A/N: Welcome all to the last chapter of ReGenesis! It's taken me a while to get here, and lots of unexpected bunnies kept plotting up, but for those who stuck by this (for almost a year now?!) thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! There will be a sequel forthcoming, so keep updated on my profile for the next story! Love love~!

Da Kiki

Everyone on the Table Mountain had felt the rumble and the gunshots dies out as the shake continued and built. A few startled yells as the rock came alive. The glowing energy eddied around their feet--then the sky darkened and a chill fell over all but one.

The Admiral lowered his gun as his hopes ran high. His scientists had done it. They had launched the catalyst with the control coding. His reunion had commenced.

The legends of Sephiroth did not do him justice.

"General Sephiroth." Admiral Zenith stepped forward, his voice seeming too loud and brash in the hushed fearful silence. Sephiroth's gaze flicked to him, and he steeled himself not to flinch at it. This man was now on his side. His soldiers flanked him, seeming to muster at his show of confidence.

The Turks, on the other hand, retreated to stand by Cloud--yet unheeded by the nightmare gaze.

"It has taken much to get you here." The Admiral continued, trying not to be fazed by the dark observation of him, "Time and resources. I hope I won't be disappointed."

"Be disappointed, Admiral Zenith? I was not aware dead men could be anything other than dead." Sephiroth had not moved, seemed unconcerned by the Admiral's slow approach--as if he posed no threat to him at all. The Admiral growled.

"You owe me a lot General. You wouldn't be here if it weren't for me and my men." The tone was clearly supposed to remind Sephiroth of his rank. "I won't tolerate your ideas--especially as your superior."

Sephiroth laughed. Spines chilled.

"It has been far too many years since I have been known by--or cared about a rank in a mere army, Admiral." His eyes flashed as he smiled cruelly. "You will learn to tolerate what I wish." He turned from the Admiral, searching the eerily lit plateau for the face he knew so well.

"Cloud Strife, where are you. I know you're here." For one brief moment their eyes locked before Sephiroth's gaze darted away as the Admiral barked another order at him;

"You will NOT turn your back on me SOLDIER!" He clearly trusted his scientists and knew they'd worked the sequencing in. Sephiroth was his.

The silver haired man stopped and looked over his shoulder. Daring the Admiral to speak again.

"You will be allowed to destroy them later--I have other plans for you--"

The Admiral grunted as Sephiroth whirled, Masamune flashing. He was frozen to the spot with an incredulous expression of disbelief on his features.

The hilt of the giant sword rested firmly on his abdomen--the blade skewered through his back.

"Admiral Zenith." Sephiroth began, his cordial tone juxtaposing the twist of the sword in the wound. "You sought the Perfect Solider and you have received what my Mother has promised. You have been allowed to witness my return."

The Admiral coughed, his body convulsing from its sag on the blade of Sephiroth's weapon.

"However, I am suer you find yourself sadly mistaken. I have been controlled by the likes of you in the past--what you should have realized is that I will never," He shifted the blade as emphasis and Zenith's eyes bulged, "answer to anyone again. I plan to take this planet, its power, in Jenova's name."

"But--Doctors--they told me--"

"You have been betrayed Admiral. Does it not burn in your heart?" He leaned close to the man's ear so he could hear the sibilant hiss of his voice. "Die Admiral. So that you may never have to mourn your betrayal."

Masamune was withdrawn in an arc of blood. The soldiers, so close to their overly bold leader fled quickly--almost before Zenith's body slumped to the ground.

They had no delusions of a Perfect Soldier.

So that left Cloud and the small semi circle of Avalanche and the Turks standing their ground across the glow of the lifestream flowing around the fallen bodies.

Sephiroth smiled.

"Cloud. It comes to this once more."

"And it will end just like it always does Sephiroth."

"Not this time."

They both launched towards each other simultaneously--a practiced routine. As the clouds swirled above, the clang of swords echoed rapidly through the night.

Yazoo opened his eyes and blinked against the light. He tried to squint against it, but the white resided behind his eyelids, almost as it if came from within. He opened them again. The white was complete--but he felt no fear, no memories of stark isolation from it. Instead, it filled him with a weightlessness the colour of the sky ringing the sun.

