Northern Crater - The Settling of Everything

While Still On the Highwind

Descent into the Crater

Confronting Sephiroth

The Ending Sequence

---

Cloud and the others reach the Northern Crater. On the Highwind...

Barret
Heh heh...... heh heh heh... Time's got a way of sneakin' up on ya, huh?
I'm shakin' all over... Heh heh... I feel sick...

Tifa
Hey, Cloud... Would you tell me 'It's all right'?

Cloud
- Say it cool
- Say it normal
- Don't say it

Nanaki
I am Nanaki, son of Seto... I am afraid of nothing...
It's all right, all right. I'm Nanaki, the son of brave Seto... I'm not afraid of Sephiroth...

Cait Sith
But I ain't gonna forget, no matter what happens.
Not about this here trip, or them folks--none of it!

Vincent
Cloud...... take the ship to the Northern Cave.
The time for flying is now past.
Our battlefield is now beneath the earth...
The gate to tomorrow is not the light of heaven, but the darkness of the depths of the earth......

Cid
You ever see the play 'LOVELESS'?

Cloud
- No
- Yes

Cid
When this job's done, I'm landing the ship... yeah, that's what I'll do.

Yuffie
Cloud...... sign this.

Cloud
What is it?

Yuffie
It's a contract that says when the war is over, all the materia will belong to me.
It's all in there. Read it carefully and then sign it, all right?

Cloud
Forget it, I'm not even gonna read it.
Whenever I read, I get airsick.

Yuffie
Oh yeah......?
I'm the same way, so I can't say too much......
Damn! My plan failed. Let's pick on Nanaki later to let off steam.

Full Fledged Pilot
Cloud, what do you want to do?
- Go on
- Wait a minute

Crew Member
I wonder what everyone's going to do when this fight's over?
I wonder what's gonna happen to the Highwind...?

Cloud heads out to the deck.

Crew Member
Take care!

If Cloud leaves the Highwind and then returns:

Crew Member
Welcome! Everyone's waiting for you.

Cloud and the others start down into the Northern Cavern.

Cloud
Looks like we can only slide down.
- Alright, let's go!
- We'll get prepared first

They slide down and begin their descent into the crater. At length they come to a fork in the path.

Cloud
The road splits into two. We'll split into two groups.

Cid
Which you gonna choose, Cloud?

Cloud
- Left
- Right

Barret
All right. Then I'll go...

Tifa
Then I'm going...

Nanaki
All right, then I'll go...

Yuffie
I'm going......

Cait Sith
Then I'll be heading...

Vincent
Then, I will be going......

Cid
All right! I'm headin'...

Cloud
Now don't any of you die on me.......
Gotta get through to Sephiroth!

The others split up according to Cloud's direction, and the characters not chosen for the party run off first.

Cid
I'll destroy that Sephiroth before anyone gets to him!

He runs off.

Vincent
It's all over now. With this...

He runs off.

Yuffie
Oh man... 'Materia Hunter Yuffie' sounds like the last chapter of 'Materia Forever.'

She runs off.

Nanaki
All life on this planet, indeed the very life of this planet is in our hands...

He runs off.

Cait Sith
I'm so happy to have met you all, really! ...sniff...

He runs off.

Barret
Well...... Looks like this is our last big job!

He runs off.

Tifa
Let's all go back alive, okay?

She runs off.

Cloud
This will be the end of it!

If Cloud attempts to go down the path he didn't choose, he will stop and say:

Cloud
We'll leave this to [name].

Or, if he sent no one down that path:

We'll try to go down from the other side.

Cloud and his chosen party head off down one path.

Before Cloud can reach the very bottom, those sent down other paths appear.

Barret
Yo, we're a bit late?

Tifa
Hey, were you thinking of leaving me?

Nanaki
Don't leave us, Cloud.

Yuffie
I finally got here, so I'm not leaving...

Cait Sith
You're so cruel, Cloud.

Vincent
You sure are hasty.

Cid
I can't let you guys go by yourselves, you'll make me worry.

Everyone gathers overlooking the final descent.

Cloud
This is the center of the Planet...?

Each member of the group which went down the opposite path has had something for Cloud...

Barret
Here, Cloud.

Tifa
Cloud, look.

Nanaki
Cloud, I found this...

Cait Sith
Hey, Cloud, I found this.

Vincent
Hold on to this.

Cid
Hey, Cloud, I found this on the way.

Yuffie
......... Wh... What?

If at least one other party member accompanied Yuffie on the way down...

Barret
Oh yeah, Yuffie, didn't you find somethin'?

Tifa
By the way Yuffie didn't you find something?

Nanaki
By the way Yuffie, didn't you find something on the way?

Cait Sith
By the way, Yuffie, didn't you pick up something...

