Those Final Moments

***This story takes place in the Crater, before the final battles, okay?***

"Well, who are you taking with you to fight Sephiroth?" asked Tifa.

"Umm...Let's see...Cid, Vincent, let's go!" Cloud exclaimed as he made his way down the path that led to the bottom of the crater.

"Wish he wouldn't talk like such a ****ing wimp all the time..." mumbled Cid as he followed Cloud.

Vincent just stood there for a minute.

"My love's only son...How can I kill him? She never even got to hold him..."he thought.

"Yo, Vince!! You comin' or what?!" yelled Cid fom below. This startled Vincent.

"Uh, yeah....I'm comin'...." he muttered softly as he made his way down to them.

The fight with Jenova was quick and no one was hurt. Cloud did Omni-slash, Vincent summoned BahamutZero, and Cid cast Ultima.

"$***!! If Sephirith is that easy, we got it made!!" exclaimed Cid while he lit his ciggerette. Suddenly the few unstable rocks they stood on crumbled beneath them, sending them splashing into the Lifestream.

As they floated down, memories brought on by the Mako flooded Vincent's mind. Flashes of various events of his life appeared before Vincent. The day he learned to ride his bike, the day he became a teenager, the day he recieved his first gun....

Vincents thoughts wondered. He then saw himself later in life. Being introduced to the other Turks; being assigned to the Nibleheim project; and meeting Dr.Gast, Hojo, and Lucrecia...Upon seeing Hojo and Lucrecia he winced. It brought back the pain of watching her fall in love with Hojo, and being the witness at their small wedding ceremony...

"I want you to be there Vincent. You're such a good friend..." echoed Lucrecia's words. "Friend" in particular hurt him. He wondered how long it would take to get to Sephiroth; he didn't know how much more he could take.

He then saw himself arguing with Hojo. Hojo had decided to give his and Lucrecia's child t science. Vincent vehemently objected, this was a living human being, not some laboratory animal.(Author's note:I don't think animal testing is right either;but hey,it fits with the story!) Vincent's objections shattered what was left of Hojo's sanity. He pulled a small handgun from his lab-coat...shot Vincent several times...then all went black....

Vincent awoke on a table in Hojo's lab. His head throbbed so hard hr could barely move. He looked up, and accross the room was Hojo, humming to himself as he inserted an I.V. into Lucrecia. Vincent jumped up to stop him. Now he discovered what Hojo had done to him. He felt as though his guts were on fire. His skin began to crawl and turn a dark purple. He was trnsforming into a beast, but he was only aware of the horrible pain. Vincent fell to the floor in agony, and the last thing his eyes fell upon was his left arm, which he noticed had been replaced by an iron claw.

Vincent opened his eyes. He was no longer in his flashback. He picked himself up and saw the rest of Avalanche there, in the heart of the crater. He looked straight ahead and his eyes met another's glowing, mako-aqua eyes.

"....Sephiroth...."Vincent whispered.

Vincent was amazed at how Sephiroth had grown. When he last saw him he was at most three months old. This man before him was aroud thirty years old. He had silvery-white hair that floated behind him, and those eyes...those beautiful aqua eyes...it was as though you could see right through him....

Vincent screamed as he awoke. He had just been dreaming all that. Remembering what had happened five years ago, when he had faced his beloved Lucrecia's son. It was the same nightmare he had had for the last five years.

"....man....can't I have one full nights sleep?" he asked himself, rubbing his eyes. Vincent slid out of bed and looked over at his open window. There was no moon, so all that was visible was a blanket of stars. He remembered how he and Lucrecia used to sit under those very stars, and talk about things. Anything, just to be with each other. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes again; that was the last thing he wanted to think about. He glanced over at the clock on his dresser. Only 4:20, he thought. "Well, I might as well get an early start," Vincent mumbled. "Tifa is always mad that I'm late anyway."

Vincent slinked into Tifa's "Seventh Heaven", avoiding her quizzical stare. "My, somebody got up early today!" Tifa joked. "What, finally bought an alarm clock?"

"Very funny," Vincent sneered as he hung up his coat. "I just thought I'd actually come on time today, that's all." Vincent had been working as a bartender here for the last five years. After Sephiroth and Meteor were stopped, everyone went their own way, back to their homes and families, but Cloud, Tifa, and Vincent had no homes. Tifa had decided to reopen her bar, and invited Cloud and Vincent to help her out until they found something better. Well, here it was, five years later, and they still hadn't found anything better than working with the most cheerful woman in Midgar.

Tifa frowned. "You never do that. What's wrong?" She gave him that "I'm really cute so you gotta tell me" pouty look. Vincent just snorted. "Oh come on!" Tifa whined. "We've been friends for all these years, and you're just gonna play me like that?"

"Mmmmmmmm.....Yeah, I believe so," Vincent calmly answered. He picked up a bottle of alcohol and examined it, trying to look busy and annoyed. Tifa didn't buy it.

"Something's been bothering you ever since I met you, but you've just been acting weirder and weirder all the time. So share with the rest of the class, why dont'cha?" Vincent wondered whether he should tell her. She was his best friend, as a matter of fact, one of his only friends, but this just wasn't a subject he felt comfortable talking to a women about, especially since Tifa reminded him quite a bit of Lucrecia.

"It's nothing, really," he sighed, "I'm just a weird person, you know." He decided to change the subject. "So...." he stammered, trying to come up with something. "...When are you and Cloud getting married?"

Tifa blushed. "Whenever the big coward asks me," she giggled, "...actually, you're more likely to propose than Cloud is, you got more guts!" Now Vincent blushed. A sly smile crossed Tifa's face. "Hmmmm...So would you ever even ask me out, Mr.Valentine?" She joked, batting her eyes at him.

"Ummmm....welllll...." Vincent stammered. He knew she was joking, at least he hoped she was, but how could he respond to that?

This is by Choco Strife. If you only knew how long Choco had to wait for me to put this up. Everybody is having to wait because I am so behind with everybody's fanfic. Choco has one more fanfic on this page so far. Email Mr. Strife at choco_strife@hotmail.com. Visit Choco's homepage: *Fudeire*.