Chapter 17: Final Battle, Holy Vs Meteor

As the Highwind made its way to the Northern crater Yuffie was stood on the deck looking down at the vast ocean below her and the wind blowing through her hair causing the ends of her head band to blow to the side. She sighed happily to herself as she continued to look down, "last night was the best night of my life…" She thought to herself as she closed her eyes and smiled blissfully unaware that someone was creeping up behind her.

"What are you doing?" A deep voice spoke up suddenly causing Yuffie to jump.

"I started feeling sick so I came out here to get some fresh air," Yuffie answered as she turned round to see Vincent stood behind her.

"I see…" Vincent replied as he walked to the railing next to Yuffie and looked out. He heard Yuffie sigh, "What's wrong?" He asked as he turned round to look at her.

"I was just thinking about last night," Yuffie answered as she looked over and smiled at Vincent.

"Last night…" Vincent questioned as he gave Yuffie a blank stare.

"Don't tell me you forgot…" Yuffie demanded as she slightly scowled at Vincent, the dark man continued to stare at her blankly causing her to sigh. "Even if you did forget I'll still remember it…" she added in a slightly happier tone as she looked back out towards the scenery.

(Flashback)

Cid dropped Yuffie and Vincent off at Wutai after Yuffie had spent half an hour trying to convince him to accompany her. "I'm gonna have to drop you off here," Cid told the two before they left the bridge. "You'll have to walk the rest of the way."

"I'd rather walk it than put up with another minute of your reckless flying!" Yuffie yelled at the pilot as she tried hard not to throw up.

"If you don't like ma flyin' ya can always stay here, it would do us all a favour!" Cid retorted causing Yuffie to storm off.

Vincent sighed as he followed Yuffie out to the deck, one of the crew members saluted as the two approached and lowered the rope ladder. "Thanks," Vincent replied gratefully as he climbed down the rope ladder and Yuffie followed him.

Yuffie barely got off the ladder when Cid decided to take off causing her to fall, Vincent helped her up. "You bastard!" Yuffie screamed at the top of her lungs as she shook her fist at the Highwind as it flew off into the distance. Yuffie grumbled as she pulled away from Vincent and stomped off, Vincent shook his head as he calmly followed her.

"I don't think Cid did it on purpose," Vincent tried to reason with Yuffie as he struggled to keep up with her.

"Of course he did!" Yuffie snapped as she turned round to look at Vincent her eyes were filled with anger. "He's got it in for me!"

"I think you're being paranoid," Vincent told Yuffie which caused the ninja to walk even faster.

"Yuffie please slow down," Vincent pleaded with the girl as he started to run.

Yuffie sighed but she slowed down allowing the older man to keep up with her, "happy now?" She asked sarcastically.

"Don't take it out on me just because you're mad at Cid," Vincent replied slightly irritably. "I agreed to come with you while you try to find the reason you're fighting."

"I know…" Yuffie replied as she calmed down. "I thought that you would've gone to Lucrecia's cave…" Yuffie added as she gave Vincent a questioning look.

"Lucrecia is in a permanent comatose state," Vincent told Yuffie. "No amount of hoping or praying will snap her out of it, besides, she'd want me to move on with my life."

"I see…" Yuffie stated as she nodded to show that she understood. After a short walk through the field the two eventually reached the small oriental village of Wutai, they saw plenty of people going about their daily business as usual. "How can people just go about their daily business when Meteor is gonna fall in two days…" Yuffie questioned hardly daring to believe what she was seeing.

"People want to do as much as possible before they die," Vincent answered as the two walked through the town. "We should do the same, maybe you should go and see your father."

"That miserable git! No way!" Yuffie protested as she shook her head, "he's always trying to control me."

"This could be the last chance you get," Vincent tried to reason with her.

Yuffie sighed, "Fine…I'll go and see him and make my peace with him," Yuffie gave in. "If it'll get you off my case…" the two walked through market district and entered the area where the Pagoda tower and Godo's mansion were. Yuffie sighed as she and Vincent walked to the door of Godo's mansion. "I can't believe I'm doing this…" Yuffie muttered under her breath.

"He's your father, the least you can do is make peace with him," Vincent told Yuffie.

Yuffie sighed again she knew that Vincent was right, she grabbed the ornate looking door knocker and banged it against the door several times. The door opened a young woman wearing oriental style clothing answered the door, "may I help…" the young woman stopped in midsentence when she saw Yuffie and instantly recognized her. "Miss Yuffie…" the woman uttered as she bowed her head to greet Yuffie, "what brings you here?"

"We're here to see my father…" Yuffie answered reluctantly as the woman nodded.

"Of course Miss Yuffie, come in," the woman answered as she stepped to the side to let Yuffie and Vincent into the mansion. "Please come this way," the woman continued as she led them down the hall.

"Happy now…" Yuffie whispered to Vincent as she scowled at him slightly.

"Yes," Vincent replied indifferent to Yuffie's scowl. "This could be the only chance you get to make peace with him."

"Even though he's a stubborn old git…" Yuffie retorted.

"Yes," Vincent answered as the two continued to follow the woman through the hallway.

"Here we are," the woman stated as the three stopped outside a door. "I'll just see if Lord Godo is busy," the woman added as she knocked on the door.

"What is it this time?" A gruff voice that Yuffie and Vincent recognized yelled through the door.

"There are two guests that are here to see you," the woman answered.

"Tell them I'm busy!" Godo shouted causing Yuffie to grind her teeth irritably.

"But…Lord…" The woman started to speak.

"Get out of the way!" Yuffie interrupted as she barged passed the woman and kicked the door open to see Godo sat at a desk writing. "Too busy to see your own daughter huh?" Yuffie demanded as she placed her hands on her hips and glared at her father.

Godo stood up and scowled at Yuffie, "still the same obnoxious brat as always!" Godo retorted causing the young woman's eye to twitch.

"And you're just a selfish old man who's stuck in his ways!" Yuffie snapped back as she balled her hands into fists and tried to run at Godo but Vincent walked over to Yuffie and grabbed her shoulders. "Let go of me!" Yuffie yelled as she struggled against Vincent's grip.

"You're here to make peace with your father, not start a war with him." Vincent reminded Yuffie of the reason she was there.

Yuffie sighed before she gave up, "fine…" Yuffie uttered before Vincent released her.

"Why are you here?" Godo demanded as he continued to stare at his daughter.

"Meteor will fall any day now," Yuffie answered sincerely. "I thought I'd come here to make peace with you before it fell…"

"I see…" Godo answered as he nodded to show that he understood.

"Would it be ok if me and Vincent stayed the night?" Yuffie requested, "Just so that we can take in the sights one last time before we leave…"

"Leave…" Godo repeated as he slightly raised his eyebrow.

"Me and Vincent are going to the Northern Cave to help our friends defeat Sephiroth," Yuffie informed Godo.

"Out of the question!" Godo yelled loudly as he glared at Yuffie, "no daughter of mine is going to go gallivanting off to some cave!"

"Well I'm going whether you like it or not!" Yuffie yelled back stubbornly as she glared at Godo.

"You will stay here and behave like a Wutinian woman should act!" Godo ordered.

"You mean be obedient and not have any thoughts and opinions of my own!" Yuffie snapped as she jabbed her finger into Godo's chest. "You'd like that wouldn't you? For me to be the loyal daughter and to do everything I'm told without question!"

Godo slapped Yuffie hard in the face causing her to stumble slightly, "Don't you ever answer me back you insolent brat!" Godo yelled at Yuffie.

"I'll talk to you however I want!" Yuffie snapped as she rubbed her cheek where Godo had hit her. "I'm going to the Northern Cave with my friends and you can't stop me!" Yuffie added as she stormed out of the room.

Godo walked over to the door, "Fine! But if you leave now don't ever bother coming back!" He yelled before slamming the door loudly. Godo sighed exasperatedly, "I've always tried my best to do right by that girl!" Godo snapped half to himself, "especially after her mother died, but all Yuffie ever did was fight me at every corner!"

"Yuffie is young and can be very rash," Vincent stated calmly. "She can say things that she doesn't mean, I'll find her and try to talk some sense into her."

Godo said nothing but he merely sighed in frustration before nodding, Vincent left Godo's room and made his way out of the manor bowing politely to the maid as she opened the front door for him. "Yuffie!" Vincent called out the ninja's name as he searched the entire town for her, as he walked through Wutai he stopped in front of the Da Chao Mountain. "Well this is the last place in town to look," Vincent stated as he started to walk up the mountain path. "Maybe she's up there."

Vincent traversed up the mountain path and searched the cave but Yuffie wasn't there, eventually Vincent reached the top of the mountain and saw Yuffie stood near the edge looking out. "Yuffie," Vincent called out to the young woman as he walked over to her, Yuffie turned round when she heard her name being called and she saw Vincent stood behind her.

"What do you want?" Yuffie questioned as she stared at Vincent.

"I came to see if you were ok," Vincent answered before Yuffie huffed.

"Why do you care all of a sudden?" Yuffie demanded as she scowled at him. "You've spent the whole journey telling me how childish you think I am and calling me names!"

"Well you are hyperactive and stealing our Materia was childish," Vincent explained. "But that doesn't mean I want to see you upset."

"Right…" Yuffie replied skeptically as she turned away from Vincent.

"It's the truth," Vincent stated as he walked over to her and stood next to her. "It's quite a view from up here," he commented as he looked down at the town below.

"Yeah," Yuffie agreed as she looked down. "After my mum died I used to come up here a lot…" Yuffie told Vincent, "it gave me time to think about things."

"Were you close to your mother?" Vincent asked.

"Yeah," Yuffie answered as she nodded. "She was the calm parent, she stopped my father from going completely overboard…to be honest he hasn't been right since she died…"

"Why didn't you say anything before?" Vincent asked as he looked over at Yuffie.

"You never asked," Yuffie responded as she turned round to look at Vincent and smiled weakly before looking up at the sky and she saw that it was starting to go dark and the moon shone brightly in the sky and Meteor glowed a fiery red colour. "Meteor actually looks beautiful in the night sky…" Yuffie remarked in a faraway voice causing Vincent to raise his eyebrow. "You know…in a creepy we're gonna die kind of way…" Yuffie added as she came to her senses and smiled at Vincent before sighing.

"What's wrong?" Vincent asked his voice was filled with concern.

