A/N: Alright… This takes place about two years after Dirge of Cerberus. Yes, JENOVA comes in as an actual character with a Midna (LoZ: Twilight Princess) kind of attitude, and a voice like Truth from Fullmetal Alchemist. Sort of. Just thought I should mention that before we start… ((FUTURE EDITTTTTT: Jenova becomes very, VERY important later on, and not just a background character like she seems to be at first.)) And this is my first FanFiction, so I apologize if it's not very good. Oh, and for those of you visiting from the 20th chapter or even just starting, the beginning little peek into the end was pulled from the final chapter (which I've already mostly written at this Time, even if it isn't up at this moment), so that's why I say 'his' instead of an actual name. Disclaimer: I do not own final fantasy seven and any of its characters, nor do I own most other things mentioned in this story. But using this material (and the picture) are fair use under the U.S.A Copyright Law.
((Oh! And I forgot to mention: This is rated T for more mild swearing every now and then, violence, suggested violence (Jenova talks about her past a lot, and there are a lot of hints about characters being tortured, in the past and present), and slight suggestive themes every now and then, although nothing bad at all (again, Jenova). Okay? And now, to the story!))
Darkness Returns
Forgotten Hatred
I suppose you may wonder about what happened to our world of Gaia - yes, I include myself in that 'our' - after Deepground and everything, right? The truth, I mean? What really happened afterwards? I don't know if you've been told anything different, but... Well, I suppose I might as well tell you. After all, what harm can come from knowing the truth? I will warn you that this is no story; no, when I say that it's the truth, I do mean the truth. I don't know how your world found out about us, but now that you know, you might as well know everything. But be prepared, for much that you think you know is not exactly true. There are so many things that have happened, so many things that I do and do not regret... Well, I guess you will find out, right? So here you go: the truth. My name is Jenova. And this, humans, is my story.
Hmm... You know something? A bit of dramatic irony is always good. So before we start, how about I give you a little bit of a glimpse into the end of our story here? I must admit, this is probably my favorite part... Heh, and for those of you just starting, you can probably tell who I am from the fact that this is my favorite part...
Jenova grinned with absolute evil, a devilish glint in her eyes. "Yes, I completely agree." Then, she plunged her two swords through his back.
After a moment of shocked silence, Cloud could only gasp because of the pain he was in. Jenova had a look of such evil and insanity on her face, and Cloud was absolutely terrified for one of the first times in his life. The look in her eyes was far worse than even that one time in Nibelheim, when he had been trying to find out more about her past. Jenova calmly continued her sentence, despite the fact that her mental state wasn't even mildly close to stable at that moment. "Let's end this… once and for all. And this is the only way to do that. You don't know how long I've awaited this moment… How long I've been dreaming of this day. Of the day I could finally kill you… And this time, you won't be coming back."
Okay, now let's start. Ready? Here we go...
Cloud Strife sighed, looking around his friend Tifa's bar. He was wearing the same black outfit he always wore, and his blonde hair was somehow spiked, just like it always was. It had already been two, nearly three years since the incident with the society known as Deepground, and everything had only just started to get back to normal. Tifa, Denzel, and Marlene were all asleep upstairs, as it was just before midnight.
Cloud got up, pacing around. He wasn't certain why, but he had become quite agitated a few weeks back, and he hadn't gotten better. He hadn't been able to sleep comfortably, and he had been losing his temper far too easily. Everything was great, so he wasn't certain why this was happening. His first thought had been that something was wrong with the Planet, but that couldn't be the truth. Anyone who posed a threat to the Planet was gone, and Cloud doubted that they would ever be back. Besides, if any of them had come back – one in particular, of course – Cloud had no doubt that he would definitely know. There was no way any of his past enemies would have left him alone for the time that Cloud had felt so agitated…
Sighing, Cloud looked out one of the windows.
Perhaps it would be best if I got some air… Cloud thought, going over to the door and walking outside. It had been a while since he had simply taken a walk. By himself, at least.
Cloud walked through the streets of the city of Edge, which rested on the outskirts of the razed city of Midgar. It had been five years since Midgar's destruction, and nobody paid it much attention anymore.
It didn't take Cloud long to get a few blocks away from Tifa's bar. Had he truly gone so far…? He couldn't go any farther so late at night. Even with knowing that there was nobody who could harm his 'family', he still wanted to be certain. As he had learned so many times before, nothing was ever black and white. Nothing in this world was ever simple. Just when you thought you knew something, you would find out the real truth. Well… there were a few people who weren't all too complex, of course, but they were all gone now. Right?
