The Beginning is the End...

Beta’d by CaseyAnn’sPrecious!

AN: Thank you all for having patience with us. It took a whole lot longer than I had planned, but we finally got the old chapters done!

This will be randomly updated because it’s being written between my spurs of ADD and my beta’s limited computer time. Also, the relationship between Cloud and Sephiroth is going to be gradual because I refuse to believe that all their hate is going to make them randomly hop in bed with one another (I don’t mind reading it if it’s well written, but I fail at it). I’m going to try and keep OOCness down to a min. This is my first story and it’s going to be lengthy! XD
So without further ado, here it is. I hope you enjoy!
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~Intro Picture!~ (get rid of spaces)
http :/hellsamess .deviantart .com/#/d2q14uy
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Summary: Tragedy strikes Gaia and triggers its failsafe: Final Attack. The planet’s last option is to trust in humanity’s strength and hope it doesn’t guarantee another life of death.
Sephiroth’s angry, Cloud’s confused, Zack becomes borderline desperate while Angeal tries to feign ignorance, and Genesis is metaphorically bashing his head against a wall.

iWarnings! This fic has character deaths, Language, Violence, and is a Seph/Cloud pairing. So if you cannot handle any of that then please leave. Also be prepared for any possible nonyaoi pairings.

The Beginning is the End is the Beginning
(By: Smashing Pumpkins)
Intro Pt.1
The End is the Beginning is the End

Shinra Electric Company. It was a name that struck fear and hatred into the hearts of those who were opposed to the usage of mako.

The company started on the Eastern Continent when a man named J.P. Shinra found that the source of all natural energy came from a green ooze-like substance he called “mako” and hired engineers to build special machines to pump out the newfound material. It turned out that the liquid could be transformed into gas or solids, and because of his discovery (and how easy and affordable the mako was to get) J.P. Shinra quickly became the wealthiest man on Gaia. Mako quickly became the new ‘need’ of the people for it had multiple functionalities: it could be used for electric furnaces, battery juice, and every day household needs. Yet the most important factor it had in Shinra was its ability to easily fuel tanks. Soon Shinra Electric gained enough power within its nation that it created a military base during its expansion. The company immediately made trades with the Western Continent and built more reactors there to supply the new demand for energy.

The Wutai were appalled when they heard about what the company was doing and their government was the first to speak out. They claimed that the planet needed mako to survive, but the consumers ignored their warnings in favor of the easier lifestyle they had all grown accustomed to. So the Wutai declared war to stop the threat, but time and time again they failed.

During this period, there was an accident at the Shinra Electric Company when one of its employees had come in contact with an experimental liquidated mako. When the employee recovered, he was noticeably more energetic and faster than before, and thus began the new experiments on mako and how it affected human abilities. SOLDIERs were created from this research, and Wutai’s military was undeniably overpowered by these new forces.

Everyone on the main continents lived happily. It didn’t matter that the more densely populated areas were starting to see a light fog in the air. It wasn’t killing them and was easily ignored. You couldn’t even tell that there was a haze until you were miles out from the city and looking in, so why would they give up such an easy lifestyle when there was no harm done to anyone?

Of course, all good things came with problems; the only thing it took was time. Some people started to complain about the green smog and tried to coax Shinra Electric into finding a new source of energy, but the company only turned a deaf ear to their words… and that’s when the terrorist attacks began. Within a few years they forced the company to its knees and happily rejoiced at the accomplishment they had done, but they were ignorant. They didn’t have the time to continuously watch over the planet, they had their own lives to attend to, and so they disbanded.

After Shinra Electric heard of the separation they quickly rebuilt their towers to be even stronger than ever before, only this time with Heidegger as its leader. When the President had passed on his only son Rufus Shinra should have inherited the company, but wasn’t due to underhanded tactics.

The greedy natures of the new President and his wife made a change to the world. Heidegger had all of the mako reactors’ engines modernized to pump out faster and increase profits. It was later found out that the areas in the Northern Crater, Wutai, Mideel, and the Ancient City had a dense mako concentration, and they built reactors there too to gain more energy from the planet. Then, when Shinra Electric Company had reached its peak in governmental power, the President’s wife Scarlet revealed her true colors and attempted to take the company’s control through divorce. It ended with Shinra Electric split in two, and the buildings were just as corrupt as the leaders they were ruled under. Heidegger kept the company’s main location in Midgar and its military base in Junon, and Scarlet left for the Western Continent and built her base near the Gold Saucer while her military took over Costa Del Sol. They both sucked out as much energy as possible while they continued their petty wars with each other, and it was all done at the cost of the planet.