"It's just that I can't believe that Meteor is gonna fall soon," Yuffie answered a hint of sadness in her voice as she moved away from the edge and started to pace round. "There was so much I wanted to do, so much Materia that's yet to be discovered…" Yuffie continued, "Plus I want to fall in love with a cute guy that loves me for who I am and not for who I'm related too…"

"Hey…" Vincent replied as he walked over to Yuffie and placed his hand on her shoulder causing her to look up at him. "You can still do all those things," he stated reassuringly. "We'll find a way to stop Meteor."

"It's not like you to be cheerful," Yuffie commented as she smiled at him and turned around to face him.

"Well I guess I decided to take a different outlook on life," Vincent answered as he smiled at her.

Yuffie sighed as she looked up into Vincent's eyes, "this could be my last chance," Yuffie thought to herself. "I have to tell Vincent the truth before it's too late…"

Yuffie sighed again, "Vincent…" Yuffie started to say.

"Yes…" Vincent replied as he looked into Yuffie's eyes.

"Vincent…I know we both got off on the wrong foot when we first met and I made it worse when I stole everyone's Materia…" Yuffie stated talking quickly because of her nervousness. "And I know that you can be dark and brooding but…over time I…" Yuffie hesitated for a moment as she tried to think of what to say. "What I'm trying to say is…" Yuffie hesitated again, she sighed, "I love you…" Yuffie replied quickly as she closed her eyes half expecting Vincent to call her crazy. After a minute had gone by Yuffie opened her eyes and was surprised that Vincent hadn't done or said anything at all. "Vincent…" Yuffie questioned as she waved her hand in front of the dark man's face to see if he was still there.

"You…love…me…" Vincent uttered the words slowly in shock at what Yuffie had said.

"Yeah…" Yuffie answered as she continued to look at Vincent, Vincent wrapped both his arms round Yuffie's waist and pulled her close to him before kissing her passionately on the lips. Yuffie moaned before she moved her hands up to Vincent's long hair and stroked it as the two continued to kiss. After a while they both broke apart shocked but at the same time happy.

"I love you too…" Vincent whispered in Yuffie's ear, Yuffie smiled before she kissed Vincent again and the two fell back on to the floor as they continued to kiss long into the night.

The next morning Yuffie woke up, she looked down and saw that she was being covered by Vincent's red cape. She looked to her right and saw Vincent lay next to her asleep his arm was wrapped round her, Yuffie smiled not wanting the moment to end. She sighed happily, "I never want this moment to end…" Yuffie stated to herself.

Yuffie heard a moan next to her and she looked right to see that Vincent had woken up, "morning," Vincent stated as he smiled at Yuffie.

"Morning…" Yuffie replied back as she smiled back at Vincent. "Last night was just…wow…" Yuffie continued as she kissed Vincent.

"Yeah…" Vincent agreed, "but I'm pretty sure your father will be wondering where we've got to."

"Hah…" Yuffie laughed, "I've been pulling the old running away trick for years and it's taken him days to know…"

"YUFFIE!" A voice yelled suddenly causing Vincent and Yuffie to turn round and see Godo stood there.

"DAD!" Yuffie yelled in panic as she pulled Vincent's cape all the way up to her chin.

"So this is what you've been up to last night was it?" Godo demanded as he glared at Yuffie and Vincent.

"We weren't up to anything!" Yuffie denied vehemently as she scowled at her father.

"Then explain why your clothes are currently defacing our sacred mountain…" Godo demanded as he pointed all over the place. Yuffie and Vincent sat up and saw their clothes scattered all over the place.

"Errrrrr…" Yuffie uttered trying hard to think of what to say.

"I want the two of you to get dressed and then we're going to have a little talk," Godo ordered in a calm but serious manner before he turned his back on the two.

Vincent and Yuffie got up and started to gather their clothing, after a few minutes they were fully clothed. "Ok dad we're decent now," Yuffie told Godo and he turned round to face them.

For a couple of moments Godo said nothing, he merely stared at Yuffie and Vincent piercing them with his cold eyes. He breathed deeply thinking of what he was going to say, "What were you two playing at?" Godo demanded trying his best remain calm.

"Nothing…" Yuffie lied through her teeth.

"It didn't look like nothing," Godo retorted seeing through Yuffie's lie. "You and Vincent didn't return to the manor last night I came up here and found your clothes scattered all over the place…don't tell me you two…"

"Mr. Kisaragi…" Vincent started to say but Godo held a hand up to silence him.

"Save it…" Godo interrupted Vincent, "Yuffie there are plenty of respectable Wutinian men that are available," Godo informed Yuffie.

"You mean all those suitors you've tried to set me up with!" Yuffie yelled at Godo, "men who were only interested in my rank and wealth…"

"Out of anyone you could've chosen…why him?" Godo demanded not taking his eyes off Yuffie.

"Because I love him!" Yuffie blurted out, "he's the first guy I've met that loves me for me not for how rich I am or who I'm related to."

"It's true," Vincent agreed with Yuffie as he wrapped his arms round her. "It's thanks to Yuffie that I was finally able to let go of my feelings for Lucrecia."

"So you're on the rebound…" Godo stated.

"That's not it at all…" Vincent tried to reason with Godo.

"I won't have you use my daughter!" Godo yelled causing Yuffie to storm up to Godo and slap him.

"Vincent isn't like that!" Yuffie screamed at Godo who stood there staring at Yuffie in shock while trying to keep as dignified as possible. "I love him, he loves me get used to it!" Yuffie continued to rant at her father, "and stop trying to control my life! I am my own person and I'm capable of making my own decisions! I'll choose who I fall in love with, not you!"

For a while there was silence and Vincent and Godo stood there staring at Yuffie too shocked and stunned to speak. Vincent looked at Yuffie and when he saw her savagely wild look he knew that she appeared different to the immature girl he had first met. "Maybe she's finally matured…" Vincent thought to himself.

Yuffie breathed deeply her face was bright red, Godo sighed as he still tried to maintain his dignity. "Yuffie…can I talk to you alone?" Godo requested trying his best not to raise his voice.

"Anything you have to say to me you can say it front of Vincent," Yuffie demanded stubbornly as she folded her arms.

"This is something I need to discuss with you in private…" Godo uttered through gritted teeth.

Yuffie sighed irritably, "fine…" she gave in.

"I'll call Cid, get him to pick us up," Vincent stated as he took his mobile out of his pocket and started to walk down the mountain.

Godo waited until Vincent was out of earshot, "before you say it me and Vincent are an item now and there's nothing you can do about it…"

"I know…" Godo replied, "I suppose I have been a little hard on you over the years…I only did what I thought was best. But it had the opposite effect, you became more rebellious over the years." Godo explained.

"I'm not a little girl anymore," Yuffie told Godo. "You can't control my life forever."

"I know, I actually wanted to talk to you about something else," Godo stated.

"What?" Yuffie questioned her anger was replaced by curiosity.

"I know I can't change your mind about going to stop this Sephiroth so I wanted to give you this," Godo told Yuffie as he held out a piece of red Materia.

Yuffie took the Materia and she heard a low rumbling growl coming from it, "is this…" Yuffie started to ask as Godo nodded.

"It's Leviathan," Godo stated, "Normally you would've had to have beaten all five Pagoda masters to obtain it." Godo continued, "But I decided to break from tradition this once, be sure to treat it with respect."

"Thanks, I will," Yuffie promised as she put the Materia in her pouch and smiled at Godo.

"You said that your friends have Materia, right?" Godo asked not taking his eyes off Yuffie.

"Yeah, loads," Yuffie answered.

"Well I don't think they'll need the Materia once they save the world," Godo stated. "I want you to promise me that you'll bring the Materia here after you've finished saving the world."

Yuffie thought about this for a while before nodding, "sure no problem," Yuffie replied as she smiled at Godo.

"You should return to your…boyfriend," Godo told Yuffie.

Yuffie nodded before she walked off down the mountain, she found Vincent stood at the base of the mountain he had just hung up on his phone. "Cid said he'll be here soon," Vincent informed Yuffie. "What did your father want to talk to you about?"

"Just stuff," Yuffie answered vaguely.

"Sounded important to me," Vincent remarked as he looked up at Yuffie. "Too important for me to hear."

"It was just a father/daughter talk you know," Yuffie told Vincent not wishing to tell him what the conversation was really about.

Vincent walked over to Yuffie and hugged her, "you do know you can tell me anything, right?" Vincent told Yuffie.

"Yeah I know," Yuffie responded. "But there's nothing to tell."

Vincent was about to respond when his phone rang, Vincent released Yuffie and answered his phone. "Hello…" Vincent spoke down the phone.

"Vincent, just thought I'd let you know that I'm outside the town," Cid informed Vincent. "So hurry up and bring the walking puke factory with ya."

"Hey!" Yuffie yelled as she heard what Cid said.

"I think she heard you," Vincent stated down the phone.

"I don't care if she heard me it's the damn truth!" Cid yelled down the phone, "just get your sorry asses here!" Cid shouted again before he hung up.

Vincent put his phone away before looking back at Yuffie, "we should get going before he starts to get impatient." Vincent told Yuffie.

"Fine…but if he calls me names again I'm gonna punch him," Yuffie told Vincent as the man laughed. The two walked off and left Wutai and saw the Highwind just outside the town.

"'Bout time you two got here!" Cid yelled from the deck as he threw the rope ladder down, "hurry up I just got a call from Zack telling me to pick him and Aerith up from Gongaga!"

"Alright don't get your knickers in a twist," Yuffie retorted as she and Vincent climbed the rope ladder. Once the two were on board Cid pulled the rope ladder up and he went inside the airship, Yuffie and Vincent followed him and soon the Highwind was airborne again.

(End flashback)

Vincent kissed Yuffie on the back of the neck, "I could never forget last night," Vincent told Yuffie.

Yuffie smiled, "good," she stated happily.

"You still didn't tell me what your father said to you," Vincent brought the subject up again.

"He just wanted to tell me something, and to give me this," Yuffie answered as she held up a red Materia.

"Summon Materia…" Vincent uttered as he stared at the glowing red orb.

"It's Leviathan," Yuffie told Vincent. "This Materia has been a part of my culture for centuries and my father entrusted me with it."

"I see…" Vincent stated as he nodded to show that he understood.

"You could've given it to Aerith you know," Vincent told Yuffie.

"I know, but my father would feel better knowing that I was holding on to it." Yuffie replied before she put it away.

"We should head back inside," Vincent changed the subject before he and Yuffie went into the airship.

