Chapter III : The Planet's Future?

As Cloud finished his rounds, he thought back to when Aeris had died. He had felt so helpless as he watched as she laid dieing in his arms. The pain that he had felt was so real, but Sephiroth only laughed at him. But, now that he was gone for good, perhaps Cloud could finally move on. He had to let Aeris soul rest in peace, but he just couldn't let her go. After all they had been through together... He felt so stupid longing for Aeris.

Cloud rode his bike up into the small abandoned village from the south entrance. As he rounded the corner of a seashell house, he could see the Highwind, parked in front of the Main Temple. Cid and Tifa were laughing together. He wanted to be back with Tifa, but it just wouldn't work out, they had to much history together. He rode up to them, and parked beside the temple in his usual spot. He dismounted and walked up to them. "Ok, I'm ready to go now," Cloud said, sheathing his sword. "Took your damn time getting here didn't ya! Been waiting here for nearly thirty minutes now!" Cid screamed frantically with his hands on his waist and a cigarette in his mouth. 'Same old Cid,' Cloud thought as he rolled his eyes. They climbed up the rope ladder and made their way onto the airship's deck.

Cloud was surprised by how nice the ship looked. Could it really be the same ship that he had traveled on before. The explosion from Holy had almost completely destroyed the ship, but it looked brand new, almost like they had never ridden in it at all. Cloud followed Tifa and Cid into the ship, and down a long flight of stairs. He trailed behind them and marveled at Cid's craftsmanship. It was like traveling into a time warp or something. The same old design as before, the same stack of boxes laying in the ships corner. They crossed a large pipe, heading towards the bridge. "Home sweet home!" Cid said as they walked into the ship's main room. Cloud was finally awakened from his trance when he saw the bridge. Cid had done some modifications including a new navigation system and a large control panel at the front of the ship. Many people where sitting around in chairs at these controls.

"Sir!" a crew member said looking up from his work, "where to?" Cid crossed his arms and looked up. "Midgar and pronto!" he said, as if he could see through the steel and into the calm blue sky. Cid smiled and sat into his chair. "Yes captain Cid, sir! We will arrive in Midgar in a few hours." The crew member turned his attention back to his controls and began to order the others around. Cloud centered his attention on this man. He had not been on the airship before, Cloud would have recognized him. Cid saw Cloud starring, and spoke up. "His names Robert, he's part of my new crew. The old crews back in Kalm working on a new project. Its a state of the art airship that will have a huge library of weapons! Calling it Shera, after the old lady. Barret asked me to hurry up it, so I put them on the project."

"Why is Barret involved with your new airship?" Cloud asked, crossing the ship's bridge, making his way over to Cid's new desk. "Oh, Tifa didn't tell ya? Barret's wants it to patrol Junon. Rumor has it that ShinRa's starting a war! Ever since Rufus died from the explosion, Reeves been trying to get ShinRa under control. Only problems' that the Turks decided to make themselves the new leaders of ShinRa! Reeve disbanded all of ShinRa from Midgar, so they all headed to Junon, taking their cannon with 'em. They declared Junon ShinRa territory, and kicked out everyone out that wasn't on their side! Kalm took 'em in, and now they live there. But rumor has it that their building up an army to take down Kalm. Everyone's worried Cloud, and so should you!"

"Cid!" Tifa said angrily, looking at his sternly. "Alrighty then! Geez woman, just trying to tell the man 'bout what's been happening, seeings how ya forgot to mention it! But god forbid I talk 'bout what I want on my own damn ship! Can't even relax any damn more..." Cid continued to mumble to himself, throwing his cigarette away and putting a new one in its place. Cloud turned to face her. "Is it true? Are they really starting a war? I thought we had changed them..." He looked at the floor a little disappointed. "Yeah... its true. But don't worry about that right now! Barret's already got it all figured out, there's nothing to worry about. Here, come look out the window with me!"

Tifa ran towards the large window that was at the front of the ship's bridge. Cloud sighed and followed after her. "Look Cloud, isn't it beautiful!" Tifa said holding Cloud's arm playfully. "Tifa... I..." Cloud began, letting his eyes trail away from the window to the floor. He needed to move on with Tifa, and let the memories go. He put his hand on her shoulder, and look deep into her eyes. Tifa shyly looked away, but after a few moments reconnected her gaze. Cloud's eyes shone brightly, with a light of their own. It reminded her of a clear blue sky. Cloud leaned closer to her, and closed his eyes.

"Captain Cid! There is smoke spotted on the waves, about a mile away. What's should are next course of action be?" Robert asked, jumping up from his controls. Cloud broke the connection, and turned to face the window. Tifa sighed in frustration and looked out the window with him. A veil of smoke could be spotted on the ocean surface. They could not see what the cause was from this distance, so Cid closed his eyes and thought for a second. "Damn it, this will put us off track, but lets go investigate. Never know if there's any survivors... Set course to the ship on fire, we'll head to Kalm afterwards!"

The Highwind changed course a little and headed towards the smoke. Cloud turned back to Tifa now that the commotion was settling, but she was staring at the floor, preoccupied. Feeling stupid, he starts for the deck but Tifa stops him with a pull on his sleeve. "Cloud, wait," Tifa said. "Not now Tifa, I need a little air right now," Cloud said pulling away from her, not even looking back as he left. He walked onto the deck, and leaned over onto the railing. He let the sea breeze blow onto his face, and it seemed to calm his nerves. He looked down into the endless ocean, and sighed.

"Cloud, just hear me out," he could here Tifa say behind him. He continued looking into the ocean, trying to ignore her. "Cloud, you need to come and stay with us in Kalm. You need to be around your friends in this time of struggle. Staying cooped up by yourself in the mountains isn't going to help anybody. It would make everyone feel better knowing your safe, especially me..." He turned around to face her. "It's not that easy Tifa, there's... complications." They stood there for a few moments, with an strange silence between them. "I... I promised her I would always be there for her..." Depressed, he looked back unto the ocean. Tifa came over to him and turned him around. "Is that what this is all about? Cloud you need to stop being so selfish! Stop acting like a child! You need to let it go, you know its not your fault, but you are constantly dumping on yourself. Ever since she died... but you need to move on! It's not going to get any easy for anyone the way things are going. You need to at least try." Cloud turned around and gazed back down into the waves. "Cloud... Cloud!" She yelled angrily. "Grrrr!!!" she screamed as she stormed of angrily, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

After a few minutes, Cloud decided to go talk to Tifa. There was no reason he to ruin their friendship over something stupid like this. Suddenly, the airship shaked, and they began to loose altitude! Cloud fell to his knees, and tried to get up, but the G force was to strong. The ship suddenly stopped, when they hit something. "CLOUD, TIFA, COME TO THE BRIDGE, NOW!" Cid said over the intercom. 'What the hell was that?' Cloud thought to himself as he got to his feet. He ran to the bridge as fast as he could, and ran into Robert. "Sorry 'bout that," Robert said as he continued to run. "Wait! What was that shake!" "Cid will tell you!" he replied running to the deck.

Cloud turned back towards the bridge, and ran in. Nobody was at the controls anymore, and only Cid and Tifa were standing in the room. "What was that shaking!" Cloud asked running up to them. Cid turned around with a stern look upon his face. "We were flying over that ship, and a giant magnet pulled us in." Suddenly, and large sea serpent, landed on the front of the Highwind. It hissed loudly while looking into the bridge. Cid ran up to the wall and grabbed his spear. He swung it around wildly in the air, then positioned it at his side. "Bring it on!" he yelled. It looked at them for a few more seconds, before busting in from the front window. It slithered across the hull of the bridge over to them.

"Look out Tifa!" Cloud said just in time, just as the snake speed by her. She ducked and dodged what would have been a very fatal blow. It reared up, with its head nearly touching the head of the cabin. Cid charged at it, and jumped into the air, thrusting his large spear into the beasts face. It hit it in the snout, and it shrilled out in pain. The monster shuck wildly, trying to knock off its attacker. With it distracted, Cloud drew his Buster Sword, and stabbed it in its chest. The monstrous snake wiped its tail at Cloud, knocking him into the wall.

Cid pulled himself up onto the beast snout, and yanked the spear out. He threw it into the snakes eye, and as it made contact, it yelled out in pain, shaking wildly again. Cid fell off and onto the floor below. Tifa ran over to Cid and helped him up. "Damn! This thing just won't die!" Cid said. Cloud jumped, slicing the lip of the creature, and grabbing Cid's spear on his way back down. He tossed the weapon back to Cid, and watched as the snake retreated back to it lair. "Get back here ya son of a bitch!" Cid yelled running after it. "Let it go..." Tifa said, rolling her eyes. "After what it did to my ship! HELLLLL NA!" As they continued to argue, Cloud walked up to the window and looked down at the ship below. "We should probably go check for survivors..." he said calmly. "NO ONE ASKED YOU!" they said together, then got back to arguing.

After a few more minutes of bickering, Cloud and Cid left to check the ship, leaving Tifa with the crew to fix up the damages. As they jumped off the airship, they could see what had pulled them in. Underneath the Highwind, was a large crane magnet that had been knocked down and turned on. Robert could be seen at the cranes controls, tring to reverse the polarity.

