[Note: This DOES have an impact on my Full Circle universe, you just
haven't seen it yet.  There are a few cases of tense confusion laced
throughout this story.  If you find a few, please tell me.]

-------------------------
Final Memories
A Final Fantasy VII Story
By: Adam Chris Leigh
-------------------------

	I awoke lying on the damaged bridge of the Highwind without 
any immediate recollection of what had happened.  All around me was 
the broken bits and pieces of machinery that once occupied the space 
inside the Highwind's consoles.  Such a waste of a machine, I 
thought.  It was so much more beautiful in flight than that Bronco 
we had first flown in.

	My arm, well, my organic arm ached as I pushed aside the 
large computerized console that had fallen on me as the ship crashed 
itself into the green earth.  The noise it made rang out throughout 
the empty ship, strangely devoid of life.

	I walked up from the small ditch I had always stood expecting 
to find the unconscious forms of my closest friends.  To my 
surprise, I found none.  Panic gripped me as I lumbered about the 
bridge looking underneath broken console and fallen supports for any 
of my friends for several minutes before I heard a voice call out.

	It wasn't hers, as I expected, since she was the only one I'd 
ever have though to ask for help... with the exception of that 
Shinra spy.  As I lifted the large carbon scored piece of glass with 
my mechanized arm I saw the blurry form of the one in this group who 
was most like myself.

	"Are you harmed?" I asked as coldly as possible, masking my 
fears once again.  After so long of keeping my feelings secret, I do 
indeed find it hard to trust again, but at the moment, it's not the 
most important thing on my mind.

	"I am..." Red XIII began.  "Unfortunately incapacitated."

	Strangely enough, I felt myself tearing shreds away from my 
cape to wrap it around the bleeding wounds from his hind legs.  "I 
will carry you," I stated more than asked.  I watched his leg shiver 
at the touch of my arm, even though his fur he could feel the cold 
hardness of my left hand.  

	I picked him up and started walking through the junk towards 
the exit of the ship.  As I walked, my mind began to piece together 
what had happened in the jumble of events that just occurred in the 
last few hours.

				*    *   *   *

	Avenged.  I have seen his body flash and decay before my 
eyes.  The gruesome sight of his body as it suddenly grew old then 
vanished into dust only heightened the pleasure it was to see him 
finally dead.  No longer will Sephiroth, or Hojo for that matter, 
prey on the innocent for their own twisted enjoyment.

	Holy spouted out of the Northern Cave in an eruption of epic 
proportions, sufficient enough to push the Highwind out and nearly 
into orbit.  As I dug my metal fingers into a nearby railing, the 
ship tossed and turned as it fell from the great height Holy had 
ejected us to.  I could feel the ground approaching when the ship 
suddenly lurched forward in a plume of smoke and light and I saw Cid 
at the helm.

	When he steadied the ship again he put Midgar in center view 
and I saw the horror that everyone on the bridge feared.  Meteor was 
nearly touching the top of the Shinra building, fiery tornadoes 
combed the top of the big dish that covered the city.  The city was 
doomed, nothing could spare its fate now, not even killing 
Sephiroth.  What a fool we were, the few of us trying to prevent 
fate.

	That's when it happened.  I saw the light first, then I heard 
the great beam of white energy that surrounded Meteor and separated 
it from Midgar.  It's power emanated in the form of a great tone 
echoed even in the Highwind, and probably reached the observatory in 
the canyons.  For a moment, I had hope, the ultimate strength of 
Holy.

	"Hey! What's going to happen to Midgar?" Barret suddenly 
said, probably thinking about his daughter Marlene.  I could 
empathize.  After having lost someone so close to me, I could never 
wish it upon someone else.  Sort of a hypocritical way of thinking 
actually, seeking vengeance on Sephiroth yet unwilling to wish such 
a tragedy on someone.  Sometimes I wonder what I really am, a human 
who's been transformed into a Vampire... or a Vampire who thinks he 
retains a bit of his humanity.

	Damn, I thought as I saw what Barret saw.  It's letting 
meteor through, it's not stopping it, it's helping it.  "The most 
potent white magic," Bugenhagen's words suddenly rung though his 
mind. "A prayer that protects the planet."  How I cursed the day I 
acquired total recall. "Meteor... the Weapons... they all just 
disappear!! ... and perhaps..."  Oh god. "Perhaps us too."

	It's destroying us.  Destroying us because we're a threat to 
the planet.  "... all the bad will die when Holy comes."  It was 
over for Midgar, Marlene, Reeve, all the good and the bad will die 
now.