Meanwhile Zack was in his and Aerith's room breathing deeply when Aerith walked out of the en suite bathroom and walked over to him. "Are you ok?" She asked as she wrapped her arms round his neck.

"Yeah," Zack answered as he smiled at her. "Just nervous…I mean the fate of the world is in our hands, if we beat Sephiroth and stop Meteor then the world is saved but…if we fail…the entire world suffers the consequences of our failure…"

"We won't fail," Aerith reassured Zack.

"You sound optimistic," Zack remarked as he turned his head round to look at Aerith.

"Well someone has to be," Aerith commented as she smiled.

"I guess so," Zack agreed before he stood up and walked over to his katana which was resting against the wall. He picked it up and tied it to the smaller belts that were connected to the main belt, "we've got a long fight ahead of us, are you sure you're up to it?" He asked as he looked back at Aerith.

"Of course," Aerith answered as she nodded. "I want to save the planet from Sephiroth and Meteor, besides…" she stated as she walked over to Zack and kissed him on the lips. "With you there beside me I'll be fine."

"I know," Zack replied, "just stay close to me and don't go off on your own this time."

"I won't," Aerith promised. "This time we defeat Sephiroth and Meteor together, with our friends."

Zack smiled and was about to kiss Aerith when Cid's voice suddenly echoed through the intercom, "Alright you scurvy dogs we're at the Northern Crater so look alive!" Cid yelled through the intercom.

"We should get going," Zack stated as he and Aerith left their room and walked down the corridor towards the bridge.

"I really wish he wouldn't insult us," Aerith complained, "It really offends me."

"I know," Zack responded as they neared the bridge. "But Cid is just a foul mouthed, chain smoking, grumpy…" Zack stopped as he and Aerith entered the bridge and Cid scowled at him.

"Well at least I'm never gonna suffer from scale rot!" Cid retorted still glaring at Zack.

"Ouch…" Zack responded as he glared back at Cid, "there's no need to get offensive."

"I could hear ya," Cid stated, "and since I'm the mug that's flying everyone round the world it would be nice to be appreciated a little more."

"We do appreciate you Cid," Aerith told the pilot. "But we don't like it when you insult us over the intercom."

"That's just my way," Cid defended himself. "If you don't like it you can always jump."

Aerith sighed but she couldn't say anything else as everyone else had arrived on the bridge, after a while the whole group was there. "Everyone ready?" Cloud asked the group as they all nodded.

"I'll try and get her in as gently as I can," Cid told the group as he carefully lowered the airship into the crater. After a few minutes the Highwind had landed safely at the top of a canyon, "everyone out to the deck," Cid commanded as the group left the bridge and arrived on the deck where a crew member was waiting for them.

The crew member threw the rope ladder down and saluted when he saw the group, "good luck," the crew member told the group as he continued to salute. "We'll be routing for you."

"Thank you," Aerith replied kindly as she bowed her head to the crew member.

"This is it," Cloud stated as he looked down at the canyon. "There's no going back now."

Tifa walked over to Cloud and placed her hand on his shoulder, "we don't intend to go back," Tifa reassured him. "We're all in this together and that's how we'll finish it."

Cloud looked at Tifa and smiled at her, "thanks Tifa, everyone," he thanked the group.

"Well we ain't gonna defeat Sephiroth standin' around here," Barret stated. "Let's go," he added as he climbed down the ladder. The group followed him one by one and soon they were on the ground.

"Before we go, Reeve said he had some news for you," Cait Sith spoke up from Zack's shoulder before static emitted from the robotic cat.

"I'm glad I caught you before your epic battle," Reeve's voice spoke from Cait Sith's mouth. "I just thought I'd let you know that the evacuation process of Midgar has begun."

"Sounds logical considering that Midgar appears to be Meteor's main target," Red stated.

"Indeed," Reeve agreed with the beast, "the remaining soldiers and the Turks have been assigned the task, but as of yet there is no sign of the president."

"Well Weapon did blow up his office," Zack reminded Reeve. "He's probably buried under the debris."

"You may be right," Reeve replied, "I'll have the Turks look into it. Good luck with Sephiroth, we're all counting on you," Reeve told the group before static formed again.

"No pressure…" Zack muttered as he rolled his eyes.

"Let's go," Cloud commanded. "Let's end this," the group started to walk down the spiral path which led deeper and deeper into the Planet.

"Wow…this must lead all the way to the Planet's core," Aerith remarked as she looked at the cave walls which were stained green due to the constant Life Stream activity. "This cave looks so beautiful…"

"Yeah, and Sephiroth's right at the core," Zack added.

"You really do know how to ruin a moment," Aerith remarked as she smirked at Zack.

"Guys, we don't have time for this!" Cloud snapped at the two, "We have less than twenty four hours to defeat Sephiroth and stop Meteor."

"Lighten up Cloud," Tifa told the man.

"Can we just get to Sephiroth?" Cloud demanded as he quickened his pace. The group continued to go down through the cave fighting numerous monsters as they descended. Eventually the group came to a fork in the road.

"The path has split," Red remarked as he looked both left and right.

"But which is the quicker path?" Yuffie questioned.

"I'm not sure," Vincent answered. "But the paths probably lead to the same point, maybe we could split up and meet up later."

"What do you think Cloud?" Zack asked the blond haired man.

"Hmmm…" Cloud thought about it, "We don't know which one is the right path so we should split up," Cloud told the group.

"Me, Yuffie, Barret and Cid will go down the right path," Vincent stated.

"The rest of us will go down the left path," Cloud told the others.

"Good luck," Cid told his other companions.

"Be careful," Yuffie added.

The two groups said their goodbyes before they went their separate ways, Vincent's group went down the right path as Cloud's group went down the left path. Cloud's group soon found themselves at another split, "another fork in the road," Red remarked as he looked at the two new paths. "Should we go up or down?" He asked.

"Looks like we might have to split up again," Zack answered as he looked at the two paths.

"Right," Cloud agreed, "Zack, you take Aerith and Cait Sith with you."

"Right," Zack replied, "which path?"

"You choose," Cloud answered.

Zack thought for a while, "We'll take the path that leads down," he finally told Cloud.

"Ok, me, Tifa and Red will go up," Cloud replied. "Maybe we'll see you at the other side."

"Be careful," Aerith told Tifa.

"You too," Tifa responded as the two women hugged.

The two groups then went their own separate ways, when Zack, Aerith and Cait Sith left the tunnel they found themselves at the top of a rocky canyon. "This place is very rocky…" Aerith uttered nervously as she looked down. "Are you sure it's safe?"

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Zack reassured the Cetra. "We'll take it slow ok." He added as he reached his hand out to Aerith.

"Ok," Aerith replied as she grabbed hold of Zack's hand and the two traversed their way through the rocky canyon fighting monsters and picking up items along the way.

Eventually the three reached the end and emerged in a circular chamber with a giant hole in the middle. "We made it," Zack stated happily, "that wasn't too bad."

"Yeah," Aerith agreed, "I hope the others made it," she added as the three made their way to the centre where they saw Cid, Vincent, Yuffie and Barret waiting for them.

"About time you guys got here!" Yuffie yelled at them.

"How long were you plannin' on keepin' us waitin'?" Cid added.

"Where are Cloud, Tifa and Red?" Vincent asked.

"They took another path," Zack answered, "they should be here soon."

After a few minutes Cloud, Tifa and Red arrived, "good, everyone made it," Cloud stated with relief.

"We picked up a few items along the way," Barret told Cloud. "Not sure if any of it will be useful though." Yuffie walked up to Cloud and gave him the items.

"Thanks," Cloud replied gratefully as he put them away and the group looked down the hole to see countless platforms floating and the walls oozing with Life Stream energy.

"How far down do you think that goes?" Zack asked as he looked at the others.

"All the way to the Planet's core," Aerith answered as she shivered.

"What's wrong?" Zack asked her, his voice was filled with concern.

"The Planet's energy is so strong here," Aerith stated worriedly. "Sephiroth could be using the boundless energy to boost his power."

"We need to beat him as quickly as possible then," Zack replied. "Cloud, what should we do now?"

"It wouldn't make sense for all of us to go down," Cloud answered as he examined the platforms. "Some of us should clear a path first."

"I'm not goin' down there!" Yuffie yelled as she backed away, "at least, not until a path is cleared!"

"She does have a point," Vincent agreed with Yuffie as he looked down and saw monsters on the platforms.

"Cloud, Zack! Get your spiky asses down there!" Barret yelled at the two men causing them both to scowl at him.

"Why are we the ones that have to do the dirty work?" Zack complained.

"Quit ya complainin' lizard breath and get down there and kill all the monsters!" Cid snapped at Zack.

"It looks like we don't have any other choice…" Cloud said with a sigh.

"Wish us luck," Aerith added cheerfully before she, Tifa, Cloud and Zack jumped down the hole and landed on the first platform. They jumped down to the next platform and engaged in a fight with a monster, however the monster wasn't that much of a challenge for the group and they easily defeated it. They jumped from platform to platform fighting any monster that attacked them.

Eventually they landed on a large platform and looked around, "it's quiet here…" Zack uttered as he scratched his head.

"Too quiet…" Cloud added as he and the group started to walk to the centre of the platform. The group heard a whooshing sound and looked around for the source of the sound.

"What was that?" Tifa questioned as she along with her comrades withdrew their weapons.

Something blurry flew past them before a woman's head and torso with two large tentacles attached to the torso landed in front of the group. "JENOVA…" Aerith uttered as she stared at the floating head in shock.

"So we've got to fight this thing to get to Sephiroth…great…" Zack muttered as he rolled his eyes.

"It's not like we have any other choice…" Aerith spoke up as the group pointed their weapons at JENOVA, the monster screeched before flailing her tentacles.

Tifa and Zack charged at JENOVA aiming for the central area however the tentacles moved slightly inwards and knocked Tifa and Zack away. Fortunately their quick reflexes kicked in and they landed safely on their feet, "damn…" Zack cursed as he and Tifa dodged the tentacles again, "she's gotten stronger since last time…"

"We should focus on the tentacles first," Aerith stated as she scanned the enemy closely.

"Easier said than done…" Tifa uttered as she grabbed one of the tentacles with her hands as it swung at her.

"How are we supposed to get them when they keep swinging at us all the time?" Zack added as he dodged out of the way of the other tentacle. He suddenly let out a yell as the tentacle wrapped itself round Zack's chest and arms and pulled tightly causing him to drop his katana.