Mako is Gaia’s energy, freely given by the planet to sustain the life around it. When life ends it’s taken back into the Lifestream to be recreated inside a new form. The gesture was selfless and full of love for creation, but the stolen energy caused problems for the planet and the life it had once so easily given was forced to be taken back.

It had taken years for everyone to see the severity of the problem. It was first noticed by distressed farmers who couldn't grow their crops. Families would cry for their mothers or wives who'd give birth to stillborns. It wasn't long after these misfortunes that the lives of those who had a stronger connection to the planet had also begun to die.

Animals would suddenly give a sharp noise and fall to their sides dead. Parents and children would go to sleep and never reawaken. A random passerby would unknowingly draw in their last breath and collapse...

The people were scared and desperate for it all to stop. Shinra was alarmed too, but was in severe denial of their role in it. They would not stop. They would not give up their power, not when their power was so much and too far spread.

But now, with the support of the people, AVALANCHE had been reformed.

-

Western Continent: Twenty miles from Gold Saucer**

The deafening sounds of bombs exploding and rapid gunfire were heard from down below as the terrorist group attacked Scarlet’s main company building. The Shinra foot soldiers, SOLDIERs, and even cadets open fired at their enemies whenever they thought they saw movement coming from behind the large debris scattered throughout the area. Every house within a ten mile radius had been abandoned, and what was once luscious green grass was now broken rubble and dirt capable of being dryer than the desert’s sand located only miles east from them.

Scarlet watched below with cold, teal eyes as the bodies from both the terrorist group and Shinra alike fell to the withered ground. She was up in the highest part of her tower, protected from the blasts from the world outside. It didn’t matter what was down there or who her military was fighting today… Heidegger’s men, AVALANCHE; they were all the same.

The doors to her office opened behind her and a man in the issued blue Shinra suit calmly walked closer. "Ms. President," the man greeted.

Gracefully the woman turned, the red dress slightly creased from her curvature and complimented her already well defined chest. "General Rossly," the President languidly greeted back, and then her eyes ominously pierced into his own. "I do hope you have good news for me." She purposefully walked to her desk, red heels clicking against the white marble floor as she moved to sit in her chair.

"Yes… and no," the General slowly followed after her. His controlled mask slipped slightly as he nervously licked his dried lips. He watched as a pale leg was slowly lifted up to rest on top the other while she leaned into the black leather of the office chair. The elongated slit in the dress widened and exposed more of the leg.

"No?" she charmingly questioned and tilted her head.

"Meaning…" he wet his lips again, "that the terrorist group has a terrain advantage over us and is getting closer. Our military forces and supplies are running out."

The President closed her eyes and folded her hands together as she took the information in. "And what of the good news?"

The General stood confidentially and became more secure with his words, "Project SB113 is ready to be used. We're waiting for your orders to fire."

SB113, the name of her newest creation, had the power of flight to overcome all terrain obstacles and had an AI built into it. SB113 was powered with the planet’s life energy and was capable of mass destruction. The woman opened her eyes, a smile slowly spread across her painted red lips, and she flicked her bleached blonde hair away from her face. "Fire it as soon as possible," she ordered.

"Of course, Ms. President!" the man did a perfect salute and quickly walked out of the room, shutting the double doors behind him. The blonde folded her hands again and her smile became sinister. Her callous eyes glanced out the window… not seeing the battle, not caring about the people below.

Poise perfect, breathing calm.

'I win.'

-

Two men were inside the Electric Company’s main computer room working hard to keep the electrical power in order. The screens above the system of wires, buttons, and control sticks changed every minute to show a different area outside, all of which were of Shinra’s men firing guns while voices yelled in from the speakers. The middle screen had a man with dark hair flash into view, firing and yelling. ".s Lt. G-" crackles were heard as too much interference was channeled with the sound, "I repeat," *CCHHHRRR* "is" … "nant Gyrivas!"

