Helllooo...

Maybe it's becoming my thing. Make one-shots of some passing idea at a time.

And since I have been here for a while now, how about inspiring others…

… Yeah… like that will happen. But let's see where this will go. I may dub this as my first one-shot/challenge.

Disclaimer: I don't own them. Period.

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"I swear it, Cloud; I will never be a memory." Standing in the midst of light and tranquillity that is the Lifestream was a dark entity. Swearing vengeance, this was the greatest hero of Shin-ra… but alas was also the greatest villain they had indirectly created.

"Yet you somehow forgot yours. Shame on you." A warm tone scolded him.

Momentarily stopping his vindictive thoughts, Sephiroth searched for the voice. "Who's there?! Mother?"

"Not you too!" Turning around, his expectation turned to irritation as he regarded an infuriatingly familiar face. "You! What are you doing here?"

Aerith held her chin and appeared to be thinking intently. "Well… it is the Lifestream…" though he felt that the innocent gesture was just to mock him.

"This is my punishment? An annoyance for eternity? How ironic." He turned on his heel and tried to create a large distance between them. Keyword was 'tried' as shortly he heard hurried footsteps. Nevertheless, Sephiroth continued on ignoring and hoping that the girl will tire of pursuing her murderer.

"Can I ask something?" Hearing nothing to dissuade her, Aerith considered it as an affirmative. "If you did conquer Gaia-"

"No, when I conquer Gaia. I will leave the Lifestream, like I did before." The SOLDIER vehemently swore.

Aerith just dismissively carried on. "Sure… but what will you do with Gaia?"

"Wasn't I clear? I'll use this planet as a vessel to travel the cosmos." Irritated, more towards himself, for sharing plans with his so-called enemy.

"Why?" She innocently asked.

His irritation grew with how she is acting so… ignorant. "You should know as we are of the same race, Cetra."

"I hate to break it to you but even though we both have been searching for the Promised Land, we are not the same." The Cetra informed.

Despite hating to admit, that piqued the general's interest. "What are you talking about?"

Glad that his mood shifted to a more amenable one, Aerith explained. "Jenova was a being that crashed on this planet so many years ago. We've been fighting them, never understanding what they were or why they want to destroy the planet."

Then she became sorrowful as she continued. "But when I prayed to the Planet, I heard her. Jenova... She was in pain. She was crying out. You felt it."

"Yes… you were hurting her. That's why you had to be disposed." Standing firm that his action was the best he had done.

Sadden as well for his misguided ways, Aerith elaborated. "No… she had been hurting for a long time. But I don't know why. But now she's finally free… I felt it. She was dying." He halted in his track. "All she has done was of desperation."

"Then if that's her will, I shall save her!" He already knew it, but the chosen of Jenova still believed there was still a way.

"No… her desperation was not for herself. I still do not understand, but she is reaching out for something. But you… You were the only one who can hear her. You were the only one who understands." Despite being on opposing fronts, Aerith admired his attachment as it rivalled that of the Cetra and the Planet.

This is why it saddens her to bring the lost soul here. "She's been for calling you." Sephiroth was finally aware that they are standing on a field brimming with flowers. But what caught his attention was something… or someone laying a distance away.

"Mother!" was heard as he rushed towards her. No one would have recognized the sight before them… but Sephiroth knew who it was. No longer was it the nightmarish abomination that desired the destruction of mankind. The closest description was a delicate vision of an angel who had fallen from grace… as one who had lost her wings.

Never before had the SOLDIER felt great fear for his strength as he held the being's fragile hand. At contact she slowly steered. "My son…" Intense warmth was felt with equal amount of trepidation as he was finally acknowledged.

Tired eyes similar to his own shone with unimaginable emotions as she lovingly held her child's face. "I'm so… sorry… Please… save them…"

So many revelations came to light, but twice as many questions were left in the dark. None of them was as significant as the fear and sorrow for his mother's borrowed time. But Sephiroth persevered for what may be her last wish. "Who?"

"My… little birds… my children… please… find them… save them!" Her plea was too much as he bowed to avoid her gaze. But he still felt her longing as she weakly kept her hold. "Promise me..." It was so sincerely soft, yet it struck his heart.

His grasp firm yet gentle, a large black wing burst into existence. The one-winged angel finally looked up with barely restrained tears. "I pledge by this wing you bestowed me, I'll be the saviour that destiny needed."

A tear was also shed as she gave him a fleeting smile. "Thank… you…" And those hopeful green eyes finally closed as she was welcomed into the Lifestream. He felt how the light caressed him in loving comfort as Jenova was finally at peace.

Where his mother once laid was a beautiful sphere… A Materia. Tentatively, as if fearing he may destroy her most genuine legacy, took hold of it and felt the surge of power.

