Lark: *sings softly* “I couldn’t if I tried…”

Originally Published: 7/26/2007

Synopsis
Lark and the girls realize their means of getting to the ramble room is broken. Does this mean they have to leave for good?

Ramble Milestones
-Lark leaves the ramble room…at least until the movie.

I realize the same kind of things were said over and over, but I had to have Lark say good-bye to everyone, and there is only so many phrases people would say in such a situation. Even now I get sad reading this part. In all honesty, I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to wrap everything up at the very end. I knew it would end with Lark in the real world, but I last lines are very important to me and I wasn’t sure how I could possibly wrap it all up and feel content with how I ended things. Then I thought about Lark and Sephiroth’s song, and how important music is to me. And I had my closing lines. I still love the ending. It couldn’t have ended any other way. As for the epilogue…because of the movie and Gaiden, I almost didn’t include it, but then I was told I had to. I’m glad I did, because reading it over, I laughed a lot. As far as I’m concerned all of those things still happened.

(the next morning lark wakes up and quickly realizes that this is her last day at the ramble room. for a long time she just stares at the ceiling, not wanting to get up. finally, with a sigh, she looks at the clock and realizes she has to. so she does and she gets dressed slowly, looking around the room a lot as she does so. all of her stuff has been packed up. only the furniture remains. the room looks dull and almost unfamiliar. she has one suitcase left that she packs the rest of her things in. she looks at the clock once more as she closes it, knowing she has a schedule she must unfortunately keep. she walks slowly towards the door and opens it. she looks back at the room sadly.)

Lark: *sigh* “If these walls could talk…”

(Ashley and shell come over. they are also each carrying a suitcase and looking glum.)

Ashley: “I can’t believe any of this.”

Lark: “Don’t get me started.”

Shell: “This is going to be so hard…”

Lark: “Tell me about it.”

(Brady comes over)

Brady: “Hey, girls.”

Girls: *sadly* “Hey.”

Brady: “I’ll take your stuff outside. Everybody’s waiting for you.”

Lark: “Don’t you want to say good-bye?”

Brady: “I did that already. Besides, I wasn’t really close to anyone here. This was always your place.”

(The girls hand over their suitcases and Brady gives them all a sad smile)

Brady: “I’ll be waiting for you on the porch.”

(he takes the suitcases and leave. the girls look at each other)

Ashley: “Well, I guess this is it.”

Shell: “I never really thought this day would come, you know?”

Lark: “Me neither.”

All: “………………”

Ashley: “I guess…we better get going.”

(they head off towards the ramble room)

Lark: *softly* “And so it goes…”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

(the girls don’t talk much as they head over towards the ramble room. as they come to the beginning of the hallway they all stop in shock. there are people lined up down the whole hallway. as they see the girls come in they stop talking and kind of smile down at them. some people are already crying. the girls are stunned.)

Shell: *softly* “I don’t know what I was expecting, but this wasn’t it.”

Lark: *softly* “You guys go. Start saying your good-byes. …I need a minute.”

(so Ashley and shell start at the front of the line, hugging people and saying good-bye. lark hangs back and takes a deep breath. she’s trying not to look further down the line and is clearly trying to keep tears back. finally she braces herself and go over to tidus, wakka, lulu, kimahri and auron, who are at the end of the line.)

Lark: “You guys!” *hugs them all* “I can’t believe I have to go.”

Tidus: “We can’t either.”

Auron: “Parting is such sweet sorrow.”

Wakka: “We got something for you, ya?”

Lulu: “It was Tidus’ idea.”

Tidus: “Well, I just thought since you like blitzball, you might like this.”

(he reaches behind him and holds out a blitzball. it’s been signed by all of them.)

Lark: “Oh! That’s so sweet of you guys! Thank you! I love it!”

(she hugs them all again)

Lark: *sigh* “God, I can remember when you guys first came here. Seems like such a long time ago.”

Wakka: “Remember when people thought me and Zell were long lost twins?”

Lark: “Yeah! Of course I do!”

Seifer: *gasps and points at wakka* “Omg, Zell has a twin!”

Zell: *gasps* “My long lost twin!”

Wakka: “I’m nobody’s long lost twin, ya?”

Lark: “Zell, you guys are from two different games.”

Seifer: “They have the same hair style!”

Sephiroth: “It’s not even a nice hair style.”

Lark: “ENOUGH about the hair!” *sigh* “Everybody, mingle and say hello.”

Lark: “And Auron, I remember when a certain someone thought he was being funny when he was trying to catch his dragon.”

Auron: “Non stop hilarity he is not.”

Lark: “Oh, that’s it.” *yells* “SEPHIROTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Sephiroth: *running toward them with vincent* “Flamey!”

Lark: *glares at him with hands on her hips* “Not quite.”

Sephiroth: *stops dead* “Uh… Auron! What are you doing tying yourself to that tree and drenching yourself in tasty steak sauce? We stopped playing cannibal half an hour ago!” *sweat drop*

Lark: “Sephiroth, you’ve gone from bad to worse! How could you tie a person up as bait for your dragon!?”

Sephiroth: “Well you don’t get more ugly and dispensable than that!” *points at auron*

Auron: “He tied me up with sausage links.”

Lark: “I’ll miss you guys.”

Auron: “We’ll miss you too. Stay well. Best of luck.”

Lark: “Thank you.”

(so she hugs them all again. then she moves down to scarlet, nida and heidegger??)

Lark: “What are you guys doing here?”

Nida: “Saying good-bye, skank! We got you something, but Heidegger ate it!”

Heidegger: “It tasted bad! Gya haa haa!”

Lark: “I’m not sure if I wanted it anyway.”

Scarlet: “Now that Hojo’s in jail, things will be a lot different around our place.”

Nida: “And don’t forget we’re getting married!”

Lark: “Yeah, good luck with that.”

Scarlet: “Thanks. I’ll need it.”

Heidegger: “Gya haa haa! Good-byes make me hungry!”

Stinky: *snort*

Lark: “You know, as much as we never got along over the years, not every memory I have of you guys is a bad one.”

Kuja: “Let’s sing a song!!!”

Heidegger: “Gya haa haa! Yes!”

Hojo, Kuja, Heidegger, and Scarlet: “Hark! the herald angels sing–Glory to the newborn King—peace on earth, and mercy mild—God and sinners reconcile—Joyful, all ye nations, rise, join the triumph of the skies;—-with the angelic host proclaim,—‘Christ is born in Bethlehem’—Hark! the herald angels sing,—Glory to the newborn King.”

Heidegger: “Gya haa haa! Guess we’re not hopeless.”

Lark: “Well good-bye, I guess.”

Nida: “See ya! Wouldn’t wanna be ya!” *laughs*

Scarlet: *hand to her head* “I think I made a big mistake.”

(lark rolls her eyes. she then moves on to the next person. yuffie)

Yuffie: “Lark, I got you the best gift of all!” *holds out materia*

Lark: “Wow, you’re actually giving me some?”

Yuffie: “It’s a struggle. Trust me.”

Lark: “I can imagine. You’ve always been a hoarder of it.”

Yuffie: “Hey, does anyone here have any materia?”

Seifer: *mumbles* “That’s why she’s here….”

Yuffie: “Don’t use it. It’s mastered cure magic! That’s expensive stuff.”

Lark: “I’ll take good care of it. Thanks, Yuffie.”

(she gives yuffie a hug and then moves on to the next people…locke, shadow, edgar and setzer. shadow is back to his old self, mask and all. intercepter is also there.)

Lark: “Aw, Interceptor! I like your bow!” *pets him*

Shadow: “He’ll bite your hand off!”

Lark: “You seem to be back to your old self, Shadow.”

Shadow: “I’ll never let my guard down again.”

Setzer: “Lark, we really hate to see you go.”

Lark: “I hate to be going. Trust me.”

Locke: “We’ve got something for ya!”

Edgar: “It’s just a little something. We hope you like it.”

(he hands her a frame that is divided into four sections and has four photos in it. the pictures are of the ramble room, the tv room, the pool area, and the porch swing)

Lark: “How thoughtful! I love it! Thanks, you guys! You didn’t have to.”

Edgar: “It’s the least we could do. After all, it was because of you we met some of our dearest friends.”

Algus: “Hello, sir. My name is Algus, and I am the son of a noble. Behind me is my bodyguard, Steiner and my slave.”

Zidane: “I have a name too!”

Algus: “Silence, knave.”

Rufus: “And *I* am Rufus Shinra, President of Shinra Inc. I have my own set of slaves as well.” *proud grin*

Edgar: *dashingly* “Pleased to meet you. I am Edgar Roni Figaro, King of Figaro castle.”

Algus: *shaking his hand happily* “Excellent, your majesty. Because of your noble status, I am happy to invite you to our inner circle.”

Edgar: “How quaint!”

Setzer: *pokes edgar* “Hey, Eddie, who are you talking to?”

Edgar: “Uh…gentlemen, this is Setzer, my…friend.”

Setzer: “Hello.”

Edgar: “He’s very rich.”

Algus and Rufus: *eyes light up*

Lark: “You guys hit it off right from the start. How could I forget? I’ll miss you guys. Good luck with the baby and everything. I’ll know you’ll be great parents.” *hugs them both*

Edgar: “You’ll always be in our thoughts.”

Setzer: “Good luck to you.”

Lark: “And Locke…the great treasure hunter! Good luck to you and Yuffie.”

Rufus: “Hey!!! Thief!!”

Locke: *frowns* “I’m not a thief, I’m a treasure hunter.” *holds out wallet* “You should protect your wallet better. And your driver’s license picture is terrible.”

Locke: “Thanks. You take care, Lark.”

(then she turns to shadow)

Lark: “And Shadow…I hope you never change again.”

Shell: “And finally…Shadow.”

Shadow: “I know they can see me!”

Everyone: *stares at him*

Shadow: “…Okay.”

Shadow: “I don’t do hugs. You might try to stab me.”

Lark: “How about a handshake then?”

Shadow: “…I can do that.”

(so they shake hands. lark gives interceptor one more pet and then moves on to kuja and seymour)

Lark: “Kuja! I’m glad you came!” *hugs him*

Kuja: “I wouldn’t miss this, darling. You look beautiful. Thanks.”

Seymour: “You’ll look even better when you use our gift!”

Lark: “You got me something?”

Kuja: “Of course!” *holds out make-up case* “I hand picked all of the products myself. The retail value is probably more than the maximum on your credits cards.”

