Calamity's Reign: Chapter 1 - A New Calamity

Deep in space, a meteor rushed through the stars, battering all of its lesser brothers out of its way. Entering into the milky way galaxy, it's trajectory suddenly jerks, as if being aimed deliberately, at a certain blue world...

"It's good to see you, Cloud," came a soft taunting purr followed by the sound of metal ripping through air.

Cloud Strife acted on instinct, pulling his fusion sword First Tsurugi off his back, whirling, and swinging his blade up to strike against a dreadfully familiar long blade, Masamune. He followed the length of the blade with eyes, sighting its wielder and locking his own eyes on the green cat lit slits gazing upon him. The ruins of Midgar loomed off in the distance, watching as once again these two warriors met blades under its shadow.

Cloud wrenched up with his blade and lashed out with a foot, catching Sephiroth in his stomach and booted him back. "Hmph."

Sephiroth recovered and smirked at him. "You don't seem surprised to see me."

Cloud flexed his grip on his blade's handle. "You've come back to many times now for me to be surprised. What is it, the sixth time now? Seventh?"

Sephiroth seemed amused. "Does it honestly matter? So long as I haunt your dreams and your heart, I will keep coming back, I will never fade. It's as I told you Cloud, I will never be a memory."

Cloud charged, swinging his blade overhead as he did. "Then I'll just keep beating you back into the depths of my memories and the lifestream every-time."

Sephiroth blocked his attack, a delighted grin on his face. "I'm pleased then, Cloud, to know that the Master and it's puppet will continue their dance for ages to come."

Cloud pushed forward, pulling one of his blades off the main one and yanking back with his second hand to thrust forward. Sephiroth side-stepped the attempt to skewer him and spun, smashing the pommel of his blade into the back of Cloud's head, sending him staggering.

"Tut tut Cloud. You little sword tricks stopped being surprising a long time ago," mocked Sephiroth, "If you want to kill me this time, your going to need to be better, or I may be the one to kill you."

Cloud turned to face him, reuniting his sword into one piece. "Really, kill me? Your always to busy mocking and toying with me to actually go through with it."

Cloud began to glow blue with energy. "You could have ran me through from behind, I had no clue you were coming. Instead you let me know, just so you could mock and fight me."

A soft smile appeared on Sephiroth's face. "Ah, the puppet knows its master well. What delight would I find in so cowardly a victory over you? After all, I still haven't given you your gift."

Cloud paused briefly. "Gift?"

Sephiroth's eyes glistened. "Did you forget Cloud? I offered you the gift of despair. And today, even if I fall again, I shall start to give it to you at long last. Can you feel them coming Cloud? I let your friends know I was coming before I came after you."

A bead of sweat rolled down Cloud's forehead. "Why?"

"You told me once that there wasn't a thing you didn't cherish. So, I shall take everything from you. Rebirth by rebirth I will do so. First your friends, then your acquaintances, then even the comfort of strangers. Nature will fall, where you may once have found peace in its embrace, you will instead find the decay of rotting wood and plants. The comfort of battle and slaughter against monster will leave you next as I take that pleasure from you. Then, all traces of the world you once knew will vanish, buildings will fall, memorials will vanish, and graveyards will disappear. The light of the sky and stars will blacken and fade and you will be all alone. Only then, when you rest on your knees before me in utter darkness, asking for deliverance, shall I give it to you," spoke Sephiroth with deathly calm and sincerity.

Cloud stared at him wordlessly, unable to stop himself from shivering. He understood fully. Sephiroth had no intention of killing him, not yet... what he had in mind was a fate worse than death...

"Cloud MOVE!" came a female voice.

Cloud instinctively dove out of the way as a barrage of bullets fired through where he had just been, raining down on Sephiroth. Sephiroth smirked and swept his blade, unleashing a wave of energy that sent the bullets flying. Cloud turned his head, sighting Tifa and Barret arriving to join the fight.

"Da hell is this motha fucker back AGAIN?" swore Barret.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" roared Cloud.

Tifa bristled. "Were not letting you fight alone again Cloud!"

"This isn't the same as before!" Cloud cried out, "It's a trap! Not for me, but for all of you!"

Tifa paused. "What?"

Sephiroth chuckled softly and turned to Tifa. "Tell me, do you still feel it?"

Tifa glared at him and barred her fists. "Feel what?"