Cloud started to walk back towards Tifa's bar, 7th Heaven. He heard someone else nearby, but he had assumed that he wouldn't be the only one out. Even at midnight, there were still a few people who enjoyed going outside for a walk.
Cloud saw the other person walking towards him, but he couldn't make out the person's features. Whoever it was, though, didn't seem to be in much of a rush. They were obviously taking a leisurely stroll, just like Cloud was.
Cloud looked up at the dark sky. The alley that he was in had no lamps, so the only light was a small patch of moonlight up ahead. Because of this, Cloud could see some of the constellations. He was just so glad that there was no large red meteor in the sky… no, all of that was over now, luckily. Sephiroth – the one person that was much more powerful than Cloud, yet never seemed to land a fatal blow on him – was gone now.
It had been three years since Sephiroth had been defeated once and for all. He had controlled Kadaj – a kid who had been maybe 16 and who had been created by Sephiroth using the power he possessed even in death – using JENOVA cells. JENOVA was an alien life form that had been used to create Sephiroth, sort of. Even Cloud still didn't get it; not really, at least. Sephiroth had believed that JENOVA was his mother, and had gone insane and destroyed Cloud's hometown of Nibelheim in order to retrieve her. Cloud didn't know how or why Sephiroth had suddenly lost control of himself, but that hadn't mattered. Cloud had somehow been able to defeat Sephiroth when everyone else had failed, and that had created Sephiroth's burning hatred for Cloud.
Five years after the incident at Nibelheim, Sephiroth came back. To basically sum up everything Cloud had experienced, Sephiroth had used the black Materia – a crystal sphere that could summon the ultimate dark magic – to summon Meteor. While the ultimate white magic, Holy, countered Meteor, Cloud had somehow stopped Sephiroth again and, yet again, there had been so much that hadn't made any sense. Sephiroth could have easily killed Cloud and his friends multiple times, and yet he hadn't. And then, when Sephiroth had had Cloud at his mercy, Sephiroth had paused long enough for Cloud to land a fatal strike on the one-winged angel, as Cloud had called him because of the fact that Sephiroth could have a single black wing coming from his right shoulder at times.
Then, three years ago, Kadaj had absorbed JENOVA cells and had allowed Sephiroth to take control of him. Again, another thing that didn't make all too much sense… shouldn't it have been JENOVA to take control of Kadaj, not Sephiroth? Well, whatever had happened, Sephiroth had basically toyed around with and tortured Cloud for around six minutes, before Cloud had gotten some help from his deceased friend Zack. Then, Cloud had defeated – or rather, weakened – Sephiroth, and Sephiroth had died and gone back into the Lifestream – the life of the Planet – leaving a weakened Kadaj to fade into the Lifestream as well.
Yet another thing that didn't make sense: Cloud was almost one-hundred-percent certain that he had only greatly weakened Sephiroth with his final attack. Why had Sephiroth disappeared…? And also, he shouldn't really have disappeared the way he had when going into the Lifestream. And yet another thing… even Cloud had been able to feel that Sephiroth wasn't even slightly using his full power. Why…?
Cloud had become so lost in memories that he slammed right into the other person that had been walking nearby. They both fell to the ground, a bit stunned. How had the other person not seen Cloud and avoided him…?
"Oh, er, I'm so sorry…" Cloud quickly apologized, standing up. The other person cautiously stood up as well, although it was a bit too dark for Cloud to see what they looked like when they were in the shadows.
"Er, it's quite alright… I apologize, I should have seen you. You obviously became lost in a memory… I've done that before…"
Cloud froze at the voice. It… no. At first, Cloud thought that he recognized the voice, but he thought that his mind must be playing tricks on him. But then… then, the person had said 'a memory', and Cloud knew that he couldn't be mistaking the voice. He remembered the last thing that that voice had said to him: I will… never be a memory.
The man stood up into the dim light of the moon. He was wearing a normal black shirt and dark blue jeans, which wasn't what Cloud was expecting. He was probably 6'1, which was six inches taller than Cloud. His hair was long and silver, and it was easy to see how unnaturally pale his skin was because of the moonlight. His eyes were a mixture of blue and grey, but… his pupils were… normal? What the heck? Instead of his pupils being slit and reptilian-like, a trait that Cloud had always thought matched his snake-like personality, his pupils actually looked perfectly human. They didn't even have the murderous, sadistic, and yet calm look in them that Cloud was so used to. What was going on here…?
Whatever was happening, Cloud couldn't hide his surprise. He jumped backwards, stopping only because he slammed into a wall. "S-Sephiroth?"
Sephiroth tilted his head. "Do I know you…?"
