AN: The beginning... um... yeah. Hi. Updates about life are on my profile for those who care to know. Those that are not going to read it, long story short: I'm here, but I'm not here. If you're just starting this then you're gonna notice parts toward the end that don't match up to the beginning because I'm updating chapters. There's some stuff in there that isn't flowing toward the progression I want. A lot has been taken out. A little has been added and/or changed.

Chapters I've updated. If you are on Ch 4 but it says 3 in the title. It means I haven't updated it yet and you should probably stop reading. It's going to be Ch1 to doc1 (as chapter 1 used to just be an intro, the old ch1 was on doc2)

Summary: Tragedy strikes Gaia and triggers its failsafe: Final Attack. The planet's last option is to trust in humanity's strength and hope it doesn't guarantee another life of death. Seph/Cloud, Zack/Angeal, and some not-so-subtle hints of others.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, nor do I own any of the songs mentioned. I make no profit from this and am writing for my own (and your) entertainment.
Rated: M
iWarnings! This fic has character death, homosexual and heterosexual relationships, character death, Language, and Violence. If you cannot handle any of that, please leave.

...and did I mention character death? It's mostly just in this first chapter, but seriously.

The Beginning is the End is the Beginning
(Smashing Pumpkins)

Chapter 1
The End is the Beginning is the End

*Western Continent: Twenty miles from Gold Saucer*

The sound of artillery was heard from below as the terrorist group known as AVALANCHE attacked the Shinra Company building located in the center of town. Every house within a ten mile radius had been long abandoned, and what was once an area thriving with vegetation was now covered in layers of dirt dryer than the desert sand. The company's new president Madam Scarlet merely observed from above as the body count increased. It didn't matter to her if the fallen were ally or enemy, she didn't care. She was hidden in the highest part of her tower, protected from the outside world.

The office doors opened and a man dressed in the blue Shinra uniform walked in. "Madam President," he greeted.

"General Rossly," she acknowledged, walking away from the windows and back to her desk to sit. "I do hope you have good news."

"Yes… and no," General Rossly said nervously. A pale leg slowly rose to rest on top of the other while Scarlet leaned back into the expensive leather of her chair, her dress tightening further around her curvature.

"No?" she questioned, the threat hinted in her tone.

Shinra's newest General responded quickly. "AVALANCHE has terrain advantage over us. They are getting closer to breaking our defenses, and our supplies are running out as they've cut off access to the roads."

The President closed her eyes and folded her hands together. "And what of the good news?" she spat out.

"Project SB113 is ready to activate. We're awaiting your orders to begin."

"Perfect," she smirked. "They've fought Gaia's Summons before. Let's see how they fair against one of mine."

*~0~*

Gunfire rang and debris flew through the air as Cloud, Tifa, and Cid dove between the building rubble. Every movement brought them closer to the Shinra building, and every step closer made them more feasible targets to the enemy. Cid and Tifa, both coughing from the heavy dust in the air and soaking with sweat, repositioned themselves on top of a bolder while the other members of AVALANCHE struggled to catch up. Cloud, their untiring leader, held the PHS to his mouth. "Stealth Squad, this is Strife. Everyone is in position."

"Hey, Cloud!" Yuffie responded through the intercoms. "If you get hurt try to keep the Materia safe! Otherwise I won't come and save you!"

"Ey, Las, that's no way tah talk. Give that here tah me!" Cait interrupted as his voice broke in with hers.

"Eh?! No way! I grabbed it first so it's mine!"

Cloud sighed at the usual bickering between the ninja and doll while others snickered as they listened in through their headsets.

Tifa, with her M4 in hand, came down from her position to reload her magazine. She squinted up at the blazing sun and wiped her brow. "We ready to go?" she asked.

"Come on!" Cid yelled as beads of sweat ran down his neck. "We don't have all cott'n pick'n day!"

"Go," Cloud ordered the team through the comms, "and be careful, Yuffie. Tell us when you get the tanks down."