With weapons in hand, the two walked across the deck of the ship. All of the cargo that had been on the ship was mysteriously gone, but the ship wasn't tilted enough for it to fall into the ocean. But sure enough, as he looked over the edge of the ship, he could see bright big boxes of cargo floating on the ocean currents. Confused, they headed towards the cabin of the ship. As they neared it, they could hear a loud siren. "--ALERT, SECURITY ALERT, SECURITY ALERT--" it rang. They ignored the screeching warning, and opened the door to the inside of the ship. A mixture of blood and water poured out as they opened the door. They looked at each other then walked inside. "Damn this place smells like crap!" Cid complained, but Cloud knew that smell. It was the stench of death. They continued down a long hallway, leaving the blaring siren behind.

The came to another door, and Cloud opened it, revealing a staircase. It forked, one path coming down and one going up. "We'll need to split up, to cover more ground." Cloud said closing his eyes. Cid rolled his eyes, and cracked his neck. "Fine with me, just don't go get'n yourself attacked by that snake!" Cid said heading up the steps. Cloud looked down the steps. He was getting a very strange vibe from this ship. He walked down the staircase, and into another hallway. At the bottom of the steps was another pool of water, about a foot deep. Cloud's eyes immediately went to the wall, where he saw a large hole, with water pouring in. 'Gotta move fast,' he thought, grabbing a the first door on his right. He looked inside, nothing. He went to the next door, pulled it open, nothing. Worried he was to late, Cloud ran up to a third door. When he opened it, a rush of water came pouring out, knocking him down. The water soon began top fill the hall, and Cloud struggled to his feet to close the door. When it was closed, he looked around. That mistake had cost him about 5 minutes. He began to run now, going to another door.

After trying all the doors with no success, he headed back towards the staircase, with the water now up to his waist. He was worried now, hoping that no one had been in that room full of water. As he passed the door, he stared at it, with it almost magically holding his gaze. "Cloud come here!" he heard Cid say off in the distance. He snapped out of it, and headed back to the stairs. The water was up to his chest now. He climbed the steps, and made his way back onto the main floor. Cid was standing with two men, both in crew uniforms. "I found these two up in the bridge," Cid said. "We have to leave now! Before the ship goes under!" The one said. Cloud nodded and they ran down the hallway back to the deck.

As they ran out of the ship, they could see the Highwind flying again, and Cid smiled. He lead them forward, but fell to the ground as the boat shoke violently. "What in the hell is that!?" Cid asked rubbing his head. The large sea serpent that they had fought earlier made its way onto the deck, bringing with it, a few of its friends. Five large monstrous snakes now blocked the path to the airship, ready to pounce at any second. Cid leapt back to his feet, and stepped forward. "Careful Cid, this won't be easy," Cloud said. "Cid pulled out a cigarette and light it, putting it between his lips. "A walk in the park!" he said, grabbing his spear, and running forward. , leaving Cloud behind.

Cid leapt into the air, swinging his spear in circles over his head. As he came down, he thrusted the spear deep into the snout of the one eyed creature. The other monstrous snakes made his way to Cloud, leaving their friend behind to fend for itself. Cloud did a front flip into them , and shoved his sword into the heart of one. It screamed out in pain, bleeding as it tried its best to flail about. After a few seconds, the beast became weak and fell to the floor, dead.

The others stared at their fallen comrade, then at Cloud. Two of them charged him as he was pulling out his sword from the defeated creature. The dodged the one, but the other monster butted him, knocking Cloud away from his sword. They hissed with pleasure, and charged at him again. As the snake went into eat its newly defeated prey, Cloud jumped to his feet, catching it off guard, and dodged to the left. Cloud jumped at the snake, grabbing onto its neck. Try as it might, it couldn't knock Cloud off. The other snake went into to bite Cloud, but he jumped off at the right time, letting the snake bite his companion. Leaving behind the now fighting snakes, he made his way to his sword. The last snake watched him, keeping his distance from the legendary hero.

The monster made its move right as Cloud picked up his sword, sending him flying. As Cloud hit the ground, the snake jumped on top of him, pinning him down. It roared with delight of its victory, which made the two fighting snakes stop and come over. With three of the sea serpents staring down at him with hunger, Cloud began to panic. He was just out of reach of his sword!

Cid jumped at the snake that was on Cloud, thrusting his spear deep into its skull. It fell, releasing Cloud from its grasp. He grabbed his sword, and turned to face the other two snakes. "Took you long enough!" Cloud said, gasping for air. "Shut the hell up!" Cid said sarcastically. Three snakes were dead on the deck, each with a different death. The two snakes began to retreat. "HELLLL NA!" Cid said running after them.

One dove into the ocean, never to be seen again, but the other one, turned right before jumping in, and spat a giant ball of poison at Cid! It hit him square on, knocking him onto the deck. "CID!" Cloud yelled, running to help his companion. He pulled Cid out from under the poison, just as he heard the splash from the snakes escape. Cid was unconscious, and the poison was seeping into his wounds. Cloud set him down and dove into fight the snake. As he jumped off, he thrusted his sword underneath himself, hitting the creature in its side. Blood poured into the ocean, turning the water a pale pinkish color. Braver than the others, it did not yell in pain, but instead tried to wrap his tail around Cloud. But Cloud jumped back onto the boat, and looked down at the snake. Cloud conjured a ball of electricity and hurled it at the beast! He smiled as the monster shrieked in pain, but it soon left as he returned to help his fallen comrade.

He saw the two crew members huddled over in a corner. He had forgotten about them. "HEY! Help me carry him back to our airship!" Cloud screamed, grabbing their attention. As they ran over to help, the boat shaked again, only this time the ship was going under. 'That last snake must have attacked the ship again,' Cloud thought. The boat began to lean to one side, making it harder to get to the Highwind. Cloud grabbed Cid, and jumped up, landing on the deck of the airship he put him down and went back to help the others. He grabbed them, and jumped just as the ship went under. 'That was a little to close...' he thought.

"Hopefully this will counter act the poison a little," Cloud said tossing the materia to Tifa. "It won't last long, so keep casting it." "Where are you going?" she asked as he walked towards the door. "I need to talk to those crew guys." She nodded and looked down at Cid. He headed out the door, and up towards the deck, but stopped when he saw something on the floor. He walked up to it and picked up what looked like a remote control of some sort. He stared at it, then shoved it into his pocket and continued on his way.

As he neared the door to the deck, he could here the two guys out outside arguing. He was about to open the door when he caught: "Where did you put that damn detonator? How the hell can we finish the mission if your dumbass lost it again!" Cloud took out the remote he had found and looked at it. Cloud it be the same device that they were arguing about. He shoved it back into his pocket and pulled out his sword. Cloud kicked open the door, sending it flying off of its hedges. He the two men standing by the main support pillar of the airship, with bombs attached to side of it. He swung, hitting one in with the backend of his sword, knocking him to the ground. He then roundhouse kicked the other on off of the ship and into the ocean below. "If you want to live, you had better start talking!" Cloud yelled, picking the other man up by the collar of his shirt.

The man looked at him stupidly, until Cloud put his word to the man's throat. "Ok, ok, I'll talk, just don't kill me! It was all Tseug's idea, we were just his pawns! He ordered us to impersonate crew members, and sneak on board that freighter. It was a ship heading from Cos del Sol with supplies to Kalm. If anyone got in our way, we were ordered to deal with the problem at all costs! Come on man, I'm just trying to pay the bills, I didn't think it would get this out of hand!" He began to sob, and Cloud let him go.

Cloud sighed and turned around to face the doorway. It figured the Turks were behind this, but why didn't they do it personally, this wasn't there style. "Ok, a few questions for ya. Explain the sea snakes and trying to blow up our ship." "I already told you! It got out of hand! We needed to get rid of you to protect the Truks reputation. It wasn't even my idea to blow up the ship! It was all my friends idea, I had nothing to do with it! And the snakes, we had nothing to do with that all! I'm sorry if your friend was hurt."

Cloud turned back around, catching him off guard, grabbing his neck and he held him over the side of the ship. "You swear you had nothing to do with the bombs, but I heard your voice asking where the detonator was!" He sheathed his sword, then pulled out the detonator, showing it to the man. He winced, and looked away. Cloud gripped harder, and the man began to gasp for air. He tried to get away, but Cloud only strengthened his grasp. "Its people like you that really piss me off! You have no respect for anyone but yourself, you even sold out you friend to try to get away. For that you deserve no mercy!"

Cloud put the detonator down and grabbed the bombs off the pillar, attaching them to the man. He cried out in fear, as he did this, still while being choked. Cloud looked deep into the mans eyes, seeing his fear down into his core. "Farwell," he said, throwing him into the water. The man struggled to get it off of him as he hit the water. Just as he was about to get it undone, Cloud pressed the detonator, and threw it into the ocean as well. A loud explosion sounded as he walked into the ship, glad that that was over.

He peeked inside, and saw Tifa laying down on the table, asleep with the materia in her hands. He closed the door, and stood in front of it. 'Tifa...' he thought to himself as he closed his eyes. Maybe he was supposed to end up with Tifa, and not Aeris. It was true that he was being selfish, and that he should stay in Kalm, and he did need to move on. Tifa had been right so many times before, and was right once again. Is it really what 'she' would have wanted? 'Yeah, I suppose she would want me to be happy...' he thought.