The man in the left seat moved the speaker on his headset closer to his mouth and began communicating while the second made sure to maintain the voice channel. "Lt. Gyrivas, this is the Comp. room. What is your situation? Over."

"They're breaking in through the doors! If they get into the next room there won't be any defenses! We need you to cut power to the West Gate and west door entry! Over!"

"There will be a power cut in one minute, hold your position until then. Over." The men then pressed buttons and typed in the key codes to gain access to the power on the west side. "Power will be cut to the West Gate and entry in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…" The middle screen turned black. "Tell the Commander that the power's been shut off to the West Gate and entry."

The other gave a curt nod and rushed off.

Five minutes later a polite knock was heard on the doorframe.

"General Rossly," the man said as he stood and gave a quick salute. "What can I do for you?"

The General dropped papers in front of him. "These are the papers signed by me and Professor Slarky to start project SB113 and fire whenever possible."

"But General… Sir," the man spoke out, "we don't know how much more the planet can-"

"We know how much the planet can and cannot take!" the General crudely interrupted. "There have been scientists in and out of this place and they all say that we have nothing to do with this planet's non-existent problems! Now start the project. That is an order!"

"Yes, Sir!”

--

Pt. 2
The End is the Beginning is the End

There were bullets flying in all directions while bombs caused light debris to drift through the air. Cloud, Tifa, and Cid duck and wove between old rusted vehicles and parts of fallen walls to get closer to the Shinra building. The trio rested their backs against the hard surface as Tifa and Cid tried to catch their breath and coughed the heavy dust from their lungs.

Cloud cleared his throat to get his voice back, reached for the PHS, and held it to his mouth to make the words as clear as possible to his forty man squadron. There were four squadrons in total with ten teams in each and split by the best skill, experience, and how well they worked together. Because AVALANCHE didn’t have the funds to supply each person with every type of weapon most were either equipped as ranged or close combat.

"Squad 1, this is Cloud Strife. Is everyone in position and ready to move forward?" There were rounds of affirmatives from each of the teams in the squad. Tifa and Cid took off their gun straps and started firing off rounds at the enemy soldiers that tried to get closer. Whatever else he was going to say was interrupted by a girl’s voice coming through the device.

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

"Ey, Las, that's no way to talk. Give that here tah me!"

"Eh?! No way! I grabbed it first so it's mine!" Cloud sighed as the usual bickering between the ninja and cat doll started up again. He gazed out into the area and observed the groups that were softly chuckling at the ninja's antics. Damn it, she should at least know when to stop pressing the talk button when they do that.

Tifa came back down from on top of the rock wall to reload her cartridge. She squinted up at the blazing sun in the sky, a bead of sweat slid down her neck and absorbed into her white shirt. "We ready to go?" she asked.

Cid looked down on them and yelled, "Come on! We don't have all cott’n pick’n day!" The sweat was also perspiring off him from the heat of the sun. The older male soon had his attention caught again and continued his assault to the other side.

"Squad 1, we're going to issue teams 1, 2, 4, 7, and 10 to get closer to the building. Teams 5, 6, 8, and 9 give 4, 7, and 10 cover fire." Cloud grabbed his sword and shouldered his gun. Tifa and Cid both did the same to their guns, and Tifa re-adjusted her gloves while Cid took hold of his spear. "Team 3: Vincent, you give cover to Yuffie, Cait Sith, and Nanaki. Barret, you cover to Tifa, Cid, and me. Team 2 head in first… and be careful, Yuffie. Tell us when you get the tanks down."

"O.K!" the cheerful ninja chirped and cautiously ran ahead to lead her team.

This was the hardest part of the entire operation for all those eager to charge in. The cover fire groups had to be as noticeable as possible while those using bronze force had to remain stationary for the O.K. The idea was to mess with the enemies' heads enough that they'd misjudge the positions of every hidden team because more focus would be on the shooters. So simple, so easy, but it was agony just to sit there and wait.

-

Team 2, the stealth group, was composed of Yuffie, Cait Sith, and Nanaki. Though Nanaki was young to his kind, he was extremely good at prowling and staying hidden. The large wolf-like lion didn't have opposable thumbs to carefully cut the wires of a bomb, but his teeth worked just fine to grab and rip out wires.