"We're ready when you are!" came the cheerful response.

The stealth group was composed of Yuffie, Cait Sith, and Nanaki. It was a strange combo, but Cloud had his reasons for placing them together. Nanaki had an inclination for prowling. The large dog-like lion didn't have opposable thumbs to cut the wires of a bomb, but his teeth worked just as well to rip out the wires of a vehicle. Yuffie, usually a loud and provoking young woman, was truly the definition of ninja when she wanted to be. Her steps were quiet and nothing but silence accompanied her movements. Cait Sith was… well, Cait Sith. The cat doll wasn't quick like Yuffie, nor could he prowl around like Nanaki. Neither was he made to be good at hiding, as he was always spotted eventually. The beautiful thing about the doll was that he just couldn't be caught moving. Being hidden in plain sight was the best ability he had as Shinra only knew of the white marshmallow of its transportation. They never heard about the actual combat cat. So, if he was seen, all Cait had to do was play dead and look as inconspicuous as possible.

"Then I guess it's time to go," Cloud said as he shouldered his gun in favor of his buster sword.

"Are you trying out more one-liners, Cloud? Because, seriously, I'm never going to forget the 'let's mosey' line, like... ever."

He ignored Yuffie's comment and gave the command to push didn't take long to reach their destination. Charging into the section was almost too easy with most of Shinra's weapons rendered useless, courtesy of Yuffie, Cait, and Nanaki. Once inside the building, AVALANCHE quickly overpowered Shinra forces. Cloud was the main offense and defense, rushing large enemy forces and falling back to help the rest of the team if they became overwhelmed. He was confident in their victory as he struck down one opponent after another with the end goal clear in his mind; Shinra's rule would end today.

With little effort, AVALANCHE had full area control, and the remainders of the enemy combatants were being dealt with. As they were celebrating their victory, Cloud spotted Yuffie running in his direction.

"What's wrong?" he asked as she reached him.

"I overheard one of their officers give the command to go into lock-down. They're turning off the power! They're going to try and lock us in!"

Cloud grimaced. He didn't plan for this scenario. It wasn't as if he never thought of it as a possibility, he did, but he never thought Shinra would actually do it due to the risk it would put on the company. Cutting off power would severely weaken Shinra for the other AVALANCHE teams surrounding the building, but it could buy the company time to bring in reinforcements to the area. If they got trapped here, if they were unable to get out, it would end in mass slaughter.

"Head back to the gate!" Cloud ordered into his PHS as they retreated. They made it outside safely as the doors auto-locked and sealed shut behind them, but gunfire was heard from the other side by those that were now fighting for their lives. The other members of AVALANCHE stood where they were, looking around with uncertainty. Most of the gazes landed on him, waiting for orders.

"What do we do?" Nanaki asked as he walked up to him on all fours.

Everyone was looking at him now, waiting for guidance, and putting the pressure of responsibility on him. Instead of taking orders from Barret, the one who was a natural leader, they followed the random guy who defeated an unbeatable terror and saved Gaia.

Cloud sighed in regret. He had to make the more rational decision, and Barret wasn't here to yell at him if he made the wrong call. "Right now, for them? There's nothing we can do. We don't have a way to blast down the doors, and we don't have time to find anything."

The group shuffled around in discontent, but there was no sound of argument. He took that as a positive sign and gave the next order. "Cid, split the group up into two and have them join the others at the side gates. Tell them to be ready to retreat in case they cut off power to those areas."

Cid just looked at him as if he'd grown a third head. "What about those guys?" The older man wasn't questioning as demanding, gesturing to the sealed gate as if Cloud had forgotten them.

Tifa stood beside him, her presence firm and unwavering, and the touch to his shoulder offered support as she spoke. "Cloud, tell us what you're thinking. We can help you. Sometimes it's better to say it out loud, remember?"

