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Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, and I am not making any money of of this writing.

Chapter List
- 51
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Chapter 52: To the Moon and Back
At last, it was January thirteenth. Two soldiers stood guard by the rocket. Their task was simple: they needed to keep any intruders away, as today was the day of the launch.
The entire world was watching. People in every city and town would stop what they were doing and watch the rocket's sacrifice. If it was successful, the exposition would break Meteor into smaller pieces that would harmlessly burn up in the atmosphere. But if the mission was a failure, the world would most certainly be doomed.
As the soldiers considered this, they could see two men and a woman approaching. The soldiers armed their firearms as the woman spoke.
"It's guarded," Tifa announced.
"Not as well as those reactors were!" Cloud insisted.
That comment allowed the soldiers to quickly identify them. "Those terrorists are here!" one of them shouted.
It was, of course, too late. Cloud pulled out his sword and quickly dispatched them with the greatest of ease.
The three of them began to ascend the ladder that lead to the rocket's entrance as Cid took a quick look at the two corpses.
"Goddammit!" he shouted. "What the hell do they think they're gonna do to my rocket!?" He then turned to his male companion. "I'm outta here, Cloud! I'm gonna kick those fucking Shinra right out of my rocket!"
Halfway up the ladder, they heard a familiar, unpleasant voice.
"You again?"
Everyone turned to see Rude advancing up the ladder.
"Last meeting, my ass," Tifa said.
"We will eliminate everyone who gets in Shinra's way," he continued.
"Wait," pleaded Tifa. "I can't fight."
"Bullshit," Rude retorted. "I've seen you in action before. I saw you smack the hell out of Scarlet."
"I can't fight with someone below me on the stairs," Tifa clarified. "Not with a skirt on."
"What's the matter?" Rude taunted. "Afraid I'll see your underwear? Yesterday I saw a bit more of you than I expected, anyway."
"I would be," Tifa replied. "If I was wearing any."
"Ho-ly shit!" Rude exclaimed as he charged up the stairs for a peek. Unfortunately for him, it was his dumbest action yet.
Tifa quickly drove her foot into Rude's face, sending him to the bottom of the stairs.
Cloud and Cid stood speechless.
"Where did you find her?" Cid asked.
"Next door, on her mom's lap," Cloud replied.
"Well, don't just stand there!" Tifa exclaimed. "They're about to launch!"
The three rushed into the rocket and sealed the door.
Tifa then turned to Cid.
"And, for the record, I am wearing underwear, so banish any perverted thoughts from your mind!"
Cid sighed and turned away from Tifa, only to see a Shinra commander inside.
"You!" the commander exclaimed. "Why are you here? Rude of the Turks should've been here!"
"He messed with the wrong girl," Cloud pointed out.
"Oh man," sighed the commander. "The Turks, being done in like that! But I won't let you through!"
Tifa promptly grabbed the commander and hurled him out the door, causing him to tumble down the stairs and land on top of Rude.
Cid began to chuckle.
"Hey Tifa," he said, "I dare you to pull his pants down."
In response, Tifa put her hand on Cloud's shoulder.
"I have a boyfriend," she said.
The three quickly made their way into the cockpit, which several custodians were attending.
"Hey!" shouted Cid. "What the hell are you guys doin'!?"
"Hey!" replied one of the custodians. "Just when I thought something was going on, you come back!"
"Listen to me, captain," said another. "We're gonna launch this rocket!"
"Huh?" Cid exclaimed. "What are you talkin' about?"
"We're gonna load a Materia bomb in this and blow up Meteor," said a third.
"Our rocket's gonna save the planet!" added the first custodian enthusiastically.
"Man this is so cool!" the third said.
"Hold it," Cloud pleaded.
"Shut up!" Cid shouted. "Just shut the hell up!" He then turned to address the custodians again. "How's the rocket?"
"It's pretty much okay," replied one of them.
"But we planned to run it into Meteor on auto-pilot," added another, "and the most important device is broken."
"Broken?" Cid exclaimed. "How's the repair goin'?"
"Shera's doing it," the custodian replied.
"Oh great!" Cid groaned loudly. "What a buncha wizards you guys are! She's gonna take a hundred years!"
He then sat in the pilot's seat.
"I'll take over, so don't worry about the auto-pilot."
Each custodian looked at him in shock, as if he had fifty heads.
"Hey, go ahead!" Cid continued. "Go tell everyone!"
All of the custodians left, leaving the three of them alone in the rocket.
"Guys," Cid warned, "no hanky-panky in the rocket, okay?"
"Excuse me?" Tifa asked in an annoyed tone of voice as she folded her arms.