Lark: “Oh my gosh! That’s great! Thank you!”

Kuja: “You’re more than welcome.”

Lark: “I’m sorry I put you in loser land.”

Kuja: “No reason to say you’re sorry. I’ve done well for myself there.”

Lark: “Well I’ll never forget when we all went shopping for my wedding dress…or tried to anyway.”

Lark: “Who designed this?”

Selphie: “I did! Aren’t the duckies cute?”

Lark: “…Why would I want *duckies* on my wedding dress?”

Selphie: *frowns* “I don’t know… I just liked the duckie brush…”

Kuja: “Well, I’m nauseous. All of these designs are awful.”

Seymour: “I noticed you refused to design anything.”

Kuja: “I can’t possibly work with crappy materials.”

Kuja: “The important thing is you looked beautiful in the end.”

Lark: *hugs them both* “You be good to each other.”

Kuja: “No promises. You stay beautiful.”

Lark: “I’ll do my best.”

(she moves down next to barret and cid)

Barret: “Yo, girl! I ain’t no good at good-byes!”

Lark: “I wish I didn’t have to be saying good-bye to you guys!”

Cid: “We’ve been though a lot together over the years.”

Lark: “That we have! I know I’ll never forget when Barret and Red got married!”

Barret: “Yo, this ain’t right! I can’t marry no…..no….what da hell are you?”

Red: “I am hoping that any moment I will just keel over and die.”

Barret: “Yo, could I get arrested for doin’ this?”

Red: “If only.”

Barret: “Yo, you would have to bring that up!”

Lark: “And Cid, you always knew just what to say.”

Cid: “@%#@^$%^$@^#%^#@!”

Everyone: “You said it, Cid!”

Cid: *grins* “@#$%@#$%#$.”

Lark: *sigh* “I’ll miss you guys a lot.”

Barret: “Don’t be leavin’ before we give you our present!”

Cid: “Koudelka helped us pick it out.”

(cid hands her a jewelry box. lark opens it to find a beautiful silver necklace inside)

Lark: “It’s beautiful! Thanks, you guys!” *hugs cid* “Good luck to you and Koudelka.”

Cid: “I might need it.”

Lark: *hugs barret* “And you be nice to Red.”

Barret: “Yo, I find out what dat thing be and I still don’ know what to call it!”

Lark: “Good-bye.”

Cid: “#@$%^#$%^!”

Barret: “You take care a yourself, girl!”

(lark then goes to the next person in line…red)

Red: *mutters* “I would get stuck in line next to them.”

Lark: “Red! Oh, Red. For once I think I’m as sad as you.”

Red: “I’m sorry.”

Lark: “But hey, I think you’ve been happier since your grandpa came back into your life!”

Red: “This is true.”

Lark: “Because I remember when you used to really bring everybody down…”

Red: *weeping* “This reminds me of old Dkgiwndl Day in my old tribe in Cosmo Canyon. The whole house was surrounded in flowers…”

Barret: *resting his head on his hand* “Here we go.”

Red: “We spoke only in hushed whispers, and father would play his Fiuyr and tell us the story of Winterbrook castle. The children would play with their Njolip while the adults would smoke their Quexct’s.” *still crying* “I can still hear the old tune of the Fiuyr playing “The Flowers of Rucvbn meadows to this day.”

Everyone: *blink*

Red: “And then there was my cousin Cecil……………….”

(and so he goes on for 20 minutes, and everyone is looking bored and depressed. barret is trying to gauge his own eyes out, and reno has about 50 cups of egg nog in front of him. hey, but where the hell is duo?)

Red: *somberly* “…and then the fires that wracked the home I had once known so well made it impossible for me to ever think of the scared Dkgiwndl Day Golznew fire in the same way ever again.” *pause* “And that’s all I have to say about that.”

Everyone: *dead, dead silence*

Red: “Ah, Dkgiwndl Day. It’s not the same when you celebrate alone. Anyway, Lark, I do have something for you.” *noses forward a telescope* “We have the same stars. So perhaps when you look at the sky you can have a link to this place.”

Lark: *eyes filling with tears* “Red, that is the sweetest thought!” *hugs him*

Red: *pats her on the back with his paw* “You’ve always been a good friend to me. And I appreciate that.”

Lark: “Thank you, Red. I’ll miss you.”

Red: “I’ll miss you as well.”

(next in line are laguna, kiros and ward.)

Kiros: “Ward says you’re annoying!”

Ward: “I don’t think I just said that, did I, Laguna?”

Laguna: *blink blink* “No you didn’t…”

Kiros: “Shut up, Ward! You’re ruining everything!”

Lark: “Um, hey guys!”

Laguna: “Hey hey! Lark! How ya doing?”

Lark: “Not that great actually.”

Kiros: “Obviously, you idiot. She has to leave.”

Laguna: *frowns* “That was mean, Kiros.”

Ward: “See! He’s the mean one! Him!”

Laguna: “Anyway, I’m gonna miss all the crazy times we had together, Lark!”

Lark: “Me too…”

Laguna: “Hey hey! I just heard! This is great now! I’m friends with Kiros, and you’re friends with Lizzie, so we can all go on a triple date!”

Squall: *glares*

Laguna: *sweat drops* “Oops! Heh heh… I forgot that was your ex-girlfriend he’s dating.”

Squall: “You’re  a moron.”

Lark: “Don’t be mean to your father!”

Squall: “Listen, we were kind of in the middle of something, so if you don’t mind…”

Laguna: *backing up holds his hands up in defense* “Hey hey! I understand! Just remember to use protection!” *leaves*

Kiros: “Ward says stop being sappy.”

Laguna: “Ward didn’t say that, Kiros.”

Kiros: *bursts into tears* “My whole life’s been destroyed!”

Ward: *smiles* “Excellent.”

Laguna: “Hey hey! We got you something!” *hands her a folded bowling shirt* “See? Looks just like mine!”

Lark: “Awesome! Thanks, Laguna!” *hugs him* “I hope things keep going well in Esthar.”

Laguna: “Me too! I am the President!”

Lark: “Uh, bye Kiros.”

Kiros: *still sobbing*

Lark: “Bye, Ward!” *hugs him* “It’s been nice to actually *talk* to you!”

Ward: “Same here! Trust me!”

Lark: “You be sure and watch out for Laguna.”

Ward: “Always have, always will.”

(she moves to the next people in line: richter, juste, simon, trevor and hugh)

Lark: “Belmont’s! I didn’t expect to see you here!”

Richter: “We can’t let our favorite neighbors go without saying good-bye! And besides, I owe you more than I could ever repay! You introduced me to the mother of my child and soon to be wife!”

Lark: “I was happy to do it, Richter. You don’t owe me a thing.”

Trevor: “Don’t worry! In your absence we will make sure to keep the vampires away!”

Lark: “Oh, I don’t doubt that. You guys have certainly made life around here interesting!”

Rufus: “My swing! My swing! What did you do to my swing!?”

Simon: “We needed the wood.”

Juste: “It was an emergency! We needed the wooden stakes to get the vampires with!”

Trevor: “They were seen walking down the street in front of the house last night! Far too close for comfort!”

Richter: “And wood is the only thing that works when it comes to stakes.”

Rufus: “Haven’t you ever heard of a tree!?”

Franswa: “I told them not to do it! But they wouldn’t listen to me!”

Simon: “Silence, traitor!”

Rufus: “Well you’ve ruined my porch swing! You better pay to replace it!”

Trevor: “Isn’t the peace of mind that you’re safe from unholy demons of the night payment enough?”

Rufus: “NO!”

Simon: “Watch out for those hidden vampires in your world!”

Hugh: “They see you when you’re sleeping. And know when you’re awake.”

Lark: “You’re making them sound like Santa Claus.”

Juste: “We got you a little something! Use them well!”

(he hands her a wooden stake and some garlic)

Lark: “Oh…thanks! I’m sure this will come in handy.”

Richter: “For your sake, I hope not!”

Lark: “Thank you for everything, Belmont’s. I’ll miss having such good neighbors.”

Simon: “No one compares to the Belmont’s!”

(she hugs them all. then she goes to the next people in line, tifa, cloud and zack. tifa is holding duke)

Tifa: “Oh, Lark! This is so sad!”

Lark: “I know. I’m saying good-bye to everyone but I’m trying to not let it sink in.” *looks at duke* “He’s getting so big!”

Tifa: “I know.”

Lark: “I hate that I’m going to miss him grow up.”

Tifa: “Well, he’ll be a vampire hunter. I can guarantee you that.”

Lark: *laughs* “That’s true! Man, I feel like it was your baby shower just yesterday!”

Lark: “You’re due any day now, aren’t you?”

Tifa: “Yup!”

Koudelka: “I’m surprised you’re not nervous.”

Selphie: “I would be!”

Tifa: *shrugs* “I guess I haven’t really thought about it.”

Elena: “Don’t worry, Tifa. It can’t be worse than being stranded in a car in the middle of a blizzard and having to have the baby’s gay father deliver the baby.”

Richter: “Certainly not! Tifa will labor at home without drugs and surrounded by the Belmont’s of every generation!”

Girls: *jaw drops*

Lark: “What are you, Scientologists?”

Tifa: “Me too. He’ll be going off to kindergarden before we know it.”

Lark: “And I really hate that I have to miss your wedding.”

Tifa: “Me too. We’ll definitely miss you.”

Lark: “I’m sure it will be beautiful.”

Tifa: “I hope so.”

Lark: “And Cloud and Zack! I heard you’re going through with your center!”

Zack: “That we are!”

Cloud: “We’re a bit nervous about it.”

Lark: “Don’t be! I’m sure it will turn out great!” *sigh* “I’m missing so much. I remember when you and Cloud met again for the first time after your memory loss…”

Doctor Zack: “That’s a nice ring you have there. Looks a lot like mine.”

Cloud: “Oh. Where did you get yours?”

Doctor Zack: “I got married in Vegas last year. I was a little drunk.” *chuckles* “It’s silly to wear it, considering I don’t know what guy has the other one, but… I kinda like it anyway.”

Cloud: “That’s quite a story. I got mine quite the same way! Unfortunately, once I sobered up I couldn’t remember a blasted thing!”

Doctor Zack and Cloud: *chuckle uncomfortably*

Lark and Sephiroth: *exchange a look*

Doctor Zack: “Well, then, Cloud. I’m just going to get you some cream and gauze for your hands. They’ll heal fine.” *looks him over again* “I just wish I remember where I’ve seen you.” *he leaves*

Zack: “But you have your whole life ahead of you. I’m sure you have lots of things to look forward to.”