He couldn't tell her, not now. His morals were split between saving the few verses saving the masses. He wanted to save them all, but he couldn't risk losing any more time. The sooner they took down Shinra, the better. The company had already damaged the planet beyond human repair, and the longer it went on the less likely the planet would be able to heal itself. He had to be a strong leader. He had to stay focused on those who were in front of him, not on those who might not survive. Getting distracted could jeopardize more lives, it could jeopardize the mission. A capable leader is what AVALANCHE needed. It's what he had to be.

"We don't have time for distractions," he told her. "The sooner we stop Shinra, the better. Let's go."

Cid cursed and turned around to aggressively bark out the new orders while Cloud took a breath, recollected himself, and began again. The team split up and began tearing down Shinra's forces faster than before. He led, he kept up with the fight, he did what that had to be done, and things were falling back into place. He could almost believe that everything was fine again.

And everything was fine until the ground began to tremble beneath them. Everything was fine until Tifa cried out as she and everyone else stumbled to the ground as the quakes turned violent. "Earthquake?!" she yelled.

"No," came Vincent's deep rumble as he appeared on top of a rusted vehicle nearby them, seemingly unaffected by the whole thing. The tremors finally slowed, but a consistent humming was still heard beneath their feet.

"Hey, Vinnie. Shit, I'm too old for this," Cid grumbled from where he was sitting, rubbing his injured back.

"Why are you here?" Cloud asked. He didn't mean to sound crass, but the ex-Turk wasn't supposed to regroup with them until after he fried the company's electrical equipment. Judging by the working lights, the task wasn't complete.

Vincent tossed a damaged EMP onto the dirt before them as he explained, "Our insider was compromised. They knew I was coming." His tattered cloak was sporting a few more bullet holes than usual.

"Did you find anything during your recon?" Cloud asked as he got up and dusted himself off.

"Yes."

"...and?" Tifa pried while Cid grunted. His back popped from standing up.

Vincent's keen gaze landed on her. If he had any other facial expression it was completely hidden by his cape. "Scarlet made a WEAPON. It's made entirely out of titanium and being fueled by mako."

Cloud nodded and began planning for how to prep for battle. "We should move to a different area."

"Inadvisable," Vincent said, but didn't provide further clarification.

Cloud sighed, knowing he'd have to ask his question out loud if he wanted an answer. "Why?"

"The WEAPON is on the roof," Vincent explained. There'd been a shine up there during the battle, but no one had given it much thought. They all gave various reactions as they realized a WEAPON was hanging out up there this entire time.

Cid cursed and gave a smoker's laugh as he smacked Vincent on the back. "Buddy, we talked about this. Get the important stuff out first. Where a WEAPON battle is gonna take place is on that list."

"I understand," Vincent said gravely, but Cloud was uncertain if he did. He was about to ask if Vincent had any other information to share when Shinra's outside intercoms turned on and made the area boom with sound.

"Good evening, AVALANCHE," Scarlet's voice echoed. "I'd like to introduce you to Project Summon: BAHAMUT, our finest creation."

*~0~*

From every corner, Shinra and AVALANCHE alike watched as silver man-made wings spread in the sunlight. The large tubes attached to it were overflowing with energy, bursting from the force from where they were feeding the WEAPON, and mako began falling from the tower in a steady downpour.

"You never said it was BAHAMUT, or even a flyin' WEAPON for that matter!" Cid yelled after Vincent as they both ran toward the safety of the rocks for cover.

"It was implied," was the response.

"How was that implied?!"

"'It's on the roof'," Vincent quoted his earlier statement as if that explained it.

The members of AVALANCHE hid under areas with partial cover, but it was far from perfect and mako soaked into their clothes. Cloud noticed the way that Cid began turning a sickly pale, and Tifa's hand shook as she used it to help support her weight. The rest of his team had shaking limbs, pale faces, and others that were hunched over with their hands over their stomachs. They were all suffering from mako sickness.

Vincent came to the same conclusion he did, and they ordered everyone to leave the area. Besides them, only Nanaki seemed unharmed by the shower. It was a gifted curse brought to the three of them by the same scientist years ago.