"I don't want you two having sex in space," he clarified. "It's a bad idea with zero gravity. It'll be a disaster if the instruments are clogged with your bodily-"
Suddenly, the rocket shook, cutting him off.
"What the hell?" Cid shouted. "What the hell happened!?"
Just then, the video intercom on the wall activated, presenting a familiar face.
"Hey-hey!" greeted the infamous nincompoop.
"Palmer!" Cid shouted. "What the hell did'ya do!?"
"They said they finished repairing the auto-pilot," Palmer replied. "So I launched it!"
"Goddam Shera!" Cid shouted. "Why'd she pick today to get fast!"
He attempted to override with the control panel, but it was no use.
"Damn!" he shouted. "Won't even budge! It's completely locked up!"
"Hey-hey-hey!" announced Palmer. "Almost lift off!"
"What the!?" exclaimed Cid. "No countdown!? It just don't seem the same without it!"
"Hey!" taunted Palmer. "Hey hey! Blast off!"
Cid punched the screen, destroying it. The rocket was soaring towards space. They were trapped inside. And they were on a collision course with Meteor.
But at least he would no longer have to listen to that garbage.
MEANWHILE...
"Bestla!" called Nara as she scanned the Urchin's monitor. "The rocket is launching on a collision course with Meteor."
Bestla did not even turn, let alone get out of her chair. "I almost forgot about this," she said without emotion.
Nara had completely forgotten about it. "Do you want me to fire on it?" she asked. "I can easily target it before it leaves the atmosphere."
"Don't waste my precious ammo on that rusted penis," she replied, still not turning.
Nara sighed. She was still trying to figure out what Bestla was planning.
She feeling worse about it by the day.
SOMEWHERE ELSE...
Cid looked out the window. He stared at the endless night sky, accompanied by the stars dotting the view. As his body attempted to float off of his seat, resisting the seat belt he was wearing, he realized what had happened.
"I finally made it," he said. "Outer space."
Cloud and Tifa looked on. They were happy for him; his dream was finally fulfilled. But it did not negate the peril that they were in.
Cid realized that fact as well, and quickly brought himself back to reality.
"Let's see," he said as he examined the controls. "How's the course set?" He scanned the console for a few more moments.
"Yup, it's headed for a collision with Meteor."
"There has to be something we can do," Tifa said.
"That damn Palmer went outta his way to lock the auto-pilot device," Cid lamented. "We might not be able to change the course."
"This can't be the end," Cloud said. "Not like this."
Cid, mistaking the comment for pessimism, flared at him.
"What the hell're you sayin'?" he snapped. "You're still young, and you give up that easily?"
Cloud was silent. He knew better than to argue with Cid at that point.
"I'm not gonna crash into Meteor. Just watch. I keep an escape pod on the rocket just for emergencies like this."
"Is it coded?" asked Tifa.
"I deciphered the lock code on the escape pod," Cid replied. "We'll bail right before we crash into Meteor."
"We still need to place the Huge Materia correctly," Tifa pointed out.
"The Materia should be there after you climb that ladder," Cid pointed out, directing his finger at the respective object.
Cloud climbed the ladder and placed all the collected Huge Materia where it belonged. He then returned to ask the inevitable question.
"Ready to get out of here?" he asked.
"You bet your ass," Cid replied. "The escape pod's through the engine room."
Cloud led the way through the engine room. As he reached the escape pod, he heard a loud popping sound.
He quickly spun around to see Cid on the floor, with a large piece of metal confining his leg. One of the oxygen tanks, meanwhile, was missing its cover. It was tank number eight, to be exact.
The tank Shera wanted to check at the last minute.
"Damn!" Cid shouted. "My leg's stuck in the debris!"
"Hold on!" Cloud called as he and Tifa attempted to lift the metal off of him.
"I can't!" Tifa exclaimed. "It's so heavy, I can't lift it!"
"Don't worry about me!" Cid replied. "Hurry up and go! If you don't hurry, the rocket's gonna crash into Meteor!"
"I can't go without my friends," Cloud dismissed.
"You fucker!" Cid exclaimed. "No time to worry about other people!"
"I'm gonna do whatever I can," Cloud replied.
"You're stupid," Cid grunted. "You're really fucking stupid."
He then noticed where the metal had come from.
"Tank number eight blew up. So tank number eight really was malfunctioning. Shera, you were right. If you hadn't been down there making partial repairs, the rocket would've exploded." He paused. "But this is the end for me."
Just then, the door to the escape pod opened.
"Don't say that, Cid," announced Shera as she emerged from the lower compartment of the pod.