"Zack!" Aerith yelled in shock and fear for Zack's life, she looked down at the katana, up at the tentacle constricting Zack and back at the katana again. Before anyone could do or say anything Aerith ran over to the katana, Jenova spat bio out at Aerith but Aerith quickly dodged it and grabbed the katana lying on the floor and she quickly swung at the tentacle holding Zack severing it from the torso and causing it to drop Zack. Jenova screeched and wriggled as she felt the tentacle get cut off. Zack coughed as the severed tentacle loosened its grip on him making it easy for him to free himself from the tentacle. Aerith ran over to him, "are you alright?" She asked as she helped him up.

"Yeah…" Zack answered softly as he stared at Aerith in shock. "You saved me…"

"I thought I lost you once…I didn't want to lose you again," Aerith answered as she hugged him still holding on to the katana.

"I didn't even know you could use a katana…" Zack uttered both shocked and impressed at the same time.

"Neither did I…" Aerith replied shocked at herself, "but you were in trouble so I did what I could…"

"Guys I need help over here!" Tifa yelled as she was still holding on to the remaining tentacle.

Aerith gave Zack his katana back and the two ran over to help their friend, Cloud ran over to Tifa and cut the tentacle causing Jenova to screech and writhe in pain. Tifa released the remains of the tentacle and it fell to the floor. Jenova glared at the group and her eyes flashed as she cast a bio spell but Aerith quickly cast reflect on the whole group causing the spell to bounce back and hit Jenova however due to Jenova's high immunity she wasn't affected by the poison.

Jenova cast fire, followed by ice at the group but thanks to Aerith's reflect spell the spells bounced off the group and hit Jenova causing extensive fire and ice damage knocking her back slightly. The group saw their chance and Cloud, Zack and Tifa charged at Jenova while Aerith stayed back casting spells and providing support.

Tifa punched and kicked Jenova repeatedly causing extensive damage while Cloud used a blade beam attack. Zack swung his katana quickly causing sonic waves to zoom towards Jenova, each wave causing a substantial amount of damage and Aerith cast a wide variety of spells even going as far as casting the spells on her friends causing them to bounce off and hit Jenova. After a while the reflect spell wore off and Jenova cast a wind spell knocking the group away from her before her body glowed green. "That aura…" Aerith whispered to herself as she felt the sheer power of Jenova. "Guys, we must defeat her quickly!" Aerith warned her friends, "she's going to cast Ultima!"

"Ultima!" Zack questioned as he looked at Aerith.

"It's a very powerful spell," Aerith answered, "But it takes a while to charge…we must defeat her now before the spell becomes fully charged."

Cloud, Tifa and Zack nodded to show that they understood and all three of them charged at Jenova again. Tifa performed a somersault while Zack and Cloud hacked away at Jenova, Jenova's body glowed an even brighter shade of green, Zack saw this and placed his hand on the katana blade, his hand glowed blue as it was imbued with ice and the ice went from his hand to the sword. Zack ran at Jenova and thrust the katana right into Jenova's torso and into its heart freezing the heart and the whole body, Tifa kicked Jenova's body hard shattering the monster into billions of pieces.

The group breathed deeply and sighed with relief, "finally…we got rid of Jenova," Cloud stated with relief. However the group's reprieve didn't last long as the ground beneath them started to crack before it dissolved causing the group to fall into the endless abyss.

As the group fell they saw that they were falling towards a ball of light, "that light…" Aerith uttered as she stared at it mesmerized. "Is it…Holy?"

"I think so…" Zack uttered as he too stared at the light. "It's fighting to get through…"

"I hope it does…"Tifa added.

Cloud was about to say something reassuring to Tifa but before he could the group landed on something hard. "Ouch…" Cloud uttered as he moaned and looked around for his friends.

"Damn man, that really fuckin' hurt!" Cloud heard a familiar voice curse loudly, he looked around and he saw that all of his friends were lying on a platform that was even larger than the one they were previously on. "Guys!" Cloud yelled glad to see his friends again, "how did you get down here?"

"Not sure…" Barret replied as he looked over at Cloud, Tifa, Zack and Aerith. "We were waitin' at the top…we were surrounded by a bright light and when we woke up we found ourselves here."

Before Cloud, Tifa, Zack or Aerith could respond the group was suddenly lifted up into the air. "What's happening?" Yuffie yelled as she struggled wildly.

"I…I can't move…" Red uttered.

"Neither can I…" Cid added, "Damn…and I really need a smoke too…"

Aerith scowled at the pilot when she heard this but given the current situation decided not to say anything. The group continued to scream and struggle but it was cut short when they heard the sound of evil laughter and Sephiroth appeared in the middle of the group. "Sephiroth!" Zack yelled as he tried to attack Sephiroth but he couldn't move.

"I'm impressed that you've all made it this far," Sephiroth spoke in his usual manner as he smirked at the group. "But this is as far as you'll get, I won't let you get in the way of my plans."

"We won't let you destroy the Planet!" Aerith yelled at Sephiroth as she continued to struggle before eventually breaking free of Sephiroth's hold and floated towards the ground.

Everyone including Sephiroth stared at Aerith in shock, "how did you break free…" Sephiroth uttered as he gave Aerith a questioning look.

"I'm stronger than you think Sephiroth," Aerith answered as she glared at the man and for the first time in her life she felt true hatred. "We all are," Aerith added as she looked up at her friends. "We won't let you kill all those innocent people!"

"She's right," Zack stated as he looked at the others. "We can't give up now, not after coming this far." Zack too was able to break free from Sephiroth's hold and landed next to Aerith. "I stand by my promise Aerith, I'll fight by your side, even if I die fighting, I'll know that it was for a just cause!"

Taking strength from their comrades' words the rest of the group broke free of Sephiroth's grip and landed on the ground taking out their weapons and getting into fighting stances. "You're losing your touch Sephiroth," Cloud told the silver haired man as he stared up defiantly at him. "We're not gonna give up now, I caused this and I'm gonna put a stop to it, we all are."

"We're a team," Zack added as he held on tightly to his katana. "And we're stronger than you give us credit for, we'll beat you, even if we die trying our deaths won't be in vain!"

"The future is everyone's!" Aerith shouted as her eyes glowed brightly. "You have no right to take that away! As the last of the Cetra race it is my duty to protect this planet and those that live on it and if that means destroying you…THEN SO BE IT!"

Sephiroth merely laughed, "So you've come along way from the shy, quiet girl you were when we first met," he commented as he slowly floated down to the ground. "Very well, have it your way," he added as he landed gracefully on the ground next to the group. A black feathered wing protruded from his right shoulder and he summoned Masumame and held it out in front of him with both his hands. "The dawn of a new age will begin with your demise!"

With a yell Sephiroth charged forwards and swung his sword at Cloud but the blond haired man quickly blocked the attack with his own sword and the two swords clashed against each other until Sephiroth kicked Cloud away. Tifa charged at Sephiroth, "this is for my father and everyone you've killed!" Tifa yelled as she aimed a kick at Sephiroth but the silver haired man reached out and grabbed her foot.

"I think you need a time out," Sephiroth retorted as he threw Tifa causing her to slam into Cloud knocking them both off balance.

Zack transformed into his drag human form and ran at Sephiroth his claws glowed red as he charged fire into them. Sephiroth quickly turned and swung his sword at Zack, but the drag human quickly parried with his claws causing the blade of Sephiroth's sword to glow red. The two traded blows but Sephiroth was much too strong and slashed him in the side before knocking him to the ground. Zack moaned as he tried to stand but Sephiroth placed a boot clad foot on Zack's chest and pointed his sword at Zack's neck. "Now to finish what I failed to finish five years ago," Sephiroth stated as Zack struggled to get Sephiroth off him. "I'm going to kill you and your girlfriend."

Sephiroth lifted his sword up and was about to kill Zack with it when a fire spell hit him in the back of the head. He turned round and saw Aerith stood there her arm still thrust out in front of her and her eyes were still glowing with anger. Zack moaned as he staggered slowly to his feet and clenched his hand over the wound, Sephiroth advanced towards Aerith and was about to stab her when a red blur ran passed Sephiroth causing him to stagger back. The blur skidded to a stop and Red stood in front of Aerith and growled at Sephiroth.

Spehiroth ran at Red dragging his sword along the ground causing sparks, Red jumped and charged at Sephiroth however Sephiroth was much too strong for the beast and slashed him across the chest causing him to fall to the ground wounded. "Red!" Aerith yelled as she ran over to her friend, "curaga!" She uttered the incantation as the wound glowed green before healing completely.

"Thanks," Red replied gratefully as he leapt to his feet and rejoined the battle.

Aerith then ran over to Zack who was still stood there holding his side, Aerith quickly healed Zack's wound. "Are you ok?" She asked him her voice was filled with concern.

"Yeah," Zack answered as he nodded. "Thanks…"

"You're welcome," Aerith responded as she smiled at Zack. "We should help the others," she added before the two rejoined the battle.

Sephiroth moved in all directions as Barret opened fire at him, Sephiroth smirked as he appeared in front of Barret causing the man's eyes to go wide with shock before Sephiroth punched him hard in the gut sending him flying. Several more gunshots fired at Sephiroth and the silver haired man looked up to see a grey and black skinned gargoyle like creature with yellow eyes and wearing a red headdress and golden gauntlets and greaves with a blue glow emitting from its chest and holding a gun. (A/N: This is Vincent's Chaos form from Dirge of Cerberus.)

Sephiroth fired several spells at the creature but it dodged the spells while opening fire with the gun, one of the bullets hit Sephiroth in the arm. Sephiroth soundlessly looked down at his arm to see that it was bleeding slightly, he glared at the creature before firing a powerful lightning spell at it causing it to fall to the ground and disappear leaving Vincent in its place. Sephiroth heard a yell and he turned around to see Yuffie running along the wall throwing several kunai at Sephiroth but he easily blocked them causing them to bounce back at Yuffie but the ninja quickly dodged them and threw her giant shuriken at Sephiroth. Sephiroth knocked it away with his sword causing it to cut through Yuffie's shirt pinning her to the wall.

