Lifestream.

He felt it threading around him, winding like silk, the soothing liquid cool to his burning skin, holding his body in its turquoise light. Lifestream. He opened his mouth and let the water soothe his parched throat, felt it soaking into his eyes, run its fingers through his hair. He breathed it in, being absorbed into its arms, deep within the heart of the Planet.

"Am I... dead?"

He had no platform to stand on, no holds to grab onto, just floating deep within the healing liquid, letting it surround him until he was one with it, one with the energy and force buried deep within the Planet, with the spirit and power of the immortal.

"I must be... dead... To be here..." He was weightless, lost, floating, disoriented and yet peaceful, feeling all the trouble and pain of his entire life leaving his body, the anger simply dissolving in the cool waters of the Lifestream. "I'm... dead..."

You're dying, the Lifestream told him. It has come. You have lived your life.

He lifted his head, staring around him. "I'm dying... Oh, I don't believe this, I'm dying..."

"I used to think I would never die..."

A low rumble echoed around him. You are a depraved man...

"What? What are you-... What do you mean?" He tried to stand but only managed to set himself twirling and spinning slowly around and around, his head snapping in all directions. "What do you mean, 'depraved'?" And your fate will not be a pleasant one... You will have to atone for your sins...

"What!?! ... No! Oh, no!!! No, no, no!..." He kicked out in all directions, feeling the deepening feeling of dread overtake his heart. "No!" He curled into a ball, holding his breath, forcing the Lifestream from his body, trying to expel it, trying to shut it off. "What's going to happen ...? I didn't... mean..."

Rufus Shinra... The death and destruction you and your company have caused...

"I'm sorry... God, no..." He quivered in fear, choking on the water surround him, feeling it pound through his veins and in through his skin. "Please don't... It was all... Oh, hell..."

You could say that... Laughter filled his ears, cruel, angry laughter, mocking and taunting, assaulting him with its bitter taste, pounding against his head, surrounding him. Arrogant, heartless, cold-blooded laughter, jangling dischords, beating him, breaking his bones and his spirit, lashing him like a whip, against his back, his face, his entire body. It sliced at him with razor-sharp teeth, screaming its evil mirth, ripping at his flesh with glistening fangs. It was evil laughter, cocky and brash and domineering, foolish and young and corrupted with power.

This laughter...

"Make it stop!" He clawed at the air, his eyes clenched tightly, breath in tattered gasps. "Make it stop!"

... is your own.

He screamed and sobbed, retching in his misery, feeling the cold Lifestream coursing into his blood and beating against his face, the horrible punishment for his past ringing deathly loud in his ears. He felt his body wracked with endless convulsions of pain and fear, the agony jolting him and nipping him, the dim throbbing that erupted into piercing shrieks of horror. He tried to close himself off from the Lifestream, spit it out, empty his lungs, but it was too late. His face was wet with tears, his once-proud head drooping and cradled in his hands, spitting and coughing blood and tears. And yet the pain did not let up, only drove deeper into his skin, into his flesh, into his spirit.

"Oh Lord..." He writhed in agony, trying desperately to cover his eyes with his hands, but he found no flesh, only Lifestream. "Oh, Lord... I can't... be... dead..."

"Not... Nooo..."

He felt himself grow weaker and weaker beneath the assault, the battering of his body never ebbing, but constantly driving into him, no matter how much he struggled. The Lifestream continued to flow into him, through his skin, his nose, his eyes, his mouth... Melting him, dissolving him, clawing at him, trying to pull him apart, and leave only the pain behind. But he kicked out in all directions, refusing to succumb to the unbearable pain, focusing his raving mind on life, his life, his future, his fate...

The Lifestream roared around him, the waves coming to beat against his broken spirit, then suddenly paused. It hesitated for a moment, then it was surging once more, but away. Out, through cracks and crevices, forcing itself through, snaking in and out and back again, tendrils waving, fingers intertwining, curling together like lace, crying in triumph and pain. Rufus joined the dance, ebbing and flowing, as it coursed around him and surrounded him, surrounded the light, the darkness, swallowed everything whole, enveloped all with its shimmering glow. Lifestream.