"Huh!?" Cid exclaimed. "Shera!?"
"I tagged along," she said as she knelt down and grabbed the metal. "I'm coming to help you."
"You stupid motherfuck!" Cid groaned.
Shera gave him a nasty look.
"Sorry," he apologized.
With a tug from the three of them, the heavy metal slid off of Cid, freeing him.
"The escape pod is this way," Shera said, pointing in the direction she had come from. "Please hurry. I'm going to detach the escape pod once we're all in. There's two compartments that can fit two people each."
"Hey, Shera!" asked Cid. "Does this pod really fly?"
"It'll be okay," Shera assured him. "I've been checking it till now."
"Then I'm relieved," he said.
"Thanks," replied Shera as she placed her hand on his cheek and kissed him.
"So you are a couple," Cloud pointed out.
"Yes, we are," Cid replied. "Okay, we'll take the lower compartment. Cloud and Tifa, the upper compartment is yours. And don't forget what I said earlier."
"We're not having sex," Tifa said before they disappeared into the compartment.
"What losers," Cid muttered to himself before following Shera.
The escape pod sealed and detached from the rocket.
IN THE TOP COMPARTMENT...
Cloud and Tifa floated in each other's arms as they pressed their lips against each other's. Snogging in space was a unique experience; one that they would never have again. And yet, Cloud seemed to have something on his mind.
"You okay?" asked Tifa with a smile on her face.
"Of course," Cloud replied as he stroked her hair. "I've just never made out with anyone famous."
"Stop! I'm not famous!" Tifa giggled as she playfully smacked him on the chest.
"You are now," Cloud corrected. "We were above Shera the whole time. That means you're the first woman in space."
Now it was Tifa's turn to be silent. She had not realized that until now. It had not been her goal, and, in the midst of everything else, she had no time to consider that. It was something amazing to realize. Of course, if they failed, she would also be the last woman in space.
"Just remember," Tifa said as she lovingly placed her hands on his shoulders, "someone famous loves you to the moon and back."
And their lips met again.
IN THE BOTTOM COMPARTMENT...
"I don't fucking get it," Cid muttered.
"What?" asked Shera.
"That they're not fucking. With a body like that..."
"Excuse me?" she interrupted, sporting an annoyed look on her face.
"Sorry," he apologized.
"Neither are we, you know," she pointed out.
"It's different," Cid replied. "With us, it's the age factor. It's what my dad used to say. 'Seventeen will get ya twenty.'"
"My eighteenth birthday is in a few weeks," Shera said. "Until then, you're gonna have to keep your pecker in your pocket. But you've been doing a good job so far."
She then kissed him again.
Cid then turned to the window. "So this is outer space." He looked at Shera. "Man, it's the real thing. I'm really here in outer space."
Shera smiled. She had never seen him that awe-struck in her life.
He then looked at the rocket as it grew smaller.
"So long, Shinra Number Twenty-Six."
MEANWHILE...
Elena and Tseng stood knee-deep in the waters of Costa del Luna. Tseng was wearing trunks this time; Elena wore nothing at the moment. Of course, nobody, not even them, was focused on that. All eyes were on the sky.
The rocket grew closer and closer to Meteor.
Tseng and Elena clasped their hands together.
...AND...
Scarlet reclined on a beach chair, on the roof of the apartment building she resided in. She watched as the rocket drew closer to Meteor. She knew the Huge Materia had been stolen, but the reports that Cloud had infiltrated the rocket caused her to realize where it had gone. She hoped it would be useful.
She then turned to look at the fifteen-year-old companion next to her.
"Bestla, did you make your final decision about the stone?" Scarlet asked.
"Yeah, mom," she nodded. "I did. I'll tell everyone tomorrow."
Scarlet affectionately patted her daughter's shoulder as she returned her attention to the sky.
...AND...
On the sixty-seventh floor of the Shinra Building, Hojo stared out the window. He did not have the best view, but any view at all was the totality of what he needed.
He had concerned almost everyone around him. He seemed usually indifferent to Meteor falling. But this was him in public.
In private, his attitude was even more disturbing.
"Fail!" whispered Hojo. "Fail!"
...AND...
Rufus stood on the seventieth floor, gazing at the rocket slowly making its way to the giant sphere in the sky. His sincerest hopes were that it would work. His goal in life was world conquest; that would not be possible if there was no world to conquer.
"It's so beautiful!" the girl next to him said breathlessly.
"I'm not paying you to talk," Rufus reprimanded.