Cid let out a loud yell as he leapt at Sephiroth with his spear but Sephiroth quickly grabbed the spear and swung Cid round before throwing him to the ground and throwing the spear at his feet. "Pathetic…" Sephiroth uttered as he stared at the group who were trying to catch their breath, Yuffie had managed to free herself from the wall and fell to the floor. Sephiroth rose into the air, "now to finish you off…SUPERNOVA!" Sephiroth yelled the last part as a protective barrier formed round him and the group felt the ground shake as a few thousand light years away a Meteor appeared and destroyed the planets of the Solar System one at a time. Aerith knelt down the on the ground and clasped her hands as she muttered a few words of prayer and her body glowed gold before the bodies of her friends glowed the same gold colour. At that moment a large orange light started to plummet towards the Planet, towards the group. Aerith started to sweat as she continued her prayer before the ball landed on the group and exploded.

The protective barrier around Sephiroth disappeared and he landed gracefully on the ground and smirked. However once the fire and smoke from the explosion disappeared Sephiroth was shocked to see that whole the group had survived the blast unscathed and their previous wounds were completely healed. Aerith smirked as she looked up at Sephiroth and the golden glow around her and her friends disappeared. "Impossible…" Sephiroth uttered as he glared at the group, "you shouldn't have survived that…"

"You underestimated us Sephiroth…" Cloud told the man as the rest of the group stood up. "You just don't get it at all…"

"This is the true power of the Cetra," Aerith added as she continued to smirk at Sephiroth. "And it was the need to protect my friends that have awakened them…"

Sephiroth laughed at this, "you can't defeat me…your planet will be nothing but a pile of ruble that I can mould to my image."

"That attack looks like it's taken a lot out of him," Zack commented, "We need to attack him now!"

"Right," Everyone replied in unison before they charged at Sephiroth from all sides. Tifa launched into a vicious punching and kicking combo while Barret shot a giant ball of energy from his gun which struck Sephiroth. Zack flew over head creating water in his hands before spinning rapidly creating a giant water vortex which headed towards Sephiroth causing major damage. Yuffie threw several kunai at Sephiroth before launching into a long string of attacks with her shuriken. Red howled causing him to go berserk and attack Sephiroth none stop while Aerith fired several different spells at Sephiroth.

Yuffie then remembered the Materia that her father had given her and she used it, a protective barrier formed round her and her friends before the entire place was flooded with water and the mighty Leviathan emerged out of the water and roared before causing a giant tidal wave which smashed into Sephiroth causing heavy damage. Leviathan looked at the group before disappearing. Cid leapt into the air and his spear glowed as he stabbed it right into Sephiroth, Vincent transformed into Chaos and flew into the air and caused the ground underneath Sephiroth to rise and form the shape of a skull, dark energy poured out of the skull's eyes and mouth and struck Sephiroth before it sunk back into the ground causing extensive dark and earth damage to Sephiroth.

Cloud then ran at Sephiroth dragging his sword along the ground causing it to spark, he leapt into the air and his sword glowed before he stabbed his sword right into Sephiroth's chest and right into his heart. Sephiroth yelled in pain as blood gushed out of his body, Sephiroth glared up at Cloud as Cloud twisted his sword before pulling it out. Sephiroth fell to the ground and lay there lifeless in a pool of blood before disappearing into the Life Stream.

Before the group could even sigh with relief the ground below them began to shake as the platform slowly started to disappear. "The ground's disappearing!" Yuffie yelled as she pointed to the other side of the platform.

Aerith closed her eyes and her body glowed, the group disappeared in a flash of green light just as the entire platform disappeared. The group reappeared and found themselves back at the top of the core looking down, "how did we get back here?" Red questioned as he looked around.

The group looked down at Aerith who was sat on the floor slightly exhausted, "are you ok?" Zack asked as he helped Aerith up.

"I'm fine," Aerith answered as she kissed Zack. "I just used up too much power that's all…"

Cloud looked down the hole and smiled, "it's over…it's finally over…"

"Not quite laddie," Cait Sith spoke up as he leapt on to Red's back. "Reeve sent another transmission," he added as static formed round Cait Sith.

"I'm glad you all survived," Reeve told the group happily. "But unfortunately Meteor is still in the sky."

"What?" The group yelled at the same time.

"But…we defeated Sephiroth…" Zack told Reeve.

"I know," Reeve answered, "but it would seem that defeating Sephiroth wasn't enough."

"You mean we risked our lives for nothing!" Yuffie yelled as she glared at the cat.

"No," Reeve answered calmly. "But we haven't quite evacuated everyone yet, we could do with your help."

"But it'll take us a while to get to the Highwind from where we are," Cid informed Reeve. "Not to mention we have to take off…"

"I understand," Reeve stated, "but try to get here when you can."

"We'll try," Cloud promised Reeve.

"Thank you," Reeve replied gratefully before static formed and Reeve ended the transmission.

"Aerith," Cloud said the woman's name as he looked at her. "Can you do the same trick you did before?" He asked, "can you teleport us to Midgar?"

"Yes…" Aerith whispered, still exhausted. "But I've used up a lot of my power…so I can only teleport three people."

Cloud thought for a moment, "Zack, Yuffie, Vincent, you guys go." Cloud decided as he looked at the three.

"What about the rest of you?" Zack asked as he looked at his friends.

"We'll catch up with you," Cloud told Zack.

Zack, Yuffie and Vincent nodded before Aerith used the last of her power to warp the three of them before she passed out. "Aerith!" Tifa yelled as she ran over to her friend and lifted her head up.

"She must've used up the last of her power," Cloud stated as he looked down at Aerith. "One of us will have to carry her."

"I'll do it," Tifa offered as she slung the brown haired woman over her shoulder. Cloud nodded and the group were about to leave when Cloud collapsed to the ground holding his head. "Cloud!" Tifa yelled as she looked at the man as he fell unconscious.

Cloud woke up and looked around but couldn't find his friends, "where are my friends?" He uttered, as he continued to look around. He found the hole in the centre of the room and walked over to it, he looked down it and as if by instinct he jumped down it. Cloud fell down the hole and looked around him at the green covered walls and he saw the faint outlines of spirits in the green substance. As Cloud got nearer to the bottom he spotted Sephiroth and his eyes grew wide with shock. "Sephiroth…I killed you…"

Sephiroth merely smirked as he took out his sword, Cloud landed on the ground opposite Sephiroth and took his sword out. "You may have killed my body…" Sephiroth uttered as he smirked at Cloud, "but you can't destroy my spirit…"

"Spirit…" Cloud repeated the last word. "Then this is the spirit world…"

"That's right," Sephiroth answered. "And I'm even stronger here!" Sephiroth yelled as he charged at Cloud, Cloud barely managed to block Sephiroth's attacks and the two traded blows. After a while Sephiroth had Cloud backed into a corner causing the blond haired man to be strictly on the defensive.

"Damn…if I keep this up he's going to kill me…" Cloud thought to himself as he continued to parry Sephiroth's attacks.

"So this is what passes for swordsmanship these days…" A voice echoed throughout the area and time seemed to stand still.

Cloud looked around and he saw a man stood there wearing a SOLDIER Uniform and he had long black hair, "wait…" Cloud uttered as he recognized the man, "you're Angeal…Zack's mentor."

Angeal nodded, "that's right," he answered. "I see you and Zack have put my sword to good use."

"Sorry about that…" Cloud apologized.

"Don't worry about it," Angeal responded. "I don't have a use for it, perhaps you could put it to full use."

"I'm trying…" Cloud told the dead man, "But Sephiroth is just too strong…"

"There is a very powerful sword technique that only the most skilled swordsmen know," Angeal told Cloud. "It's called Omnislash…I've never learned it and neither has Zack but maybe you can."

"How?" Cloud asked the spirit.

"Look deep inside yourself," Angeal answered. "Find your true strength and you should unlock it." Angeal disappeared and time started up again.

Cloud closed his eyes and focused trying to find his inner strength, Sephiroth was about to run Cloud through with his sword but Cloud batted the sword away with his own and smirked at the silver haired man before his whole body and sword glowed. "OMNISLASH!" Cloud yelled as he ran at Sephiroth and slashed at him repeatedly, he was moving so fast that his body had become a blur.

After fifteen slashes Cloud landed on the ground and his body stopped glowing, he looked at Sephiroth who was stood there with numerous cuts. Sephiroth glared at Cloud before a white light pierced through him and he screamed before exploding in white light. Cloud breathed deeply and closed his eyes but his reprieve didn't last long as the ground below him shook, Cloud looked down and saw that the Life Stream was seeping through the cracks.

Cloud ran to the wall and started to climb up it, he lost his grip and almost fell but a hand reached down and grabbed him. Cloud looked up and saw Tifa hanging on to the edge, "Tifa…" Cloud uttered as he smiled pleased to see the woman.

Tifa smiled back but the rock she was holding on to broke and she fell, Cloud leapt up and caught her with one hand before grabbing the ledge with the other. "You…saved me…" Tifa uttered as she looked up at Cloud.

"Did I keep my promise?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah, you did," Tifa answered as she nodded before burying her head in Cloud's chest.

"Hey guys!" They heard a familiar voice shout, Cloud and Tifa looked up to see Barret and Aerith (now fully recovered) leaning over with their hands out stretched. Aerith helped Tifa up while Barret helped Cloud up and the two found themselves back at the top of the core again.

"Thanks," Cloud replied gratefully.

"What happened?" Aerith asked.

"I fought Sephiroth's spirit," Cloud answered. "He's gone now…"

The group didn't have time to comment as the ground started to shake violently, "the Life Stream's coming up," Aerith warned the group. "We must get out of here!" The group quickly ran out of the room as the Life Stream seeped through the hole and the group made their way back to the top of the canyon and eventually reached the Highwind and quickly climbed on board.

The group entered the bridge and Cid started to yell commands to the co-pilots, however the rock that the Highwind was resting on broke and the Highwind started to fall down the hole. "Shit! Hang on to somethin' quick!" Cid yelled to the group as he started to crawl to a lever. "I'm gonna activate the emergency thrusters!"

The group held on to whatever they could find and Cid managed to pull the lever causing two compartments of the airship to open and giant thrusters to emerge out of them and ignite propelling the Highwind upwards and out of the crater just as the Life Stream gushed out like a volcano. Everyone looked at the sight before the Highwind set off towards Midgar.

Meanwhile Zack, Yuffie and Vincent had arrived in Midgar and split up in order to help speed up the evacuation process. Zack was walking through Sector 1 where he came across Reno, Rude, Tseng and Elena evacuating the sector. "Come on move it!" Reno yelled as he ushered several frightened civilians.

