Spiraling Universe

Chapter 4

The room festered in uncomfortable silence as the group of heroes tried in vain to think of what threat there could possibly be that would force the spirits of the planet to send back those whom had already been threats themselves. The others already figured that Cloud and Vincent knew what was going on…and Yuffie was determined to beat it out of her husband just as soon as they got home. She looked up from the designs of the wood flooring and stared at her dead best friend. Zurui sat on his mothers lap, curled into a ball and twirling a lock of her silver hair between his fingers.

And then Yuffie decided. It didn’t matter WHY they were back or WHAT they had to do. She and her friends had been granted a miracle. A wish that they had all made at some point in the last ten years. They shouldn’t be sitting around sulking because the remnants knew something that they didn’t want to share.

They should be celebrating a great gift.


“Okay, enough!” Yuffie shouted, standing up and putting her hands on her hips. “This is ridiculous. It doesn’t matter. Okay?! I’m going to scream, and cry, and jump, and laugh, and hug my friend. I don’t care why you’re back. I don’t care what you have to do. I don’t care what kind of danger we’re all in because we’ve all faced our mortality before!” Her voice trembled with her fight to stop the tears.

“Yuffie…” Vincent said, reaching out to place his hand on her shoulder. She shook him off and walked across the room to stand before Axys and Yazoo.

She stood there for a moment, Axys staring up at her looking almost afraid. Then, she threw herself toward them, squishing Zurui between them with her very pregnant belly. “I missed you so much!” She cried.

Axys squealed at being thoroughly squished, and then laughed and cried along with Yuffie. Yuffie pulled away and wiped the tears from her eyes. “Lets go for a walk, Ax. Just like old times.” She pulled Zurui off of his mother’s lap and passed him to his father, who cuddled him just as closely as his mother had. The two best friends were almost out the door by the time the others in the room reacted.

“Wait!” Tifa and Yuri shouted at the same time. Axys and Yuffie turned around.

“I want to come too!” Tifa said, rushing over and staring hopefully at Yuffie. She smiled and nodded her head.

“Me too!” said Yuri, joining the group. Shera also stood, grabbing Kagirinai, Marlene and Cidney, and hurried to follow the group.

“Can we get margaritas?!” Marlene said excitedly, thoroughly excited at the thought of being able to drink with her heroes now that she was old enough.

“How about coffee?” Yuffie said, turning once again to walk out the door.

“Yuffie…” Vincent said, his tone sharp.

“Right, right, decaf for me.” She rolled her eyes and continued walking, the others following closely, amused at her muttered “Stupid pregnancy. Stupid delicious caffeinated coffee beverages.”

Yes, it was all back to normal for the women heroes.

{Back at the bar}

“She had a point, ya know. Who th’ fuck cares?” Cid said. He got up and stomped with meaning to the large stereo system, fiddling with the buttons until a happy, upbeat melody flowed through the bar.

And just like a switch, the mood changed. The men were up, laughing and talking and pouring drinks. Zurui stuck like glue to his fathers side for hours, and anyone watching the two would have thought that they had never been apart, so alike were they. Every few minutes, Yazoo would reach down and pat his son gently on the top of the head or squeeze his shoulder. All just reassuring himself that his son was still at his side.

“Reno, watch yourself!” Kadaj scolded as the redhead nearly bowled him over.


“I can’t help it, yo! I haven’t had a drink in ten years! My tolerness…tonerlance…tocer…hell this shit is fuckin’ me up, man!” Reno laughed, throwing his shot glass back once more.

“Oi…” Kadaj rubbed his temples. “I didn’t miss headaches.” he complained. He looked around and saw the mess that they had made during their party. Cid was passed out on the couch, Loz was trying to coax Reno into putting the bottle of Gongagan whiskey down, Reeve was bellowing out some ridiculous love song to Cait Sith, Nanaki was laying on the floor with his head under the couch in an obvious effort to muffle the sound, and Barrett was slumped over the pool table…asleep, it seemed. Denzel had retired to his room, the shock and amazement proving too exhausting for him to take, even though he was now old enough to drink along with his mentors.

The only members of the newly reunited group that were sober…well…functional, anyway…were himself, Yazoo, Zurui (of course), Cloud, and Vincent. Even Vincent and Cloud, though, seemed a little less…there…than normal. Then again, Kadaj concluded, they had been given very stressful news. He could understand the conflicting emotions of wanting to welcome and rejoice with their friends…and being justly terrified and angry about what their friends were sent - and (reluctantly) willing - to do. They deserved a few drinks, he thought.

“Well, what now?” Loz asked, making his way to the group standing by the bar.