Yuffie, a loud and annoying young woman, was truly the definition of 'ninja' when she needed to be. Her steps were quiet, and nothing but dead silence accompanied her no matter how fast she moved.

Cait Sith was… well, Cait Sith. The cat doll wasn't quick, though he wasn't slow either. Neither was he made to be good at hiding, eventually he was always spotted. The beautiful thing about the doll was that he just couldn't be caught moving. Being hidden in plain view was the best ability he had. Everyone in Shinra knew that Reeve had made a doll, but all they ever noticed was the big, white marshmallow of its transportation. They never heard about the actual combat cat. So, if he was seen, all Cait did was play dead and everyone assumed it was a misplaced doll some little girl sent to her father to remember her by.

Even though Cloud kept reminding himself of these things he still worried over their safety. Time seemed to go on slowly as the groups waited for the all clear. Then, the most beautiful music Yuffie had ever created traveled along the radio waves to form a series of beeps so her position wasn’t given away.

"Yuffie's code," he said aloud. "We're good to go."

Cid raised an arm to get everyone's attention and swung it forward, signaling to head in. All front teams proceeded to duck and weave at once to catch the other side off guard.

The Shinra military quickly noticed the change in AVALANCHE’s movement and also changed their tactics. The military would rather have not used the heavy machinery in cases like this because it was known how easy it was for terrorist groups to kill the drivers and have the machines used against them, but the company was facing a tough situation. Though once inside the tanks, the drivers started to panic when they realized that the vehicles were sabotaged! The commanders had to reformulate a new plan, but the only thing that they could come up with in such short notice was to send out more firearms, gun down whoever they could see, and hopefully slow AVALANCHE down while the mechanics tried to repair the tanks.

AVALANCHE’s back groups shot at Shinra’s airborne grenades to make them explode as far away from their allies as possible while other teams shot at the men carrying firearms.

It wasn't long until the soldiers were pushed back into the building. They had no use of their tanks, their grenades were gone, and most of their gunners were shot down.

"Cloud!" The blond searched the area till he caught Yuffie finishing off her assault with a round-house kick to a man's face. "Cloud!" she hollered again and ran over to him.

"What's wrong?" he asked as they faced each other.

"I overheard one of their officers yelling to shut down the power here! They're trying to lock us in!" Cloud was already turned around and giving orders to retreat before she started her last sentence.

"Head back to the gate!" he yelled into the PHS. "Back to the gate! Retreat!" He pocketed the communication device, but he still continued to yell out the order in case some were too caught up in battle didn't hear it. Most made it outside by the time the power went off and the doors auto-locked and sealed shut, but by the sound of gunfire from the inside some didn't have the time to make it out.

Cloud gave a small sigh of regret for the people he couldn't save and Nanaki came up beside him. "What do we do?" the lion asked.

"We… right now, for them? There's nothing we can do. We don't have anything to blast down the doors." They were all looking toward him and waiting for orders… he had to come up with something. "Cid, split the group up into two and have them join Squad 2 and 4 on the North and South Gates. Be sure to tell them to be ready to retreat if they close off the power to the area. Send a couple messengers for 3 as well."

Cid gave a nod of understanding and took the commanding stance. Tifa still stood firm by their young leader. "Cloud, tell me what you're thinking."

Cloud could hear Cid cursing and giving out orders in the background. He could hear the yells of pain and gunfire in the distance as well as passed the door. "I'm going to find a way to blast this door down." Just as he got on the PHS to contact Reeve, the ground started to rumble.

"Ah!" Tifa yelped as she stumbled to the ground, "earthquake?!"

"No," Vincent said as he appeared from out of nowhere and crouched by them, "whatever it is it's coming from the Shinra tower." And from the top of the building a giant metal object reflected light off of the sun. Cid straightened as the shocks from the ground seemed to stop and stared up at the massive object that was partially hidden by the tower’s structure.

"Holy mother of hell… is that… it looks like-" Cid couldn't finish his sentence as he stood there in disbelief. Everyone in old AVALANCHE knew what that thing was made to resemble. Cloud spoke for everyone, a whisper upon the passing silence.

"WEAPON..."