Loz.

He looked around to find his brother standing calmly beside him. A look down to realize their hands were still clasped tightly.

Their other hands still linked with another, tiny set.

They looked down, distinguishing the silhouette against the bright light.

Kadaj. A boy. A child, smiled back up at them.

"Brother..."

"This place." The child looked upwards and around at the lightness they felt. "This place is where the scientists brought me from." He explained. "Where I was able to realize what Mother had done to us." The boy-Kadaj lowered his gaze. "It' quiet, isn't it?" He closed his eyes as he breathed, drinking it in.

Yazoo and Loz knelt down to face their tiny brother.

"Jenova can't touch us here. Once we were pulled by the catalyst, I could follow the lifestream from the mountain." Kadaj smiled. "You know, she isn't our true Mother. This is--this light and spirit."

"But how did she--" Loz started to ask.

"She is only malice Loz. I embraced it in the beginning because that's what we were taught to know. The only thing we could. It was here that I realized that."

"How did you come back, if you knew?"

"I was pulled back." The child explained, "The codes from Hojo's research were attached to one specific 'soul', so very much like how Sephiroth can return when the Jenova cells are reactivated, I was brought back." He sat cross-legged with the bored look of childhood on his features. "They brought me back through Her again--infected me with her malice--and Jenova stole back into my head through that hatred. She brought with her Sephiroth again--who would take over my body. The shell that the scientists created." He laughed and Loz and Yazoo looked at each other, wondering what the joke was.

"Don't you see brothers?" Kadaj squirmed with glee, eager to share the secret. "You're not to stay. That's why you still look the way you do. She never affected you enough to segment you as she did me."

"But how is that funny?" Loz asked not quite understanding what Kadaj had said as it was.

"Well you see, when you go back, Sephiroth won't be able to stay--with only one third of his sacrifice, he'll have to leave. The coding will no longer be complete." Kadaj giggled as he rocked back and forth, "And he'll have to come back to stay with me again."

"What?" Loz asked at the same time that Yazoo asked;

"You're not coming back?"

Kadaj stopped rocking, sighed and looked around the comfortable white.

"I'm not coming back, no. Not yet. Maybe someday I'll want to be born again--or not." He smiled again and both Loz and Yazoo felt a warmth as he did. "But either way we'll be together again. As for Sephiroth--" He tilted his head, looking far too wise for his young features, "He needs this place to let go of his betrayal. But he hates it. He's lived for so long with his hatred--embraced nothing but his malice for so long--he's forgotten the colour of light." He paused. "He is much worse than I was..."

Kadaj focussed back on his brothers, who were still kneeling before him--still adults.

"But you have each other" He grinned, eyeing Yazoo mischievously. "And someone else... To care, to find your own renewal." At Loz's somewhat downcast expression at the small reminder that Yazoo had another person, Kadaj tutted. "Don't frown Loz. So will you. I know it."

Kadaj looked up, as if a signal had sounded and got up from his seat, looking defiant and expectant--a tiny version of their leader-brother.

"You can go now. Should go now. I'll let Sephiroth--" He paused to laugh, his eyes sparkling, "I like to call him 'Father'--just to make him upset--I'll let him know his other sons send their love too..." He giggled again, clapping his hands in childish joy.

"Go--that way." He pointed.

The two elder brothers turned in the direction shown, a brighter white--the colour of the sun--and into a cool breeze on their faces.

Yazoo turned back.

"Kadaj..."

"Don't worry Yazoo, I know. I will see you again. Always as your brother now--never her." The child reached out and cupped Yazoo's cheek in his tiny hand. "I'm happy here. And you will be happy there. I'll never hold it against you. And neither should you." His eyes smiled and he let Yazoo go. The white separated them, drew Yazoo and Loz into the breeze.

"Goodbye brothers. For now." Kadaj called after them.

"Sleep well Kadaj." Loz called back--Yazoo was too choked up for words.

The blow from the massive sword knocked Cloud back down to the Table from the air, the red dust billowed up on either side of him from the impact.