...AND
Bugenhagen was indoors, watching the event remotely from his observatory. He was skeptical of the rocket's ability to destroy Meteor. Even the Huge Materia was no guarantee. Meteor had not been researched. Nobody even knew the materials it was made of.
Still, he hoped for the best.
MOMENTS LATER...
A blinding light covered the sky. Every single person hid their eyes.
Even Bugenhagen, who was watching a computer-generated projection, had to turn away.
MORE MOMENTS LATER...
The blinding light faded.
Elena, feeling the sun on her bare skin once more cautiously took her hands off of her eyes.
The sky was a beautiful blue. They sun was shining, with two or three small clouds in the sky. Several seagulls were flying overhead.
And then, she saw it.
Meteor was still there. Chunks had been blown off by the explosion, but only part of the outer shell was shattered. The pieces even seemed to be held together by some electrical force.
It didn't work, she thought. I'm going to die. Tseng's going to die. Everything and everyone's going to die.
She turned to make eye contact with Tseng as tears welled up in her eyes.
Tseng pulled her in close, and she cried to his chest.
...AND...
Scarlet gazed at the damaged, but still closing, Meteor, and sighed in disappointment.
She then felt something.
It was Bestla clutching her hand.
"I don't wanna die!" Bestla sobbed as tears flooded her face. "I don't wanna die, mommy, I don't wanna die!"
She lay her head down in her mother's lap and continued to sob.
Scarlet held her daughter close, resisting the urge to cry herself.
...AND...
"Noooooo," sobbed the girl as she buried her head into the concrete ledge and began to cry.
Rufus simply glared at the now-damaged Meteor. It was all over now. It would slowly make its way to the Planet, putting an end to it and him, too.
He then approached his companion and placed both of his hands on her butt.
"Baby," she began, "I don't know if I can still-"
Those were her last words.
He pushed forward, causing her to disappear over the ledge.
That made him feel better. As the screaming faded and then suddenly stopped, he realized how young he was, and how a Plan B could always be in the works.
...AND...
The adult Bestla and Nara watched the failure from the Urchin. Bestla, knowing the eventual outcome, simply smiled.
"You're not at all sorry for all those people in despair?" Nara asked.
"At this time," Bestla answered, "I was crying to my mom's should, telling her how I didn't want to die."
"So you were in despair, too, then," Nara concluded. "I know I was."
Bestla stared into the wall of the bridge. She remembered how she had her mother hold her when she was fifteen. And then she realized.
A tear escaped her eye.
"It was the last thing we ever did together," she said sadly.
LATER...
Everyone stood solemnly on the bridge of the Highwind. Meteor was in view, positioned at the central window. It was not a sight anybody had wanted to see.
"It was a failure," Cloud said, as he gazed at the menacing sphere.
"After all that trouble," Tifa added. "It was all for nothing."
"It didn't expect it to work," Barret said. "But I was kind of hoping it would."
"We been botherin' them as much as we can," Cait Sith added. "But there ain't no other way. Wonder if we've been wrong all this time?"
"Makes you worry, doesn't it?" suggested Red XIII.
"Now's not the time to worry," Tifa dismissed. "When was the last time worrying got anything done?"
"Hey!" Cid shouted. "The girl's right. You start worryin' and there's no stoppin' it! Things just start fallin' apart and get worse and worse."
"I think you're right," Barret said.
Cloud looked suspiciously at Barret.
"Yeah, I been thinkin' about this and that," Cid continued. "All the time we been up here lookin' at the planet. I been thinkin' even when we were floatin' in the ocean in that escape pod."
"I kinda figured finally gettin' your ass into space would do something like that to you," Barret said.
Cloud again looked at Barret in the same manner.
This time, Barret noticed.
"You okay?" he asked.
"You've been saying things a lot differently than last time," Cloud pointed out.
"Whaddya mean 'last time?'" Barret asked. "Oh! You mean the old timeline."
"Right," Cloud said. "Unlike everyone else. Barret, did you go inside the cloud?"
Before Barret could respond, a high-pitched whining sound pierced every ear on the bridge.
"Did you hear something?" asked Red XIII.
The noise sounded again, louder than before.
"It's the Planet," Tifa replied. "And it's screaming. It's in pain. Remember how Bugenhagen showed us?"
Red XIII then looked at Cloud. "Let's go see Grandfather!" he suggested. "To Cosmo Canyon! I'm sure he'll be able to tell us something that will be helpful!"
"Agreed," Cloud said. "We'll go to him tomorrow morning."
"Do we all have to?" asked Yuffie.
On this rare occasion, Red XIII became genuinely became annoyed.
"Does that subject matter bore you?" he demanded.