He had made up his mind. He would give Tifa another chance, she deserved no less than that. He smiled and looked inside the room again. She was still asleep. That was ok, he would tell her later. He closed the door, and walked off, leaving Cid and Tifa alone. He headed back up the flight of stairs back to the deck. He liked it up here, were the breeze could hit his face. He always seemed to calm his nerves. It was dark now, and they were flying over the Midgarian Desert. He looked off into the distance, and could finally spot Kalm. It would be nice to see Barret again, even though they rarely got along. "Wonder how Marlene's doing," he thought to himself. He let the gentle breeze hit his face, reminding him of a time long ago, when things had been much simpler.

As Cloud came close, Barret grabbed him and put him in a locker hold. "What the fuck is wrong with you!" he said in an angry tone, "Having me and Tifa worry'n fuck'n sick about your skinny ass! Least ya could 'ave done was drop in once in a damn while! Your still the damn same as ya always been!" He released Cloud and laughed. "Na Cloud, just play'n wit'ch ya! We cool." Cloud rubbed his neck and looked down the hall from which Barret had come. "Hey Barret, I've got something I need to tell you two." "Well, its gonna have to wait, a'nt it! The meet'ns already been postponed, everyone's been waiting for your ass to finally show the hell up! Come on, follow me."

Cloud sighed and began to follow his old companion down the hall of the large building. As they walked down the hall, Cloud began to realize just how big this place really was! "This place is huge!" Cloud said, in amazement. "Yeah, but we're not using most of the rooms yet," Tifa explained. One day there will dozens on more areas of interest to the Organization, so we just built them all at once." They passed dozens of doors, then rounded a corner and saw an elevator. They went inside, and Barret mashed a few buttons on the control panel. The elevator began to descend, and Cloud turned to face the two of them.

"I need to tell you guys now, before I change my mind," Cloud said. "What it is, got a stick up ya ass?" Barret asked with a chuckle. "No Barret," Cloud said with a stern look. "You see, I've desiced to stay here in Kalm with you guys. I'll need to go back and get my stuff, but afterwards I'll be staying." Barret and Tifa both looked at him with disbeleif. "Are you serious?" she asked, almost crying. "Yeah," he replied with a smile. "Oh, Cloud!" Tifa said jumping into his arms. Barret smiled over in the corner.

The elevator stopped, and they got out, following Barret towards the meeting room. As they entered the room, Tifa and Cloud were both surprised to see that they were not the only people attending the meeting. A handful of ShinRa's old executives were sitting down at the table. Cloud could only recognize Reeve and Scarlet. "What are they doing here!?" Tifa and Cloud both said at the same time. Reeve stood up, and announced, "I called them in. I was in Junon trying to figure out a way to stop the Turks, when I met up with these guys who wanted to leave ShinRa and join us. I decided 'why not bring them to the meeting to', and here they are! They want to make amends for what they did to the planet and the people."

"Yeah I get them, but what about her!" Tifa asked pointed a finger at Scarlet, who then stuck her tongue out at Tifa. "I've always liked being on the winning team, and now that ShinRa's been defeated, I decided to switch sides!" Hell no!" Tifa said making her way to Scarlet, "Get the hell out of this building! I don't ever want to see you again!" Scarlet stood up and looked Tifa straight in the face. "Are you still upset about that whole killing you thing?" Scarlet asked sarcastically with a laugh, "come on! Stop being such a stuck up bitch!" Tifa punched her square in the face, sending her flying into the wall. "Did you see that! She just hit me!" "Yeah and I'll do it again if you don't get your ass out of my building!" Tifa said cracking her knuckles. "Come on ladies, we need to start the meeting!" Reeve said. Tifa turned to face him with killing intent in her eyes, and he sat down.

"I'm on Tifa's side on this un. That bitch tried to kill us! I don't feel safe 'round her either!" Barret said. "I see how it is!" Scarlet said rubbing her bruise. "Fine, you'll have your way this time, but next we meet, we shall be rivals once again! You're making a big mistake, and you shall pay for it soon enough!" She stormed out of the room, staring at Tifa the whole time.

They watched as she left, then they all sat down. "So! Lets get to the first thing on the agenda!" Reeve said trying to change the subject. "The Mako Reactors, what are we going to do about them?" Tifa asked calm as though nothing happened. "We've already shut them down, but that is not good enough," one of the executives answered. "If ShinRa gets their hands on even one of them, there will be problems. The reactor in Junon is still producing, so that means they will not change for the sake of the planet." Barret stood up. "Lets just blow all of them to hell and back!" he said confidently.

"No," Reeve stated, "that would not be the safest way to do it. The explosion of the reactors of Midgar, caused by a few of the people in this room by the way, did devastational damage both on the property and population of Midgar. These may not be as big of a problem in Midgar as of now, but the smaller town with Mako reactors would not be able to survive such an explosion!" Barret sat back down , cursing under his breath. "No, we will need a better plan than that." "What do you suggest them smart ass!" Barret asked. "I believe that we should deconstruct all the reactors. Although it will take a long time, it would be much safer to deconstruct each one separately." "That plans sucks more than mine!" Barret yelled.

"I have an idea," a different executive said standing up, holding a stack of papers. "If we blow them up, there will be casualties, but if we deconstruct them, that will take to long for it to be of any use right now. I propose that we take away the pistons that make the reactor work. With out this key part, the machine will not function! It will be safe, easy, and most importantly, quick!" "That's not that bad of an idea!" Tifa said agreeing with him. "Wait," Cloud said. "I have a question." "Shoot." "What will stop ShinRa from simplely replacing the pistons with a new pair?" "YEAH!" Barret said jumping to his feet. "Sit down," Reeve said. "Well, I didn't think of that ..." the executive said, sitting back down.

"No, were thinking about this all wrong!" Tifa said. We need a quick answer to the question, but also a long term effect. I've got a great idea! We will send in people to guard each reactor, taking out the pistons like said. Then, when we have time, we will start the deconstruction process, keeping watch over all the other reactors! Its perfect!" "All in favor?" Reeve said, loving the idea, 9 out of the 10 raised their hands. "Perfect! Next topic," he said writing the idea down in a little notebook.

Another executive stood up, "what about the reactor in Junon, what will we do about that? If we don't turn it off soon, we will loose the confidence of the people! What steps do we need to take to turn and keep it off?" "I'm guess'n, blowing it up 's out..." Barret said sarcastically. "Of course!" Reeve said happily. They sat for a few minutes, brainstorming, when another executive, a woman this time shouted, "Wait, the reactors underwater right? Ok, just hear me out, but what if we take our submarine, and infiltrate the reactor. Well need a distraction of course, but if it works, then we can get in and shut it down! Then well leave a few people to guard it until we can disassemble it!" "All in favor?" Reeve asked again, and the same 9 hands shot up.

The man that didn't vote both times stood up. "You all talk about shutting down the reactors, but then what will we use for power?" Barret stood up and smiled. "Luckily we got that one already figured out! You see this room? Guess what, its not being powered by no mako, but it still got the same effect. How? I'll tell ya how! Me and the gang set up giant wind turbines outside, that be generating electricity. Also, you can get power from coal, and using water turbines to. You see, we don't need no crappy ass reactors. It might have been cheaper to use mako, but that shits a thing of the past!" "All in favor?" They all raised their hands.

He entered his room and headed to the bed. He smiled. Everything was turning alright, but now that the Turks were in charge, it seemed like there would be more fighting. He went to lay down, but was stopped suddenly. A cold chill ran down his spine, and he stopped dead in his tracks. He had felt tired a moment ago, but it had left him now. He instinctly looked north, not knowing why. Then he felt it, like a thousand needles in his heart, an energy so strong he almost gasped. It was emitting like a beacon right in the direction he was facing. The feeling left him as soon as it had come, and he felt more tired than before. He fell down onto the bed, exhausted, and fell into a deep sleep.

He had horible nightmares that night. The demons from his past were resummoned, and he revisited an event that had occurred five years earlier. That night, he dreamt of that horrible day, that he would never forget. The day his life had changed forever.

Chapter II : The Awakening

Sephiroth's mindless body drifted in the lifestream. The once fearless dictator had been reduced to a soulless drone. The lifestream had healed his deep wounds, but in the process, it had taken a toll on his memories. He could remember nothing, and as such didn't move at all. If one had seen him in this helpless stat, they would have claimed he was dead. But he was not dead; in fact he was far from it. For weeks he drifted aimlessly, letting the current carry him. But over time, tiny bits of information leaked back into him. He suddenly remembered his name. A few days passed, and then he remembered the name ShinRa. After another few days, the names Cloud and Aeris came to mind. He thought about what it could all mean, but it was no use. Another week went by, and then it hit him, like a flooding tidal wave.

Sephiroth gasped! He looked at his buzzing alarm clock…5:30 am. 'Damn it Hojo,' Sephiroth thought as he struggled out of bed.

30 minutes later, a young Sephiroth, in a tight black muscle shirt and baggy blue jeans, was heading up the 35th floor stairs of the ShinRa Electric Power Companies' Headquarter building, when he bumped into Hojo. "Ah, the young master Sephiroth," Hojo said politely as he took a bow. "I have been looking for you all morning." Hojo, standing back up and pushing his glasses back, hands him a stack of forms. "Time has come to show ShinRa what you are made of. A new faction of Soldier is being drafted, and I was hoping you would join!" After a long glare at Hojo, Sephiroth took the forms and quickly skimmed over them. "So this is why you have been so persistent in my training as of late. I have no need for such activities, and I would like it you would stop pestering me." He hands the stack of papers back to the professor and begins to walk away. Hojo quickly replied, " Professor Gast had asked me to enlist you before he left." That stopped Sephiroth right in his tracks. "He told me to watch over ou and make sure of it!" Sephiroth turned around and took a long hard look at the man infront of him. "You're trying to tell me that Proffesor Gast, who left about 8 years ago, asked you to enlist me in a program you started 5 years ago? Nice try Hojo, but it will take more than that to change my mind." Sephiroth began to walk away, leaving an enraged Hojo behind.