"We'll get everyone to safety!" Tifa shouted and pulled Cid by the elbow.

"Alright, fine!" Cid grumbled as he allowed himself to be dragged away by the woman. He was too affected by the mako to fight back. "I'll leave you three to sort this out, but just this once!"

The two stumbled through mako puddles to where Barret's team was located.

"Vincent, Nanaki, get ready!" Cloud called to them while he switched out his Materia. "We need to get up there before it has a chance to take off."

"Ready," Vincent coolly replied back, his gun out and already equipped for battle.

The other member of their trio remained silent.

"Nanaki?" Cloud said as he and Vincent looked over their shoulders. They watched as the young lion gave a weak roar and collapsed beside them, golden eyes glazing over. Nanaki's chest stilled as a steady mix of mako and mud flowed down his bright red mane.

"Tifa!" They heard Yuffie yell out, and Cloud turned to see his childhood friend limp in the arms of a weeping Barret as Cid and Yuffie tried to wake her. "Tifa!"

"Baby? Honey, wake up," Barret sobbed as he brushed the strands of hair away from her face. "Oh, Gaia, why? Cloud, you spiky-haired idiot! Help!"

Cloud brought a hand up to test the density of the green liquid he was covered in. It felt like normal processed mako, and it wasn't bothering him in the slightest. Processed mako was weaker than its natural counterpart and could be dangerous to normal people if left exposed for too long, but it shouldn't be able to kill on contact. He turned to Vincent, but the other man looked just as clueless.

Then it clicked, as if on cue, they both looked at each other as a shared realization crossed their minds. In Cosmo Canyon, there were theories on what would happen if all the planet's energy were to be used. He remembered one of those theories being that the planet would take back what belonged to it in order to survive.

What if the company had finally sucked the planet dry? Was this just the planet taking the lives of those living just so it could keep itself alive? If that was the case, how much time did they have to stop Shinra? Could this even be stopped?

A feeling of dread entered him. It felt similar to failure.

*~0~*

"Ey, Las," Yuffie heard Cait Sith speak beside her, and a part of her was comforted to hear its voice. She felt its small paws trying to move her, trying to turn her away from the body of their friend, but for some reason she couldn't look away. "Now's n-not the time t-o.. Ooo… s-start…" Cait's smooth motions turned robotic, and the rest of the words went unspoken as the machine simply shut down.

"Cait?" Yuffie said cautiously as she was finally able to tear herself away from the scene in front of her and look into the cat's mechanical eyes. Those same eyes allowed Reeve to see from his computer screens as he controlled the doll from his hideout. He once showed her how the cat doll worked, and she enjoyed listening as he explained the devices within. Yuffie brought her hands to her mouth. Renewed tears fell as she gazed at the doll. "Reeve?!"

"C'mon, brat!" Cid yelled as he jumped into action, throwing the young girl over his shoulder as he ran out of the contaminated area.

"NO! NO, REEEEVE!" The ninja shrieked as the cat doll slipped from her wet hands. She began kicking and punching to get away. She had to prove that Reeve wasn't dead. There had to be some other reason for Cait Sith to stop working; it had to be a malfunction!

As Cid turned, Yuffie stopped struggling as she saw Barret slouched lifelessly over Tifa. His unwavering form continued to keep her from being submerged as the two lay half immersed in a growing pool of mako.

Yuffie held in a sob at the sight of her friends and clutched at Cid's shirt. It wasn't supposed to be like this. They were supposed to stop Shinra long before any of this happened. Weren't they heroes? Weren't heroes supposed to save the day?

The young ninja wasn't ready for when Cid's legs gave out, and she yelped as she fell with the momentum and landed hard on her backside. Cid collapsed on top of her, his dusty blond hair resting on her belly, and she wondered what had knocked him unconscious as they lay there in the mud.

