Cosmo canyon was filled with laughter and celebration that night. Each Brave probably had the time of their lives. Even Teta was living it up. First time she ever got drunk on Cosmo Sake.
Standing by himself, Ramza seemed to simply want to watch as everyone danced and partied. That is until Teta invited him to dance. Her personality belied who she was for certain. For being dead, she sure could party.
"If we ever manage to change history, I'm gonna save your life." Ramza said.
"What for? I'm already dead?" She said, half-drunk.
"No, that's not why...I love y-," he caught himself.
"What?" she said in shock.
Delita could already see what was going on between his sister and Ramza, he laughed to himself, then got up and asked Alma for a dance. She happily complied.
Zidane and Garnet were probably the most sober, but due to the fun they were having with each other, nobody could tell.
Cloud and Aeris sat alone staring up at the stars, hearts completely content with each other.
"No turning back?" Cloud said clasping Aeris hand.
"None." Was all she would say.
Seifer was over by the fire, showing the local girls how one dances. Impressive. Although it wasn't so much his dancing they were impressed with. Let's just say he was so short of beating them off him with a stick.
Reis and Beowulf weren't so much interested in dancing, stars, or even food for that matter, just gazing into each other's eyes was enough for them.
As it turned out, Cid had showed up for the party that night, and took Nanaki aside for a little 'discussion' he had called it.
"Hey Red, things must be workin' out for them pretty good eh?"
"This is just what we wanted, Cid, although I think to some extent Sephiroth and Agrias are a little stand-offish, if you know what I mean."
"Yeah, and that Seifer kid, I guess all we can hope for is ten of em'."
"More than enough I suppose, they are the true lines, after all."
"Well, don't think for a minute that they're the only ones. Time's got a way of makin' things happen."
"Yes, I suppose you're right."
Meanwhile, Sephiroth wasn't really 'in' to having fun. He merely walked off into a green field, planted his sword in the ground and was leaning on it, catching the wind in his hair.
Sensing someone, he quickly opened one eye, to find Agrias.
"Can a lone warrior be alone along with another one for a while?" she asked.
He nodded but briefly closed his eyes deep in thought.
His thoughts were interrupted by something odd Agrias had said.
He spoke, nearly startling her, "Agrias…do you remember Marquis Elmdor?"
"Hmm?"
"I guess what I'm asking is…remember that battle on the bridge at Zeltennia? Where you had to deal with those two assassins?"
"What are you talking about? You weren't there?"
"There's something I've never told anyone up until now…I…I've done my own time-traveling even before you met Cloud."
"You…," she looked at him staring in disbelief, the silver hair reminding her of the day she fought against the Silver Noble, strong, fast, and oddly enough, bearing a striking resemblance to Sephiroth.
"During an experiment at Shin Ra labs, I lapsed into some kind of time-slip, it was more like a dream, like I was living inside men before my time."
"No….but, you weren't there."
"But…I remember all of it. I remember the fierceness of your sword clashing against mine, I remember the heat of the battle…or was it…something else?"
Realizing what this was leading to, Agrias quickly turned away from Sephiroth. And she just sat there, silent.
"I, remember fighting Marquis Elmdor before…and that day at the bridge…he fought different, there was something in his eyes that looked into me, staring at me, like someone else…was looking at me. But that couldn't have been you there."
"Why?"
"That day…I killed him…right after he used Aries to change into Lucavi."
Sephiroth looked down in thought, "That was more than a dream for me…I've always felt…out of place, even when I found out who I really was…somehow I didn't feel like I belonged there either. I have a hard time explaining it…it's like Cloud's era wasn't my time to begin with…like…I never belonged there in the first place…and that dream…"
She looked up at him, "You felt as if you were being called home…even remembering the battles."
"The most I remember was fighting you…I don't remember dying."
"But how can you live in the dreams of the past? How can you?"
"I've never said this to anyone, but, the day I woke up in that tent when Reis was wiping my forehead with a cloth, I remember talking to her about Beowulf…but really, I was looking at you guarding my tent."
"Why do I feel like I can believe you, and then I can't believe you."
"Maybe, it's more than that, maybe, because we're Braves…across time…we connected, only through our former selves." He hadn't noticed at the time that while he said this, he had been holding her hand, the first time he'd even touched a woman in years.