	"What's that?" Tifa said catching my attention.  Below us, in 
the mountains west of Midgar was what attracted HER attention.  A 
green strip of light emerging from the ground, it twisted and turned 
and flowed with a gracefulness like none other.  Before I could even 
remark on the impressiveness, it was joined by a another light, then 
another.

	"Lifestream?" Cloud said behind me.  The green fibers of 
lifestream increased in number, emerging from all over the land, 
from every landscape I could see.  The green tidal wave of 
lifestream flowed towards Midgar, surrounding it.  Invading 
it.

	It hit Holy first, merging with the White magic, 
demanding that it stop.  The incredible battle lasted only a 
second when the green glow of the lifestream infected the 
white Holy, causing it to turn a shade of green then began to 
pulsate with power.

	It was then that the light came.  The bright light 
blinded me, caused me to squint my eyes to see anything, even 
the person next to me.  I caught a glimpse of everyone on the 
bridge doing the same, then things went a bit blurry.

	When I saw again, I saw Aerith.  She looked so 
innocent, just like she was when I saw her die.  She was 
smiling, again, just like I saw her last.  Then I realized 
that I saw nothing but Aerith.  She was surrounded by 
blackness, not the Highwind, not Midgar, not even the coffin 
I had rested in, but nothingness.  She looked at me with such 
kindness and compassion, things I'd never seen since I'd 
become the horror that I am, then she mouthed something 
before the light turned back into white and I found myself 
blinded again.

	Again the light faded and my vision cleared again.  I 
saw HER, Lucresia, the one I failed to save.  The one Hojo 
tried to twist for his own sadistic reasons.  I couldn't make 
out what she said, but I felt better knowing she was around.  
That in the lifestream, everyone would be okay, even if I 
were to die, the lifestream would be there for me.

	Would be there if we don't try to tap it for Mako 
energy again.  Then it would be all gone.  The lives, the 
souls, Aerith, Lucresia, Bugenhagen, everyone.  I don't think 
it was until then that I fully understood what we were 
fighting for, exactly what was at stake.

	My vision cleared again and I was back on the Highwind.  
Through the bridge window I saw Meteor crumble, the 
lifestream eating away at it.  It was the last thing that 
happened before the Highwind began to plummet towards the 
earth, and I lost consciousness.

				*    *   *   *

	I woke up again lying in Bugenhagen's bed in the 
observatory of Cosmo Canyon.  The place was brightly lit, 
reminiscent from when Bugenhagen himself once lived here.  
The sounds of nature could be heard through the halls, the 
laugh of the planet... the *song* of the planet.

	My stomach was patched up pretty sloppily, and soaked 
with a red blood.  I had obviously acquired injuries in the 
crash that I wasn't immediately aware of.  By now, I assumed 
the injuries had healed, so I pealed away the blood soaked 
patch to find fresh, new skin beneath.  One of the quirks of 
being a vampire, I reminded myself, never hurt for very long.

	I still felt the phantom pain when I jumped out of bed 
and into defensive position when Red XIII scared me by 
walking into the room.  His hind legs were still patched up 
with my red cape, but he seemed to be walking fine now.

	"Your wounds heal fast," he said.  I could have 
responded coldly, with a 'When your cursed, it's hard to die' 
statement.  But for some reason, I didn't feel very myself.

	"It's something people like me can do," I said, 
avoiding several subjects.  "Have you found any of the 
others?  The place seemed quite vacant."  I hoped that they 
had, I wanted to talk to them about what I saw when Meteor 
was destroyed.

	"No, and I don't think we will..." Red XIII stopped for 
a moment then lowered his head.  "EVER."

	The distant chance that what I heard was actually the 
future became apparent to me at that point.  "We were... 
'bad,' weren't we?"

	Red XIII nodded his head and laid down, taking the 
pressure off his hind legs.  "Father knew, and I think all 
that lived here knew that man was too dangerous a creature to 
be left alone.  Holy just emphasized the point."

	I couldn't think of what to say next.  Conversation is 
not my strong point.  It was a few minutes of silence later 
when I thought of how to appropriately ask it.  "Aerith," I 
said.

	"She was the first one to come, the first fiber of the 
lifestream to emerge from the depths of the planet to try to 
save us.  The others merely followed her lead.  And 
afterwards..." Red XIII trailed off.

	"I saw Lucresia, she hoped that I would be okay."  I 
was eager to know what he saw.

	"Indeed, I saw Bugenhagen, he wished me a happy 
birthday."

	"Birthday?" I breathed.

	"Yes.  Half a lifetime has passed since I was first 
brought upon this earth.  Bugenhagen tended to me since I was 
very young, and now that he isn't around anymore... I felt 
alone."