Lark: “I doubt it.”

Cloud: “We have a gift for you, Lark.” *hands her a cd*

Tifa: “It’s a mix CD! We put all the ramble room favorites on there!”

Lark: “This is great! Thanks, you guys!” *hugs them all* “It’s so hard to say good-bye.”

Tifa: “I know. But you go on and have a good life.”

Lark: “You too! I hope you have a great wedding and I’m sure Duke will grow up big and strong and slay many vampires.”

Tifa: “His father will love that!”

Lark: “Cloud…Zack…best of luck with your center. I’m sure it’ll be a great success.”

Zack: “We certainly hope so. Take care of yourself, Lark.”

Cloud: “We won’t forget what you’ve done for us.”

(lark hesitates and looks like she’s going to cry again. but she manages to hold it in. she hugs them all again once more and then moves on to dante, alucard and dracula.)

Dante: “Lark, Lark, Lark. What is everyone here going to do without you?”

Lark: “You guys will be fine. I’m worried about what I’m going to do.”

Alucard: “You’ll get through it. I know it must seem difficult now, but that’s life unfortunately.”

Dante: “And Al would know.”

Dracula: *is balancing a boot on his head* “Alucard! I think I’m closer to finding the sacred hideout of the bean sprouts!”

Alucard: *sigh* “Dad, this is a serious occasion. Are you going to say good-bye to Lark or are you going to make a fool of yourself?”

Dracula: “I’m not sure what either of those mean, but I choose option B, Alucard.”

Alucard: “Sorry about that.”

Lark: “It’s fine! Your dad’s antics are definitely not something I’ll ever be able to forget!”

Dracula: *still doing it* “I’m so excited! And I just can’t hide it!”

Brady: “…What should we do?”

Reeve: “Just start backing away slowly.”

(alucard, sephiroth and the monsters leave. Everyone else starts to slowly back away as dracula keeps on going, totally unaware of what’s going on. Then death comes over, looking tired, like he’s had a long day)

Death: “Good evening, my lord. It’s been a tough night, but -” *sees what he’s doing* “What are you doing?”

Dracula: “When I think about you I touch myself! Whoo!”

Death: “…………”

Everyone: “…………….”

Lark: “RUN!”

Alucard: “You probably *want* to forget them though.”

Dante: “I think Lark is probably trying to hold onto every memory she’s got of this place.”

Lark: “Of course! I remember when I first met you, Dante.”

Alucard: “Oh! Dante, I’ve been rude. These are some more neighbors of yours, and friends of mine. This is Lark, Tseng and Bryatt. Everyone, this is our new neighbor, Dante Sparda.”

Lark: “Nice to meet you, Dante.”

Bryatt: “Hey there.”

Tseng: “Hi.”

Dante: “Glad you all came down.”

Lark: “And when I first met you, Alucard.”

Lark: “…Sephiroth? …Your hair looks extra shiny today.”

???????: “No, ma’am. My name is Alucard.”

Lark: “…Alucard? As in…Dracula’s son Alucard? As in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Alucard?”

Alucard: “The very same.”

Lark: *swooning* “You’re even cuter in person!”

Alucard: “Excuse me?”

Lark: “I’m sure I don’t have to tell you how precious is each moment is. Time goes so fast.”

Alucard: “That it does.”

Dante: “Anyway, before we all get depressed, we have a present for ya!”

(he holds out a hot package poster featuring a picture of all the dancers. it is also signed by all of them)

Lark: “Wow, this is great!”

Dante: “Now your wall will never be lonely.”

Lark: “Thanks so much, you guys!” *she hugs them both* “I’ll miss you so much. Take care of each other…and Dracula.”

Dracula: “I can’t take care of myself.”

Alucard: “I’ll do my best. You take care, Lark.”

Dante: “Hope you have a great life.”

Lark: “Good-bye, Dracula.”

Dracula: “Alucard, why is your sister leaving?”

Alucard: “She’s not my sister.”

Dracula: “She’s not?” *gasp* “Then I think I’ve been paying some unnecessary child support!”

(lark smiles, shakes her head and moves down the line. next are squall, rinoa, selphie and quistis)

Selphie: *bursts into tears* “This is so sad!”

Lark: “Please don’t cry! You’re gonna make me cry!”

Rinoa: “And me!”

(they all hug one another crying. quistis looks at squall. she then holds up a wallet)

Quistis: “You need to watch your pockets better.”

Squall: *grabs it* “Whatever.”

(finally lark, selphie and rinoa manage to stop crying)

Lark: “I’m gonna miss you guys. You’ve all been around since day one!”

Rinoa: “Time has gone so fast.”

Lark: “I know. It feels like just yesterday Squall was ‘losing his shorts’ in the ocean.”

Rinoa: *comes running up, out of breath* “Hey! Does anyone have any extra shorts?”

Irvine: “Why? What happened now?”

Rinoa: *embarrassed* “Squall lost his shorts.”

Everyone: *jaw drops*

Rinoa: *holds up her hands* “No no! It’s not what you think! The tide’s just really strong!”

Ashley: “Sure….”

Rinoa: “Yeah, okay, the tide didn’t really take them.”

Lark: “Yeah, obviously.”

Selphie: “Or what about that time you and Sephiroth got locked in the ramble room together? That feels like just yesterday too!”

Selphie: “Hi, Quistis! Wow, that’s a lot of books you got there….encyclopedias, huh? Where’d you get them?”

Quistis: *out of breath* “Garden.”

Selphie: “Oh! Did you buy them from Headmaster Cid?”

Quistis: “…yeah…that’s what I did.”

Lark: *bangs on the door* “Selphie, Quistis, HELP!!”

Quistis: “Is that Lark?”

Selphie: “Sounds like she’s in trouble.” *sounds of feet running closer* “Lark? Is that you?”

Lark: “Yes! You gotta help! Hojo, Scarlet, Heidegger and Nida locked me and Sephiroth in here, and they glued the door shut with some sort of stuff that won’t give up for days!”

Selphie: “You’re in there with Sephiroth?!”

Sephiroth: *shaking his fist* “Gotta a problem with that, strawberry shortcake?”

Lark: *sadly* “Yeah, who could forget that?”

Rinoa: *whispers* “You idiot! I told you not to mention him!”

Selphie: “Oops! Sorry!”

Squall: “Uh, we have a gift for you, Lark.”

Quistis: “It’s not stolen!”

Rinoa: “No, we bought it.”

Selphie: “Hope you like it!”

(squall then holds out a box. he opens it and inside is a whole set of triple triad cards)

Lark: “Wow! That’s awesome!”

Selphie: “Yay! I knew you’d like it!”

Lark: “You shouldn’t have! This must have cost a fortune!”

Rinoa: “Doesn’t matter. The worst part was dealing with that bitchy card Queen.”

Quistis: “If she moved to Esthar *one more time*…”

Lark: “Well thanks for all the trouble, guys. I really appreciate it.”

Selphie: “No need to thank us!”

(lark hugs selphie and rinoa again. then she hugs quistis)

Lark: “Try and stay out of trouble.”

Quistis: “Rinoa’s forcing me to get help. But that didn’t take so well last time.”

Shell: “Okay, I want everyone to give their name and what their problem is.”

Barret: “What if we ain’t got no problem?”

Lark: “If you don’t know I’ll tell you.”

Barret: *pouts* “Fine.”

Shell: “Let’s go around in a circle.”

Quistis: *getting up* “Hi, my name is Quistis Trepe and….I steal things from Garden…all the time.”

Lark: “Try harder next time.” *goes over to squall* “Squall, Squall, Squall. You and I have been through a lot together.”

Squall: “Tell me about it.”

Squall: “Is something wrong?”

Lark: “No… In fact, I think I have a way to get you and Rinoa back together.”

Squall: “How!?”

Lark: “Well, she said she didn’t care if you dated someone else, but I bet she’s lying. If you go out with someone else she’ll get really jealous, realizes she still loves you, and send Kiros blaming the break up on Ward.”

Squall: *thoughtfully* “Hmm… I like that idea. But who should I date?”

Lark: *raises her eyebrows and smiles*

Squall: “You?” *gulp*

Lark: “Why not? Something wrong with me?”

Squall: *murmurs* “I don’t really want to die…”

Lark: *frowns* “You don’t like me?”

Squall: “It’s not that…. All right. Fine. We’re dating.”

Lark: “You take care of Rinoa. And make sure Nida never gets promoted.”

Squall: “No problem. On both of those.”

Lark: “And be nice to your dad! He loves you!”

Squall: “That I can’t promise.”

(they hug for a long time)

Lark: “I’ll really miss you.”

Squall: “Same here.” *pause* “Oh, I mean, whatever.” *smiles*

(lark smiles back at him and then moves on to the next person in line. bryatt)

Lark: “Bryatt!!” *hugs him*

Bryatt: “I’m not good at saying good-bye, Lark.”

Lark: “Oh, I’m terrible. Let’s both try not to cry and call it a success.”

Bryatt: *laughs* “Okay, but no promises!” *sad sigh* “I’m so bummed you’re going. We were practically attached at the hip once.”

Sephiroth: “So how long will you be torturing us all, Bryatt?”

Bryatt: “Until you can’t stand me anymore.”

Sephiroth: “And where exactly are you staying? Last I checked there weren’t any spare rooms.”

Lark: “He’s staying with me! With Bryatt around, I won’t be pressured into breaking my vow.”

Bryatt: “I’m her little gay shadow.”

Sephiroth: “Oh.” *frown* “Great.”

Lark: “We had a lot of fun times together.”

Both: *sigh sadly*

Bryatt: “But hey! No crying, right? How about a present? You can’t cry over a present!”

(he hands her a book. it’s ‘on writing’ by stephen king)

Lark: “I love this book!”

Bryatt: “My favorite. Open the front cover.”

(she does and bryatt has written inside the book. it says: ‘never stop dreaming! love always, bryatt’. lark starts tearing up)

Lark: “This is so sweet!”

Bryatt: “Uh oh, we’re failing the mission. Quick, evasive action!” *hands her a tissue*

Lark: *dabs at her eyes* “Thank you, Bryatt.”

Bryatt: “The least I could do.”

(they hug for a long time. while they’re hugging, lark whispers to him.)

Lark: *softly* “Take care of Zidane. He needs you.”

Bryatt: “I have every intention.”