--

Pt. 3
The End is the Beginning is the End

From every corner of the battlefield the people of AVALANCHE and Shinra watched as the silver manmade WEAPON started to move on its high perch. It spread its sharp, metallic wings while it gave a painfully earsplitting screech. The large tubes that were connected to its chest, arms, and legs broke off as the thing that had a weak resemblance to the dragon BAHAMUT forced its way forward, and the mako that was being fed to the monstrosity was running down the building as the creature left its spot from atop the roof. Processed ooze rained onto the unprotected skin of the people below, and the tubes it came from flailed wildly about as the mako continued to gush out.

"Get out of here!" Cloud and Vincent shouted. Only they, besides Nanaki, seemed unaffected by the shower of the mako. It was a gifted curse brought to them years ago by the same Doctor, of course. People had to run from the mako because not everyone had the same tolerance to it as others. Mako could enhance a human by mixing in with their bloodstream, but only if the person could handle the all of the energy it had within. If they couldn’t then their bodies could go into shock and possibly die.

The three stood their ground and watched as the Shinra WEAPON rapidly beat the air with its mighty wings to gain altitude, and the mako coming from the tubes above was falling so heavily that puddles had already started to form at their feet. The thing made a speedy descent to the ground as it made another anguished cry, and they were ready to be on the offensive for when it landed.

The WEAPON crashed into the ground, sending chunks of earth flying everywhere, and wasted no time getting up. Ready to end the battle in one blow, it unhinged its jaw to create a widened opening for its attack. A beam of bright green light started forming inside its metallic mouth and was moments away from sending it right at the trio.

"Vincent, Nanaki, be ready!" Cloud called and set into a defensive stance.

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

"…"

“Nanaki?” Cloud and Vincent both looked over their shoulders and watched as the lion’s gaze took on a distant look. Then the young animal gave a weak roar and collapsed to the ground; his golden eyes were glazed over, his chest stilled, and a steady stream of both mako and mud flowed down his once bright red mane.

The people running away from WEAPON soon collapsed as they too dropped to the ground. Even the gunfire from inside the building stopped as people were shouting in panic.

“Tifa!" Yuffie yelled out and Cloud turned around to see his childhood friend in the arms of a weeping Barret. "Tifa!"

“Oh, Gaia,” the large man sobbed over and over again while his best friend lay dead in his arms. “Oh, Gaia, why?”

People were dying all around them. Cloud looked at the green liquid covering himself and brought a hand up to test its density. It felt like the same substance used in everyday fuel. Though dangerous if exposed with it for too long, the green substance shouldn’t contain enough energy to be able to kill on contact. It didn’t feel like it was bothering him in the slightest. Confused, Cloud looked at the scene and tried to find out why. A few of the people on the ground weren’t even touched by the ooze. It didn’t make sense!

Cloud glanced in the direction of the slow mechanical beast. The mako rain was making small trails of streams along its metallic frame, and he looked up at the highest point of the tower when he suddenly realized what was happening. Mako was being forced out by the gallons from where the tubes had once been attached to the WEAPON and was gushing out so fast that there were already small pools forming on the ground within its large radius.

The planet’s life was being forced out like a never ending, volcanic eruption and was now forcefully taking the lives of those living just so it could keep itself alive. Why wasn’t the company shutting off the pipes?! Why weren’t they doing anything to stop the flow of the mako?! Even though most people had realized by now that mako was the planet’s life force, Shinra still used it for energy. Wouldn’t the company shut off the pipes if nothing more than to save their profits?

-

"Ey, Las,” Cait Sith used his small paws to shake the frightened ninja and tried to get her to come back to her senses, “now's not the time t-o… s-start…" Sith's smooth motions turned robotic and its words died off when it simply shut down. Yuffie looked up at the doll and brought her hands to her mouth. Her eyes were full of unshed tears as she looked numbly at the mechanical doll that Reeve was supposed to be controlling.

“Cait?” Yuffie questioned the doll as she looked into the black mechanical eyes that functioned as built in cameras. It allowed Reeve, the man who made Cait Sith, to see what was going on. He once showed her how the doll worked, and she had enjoyed listening to him as he explained the devices within like an excited child. “Reeve?” her voice was breaking at the silence of the doll. “Reeve?!”