"Cid?" she squeaked as she poked at the old man on top of her. He was unresponsive, he wasn't moving, he wasn't breathing…

There was a dead body on top of her, Cid's dead body; it was on top of her. A new fright took hold, and Yuffie hardly recognized the terrified scream to be her own. She struggled to push the dead body off of her as she scrambled away. It was Cid and Reeve and Barret and Tifa and everybody! And they were all dying around her!

Her back hit a dead, disfigured tree, and she tried to sink further into the hollow she found herself in. Though no matter how hard she tried, the hollow wasn't large enough to fit her entire form. The ninja sat there, breathing hard, trying to make herself as small as possible while she hugged her knees. Tears slipped from her eyes and mixed in with the mako on her cheeks as she began rocking back and forth. She tried to keep her sobs from wrecking her body as she covered her mouth with a dirty hand, and the only thing she could see around her was the green rain.

*~0~*

The way the bodies fell around them triggered something in Cloud that he couldn't control. He didn't see the rain anymore, he saw his town engulfed in light when it should have been dark. He saw people set on fire as they ran out of their burning homes and collapsing in piles of smoke. Instead of the scent of mako and mud, he smelt burning flesh. He was pulled back into the present as he felt Vincent grab a hold of his shoulder. "Look."

Ignoring what had happened, it wasn't important, Cloud looked to where Vincent was pointing with his flesh hand. The clouds were gathering, and in the middle of the swirl held a strange light. They had to move fast. He signaled to Vincent that he was ready, and the two ran up the side of the building, jumping from whatever ledges they could. Their priority was to take down WEAPON first, Shinra second, and then they could figure out where to go from there.

From below, the ground burst open as the pressure inside Shinra's pipes became too great, and the few people left behind gave renewed screams of terror as green mako spit across the surface. They cried for help, but Cloud couldn't save them.

The building cracked and trembled. It was difficult to get solid footing, and the air misted with a heavy green hue. Cloud was the first one to reach the top as he pulled himself up from the ledge, and Vincent was only a leap away.

Cloud saw the WEAPON first, laying on the ground and unmoving like the people below. It was a bit anticlimactic after the earlier display. He supposed it could be another one of Shinra's failures, or maybe it was one of the planet's sacrifices. He'd never know.

Movement from above caught his eye, and he followed it to see a man hovering in the air. Cloud grit his teeth, fists clenched, immediately recognizing who it was, and he felt a mix of confusion, frustration, and terror. It was Sephiroth once again, and all the things Cloud associated with the man came back in one instant visual package: leather coat, black wing, silver hair, and still wielding the infamous Masamune. He had thought he'd finally been done with Sephiroth after the fight with Geostigma, but of course Sephiroth was here. Of course he couldn't stay dead. Of course fighting Shinra to save the planet would lead up to a final battle with Shinra's first and strongest General. Of course Cloud would have to kill him again and again and again, trapped in a never ending cycle.

The man's long hair gravitated almost disturbingly in its elegance against the rage of the wind. Sephiroth had yet to face them, instead focusing on something else, and Cloud followed his gaze to see what had his attention. There were two other individuals on the roof, a man and a woman, and they went almost unnoticed as they were kneeling in a corner further away. The man was dressed in an older SOLDIER uniform and had a distinct black hairstyle similar to Cloud's own while the woman had on a familiar pink dress. Recognition was almost instantaneous.

"Zack... Aerith?" Cloud called out, but they couldn't hear him over the growing howl of the wind.

Aerith changed grip on her staff and twirled it around, creating the beginning of a healing spell. The time it took to make the final move was enough for Sephiroth to send a powerful slash to her torso. She fell, twisting in pain and blood splattered around her as Zack went for Sephiroth.

"Aerith!" Cloud yelled and rushed to her side. He cradled her as she labored to breathe.

Her brilliant green eyes looked at him in surprise and relief. "Cloud?"

He tore off one of his sleeves and used it to put pressure on the wound. He had so many questions, but the only thing he could get out was a "How... why...?"He couldn't seem to form a comprehensible sentence.