(they draw apart and smile sadly at each other)

Bryatt: “Go on and have a fabulous life.”

Lark: “You too.”

(sadly she goes on to the next people in line, vivi, steiner and zidane.)

Steiner: “Miss Lark, this is a sad day indeed for all of us.”

Vivi: “I wish you didn’t haveta go… Are you gonna forget about us?”

Lark: “Are you kidding? I could never, ever forget about you guys! I have so many good memories!”

(steiner and vivi drag the messily wrapped package over)

Package: “Kupo!”

Lark: “Omg, is this what I think it is?” *she opens it and it’s a moogle* “Aw, it is! It’s a moogle!”

Moogle: “Hello, Kupo!”

Zidane: “It’s name is Kupo, Kupo.” *pause* “Aw, dammit, I’m starting to talk like it!”

Zidane: “Man, I gotta ton of good memories! Remember that time we sat in the bushes to spy on Algus?”

Lark: “…I knew we were being watched.”

Zidane: “That guy is a weirdo! Who hangs out in the bushes at this time of night?!”

Lark and Tseng: *give him a look*

Zidane: “…I mean all the time!”

Lark: *snort* “How could I forget that? It was freezing in those bushes!”

Zidane: “Well here’s a little something to keep your memory fresh!”

(he hands her a photo album. she quickly opens it and flips through the pages. it’s filled with pictures of everyone in the ramble room doing all sorts of crazy things over the years)

Lark: “Omg! This is great!”

Zidane: “Everybody contributed some pictures.”

Steiner: “It really was a group effort.”

Lark: “I love it! I’ll look at it all the time!” *she hugs all of them*

Steiner: “You take care, Miss Lark. You’ll be greatly missed.”

Vivi: *sniffs back tears*

Zidane: “Yeah, Lark. I mean, you’ve been a great friend. And if I hadn’t come here, yeah, I would’ve never been Algus’ slave, but I never would have had any of those good times either. So thanks.”

Lark: “No need to thank me, Zidane. I was just so happy to be surrounded by my friends.” *she hugs him again* “Be good to Bryatt.”

Zidane: “Are you kidding me? That one’s a keeper! I’m gonna hang onto him for dear life!”

Lark: “Good! And enjoy your new jobs.”

Zidane: “You bet I will.” *his smile turns into a frown and he leans over and kisses her on the cheek* “I hope you have a great life. …Hey. You wanna pull my tail for old time’s sake?”

Lark: *laughs* “Of course!” *pulls it*

Zidane: *grins* “I’ll miss that too.”

(lark reluctantly goes to the next people in line, twilight and opal.)

Lark: “Hi, Twilight.”

Twilight: “Hi, Lark. Bye, Lark.”

Opal: “Twilight! She’s leaving for good! You can’t be nicer than that?”

Twilight: “What? Life goes on. If anything, I feel sorry for her. She’ll never get to be in my awesome presence again!”

Lark: “Same old Twilight.”

Twilight: “Heh heh. Watch this.” *stops duo’s pitch, then sends it over the wall for a home run* “All right! Home run!”

Heero: *confused* “What the hell….”

Duo: *jaw drops* “Uh…..”

Shell: “Oh, like that wasn’t obvious.”

Opal: “Oh dear….Twilight.”

Twilight: “Whoo hoo! I rock!”

Wu-fei: “Wu-fei is impressed.”

Twilight: “Out of my way, loser!” *pushes wu-fei away from home plate*

Opal: “Well, I’ll miss you, Lark. We’ve had a good time with you girls.”

Twilight: “I guess I had an okay time, some of the time. But mostly because I made fun for myself.”

Lark: “I’ll miss you guys too. Both of you.”

(she hugs opal, but twilight backs away when she goes to hug him)

Twilight: “I don’t do hugs.”

(lark grins and hugs him anyway)

Twilight: “Ugh! I’m pretty sure this is sexual harassment!”

(lark then waves good-bye and goes on to the next people in line… seifer and rude. shell and Ashley are with them.)

Seifer: “It’s not too late to change your mind!”

Ashley: “Seifer, don’t make this more difficult! Now say good-bye to Lark.”

Seifer: “Oh. Hey, Lark.”

Lark: “Hi, Seifer.”

Seifer: “You sure you girls have to go? Really, really, really sure?”

Lark: “…Yeah. We wouldn’t be leaving otherwise.”

Shell: “Know what Rude got me for a going away present?”

Lark: “What? A diamond necklace?”

Shell: “No! Better!” *holds out photo album* “Look! It’s all photos of the two of us! Isn’t he awesome?”

Rude: “It was nothing.”

Lark: “Rude always has been one of a kind…”

Shell’s voice: “Don’t drink any of that root beer, Rude!”

Rude’s voice: “…Why not, Shell?”

Shell’s voice: “What did you do to earn it, Rude?”

Rude’s voice: “…I bought it and carried it.”

Shell’s voice: “….Did you *really* earn it, Rude?”

Rude’s voice: *sad sigh* “No, Shell.”

Seifer: “What about me?! I’m like, five of a kind!”

Ashley: *rolls eyes* “Yeah, you’re something all right.”

Lark: “What’s *up*? I believe you guys know! Poor Zell is crying his eyes out because you jerks started a dumb ass We Hate Zell club!”

Seifer: “It was my idea!”

Lark: “Are you nuts? Stop it right now!”

Seifer: “No way! We have a right to a We Hate Zell club!”

Lark: “Listen, I can’t make you stop….” *looks at each guy* “But I will say that I’m really disappointed in some of you, and I hope you drop out.” *glares at seifer and leaves*

Seifer: *grins* “Wow. She didn’t get half as mad as I thought she would.”

(lark hugs rude and seifer)

Lark: “You guys take care of yourselves.”

Rude: “Take care of Shell.”

Seifer: “Who’s going to take care of me?!”

Ashley: “Seifer, you’re a big boy.”

Rude: “We got something for you, Lark.”

Seifer: “Oh yeah! I almost forgot about it!”

(rude hands lark a black t-shirt that has been signed by everyone in a silver pen.)

Rude: “We did it with a fabric pen, so it shouldn’t come off.”

Seifer: “It was mostly Rude’s idea, but I chipped in some money for the shirt!”

Lark: “Thanks you guys, this is really great. You didn’t have to go through all the trouble.”

Rude: “No trouble. I wouldn’t have met Shell if it wasn’t for you.”

Seifer: “I wouldn’t have met Ashley!” *eyes fill with tears* “I can’t believe you’re leaving!”

Ashley: “Oh boy.”

Shell: “We’ll be here, so let us know when you’re done with your good-byes.”

Lark: “I’ll be dragging it out for as long as possible.”

Ashley: *hugging seifer* “Take your time.”

(lark moves on to elena and algus, who are next in line. lily is standing next to elena, holding on to her leg)

Elena: *hugs lark* “I can’t believe you have to go!”

Lark: “Me neither. I’m going to miss so much. I can’t believe I won’t ever get to meet Rufus Jr.”

Elena: *pats her stomach* “Well, he’ll be blonde haired and blue eyed, I can guarantee you that!”

Lark: “I wish you and Rufus nothing but happiness.”

Elena: “The same to you and Brady. Are you thinking of having any kids?”

Lark: “Yeah, eventually we probably will.”

Elena: “They change your whole life. But for the better – at least I think so!”

Lark: “You have changed so much over the years…”

Elena: “I’M GETTING MARRIED!”

Everyone: “What?!”

Elena: “Rufus just proposed!”

Lark: “Congratulations!”

Ashley: “That’s great!”

Elena: “Yeah, I know. But for the better, I think!”

Lark: “Everybody grows up!”

Algus: “Elena, I hate to bother you, but I believe your child thinks I’m her mother.”

(he points down to where lily is now grabbing onto algus’ leg.)

Elena: “Lily! If you need to hold onto someone, hold onto mommy!”

Lark: “She’s so cute. Bye, Lily! I’m sure you’re going to grow up into a beautiful young lady.”

Algus: “Lark, I must say I’m very sad to see you go. What we need is more people around here like you, and less people like Zidane.”

Lark: “Oh, Algus. If there’s one person I know who won’t change around here, it’s you.”

Algus: “I take that as a compliment.”

Lark: “I thought you might.”

Algus: “I don’t thank people often, Lark, but I feel I must thank you. After all, it was because of you Rufus and I met and a great business relationship was born!”

Lark: “I knew you two would be perfect for each other.”

Algus: “It was on the first day I came here. I remember you greeted me!”

Lark: “Hi, Algus! Welcome to the ramble room!”

Algus: “Hello, Miss Lark. I am…” *looks around cautiously* “…here.”

Lark: *sweat drop* “Heh. Yeah. Well, I’ll let you get acquainted with everyone. Not too many of the people here are villains though.”

Algus: “I am not a villain!”

Lark: “Uh…right. Well, talk to you later!” *she goes off*

Lark: “That feels like such a long time ago…”

Algus: “But I’m rambling. Elena and I complied this for you. I didn’t even know what a scrapbook was, but I found it rather relaxing to piece together.”

(he hands lark the book. she flips through it)

Lark: “Oh, this is wonderful! Where did you get all this stuff?”

Elena: “You’d be surprised at how infrequently most people around here clean-up their rooms.”

Lark: “Thanks so much, you guys. This is a wonderful gift.”

(she hugs them both.)

Lark: “Elena, I hope your labor with Rufus Jr. is quick, painless and not in a car.”

Elena: “I don’t know about the rest of it, but I’m definitely going to make sure the car part comes true!”

Lark: “Lily, you be a good girl, okay?”

Elena: “Say bye-bye, Lily!”

Lily: “Bye-bye!”

Lark: “And Algus, try not to turn someone else into a slave.”

Algus: “I make no promises. But you promise me to make sure your husband makes a lot of money. You don’t deserve any less!”

Lark: *laughs* “Thanks, Algus. I’m sure he’ll love to hear that.”

(she hugs them all again, waves good-bye and then moves on to the next person in line…irvine)

Irvine: “Hey there, cowgirl.”

Lark: “Oh god, if I thought it was hard saying good-bye before, it’s about to get a lot harder.”

Irvine: “This ain’t easy for me either. You and I have been through a lot together.”

Lark: “Tell me about it.”

Irvine: *comes in* “Hey, Lark, I got whipped cream…” *wink*

Lark: “I love whipped cream!! I’ll lick it off anything.”

Irvine: “*Anything*?”