"Everyone hurry and get to the transports which will take you to a safe location!" Elena added, she then looked over and saw Zack before scowling at him. "You!" Elena yelled as she ran over to Zack but Reno and Rude grabbed her and pulled her back.

"Easy Elena…" Reno spoke to the blonde haired woman in an effort to calm her down.

"But he hurt Tseng!" Elena yelled as she glared at Zack.

Zack sighed as his tail twitched, "I'm not gonna go through this again…" Zack uttered slightly annoyed. "It wasn't me…it was Sephiroth…"

"Yeah right!" Elena yelled as she struggled agains Reno and Rude's grip.

"It's the truth," Tseng stated as he limped over to them.

"Tseng…" Elena uttered as she stared at the man. "You shouldn't even be working…"

"This is more important…" Tseng answered.

"Typical workaholic…" Reno muttered as Rude chuckled.

Tseng glared at the two, "Elena, it was Sephiroth that injured me…please…compose yourself."

"I…I'm sorry…" Elena apologized.

"You can let her go," Tseng told Reno and Rude and the two men released Elena and the woman returned to work.

"You're not gonna capture me…" Zack questioned as he stared at the Turks.

"Hate to disappoint you Zacky boy but you're old news," Reno told Zack as he placed his hands behind his head.

"Old news…" Zack repeated not sure whether to take offence to it.

"We've got new orders now," Reno replied.

"Our orders were to evacuate the city," Rude added.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Zack asked relieved that there was no longer any animosity between them.

"Well Cissnei is evacuating people in those streets over there," Tseng told the drag human as he pointed at some streets heading towards the remains of the Shinra building.

"Cissnei's here..." Zack uttered in shock.

"Yes," Tseng answered. "We needed as much help as possible and Cissnei volunteered to help, we would appreciate it if you would lend her a hand."

"I'm on it," Zack stated as he nodded.

"Here, take this," Tseng replied as he threw a walkie talkie towards Zack. Zack caught it, "you can keep in contact with us."

"Thanks," Zack replied gratefully as he ran in the direction that Tseng pointed in. He saw several people unsure of where to go, "go that way," Zack told the people as he pointed them in the right direction. Several people ran screaming when they saw him, Zack sighed irritably. However a woman and two young children were huddled under a ruined building that was about collapse on them. "Look out!" Zack yelled as he ran towards them and grabbed all three of them before the building collapsed.

"Y…you saved us…" the woman uttered.

"Yeah," Zack replied.

"So you're not a monster…" the woman questioned.

"No," Zack answered as he shook his head. "Just find the Turks, they'll point you in the right direction." The woman nodded and led her two children in the direction that Zack had pointed in.

Zack ran further down the street where he heard a familiar female voice,"keep going that way,"

"That voice..." Zack uttered as he ran towards the voice. "Cissnei!" Zack called out the woman's name causing her to turn round and face him.

"Zack...is that you?" Cissnei questioned as Zack skidded to a stop in front of her.

"Yeah," Zack answered, "it's good to see you again Cissnei."

"I'm glad you're ok," Cissnei responded.

"It's strange seeing you in normal civilian clothing," Zack stated as he pointed at Cissnei's sleeveless shirt and jeans. "Tseng said you left the Turks," Zack continued as Cissnei nodded.

"Yeah," Cissnei stated as she guided a family to Tseng and the others.

"Why did you leave?" Zack asked.

"I don't think now's the best time to ask," Cissnei responded a hint of urgency in her voice.

"Which way do we go?" A man asked Zack in panic.

"Go that way," Zack answered as he pointed towards the Turks. "Cissnei...I was worried about you...I haven't seen you at all...I just wanted to know what happened to you...you owe me that much at least."

Cissnei sighed, "well I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you," Cissnei stated as she gave in.

"Why did you leave?" Zack repeated his earlier question.

"I left not long after you were recaptured," Cissnei explained as she continued to evacuate civilians. "I saw you in the medical room, you were in a pretty bad way..."

"Well being shot repeatedly does do that to you," Zack responded.

Cissnei sighed as she continued with her explanation, "anyway...I wanted to help you but..."

(Flashback)

A whole day had passed since Zack was captured and was brought back to the Shinra building, Cissnei was stood outside the room that Zack was being help in. She looked through the window and saw much to her horror that a weakened Zack was being pinned down by 1st class SOLDIERs.

"Let go of me!" Zack yelled in a panicked tone as he struggled against the SOLDIERs.

"What are they doing to him in there?" Cissnei asked in fear as she ran over to the door, she was about to enter the room to help her friend when a hand reached out and grabbed her.

"Cissnei, don't go in," a familiar voice warned her.

Cissnei turned round and saw Tseng stood behind her, "Tseng...they're hurting him in there we have to do something!" Cissnei yelled a sense of urgency in her voice.

"There's nothing we can do for him now," Tseng told Cissnei sadly.

The two looked through the window to see Hojo stood over Zack as Hojo had injected him with something. "What is that monster injecting into him?"

"I don't know," Tseng answered as they saw Zack being injected with something else, the injured man moaned before passing out.

"Take him to the labs," Hojo ordered as two SOLDIERs picked up Zack's unconscious body. "We'll begin with the experiments."

"Professor Hojo," one of Hojo's assistants spoke up. "Is it wise to be doing this so soon?"

"I know this specimen," Hojo answered as he looked at Zack. "If we let him recover fully he'll find a way to escape before we can even experiment on him. It's better to start now while he's still weak. Now get him to the lab."

Cissnei and Tseng moved out of the way as Hojo, his assistants and the SOLDIERs carrying Zack left the medical room and made their way to the labs. Cissnei sighed sadly as she watched her friend being carried away.

"Tseng...I thought you had a plan..." Cissnei uttered as she stared at Tseng with tears in her eyes.

"I was hoping to get Zack out of there once he was strong enough," Tseng answered sadly. "I wasn't counting on Hojo beginning his experiments so soon."

"I have to get him out of there..." Cissnei stated as she marched passed Tseng and made her way to the door.

"I can't allow that," Tseg told Cissnei as he walked over to her. "It will be too risky."

"So we're gonna allow our friend to be experimented on by that maniac..." Cissnei uttered as she stared at Tseng in shock. "I can't believe you'll allow it..."

"Cissnei...I didn't want to bring him back to this building in the first place," Tseng admitted.

"Then why did you?" Cissnei demanded as she glared angrily at Tseng.

"I was surrounded by Shinra Infantrymen I had no choice but to bring Zack here," Tseng explained.

"Well I have a choice and I'm going to get Zack out of there," Cissnei stated matter of factly before she stormed out of the room. Tseng sighed as he watched her go.

A few hours later Tseng was in his office completing paper work when the door opened Cissnei entered. "Cissnei...how did it go?" Tseng asked as Cissnei walked over to Tseng's desk.

"Not so well," Cissnei answered sadly. "I couldn't even get close to the lab...several guards stopped me."

"Cissnei...I know you're upset about Zack, I am too," Tseng stated sympathetically.

"Tseng...I've been doing a lot of thinking and..." Cissnei started to say before sighing. "Zack tried to tell me that the Shinra were corrupt and that they would stop at nothing to get what they want...and...he was right...he discovered the truth and they tried to kill him for it..."

"Cissnei...Zack...knew the risks by going against Shinra..." Tseng told Cissnei which caused her to glare at him.

"You don't honestly believe that do you?" Cissnei demanded.

"No..." Tseng answered as he sighed. "But...he's alive I got to him in time."

"But he's now in the hands of Shinra who will do anything to silence him," Cissnei stated before sighing again and she paced round. "I've reached a decision...I'm leaving the Turks..." Cissnei told Tseng as the Turks leader stared at her in shock.

"Why?" He asked.

"Because I can no longer stand by and do nothing while the Shinra continues to use people for their own ends," Cissnei answered. "I can't help Zack...for the first time in my life I feel powerless and I can't stay here and watch as Hojo ruins his life...please...don't try and stop me..."

For a few moments Tseng and Cissnei stared at each other and neither of them said nothing. Tseng sighed, "if it's really what you want then...I won't stop you," Tseng finally spoke breaking the awkward silence.

"Tseng..." Cissnei uttered as she stared at the Turks leader in shock.

"All I ask is that you stay in touch," Tseng requested as he reached into his desk drawer and took out a mobile phone. "Take this," Tseng continued as he gave Cissnei the phone. "It's an unregistered mobile phone," Tseng explained to Cissnei as she put the phone into pocket. "All the Turks' phone numbers are already programmed into the phone, however your calls can't be traced by the Shinra."

"Tseng..." Cissnei started to say.

"Don't say anything," Tseng cut in. "You just go and enjoy civilian life, I'll let you know how Zack's getting on and I'll find a way to get him out of here I promise."

"Ok...goodbye Tseng, tell Reno and Rude I said bye," Cissnei stated.

"I will," Tseng replied as Cissnei walked to the door and left the office.

Cissnei hung her head as she made her way to the entrance to the Shinra building, "I'm sorry I couldn't help you Zack," she thought sadly in her head. "I promise I will find a way to help you..." She continued to think in her head as she walked out of the Shinra building and out of her former life.

(End Flashback)

"So you left the Shinra because of me?" Zack questioned as he stared at Cissnei.

"Yeah," Cissnei added as she nodded. "I couldn't just stay there and watch Hojo experiment on you."

"So what did you do with yourself all this time then?" Zack questioned as him and Cissnei continued to evacuate the street.

"Well...I travelled round the world and I kept in touch with Tseng, Reno and Rude," Cissnei answered. "They told me that you had escaped and that you and your friends were hunting down Sephiroth, I wanted to help in anyway that I could."

Zack thought about this for a moment before it dawned on him where the mysterious letters came from. "Wait a minute, you sent those letters..."

"Yeah that was me," Cissnei admitted. "I didn't want you to know that it was me."

"Why not?" Zack questioned as he pointed a family in the right direction.

"I felt bad for not being able to help you when you really need it," Cissnei answered sadly. "I wanted to redeem myself by helping you out in secret."

"Cissnei...you left Shinra without saying goodbye..." Zack told the ex Turk. "I was worried about you, I was asking about you a lot."

"You were..." Cissnei asked as she stared at Zack in shock. "But...what about Aerith?"

"Aerith's fine...we're back together now...not that we'd split up in the first place she just believed that I was dead for five years."

"That's good...I'm really happy for you," Cissnei stated even though secretly she still harboured deep feelings for Zack.

"You'll find someone," Zack reassured Cissnei.

