Scars of the Past

Prologue

It had been ten years, and still the memory haunted him. The feelings of dread and guilt plagued him day-in and day-out, making his wanderings seem as aimless as his outlook for the future seemed to him.

"Why did I ever join SOLDIER in the first place? How could I have been so naive?" the wanderer wondered, as he bought a newspaper and a cheap breakfast, sat down, and began to read.

"Have you always taken such long vacations? Or should I take it that you have taken your leave of Shinra completely?" a male voice asked, startling the man into looking up.

"Well...I never expected to see you here...Have you come to kill me, Sephiroth?" the man asked, calmly; knowing that there was no other way to escape Shinra's top general unless he fought back and won.

"Certainly not! You were one of the few ranking officers I looked up to, ten long years ago; I wouldn't dream of killing you in cold blood!" Sephiroth replied, then added, "Actually, my finding you here, in Nibelheim was a bit of a surprise...In truth, I came here to find out a bit more about myself."

"But what could be here that could tell you any more than you already know?" the wanderer questioned. Sephiroth shrugged.

"No idea. But I think something lies here that may hold some clues." Sephiroth stated, as the wanderer sighed, then gave him a reassuring smile.

"Then I wish you the best of luck, my friend. Let me know if you find anything, okay?" the wanderer said, as he stood to leave; folding his newspaper and putting his cleared plate aside as he did so.

"I will do so. Take care." Sephiroth replied, as he started to walk off.

"Same to you." the wanderer answered, as he turned and disappeared into the crowd; not realizing that chaos was about to come.

The wanderer didn't know what had awakened him. It was very early in the morning two weeks after his meeting with Sephiroth; too early for even a former SOLDIER to be up and about.

"What in the world is going on? What is this wrongness I am sensing? Where is it coming from?" the wanderer wondered, as he got out of bed and made his way outside. Not surprisingly, everything appeared normal at first...and then a sound he recognized came to his ears. A sound he'd hoped he would never hear again...the sound of someone gasping for air. With a swift motion, he unsheathed his sword and faced the direction the sound was coming from; only to feel the blood rush from his face when he beheld who was limping towards him.

"Oh planet..." the wanderer muttered, then rushed to the wounded man before he fell forward. Even in the fading moonlight, the wanderer could see the man's blood-spattered silver hair clearly, the look of agony on his face, and gash in his stomach from a stab wound.

"Sephiroth...what the blazes just happened to you!" the wanderer questioned, shocked that something like this could have happened to Shinra's greatest general.

"D-don't worry about m-me...You must...stop him...He's going to release...the calamity..." Sephiroth gasped, as blood leaked from the corners of his mouth; hinting at the severity of his wound.

"Who is 'he', Sephiroth? Who is going to release a calamity?" the wanderer asked, his innards freezing when the younger man coughed out the name of the disaster-bringer.

"Yukishiro..." Sephiroth managed, his green eyes shimmering with pain.

"Yukishiro Enishi...I should have known. He's the only one I know of that could have done this to someone as strong as Sephiroth." the wanderer mused, darkly, as he carefully hoisted the dying man onto his back, then started running.

"W-what are you doing?" Sephiroth whispered, his voice weak; barely audible even to the wanderer's sensitive ears.

"My master lives in this area...He should be able to see to your wounds while I go back and see if I can stop Enishi." the wanderer responded, as he raced past darkened buildings and streets; heading for the empty land and an ancient forest beyond the town itself.

"Yukishiro...can't be stopped...he's enlisted the aid...of the calamity...And he'll destroy the world...with her power." Sephiroth struggled to say, his breaths sounding rough and uneven to his own ears, and worrying to his companion's.

"Hang on, my friend. We're almost there." the wanderer thought, knowing that the younger warrior was in dire need of medical attention; he could feel Sephiroth's blood soaking the material of his shirt. Within moments, he found himself in a secluded glen. In the center of the glen, a simple hut and a potter's kiln stood...and sitting in front of the kiln, a man in a white mantle waited.

"So, you have returned." the mantled man murmured, as he turned an ebon gaze onto the wanderer; his eyes widening ever so slightly when he saw that his apprentice wasn't alone.

"Yes...I am guessing you sensed what has just happened?" the wanderer asked, as he carefully lowered the semi-conscious Sephiroth to his knees to give him the chance to catch his breath. The mantled man nodded, and grimly looked in the direction of Nibelheim.

"The Cetra aren't the only ones who can hear the planet cry out...and what we heard just now was more or less a scream of terror. The Calamity is awakening." the dark-eyed warrior stated, ignoring the look of hazy confusion he was getting from Sephiroth in response to what he'd said.

"Sephiroth had told me that much...What are we going to do now?" the wanderer asked, edgily, as the elder warrior approached and started assessing Sephiroth's wounds.

"Bind your companion's wounds, then get out of here. If anything, Nibelheim will be only a memory by the time the day is out...And I can only hope we don't end up joining it as such." the mantled man said, his grim expression speaking louder than even his own words.

"You mean even you won't be fast enough to save anyone in the town?" the wanderer asked, aghast at the thought that the disaster and its' death toll was inevitable. The warrior gravely nodded.

"Even I am not powerful enough to stand against the Calamity...even though I hold the mastery of my sword-craft, there is nothing I can do alone against it. We can only hope that the townsfolk will notice the disturbances in time to evacuate." the warrior replied, with a defeated and decidedly angry tone in his voice.

"He's as disturbed as I am about leaving Nibelheim to its' fate...But as he'd said, we have no chance of fighting the Calamity and winning. I can only hope that we'll find the strength to prevail against it at a later date." the wanderer mused, as he watched his master retrieve the medical supplies he kept on hand and begin treating the sword wound in Sephiroth's abdomen. When he'd finished, he hurriedly left the younger man's side and saddled some chocobos that stood waiting beside his hut; his anxious expression telling the wanderer that he was more afraid than he cared to admit.

"Kenshin." the mantled man's voice snapped, bringing the wanderer out of his thoughts with a jolt.

"Yes, Shishou?" the wanderer replied, calling his master by the formal title out of long-forgotten habit.

"Get a move on. Time is not with us." the elder warrior said, a little mollified that his apprentice had called him by title this time.

"Agreed. Sephiroth, do you think you can ride?" Kenshin asked, as he helped the silver-haired swordsman to his feet, and steadied him when the pain threatened to topple him. Sephiroth only nodded; pushing aside the agony with a determination even the mantled swordmaster could appreciate.

"Then let's go." the warrior ordered, giving his mount a firm kick in it's side to get it moving. Without further comment, both Kenshin and Sephiroth quickly followed; leaving behind what would become the planet's greatest tragedy...and travesty.

Author's Note!

I know things seem a bit bizarre, but please bear with me! This is my first stab at a Final Fantasy fanfiction (so please, be kind in the reviews). Also, my knowledge of what happens in the game is fairly sketchy, so any help in the timeline and even the rest of the characters will be most welcome! Arigato!

Gemini14