Lark: “I think I’ve proved that before.” *they leave*

Irvine: “And who could forget all those times we—“

Lark: “Heh, Irvine…not in front of everybody.”

Irvine: “Sorry. I’ve just been doing a lot of reminisin’ lately.”

Lark: “Me too.”

Irvine: “I also spent a lot of time tryin’ to think up the perfect thing you could remember me by. Then I realized it was right on me all along!”

(with that he takes off his hat and puts it on lark’s head)

Lark: “Irvine! Your hat! You can’t give this to me!”

Irvine: “Don’t bother protesting! I can get other hats, Lark. But there’s only one of you.”

(they hug for a long time)

Lark: *softly* “Thank you.”

Irvine: “I know you’ll give it a good home.”

Lark: “I’ll miss you tons and tons.”

Irvine: “Same here. Especially those strip poker games!”

Lark: “You may actually have a girlfriend for once, but I think there are some things about you that’ll never change!”

Irvine: “No straight man would turn down a chance to see a chick naked! I don’t care how many girlfriends he’s got!”

Lark: “You be good to Trini.”

Irvine: “I’m more worried about her being good to me.”

Lark: *sad smile* “Irvine Kinneas… I can’t believe it’s good-bye forever.”

(irvine swallows a lump in his throat)

Irvine: “Don’t get mushy on me!”

(they hug again.)

Irvine: *whispers* “I hope you have a great life.”

Lark: “You too. Good luck. With everything.”

(they draw apart and irvine gives her a kiss on the cheek. lark looks very sad as she moves to the next person, franswa, who immediately bursts into tears)

Franswa: *wipes frantically at his eyes* “Dammit! I knew this would happen! I just knew it! I’m no good at good-byes!”

Lark: “Don’t cry! You’ll make me cry!”

(they hug.)

Franswa: “I’ll really miss having you as a neighbor. This place certainly made my life more exciting!”

Franswa: “If you wanna talk about vampires, be my guest.” *gestures inside*

Lark: “Actually, Franswa, I wanna talk to you.”

Franswa: “Me? I don’t know anything about vampires. Nothing I wanna know anyway.”

Lark: “Look, I hate to sound forward, but we’re running out of time. Are you a virgin?”

Franswa: “What?!” *blushes* “Um, maybe.”

Reno: “That means yes!”

Lark: “And you’re gay, right?”

Franswa: “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Lark: “I think things got a little crazier when you Belmont’s came around. Not to mention the scent of delicious baked goods coming from your house. I’ll definitely miss that, and your restaurant I never really got to eat in!”

Franswa: “Well, hopefully this will make up for some of that.”

(he hands her a book titled ‘franswa’s recipes’. it seems like he made it himself on the computer)

Lark: *gasps* “This is great!” *flips though it*

Franswa: “I included all my favorites. Hopefully you’ll have a use for them.”

Lark: “Of course I will! This is such a great gift. I probably won’t be able to make any of these half as good as you! Thank you!”

(they hug.)

Lark: “Best of luck with your restaurant. And I wish you and Zell nothing but happiness together. I know you’re going to go on and be a great chef.”

Franswa: “Thanks, Lark. I know you’ll go on to do great things too.”

(she waves good-bye to him sadly as she moves on to the next person, zell. he looks at her sadly)

Zell: “This is really hard, Lark.”

Lark: “I know.”

Zell: “We’ve always been pretty close. …It really hurts to lose a friend.”

Lark: “Aw…you’re not losing me as a friend. I just have to go away. I’ll always consider you a friend!”

Zell: “Really?”

Lark: “Of course! We’ve had way too many good times together!”

Lark: “What’s up, Zell?”

Zell: *sits next to her* “Uh….I was wondering something.”

Lark: “What?”

Zell: *quietly* “Uh………..will you…..uh….go out with me?”

Lark: “Zell, are you asking me to be your girlfriend?!”

Zell: *quieter* “Yes….”

Lark: *happily* “Sure!”

Zell: *looks up in surprise* “Yes?!”

Lark: *nods*

Zell: *jumps to his feet, fist in the air* “Whoo hoo!!”

Zell: “Yeah, we did have a lot of fun. I’m really gonna miss that.”

Lark: *sad sigh* “Me too.”

(zell looks like he’s about to cry but he manages to push it back)

Zell: “Hey, I’ve got something for you! I think you’re really gonna like it!”

(he hands lark a pile of cds…she looks through them quickly and sees they’re all the suga ego albums and they’ve all been signed)

Lark: “Wow! Supa Ego! And they’re all signed?”

Zell: “Yup! By all of us! I even convinced ‘Roth to sign it!”

Lark: *frowns* “…Oh.”

Zell: *backpedalling* “Uh, anyway! Now you can listen to all our hit songs! I thought you might like that.”

Lark: *sadly* “Yeah, Zell. I do. It’s great.”

(zell frowns. then he gives lark a hug. she hugs him tightly)

Zell: “I’m sorry.”

Lark: “Don’t be sorry. It’s not your fault.”

(he gives her a gentle kiss on the cheek)

Zell: “I’m gonna miss you a lot. But I hope you have a real happy life.”

Lark: “Same here. I hope you and Franswa have a great life together.”

Zell: “I don’t see how we could anything else.”

(they hug again)

Lark: *all choked up* “Bye, Zell.”

Zell: *sadly* “Bye, Lark.”

(lark is wiping away tears from her eyes as she goes over to the next person…reno.)

Reno: “Lark, Lark, Lark. What are we gonna do without you around here?”

Lark: “I won’t be missed that much, Reno. At least you’re still here! There’ll still be plenty of excitement.”

Reno: “That may be true, but I think you underestimate yourself, Lark. If it wasn’t for you, I’d never have met Irvine. And then I never would have had a bar, ‘cause it’s mostly his money.”

Lark: “I’m glad you got to see your dream come true.”

Reno: “Well, one of them. Next I want to be able to quit working for Rufus. But one thing at a time.”

Lark: “Best of luck with that.”

Reno: “I still can’t believe you’re leavin’! And we never even slept together!”

Lark: “We still had plenty of other good times together, though.”

Reno: “Nonsense! She doesn’t like him! He must have cast confuse on her or something! I’m telling you she would never do that!”

Lark: *coming out of the room* “Never do what?”

Reno: *whirls around, sweat drops and an innocent grin* “Be the President of her own fan club. I mean, how stuck up would that be?”

Lark: *hands on hips* “What are you doing?”

Reno: “Why forming your fan club of course!”

Lark: *raises eyebrow* “You expect me to believe that?”

Reno: “What’s not to believe?” *turns to the others* “Right guys?”

Reno: “That’s true. At least we’ve got a lot of good memories to remember each other by.”

Lark: *sadly* “Yeah…”

Reno: “I’ve got something else that’ll help you to remember! Check it out – remember that picture we took yesterday?”

(he holds out a framed photo to her. The frame says ‘friends’ down the inside and inside the frame is the photo they took yesterday. it came out great. no one is blinking, everyone is smiling…except sephiroth. lark grabs it happily)

Lark: “Oh! This came out great! Thank you!”

Reno: “No problem! I knew you needed a memento from your last ramble room bash.”

Lark: “It was a great party, Reno.” *sigh* “I’m gonna miss your parties.”

Reno: “You can always throw your own Reno-style party at home. Just make sure everyone has two types of booze in hand. That’s the way the Church of Reno does it.”

Lark: *laughs* “How could I forget?”

(they look at each other reflectively for a moment and then hug)

Lark: “I’ll really miss you.”

Reno: “Same here, babe. I don’t know if Irvine told you, but we’re gonna make up a new drink at the bar and name it after you.”

Lark: “Really?”

Reno: “Damn right! It’s gonna be sweet, but with a strong kick to it. I think it’ll do your name alotta justice.”

Lark: “I’m honored. Thank you.”

Reno: *waves her away* “It only felt right. You just do me a favor and stay away from pirates.”

Lark: “That’s not true!”

(they laugh and hug again. reno gives her a kiss on the cheek)

Reno: “Bye, Lark. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

Lark: “Bye, Reno. Don’t get into too much trouble.”

Reno: “No promises.”

(she takes his hand and squeezes it. then she sadly goes on to the next people in line…reeve and tseng.)

Lark: “No! You guys! How can I say good-bye to either of you??”

(she hugs them both)

Tseng: “I’ve been practically crying all morning.”

Reeve: “I haven’t been much better.”

Lark: “I better make this quick, because if I don’t, I’ll start bawling.” *sighs* “I’ll miss you guys so much. I have so many great memories of both of you…”

Reeve: “Lark…?”

Lark: “Reeve… How long have I been asleep?”

Reeve: “…I never told you my name.”

Lark: “Huh?”

Reeve: “I never told you my name. You said Reeve.”

Lark: “I did… Didn’t I…”

Reeve: “Has your memory returned?”

Lark: *tries to think* “I remember…some things…”

Reeve: “I think we have something that might jog it.” *calls* “Come on in, guys!”

……

Lark: “Well…whatever…you want to do…”

Tseng: “I…um…I…” *gulp* “I’m going to kiss you now.”

Lark: “Not if I do first.”

(they walk towards one another *very* slowly. tseng looks oh so very nervous, especially when lark presses up against him, and puts her hands on his shoulders. he puts his hands on her shoulders before he realizes that’s wrong and instead rests them very gently on her waist, trying to put a little distance between them)

Tseng: “Oh boy….o-okay.” *gulp*

Lark: *gulp* “Here we go….your first…straight kiss.”

(they lean towards one another and their lips touch barely and very awkwardly, both of them have thier eyes squeezed shut like they’re kissing heidegger or something. then suddenly they both back away at the same time)

Lark and Tseng: “I can’t do this!” *blink* “You can’t?!”

Reeve: “We have lots of good memories of our own.”

Tseng: “Yeah, it’s really helped to block out all our bad ones of working for Rufus.”

Lark: “Speaking of Rufus, he told me you guys are moving.”

Tseng: “Finally.”

Reeve: “He was worried you’d be upset.”

Lark: “I know. But I’m not! It’s gonna be great. You must be excited about it.”

Tseng: “It is pretty exciting.”

Reeve: “I have no idea if I’m supposed to tip the moving men though.”

Tseng: “Oh, don’t even start.”

Lark: “I’m glad you two have patched things up.” *she takes each of their hands and joins them together* “Promise you’ll be good to each other. And if you ever fight over something stupid, just picture me standing there shaking my head in disapproval.”

Reeve: *laughs* “We’ll do our best.”