	Again, a long pause.

	"So why was I left out?" I asked after a few moments of 
extreme tension.

	"You aren't hu..." Red XIII stopped in mid sentence.  
"That is, you weren't considered a threat by the planet."

	"Cloud wasn't a threat.  Tifa wasn't a threat.  Cid 
wasn't a threat, Marlene, the people of this village, NONE OF 
THOSE PEOPLE WERE A THREAT!"  Why was I screaming?  "Just SAY 
IT!" I don't want to say this, but I must.  It's been pent up 
too long, I just wish it could have been to someone else.  
"I'm not human.  I'm a vile creature of terror and fear!  The 
only redeeming value I have is that I prey on humans, and 
anyone who preys on humans is an ally of the planet."

	Red XIII got up and moved a bit away from me.  I felt 
like shit.  Literally, I couldn't stop myself from saying 
those words and again, I've thrown a spike between myself and 
someone again.  A stupid outburst, a moment of unclear 
thought, and I've ruined things again.

	"I'm not human," Red XIII said.

	I was wrong before.  NOW I felt like shit.  "I know 
that, and there isn't anything wrong with not being human.  
God knows, I should be glad to be considered more like you.  
Creatures on the side of light, not darkness.  Good, not evil 
like myself."

	"You shouldn't hate yourself.  You'll never be able to 
build a new world if you keep hating yourself."

	More of the reality impacted on me.  Responsibility, 
guidance, and power was all to be thrust upon me.  I didn't 
want it.  I never really did, I just wanted my vengeance, 
wanted my satisfaction.  My organic arm was numb, my metallic 
arm ached.  It was an unsettling feeling.

	"I'm no builder.  I'm through with this world."  I 
stood for no reason in specific, but many came to mind.  "You 
build the world, make it worth living on.  Make the grass 
grow near Midgar, remove the garbage from the slums.  I'm 
going to Nibelheim for a long rest."

	I started walking out but I found myself uncontrollable 
urged to stay.  I wouldn't have been able to go through it if 
Red XIII didn't yell to me as I was walking out.

	"Aerith grew flowers," he'd said.  I stood still for a 
moment and nodded silently.  "They were in Midgar's sector 5 
slums... bring some to Neibelheim, it needs the color."

	I nodded again and walked out.  

***

	Much later, I came across him nurturing two pups close 
to five hundred years after that day.  He looked pleased for 
a change, almost happy.  I never saw the mother, but I did 
introduce myself to his children when he wasn't around.

	"Vincent.  My name is Vincent.  I used to be a friend 
of your father's."  The two pups looked at me with awe and 
wonder, I took it for they had never seen a humanoid life 
before now.

	"I'm Cloud!" "I'm Aerith!" they chimed.  I smiled at 
them.  It was painful to my face to do so, for it had been a 
great many ages since I had smiled before, but it made the 
pups giggle, so I kept it up.

	"Have you ever seen a human before?" I asked the two 
pups.

	"Nooo.." "No." they both said simultaneously.  I was 
amazed by the connection between the two youths.  I kneeled 
down before them, barring my claw for the first time since I 
walked up to them, and looked at both of their wonder filled 
eyes.

	"Let me tell you a story about humans," I began.  I 
felt it was necessary to teach them something.  With over six 
hundred years of life and possibly another six hundred more, 
I needed to do something of value with my time.

	"It began with a human man who happened to have been 
named Cloud.  Now he was a strong man, a proud man, and he 
looked like he should have been in SOLDIER, and as long as 
everyone thought that, Cloud would tell them no different.  
This story all began with the number 5 Mako reactor in a city 
called Midgar..."


Author's Notes:
	This is just something that I was inspired to write 
after reading a few things that basically contributed to my 
state of mind.  First was Sailor Moon Z #12 (which was Jeff 
Hosmer's turn in the storytellers chair) in which the minds 
of each of the SMZ characters are explored; Second was Best 
Of All The Years II by Chris Davies, whom I thought had an 
interesting portrayal of both Sylia and Priss' mind; and of 
course, the various Final Fantasy 7 informational archives 
around the internet, including some of the original Japanese 
version translated scripts for the vital parts of the game.

	Why Vincent Valentine? For two reasons: 1. He appears 
in another one of my fics and I implied that he was the one 
humanoid survivor of the Meteor incident; and 2. He is the 
most shrouded character in both history and emotion, a riddle 
in a mystery wrapped in an enigma as they say.  Quite 
bluntly, though, I love vampires.

	Final Fantasy 7 is owned by the Squaresoft corporation 
and is held under copyright 1997.  All rights are reserved.