Yuffie shook her head. "No, it's just that...I had an idea."
"Let's hear it," Red XIII said.
"If it's okay with everyone," Yuffie said, "I'd kind of like to talk to Bestla."
"Out of the question," Cloud dismissed. "If I let you do that, I'm signing your death warrant."
"Not that Bestla," Yuffie clarified. "The other Bestla."
"What other Bestla?" demanded Cid.
"The Bestla living in the present. Her younger self."
"How old would she be?" asked Cloud.
"Fifteen," Tifa replied.
"I mean, I'm the only one close to her age here anyway," Yuffie added. "I could pass for a student at her high school."
Cloud shook his head. "I'm afraid I still can't allow that," he insisted.
"You can tell me what happened with Bugenhagen later," Yuffie insisted. "I promise!"
"If the Shinra find you, they'll take you," warned Cloud. "Even with a disguise, someone might recognize you."
"I'm willing to take that chance," Yuffie said. "If it saves us in the future."
"My 'no' is final," said Cloud. "When we go after Sephiroth for the final time, we'll need you. And you'll be no help to us if you're dead or captured."
Yuffie resigned and nodded in agreement.
She then stood where she was standing, thinking to herself.
LATER THAT EVENING...
Cloud and Tifa were laying on their stomachs, on the bed and in their pajamas. They had watched another scary movie in hopes of somewhat getting their minds off the situation. A devilish smile was on the face of Tifa, who had again scared him at every chance she could.
"You know what's funny?" Cloud began.
"What?" asked Tifa as she rubbed her bare foot against his.
"In the original timeline, we did the opposite," he replied. "We took the Huge Materia out of the rocket instead of putting everything in."
"You know," added Tifa, "I think I remember that, too. This time we really armed the thing."
"But Meteor still wasn't destroyed," Cloud pointed out.
There was a long silence. Then one of them spoke their mind.
"Maybe history can't be changed," Tifa suggested.
Cloud shook his head. "If that was the case, then Junon would still be here."
"This whole situation isn't making a lot of sense," said Tifa as she got off the bed and stood on her feet. "I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be back."
MINUTES LATER...
Tifa returned to find Cloud still on his stomach, absorbed in his cell phone.
"You found something?" she asked.
"Maybe all that Huge Materia collecting wasn't for nothing," he replied.
"What do you mean?" asked Tifa.
"Meteor has slowed down," Cloud replied. "So it's going to change when it hits. My guess is that the explosion from the Huge Materia slowed down its force."
Tifa felt a glimmer of hope.
"You think there's a chance that the impact won't be as disastrous?"
Cloud shook his head. "Gravity from the Planet will make the impact. But we now have more time than we thought we did."
"That's a relief," said Tifa softly as she sat down on the bed and began to rub his back affectionately.
She then stopped, and became quite.
"What's up?" Cloud asked.
"I was just thinking about when we were in the Lifestream," Tifa said. "How we saw our loved ones."
"I know," Cloud said. "We may miss them terribly, but it turned out to be a relief. Now we know for sure that they're okay somewhere."
"What's on my mind is who we didn't see," Tifa said.
"Who?" asked Cloud.
"My dad," Tifa replied. "I know he'd want to see me, even if he was a sleaze. Cloud, you don't think he could still be alive, do you?"
"I can't see it," Cloud replied. "But didn't you find out by discovering his body?"
"I did," Tifa replied sadly. "But, ever since we didn't see him in the Lifestream, I was hoping he wasn't really dead."
"Did you check for a pulse," asked Cloud.
Tifa shook her head. "I was blinded by grief. It was the last thing on my mind."
"Was there a funeral afterwards?" asked Cloud.
Tifa again shook her head. "But if he is alive, how would we find him?"
Cloud took Tifa's hand in his and clasped it tight. "If he is alive," he said, "there will be a way. Once Sephiroth is gone, we'll make finding your father a top priority."
She hugged him tightly before pressing her lips against his.
But after Tifa had drifted off to sleep in his arms, something began to bother him.
True, he had not seen Brian when they were in the Lifestream. He could very well still be alive.
That was not what was bothering him, though; something more subtle was.
He realized that anyone they did not see down there could potentially still be alive.
Who else did they not see there?
We saw my mother, he thought. We saw Tifa's mother. We saw Biggs. We saw Wedge. We even saw President Shinra for some odd reason.
Yet he still felt as if one lost loved one didn't appear to them. It might have been his imagination, but someone definitely seemed missing that day.
Could that person still be alive as well?
Who was it?
Who was it?
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Premonitions: Uncut