He lashed out in all directions, flailing against the forces which washed at him, moving him this way and that, up and down. He screamed, beating at the liquid with his fists, his face contorted with rage. "Nooooo!" He kicked out, pushing himself through, forcing the Lifestream out of his body, coughing and spitting blood, feeling his skin burn. He couldn't see anymore, blindly fumbling through the light surrounding him, his teeth set in determination.

He felt the Lifestream's cry as he wrenched himself free, feeling the sudden agony overtake him. His skin felt as though it were boiling, as though he was on fire, and his eyes... His eyes...

He uttered one final moan before falling to his knees, holding his broken head in his hands, slowly disappearing into the light.

Huh? ... Oh, geez. Who is that? That looks like... ... Oh my God, it is! And... ... ... Oh, no... Ohh, noooo... Oh my God...

What's he doing down here? Shouldn't he have been...?

Up there? Yeah, I know. How did he get here?

I don't know... This is... horrible... Can't we do anything? He looks so...

No, I'm sorry. There's nothing we can do for him...

He's dead...

"Rufus."

He lay silent.

"Rufus..."

"Rufus, open your eyes."

He did so, peeking out through swollen eyelids, weak and broken, lying on the ground, immersed in pure darkness. His throat felt dry and cracked, filled with dust, his tongue caked with dirt. "F-f-f-Father..."

President Shinra stared down at his son, a wistful look on his face. "Rufus... Sleep now. Just sleep."

"Father... Am I dead?" Rufus gasped and heaved, choking on his own breath. "Am I dead?"

"Sleep. I am a dream." President Shinra laughed softly, like Rufus had never heard him laugh before, and stroked his head, running his fingers through Rufus's disheveled hair. "I am but a dream."

"No... Father... This can't be..."

"Sleep, Rufus..." He faded out, slowly dissolving and disappearing into the blackness, until only his voice remained. "Sleep, my son. You have come a long way."

"And I shall... continue," he wheezed, fighting the pain with gritted teeth. "A very... long... way... But, Father..."

"Perhaps... you will." His father's voice was ghostly, soft and echoing through the unconsciousness, lulling him to sleep, pleading with him to succumb to his weariness. "I am but a dream...

"Sleep, Rufus... Sleep, now. You'll be alright."

Oh, God, I'm sorry, yes? ... Good LORD, what's he doing here? What happened to him... Is he...

Is he ... dead?

... Oh, no, it's alright, everyone's welcome here... No, we can't... tell anyone else, they'll... riot and murder him... God, we've got to ... Hurry, get...

Materia. Where is that girl? ... No time to explain, please... No, no, don't... Where did she go? ... I've got to help...

That should ... No, I don't know how ... We can't let any of them in, they'd... Potion! I need a potion! Something!... ...-mergancy, we've... losing him... Hello?

Hello?

The Lifestream flowed through him, lifting him up once more, and he subconciously spit it out, sobbing as it washed through him. But this time it was different, it was healing him, calming the raging inferno on his skin, drying his eyes and holding him close. He wasn't within Lifestream anymore, the Lifestream was within him.

"Sir?"

He tried to open his eyes, but the glare in them was too bright and he turned his head away, moaning. His breath rasped in his chest, his throat dry and parched, his body too weak to move. He was... Where was he?

"Mr Pr- er... r-Rufus?"

Rufus.

"Rufus? Can you hear me?"

Rufus. You can hear...

He felt empty and hollow, the rattle in his lungs dry and bitter, his arms and legs weightless, his head drooped and his face blank, not even able to open his eyes and look around him. He was a vacuum, utter nothingness, no body, no soul. And then his head was laid back, he was lying down, returning to himself, breath rasping, mouth cracked open and inhaling shakily. There was something else, there, too, filling his lungs, holding his head, seeming to murmur, Poor dear. Poor dear. Poor, poor child. You have come a long way. You have a long way to go. Poor dear...

