streaming from her eyes, Tifa finally growled in frustration and delivered two powerful slaps to both of Vincent's cheeks. Cloud jumped, the cracking sound of her hand hitting Vincent's skin was as loud as a gunshot in these close quarters. Finally the gunman twitched, stirring slightly. Cloud resumed shaking his shoulders.

 

“Vincent! Wake the hell up!” The gunman groaned and struggled to open one leaden eyelid.

 

“…Thanks, Tifa. Sorry to worry you….” Tifa just smiled. With a jarring thump, the aircraft stopped moving.

 

“We're here!” Cid announced. Cloud picked Vincent up before he and Tifa made their way to the Fenrir. There was no time to lose.

 

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By the time they made it to the center of the crater, they could see that the pit Sephiroth had created had filled. The glow of the mako pool lit the entire surrounding area. Fortunately, it hadn't been touched- this area was just too hazardous to get to by normal means. But Fenrir was not normal. Fenrir was FAR above average.

 

Cloud was carrying Vincent in his arms again; the gunman's breathing had slowed alarmingly on the ride down, but this time he wouldn't wake. This was their only chance. The trip had used up all of Vincent's remaining strength. They carefully approached the glowing pool. Unsure how to go about the procedure, Cloud was surprised to hear Aerith's voice whisper in his mind.

 

Just a touch is all it takes; any more than that and he'll be sucked in. Careful.

 

Cloud nodded. He pulled the leather glove off of Vincent's hand and quickly held a single paper-white finger out, touching it gently into the pool. They waited as the seconds ticked by.

 

Suddenly, with a gasp, Vincent's eyes shot open and he pulled the hand back. Cloud hauled him back from the pool, stumbled and fell. Vincent landed on top of him, and he was rather startled to find two blazing crimson eyes peering intently into his own blue, just inches away. Vincent carefully raised the ungloved hand to brush cool fingers against Cloud's cheek.

 

“Thank you. I'll always remember the kindness you showed me these past few days.”

 

At that, the gunman pulled away and sat up, looking thoughtfully into the pool of mako. Cloud sneezed; Vincent's hair had been tickling his nose as the gunman held him pinned to the ground.

 

“Vincent… so, you can see?”

 

The gunman nodded. “And feel. The numbness is gone, along with the pain. I… may need help walking, though… I'm afraid that I am still too weak to stand… Ah!” Cloud had immediately risen to his feet and scooped the gunman up into his arms again. Cloud gave him a mock-glare as Vincent pouted. For pouting it undoubtedly was. There could be no other word for the expression on the gunman's face.

 

“Who said I was done taking care of you, anyway? You're in NO shape to leave yet! So I hope you don't mind staying just a little longer before you disappear again and go home… or whatever…” He frowned. Where exactly did Vincent live, anyway? Vincent seemed to be echoing his thoughts.

 

“Cloud… I am home. With my… friends.”

 

With a smile, Cloud turned to go to the waiting airship.

 

“It took you until now to realize that?”

 

 

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---

 

Everybody knows so well

 

What's written on the Doomsday Bell.

 

Our fates are sealed by our own hand;

 

So let the dirge ring through this stifled land.

 

---

 

No sacred hand to carve into your stone;

 

Those words may be graven by your hand alone.

 

A ghosted whisper of burning hope;

 

A path concealed by the lines you wrote.

 

---

 

You search for what cannot be found

 

As your footsteps echo on hallowed ground.

 

A prayer uttered to stagnant air,

 

The truth, the lies, your life laid bare.

 

---

 

Behind closed eyes we can truly see

 

The fraying rope of our destiny;

 

The path will find you in this cheerless land,

 

The stillborn questions entombed in sand.

 

---

 

Trapped in this city of steel and lies,

 

You have no worth but what death buys.

 

Strive to secure your own damnation;

 

Your blood and tears are the only salvation.

 

---

 

Tears of joy and tears of pain,

 

A sea of tears with nothing gained.

 

But when all is lost to death and shame,

 

The tears alone are what remain.

 

---

 

Requiem loosed on static air;

 

Doom's bell rings the warning knell.

 

Come, Destruction, thy name is Ruin,

 

To wake me from this endless Hell.

 

---

 

Owari.

 

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That last bit… was… I dunno. An “Ode to Vincent,” maybe. I DID write it with him in mind. Half of it was inspired by a song that was playing on the radio that has absolutely NOTHING to do with these words, as it was CHEERFUL. I just had the melody stuck in my head, then I changed it a bit and got this… idea. For words. After coming up with the first two lines, I decided that I might as well write more. Then I thought, “Hmmm… this reminds me vaguely of Vincent,” and I wrote the rest of it. So, whatever. Absolutely spontaneous creative poetry/song lyrics. But they work, ne?

 

Thus ends the story Running out of Time. Ehh, the ending is… okay. But not great. I like the other one better. This one feels too sappy. I hate sappy endings that totally don't make sense or fit with the mood of the story. Oh, well. It's all you're gonna get out of me. Need… sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep…. -snore-

 

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