Sephiroth felt her emotions and their reasons behind each. The pride and guilt of what he had become… The joy of his return… The sorrow of his demise… And hope for her dying wish. Now everything was made clear… But it was shadowed by the guilt of what he had done.

"What are you still doing there? What about your pledge?" She finally made herself known as the girl can't fathom how someone so powerful looked so defeated.

"Everything of me is a lie." Even his entire identity was one as it was this discovery that finally destroyed him. The former SOLDIER was the successful replacement of an experiment he was named after. All his memory was an implanted program. "This is the only one that may bring something good. She may rest peacefully despite a promise that can never be fulfilled."

"They need a hero… they need you…" Seeing him so lost, Aerith felt the desire to help him find his way. "You said that you share Jenova's will? You wanted to travel the cosmos? You're searching for something … Something is calling for you."

Hoping to reach out for anything, Sephiroth asked his guiding light. "What am I searching for?"

"I am not sure. It's only you who knows. And if not…, time will tell if you are destined to find-…" Her words were lost as Sephiroth drifted to a memory he wasn't certain of its validity… But it held so much importance that it tugged both his mind and soul.

A face… One he hadn't met or doubtful he can even recall. But a smile… One he believed was so rare that Sephiroth once imagine it may have been on her mother's face. But it wasn't… But it must have belonged to someone. Someone he now must search.

"-llo! Gaia to Sephiroth! Yoohoo!" Aerith called when she realized the far-away gaze of her companion.

Then his sight shone with unmatched focus and determination as the general stood tall. "I'm going!"

"Now there's that tough SOLDIER we know and hate!" she childishly cheered. This only earned the flower-girl a blank stare as he turned and stalked away. "I believe there is someone meant for each other, but I'll pray for patience for whoever is for you."

Realizing that she was being ditched… again, Aerith ran after the wayward SOLDIER. "Wait! Do you know where they are? Do you even know how to get there?"

Doubtful of his means but it didn't deter his conviction. "No. But I'll find a way. To leave the Lifestream once more… and find them. Even if it will take another lifetime, I shall fulfil her last wish. And redeem myself."

Finally catching up, Aerith voiced out what she had in mind. "About that. Jenova wasn't the only alien life form. You were not meant to be here, in Gaia or the Lifestream. "

She was thankful he stopped, chasing after him was becoming annoying. "Who told you?"

Appearing to choosing her words wisely, though the SOLDIER really felt she was just messing with him, "Well…, just as you claimed to be the agent of Jenova, the Cetra, which right now is me, are something similar to Gaia. And I was told that you did not belong in Gaia and the Lifestream as you came from somewhere else. "

"So I'm basically being kicked out." Sephiroth bluntly summed up the explanation.

"Gaia tried returning you when you came here but was uncertain where you come from. But with Jenova's last breath, a bridge was created to where you are needed… To where you're really from." The Cetra said while pointing out the Materia Sephiroth held.

Astounded with all these new developments, something bothered the former SOLDIER greatly. "Despite all I have done to you and the Planet, you still want to help. Why?"

"Everyone deserves a second chance, though yours may count as a third." Aerith added the last part sheepishly.

Truly amazed with the purity of her soul, it only fuelled the guilt for his crime. But it also empowered the child of Jenova's desire to make things right, if not in this world but another. "No words are enough to say how sorry I am…, just as how insufficient it is to thank you for what are doing."

Happy that he had finally found his way, she playfully consoled. "A simple 'sorry' and 'thank you' would have been enough. But you must go now." As if hearing the girl, the Materia was slowly glowing bright.

Finally having a mean to accomplish his mission, Sephiroth thanked the one being who believed he deserved a chance at redemption. "Indeed. But nevertheless… I'm sorry… and thank you… very much."

As he felt the light enveloped him, Sephiroth heard her but was confused with the parting. "You're welcome and good luck! And I bet she'll be happy to see you again!"

xxxxx

/One Winged Angel/

When he left the mortal plane…,

"At least I earned that name. But what about you, Faker-kun? An angel? What makes you so special?" She barked, her bloodlust radiating in waves.

Streets upturned, buildings demolished…, all for a cut on his coat no bigger than an inch. Yet it earned the vicious Sekirei a nod of approval, which she strangely felt… delighted?

"As you went through all this trouble just for me… let me indulge you…" She immediately rushed in truly wanting to make good on his promise as Karasuba brought down her blade with power to shake the land.

As the dust cleared, her eyes were wide with shock and excitement as her weapon was held back by an unseen force. The feelings spiked once more as the gaps in his hands were replaced by a magnificent sword.

"But let me advise you: The only time angels appear…" She cannot shake off the chill that ran down her spine as those dangerously beautiful gaze cuts into her soul. "…when one is close to die."