Words entered into his consciousness, jumbled and incomplete sentences, gibberish at times, in a warm, familiar voice. "Rufus... Oh, God, it could be Mako... but there aren't any streams around here... How did he... Is he even...?"

He tried to open his eyes again, but the glare sent a jolt of pain into them, and he cringed away with a low groan. He tried to cover his face with his hands, but as soon as he touched his skin, he drew back in intense pain and let his arms drop wearily. He was too weak to move.

"Rufus...? Rufus, can you... hear me?"

Rufus...

He licked his parched lips with a fumbling, dry tongue, and coughed weakly, gasping for air. "Am I... dead?"

"Good Lord! No, sir, you're... he's coming in and out... He's talking... good sign..."

No, you are not dead. And you can hear me...

"Huh? How... Hear you...?"

You have preyed upon this Planet. But you have one more chance...

"But- ... but- ... What do I...?"

Other voices swirled in his confusion, twisting him and spinning him, sending him flying in all directions, making him sick and dizzy. "He's talking... Yes, but he's delirious... Sir? Sir? ... He's not... He's not with us... Is he going to die?"

...to atone for your sins...

"My... Ohh, God..." He groaned, knees weak and buckling. "I'm... This torture..."

No. You have to redeem your life. You have a different fate.

"... How...?"

You have freed yourself from your former one. Now you must redeem yourself and answer to the Planet.

"Answer...?" He tried to look around him, but there was blackness and nothingness everywhere around him. "Show me! What do I do?"

Get the Summon Materia.

A flash of light, deep red light, from behind him, and he whirled around to face it. He beheld a glowing chunk of materia, in the hands of that girl... The Ancient... She held it out to him, her eyes full of words and emotions, mouth open in voice. But then her face fell, and she turned her vision onto the materia, crushing it in her hands. It fell to the ground in millions of tiny shards, shattering further, disappearing, breaking. He bent and picked up a small amount, staring deep into it. "Who's Summon?"

Jenova Summon Materia.

He couldn't tear his eyes away. "I can't."

Destroy it. Please, Rufus. Please...

"Destroy... Oh... I see... To..." He closed his eyes and bowed his head, dropping the materia to the ground. "To redeem..."

"But wait!" He leapt to his feet, searching in all directions, running towards the sound of the Lifestream speaking to him. "How! It won't... How can I...?"

Sleep now, Rufus. Sleep. You've come a long way.

"Do I...?"

You have a long way to go...

"Rufus?"

He lay silent.

"Rufus? ... Nope, he's not out of it yet. He's still... Well, look."

He groaned, trying to open his eyes, but the glare was too bright everywhere around him. He sobbed dryly and clenched his teeth, bitterly trying to calm his raging mind. "Wh-... Where am I?"

"GOD!!! Rufus, sir, you're in Kalm. Are you alright? Can you hear me?"

Poor dear. Poor, poor dear. Poor, sweet boy.

"Yes... I ... Who are you?" Rufus heaved and shook, lying on his back, eyes still closed. His arms and legs were weightless once more, unreachable through the abyss. "Where... Kalm?"

"It's Reeve, sir. I'm sorry, you were found in Midgar after Meteor-"

"Meteor?" He felt a rush of memory and surprise overtake him. "Jenova? Jenova!"

"No, no, sir, Jenova is dead... Sephiroth was defeated by AVALANCHE... It's alright, the world has survived, Rufus. But your company... I'll tell you later... You were hit by a blast from Weapon."

"Weapon... Yes, I remember..." He remembered watching the glowing balls of flame shooting through the night sky, the dawning realization that they were coming straight at him. Then the burning pain and shock of the explosion that threw him backwards across the room, searing his skin and breaking his body. After that it was blank. "I... forget... too much, though..."

"Sir?"

"Why am I here? Where did... Where did everyone else go?"

