I am fascinated by the similarities between FF7 and the StarGate series. There are so many things that just click. I'm also surprised that there aren't more stories for it. Normally I would leave the idea alone until I've caught up with some of my other stories, some of which are long overdue, but after watching some good ol' SG-1 episodes and then seeing a picture of Sephiroth and a Wraith side by side I couldn't ignore it any longer. If anyone was curious, this is an SG-1 crossover. Not Atlantis and not Universe...or was it Continuum? I forget. This is also my first time writing for StarGate SG-1, so go easy on me. ^^;

Final Fantasy belongs to Square Enix, StarGate SG-1 belongs to MGM

Enjoy.

Chapter One

Something was wrong. Very wrong. The lifestream was in a state of panic. Something had been uncovered. Something that was hidden long ago. For thousands of years it had remained buried and now it had been uncovered. The lifestream turned to the only one who it believed could help. The centra had begun to visit Cloud's dreams.

The first time it happened Cloud thought it was Aerith, but his hopes were dashed when he was surrounded by faceless human-like shapes. In a sea of darkness they appeared as silhouettes of light with the green aura of the lifestream flowing around them. Cloud had opened his mouth to speak, but found he had no voice. The centra had something important for him to listen to and they would not be interrupted.

Cloud had decided he owed them nothing. He had already saved the planet more than once. He was tired of playing the hero and only wanted to lead his own life. He had already made amends with the ghosts of his past. Aerith and Zack had forgiven him, they were the only ones who mattered. The other centra meant nothing to him. It seemed they didn't feel the same.

"Bury it in rubble," they said, "keep it hidden," they said.

Cloud was tempted to tell them where they could shove it, but alas, they had silenced him. Still they kept saying it over and over. Cloud was helplessly stuck in the dream, unable to wake up until he had successfully fallen off his bed, his head striking the metal rail on the way down. That hurt. But at least it had woken him up. Two nights later however, the centra were back and this time with a vengeance.

"Forgotten City...find it...bury it...keep it hidden...Forgotten City..."

They kept repeating it over and over, collective voices growing louder with every loop. Cloud and tried to cover his ears, but it didn't matter. The loops began to blend together, repeating faster and faster swirling around him, making him feel like he was on a merry-go-round of hell. The voices refused to relent, growing louder and louder until their cries mutated into howling wails. He couldn't take it anymore.

"ALRIGHT!"

He woke with a start, drenched in sweat, heart racing, trying to catch his breath. He felt almost as bad as when he fought with Sephiroth,...almost. But this was different. Sure Jenova and Sephiroth were major threats to the lifestream and the planet, but the centra never acted this fiercely towards a goal, at least never going as far as screaming their pleas to their savior and nearly driving him mad. This recent lack of sleep was not helping his mood any so when Tifa knocked on his door before peeking in it wasn't easy to hold back his temper when she asked if he was alright.

"I'm fine," he barked.

"...But you were screaming," Tifa replied with a worried look.

"It's nothing. Go back to bed." he insisted as he laid back down and turned to face the wall.

Tifa stood there for a few minutes before sighing in defeat and leaving. Cloud's enhanced hearing listened to her footsteps and heard her reassuring two children that everything was fine.

In truth everything was not fine and Cloud was not going back to sleep. Not with an army of tone-deaf centra waiting. There was only one thing to do. Go to the Forgotten City and see why they seemed so afraid. He was positive that's what their problem was. But what could be so powerful that the ancients feared it more than the calamity?

Under the cover of darkness and making sure he left unnoticed, Cloud mounted Fenrir and headed for the Forgotten City.

. . .

Cloud parked Fenrir a safe distance away from the formation where he had fought with Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo. Where he had failed to save the kids. Where Vincent had come and saved him. Now, all of that was a distant memory. He had moved on from that. After all, everything turned out fine in the end. No one else he cared for had died. The children were saved and the sickness known as Geostigma was gone. As he approached the odd formation he noticed strange glowing lights floating around the place. they glimmered like fireflies and as Cloud got closer they began to circle around him.

"This way..."

These lights - they were centra? Probably making sure he did as he was told like a good little hero. This pissed Cloud off even more.

"Aerith?" he called out, hoping she was among them, but she never came.

"Moved on," the child-like voice of a nearby light replied, "She and the soldier have found peace."

Cloud knew this was a lie. Zack would never abandon him, even in death. He had every chance to leave Cloud behind before and he didn't. On the run for an entire year and he never once abandoned his friend, even if Cloud was completely useless back then. Aerith was the same - always guiding him when he was lost and showing up in the most unexpected places. Why were the centra keeping them in the dark? Cloud knew asking them for answers would be useless and continued on to find whatever this thing was.

Four long, boring hours later Cloud was leaning against a stone. He head searched the area twice over and found nothing that seemed out of place.

"You must find it." a small centra light told him as it floated near his face.

"It'd help if I knew what I was looking for," he replied with a grumpy tone, one he felt was justified. He hadn't had a good night's sleep in three days and it was starting to show.

Cloud let out a yawn, not caring about keeping himself composed for once. If appeared rude or obnoxious at the moment, he didn't care. He was tired and it was all the stupid centra's fault.

He waited another minute longer before letting out another yawn. "I'm leaving."

"A ring."

Cloud stopped at this. "A ring?"

"A gate."

Cloud gave the floating lights a deadpan look. "Which is it? A ring or a gate?"

"Same."

Cloud covered his eyes with a hand. Why did the centra like confusing him so much? He was tired and cranky and had every intention of walking away. How could a ring and a gate be the same?

Suddenly, as if an unseen force heard his question the ground began to shake and the nearby pool of water began to ripple. There was a strange sound coming from somewhere. It sounded like...spinning metal?

"Hurry!"

Cloud needed no second bidding from the centra as he dashed around the corner, though a tunnel in the rock formation, past several crumbled stones that seemed to have been unearthed recently and came upon the strangest sight. Cloud was no stranger to seeing things that were out of the ordinary, but this?...This was just weird.

A large metal ring-shape device that easily stood about twenty feet tall was sticking out of the rock face. Two lights shone on the device as the center of the ring continued to spin. The small lights swarmed around Cloud.

"You must hurry! Bury it! Do not let it open!"

"What is that?" Cloud asked.

"Danger! Death! Worse than calamity!"

That was all Cloud needed to hear. Taking the Fusion Sword, he began striking out at the surrounding rocks. Hacking and slashing at them in an effort to bury the spinning ring. Five of the lights were glowing as more and more stones piled in front of it.

"Hurry! Move Faster!"

"Shut Up!"

It was all Cloud could do to try and bury it. There was no room in the cavern for Omnislash or he would have used that. As he cut and slashed at the stones he revealed another device, one that looked similar to the ring, but much smaller. Cloud ignored it for now. It wasn't glowing like the other one was, so he assumed it was off. Another light lit up on the ring and as Cloud raised his sword once more to strike a seventh light lit up.

"GET BACK!"

All of the voices screamed in his head and he lept back just as an explosion of water shot out from the center of the ring like a wave. Cloud glared at the oncoming force and raised his sword, prepared to strike back when the wave receded and spread across the space within the ring.

It was easily one of the strangest things Cloud had ever seen. It was like standing water, but how could that happen? Just what was this thing?

He approached the shimmering wall of water, sword lowered, but still ready to be used. He reached out his hand to touch the pool's surface when a small silver sphere rolled out of the pool and burst into a blinding light.

Cloud shielded his eyes, but there was something wrong about this light. It...hurt. He was overwhelmed with an intense pain before everything went black.