…he was just more than a man…

As he lay there, Mutsu resigned that he was truly beaten by his better. He methodically recalled everything that led to this day, cherishing those small pockets of good amongst the bland and unpleasant days.

But most of all, the regrets that he failed the one person closed to his heart. That person was not an Ashikabi but his importance was just as significant. Blurrily, an image slowly swam into the fallen swordsman's vision and somehow overlapped his approaching opponent.

A thinker in white walked beside this black warrior.

Instead of holding a pulsing power to destroy him, the man he remembered held out a hand to help him up.

The cold visage was replaced by a warm expression that can also be intimidating.

Despite the contrasts and his imminent demise, Mutsu was glad that this stranger looked so similar with the one he once cherished. "Take-anii…"

…though some regarded as a demon.

"I am uncertain how but I can manipulate my cells to keep her illness at bay, maybe eradicate even." Hope blossomed, but it withered as he casually added. "But remember, I can very well end her just the same."

Sephiroth mentally applauded as he can see that veiled Sekirei was extensively weighing the risks. After all, which is better: the devil you know or the angel you don't? Better question: who is the devil you want to make a deal with?

But he had transcended the heavens...

As the battle started anew, anarchy reigned as everyone tried to get even a pinch of sense on how an enigma was matching, and some fearing, besting their most powerful enforcer.

However someone is euphoric throughout the chaos. "HAHAHAHA! Bravo my old friend, truly a spectacular show!"

"WHAT ARE YOU RAVING ABOUT, YOU BAKA?!" Takami shouted, clearly suffering the worst as she tries to regain a semblance of control on… everything!

"Don't you see, dear Takami? That being…, that deity was once a human like you and I!" clearly ignoring the ire of his second-in-command.

"You have 10 seconds to make some fucking sense before you start eating through a straw!" resorting to threat as her patience grew thinner by the seconds.

"Look closer. Doesn't he look like someone we used to know?" the Game Master playfully hinted.

Still aggravated by his stubborn ambiguity, Takami ordered a clear picture of their unknown. Once a face appeared, her sharp mind was harshly halted. "H-How…? It's impossible…" her stony visage crumbling as the impossible is being presented before her.

But Minaka even appeared to revel in the shocking revelation. "But he did! He proved that a mere mortal can indeed reach the heavens and attain godhood!"

…and returned as an angel.

"Do you know my dear what angels dream of?"

He asked his current companion. Despite the haze of the alcohol, this beauty was able to clearly see that the question was also directed to himself.

In a sense her specie can be regarded as angels, though a fallen is more appropriate for him. They surpassed every aspect of mankind. Power, intelligence, beauty… what else could they dream of?

Despite all these, they were lonely beings. She admire how, as her sister quote, these lowly creatures found companionship with their kinds…, to trust…, to love. A small part of her envies them…, to want to be like them.

"…To be human."

The one winged angel…

"So what have you three been up to that you'd miss dinner?" The landlady asked when she found all her tenants fixed on the computer screen.

"Karasuba." the disguised guardian answered.

Taking a brief glance on the monitor, Miya saw a tall shadowy figure wielding a long blade standing over a beaten body. With an unclear image of long gray hair and cape fluttering in the wind, one person, if she could even be called that, came to mind.

She shut her eyes in anger, already knowing what may become of the fallen victim. Miya slowly turned to leave before inquiring whose soul she has to pray for tonight. "I see... May I know who the poor bird to have their wings clipped?"

"By technicality… Karasuba." The usually cheery Sekirei uncertainly supplied.

Miya turned back in shock to such ludicrous joke. Matsu clearly understanding the disbelief quickly shifted a window to a better angle and increased the resolution of the footage.

There on the rooftop was indeed the most feared Sekirei…. Lying in a pool of her own blood, Karasuba wasn't showing any sign of life while her opponent hovered over her.

Yes, the being was indeed floating above her while fluttering behind it was not cloth but a large black wing. One, unlike a Sekirei, appears to be made of actual flesh and feather. The image was made more surreal as moonlight illuminated a cascade of silver and two sharp gems of emerald. All this only accentuated the serious face that even Homura can't help but described as ethereally attractive.

The man appeared to be talking but the audience missed what he said as they heard a crash behind them. They turned to find the tray and cups on the floor, but what was worrying was the state of the strongest of their race. Miya's whole being shook as they caught her as she fell to her knees, words struggling to be released as wide eyes never left the screen.

Then they too felt faint from what she finally said. "N- No… It- It can't be… Takehito-kun?"

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Well there you have it. Just bunch of plots and pieces that I'm not sure how to connect. So there's your challenge if you want to make something out of it. See yah!