"You think so..." Cissnei uttered.

"Yeah," Zack responded as he nodded. "After all you're a very attractive woman."

"Thanks Zack, you always know what to say," Cissnei stated as she smiled. "Look...we don't have time to stand around talking...we have a city to evacuate and I haven't evacuated the other streets yet."

"Well...we better get a move on then," Zack added as he and Cissnei ran down the street and continued to evacuate the streets.

They carried on going until they reached what was left of the Shinra building, Zack and Cissnei looked at the debris. "The Shinra building," Zack remarked, "or what's left of it..."

Cissnei thought for a moment before getting a closer look at the debris. "Hmmm...well it's more than likely that the president's body is in this debris somewhere," Cissnei stated as Zack walked over to her.

"But Weapon caused the President's office to explode...which means Rufus is dead..." Zack added as he knelt down for a closer look. Zack sighed and scratched the back of his head when suddenly a hand reached out and grabbed his foot.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!" Zack yelled as he quickly leapt to his feet, he then looked down at the debris where the hand was and heard raspy breathing. "Cissnei! There's someone alive down there!" Zack yelled as he started to dig through the debris with his claws.

"Hold on...I'll help you," Cissnei responded as she too started to dig through the debris.

"Hang on we're gonna get you out of there!" Zack shouted to the person as he and Cissnei continued to dig until they saw the person, Zack and Cissnei looked at the person and were shocked to discover that it was Rufus. "Rufus…" Zack uttered in shock as he stared at the man that caused everyone so much misery.

Zack stood up and was about to leave when he heard Rufus moan.

"Zack...where are you going? He needs help!" Cissnei called out to Zack as she pulled Rufus out of the debris.

Zack stopped but he didn't turn round, "Cissnei...have you forgotten the pain and suffering this man has caused people?" Zack asked his friend.

"That doesn't matter now," Cissnei told Zack. "He needs help."

"No...what we should do is leave him to die..." Zack stated coldly causing Cissnei to stare at him in shock.

"Zack...this isn't like you..." Cissnei stated still in shock. It was true she hadn't seen Zack for a while but she always knew him as a kind, warm and sensitive man.

"I'm sorry...but I can't help a man who's made people's lives miserable...leave him Cissnei...let's spend our time saving people that deserve to be saved." Zack answered still with the same cold, emotionless tone.

"Zack!" Cissnei yelled as she stood up and walked over to Zack. "I know you've been through a lot, but you can't decide who lives and who dies!" Cissnei told Zack. "Zack...you can't just leave him there...this isn't like you..."

Zack's eyes grew wide with shock at the realisation of Cissnei's words. He knew that she was right...he was hoping to just leave Rufus to die as punishment for his company's sins but now he wasn't so sure, he sighed before turning round to face Cissnei. "You're right Cissnei..." Zack stated sadly, "this isn't like me...I don't usually wish death on people...I guess...I was so bitter at being experimented on that I completely forgot what kind of person I really am...thank you Cissnei."

Cissnei smiled at Zack, "you're welcome," Cissnei responded.

The two walked back to where Rufus was. Zack knelt down beside Rufus and he removed the cape from his trousers before wrapping it round Rufus to keep him warm. Zack then picked up the walkie talkie and pushed the button, "Tseng, it's Zack. Me and Cissnei found Rufus, he's still alive but he's badly injured." Zack told the Turk.

"Understood," Tseng replied, "we'll send the emergency services to pick him up."

"Right," Zack replied as he hung up on the walkie talkie, "come on Cissnei we better go to the other sectors," Zack told Cissnei.

"You go on ahead," Cissnei responded as she knelt down beside Rufus. "I better stay here with Rufus until the emergency services get here."

"Ok...I'll keep in touch with you on the walkie talkie," Zack informed Cissnei before he stood up, he changed into his drag human form.

"Good luck Zack," Cissnei stated as he smiled.

"You too," Zack responded before he opened his wings and flew off.

Meanwhile in Sector 8 Yuffie was carrying several people over her shoulder but she accidentally dropped someone. "Sorry," Yuffie apologized as she picked the person up and carried them over to a helicopter and put the people on. She then took her phone out, "Vincent, I've got 11 people out of here…I accidentally dropped someone but I managed to get them to the helicopter."

"Still as clumsy as ever," Vincent stated with a slight chuckle.

"Hey!" Yuffie yelled down the phone.

"But that's just one of quirks I love about you," Vincent added quickly.

"Good save," Yuffie told him.

"Listen, you need to find Zack and meet up with Cloud and the others." Vincent told Yuffie.

"What…but what are you gonna do?" Yuffie asked her boyfriend.

"There's something I need to take care of first," Vincent answered.

"What do you have to take care of?" Yuffie questioned. "Where are you?"

"I'm heading for the cannon," Vincent told Yuffie. "There's still someone there, but I'll catch up with you later."

"Wait…Vincent!" Yuffie yelled down the phone but the man had already hung up. Yuffie looked up at the cannon, "Vincent…get away from there!" Yuffie yelled, her voice was drowned out by a sudden gust of wind.

Vincent ran up the winding stairs of the cannon, the strong wind blowing his hair back. Just as Vincent was running up the stairs Zack was flying over Sector 8 when he saw the cannon and Vincent running up the stairs. "Huh…Vincent…what's he doing at the cannon?" Zack asked himself as he swooped down and landed at the top of the stairs just as Vincent ran up them.

"Zack, what are you doing up here?" Vincent asked the drag human as he stared at him.

"I could ask you the same question," Zack answered. "Where's Yuffie?"

"She's in Sector 8 evacuating everyone," Vincent told Zack. "I came up here because I sensed something."

"There's nothing here…" Zack stated as he and Vincent looked around and saw a de-mutated Hojo slumped in a chair near the control panel. "Except Hojo…but he's dead…" The two walked over to the computer terminal and saw that it was still active, "odd…it's still running…"

"So that's what I was detecting," Vincent replied as he saw a message saying 'start fragment program' on it.

"Fragment program…" Zack uttered. "Hmmm...Hojo must've been doing something before we killed him…but Meteor is disrupting it…Vincent…we must get out of here…"

"I need to destroy it first," Vincent told Zack as he started to type on the computer but Zack dragged him away.

"Come on!" Zack yelled as he dragged Zack to the edge of the cannon. "Meteor is gonna fall any minute we have to get away!"

They heard the sound of an engine and Yuffie flew over on a hover vehicle, "guys come on!" Yuffie called out to them as Vincent jumped off the edge of the cannon and landed on the hover vehicle behind Yuffie. Zack spread his wings out and jumped off the cannon and flew along side them.

"Thanks babe," Vincent whispered in Yuffie's ear as he held on tightly to her.

"Any time, babe…" Yuffie replied back as she smiled.

The three looked up and saw a bright white light engulfing Meteor, "is that Holy?" Zack asked as he looked at the light.

"I think so…" Yuffie uttered, "looks like it got through."

"Or maybe not…" Vincent added, "look…" he pointed at the white light and the three saw that Meteor was slowly poking through.

"Holy's failing…" Zack stated, he then remembered what Bugen Hagen had said. "Maybe the Planet decided that we were bad for it…"

"So this really is the end…" Yuffie added sadly.

The three heard the sound of an engine and saw the Highwind next to them, "get on!" Cloud called out to them as Yuffie landed the vehicle on the deck and Zack landed next to Aerith.

"Holy's not working," Zack told the group.

"We know," Cloud replied solemnly. "How did the evacuation go?"

"We got mostly everyone out," Yuffie answered. "But not everyone wanted to leave their homes."

"They don't want to leave their worldly goods behind…" Red stated. "I always thought humans were strange."

Aerith sighed sadly but then she had an idea, before anyone could say anything Aerith knelt down on the deck and closed her eyes. "Aerith…" Zack called out to her but she didn't answer.

"Please…noble spirits…" Aerith prayed, "If you can hear me…please answer my prayer…help us destroy Meteor…help us protect the Planet…" Aerith heard the Planet's answer and she opened her eyes to see the Life Stream seeping out of the ground and flowing towards Meteor completely surrounding it and engulfing it in a blinding white light.

Meanwhile in Sector 5 an elderly woman and a young boy were sat in their house huddled together waiting for Meteor to fall. They shielded their eyes when the whole house was engulfed in a white light causing the kitchen window to blow open. "What's happening?" The young boy asked.

"I'm not sure…but I have to close that window," the old woman answered. "Please stay in this room."

"But…" the boy started to protest.

"No buts," the old woman told him sternly. "Stay in here where it's safe." Without another word the woman ran into the kitchen and closed the door behind her.

The boy shielded his eyes to protect them from the glare and he heard the woman scream painfully, after a while the light faded and there was an awkward silence. The boy opened his eyes and was shocked to discover that he was still alive, he pulled the curtains open and looked at the sky to see that Meteor had gone. "Meteor's gone…" the boy uttered in shock. "We survived…" He then ran into the kitchen. "Mrs Tuesti!" The boy called out to the old woman but she didn't answer. "Mrs Tuesti!" He called again, he then saw the woman lying on the floor injured.

The boy helped her to the living room and helped her on to the sofa, the woman looked over and smiled at him. "We…survived…" she muttered weakly.

"Yeah," the boy told Mrs Tuesti as he took hold of her hand. "Meteor's gone."

"Good…" Mrs Tuesti replied as she squeezed the boy's hand. "You're a good boy and I wish you every luck for the future…"

"Mrs Tuesti are you going somewhere?" The boy asked confused at what she was saying.

"I'm not in any condition to go anywhere…" the woman answered as she looked at the boy. "But you should make a new life for yourself…"

"No…" the boy uttered, "I'm not going to leave you, I'll take care of you until you get better…I'll get you a blanket…" Before the woman could say anything the boy ran upstairs and got a blanket and he ran down the stairs. "Here you are Mrs…" the boy gasped as he saw Mrs Tuesti's lifeless corpse lying on the sofa, her body was covered in black blotches which oozed a black substance.

The boy dropped the blanket and walked over to Mrs Tuesti's body and cried, a little while later he took the body out into the back garden and buried it with several survivors helping him to bury the body before he went off with them.

Meanwhile on the Highwind the group was celebrating the destruction of Meteor, "You did it Aerith!" Zack yelled excitedly as he picked Aerith up and spun her round.

"I guess I did…" Aerith replied modestly.