“Well, do you know where you’ll stay?” Cloud asked.

“Yes.” Yazoo answered. We know that Shinra Manor still stands empty, and that the deed is in Zurui’s name. We’ll stay there.”

Cloud’s jaw dropped. “How…?”

Yazoo smiled. “We could see everything from the lifestream. We know everything that has happened with everyone that we wanted to watch over the past ten years.”

Vincent lowered his eyes. “Then you know all about…”

“Yes. Kadaj answered. That is why Axys is so angry about the fact that we have to-”

“Shut-up, Kadaj!” Axys cried, announcing to everyone the fact that the women had returned to the bar.

Again, festering silence.

“Alright. What is going on?!” Tifa exploded.

The group watched as Axys sighed and her lower lip began to tremble. She hung her head and whispered in a voice full of hatred and sadness.

“Jenova is coming back. She coming back and we can’t stop her this time. She’s gained too much power from the lifestream and the purity left over from the Omega crisis. The only way is to stop her before she can leave the lifestream again. The only way we can do that…” she stopped to take a breath, “is to destroy any and all connections that she has to life. That means…killing everyone who was ever injected with Jenova cells. All the other remnants have died. There are only two left. We have until the end of summer…and then we rejoin the lifestream. And we have to take Cloud and Vincent with us when we go. By…by any means necessary.” Axys turned her back to the group and the others could hear the tears of sorrow and rage as her shoulders shook. “I’m sorry.” she whispered.

Yuffie sobbed and dove for Vincent, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing him with all her strength. “No!” She cried. “You…you can’t DO this!! After everything-”

“Do you think we want to?!” Kadaj interrupted. “You are our FRIENDS! We have to …to KILL them! OUR FRIENDS! Do you think we WANT this to happen?!” His face was torn by his grief.

Tifa stood staring at Cloud. “Is it true?” she asked in a small voice.

“Yes.” he answered, unwavering. He was not okay with the act that would take place three months in the future, but he knew that two lives were a small price to pay for the safety of the world.

“We understand if you don’t want to see us. We know that this is impossible for you to understand right now.” Yazoo said. “We will leave you alone until the time comes, if that is your wish. But-” he qualified, “when the end of summer comes, we will come back. We came as early as we were able…to…to give you time to…”

“To say goodbye.” Vincent whispered into his wife’s hair. Yuffie sobbed even harder, yanking at Vincent’s hair and burying her face in his neck.

“Let’s go, guys.” Reno slurred, “Give them some time alone to come to terms with…the facts.”

“Yes, I think that would be the best thing, for now.” Yazoo agreed. With once last longing glance at Zurui, Axys turned to leave.

“Wait!!” the little boy cried. She stopped. “I want…I want to come with you! Please! I’ve wished for this for my whole life…Just for…Just for a little while? Please?! Can I go to Nibelheim with you?”

Axys turned and looked at Tifa and Cloud. They both looked torn. Tifa spoke first, her voice a cold monotone. “He’s your son. If he wants to go, I won’t stop him.”

“Tifa-” Axys said, reaching out to her.

“No, Axys…its okay…I’m not angry at any of you…I know that none of you want to do this…but understand this: we will not just give up and let this happen. We WILL find another way.”

“You can try, but just know that Aerith and Ifalna have both searched every possible outcome and they all end the same. I hope - with everything that I ever was and ever will be - what you will be able to find something that we missed.” Kadaj said. He nodded to the group and walked past them, taking Yuri’s hand and leading her outside to wait for the others.

“Aunt Tifa? Will you help me pack a suitcase?” Zurui asked, rushing past the woman to go to his room.

Tifa smiled sadly and nodded. “Of course I will.” she said.

Twenty minutes later, the two groups stood facing each other after much discussion.

“We’ll see you all tomorrow, then.” Axys said.

The Shinra Manor was MORE than big enough to sleep the entire group: there were plenty of extra rooms, and it gave the group a chance to search together.

“You will call your friend…Shelke?” Yazoo confirmed, “She is welcome to stay there as well, if she would like. She would probably be very happy to hear that her sister waits with another very special woman for her return to the planet.” At Vincent’s startled look, Axys rushed to comfort him.

“Its not for a very long time, Vincent, relax.”

Vincent waved with his wife as they watched their friends load into the car borrowed from the WRO, but somehow, he couldn’t bring himself to ‘relax’ as Axys had asked him to. He pulled out his phone and quickly dialed a number.

“Shelke? Its Vincent. Well, I’ve definitely been better. No, Yuffie is fine. Will you come to the bar? Yes, tonight would be preferable. No, Deepground is not resurfacing. This is much, much worse…”