Aerith couldn't answer as she only coughed more. Blood covered her chest and chin, and her breathing became weaker. She grabbed hold of him as she spoke in desperation. "The Materia… it's a Time."

"Materia?" Cloud echoed. Out of all the things he wanted to talk to her about he didn't want this, he wanted... He pushed down his feelings and focused. He had to think of the mission, the mission always came first. Aerith knew that there wasn't time for unnecessary words, and he would follow her lead.

"What Materia?" Cloud looked around in confusion, not spotting any nearby. "Where?"

"I don't know where it is, or what it does. I couldn't understand. The Planet's words were so weak... and frightened. You need to find it. You can't let Sephiroth get it… or this... will all be… for nothing." Her delicate hand fell from his shirt. Her eyes closed. Her paling features and bluing lips took on a sharp contrast to the darkening blood and mako coagulating on her skin.

He reached up to gently wipe away the wet trails from her face. Unbidden came the thought that this was the second time she died in his arms.

From further away, Zack cried out in pain, and Cloud's attention was snapped back to the battle. He went to reach for his sword, but instead froze as he saw Sephiroth slowly pulling Masamune out from the SOLDIER. Amusement was etched in the madman's face as Zack tried to put distance between them, and Cloud could hear Sephiroth talking over the wind. "What's wrong, Lieutenant? Not as fast as you used to be?"

"Bastard! Shit!" Zack complained, his body finally giving up, falling to the ground from too many wounds, soaked with blood and mako.

The silver haired General was about to make the killing blow when another gunshot rang in the air. The bullet was easily deflected and Sephiroth left Zack, who was clutching his wounds, to chase the gunner.

Cloud watched the eerily familiar pose of his friend splayed out on the ground. It was too similar, too real. He could feel parts of himself shutting down while at the same time hyperawareness took over. His psych was being split as old memories played over and over again in his head. Cloud was vaguely aware of Vincent yelling at him, ordering him to focus, and he snapped out of his daze. He had a mission to do.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud yelled in rage. He gripped his sword, forcing himself to get up. He knew Sephiroth must have seen him running toward Aerith before. There wasn't a damn thing that the man didn't notice. Sephiroth was ignoring him, purposefully trying to irritate him, and Cloud was tired of the mind games, tired of playing cat and mouse. He just wanted everything to stop! His anger quickly changed to surprise when Sephiroth suddenly appeared in front of him. It was as if the madman was waiting for him the entire time.

"You called, Cloud?" Sephiroth smirked, giving them a brief moment of eye contact before he swung the odachi blade, and Cloud barely had time to dodge as he cursed at how fast the General was.

A shot rang out and Sephiroth quickly blocked the attack, but it gave Cloud enough time to go on the offensive.

"You don't have time to talk, Sephiroth!" Cloud shouted as he swung at his opponent.

"I'll always make time for you," Sephiroth stated while easily evading his swing and gestured between Zack and Aerith. "Tell me, Cloud, between the two, whose death hurt the most?"

"Shut up!"

"Allow me to recreate it."

"Shut up!"

"Again and again."

"I said SHUT UP!" Cloud shouted as he continued his assault.

*~0~*

Zack gazed at the sky as the roof he was on slowly began cracking around him. He felt light headed, really light headed, probably from all the blood loss. He used what little strength he had left to see the extent of the damage. Blood was everywhere and more was rapidly coming out of his chest. Sephiroth knew he was out of the game, had left him for dead, and Zack couldn't do anything about it. Cloud was their last hope.

Not wanting to watch the sky, he turned his head and saw Aerith. The winds were making her long brown hair and pink dress fly in every direction, but she wasn't disappearing into the lifestream the way she should be. It was like a bad omen. Zack readied himself for whatever was to come, but what would happen to them if the planet was destroyed? What would happen to him if it didn't exist anymore? Would everything just disappear?