Reeve's voice was subdued through the blackness. "Midgar was destroyed, sir."

"Ohhh..." He tried to open his eyes again, but the light... "Too... bright... Reeve..."

"I know, I know, you've got a lamp right in your face... Here..." Something clicked in the background, and the brightness dissipated to only a dull pain. Rufus could make out the outline of a man sitting at the edge of his bed, stroking his goatee thoughtfully. "Is that better?"

"Yes... Reeve." He blinked a few times, then opened his eyes wider. "It's dark."

Reeve only stared in silence.

"Reeve? It's... Ow, God, what happened to me?"

"Sir..." The blue-suited man stood up and slowly walked towards him, leaning over to look him straight in the face. "Sir, you're... Oh, boy..."

"Reeve?" Rufus's weak mentality swirled and buckled. "Don't... For God's sake..."

"Alright, alright, sir," Reeve said soothingly, leaning back and pulling something out of his pocket. It was a vial of some sort of clear liquid, and he sloshed it around a few times, staring at it worriedly, before turning to Rufus and uncorking the top. "You'll probably need an Eye Drop..." His voice was choked and strained, the smile on his face definitely false. "And, uh... Oh, geez, sir."

"Reeve!" He strained to sit up, but overexerted himself and lay back, panting, sweat dripping down his face. "What's wrong?"

"Sir, your... I don't even know. Oh, man, that's really weird. You don't remember anything from before this, do you?"

"No... But I think... I might have been... dead..." He closed his eyes and held his breath, before sighing wearily and lifting his head to regard the blue-suited executive. "I must have been. How did I survive?"

"I don't know. Like I said, they found you in the Shinra building somewhere, so you must have escaped it somehow. You were... you were pretty near death when they found you. Then, they said you just kind of started breathing again..."

"Mmm..." He laid his head back and stared straight up at the ceiling, his eyelids drooping lower and lower. "I'm... Ow..."

"Ok." Reeve wasn't paying attention anymore, but had turned towards the wall and was playing with some sort of handset, talking into it like it were a microphone. "Yeah, he's awake now. ... Look, it's kind of an emergency... You'll see, you'll see... No, don't tell them yet. I know, I know, but... Trust me on this one. That's an order."

"Who the devil are you talking to?" Rufus murmured dazedly, taking a slow gasp of air. "What are you doing with me?"

Reeve turned and looked over his shoulder, sending a crooked smile at his boss. "Cait Sith, sir. It'll be alright."

They made a crowded table, the seven friends gathering together for the last time before they would be returning to their homes, back to from whence they came, going their own separate ways and hoping but not knowing if they would ever see each other again. AVALANCHE was making its last stand, spending their last night together as the group of friends and warriors who had together saved the world from Sephiroth and Jenova, defeated Meteor, and given the world another chance to be born again.

"Hey! Cid! So what's gonna happen wit' you and Shera?" Barret Wallace asked his scruffy friend, leaning back and thoughtfully rubbing his gun-arm with his flesh and blood hand. "I mean, c'mon, you ain't gonna be treatin' her like a dog anymore, right?"

"Hell, how should I know what's gonna happen?" Cid muttered sourly, flashing a vague grin. "For all I know I'm gonna come home and she'll be treatin' me like a dog. Damn, do I owe her one."

"Hopefully she'll make you quit smoking," Yuffie Kisaragi muttered under her breath, glancing at Tifa from the corner of her eye. Both she and Cloud had heard the teenager's mutterings and the three shared a silent and furtive chuckle.

Cid, sensed a conspiracy and slammed both his hands on the table. "@$&(#, I don't even wanna hear it!"

"Don't listen," Yuffie retorted, but Tifa held out a hand and the two stopped their bickering and Yuffie stuck her tongue out at the veteran pilot. Cid flicked her off and leaned back in his chair.

"Anyway," Cloud remarked breezily, nodding to everyone in turn, "Everything we've been through, guys, I couldn't have done without every single one of you."