(tseng takes out a heavy looking book and holds it out for her)

Tseng: “I guess it’s time to give you this?”

(lark takes it and flips through it curiously. One each page there are individual pictures of everyone in the ramble room. underneath the pictures are their names, some facts and a quote. each person has also signed and written a personal note by their picture.)

Reeve: “It’s not really a yearbook, but that’s what we’re calling it. That was the inspiration.”

Lark: “This is fantastic! Thank you guys so much!”

(she hugs them both again)

Tseng: “We’re really, really going to miss you. If you find any tear stains on the pages of the book, that was from me crying while I was making it.”

Reeve: “We wish you nothing but happiness, Lark. You deserve it.”

(lark looks like she’s going to cry. she gives reeve a hug)

Reeve: *softly* “Bye, Lark. Best of luck.”

Lark: “Same to you, Reeve. I’m sure you’re going to be a father again before you know it.”

(reeve gives her a bit of a smile as they draw apart. lark then goes and hugs tseng extra tightly)

Tseng: “I still can’t believe this is good-bye.”

Lark: “Me neither.”

Tseng: “I just know you and Brady will always be happy together.”

Lark: “You and Reeve are perfect for each other. Don’t forget that, okay?”

Tseng: “You’ve been such a close friend. It’s going to be hard to get used to not having you around.”

Lark: “You’ve definitely been one of my best friends. I’ll really, really miss you, Tseng. Lily’s lucky to have such a great father.”

(they finally stop hugging. both have tears in their eyes. tseng leans over and gives lark a kiss on the cheek. she then squeezes his hand and reluctantly moves on. next is rufus. max is with him.)

Lark: “Rufus! I can’t believe I’m never gonna see you again!”

Rufus: “Me neither! I don’t know who’s gonna keep these people in line anymore!”

Lark: “You have the Turks.”

Rufus: “They’re next to useless!”

Lark: “Don’t worry, Rufus. I’m sure no one will give you any trouble. And if they do, tell them my spirit will haunt them if they don’t behave. I won’t be dead, but I have a feeling that still might work on some people.”

Rufus: “This place just won’t be the same without you, Lark.”

Lark: “I don’t think my life will be the same without you, Rufus. You and I…we have a lot of history together.”

Lark: “Hi, Rufus-sama.”

Rufus: *looks up and then slams the magazine down on the desk* “Oh! Lark!” *sweat drops* “Damn Reeve and his stupid magazines! I think I might have him fired.”

Lark: *comes to the front of his desk* “Rufy…. I need a favor…”

Rufus: *gets to his feet and little breathlessly* “Oh?” *stares at her cleavage* “…And what would that be?”

Lark: *smiles as she lifts his chin and meets his eyes leaning towards him* “I’m sure it won’t be a problem.”

Rufus: “A lot has changed.”

Lark: “Tell me about it. Just look at you! You’re a totally different person! You’re married, you have a family, and you’re moving into a new house – you’re not the same Rufus whose money first built this ramble room!”

Rufus: “You’ve changed a lot yourself.”

Lark: “Yeah, well…I guess that’s what happens when you get older.”

Max: “Daddy, can we give her the presents now?”

Rufus: “Uh, sure, Max! Why don’t you go first?”

Max: *holds out a piece of paper* “I drew this for you!”

(lark takes the drawing. it seems max has tried to draw the ramble room and everyone standing outside it. it’s very cute)

Lark: “You did this all by yourself?”

Max: “Yup! I used every crayon in the box!”

Lark: “This is great, Max! I love it! I’m going to frame it and everything!” *hugs him*

Max: “You’re welcome!”

Rufus: “And I have this for you.”

(he hands her some dvds. lark looks at it in confusion)

Lark: “This isn’t that porn tape you were going to market, is it?”

Rufus: “No! No! I put all the ramble room footage that people had shot over the years and had it put together. Not one thing of porn. I promise.”

Lark: “This is great, Rufus. Thank you. You’ve done so much for me.”

Rufus: “You’ve done a lot for me too.”

(They hug. lark sighs sadly and wipes away a tear.)

Lark: “I’m gonna miss so much… Your new son…the kids growing up…your new house… I thought I’d be around for all of that.”

Rufus: *sadly* “We thought you’d be here too.”

(they draw apart sadly.)

Lark: “Rufus…I’m sure I don’t have to wish you luck. You’ve already got it all.”

Rufus: “That’s not true.”

Lark: “Well, good luck in your new house and with the new baby.”

Rufus: “Thanks, Lark. You take care of yourself. I’ll really miss you.”

Lark: “Right back at you.”

(one last hug. and when lark moves on to the last person in line, she is wiping many tears from her eyes.)

Vincent: “Lark. I hate that this is farewell.”

Lark: “Vincent…” *pause* “…He didn’t come.”

Vincent: *shakes head* “I don’t know what else to tell you.”

Lark: *sadly* “That’s okay… I guess I just thought…” *pause* “Anyway, I’m gonna miss you, Vincent.”

Vincent: “I will greatly miss you as well, Lark.”

Lark: “I think that besides…well…you know who, I’ve been through more with you than anyone else.”

Vincent: “I don’t think that’s the real reason. You’re ashamed of me. You are. You’re ashamed of my age. Ashamed of *this*.” *holds up claw*

Lark: “No! Don’t talk about yourself like that!” *she grabs vincent and holds him tight* “Oh, Vincent.”

Vincent: “…This isn’t working, is it?” *rests his head on her shoulder*

Lark: “No. …It’s not.”

Vincent: “I *do* love you, Lark. It’s just…”

Lark: “I know. I feel the same.”

Vincent: “…I suppose…” *he looks up* “…That this is the end.”

Lark: *small smile* “I suppose it is.”

Vincent: “I will always look back fondly on the good times we were able to share together.”

(they hug tightly)

Lark: *whispers* “I’ve said good-bye to everyone, and I still don’t feel like this is real.”

Vincent: “Sometimes the things that pain us most don’t ever feel real.”

(they draw apart and lark squeezes his arm. she can’t even look at him.)

Lark: “…I really should be going… Tell him…tell him I said good-bye.”

Vincent: “I have something for you.”

(he holds out his hand and lark looks to see him holding a magic 8 ball. she takes it carefully)

Lark: “Is this really…?”

Vincent: “Yes. “

Lark: “Does he–?”

Vincent: “No. But it’s all right. He’d want you to have it.”

(lark looks down at the object, then looks back up at vincent, tears streaming down her face)

Lark: *whispers* “Thank you.”

Vincent: “It’s the least I could do.”

(Brady comes back into the room.)

Brady: “Babe? Are you ready? We really have to go, we’re running behind.”

(lark looks over to where Ashley and shell are standing with rude and seifer. Ashley is hugging rinoa and they’re both crying)

Ashley: “I’ll miss you, crackwhore!”

(lark looks back over at Brady)

Lark: “Is it really time to go?”

Brady: “…Yeah.”

(lark can’t look at anybody. she looks towards the floor, the magic 8 ball clutched in her hand.)

Lark: “Girls?”

Ashley: *hugging seifer* “Bye, Seifer!”

Seifer: *sobbing* “I’ll never get anyone as good as you ever again!”

Ashley: “Aw…stop reminding yourself. It’s only gonna make it worse.”

Shell: *hugging rude* “I’m gonna miss you, Rude.”

Rude: “I’ll miss you too, Shell.”

Shell: “Will you think about me every day?”

Rude: “Definitely.”

Shell: *softly like she’s about to cry* “…Me too.”

(reluctantly the girls hug their guys one more time and file over to where lark is standing. she’s still looking down at the floor. vincent comes over and puts a hand on her shoulder. she takes a deep breath and stands up straight, quickly wiping some stray tears from her eyes and trying to get her act together.)

Lark: “…I don’t wanna make a speech or anything, because I’d never make it through. …But I just wanna say thanks. Thanks for everything you’ve done for us. Thanks for the gifts, thanks for the good times, thanks for the laughs, the drinks and the smiles. But most of all, thanks for the memories. I think I’m speaking for all of us when I say you’ll all have a special place in our hearts. Always.”

(there is dead silence. Brady then puts his hand on her shoulder)

Brady: “Time to go, Lark.”

(she just nods once. the girls all wave and call good-bye. the final fantasy characters do the same. most are crying. lark tries to smile and wave and say good-bye, but it’s obvious she’s fighting back tears. she looks at vincent one more time. he looks back at her with no expression. then she goes through the door. she takes one last look back, like she’s trying to memorize the faces. then she steps outside. the others are trying to gather their bags and are talking to one another. lark looks down at the magic 8 ball. she closes her eyes and gives it a shake. then she looks down at the message. it says, ‘cannot predict now’. she frowns)

Brady: “Sweetie? You coming?”

Lark: *shakes her head to clear it* “Yeah. Of course I am.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

(Back inside the ramble room, vincent ignores all the people who are still gathered in the hallway and hurries off in another direction. he comes to a door and barges in without knocking. sephiroth is lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. he sits up with a start when vincent enters)

Sephiroth: “Is it over?”

Vincent: “I’ve tried to reason with you. I’ve tried to understand you. I’ve tried to make excuses for you. But I cannot do that anymore, Sephiroth. You need to go find Lark and say good-bye to her!”

Sephiroth: “Is this what you came for? Don’t waste your breath.”

(he goes to turn away, but vincent rushes over to him and grabs him firmly by the shoulders)

Vincent: “You can’t run away from this! It won’t make it any better! If you don’t go talk to her one more time you’ll regret it! You’ll always regret it! Is that really what you want?”

(sephiroth hesitates for a long moment and stares at vincent.)

Sephiroth: “…I can’t. It’s too late.”

Vincent: “It’s never too late!”

(sephiroth hesitates just a moment more. then without a word he gets up and races out the door. vincent looks after him, suddenly looking exhausted.)

Vincent: *softly* “It’s never too late.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

(lark, Brady, shell and Ashley are trudging along, hauling their luggage. no one is talking. lark is dragging in the back of the group. finally they come to an open area. they can’t see anyone or anything around them but grass.)

Ashley: “Well…this is it.”

(she gets the playstation out of her bag and starts to fiddle with it. no one speaks.)

Ashley: *mutters* “Come on, you stupid, broken, piece of—here we go!”

(a large doorway opens up in the middle of the field. on the other side, the girls can see the inside of Ashley’s room.)

Brady: “Okay, let’s get going. We’ve got a lot of crap here and not a lot of time.”