She hadn't noticed either, but she still replied, "I want to believe, I wish I could believe….I wish…" A soft glow flashed between Aries and Libra, startling both Braves.
"We...haven't talked like this at all," Agrias said, trying to hold back a blush, "I guess, I recognized you, but...I really didn't want to believe it, I mean, that other past."
Sephiroth closed his eyes again, trying to stifle the pain in his heart. He knew of his past, and what would have been his future, but that future seemed to haunt the future he so desired now.
"I...I'm sorry I brought that up, I didn't mean to remind you of your dark self."
"No...it's okay, I'm tired of running anyway, it shouldn't hurt me. It can't hurt me, I haven't nor will I ever do those things. Pain is real, but that future isn't, not for me, not anymore."
"I've been running too, ever since I battled myself, I've been haunted by my past. You see this armor," she said as she took off her breastplate and other pieces, "this isn't me. I've been hiding behind this for years,"
The armor now thrown aside, Agrias revealed the beauty of a young slender, yet strong, woman to Sephiroth.
"What are you doing, Agrias?" Sephiroth was surprised at her actions, unlike the warrior he knew her to be.
Eyes closed, holding back a woman's tears, Agrias grabbed the last shred of armor she had, her sword, and threw it on the ground, "There….it's done."
Speechless, yet understanding, he took off his armor too. Masamune lay along side the Save the Queen, motionless.
He then broke his silence, looking into her eyes, "We've fought for too long, it's all we know."
She stepped forward, took his hands in hers, and placed them tenderly upon her chest, allowing him to feel her womanly form.
He seemed alarmed at first, but only at first, the touch seemed to calm him, and the two embraced.
Among the darkness and the stars, a wild wind whipped through the sky and blew through the hair of the two warriors. Both now open and free from their burdens, the burdens of time, of an old, ancient war that none should have belonged to, and of the burdens of being warriors, just a man and a woman.
And for the first time in each other's lives, they kissed.
Watching quietly by the fire, Cid spoke up to Nanaki.
"What'd I tell ya! Red, ya really gotta trust an old man's gut!"
With a sly smirk, Nanaki replied, "Well then, let's just see if Seifer gets any, there's only 13 you know!"
"Ha! Look who the cynic is! And you call yourself a prophet!"
The two laughed off into the night, enjoying all the time in the world.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><>
The next morning, the group was met by a resounding applause and cheers.
"What's this all about?" Zidane asked.
Nanaki replied, "These people are wishing you well on your journey, your actions against the demon Altima don't go unnoticed. In case you didn't know, you are slowly liberating all of time from the grip of fiends."
Delita bowed in respect to the people, but his bow only met with more cheering.
"Well," Seifer said, "I guess we could use an ego-booster."
"Come on, Delita," Ramza said, "Let the people know where we're going."
Delita looked across the large crowd now pushing in for what he had to say.
"…We, that is the Zodiac Braves, are, as you know, on a mission to destroy Altima and her threat to time, in all eras, ages, everywhere...we fight to restore the four elements, Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water..."
"Fire and Water have already been restored, now we seek to defeat Jenova the fiend of Wind, and Necron the fiend of Earth. We don't know exactly where to look for Jenova, but I'm sure the Zodiac Stones will help us, as you have helped us…"
At this speech, the crowd roared, and anything anybody in the party said was drowned out by all the noise.
Nanaki walked up to Delita and spoke with him, "You have become quite the leader, Delita, even when Ramza took over so many times. I commend you."
The sagely beast then looked deeper into Delita, as if reading his thoughts, "I think you may need my advice for the upcoming road ahead though. Come. We have battle plans to discuss." The two stepped inside one of the huts and began the meeting.
"Delita, I must be frank with you, the next part of your journey is most treacherous, you will have to descend into the massive crater to the north, the Wind Maze is there, plus you will have to go down into the planet's core to find Jenova. We, that is I and Cid, can only take you as far as the northern heights of the crater. You and your party will have to descend the rest of the way. I do not know if there is a time gate at the planet's core so I am not sure how you would leave. But I trust you."
"Don't worry, Nanaki, we discovered that now that there are 13 of us, the complete circle can now warp anywhere in time or place, as long as we're together."
"You are, as you already know, the planet's and all time's only hope. You cannot fail."