And maybe it was the blood loss getting to him, maybe it was seeing Cloud or suddenly being alive after all this time, but he was feeling nostalgic. He missed the simpler times. He remembered his family and friends, how happy and carefree they'd been. He missed his home in Gongaga. He missed the shared apartment he had with Angeal long before this crazy shit began, and he missed the nights they would hang out in the living room watching old reruns of M.A.S.H. and the Golden Girls. He missed the fun they had together and the training. He missed Angeal's smiles and his seriousness. He just… he just really missed Angeal.

Unable to do anything more, Zack moved his hand away from his wound so he could grip the hilt of his sword as if it was a security blanket. He took a few steady breaths while he tried to remain calm. He could feel death's reach, he knew it would take him soon, and he wanted to ignore the part of himself that was still terrified of it.

*~0~*

The clouds swirled above them like a maelstrom, and the battle waged on as the building began to fall apart from the ground's quakes. As the fight progressed, the three resorted to jumping off falling concrete walls as they plummeted to the ground.

Sephiroth was the first to land and grabbed the closet object to use as a projectile. Cloud and Vincent were both in midjump, both realizing their mistake. They had no way of dodging as the madman picked his target and threw with deadly intent. In the next second, Cloud safely splashed in a puddle of knee-high mako while Vincent crashed between them with a piece metal sticking out of his chest.

Cloud cursed. There was no time to use a Cure, he knew Sephiroth would use the opening to his advantage the moment he tried.

The light from above began to focus, and a blinding flash had the three warriors looking up. From the sky, a small light-blue orb of pure concentrated mako fell and landed just out of the gunner's reach. Cloud forced himself to keep a steady gaze, not wanting to show that he had prior knowledge of its formation, however little it was, but Sephiroth always had a strange way of reading him. The madman gazed at him in curiosity, not recognizing what the Materia was or where it came from, but somehow knowing that Cloud did.

The Materia was directly between them, and neither moved. They were at a draw, both waiting for the other to make the first move. Whoever went for the Materia would be open for an attack while whoever went for the attack would be leaving the Materia open. Going on the offensive wouldn't end in Cloud's favor; the General was faster and stronger than him. Even if he managed to reach the Materia first there would be no guarantee of his survival, but if he chose to attack first then Sephiroth could counter and grab it. He had to play at defense this time. He gripped his sword tighter and watched, waiting for anything that could signal as to what direction the man would make, but Sephiroth showed nothing. He was statuesque. The man stared at him as a hawk would stare down prey.

Suddenly, Cloud was smacked with a mixture of mud and mako, shocking and causing enough of a distraction, as a large piece of rubble hit the ground right next to him. It was all that Sephiroth needed to go into action. The nanosecond of Cloud getting his body under control had him reacting with pure instinct. He couldn't let Sephiroth reach it! Both swordsmen simultaneously dove toward the Materia, one with a sense of victory and the other with desperation. Cloud held his breath as he stretched out his arm, the tension in his body growing tighter, and as he reached with his fingers he could feel the Materia giving off a warmth as if it was coming from the planet itself.

At the touch of raw power came forth a brilliant white that burst through all matter as the Materia activated and engulfed everything it consumed in a warm, pleasant heat. Time froze as a gentle summer's breeze passed through in a single moment, and it created a serenity that could only be described as to stepping into nirvana, the Promised Land, but in that same moment the feeling was hastily torn away as it turned chaotic. Winds beat down and turned as sharp as blades as it cut into his skin. A fog clouded his mind while a vacuum in the air threatened suffocation. Unknown amounts of time passed, but it felt as if as soon as the winds came, they went, and the light faded.

...

..

To be continued…

AN: Jenova theory: mine is that Jenova, the destroyer of worlds, is used to planets dying and slipping through Lifestreams while finding opportunities to come back into existence to take over a dead planet to sail the cosmos. So insert Seph in there and you got a recipe for Aerith and Zack following him out. How?

Plot device, Mr. Frodo. Plot device.

Please Review! (Criticism accepted as long as it's constructive...)