(so the girls start to throw their stuff over onto the other side. the door is very slowly shrinking. lark helps, but her heart clearly isn’t in it. finally when all of their stuff is over, Brady steps over, then helps shell and Ashley. he then reaches his hand out for lark.)

Brady: “Time to go.”

(she goes to grab his hand.)

?????????: “WAIT! LARK! WAIT!”

(she whirls around, and who is running towards her? sephiroth. he stops in front of her, nearly out of breath)

Sephiroth: “I wasn’t too late!”

Lark: *is shocked* “Sephiroth?”

(he doesn’t reply right away. instead he just grabs her in a tight hug)

Sephiroth: “I’m sorry!! I’m sorry!! I just couldn’t…I couldn’t deal with you leaving! You’re one of the best friends I’ve ever had! I don’t think you even understand what you mean to me!”

Lark *sigh* “Oh, Sephy. You mean a lot to me too.”

(they draw apart. sephiroth holds her shoulders and looks at her hard.)

Sephiroth: “I can’t do anything more to make it up to you. But know…know my heart is breaking. …I’ll miss you every day.”

Lark: “…So will I.” *shakily* “But at least we have the memories.”

Brady: “Lark, this doorway is shrinking! Come on!”

Lark: “I have to go. I’m glad you decided to say good-bye…it means a lot.”

(sephiroth seems to be without words. he watches as she steps onto the other side of the doorway, which is closing more quickly now. he reaches out his hand to her and she takes it.)

Sephiroth: *tears in his eyes* “Lark! I—you—I don’t have a gift for you!!”

Lark: *small smile* “Yes you did.”

(and their hands are forced to separate as the doorway then shuts completely. lark and everyone else just stands there stunned for a moment. then the button falls off the playstation and smashes on the floor. that’s all it takes for lark to fall to her knees and cry. and little does she know, on the other side of the gateway, sephiroth is doing the same.)

 

 

ONE WEEK LATER

 

(Brady, shell, and Ashley are standing in lark and Brady’s house, talking)

Shell: “So how has she been? I’ve barely talked to her since we got back.”

Brady: *shrugs* “She’s been all right, I guess. Kind of depressed. She looks back at the gifts a lot, especially the pictures.”

Ashley: “Heh, I’ve been guilty of looking through those myself.”

Shell: “…Me too.”

Brady: “She talks about everybody a lot too. Well, except for you know who.”

Shell: “Sephiroth.”

Ashley: “I don’t think that good-bye was enough. You know, for closure. Not after everything they went through.”

Brady: “Well I don’t wanna talk about him anyway, so that’s fine with me.”

Shell: “Maybe you should. I know it’s not your favorite subject, but it might help.”

Brady: “I guess.” *pause* “I’m kinda worried she’ll never get over this.”

Ashley: “She will. It’ll just take time. I’m not really over it yet.”

Shell: “Me neither. Every day I wake up and expect to see Rude handing me my morning coffee.”

(there’s a long pause)

Ashley: “Anyway, we’re off.”

Shell: “Yup. Shopping calls.” *sigh* “It’s not as fun spending your *own* money.”

(Brady waves good-bye to the girls. then he goes to the bedroom. there, lark is lying on the bed, looking at the group photo.)

Brady: “Hey.”

Lark: “Oh. Hey.”

Brady: “Looking at the picture again?” *comes over besides her*

Lark: “Yeah…” *small smile* “It’s a pretty good picture. Everybody’s got such a nice smile. Well, except for…”

(they both look at sephiroth and his cranky face. lark smiles sadly.)

Lark: “Actually, I kind of like the cranky Sephiroth. It’s just like him, you know?”

(there’s a pause.)

Brady: “…I’m sorry it didn’t end better.”

Lark: “What?”

Brady: “You…and Sephiroth. Not the best good-bye. I know that’s not what you wanted.”

Lark: “At least I got one.”

Brady: “I know, but…”

Lark: “You’ve been talking to Ashley and Shell, huh?”

Brady: “Heh, yeah.”

Lark: “Look, it’s okay.” *she sits up* “No, it wasn’t the longest good-bye in the world, or the most eloquent. But sometimes there’s only so much words can say.”

Brady: “I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

Lark: “I’m fine. Really.”

Brady: *smiles* “How do you feel about going to a movie?”

Lark: “Great! Let me just get changed.”

(Brady gives her a kiss and leaves. lark gets up, still holding the picture. she goes over the radio sitting on her dresser and flips it on)

Radio voice 1: “This is a dedication going out long distance!”

Radio voice 2: “Music can make you remember a lot, don’t it?”

Radio voice 1: “Anything’s possible! After this song and some commercials we’ll be right back!”

(and then the opening bars of an old, familiar song begin. lark smiles and places the picture on her desk with care)

Radio: *sings* “Don’t go breakin’ my heart!”

Lark: *sings softly* “I couldn’t if I tried…”

 

THE END

 

 

Epilogue

 

The FFXII Guys moved out of the condos when Rufus raised the rent. Vaan was forced to leave the strip club and find other work. He now works repairing airships.

Serge grew more and more paranoid and began constantly threatening to go live in a box. One day his friends woke up and realized he was gone. He never came home. They assume he must have found that box.  

Tidus is still playing blitzball, even with his trick knee.

Kefka is still dead.

Horatio Belmont and Franklin still run their bakery. It won an award for best brownies five years in a row.

Delita was fired from his job at Starbucks when it was discovered he was taking the pennies out of the ‘take a penny, leave a penny’ tray. Then he was fired from the strip club for stealing from the tip jars at the bar. He’s developed a drinking problem and frequently changes jobs. He’s currently working at Burger King.  

Steiner went on a quest to find a new suit of armor that was comfortable, affordable and not so rusty. He is still looking.  

Rudy is still in therapy, but it isn’t really helping. He started the Society for Wind Mouse Love. Hanpan has a restraining order against him.  

Wakka went out partying with Irvine and Reno one night and hasn’t been seen since.  

Uncle Herb is still recruiting and is more successful than ever. He’s found those crazy cults to be a vampire recruiting gold mine.  

Bugenhagen is still taking a lot of pills.

Hanpan is in therapy for everything that was done to him. He may never recover.

Death is still doing his thing.

Lulu went on a lecturing tour about how female characters don’t need a hero to make them happy. She’s had a steady string of high profile video game girlfriends.

Cecilia broke it off with Berserk after he didn’t like the ending of a Lifetime movie they were watching and threw the TV out the window. She then moved back home to her kingdom, married a prince and lived happily ever after. She hasn’t had any contact with Jack or Rudy.
Dedede suffered severe head trauma after Kirby attacked him while transformed as a rock. He now spends his days as a permanent resident of the Video Game Character Therapy Center. Radius is his roommate.

Vivi almost became Algus’ new slave, but Zidane managed to talk him out of it.

Maxi kept on stripping and fighting until he decided one day he was too old to take his clothes off for money anymore. So he moved on to bartender instead. He still fights. He doesn’t have a choice. One of these days he hopes one of his opponents will actually stay dead.

Kimahri…was in the rambles?

Bowser wound up watching five of his children go to jail. He sent the rest of the older kids away to vocational schools and sent Bowser Jr. to a boarding school. He still heads up the Video Game Villain of the Year Award committee, but thinks he might give it up to devote more time to making Mario’s life miserable.

Jack reached his breaking point before the month was over.
Jack: “Rudy, I’m sorry. But I just can’t do this anymore. I really want to help you but your obsession with Hanpan is disturbing. My whole life is falling apart!”

Rudy: *humming circus music*

Jack: “I know you’re upset. But I really have to do what’s best for me.”

Rudy: “The wind mouse smells like hay.”

Jack: *bursts into tears* “Why does it have to be so hard?!”
He left Rudy and went to an intensive treatment program to get his life back on track. Unfortunately less than a month after completing the program Jack went back to check on Rudy. He never left. He still attends therapy at Koudelka’s center, and she’s told him many times that he’s putting Halley through college.

Selphie became a teacher at Garden. Making explosives is required to pass her class.

Cait Sith was not very popular in prison and wound up being blown to bits. Reeve still cries a little on his ‘birth’ day.

Quistis was arrested after trying to steal 5 million dollars worth of diamonds from a jewelry store. She then broke out of prison. Her whereabouts are currently unknown.

Duo cut his hair for charity. He’s been growing it back ever since.

Gippal left the strip club a few years later to pursue a modeling career. He wound up being a frequent face in a gay porn magazine, even ending up on the calendar one year as Mr. April. He now works for the magazine choosing models himself.

Ward made Kiro’s world a living hell as soon as he got his voice back. And he hasn’t stopped smiling since.

Kiros cries himself to sleep at night.

D moved in to take care of Dracula and make up for all the time he missed. He no longer hunts his own kind. The hand makes fun of him for it.

Chris finally made it to Europe, only to discover Umbrella had already been taken down by the government years before. He cries himself to sleep every night.

Horace the spelling kid went on to become the national spelling champion. His skanky mother is still looking for a husband.

Quatre and his band of followers started a museum called ‘Beautiful – A Beautiful Museum Dedicated to all the Beautiful Things in this Beautiful world’. It gets less than 30 visitors a year, and most of them are his sisters.

The Licky Licky Monster was confiscated when everything in Hojo’s lab was taken in as evidence by the cops. The unlucky cop who opened the box was found rocking back and forth in the corner repeating the words ‘It’s not licking you… It’s not licking you’. Licky Licky’s whereabouts are currently unknown. He’s probably not licking someone right now.

Yuffie & Locke are still together. They’ve become professional treasure hunters, which basically means they steal things for rich people. Locke never returned that metal detector.

Trent Varsity moved deep into the jungle after being rejected by Scarlet. He went there to discover the healing powers of tree bark on the human soul. He hasn’t communicated with the outside world since.

Lucretia is still a detective, and it’s a job she really loves. To date she has helped track down 512 convicted felons.

Trowa is still trying to kill himself. He knows he’ll have to succeed eventually.

The Kinneas Brothers each built houses of their own on their father’s property. They all continue to work at the farm, except for San Diego. He moved to the city and got a job as a buyer for a department store. None of them married, but several fathered children. They’re all named after cities.

Shadow has finally become the ninja he feels he was born to be. And he’s got the shriukens to prove it.

Interceptor is still the friendliest freakin’ dog in the world. 

Solid Snake continues to save the world. Godspeed, Solid Snake. Godspeed.