Vincent
Yuffie, just let Cloud have it.

Cid
Yeah, Yuffie, didn't you pick up something on the way?

Yuffie
Oh, all right.
Here, Cloud.

Yuffie
But I'm the one who found it, so you better give it back to me when you're done with it!

Barret
Awright, this's the last dance!

Tifa
This is it.

Nanaki
We finally made it here.

Yuffie
It feels like we made it as far as we can.

Cait Sith
Well, shall we get goin'?

Vincent
Hmm... Being with you all is not so bad.

Cid
Let's just get this over with!

Cloud
- Let's get going
- (No, not yet...)

Cloud
All right, everyone, let's mosey.

Cid
Damn! Again!
Stop sayin' it like a wimp!
Can't you say 'Move out!' or somethin'?

Cloud scratches his head.

Cloud
Move out!!

There are growling and hissing noises from above them.

Barret
What?

Nanaki
Look at the number...

Cid
%#@^! They're comin' out in full force!

Barret
Cloud! You go first!

Cloud
I'm fighting here too.

Barret
Shu'up! It won't do us no good wit' everyone back here!

Cid
Barret's right.
You take two of us with you and go first. The rest'll catch up with ya later.

Tifa
Is this like a practice run before the real thing?

Cait Sith
Yeah, a major practice run...

Yuffie
Heh heh, I'm fine with that. (It's probably more fun than fighting Sephiroth down there.)

Vincent
Hmm, this might be fun to pass time.

The growling gets louder.

Nanaki
They're coming! They're already on the floor next to us!

Barret
Cloud! Hurry up and make up your mind!

Cloud
All of you!
Later!

Barret
Yeah, later.

Tifa
We'll meet up later.

Cid
Yup! Later!

Cloud and his chosen party begin the final descent into the Planet's core. After several battles, they reach another platform farther down and look around.

Cloud
Where are we...?

There is a screeching noise.

Barret
What's that!?

Tifa
What!?

Nanaki
Wha... what!?

Yuffie
What! What!

Cait Sith
What!

Vincent
What's this...!?

Cid
What the hell!

Jenova∙SYNTHESIS appears from below.

Cloud
Jenova...!?
It's coming!!

A battle with Jenova ensues. After they defeat her, the ground beneath them breaks apart and they fall downwards into a bright green light. The screen goes white. Cloud floats towards a bright white light pulsing in the darkness.

Cloud
Li...... ight......
A light...
Is this......
Is this light...... Holy?

Everyone comes to on stone platforms surrounding a caged Holy, including those who stayed behind to hold off the monsters.

Barret
Oww... damn, man!

Tifa
Owwww......

Cid
Owww......

Cloud
Barret!? | Tifa!? | Cid!?

Barret
What...? So everyone's together again...?

Tifa
Cloud...... Cloud... So we did end up together...

Cid
Goddammit... So we're all here...?

A pulse of energy goes through them all, lifting them into the air.

Everyone
Uuuugh...!!

Sephiroth appears in front of Holy.

Cloud
...Sephiroth!!

Another pulse of energy.

Barret
Ugh...! Is this...... the true power of Sephiroth?

Cid
My... my body... I can't control my body...... Uuugh!?

Another pulse.

Nanaki
My front legs...... my hind legs...... my tail's about to tear off!!

Cait Sith
This is definitely not good...... He's way outta our league...

Yuffie
I, I don't know if I can... go on...

A sharper pulse, and they all double over.

Tifa
Cloud... Cloud...

Cloud
Ugh... ugh...

Another pulse, and Cloud stops writhing.

Cloud
...there...
It's...... there...

Tifa
Cloud...?

Cloud
...Holy...... Holy... is there......
The Holy is shining......
Aeris's prayer is shining......!

Tifa
Holy...... Aeris......

Cloud
It's not over yet... This isn't the end yet!!

They prepare themselves for battle.

Cloud
- Let's go everyone...!
- Just one more time...!

One final pulse.

Everyone
Eeeyaaaa----!!

Or:

Uuuuuuuaaaaaaagh!!

Barret
Urrrrrgh!!
Not only Aeris...
Holy is the prayer of AVALANCHE...of Marlene and Dyne... And everyone on the planet!

Tifa
...We're not gonna lose!!
Aeris is here... everyone is here... Cloud is here with us!
There's still many things for us to do... I'm not giving up!!

Nanaki
...No way we're gonna lose!!
I'm going to see it through to the end. For our future... And that of the planet...
I understand now, Grandpa. This is my mission!
I won't let the Lifestream... or the Life of the Planet wither away!!

Yuffie
I don't like it!!
Maybe... maybe I shouldn't have come...
I don't need... materia...... any...
Nope, I still want it!! This an' that an' everything... MINE! And I'm never gonna give any up!!