“C’mon, ya damn brat!” Cid yelled as he picked the young girl up and threw her over his shoulder. The pilot looked all over at the flowing mako and couldn’t tell how people were dying, but he felt that if it was because of the green liquid then it was better to get the few that were still up far away from this place. He didn’t want to mention to the girl that Barret had suffered the same fate as Tifa and that the two lay half submerged in a mako puddle only a few meters away.

"NO!" Yuffie cried out as her hands slipped away from the cat doll. She didn’t want to believe it, she didn’t want to believe that from somewhere nearby, close to the battle but far enough to keep a safe distance, Reeve was there… alone, dead. It was the only explanation as to why Cait Sith had ceased to function. “NOOO, REEEEVE!!” the ninja continued to shriek out as she began to kick and punch at Cid to get away and run to the van where Reeve should be located. She had to see for herself, because he couldn’t be dead. She never told him how she felt. She never said how she felt because her father had never believed that people not of Wutai blood could be marriage material for her. She never…

Cid helped the petrified people get up and moving since they seemed to be so scared of the situation their brain power shut down to cope. The girl he was carrying suddenly went from kicking and screaming, to bawling and grabbing at the back of his shirt as if her life depended on it. Only this once, Cid decided, was he going to let Cloud and Vincent take care of the problem while he got everyone to safety.

Yuffie pulled Cid’s blue shirt up to hide her face when she couldn’t contain any of the emotions that were pouring out of her. She tried to kid herself, to believe that Reeve couldn’t be dead and that he just wasn’t at his computer for that moment, but she knew better than that. All of her strength left her and the young ninja allowed herself be bounced around on Cid’s shoulder as he carried her away from the catastrophe. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. They were supposed to stop Shinra long before any of this could happen. How where they not fast enough?!

Yuffie wasn’t ready for when Cid’s legs gave out, and she yelped when he pitched forward and collapsed on top of her. The ninja landed hard on her backside and wondered what had knocked Cid unconscious as they laid there in the muddy ground. “Cid?!” she asked as she looked down at the blond man that lay partially on top of her. He was unresponsive, unmoving… he was dead. There was a dead body on top of her, Cid’s dead body; it was on top of her. She started to shiver from a new fright and was suddenly on the verge of hyperventilating.

Yuffie’s terrified scream was so loud that it overpowered everything else. The girl immediately struggled to push the dead body away and immediately scrambled backwards. It was Cid and Reeve and Tifa and everybody, and they were dying all around her and she couldn’t take this! Her back hit a dead, disfigured tree positioned in front of one of the many crumbling houses and she immediately tried to find some crook in it to hide from all of this insanity. The ninja sat there trying to look as small as possible while she brought her knees up to her chest and covered her mouth with her hands to keep any noise she made from being too loud. Tears slipped and ran down her checks as she rocked herself, and the only thing she was left to do was ask ‘why?’

-

The WEAPON that was once a threat only a moment before gave another shrill cry as the beam it was creating lost its energy and vanished. The monstrosity collapsed to the ground as Shinra’s created life form was forced from its shell, taken by the desperation of the planet.

Cloud heard Yuffie’s cry and the instinctual urge to protect the youngest of their group overcame him. He scanned the area to see if he could locate the girl, but a hand grabbed his arm to bring back his attention.

"Cloud!"

The blond turned to look and the gunman pointed his finger to a light coming from on top of the tower. The clouds gathered above were beginning to swirl, and Cloud nodded in understanding. Shinra was cutting off all outside power so there was no way to get in to shut off the mako pumps, but there might be one on top because that’s where the WEAPON came from. The mechanical beast wasn’t an issue anymore and was quickly left for dead as the two scaled up the building.

Shinra’s pipes burst open from beneath the ground as the pressure inside them became too much, and the people below gave renewed screams of terror as the surface of the planet started splitting and green mako tore through the ground like lava.