A few hours later, Sephiroth who was eating lunch by himself in the cafeteria, was greeted by a group of young women. "There he is, the guy I was talking about!" one of them said pointing his way. "Your right Gena, he is hot!" "I told you!" "Shh, here he comes! Ohh!" "Can I help you young ladies," Sepiroth asked putting on some pretty boy charm. "Y..Yes..wh...what's you...n...name?" Gena asked. "I don't just tell anyone my name," he said as he got close to here face, "you have to earn it." Gena's face exploded with emotion, as he began to walk away. "Later ladies," he said raising his arm as he left, with the other hand in his pocket. "OMG! He's sooo mysterious!" one of them screamed. "Are you ok Gena, your face is really red?" "Shut up!" Sephiroth smirked as he returned to his table, and grabbed his tray. He dropped it in the trashcan, and headed back towards his room. ' women, oh so predictable..' he thought as he walked away.

A few minutes later, and a few floors from his room, Sephiroth heard a loud scream. He turned around, and saw a room door burst from its hedges and hit the wall opposite of the room. "Some one help!!!" he heard a woman scream. He ran towards the room and looked inside. A huge griffin had busted in from the window, and was cornering a woman. Sephorth leaped into action, grabbing the large beast by the neck, and kicking it in it's ribs. "Grrahh!" the creature screeched as it tried to knock off it's attacker. It struggled left and right, and flapped it's wings, but Sephiroth wouldn't let go. The woman only watched in horror, as the two fought. "Run!" he said, kicking it again. As she darted for the door, Sephiroth conjured up a ball of fire, and tossed it down the creature's throat. He leapt off the beast, and barely made it out of the room, before the griffon exploded, sending it's guts all across the young girl's room. "OMG! Look at my room!" she screamed, pulling he hair. "Your welcome..." Sephiroth said brushing himself off.

Just then, two MP's rounded the corner and ran up to them. "What just happened here! We heard a loud explosion and-" "It's taken care of," Sephiroth replied, walking away. "Wait! You can't leave, this is a crime scene!" the other guard said. "Just watch me," he said putting his hand's in his pockets and continuing for his room. Along the way, he spots Hojo and a team of scientist toward the way he had come from. "Sephiroth! Have you seen my latest experiment?" Hojo asked frantically, "it's run off, and I can't seem to located it!" "Does this 'experiment' of yours happen to be a griffon?" "Why yes, as a matter of fact it - wait! You know something don't you! Tell me, tell me now, where have you seen it!" Hojo screamed impatiently, grabbing Sephiroth by the shirt. "Watch it old man! It attacked a girl down the hall, so I killed it. It didn't put up much of a fight, are you sure it was -" "NOOOO!!! You fool! My precious specimen! How could you do this to me Sephiroth!" Hojo asked rambling. "This will set me back four months, now I will have to re-breed another one, and then I-" "Chill out, it was attacking an innocent girl, I wasn't just about to let her die! And even if I had known it was yours, I especially wouldn't have saved it!"

Hojo sighed, and signaled his team to head back to the research floor. "Sephiroth, I am sorry if I snapped at you. You are right, and I am proud you saved that girl." He turned as if he was going to leave, then added, "It's a shame you won't sign up for Soilder. With your incredible skill, who know how many people you could save! Anyways, I'll be in my lab if you need me." He walked away, mumbling under his breath about the griffon. Sephiroth stood there, then looked back at the room the girl was in. "Hojo, wait," Sephiroth said. Hojo stopped and smiled. "Yes?" he asked expectantly. "Your right, I should sign up for Soilder. Besides, I owe ShinRa for raising me here for the last few years, and its time I pay it forward." Hojo chuckled a little under his breath, then turned to face Sephiroth. "Really? Well, come with me to the lab, we'll sign you up there," Hojo said, trying to sound as serious as he could. Sephiroth started for the lab, and left Hojo alone in the hall. "Hee hee hee," he chuckled as he pushed up his glasses.

"Yes, my name is funny, ha ha, laugh at him, but I am a ranking officer, and you will treat me with respect at all times! Did I make my self clear privates!" "SIR YES SIR!" most of them shouted. "Alrighty then, onto business. As most of you already know, you have joined Soilder and have a low ranking of 10. As you progress, and show valor and skill on the battle field, you will rise through the ranks, and become a true fighter. Only a few Soilders in the world have ever become a 1st rank, but never the less, you should always have it as your goal! A few of these men include the High General, Kiseragi-san, and Lieutenant General Tanpai." Sephiroth looked out of his window during much of Oro's speech and had grown tired of his nonsense. "On to the mission!" Oro exclaimed pulling out a pointer. "On this map, we are heading here, to our neighboring country of Wuati. These rebellious hooligans declared there independence from ShinRa last year, and have recently attacked our stationed troops. A few months ago, a band of Soilders and MPs were sent to Wutai to settle this dispute, but their leader Godo would not here of it. Godo has been assaulting our forces for months now, and it is our job to reinforce the remaining troops and stop the revolt. Any questions?"

Sephiroth, still looking out the window raised his hand. "Yes Soilder?" Oro asked. "Sephiroth stood up and turned to face his insolent instructor. "Why exactly is ShinRa so determined to take down a small band of radicals? I thought ShinRa was just a utility company who sold Mako." His question took Oro by such surprise, that he exploded with rage. "SIT DOWN YOU FOOL!!! We are invading Wutai to protect the world from these hooligans! If we do not stop this revolt, others will want their independence as well!" "And since when has ShinRa become such a governmental dictatorship!" Sephiroth asked sternly, " how many other secret have you keep from the rest of your citizens!" "Just sit down and shut you damn mouth, before I throw your ass off this damn boat!" Sephiroth reluctantly sat back down and went back to staring out his window. 'A great opportunity this is tuning out to be...'he thought as Oro continued explaining his plan.

The next morning, General Kiseragi called a meeting for all Soilders to attend. "Welcome all. Many of you already have been briefed on the mission at hand, but I will recap for the newcomers." As Sephiroth listened to another version of the schedule at hand, he noticed one of the Soilders was dressed differently from the rest. In addition to the basic outfit, he had a red overcoat on, with the sleeves cut off of both outfits. He had spiky brownish-red hair about 3 inches tall, and a red headband around his hairline. He had a large scratch scar over his right eye, and was smoking a cigarette. The man sat cross legged, and was also ignoring the general.

After the meeting, Sephiroth made his way to the oddly dressed stranger. "Hello," Sephiroth said. "I am Sephiroth, a new recruit." "And I am Igo." Igo had two long swords on either waist, why hadn't Sephiroth noticed that earlier. "I see you are a swordsman," Sephiroth stated as he looked at the swords, "may I?" "Ah, yes of course!" Igo replied pulling one out of it's sheath. He pulled out an extended katana and handed it to his young companion. "I love it," Sephiroth said in amazement as he ran his hand down Igo's blade. "I've never seen such a long blade!" "I had it custom made right here in Wutai. I used to be a wonderer, and found my way here one day. I had it and it's sister made about 5 years ago. The Masumune and the Murasame." He took back the sword and sheathed it, then patted Sephiroth on the shoulder. "I like you kid, what squad are you with?" Igo asked excitingly. "I'm with that idiot Nani Oro, I really can't-" "Really!" Igo said interrupting him, "as am I! It's kind of funny since he's 3rd rank and I'm 2nd." " You outrank him! Then why are you not in charge, I would have loved that!" Sephiroth asked grabbing Igo's coat. "Woah! Watch the threads! You'll scuff the leather. I've had my time in the spotlight, and I didn't like it. I resigned my position to Oro a few months ago. He's ok when you get to know him!"

Sephiroth and Igo talked for the rest of the day, and soon became close friends. Sephiorth admired Igo, and Igo saw great potential in his friend. Igo was the only one to ever call him Sephy and not get knocked on his ass. A few days went by before they had any real action, but on Sephiroth's 5th day at the camp, that all changed.

"Sephy, I've noticed something about you," Igo said suddenly as the two ate breakfast. "You get upset to quickly! You need to loosen up a little bit, and save that energy for the battlefield!" "But that's just the thing," Sephiroth said putting down his chopsticks, "I haven't entered any combat since I got here. I'm getting a little irritable, and that Oro isn't helping one bit running around screaming all the time." "Speak of the devil..." Igo said standing up.