Sephiroth seemed disappointed. "Oh? So you've forgotten? The kiss of my blade across your chest? Shall I remind you?"

Sephiroth rushed at her. Cloud swore and rushed forward, diving to meet him half way and elbowed him aside as the swordsman swung, throwing his blade barely off-course. Tifa used the off-balance of the blow to smash the back of her hand into the flat of Masamune, smacking it away. Sephiroth chuckled and threw himself out of the way as Barret unleashed another round of bullets from his gun arm.

Sephiroth held up his hand, and his one-black-wing exploded out of his back. He flew into the air, and then dive bombed towards Barret.

Cloud's eyes went wide, there was to much distance, but he tried anyway, rushing forward. "NO!"

Barret swore and tried to dive aside as Sephiroth descended and swung...

SLICE

Barret screamed in pain as Masamune took his gun arm off at the elbow, unleashing a spray of blood and sparks. Cloud was there a moment later, letting in Sephiroth with one furious blow after another.

"Tifa! Take him and GO!" ordered Cloud.

Tifa rushed forward and knelt by Barret. "Barret..."

"Teef... gota cauterize it... cure wont be enough," said Barret weakly.

Tifa grimaced and fished through her pocket for a fire materia, holding a hand up next to the stump of an arm. Barret could do nothing but roar in pain as Tifa worked to burn the wound closed.

Cloud was furious. But more than that, he was terrified. Sephiroth had meant every word he said, he was going to murder each of his friends, one by one. He would NOT let that happen! He rushed at him, separating his blade into two and duel-wielding. Sephiroth leapt over a twin strike and flew towards Barret and Tifa...

BANG!

Sephiroth turned mid-flight, swinging Masamune up to bat away at a heavy slug that came at him. The force of the impact caused the slug to explode, sending Sephiroth flying back. Cloud turned his head to see Vincent Valentine reloading his weapon, Death Penalty, and rushing forward to join the fight.

Sephiroth flew into the air, but did not come back down to attack. "Ah Valentine. I was hoping you'd arrive sooner rather than later."

Cloud frowned. This was the first time Sephiroth had ever really acknowledged the former Turk, yet, more than his promise to Cloud, Sephiroth actually seemed slightly angry at Vincent.

Sephiroth wagged a finger at Vincent. "I was watching your fight with Deepground Valentine. Tut tut, you were holding back on me during Meteorfall. Had you unleashed Chaos then alongside Cloud, I would have stood not a ghost of a chance."

Sephiroth grinned wickedly. "Such a shame Chaos has returned to the planet, isn't it? He could have been useful here."

Vincent aimed Death Penalty up at Sephiroth, but did not fire, merely waiting.

"Tell me Valentine, why did you not use Chaos against me before? Why go easy on me with so much at stake?" asked Sephiroth, "Hmm... perhaps... oh what was her name... was it because of... Lucrecia?"

Vincent froze.

"Don't listen to him Vincent!" yelled Cloud.

"Ah yes, it must have been because of that woman, my, human, mother," said Sephiroth with distaste, "You did not want to kill her son, did you?"

"No, I didn't," said Vincent quietly.

His honesty caused a silence to descend over the battlefield, even giving pause to Sephiroth, aside from the flap of his wing.

"I failed her many times in her life, as much as I failed you," said Vincent, "I pity you. You should have been given the chance to live a normal life, not have been forcibly drafted into Shinra, experimented upon by Hojo, and given no choice but to live as the general of SOLDIER. You became what you are, because of my failure."

Sephiroth's grin had long since faded, for the first time since Cloud had met him, his calm deadly madness had faded, he looked utterly furious. "Pity, ME?"

Sephiroth was a blur across the battlefield, his sword embedded through Vincent's chest faster than Cloud could blink. "The only one who deserves pity here, you worthless Turk, is you. How many years did you wither away in that coffin when you could have done something? Done ANYTHING?!"

"Vincent!" Cloud, Tifa, and Barret cried out.

Vincent placed his metal claw on Masamune. "I'm sorry Sephiroth."

Sephiroth stared at him, dumbstruck for a moment, before his eyes narrowed dangerously. "I'll humor your pity no longer. Sink into despair."

Sephiroth yanked his sword out and then swung, his blade ripping through Vincent's body and cutting him in half before mocking the dying man as he fell to the ground, "Keep my mother company in the lifestream, wont you?"