"Naw, naw," Barret shrugged, waving him away. "It was our fight too, man. Don't think it was all for your spiky little ass!"

"No, no, I know," Cloud replied with a smirk. "I know. But still, through all that's happened to us in the past few months, we never gave up on each other. So I wanna propose a toast."

"Now you're talkin'," Yuffie giggled.

"Hear, hear!" Red XIII remarked from his spot curled up on the floor next to Cid. He stretched and yawned, then sat regally and gave everyone a doglike grin. "It's strange, but if I had never been a lab specimen for Professor Hojo, I would have never met all of you... I'm actually thankful."

"Hell, I got everything I'd ever hoped for," Cid added, the cigarette bouncing up and down on his lower lip as he talked. "I mean, c'mon, without you guys, Rufus probably woulda just taken my plane and I would stayed on the ground the resta my life."

"And we saved the Planet from Shinra and that damned Jenova freak," Barret finished, sending a glance upstairs where his adopted daughter, Marlene slept. "That means more than anythin'."

Yuffie grinned and lept to her feet, holding her glass high. "And thanks to all of you for donating to the Yuffie Kisaragi Materia Fund. You're all a bunch of rejects. But I'm glad I came along."

She sat down triumphantly, to assorted shouts of, "Hey, well, you're a brat!" "I didn't tell you that you could have my materia!" "We're sorry you came, pest." But it was all in jest, and they knew that, and laughed heartily as she stuck out her tongue at all of them.

"Thanks, Yuffie. Cheers, everyone." Tifa held her glass in her slender fingers, her bright brown eyes gleaming at Cloud. "I'm so glad to have met you all. ... You know, I think this is exactly what Aeris would have wanted. This is exactly what she gave her life for."

"It's been one helluva ride," Cloud said softly, grinning faintly at her and looking at the rest of his friends with bright eyes. "To AVALANCHE."

"To AVALANCHE," Barret repeated, his arm up, glass in hand. "And to Aeris."

They all clinked glasses, taking long, thoughtful sips, then looked at each other with bittersweet smiles on their faces, all seeming to realize at the same time that they would be leaving tomorrow. To continue on with the lives Aeris had sacrificed herself for, yet leaving the best friends they had ever known behind them.

"Well, damn, man!" Cid blurted finally. "Stop, dammit! You're startin' ta get all mushy on me, and I just can't take it anymore! I'm gettin' nice and drunk whether you like it or not!"

Neither Cloud, Tifa, Cid, Barret, Red, or Yuffie noticed the silence of Vincent Valentine, the red-cloaked enigma sitting a bit separated from the others at the far end of the table. His blood-red eyes were glazed and inattentive, staring down at the table, at his metal claw resting next to his full glass. His silence was somewhat of a given, taken for granted, and his appearance was overlooked more than realized. That was how Vincent preferred to be; he had lived the past thirty years in seclusion, locked deep in sleep, and was wont to keep things to himself. He liked things that way.

So no one really noticed when his head snapped up at the feel of a small hand tugging on his boot. He was so deep into his reverie, his acute senses had missed the sound of Cait Sith, mogless, creeping towards him on padded feet. Now the cat was clinging onto his boot, his mechanical mouth open in a cheshire grin. "Hey, Vince."

"Vincent, please," he murmured in his low voice. "What is it?"

"Vincent, you need to come with me," the cat mewed into his megaphone, the barrel pressed practically against the dark man's ear. He didn't have to worry about Vincent hearing him; his sharpened sense of hearing allowed for that to happen. He was being secretive for another reason. "I have to show you something."

Vincent turned his head and peered at the remainder of AVALANCHE through his jet-black hair. None of them were paying attention to him, talking in small groups to each other, or drinking deeply from their glasses. Cait's conspiritorial tone meant that something must be wrong, something no one else could know about. Vincent asked out of the corner of his mouth, "Why are you asking me?"

"You'll see. Come on." The cat scampered off, towards the huge toy that sat in the doorway, watching its rider expectantly. He leapt aboard and beckoned urgently to the red-cloaked man, who sent one more glance at his companions before stealing silently away, disappearing out the doorway with cat and mog.