Hugh & Bria married and had several kids together. She works with her brother at his center and Hugh has become a professional vampire hunter assistant…with an interior decorating company on the side.

Wufei tragically lost Nataku several years later.
Wufei: *parks nataku in a no parking zone* “Wufei parks where he wants!” *goes inside*

Tow Truck Guy: *comes by and tows it*
By the time he got to the impound lot they had dismantled his beloved Gundam and sold the parts. He’s been trying to gather the Gundanium alloy and other parts he needs to rebuild it ever since. The other pilots make fun of him daily.

Nemesis opened his own knitting shop and was doing extremely well until it mysteriously burned to the ground. Witnesses say they saw a lone man in a S.T.A.R.S jacket leaving the scene. The suspect has never been found.

Red returned to Cosmo Canyon to be with his grandfather where they at least call him by his name. He spends most of his time teaching everyone about the history of Cosmo Canyon and studying the stars. He’s never been happier.  

Heero finally went to go kill Relena but he gagged on the overpowering scent of her perfume and ended up in the hospital. He firmly maintains that it never happened.  

Nightmare wrote, directed and starred in his own musical entitled ‘My Demon Sword and Me’. It was cancelled mid-performance, and Nightmare blames Maxi’s surprise attack for the show’s failure.  

Barret got lonely and decided to run a pet shop. He called it, ‘Pets That You Can Tell What The Hell They Be”. It’s mildly successful. The rap career he started on the side, however, has not been so successful.  

The Hicks experienced some family tragedies. Cousin Jimbo wound up getting his other arm chopped off after using it to try and shut off a chainsaw. Grandpa was crushed to death while having ‘private time’ with Bessie. Flossy ran away. Distraught, Cousin Maxwell wanted to hang himself but he couldn’t find any rope. So he ran out into the street where he was struck by a car. He lived, and a lawyer persuaded him to sue. He ended up winning over a million dollars and moved out of the shack and into the city. Now he can brush his six teeth with a real toothbrush like the rest of the city folk. He took Bessie with him. That cow is still dead.  

Yuri had to fend off Nikki’s constant phone calls for the next month. After that he swore off ever having desperate sex with another man again. He still is partners with Koudelka at the therapy center. He dates when he can, and when he can’t he calls a 1-900 number he found in the back of one of his porn magazines.

Treize & Zechs decided to become professional karaoke singers. It is lucky for them that they’re independently wealthy.

Halley grew up and put his psychic powers to good commercial use by starring in a TV show that helps people connect with his dead relatives. He’s getting ready to write a book to help people through the grieving process. It is still untitled.

Laguna is hey hey! Still President of Esthar and still with Kiros and Ward. Apparently the people of Esthar think he’s doing a good job but he still doesn’t know who’s running things. He spends as much time with his grandson as possible.

Heidegger & Stinky are still together. Heidegger became a professional eater, but got banned from the sport when he accidentally ate another contestant. They still live in loser land.  

Sunshine mutually agreed to end things with Reno not long after. She devoted herself to her career but also found the time to marry and have two children. She still represents Rufus. It keeps her very busy.  

Duke is the fine vampire hunter he was born and trained to be. He’ll be taking on Dracula any day now. He’s planning to ask out Lily.  

Edward worked at the strip club for a few more years before he left to pursue a ‘more lucrative business proposal’. He’s been in and out of jail for running illegal gambling rings ever since.  

Tifa & Richter got married and had a second child, a girl whom they named Olivia. They moved out of the Belmont estate and into a mansion of their own. Of course they made sure their new place was still close to the family. Richter has been writing a book about vampires for many years now but says it’s nowhere near being complete because a vampire hunter’s work is never done.  

Lloyd changed his name to Chet after the Nelo Angelo fiasco, but no one has ever called him that. Everyone continues to call him Nelo Angelo. Although he has had many jobs, he never managed to keep any of them for long as he continued to get himself fired. He also managed to break several more body parts. Currently he is unemployed, and picks up cans by the roadside to get the deposit money.

Trevor, Simon and Juste are all still alive and haven’t changed much. They’ve pretty much dedicated their lives to passing on their knowledge of vampires to the younger generations of Belmont’s. Juste works part-time for Hugh’s interior design business.

Cloud & Zack followed their dream to open a center dedicated to RPG main character syndrome. Zack had to quit his job at the hospital in order to devote himself to this project. Although business was slow at first, it picked up once they managed to snag a high profile client.
Cloud: *looking at someone behind the two way mirror who is twitching and yelling* “So…this the guy?”

Zack: “Yup. The girl who brought him in says that they have to keep him muted in all his games because he’s just so bad.”

Cloud: “What could be so bad?”

Zack: *presses a button for sound*

Guy behind the mirror: “Goat #$@##$%^ mother #$%#@$%^#$ I wanna @$%# a $%@$%#$% goat and fairies and #$%@$%^#^&–“

Zack: *turns sound off*

Cloud: *blink blink* “Oh boy. What’s this guy’s name?”

Zack: “It’s Link, or something.”
From there, business picked up and today the two are often featured in prominent medical journals sharing their methods and spreading the word about RPG main character syndrome.  They have managed to help many ailing main characters, but Link, unfortunately, was way beyond help.

Kuja & Seymour are still bickering and arguing over clothes and make-up, but they’re still together. They live off Hojo’s money, which continues to grow thanks to all the porn he put up on the internet.

Squall & Rinoa got married five years later and had a son that Squall claims is far too friendly to be his. After Xu retired she turned control of Garden over to Squall. His first speech as leader was one word: Whatever.  

Hojo was charged with multiple counts of child molestation and child pornography.
Judge: “Dr. Hojo, do you have anything to say in your defense? Considering we have had dozens of witnesses in this court give detailed descriptions of everything they’ve seen in your lab, including your own son.”

Hojo: “He’s hardly a reliable witness! And I never touched any children! Everyone else kept getting in my way!”

Judge: *bangs gavel* “I sentence you to 175 years in prison with no parole.”

Hojo: *pales*
He thinks the Jenova cells might keep him alive long enough for him to get out alive.

Twilight & Opal married and had a couple of kids. Opal became a famous Jedi teacher. Twilight still can’t spell ‘Rufus’.

Cid & Koudelka did get married after Cid asked five times and Halley begged his mother to give in. She vowed not to have any more kids, but sometimes you can’t escape fate.
Koudelka: *looking at pregnancy test* “Oh sh*t.”
Cid was thrilled. They had a son. These days she still runs the center and he still works at the daycare center. Their son has a very colorful vocabulary. 

Dracula has started to regain some of his intelligence a few years later, and eventually he was back to his old self again. Now that he’s evil again he’s a lot less fun. He spends most of his days preparing for the Belmont attack he knows is coming.

Seifer has been unable to find another steady girlfriend since Ashley left him. Every girl he meets seems to dump him right after they sleep together. Wanting to make something of his life he went back to Garden and applied for a job.
Seifer: “I think I’m plenty qualified to do lots of stuff!”

Squall: “Whatever.”
He’s now the janitor.

Nida & Scarlet got married.
Nida: “Now you’re Mrs. Horsenflaggenoffer!”

Scarlet: “I am *not* taking your last name.”
Three years later they got divorced. Then they got remarried, then divorced again. Then they married. And divorced. And married. And divorced. They’re now planning to remarry. At least they didn’t have any kids. Nida still drives the Garden, and Scarlet’s still whoring it up at Shinra.  

Edgar & Setzer found a surrogate mother for the future King of Figaro.
Edgar: “Are you sure you want to do this?”

Zelda: “Are you kidding? The guy everyone wants me to be with…he’s got issues like you’ve never seen.”
Nine months later Pierce Setzer Roni Figaro was born. And his parents have been raising him to be the best King he can be.

Algus has new slaves. He spends most of his time relaxing at his country estate and making smart business investments. He also contributes articles to Rich & Pompous Weekly, mostly about proper slave discipline.

Auron still stays in contact with Vincent, much to Sephiroth’s annoyance. He wrote a book of his own advice and quotes, but it didn’t sell well. People said they had heard pretty much all of it before.  

Zidane & Bryatt are still together. Zidane went to work at both the strip club and the daycare center. He found he really enjoyed both so he stuck with both. With Bryatt’s help Zidane wrote a book called, “My Life In Skittles: Being A Slave”. It sold 20 million copies. Algus is suing him for libel.  

Rude is still a Turk, but he amassed a small fortune from his ‘side business’. He managed to hide the money from Rufus by using his real name on all his accounts. He has programmed his alarm clock to play ‘Love Don’t Cost A Thing’ every morning.  

Alucard & Dante still own the strip club and are still together. Dante moved out of the condo and he and Alucard bought a house together. They let Lloyd live in the shed.  

Irvine & Trini got tired of each other a few months later and decided to have an open relationship. A few years of being not faithful later and Trini was pregnant. They named their son Phoenix. They both work at the bar and leave Phoenix with his uncles while they’re at work. They continue to see other people.  

Zell & Franswa were very excited when Franswa’s restaurant was an immediate hit. He’s now a famous chef with a series of very successful restaurants and published cookbooks. Zell works at Garden as a training center instructor. They married and adopted some children. Franswa’s family still want to know when he’s going to fight the vampires.  

Reno and Sunshine got bored with each other and broke up after a few months. He’s had a few girlfriends here and there but no one truly special. While he still works for Rufus he spends most of his time skipping that and working at the bar instead. Some things never change.  

Reeve & Tseng moved into their new house on Rufus’ compound and still live there. A few years later they adopted a son they named Taj. Both of them still work for Rufus.  

Lily had a very normal childhood but was spoiled by her parents. She now attends a good college where she’s a member of the cheerleading squad and writes poems in her spare time.
Max was a very bright child and attended the finest schools money could buy. He went to a top university, graduated with honors, and is now heading up the Shinra electronics division. He did this all on his own with no pushing from Rufus.

Rufus & Elena moved into their new house and Rufus Jr. was born not long after. They had one more child, a girl, a few years later. Elena stopped working in order to care for the four children full-time. Rufus continues to rake in the money, Mr. Jingles by his side.  

Vincent & Sephiroth have not broken up since Vincent’s near death experience. Vincent decided what he really wanted to do was travel.
Vincent: “Angel, I wish to see the world.”

Sephiroth: “Yeah, and I wish that anyone who got on my nerves would spontaneously combust, starting with Auroran, but we can’t always get what we want.”
But Sephiroth eventually gave in and is actually spending his own money without protest. They both wear their rings every day. Life’s too short.