Cloud paused. Surely, this was a trick. But why would Sephiroth need to trick him…? "You… don't remember me? You're joking, right? Don't think you can fool me. After everything you've put me through… I know what you're capable of…"
Sephiroth shook his head. "I'm sorry, but… Whatever I've done in my past, I don't-"
"Oh, just drop it. We both know that you couldn't have forgotten! Why don't you just kill me already?" What game was he trying to play now?
Sephiroth took a step back, looking genuinely startled. "Listen, I have no idea what you're talking about… I can't remember anything before a few weeks back… Whatever I've done in my past, it wasn't me… er, uh, I mean, it's not me now… I can't remember who I used to be… So, maybe you could help?"
Cloud paused. Was he serious…? If this was no game… perhaps Cloud could use this to his advantage… But why had he said that it 'hadn't been him'…? What did that even mean? Why did Cloud get the feeling that that was what he had actually meant to say…?
Cloud sighed. "You don't remember? That's… impossible…" He had said 'a few weeks back', right? So he was the reason Cloud had been feeling so agitated…
Sephiroth looked at Cloud desperately. "Please… you have to help me…" He winced, as though someone had hit him. "With remembering, I mean. I mean… I don't know what I mean… I just woke up on top of a building and everything a few weeks ago, and ever since then, I've been doing my best to figure everything out… I've been staying in Midgar, in one of the abandoned houses that it still intact and fully functional… I don't know why the city was abandoned, but… Well, you seem to know me, so… can you help?" Sephiroth looked away, hiding his face.
Cloud paused. Why had he winced? And why had he turned away…? Ah, it didn't matter. What mattered was how truthful Sephiroth's story sounded. And it made perfect sense, too. Sephiroth truly seemed to have forgotten everything. Maybe Cloud could use this to his advantage. If Sephiroth never remembered who he was, and never figured it out… then he wouldn't ever come back from the Lifestream, and he wouldn't ever pose a threat to the Planet. Or Cloud and his friends. Or, of course, Cloud's chest, as that was where Sephiroth seemed to prefer stabbing him. Cloud found himself suddenly believing every word.
Wait a minute… How could Cloud be believing this so easily? This was his enemy. He could never trust Sephiroth. So why did he find himself trusting his adversary so easily?
Cloud glared at Sephiroth. "If you're trying to control me again, it won't work," he growled angrily.
Sephiroth actually chuckled slightly before looking at Cloud. "You're joking, right? Is such a thing even possible?" Even as he talked, Sephiroth was still smiling slightly. The only time Cloud had ever seen Sephiroth smile was when he was causing Cloud extreme pain, so Cloud couldn't help but wince.
Cloud sighed. "I used to think the same thing… Then I almost killed my friend…" Cloud shook his head to avoid the sadness that had almost engulfed him.
Sephiroth looked down. "Oh, um… I'm sorry?"
Cloud closed his eyes for a moment, looking away. "I got control of myself… but… Well, someone else killed her…"
Sephiroth looked at Cloud, who held his enemy's sad gaze in his own. "You should kill whoever did that to you and your friend."
Cloud found himself unable to look away from Sephiroth's sad eyes. "I did… he keeps coming back…"
Sephiroth looked away. "That makes no sense, sorry to say."
Cloud smirked. "That's what I think to myself, every day."
Cloud looked up at the sky. He hadn't realized how late it was. What would Tifa think if she noticed that he was gone…?
"I need to get going…" Cloud said, not really sure what else to say. Sephiroth nodded.
"Oh, of course… I didn't mean to hold you up… Er, see you later, Cloud?"
Cloud sighed. He'd rather never see Sephiroth again, but… maybe this could be a good thing. "Yeah, sure thing."
Sephiroth nodded and walked off in the direction Cloud needed to go, so Cloud turned back the way he had come from, deciding to go a different way. He started to walk off, but then paused. Had Sephiroth just gone the way he had been coming from…? Why had he been coming this way, if he was only going to turn and go the same way he had come…?
Cloud sighed. Perhaps that meant that Sephiroth's memory truly was messed up. That would be amazing… to not have to worry about being killed anytime in the near future… But what had messed up his memory so badly? Had he wanted to live so much that he had decided to sacrifice his memories in order to have a second chance? Did that mean that all of his memories were gone? Would he know how to fight still? Would he still have the strength and power he had used to have? If so, Cloud would need to figure out how to keep Sephiroth from accidentally using any of that catastrophic power…
Cloud thought that he felt someone watching him, but that could have been anyone. Of course, since Sephiroth was back… could it possibly be JENOVA that was watching him? Was such a thing possible? Hopefully not… Cloud just always thought of the worst-case scenarios…
Cloud sighed and walked off towards 7th Heaven, not certain what would be waiting for him when he returned.