"Men, grab your things now! The ninjas are upon us!" Oro said quickly then left the room. "Showtime!" Igo said with a thumbs up to Sephiroth. Sephiroth grabbed his gun and followed Igo out of the tent. Oro had been right, a large force was riding horse towards them and would be there any minute. "follow me," Igo said as he ran towards the oncoming swarm. "Igo this is crazy!" Sephiorth said running after his companion. Igo stopped and turned towards him. "You know Sephy, courage is strange thing, people who are strong got it, and those that are weak don't. I guess that's what separates us from the rest of the world. If I want you to remember one thing from all this its this. On the battlefield, its natural to get scared, but a true fighter will overcome his fears and charge into battle, fighting his hardest, only then can he be called a warrior." "You are right, I'm...sorry for doubting you, Igo," Sephiroth said as he ran ahead. Igo shaked his head and smiled. "Wait up you idiot, you wanna get killed!" Igo said running after him.

The two friends took shelter behind a large rock. "Ok, when they come running by, you shoot 'em and I'll slice' em." After a few seconds, a few horses ran by, and then followed the foot troops. "NOW!" Igo screamed as the two jumped out. Sephiroth shot into the group of ninja's but got knocked to his feet form the kick of the gun. "Watch out!" Igo said, as a ninja jumped at his friend. The ninja being struck by something, flew through the air, and hit the ground, dead. "WTF?" Igo said confused, as he looked at the smolting corpse beneath him. "I hit him with a bolt spell," Sephiroth said getting up. "But, they didn't issue any materia to the new recruits," Igo said. "It's my own, Watch out!" Igo turned and sliced horizontally, cutting one of them in half. "God, you suck with a gun!" Igo said. "Well, it was my first time using one, I wasn't prepared for that knock back. I was train in the art of the sword, I feel naked without one." Igo thought for a second and pulled out his other sword, the Masumune. "Lets see."

Sephiroth with the new weapon in hand, ran into the oncoming forces, slicing left and right, skillfully killing all the blade touched. Igo stood back in amazement as he saw his companion take down 5 enemies at once! "Damn, he is good!" Igo said, the got back to his own fighting.

Sephiroth was soon surrounded by a large pile of dead bodies. Breathing heavily, he charged at a horse riding ninja. The man jumped off of the horse into a double back flip and landed behind Sephiroth. "I Kawagiwa have witnessed your power, and I will kill you for your insolence," the ninja said as he threw a hand full of shurikens at Sephiroth. Sephiroth hit every one of them away, and charged at Kamagiwa. But his opponent would not be so easily defeated, and threw a smoke bomb at his feet. Surrounded by a thick vail of smoke, Sephiroth could only guess the direction his attacker would come from. Sephiroth jumped straight up, and barely escaped a barrage of kunai knives. Sephiroth landed outside of the cloud of smoke and could clearly see his opponent now. Kawagiwa shot a ball of flame from his palms, and nearly hit Sephiroth in his face! Instead the ball hit him in his shoulder. He yelled out in pain as he gripped his wound. Tearing the cloth from his outfit, he looked at the burn. With revenge in his heart, Sephiroth's eyes began to glow brighter than usual. He put his hand on the ground and emitted a shockwave that shot out in all directions. The ninja jumped into the air, and with his opponent distracted, Sephiroth plunged his sword deep into the young man's chest killing him. But he was not done yet, as he hit the ground, another band of ninjas came his way, circling him. As he pulled out his blade, he smiled. "Looks like I found myself a new hobby."

On the end of the battlefield, General Kiseragi was having a hard time directing his troops. "No you fools, fire your rifles, do not run!" Nani Oro was in no better condition. "Retreat!" Kiseragi screamed to the few loyal troops that were still fighting. "Retreat into the mountains." When Sephiroth heard this, his smile left him. "Damn it Kiseragi, you need to keep your troops in line. And I was at 35 kills..." He jumped up and over his enemies and ran towards the mountain side, killing anything that got in his way.

"So how did she do for ya?" Igo asked as he laid beside the fire. "It was wonderful, I've never got a rush quite like the one I got today!" Sephiroth said, as he handed the Masumune back to his friend. "Nah, you keep it. It will do you more good than me. The two swords are much to long to be used at the same time by one man. This way we can slay twice as fast and be at our full potential!" Sephiroth looked down at the sword in his hands in disbelief! "I...can have it?" "Yeah and together we will known as the Carnage Brothers!" Sephiroth smiled and then they both laughed.

A few hours later, after everyone had fallen asleep, Sephiroth awoke. "Igo, wake up, I've got a plan!" Sephiroth said pushing Igo. "Wait...what?" Igo said sleepily. "Wake up damn it, we're going to attack the base!" "Are you serious? Give me a cigarette. Damn it, I had just gotten to sleep." Sephiroth handed him a pack of cigarettes that Igo had left on the ground. After a few puffs Igo asked, "Ok, what's the plan!"

Sephiroth awoke, breathing heavily! It was all to much to take at one time. Suddenly he found he could no longer breath, and he began to swim upwards! As he swam for his life, he couldn't shake the thoughts that had hit him like a ton of bricks! He was a Soilder, and had been stationed in a country called Wutai, but how did he end up here. As he hit the surface of the pool, hundreds of thoughts ran through him all at once as he gasped for air. What had happened to his friend Igo, had they won the war, and why couldn't he remember anything else! After he caught his breath, the shirtless Sephiroth waded towards land, and pulled himself out. When he got out of the lifestream, he looked around at his surroundings. He was deep inside some kind of cavern, and could barely see the sky high above him. The walls glowed a light green color, much like the lake he had just escaped. He could see around him without to much difficulty.

He looked to his right, and a few feet away, he saw something shiny sticking out of the ground. He got up and walked towards it, but as he got closer, he began to run! "This is, the Masumune!" he said holding his sword in his hands. Something he finally recognized! He ran his hand down the blade and wondered how he and his sword had made it here. "Igo..." he whispered as he looked up at the sky. It was far off, but not impossible to reach. But as he began to walk towards the wall, he fell to the floor and clutched his head with fear! Just as before, he was overrun by a serge of memories!

Sephiroth's long silver hair waved in the air, as he fought. He wore his trademark outfit, and had mastered the Masumune. The ninja's no longer gave Sephiroth a challenge, so he had decided to spar with Igo. As he and his friend fought, the onlookers watched speechless. Every swing was parried, and every step unpredictable. He and Igo had sparred many times in the last 5 years, each time Sephiroth getting stronger and stronger. Igo had always won the battles, but the tables had turned against him.

Sephiroth swung relentlessly, as they danced around the mountainside. Occasionally, one of them would knock each other down, and other times they dodged the blades. The current fight had been going on for hours, with neither fighter giving an inch. "You've improved substantially since our last fight!" Igo said, breathing heavily. "You just keep getting better and better." Sephiroth leaped at Igo who dodged a horizontal swing. Sephiroth quickly changed stances and began to direct Igo towards a cliff side. Igo leaped into a back flip over the edge, and landed safely on the ground below. "Come Sephy, stop playing around. I know that your better than this!"

"As you wish." Sephiroth flew over the mouth of the cliff, landing next to Igo. He swung low, block, swung from above, block, and swung again low. Igo leaped back and then charged at his opponent. Sephiroth swayed left, barely dodging Igo's blade. Igo turned and began his own onslaught, swinging violently and haphazardly. Sephiroth blocked each swing, but then hit Igo's sword with such power that it sent Igo's blade flying. "You have won my friend" Igo said, but Sephiroth was not yet finished. He kicked Igo square in the chest, and leaped to his new location. He put his leg on Igo's chest and put his sword to his throat. "I want you to say it," Sephiroth said with a smile. "Ok...Ok! You've gotten to be better than me. You are truly worthy! Now get off of me damn it!" Smirking now, Sephiroth did as he was told, and helped his companion up.

"I think...its time we attack Wutai," Sephiroth said as Igo dusted himself off. "What, no. Only, the general can decide what to do next. Come on Sephy, you know that!" He pulled out a cigarette and lit it. He took a long hard puff. "I'm tired of taking orders Igo! Kiseragi is taking to long in planning the assault! He hasn't left his tent in a few months, and it sickens me. It's like he's given up on us, and doesn't feel like we can do anything! If all the Soilders team up, we could surely take the damn village, why doesn't he got off his ass and do something!" "It's not my decision to make," Igo said trying to calm his friend down. "Bear with me, the attack will come soon, and he'll see you for your skill. Come on Sephy, believe me, I promise it." Sephiroth turned away form Igo and looked at the setting sun as it hit the ocean. "Your right Igo, the attack will come soon. But it will not be masterminded by the general or his men." Sephiroth closed his eyes, and turned to Igo. "Because I will lead an attack tonight!" "Damn it Sephy, don't go doing a foolish thing like that! Don't you listen to a damn thing I say!" Igo said angrily. "And don't think for a damn second that I'm gonna help you on your little escapade. I thought you had a little more sense than this Sephy, but your starting to make me think otherwise..." "Oh?" Sephiroth said opening his eyes. "We shall soon see who is acting the fool Igo." He turned and walked away, leaving Igo with a bad feeling.

Sephiroth conjured a ball of flame in his right hand, and shot it straight at the side of the wall. It exploded, leaving a large gaping hole in the side of the wall. "ATTACK!" he ordered as he raised his sword in the air. They all charged in and began to cause havoc to the town around them. A fire soon started, and many helpless villagers ran scared through the streets. "Hold your blades, we are not here to kill women and children!" Sephiroth spat a tone of them. From the Pagoda Tower, the Ninja General Godo could be seen leading a small force of men their way. "There, that is our target, when the tower falls the city is ours!" They quickly charged at the tower and were assaulted by the ninjas. "Sephiroth!" He turned around and saw the silhouette of a man standing a few yards away. BOOM! Thunder could be heard as it began to rain.