"Don't be so modest," Tifa told the woman. "You really came through for us all…"

Aerith blushed at this and the Highwind landed on the hill over looking Midgar where they met Reeve, the Turks and Cissnei. "We got mostly everyone out of Midgar but with Midgar in ruins they have no where to go," Reeve informed the group.

"How's Rufus?" Zack asked.

"He's fine," Tseng informed him. "He's at a hospital in Junon."

"What's going to happen now?" Tifa questioned.

"We're going to build a new city near Midgar," Reeve answered. "Where the refugees can live."

"A new city, sounds exciting," Aerith stated as everyone nodded.

"It will be a perfect chance for everyone to make a fresh start," Cissnei told the group.

"What are you gonna do now Cissnei?" Zack asked his friend.

"Well..." Cissnei answered, "Reeve is planning to start an organisation to restore the Planet and he's asked me to help him."

"That's great Cissnei," Tifa stated as she smiled and nodded.

"Thank you," Cissnei replied gratefully.

"Oh and thanks for your help Cissnei," Cloud told the ex Turk.

"Huh..." Cissnei gave Cloud a blank stare.

"Zack told us that it was you that sent all those letters," Cloud answered.

"It was the least I could do to help," Cissnei stated as she smiled and nodded.

"It helped us a lot," Zack told his friend.

"Well we have a lot of work to do," Reeve told the group. "The first thing we need to do is to build a new city for the citizens of Midgar to live."

"We'll help," Cloud offered as Reeve nodded gratefully.

"I appreciate that," Reeve told the group as they found a spot to build the new city.

After a few days construction of the new city was under way and Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Zack and Aerith helped oversee its construction. Soon Tifa and Cloud had one of the newly built buildings converted into a bar which they named Seventh Heaven after the old bar in the Sector 7 slums.

The bar became a quick success with people coming in to have a few drinks and forget about their troubles. Zack and Cloud were sat at a table drinking pints and talking, "I guess now would be a good time to think about the future," Zack told his Cloud as he looked over at Aerith who was serving some customers, she looked over at him and smiled before returning to her work.

"I know what you mean," Cloud replied as he looked over at Tifa who was talking to some customers and Marlene who was helping Tifa clean up the bar. "Everyone's returned home, Barret's gone back to Coral to help rebuild it and Tifa's got this place." Cloud thought for a moment before he suddenly got an idea. "Hey, why don't we start a business of our own…?" Cloud suggested as he looked at Zack.

"You want to start a business…" Zack uttered as he took a sip of his pint.

"Why not?" Cloud answered as he smiled. "Any job, no matter how dangerous or boring…we're gonna be rich…remember…"

"Did I say that?" Zack asked as he looked at Cloud.

"Words to that effect," Cloud answered. "I was semi conscious at the time."

Zack thought about it, "sounds good, what did you have in mind?"

"Delivery service," Cloud stated.

"Delivery…" Zack repeated what Cloud said.

"Yeah," Cloud replied. "We get to travel and we'll be providing a service."

"Yeah…but we need vehicles and a place to run our operations," Zack told Cloud.

"I'll have a word with Tifa about the place and as for the vehicles I'll talk to Reeve," Cloud answered. "Come on, what do you say?"

"If Tifa agrees to it then yeah, I'm in," Zack replied.

"I'll be right back," Cloud told Zack before he stood up and walked off. Half an hour later he returned, "I spoke to Tifa and she's excited about it," Cloud informed Zack. "And I spoke to Reeve and he said he'll prepare a couple of custom made bikes for us."

"Nice," Zack replied as he smirked at Cloud.

Cloud smiled back, "Looks like Strife and Fair Delivery Service is open for business," Cloud stated as he and Zack clanged their glasses together.

Four Months Later

Four whole months had passed since the destruction of Meteor and the city that was affectionately called Edge by its residents was now complete and people were starting to get their lives back on track. However in Midgar there were still some people who were trying hard to get by, the people that refused to leave their homes. A young brown haired boy was walking through the ruins of Sector 5 alone since he fell out with one of his friends. He started poking round the debris with a stick to find dead rats to eat.

The boy sighed sadly to himself, this wasn't the kind of life he was imagining, he didn't want to be alone and he found himself getting scared. The boy carried on walking until he found himself at the ruins of the church and he saw what looked like a black coloured bike with a black trench coat hanging over it. The boy looked around before kicking several rocks in frustration, he walked over to the bike and rummaged through the coat pockets and he found a phone.

The boy opened the phone up and found several strange numbers, he decided to call a number at random and the phone rang. "Hello?" A woman spoke on the other side of the phone, "Zack are you there?"

"Errrrr…" The boy started to stumble on his words.

"Who is this?" The woman asked and she heard the sound of crying on the side of the phone. "Are you crying?" The woman asked, the boy didn't answer. "Are you ok?"

The boy hung up on the phone and put it back in the coat pocket and continued to cry before he collapsed on the ground and coughed up a thick black ooze. Frightened the boy quickly sat up and looked at his hands and saw black blotches on them. "What's going on?" The boy yelled in frustration, but his frustration was cut short as he heard several growls and saw a pack of mutated wolves advancing towards him.

The boy quickly stood up and moved away from the bike as the wolves surrounded him, one of the wolves leapt at the boy and he screamed and covered his eyes. He heard a roar and yelping and he opened his eyes to see a purple skinned humanoid monster holding one of the wolves in the air and bearing his fangs at the wolf before throwing it to the side. The other wolves leapt at the humanoid monster but he was too quick and strong for them he slashed several in the stomach before breathing fire at the last one causing the wolves to run off in fear.

The monster's claws receded and he walked over to the boy, "are you ok?" The monster asked as he reached a hand out to the boy.

"Stay away!" The boy yelled as he pushed the monster's hand away and staggered back.

"Easy…I'm not gonna hurt you," the monster reassured the boy. "I'm friendly…" The boy however wasn't convinced so the monster sighed before closing his eyes and reverted to his human form. "Is this better?" He asked the boy, the boy opened his eyes and saw a normal looking man with black hair and animalistic yellow eyes.

"You're eyes still look feral…" the boy uttered.

"Well that can't be helped," the man told the boy as he knelt down so that he was level with the boy's face. "What's your name?"

"Denzel," the boy answered.

"Denzel huh, I'm Zack, "The man answered as he pointed to himself. "What are you doing out here Denzel?"

"I live here," Denzel replied sadly.

"But this place is dangerous," Zack told Denzel. "There are monsters everywhere."

Denzel started to cry, "I've got nowhere else to go…"

"Where's your family?" Zack asked.

"Gone…" Denzel replied forlornly as he looked up at Zack. "They were killed when Sector7 was blown up…"

"I see…" Zack responded a hint of sadness in his voice as he felt partly responsible for what happened. "I'm sorry to hear that…" Denzel started coughing up more black ooze and fell to the floor, "Denzel…hang in there..." Zack examined Denzel and saw black blotches on his arms and forehead. "I better get you some help…" Zack stated before he lifted Denzel up and helped him on to his bike before getting on himself. Zack then held Denzel's hand and Denzel squeezed back. "Hang on," Zack told Denzel as he started his bike and returned to Edge.

The two entered Edge and Zack helped Denzel into the Seventh Heaven where he and Aerith were also lodging. He saw Aerith, Tifa and Marlene cleaning up the bar for the night and Cloud who had finished his deliveries was also helping them out. Everyone stopped when they saw Zack and Denzel, "what happened?" Aerith asked as she, Tifa, Cloud and Marlene walked over to Zack and Denzel.

"This is Denzel," Zack answered as he pointed at the boy. "I found him in Midgar…"

"So…he was the one that was on the phone," Aerith replied.

"Huh…" Zack uttered as he looked at Aerith.

"I received a phone call from your phone but it wasn't you," Aerith answered.

Zack nodded and Marlene looked at the blotches on Denzel, "are you ok?" She asked Denzel, "You look sick."

"I don't know…" Denzel answered. "I don't feel well…"

"He's got these black blotches on his skin and he coughed up some black ooze," Zack told his friends. "I don't know what it is…"

Aerith and Tifa examined him, "Hi Denzel," Tifa spoke softly to Denzel. "I'm Tifa, and this is Aerith."

"Hi…" Denzel replied shyly.

Cloud walked over and knelt down in front of Denzel, "you're in safe hands now, me, Tifa, Aerith, Zack and Marlene will take care of you."

"Thank you," Denzel replied gratefully.

"I'll take you to bed," Aerith offered as she took hold of Denzel's hand and led him upstairs. She led him to a room with a comfortable looking bed. "I know it's not much but I hope it's ok."

"It's great…thanks…" Denzel replied as he smiled weakly.

"Don't worry, you'll be ok," Aerith reassured the boy as she examined him. "Get some rest, things will look better in the morning." Denzel nodded before took his shoes off and crawled into bed, he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Aerith sighed sympathetically as she walked out of the room and closed the door.

A little while later she entered her and Zack's room where Zack was waiting for her. "Well…" Zack asked as he stood up and walked over to her.

"I think I've seen some similar cases before," Aerith answered.

"What is it?" Zack asked.

"People have called it Geostigma," Aerith told Zack. "Symptoms include black blotches on the skin and coughing up a thick black ooze, but other than that I don't really know much. I'll have to look further into it, see if I can find a cure."

"Yeah," Zack agreed. "That kid has suffered enough."

"He's in good hands now, we'll all take care of him," Aerith told Zack. "Anyway, how are you?"

"I'm fine…I still get people freaking out when they see me in my drag human form but I guess that's to be expected." Zack told Aerith.

"So you're life isn't ruined then," Aerith replied jokingly.

"Nah…"Zack answered as he smiled at Aerith. "I'm learnin' to live with it, but with you by my side it'll be a lot easier to live with."

"We can start a new life now, free of Hojo, free of Shinra," Aerith stated happily. "Best of all, I can spend it all with you." Zack smiled as he and Aerith kissed passionately and fell back on to the bed as people in the streets went about their daily business knowing that another day was on the horizon. As for Zack thanks to his training and the support of his friends in particular Aerith he was learning to deal with his mutation and even saw it as an advantage in most cases. With two new businesses and Denzel joining their family there was never a dull moment in their lives but they were still able to enjoy the peace and quiet now that the Planet was no longer under threat and the heroes were able to make new lives for themselves.

Well that's the final chapter of this story, I just hope you have enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Don't worry though as I will be typing up a sequel which will be an AU version of Advent Children as soon as I have a spare moment. Final Fantasy VII and all its characters and content belong to Square Enix.