The building trembled and cracked, and it was getting difficult to get good footing. The air, filled with the mist of mako, was turning a heavy green hue. Cloud was the first one to reach the top as his gloved hand grabbed onto the wall’s ledge to pull himself up, Vincent was only a leap away, and as they got up they found themselves witnesses to a small battle already taking place. What they found shocked them both. It was a battle of the dead…

Sephiroth was yet again in the world of the living and stood hovering above the ground. His elongated katana was stained red with the blood of his enemies while his hair gravitated almost disturbingly in its elegance against the rage of the wind. His maniacal smile wasn’t for the two the newcomers, but toward two others that were hunched on the ground with their backs unknowingly turned to Cloud and Vincent. It was apparent that the three had been fighting for a while, but for how long was unknown. Cloud instantly recognized the man and woman on the ground; the woman was Aerith, and she was already bloodied from the battle, still wearing the dress that she had died in and still had her staff to heal with. The other one fighting alongside her… Cloud would know that spiky head of raven hair and SOLDIER 1st uniform from anywhere.

“Zack.”

Vincent turned toward his comrade. The gunner barely heard the word because of the gusting winds. The blonds’ face was passive as always, but he’d learned long ago to read from the eyes. Right now those blue eyes were pained, yet it was all Vincent needed to know that the unknown male was one of Cloud’s friends. If the dead Sephiroth was here, and the dead flower girl was here, then it was only a good assumption that this ‘Zack’ was dead too.

While Cloud and Vincent regained balance on the quaking roof, Aerith changed her grip on the staff as she twirled it around. She was almost ready to cast a healing spell on Zack and herself; only Sephiroth didn’t allow it to go off. Time seemed to slow for Cloud in those few moments it took for Sephiroth to send a powerful slash into Aerith's chest. Her face twisted in pain as she gave a cry and fell to the roof, blood was forced from her mouth when she landed.

"Aerith!" Cloud yelled and the two rushed to her side, the gunman firing at the silver-haired madman, and he cradled the small woman as she labored to breathe.

"…Cloud…" her brilliant green eyes looked into his blue, shocked that he was there too.

“How…” Cloud tried to ask the Ancient how she came back from the dead, but couldn’t seem to form the words. He tore his sleeve off from his shirt and put pressure on the wound as he again tried to understand how the three of them came into being. “Why?”

Before Aerith could give him an answer, her eyes widened as a massive coughing fit caused blood to splatter onto her chest and chin. Zack, being the awesome fighter that he is, called to him between fighting off strokes from Masamune as he tried to stop his own wounds from bleeding him out. "Cloud, it's the Lifestream!" he ducked a swing, "the planet," counterattack, "creating a Materia," parried, "last chance!" The SOLDIER tried to dodge the next swing, but failed as the long sword went through his stomach, "…ahg!"

Sephiroth grinned and slowly pulled the sword out from the flesh. “What’s wrong, Zack? Not as fast as you used to be?” he asked, chuckling from his own joke.

Zack’s hair, once spiky enough to rival Cloud’s own, was flattened down into dark tresses while the mako that they were bombarded with upon entering the living world soaked them down. He held back a whimper as his hand put pressure to the newly created wound. “Bastard! Shit!” he complained and fell back.

Sephiroth smirked and was about to pierce through the other’s esophagus when another gunshot rang in the air. It was the only warning Sephiroth had for his instincts to kick in and easily deflect the bullet with his sword. Now his attention was focused on the gunman that kept firing rounds from a distance.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud yelled in rage as he gripped his sword, ready to help the two. He was just getting up as the girl gathered enough strength to grab hold of his shirt and stop him.

"The Materia," she gasped in air as her coughing stopped, "it's a Time," she greedily took another breath shallower coughs interrupted her speech, "don't let Sephir-th get it… or this, will all be… for nothing." Her delicate hand fell from his shirt as her strength left her. Aerith’s eyes closed, and her paling features and bluing lips took on a sharp contrast to the darkening blood drying on her chin. Cloud could only watch in silence as the woman that he could have once loved was taken from him again by the very same man. The blond tried to hold his feelings back as he slowly reached up to wipe away the wet trails from her face. He wanted to say it to her this time, wanted to say how sorry he was that he couldn’t save her. Only, when he opened his mouth, he was interrupted by another.

"You called, Cloud?" The blond gasped as he was caught unaware and barely had enough time to roll out of the sword's reach. The battle between Sephiroth and the two other men waged on as the sky turned menacing and the clouds spun like a maelstrom, and the light that seemed to come from nowhere began to focus in the middle of it. The winds picked up and threatened to blow them off the roof. As the fight progressed, the building started to crumble from the quake of the earth and deteriorate from an unknown acid circulating in the Lifestream. The three jumped off falling steel walls as they each tried to get their attacks in.