"How do you know my name!" he asked drawing his sword as his troops fought behind him. "I know much about you young prodigal! You are a 4th Rank Soilder under the command of Lieutenant Nani Oro. You have a friend named Igo who has taught you to much. And I also know that you joined Soilder 5 years ago, and I have watched you since than." A bolt of lightning flashed behind him, letting Sephiroth see the stranger more clearly. It was no ninja, but instead was the lieutenant general Tanpai! "Sir! What are you doing here! Why are you helping our enemies!" Sephiroth asked. "Fool, your ignorance is amusing, fine I will tell you. You see, I have secretly been working for Master Godo for the last 10 years!" Sephiroth gasped in disbelief, "But how can that be?" "Godo had plans to leave ShinRa long before the war started, and so it was ordered of me to join Soilder and get a high ranking position in order to act as a spy. With my incredible skill, I quickly rose through the ranks and became 1st Rank. I befriended Kiseragi, and was elected as his 2nd in command! I got word back to Master Godo, and he declared war shortly after. That fool Kiseragi, to think that he would listen to my advise time and time again as I lead him into ambushes! I single handedly have been the cause of ShinRa's misfortune on the battlefield! But then you came and started to act unacordingly. You attacked the base on your own and messed up our grand plan! If you hadn't come to Wutai the war would have ended years ago! But now, your end will come and we will assault Kiseragi while he is at his weakest! HAHAHA---"

Thunder boomed again, and it began to downpour. "Come young Sephiroth, your death will come quickly!" Tanpai drew his katana and his handgun. Sephiroth only starred at him. "What's wrong Sephiroth, are you scared to die?" Sephiroth smirked, "No. In fact I feel I must show gratification towards you. If you had not done what you have claimed to have done, I would not have meet up with Igo. I would not have become as strong as I have become, and might have lead a worthless life. But now, I have become one of the strongest warriors on the face of this planet. Tanpai, I am not scared to fight you, for I know the outcome of this battle." Tanpai looked at his opponent a little frightened. "I am not afraid either!" "Then come, let us begin."

Lightning flashed again, as the two fighters charged at each other. Their blades crossed and Sephiroth smiled in Tanpai's face. Angered, Tanpai raised his gun and shot at Sephiroth. Predicting this cheap move, Sephiroth drew back and weaved to his left, swinging low. Tanpai jumped and shot a barrage of bullets down upon his foe. Sephiroth quickly blocked each bullet, then jumped up to Tanpai. Tanpai kicked Sephiroth away, and they both landed safely on the road. "Impressive," Tanpai said, throwing his gun to the side. "But, can you hold me off when I use both my swords!?" He unsheathed his other katana with his left hand, and charged at Sephiroth with both blades skimming off the ground. Tanpai swung wildly , but Sephiroth saw through his madness, dodging and blocking every swing. As their blades crossed once again, Sephiroth gave Tanpai a push, knocking him to the ground.

He got up and leaped at Sephiroth, swords at his sides. Tanpai leaped up and over Sephiroth, trying for a surprise attack. Sephiroth quickly turned and knocked Tanpai down again. "Damn it," Tanpai said getting up, with scraped elbows. He sheathed both swords and launched ice missiles at Sephiroth. He countered by sending his own spell at Tanpai, zapping him with a blot spell. The ice shards hit Sephiroth in the chest, as the shock hit Tanpai. They both fell to the ground, and Tanpai struggled to his feet. Sephiroth pulled out the chucks of ice and threw them aside. Sephiroth charged at Tanpai, than fake swung. Tanpai prepared to block, but Sephiroth came in form the side, hitting Tanpai in his arm. "Arrahh!" Tanpai screamed in pain as he dropped his blade. Sephiroth kicked hi in the chest sending him fling into the side of a building. A the smoke cleared, Sephiroth leaped to his enemy and put his sword to his throat. Tanpai dropped his other blade, and gulped.

"I should kill you for your treachery, but I think Kiseragi will have more pleasure killing you than I will. Men, our work here is done for now let us return back to camp." He turned to see his troops, but was surprised to see Godo's forces slay the last Soilder. "Damn it!" He kicked Tanpai in the face, knocking him out cold. He picked him up and ran out of the village towards the horses. "Leaving so soon!" Godo said, as Sephiroth mounted. "Although my forces may have fallen to your defenses, you were not victorious tonight. Their deaths were not in vain, for I have captured your precious spy Tanpai, and destroyed much of your town." He glanced over to the Pagoda Tower, and saw a large pile of bodies. "It would seem that your casualties were much higher as well. Until next we meet," he kicked the horse and the took off towards the campsite.

After they took him away, Kiseragi signaled Sephiroth to follow him out of the tent. "ATTENTION MEN!" he shouted. "I HAVE AN ANOUNCEMENT!" After a few minutes, the troops gathered around his tent and listened to his wisdom. "Sephiroth, for your valor in combat and noble actions in the face of danger, I hereby grant you as a 1st Rank Soilder! You Sephiroth are a hero, who without we would have failed in this war. Men! Gear up, we will attack the village at dawn!"

"I became a foster child after that, and I moved around from family to family, but no one wanted me. Eventually, when I was 13, I ran away from my home in Kalm and traveled to Midgar. I meet a man named Hojo who took me in for awhile. I never liked the guy, but he was intrigued by me for some reason. He gave me a place of my own and the only thing he asked in return was that I get good grades and take up the art of fighting. I learned some basic martial arts and sword fighting, and was the top of my class. A few years went by, and I signed up for Soilder. I passed the exam with ease and ended up here. That's my life in a nutshell." Igo lit another cigarette and put his hand on Sephiroth shoulder.

In the front lines, Sephiroth and Igo held hands together for the last time, for they both new the fate that would be bestowed upon them. In the rear, men grabbed their guns and prepared for combat. The general raised his sword in the air and stopped. Godo and his men where only a quarter mile away now. Kiseragi lowered his sword and yelled, "ATTACK!"

From afar it sounded like thunder as the two forces charged at one another. Igo went straight for Godo, and when the two armies collided, all hell broke loose. The first wave fell almost instantly as projectiles were shot from both sides. Sephiroth lead a small band of remaining Soilders at the far right flank. With him in front, he hacked away at men, letting his forces pick off enemies as he made a path. The ninja's were falling on each other to get away from the "sliver haired demon" as they called him. After slaughtering much of the right flank, Sephiroth made his way towards the center. The ninja's had the advantage in the beginning, killing MPs off easily. But as the fight raged on, Wutai began to loose it's head start, as the Soilders began to plow through them. Sephiroth glanced ahead, and could see Igo fighting with Godo. The troops around the two could be seen watching the two fight. Sephiroth slowly made his way to them, but then he stopped in horror.

As he walked into the clearing, he saw Igo lying dead in a pool of his own blood, with Godo standing over him pulling out his sword. Godo, still high of his victory hadn't seen Sephiroth. The young prodigal made his way to the ninja leader and punched him hard in the face. Sephiroth stood over Godo and looked down with anger. "You going to kill me now? Go ahead, I am not scared of dieing for my country!" Godo spat. "No...I want you to sit and listen. Hear those screams? Those are your men crying in pain as my men slaughter them. Your friends and family are dieing today and all because of your foolishness. Countless lives have been taken and I want you to feel the pain of each and every one of them. Watch me Godo, as I kill them, and regret it. Regret ever starting this war." Sephiroth slowly walked away, leaving his best friend and Godo on the ground behind him. He made his way to the left now, dousing more and more lives. "He's right...what have I done... " Godo said. "Is it to late to stop this terrible fight. I didn't think it would go this far and it got out of my control. My lust for power has doomed my village..." He stood up and shouted as loud as he could. "STOP IT!!! PLEASE STOP IT!!! I GODO OF WUTAI SURENDER TO SHINRA!!! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, STOP THE FIGHTING!!!"

Hojo came up to Sephiroth and patted him on the shoulder. "It's been a while!" he said. "What do you want Hojo?" Sephiroth said as he began to walk towards the stairs. "I wanted to personally congratulate you, that's all! This is an incredible achievement for you! I expected you to do exceptionally well when I sent you but I didn't expect you to get so good so fast!" "Wait, what do you mean you sent me? I went on my own accord." "ah yes... that's right..." Hojo said nervously. "Anyways, I have a job for you! My newest group of Soilders need training and I would like you to lead the basic training program!" Sephiroth stopped and turned to Hojo. "What? I'm not here one day and you already have plans for me? Why are you always pestering me Hojo? Ever since I meet you..." Hojo took off his glasses and cleaned them. "That is because, Sephiroth I am your fa-" "Sephiroth come here!" Shinra said calling him over. "We'll talk later Hojo," Sephiroth said leaving Hojo behind.

One day as Sephiroth sat in a bar in Midgar, a Soilder with spiky black hair came in and made his way to him. "Sir, I have been sent to give you this." The man handed Sephiroth a letter. "It's your next assignment. You and I are to inspect an old Mako Reactor in Nibelhelm. It's been malfunctioning recently, and we need to seen what the cause is." After reading the letter, Sephiroth looked at the young man. "And what is your name?" "The names Zack, 1st Rank Soilder, just like you!"