Cait Sith
We're not losin'!!
Maybe we were a little late in noticing the trouble that we were getting into...
But, there's still time... We should still be able to get out of it! Even if we can't get EVERYTHING back to normal!
We should be able to protect what's most important!!

Vincent
Damn...!
I was frozen in time...... But now I feel as though my time is finally about to begin...!
Sephiroth, now it's your time to sleep between the ages!!

Cid
This ain't nothin'!!
Hoo-ok......! I can't be foolin' around in the bottom of this hell hole...
I still have lots of stuff to do with my life!

Cloud
Aeris's memories... Our memories...
We came... to tell you... our memories... Come Planet! Show us your answer!
And Sephiroth!! To the settling of everything!!

They fight first Bizarro∙Sephiroth and then Safer∙Sephiroth, and after a long battle, they emerge victorious. Everyone gathers again on the ledge above the final descent into the Planet's core.

Cloud
This is all we could do.

Barret
Wait! What about Holy? What's gonna happen to the Planet?

Cloud
That... I don't know. Isn't the rest up to the Planet?

Tifa
...You're right.
We've done all that we could do.

Cloud
All right, everyone.
It's no use thinking about it.
We'll leave all our worries here.
Let's go home proud.

They all start up the path, with Cloud and Tifa the last to go. A flash of white, and Cloud stops. Tifa turns back to him.

Tifa
What happened?

Cloud
......I feel it...

Tifa
What......

Another flash.

Cloud
He is still...... here.

Cloud clutches his head.

Cloud
Still......

Tifa
Cloud!?

Cloud
He's... laughing...

Cloud's spirit appears to pull away as his body collapses. The screen goes white.

Tifa
Cloud!

Cloud travels along a long tunnel to find Sephiroth waiting for him at the end of it. They duel one-on-one, and Cloud wins. Sephiroth, a shocked look on his face, dissolves into the Lifestream. The Lifestream then rises up and surrounds Cloud.

Cloud
.........Lifestream?

He holds out his hand, seeing a bare hand reaching down for him. But, once he comes to, he sees that it's Tifa's hand, and the ground is crumbling beneath his feet. The rock gives way beneath Tifa, but Cloud catches her and manages to grab hold of the ledge.

Cloud
......I think I'm beginning to understand.

Tifa
What?

Cloud
An answer from the Planet...
the Promised Land...
I think I can meet her...there.

Tifa hesitates, and then she closes her eyes and leans her head against Cloud.

Tifa
Yeah, let's go meet her.

Cloud helps Tifa up to the ledge, and they pull themselves up.

Cloud
Hey, where is everyone?

They both turn to look at the ledge across from them, where the others are gathered.

Barret
Heeeey!

Tifa (waving)
I'm glad you're all safe!

Barret (turning to Cid)
They all seem to be safe, too.
But...now what're we going to do?

Nanaki
Holy should be moving soon,
and that means this place will...

Cid
Oh, Lady Luck don't fail me now...

As Cid looks up, his mouth drops open and his cigarette falls from it. Everyone looks up to watch the Highwind come crashing down, Lady Luck painted on its side. Once they are all on board, Holy bursts from the crater, propelling them ahead of it. The Highwind starts coming apart.

Cid
Shit!!

Cid reaches for an emergency lever and pulls it. The Highwind transforms into a plane and flies away from the crater.

Meanwhile, in a house in Kalm, Marlene looks up from where she is sitting at a table.

Marlene
The flower girl?

Going to the window, she looks west towards Midgar. Meteor is bearing down on the city, a violent storm beneath it tearing apart the upper plate. Holy rushes in from the north and forms a shield between Meteor and Midgar, but Meteor pushes through.

Back on the Highwind...

Barret
Wait a damn minute!
What's going to happen to Midgar?
We can't let that happen!

Cait Sith
I had everyone take refuge in the slums,
but the way things are now...

Nanaki
It's too late for Holy.
Meteor is approaching the Planet.
Holy is having the opposite effect.
Forget Midgar,
we've gotta worry about the Planet.

They stand around anxiously, watching helplessly. Suddenly, Tifa spots something.

Tifa
What's that!?

They all turn to look as tendrils of the Lifestream come up out of the earth.

Barret
What the hell IS that......?

Cloud
......Lifestream.

As more of the Lifestream comes up, the people of Kalm sense something and open up their windows to look.

Marlene
It's coming.

The Lifestream converges on Midgar. A blinding light flashes over the Planet, and everyone flinches. And, somewhere, Aeris lifts her head and smiles.

Five hundred years later

Nanaki, his mane bedecked now with eight feathers, is running through a canyon with two cubs trailing behind him. He leads them up to the top of a rise, and the three of them look down upon Midgar, which is by now overrun with vibrant green vegetation.

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