Once outside, Vincent stopped and crossed his arms over his chest, glaring balefully down at the mechanical animal with deep red eyes. "I'm in no mood for games, Cait. What do you have to show me?"

"I can't say." The cat shook his head solomnly, his oval eyes darting from Vincent to the doorway of the bar, to the streets around them. "If certain people hear this, there's going to be trouble. That's why I'm asking you, cuz you're the only person who's not going to go crazy. But you have to promise me something."

Vincent drew his cape around him and nodded slowly. "What you wish."

"Please, don't tell anyone else about this." Cait shook his head sorrowfully, adjusting the small crown perched on his head. "Reeve's going nuts, and I know no one's going to trust him again after they hear about it. You have to believe me, he's on your side. Whatever he's doing, it's only because he doesn't want to see anyone get hurt."

The crimson cape fluttered in the wind as Vincent stood regarding the cat evenly. "I'm interested in why I am the only person who can know. Show me."

Cait glanced up at his friend and let out a nervous chuckle, rubbing his paws together sheepishly. "Geez, you're gonna kill me," he muttered, then pointed his mog towards the Kalm Inn and clung on as his stuffed transport started lumbering towards it. "This way."

Vincent strode slowly behind the machine, eyes and ears open. There was a candle flickering in the upper floor, the shadows of someone moving around within clearly shown through the drapes. He could probably safely assume that it was Reeve, but what Cait was driving at was completely unknown to him. Whatever it was, he had a distinctly uneasy feeling about it. He followed in silence, allowing one of his fingers to rest on the trigger of his Death Penalty, regarding the bouncing form of Cait Sith intently.

They climbed the stairs of the Inn quietly, the moogle's plush feet not making a noise against the smooth wood, and Vincent moving as stealthy as ever. Soon, they came to the only room at the Inn, a shabbily furnished space with three beds and a table or two tucked away in the corners. Vincent immediately noticed Reeve, standing in the center of the room and watching for them, nervously fingering his goatee. When Cait's furry head appeared from the stairs, he rubbed his eyes wearily and moved to stand protectively in front of the bed, his eyes betraying his nervousness.

Vincent sensed something was wrong, and stopped abruptly at the head of the stairs, his eyes gleaming at Reeve underneath his bandanna. "What is the meaning of this?"

A limp form shuddered underneath the bedclothes, and Vincent watched, unmoving, as a low groan was emitted from the unseen sleeper. He shot a quizzical look at the executive, moving his finger ever so slowly to the hammer of his gun.

Reeve bit his lower lip nervously and started towards Vincent, holding out his hands. "Look, I can explain everything."

He was cut off by a cry from the bed, as the sleeper arose and struggled to a sitting position, breathing laborously. Nothing could have prepared Vincent for the shock, when he stepped past Reeve and beheld the deceased President of Shinra, Inc staring back at him with hatred welling in his blue eyes. Glowing blue eyes.

Mako eyes.

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Author's note: hmmm... ya like? ya hate? feel free to tell me so. point out any glaring errors (such as the fact i'm not capitalizing my sentances in this particular paragraph - this is hard work and i'm getting lazy). Anyway, tell it like it is. And tell me.

By the way, a quick clarification, Cait Sith is an android. I figure, if he's making such a big deal about crushing himself in the temple of the ancients (i.e. "There will never be another me!") then he's not just a hunka junk. Reeve can go into direct control, I would assume, but do you really think he's going to be sitting at a Shinra meeting talking to Cloud in a Cait Sith-worthy voice? heh heh, no... Rufus isn't quite that dense, I'll wager. Hope that clears enough up for ya. It's pretty instrumental later on, so you just have to accept that... I mean, just try it sometime. It's fun.

Hmmm... I coulda sworn Rufus has red/orange hair... I'm still debating this. Strawberry blonde's the happy medium I'm going with. Sue me.