Snapping out of his trance like stat, Sephiroth sat up. "Not again," he said holding his head. After it had all processed in his mind, he looked back up at the sky. It was a long way up, but it made no difference to him now. He looked around and saw his overcoat lying off on the other side of the room. He made his way there and put it on. With his sword over his shoulder he began his climb up the steep walls, one step at a time.

Final Fantasy VII : Sephiroth's Revenge

Chapter I : After the Battle

Their swords clashed and sparks flew, as the two enemies swung wildly at each other! Cloud's huge sword comes crashing down, but Sephiroth easily parries it to the side. It hits the dirt, and dust is sent flying up, surrounding the foes like a vail of smoke. Sephiroth's long sleek sword sliced thru the air, as quickly as a bolt of lightning, parting the cloud of airborne dirt from their view. They were both extremely tired, but they continued their onslaughts as though it were nothing. Sephiroth's sword, parallel to his face, flew forward towards Cloud heart; but as Cloudgoes to block, his opponent suddenly veers right, and slices Cloud's shoulder.

"Arr-ahhh!" he screamed in pain, but quickly dodged Sephiroth's next attack by jumping in the air. He thrust his sword beneath him on his way down, missing Sephiroth by an inch. "You've improved a little since our last encounter," Sephiroth said, as he circled his wounded foe. Cloud now breathing heavily, held his sword with his injured arm, and kept the blood from poring out with his other. "But, your still not good enough to beat me, you never were, and never will be!" Cloud's opponent says with a smirk as he stops, facing away from him, with his hands in the air in triumph!

With a sudden burst of energy, Cloud congers a ball of flame in his right hand, and flings it at Sephiroth. It hits him dead on, enveloping his cloak in flame. He drops his weapon, so he could tear off the burning cloak, and throws it to the ground. He has a burn mark scared into his back now, but he ignores it and goes to pick up his cast away sword. "Hhm-" he mutters and pushes his bangs out of his eyes. But Cloud wasted no time, jumping to his feet and thrusting at his rival. But something Cloud had not expected happened; his foe had caught the sword in one hand and was holding it back!

"If this is all you can offer me than I'm offended," Sephiroth says. "I'm about to become the strongest creature in existence, and you waste my precious time with your pathetic excuse for a fight!" He lunged forward and grabbed Cloud by his neck, holding his sword parallel to his face, ready to strike. Cloud drops his sword, gasping for breath. "Too bad," he mocked, laughingly. However, with Sephiroth's guard down, Cloud places his hands on his opponent's arms, and shocks him with a bolt spell. He then kicks him back while his enemy paralyzed from a mix of the magic, and surprise.Sephiroth lands on a wall, causing the crater's strong rock to come crashing down on top of him.

He rises from the rubble, and coughs from the dirty air. Suddenly, far below them, the lifestream hits the column they are on with extraordinary force, causing it to shake. Slowly, it starts to sink, and Sephiroth leaped onto a higher column. Cloud seeing his enemy escaping the erupting flow of the lifestream, grabs his sword and follows suit, landing next to where Sephiroth stood. But before Cloud could find his balance, Sephiroth released a spell of his own! The ground from beneath Cloud began to crumble from under him, then it just collapsed. The whole side of the cliff he was on just came crashing down, straight to the lifestream beneath him, but Cloud managed to catch hold of the remains of the column.

"It's over, why can't you just admit it," Sephiroth says, as he slowly walks towards where Cloud hanged. "There's nothing you can do! Soon the meteor will hit, causing me to be invincible!" "NO!" Cloud screamed angrily. His sword was only a few feet away from him, and then an idea struck him. He pulled a small red sphere from his pocket, and threw his arm up to support his climb up. 'I sure hope this works,' he thinks as he pulls himself up. He runs for his sword and places the red orb inside on of the two empty slots. "This is it," he says, getting into his sword fighting stance, "it ends NOW!" They exchange glares then charge at each other. Sephiroth swings wildly, but Cloud blocks each strike with on of his own, despite difference in the sizes of their swords. They cross swords, both trying to push forward to get the advantage. "I WILL have vengeance for what you did to Aeris!" Cloud yells angrily. "Ohh, boo-hoo, the puppets mad his lover died," mocks Sephiroth, with a smirk. He then loosens his attack letting Cloud come at him, then knees him in the chest. As Cloud falls to his knees to catch his breath, Sephiroth roundhouse kicks him and Cloud flies across the cavern and lands on another cliff hitting the ground with a loud THUD. Sephiroth leaps over to his fallen opponent and puts his sword up to Cloud's throat. "It's been a nice battle, any last words?" "Yeah," Cloud said looking up as Sephiroth stood over him, "I think I'll say, 'I SUMMON YOU, IFRIT!'"

A cloud of red smoke rose from his sword, surrounding the two foes. From the haze, a monstrous creature emerged. It wrapped its massive claws around Sephiroth and flung him to the ground! Sephiroth held up his sword to keep the monster from crushing him, as Cloud got to his feet, and walked over to him. "The tables have turned!" Cloud said triumphantly. But before he could gloat anymore, Sephiroth pushed Ifrit off of him, and onto the edge of the column. He thrust his sword deep into the monsters chest, and lifted him over the sideof the cliff.Ifrit slidoff the sword andinto the churning lifestream below. "Holy shit…" Cloud says wide eyed, looking at the strongest man his world had ever seen. "Bwa-Ha-HAHAHA!" Sephiroth laughed, putting his arms up in triumph.

But as he was laughing, Cloud decided to make a last stand. His sword started to spark, as small bolts of lightning started to emit from it. His eyes went pure white, and an energy surrounded him. 'Aeris… thank you,' he thought as the energy ran through him. "Arrahh-!" he screamed as he lunged forward to attack. Sephiroth turned and started to block Clouds attacks. But he was attacking with such ferocity that Sephiroth could only block! Cloud grabs Sephiroth by the neck and pushed him up against the wall of the crater! Cloud thrust his sword into Sephiroth's chest, pinning him against the wall. Sephiroth pukes blood, and falls to knees as Cloud pulls the sword out. "Bastard," Cloud says wiping the blood off on his pant leg. Sephiroth fell sideways, down into the lifestream, and as he does he said, "Damn you Cloud… damn… you…"

Suddenly, everything goes black for Cloud, and he sits in an empty void. A small vine of lifestream came from under him, and started loop around him. Above him he could see a light blue sky, and a hand coming down to him. 'Aeris,' he thinks as he reaches up to grab her hand…

All of a sudden, everything flashes back to him, he was back in the crater, what remained of his column was sinking into the ground, and the hand he thought was Aeris' was actually Tifa's. He grabs it and she pulls him up and next to her. Halfway up, he says, "Tifa, I…I think I finally understand…about the Promised Land…" "Let's go meet her together," she replies pulling him the rest of the way up. "Where is everyone?" he finds himself asking. Tifa points up and on a slope just above them, sat the remaining of his friends. Yuffie, Barret, Red XIII, Vincent, Cait Sith, Cid… their adventures were finally coming to an end. Now just one thing remained. "Yo, Cloud, what'll we do now?" Barret asked. "Holy will be moving soon," Red answered, "there's no way we can get out of here in time…" "Lady Luck, don't fail me now…" Cid said, as he looked up into the mouth of the crater.

Suddenly, their airship, the Highwind, came crashing down from the surface and stopped right above them. "Come on!" one of Cid's pilots said, lowering a rope ladder for them. Once they all got aboard, as if on que, Holy started to coming up, pushing them up and out of the crater. As they reached the mouth of the crater, they where launched upwards a few thousand feet, spinning wildly in the air. As the Highwind began to slide off of Holy, it started to fall apartand they were sent falling back towards the ground. As they all started to slide inside the ship, Cid grabbed hold of a lever and pulled with all his might. The bridge suddenly bursted apart from the rest of the ship, and a new set of wings shot out from its side. With tensions high they watched what would happen next.

Holy was racing towards the meteor, which was now only a few hundred feet above Midgar. Spiraling twisters where forming under the meteor, causing destruction to the city below. Holy hit right under Meteor, destroying the tornados, and formed a shield above the city. But Meteor went right through Holy, continuing to come down to the planet. Holy not only didn't work, but ended up powering up Meteor's strength! "This is bad," Cait Sith said, "I told everyone to take refuge in the slums, but the way things are looking now…" "Its to late for Holy," Red cut in, "it's having the opposite effect. Forget Midgar, we have to save the planet!" Vincent hit a support beam with his prosthetic arm in anger, causing it to bend a little.

"Wait a sec. look!" Tifa said pointing down to the surface of the planet. A small spiraling vine of light was growing form the ground. At first it was just one, but soon they where everywhere, growing upwards, then curving towards Meteor. "What is it?" Cid said amazed. "Lifestream," Cloud replied, as they all looked down at it. It grew everywhere, all over the world; the strands of lifestream erupted and flowed until the planet was a bright green color. Everyone was facing the falling disaster, waiting to see what would happen! As the Lifestream reached Meteor, there was a sudden flash of blinding white light. When the light faded, they could all see the meteor covered in Lifestream, once a crimson red, now a bright green color. And then, out of nowhere, they could see a faint image of Aeris above Meteor, as if she was holding it in her hands. She clapped her hands together, and crushed the meteor, sending pieces every which way, all of it slowly falling into the ocean. Her image faded, and a bright light took its place in the sky, a symbol of the planets triumph.