-

Zack was still in the spot he landed in and gazed up at the sky while the roof slowly started to build up cracks around him. He felt light headed, really light headed, and dizzy from all the blood loss. He used what little strength he had to lift his head up and move his hand so he could see the extent of the damage. There was blood everywhere and more was rapidly flowing out of the wound that his once friend and General had given him. Zack let his upper body rest back on the ground as he turned to look at Aerith. He knew he was dying, he knew because it felt the same as the last time he’d been bled out while trying to protecting someone. Aerith… how come he still had to fail at helping a single person? How come she had to die, not only once, but twice in order to help save the world? Zack tried to protect them both, but in the end he couldn’t. He still had so much to learn.

The winds were making Aerith’s long brown hair and pretty pink dress fly in every which way, and he could only stare while he remained immobile on the roof. Cloud really was their last hope. Zack turned to the sky once again; it looked tormented. The planet really looked like it was in disorder, and he feared what would happen to those already dead… and those soon to be dead, if the planet was destroyed. He knew Cloud could defeat Sephiroth and reach the Materia in time, but there was still the other possibility that worried the hell out of him. Aerith didn’t explain to either of them exactly what the Materia could do, but he wasn’t sure she was fully aware of it herself. The two of them just followed the madman out of the Lifestream when it turned warped and chaotic and had only hoped that they could stop whatever new plan he’d come up with.

Unable to do anything more, Zack moved his hand away from his wound so he could grip the hilt of his sword and took a few steady breaths while he tried to stay calm. He knew death would take him soon, and he wanted to ignore the part of him that was still scared of it. He closed his eyes in an attempt to hide away from the lurking darkness that crept into the edges of his vision. It made him… so dizzy. His eyes were shut tight and his lungs harshly took in air, and he thought he could almost imagine the familiar feeling of safety, the smell of home. “Angeal…”

-

Sephiroth was the first to land. He grabbed a metal pipe that was in mid-fall and threw it into Vincent's heart as the gunman fell into the pile of rubble. Cloud landed in a puddle of knee-high mako, and light reflected off the ooze covered destruction around him. Vincent was between Cloud and the other man, and the gunner too was now coughing up blood between his feeble attempts to choke in air.

A blinding flash of light from above made the three look up. From the sky, a small light-blue orb of pure concentrated mako fell. The Materia landed close to Vincent's still frame, and both swordsmen simultaneously dove toward the object. Each had their eyes focused on it, trying to be the first to grab it, both getting closer, feeling the warmth as if reaching for the life of the planet itself, and at the touch of raw power strong enough to control time came forth a whiteness that burst through all matter as the Materia activated and engulfed everything it consumed in a warm, pleasant heat.

A gentle summer's breeze went through in a passive stillness and the moment’s pause created a serenity that felt almost as if stepping into nirvana… the Promised Land, but the feeling was hastily torn away as it suddenly turned chaotic. The wind beat down and turned as sharp as blades as it cut into skin. Its effect fogged up the mind while the vacuum in the air threatened suffocation. Unknown amounts of time passed, but if felt as if just as soon as the winds came, they went. The white substance faded.

And slit, mako green eyes opened.

To be continued…

AN: Whew, there's the intro! It's just a little more story on how they got sent back in time. As much as I love time fic stories, the beginning fic and actual process of going back in time kinda left something to be desired. Though it’s awesome how people have Gaia thinking about its people, I'd like to think that to the planet we're all just a bunch of termites 0.0 How can it tell the difference between a good one, a bad one, and the one that lives across the street?

Now I'm sure people went "WTF?" when Sephiroth, Aerith, and Zack popped up. I would have had Zack or Aerith explain it to Cloud more (or had Cloud be more like 'wtf' for that matter) but they were all getting their asses handed to them by Sephiroth. Not much room for explanations, you know?
Now for a Jenova theory: mine is that Jenova, the destroyer of worlds, is used to planets dying and slipping through Lifestreams while finding opportunities to come back into existence, and that's how Sephiroth knew... by freaky alien telepathy-like abilities. While Sephiroth was coming back into the world, Aerith and Zack saw this and took the opportunity to follow him out.

*laughs* and Scarlet is such a mean bitch. ^-^

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