He saw Sephiroth descending, his sword poised for a final blow. He pushed himself upwards again into the sky, double blades in his hands--one to deflect, one to attack. The metal rang out again and sparks flew, falling back down to red earth.

"It's pointless Cloud. You can fell I'm going to win, can't you?" Sephiroth locked their blades together and hissed in his ear.

"Agh! No!" Cloud wrenched them apart. "You don't deserve any of this! This life! This planet! None of it is yours!" He spun, both swords connecting with Masamune again, driving Sephiroth back.

"Tell me Cloud, do you think yourself worthy--moreso than I--of this life? You speak of rights and justice when you yourself are nothing more than a failed puppet."

Cloud blocked another blow, anger in his eyes.

"You just can't." He struck, "Let, " struck again, "Go!"

Sephiroth was driven downwards, landing ready on his feet for Cloud to chase after him.

"You can't let go of something that happened years ago--drove you mad! You ARE mad! Jenova will never have this planet, and you'll never have your so called revenge!" Every word was punctuated with their fight; a clash or a clang.

A dead heat. The fight stilled, the fire between the two smouldered in their gazes.

"I've hit it, haven't I Sephiroth?" Cloud panted, shifting the weight of his swords slightly. "Your revenge will never complete."

The hatred burned in Sephiroth's eyes, then a slow smile broke across his lips.

"Mother has promised me something other than revenge Cloud."

Cloud furrowed his brow in confusion just before Sephiroth made to attack--Cloud wasn't ready for the angle. He started, drawing the blade up in defense--but then time slowed.

Sephiroth's expression changed. A curse.

The rock beneath him glowed bright, freezing him in one place. A wind came up from the rock suddenly, sweeping his coat and his hair upwards with its current.

His sword dropped and his eyes narrowed.

"Our time will come again Strife." He whispered. Cloud couldn't hear the words, but his spine tingled from them.

Sephiroth's form became abruptly silhouetted by a beam of light that shot from the rock. The light intensified, breaking apart the solid form until only the cat-slitted gaze could be seen.

"'Til our next meeting Cloud Strife." The cruelty remained in that gaze until the eyes closed and vanished into the beam.

The wind from the mountain shot upwards with the fading tunnel of light, straight into the center of the spiralling clouds. It scattered them almost instantly to reveal clear skies studded with bright stars. Everyone--Cloud, Rufus, his Turks and Avalanche--took a collective breath. The air was clear and fresh and the skies stretched upwards forever. It seemed a fitting end.

Reno looked down first. He didn't feel the same 'happy ending' that the rest were. In the newly returned dark, he might have missed it, if it weren't for the figure shifting an arm down to its side. Could it be?

Reno bolted forward, drawing the attention of the others as he reached the cracked surface of the plateau.

"...Yazoo." Reno muttered, surprised by the sudden welling of tears, relief, gratitude. "Tseng, Rufus! You might wanna come over here!" He laughed, wiping his eyes with his cuff.

Beep, beep, beep.

The regular sound slowly worked its way into his consciousness until his eyes snapped open to confront white.

The colour no longer startled him, but instead he looked around out of curiousity.

Colour. Red.

A man slept next to his bed, dressed sloppily and his head lolling on his shoulder as he slouched in his chair. He didn't look all that comfortable.

You're awake brother. Welcome back. A deep voice in his head from close by, maybe the neighbouring room. You've been sleeping a while. You must have had a lot to think about.

I think I did Loz. Smile. He heard Loz laugh.

I'll leave you alone. Good luck.

Yazoo had to think about why Loz found this funny, then the man sitting beside him shifted and woke up rather noisily.

It took a moment of staring and blinking between them before the redhead shouted with surprise.

"HOLY FUCK, YOU'RE AWAKE!"

Yazoo winced at the loud noise, then when the onslaught ceased, opened one eye a crack and smiled a little. His heart ached with an unfamiliar emotion, words jostling each other to get out. As he looked into stunning blue eyes, all those words failed, but his smile broadened.

"...Hello Reno."

~Fin~

A/N Ta da! Yes--this is why there's a sequel.