Later, once everyone had left, Avalanche gathered on the bridge of the Highwind. "So, this is it huh," Tifa said, as they stood facing each other in a circle. "Ok, listen up," Cloud said, taking his final speech as their leader. "Avalanche isn't breaking up; we're just going our separate ways for now. Before you go, tell Tifa where you're headed so she can keep track of you, so if anything else happens to our planet, she can call us and we'll get back together once again." "Hell, I'm gonna miss you guys," Cid said, putting his hand forward. Everyone else followed suit, until everyone had a hand in the center of the group. "For Aeris," Tifa said, seeing Cloud's face, knowing he wanted someone to say it. "Today will be called Aeris Day, in honor of her sacrifice." "For Aeris!" they all said together.

He awoke suddenly, as the Highwind was dropping off Yuffie in her hometown of Wutai. He looks down at the chair he was in, 'Must have fallen asleep…' he thinks. He gets up and heads for the bridge. Barret, Tifa, Cait Sith, Cid, and Vincent where still on the bridge. "I though you guys said I would be dropped off last," Cloud says sarcastically as he comes into the room. "Hey sleepy head! Shut the hell up, I don't need to here your shit!" Cid said as he piloted the ship. "Oh, he's just kidding," Tifa said pulling Cloud over to where she was standing. "The rest of us are getting off at Kalm," Tifa said, answering Cloud's forgotten question. "Next stop! The Forgotten Capital!" Cid roared, as him and his co-pilots raised the airship from the ground, and started for the Northern Continent.

Cloud had decided that he wanted to see Aeris again. He was going to stay with her in that forgotten ruins of a city. He would guard the city, keeping trespassers and monsters out. 'If only she was still alive,' Cloud thought as he looked out the bridge window. They were above the ocean now, and even the calm waves of the sea seemed to remind Cloud of Aeris in some weird way that he couldn't quiet figure out. Tifa walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey Cloud," she said sadly, "I'm…gonna visit you soon, ok?" "Um, ok…" he answered, not even really listening. He just couldn't stop thinking about how Aeris just seemed to warm his heart. He was probably not being fare to Tifa. Aeris was dead, while Tifa was still alive, but he just couldn't think of Tifa the same way as he did Aeris. At one time, he might have loved Tifa, but that was before Aeris came into his life. Tifa had even risked her life to help Cloud fix his memory! But he just couldn't stop thinking of Aeris.

They dropped him off, said their goodbyes, and left for Kalm, leaving Cloud by himself with only his motorcycle for companionship. He mounted it; sticking his sword in a special sheath, he had made in the bike recently, and roared off into the distance. When he had reached the main temple, he dismounted, and walked up to the water of a special pond. This was the very same pond that Cloud himself had dropped Aeris down into after she had died. He walked into the water a little, then fell to his knees and cried.

After a few minutes, he got up, and started working. Pretty soon, he had made a fence of wood from the Sleeping Forest nearby, and had put it up around the small pond. He made a gate so he could get in, and closed off the remaining perimeter. He made white paint from the natural rocks around him, and painted the fence. After he had finished painted, he got on his bike, and patrolled the city. 'It will be a lonely life, but at least I can be with her,' he thought. He killed a few strangling monsters by sunset, and headed back to his new home. He went into the main temple, just past the pond, and went to sleep for the night.

They walked outside and started down the path that looped around the temple and went all the way thru the tiny city. "So, how have things been doing in Kalm?" Cloud asks. "Exhausting," she replies, then starts her tale. "Well first we need a base of operations, so we were going to buy a building big enough for us. But as we toured around, we realized, 'hey, there are no buildings big enough.' So we decided, why not build one? Barret called Cid up, and he came over with a few pals of his. They ended up making a building about fourth the size of the whole town! Everyone in the city pitched in a little to help, so it cut the time down a little, but it still took about two and a half months to build!" They stopped, now reaching the first seashell house, and looked up at it. It still had a few cracks in it, but Cloud had done a pretty good job at refurnishing it. After a few moments Tifa headed back down the path, Cloud only a few steps behind her.

"After that, we needed to tell the whole world that we were starting a new type of government, a Democracy." "A Democracy? What's that?" Cloud asked, not knowing much about politics. "Well, a Democracy gives power to the people, letting what they want in a government to become a reality. This way everyone will be treated fairly, and hopefully there won't be anymore war. This was only last week that we started telling everyone, and it took awhile for everyone to know we were in office. We went on television, radio, and even visited some of the less popular town to tell people. That brings me to the reason I came…Cloud I want you to come to our first meeting. You are an important reason that we didn't fail in defeating Sephiroth, so I thought…that you should be a help us make a better future. I mean you are a good leader and-" "Stop," Cloud said, and turned Tifa around to face him. "Tifa, I know your trying to be nice and all, but, I think you giving me to much credit, lets stop talking about that for a little while."

They where now entering a small cave room, with a waterfall on the walls,which was pouring into a pond below. Where the water came from or went was a mystery to Cloud, who had even tried to figure it out a few weeks ago. In the middle of the pond, was a pillar, and on that there was a large jewel placed in the middle of the column. Above that, on the roof of the cave was a small hole where light shone into the cave, hitting the jewel, and lighted the cavern. Some more water fell from there as well, and fell onto the jewel below, making a remarkable sight to behold.

"The ancients were incredible," Cloud said suddenly, as they stopped to look at the shining bluish stone. "Yeah," Tifa said, equally amazed. As they started out the other mouth of the cave, Cloud saw the large key they had placed, activating a strange music box. It was still jettisoning out of the ground from where they had placed it, in what seemed like an eon ago.

"So, how is everyone," Cloud asked as they continued down the path, now about halfway done with their walk. "Well…where to start…Cid's back in Rocket Town now, making adjustments to his airship. He's fixed it back to how it looked before it was crushed by Holy. Oh, and he married Shera, you know his assistant, remember? Well, he's supposedly got a child on the way." "Wooh!" Cloud said, trying to picture the ever-confident Cid settling down, especially with Shera! 'We must have changed him,' Cloud thought. "Yeah, I wasn't expecting it either." Tifa said with a laugh.

"Um, Red went back to Cosmo Canyon, he's the new leader now and protects the place, kind of like what you're doing, only there's actually people to protect," she said teasingly. "And now that Meteor's gone, the place has been full people trying to learn more about space. I guess Red didn't tell them it was magic that brought Meteor to us," she said with another laugh, Cloud now laughing with her, as they walked along the path, passing a few more buildings.

"Hmm, oh yeah, Yuffie's started her own materia store in Wutai. After the meteor incident, everyone but you and Vincent gave Yuffie their materia, so she decided to sell them to get money to help Wutai boom again, and it has! She's got the biggest materia selection in the whole world, and the only one that sells summon materia. Thatreminds me, why did you keep yours?" "Well, I thought that one, they would help me remember all you guys, and two, for protection," Cloud said. "Well anyways, she's real happy now…" Tifa said going on. "Yeah, I remember she always wanted to restore Wutai to its former glory," Cloud said, "but what about Vincent and Cait Sith?"

"Well," she began, "I haven't heard from them in a while, but I'll tell you what I know. When we got back in Kalm, after dropping you off,they headed off towards Midgar. Vincent said he had some thinking to do, so he was going to travel the world for awhile. A few days later, Cait Sith returned with a large amount of people, a few of which were the Turks. When I asked him what he was doing with so many people, he told me that him and Vincent had been going thru Midgar, and had found survivors! Well, there where still some there, but that there also was a bunch of Shinra troops hanging around messing with those still in Midgar, so he said he was going back, and would probably be in Kalm in another few days. Most of the people stayed in Kalm, to start a new life, but a few, including the Turks, decided to head for Junon, which has since become the only place with Shinra supporters. Well, anyways, he came and went a few more times, but the last time I saw him, he didn't bring more innocents, but he did come with Vincent. They had flushed all the troops they could out of Midgar, and had helped all the people who wanted out. Some were going to stay there, and try there luck. Cait Sith left right after that, said he was headed towards Junon, and Vincent…he was there that night, but the nextmorning he was gone, and he had only left a message saying where he was going. It said, 'Tifa, gone to wonder some more, if you need me, just contact Cait Sith, and I'll get the message. -Vincent.' And that's the last I've seen of either of them since."

They continued and headed down the path, completing the loop around the temple, and now headed towards the pond. "So… are you coming?" Tifa asked, since their walk was almost done. "…sure," Cloud answered with a smile, a little unsure, but he wanted Tifa to be happy, so why not. "Yay, I'm so glad!" she said and hugged him. When they reached the temple, Cloud, went inside and came out with his sword. "I need to make the rounds before we leave, so wait here for a minute," he said as he mounted his motorcycle. "Ok, but don't take to long," she replied, sitting down onto the steps of the building.

He speed off, heading towards the Sleeping Forest first. About halfway there, he slowed to a stop and got off, pulling his sword out of its sheath, and headed for the hills nearby. He looked for awhile, with no luck, and spotted a cliff. He headed towards it, and when he got there, he looked down and saw the temple. 'Aeris, I'll be back soon, I promise…' he thought as he looked towards the sky, feeling the wind on his face. After a few peaceful moments, he headed back to his bike, started back towards his home. 'Maybe Tifa and Barret can make this new world work. A world without Midgar, or even Shinra for that matter…' he didn't know if that was possible, but he hoped it was, so then he could finally rest easily.