"Not... dead...," whispered Vincent.

Sephiroth paused briefly. "What?"

"She's... not... dead... go to... her...," whispered Vincent.

Sephiroth stared at him for a moment before smirking. "Oh? She's alive then? Perhaps I will find and pay mother dearest a visit at some point, if only to give her the love of my sword and send her to you in the afterlife. She gave me nothing and means nothing to me, Jenova is more my mother than her."

Sephiroth stabbed the blade through Vincent's heart and killed him before wrenching the sword out and turning to Cloud. "The first has fallen. I wonder puppet, who goes next?"

Cloud shook with rage. "You... how dare you...!"

"VINCENT!" came a scream.

There was a whine through the air as a shuriken ripped towards Sephiroth. The man turned and batted it back the way it came. Yuffie Kisaragi leapt from a nearby tree, caught the weapon, and aimed a glowing hand at Sephiroth, unleashing a wave of fire. Sephiroth flew through the fire and grabbed Yuffie by the color of her shirt before flying down and dumping her ontop of Vincent's corpse.

"Give the man a parting kiss wont you?" mocked Sephiroth.

Sephiroth flew up into the air and hovered, looking down upon the battlefield. "Hmm. Who next shall I give the gift of despair?"

"NO MORE!" roared Cloud, the whine and glow of a limit break exploding from him.

He threw First Tsurugi into the sky, separating it into its individual pieces. He launched himself into the air and grabbed the first one before flying at Sephiroth. The One Winged Angel showed no fear against the attack that had once killed him. Instead, he merely turned and blocked the attack, easily. Cloud flew to his other blades and returned again and again. Sephiroth spun, a dance of steel, and blocked each attack. Upon the last exchange, he drove Masamune through Cloud's shoulder, knocking him out of his limit break.

"Tut tut puppet, I told you before your little sword tricks wont save you anymore," mocked Sephiroth.

Sephiroth swung his sword and threw Cloud to the ground. "That's why a puppet needs its master to play it's strings. Otherwise is it caught forever in old movements."

Cloud hit the ground and flopped head over heals twice before groaning painfully.

Sephiroth turned his attention and gazed down upon Tifa. "Now I believe I wished to remind you of something..."

Sephiroth descended, swinging his blade in an arc as he touched down. His sword slashed down across Tifa's chest and stomach. She screamed and collapsed backwards, blood gushing out of the wound.

"Do you remember now, the kiss of my blade?" asked Sephiroth.

"TIFA!" cried out Cloud, rising to his feet and rushing forward as Yuffie did the same.

Sephiroth put his sword inches from Tifa's face. "Another step and she dies."

Yuffie and Cloud froze.

Barret swore, "Ya fuckin coward!"

Sephiroth smirked and held up a finger. "They're all almost here."

There was a rumble through the air, and off in the distance an airship, the Highwind appeared. It closed the distance, and a single rope came off its side. Cid Highwind slid down on the rope, while Nanaki leapt off its side. Off, high in the air, storm clouds began to gather as the two began to close the distance and stood next to Cloud.

Cid took one look at Tifa and then at Vincent's corpse. "Shit."

Sephiroth chuckled and looked around. "Is the Cat Doll not joining us? A shame. After all..."

He looked up into the sky, at the gathering storm. "ALL of the other's are here, save for Valentine of course."

A single drop of rain fell and hit Sephiroth's arm. Sephiroth grimaced as the water hissed and burnt into him, black vapor rising out on contact.

Cloud looked up into the sky, feeling a familiar presence enter the area. "Aerith..."

"If there is one regret I have of my life post being the General of SOLDIER, it's killing that little Ancient," hissed Sephiroth, "She's much more of a nuisance within the lifestream than as a weak little flower girl. Be warned, little ancient, another drop touches me, and she dies."

The storm clouds rumbled, but did not release another drop. Cloud ground his teeth, Sephiroth had them all in a choke hold. His eyes flickered to Tifa as she let out a painful moan, her body twitching. She wouldn't last long in that state. Damn it...

Sephiroth turned his head towards Cloud. "So then Puppet..."

"Enough!" roared Cloud, "I am NOT a damn Puppet! Stop screwing with our lives!"

Sephiroth's lips curled into a grin. "So then, you claim to be free of strings? Let us test that theory then, Cloud."

Nakaki gave a warning. "If you kill her, you will not survive. You won't win against the rest of us with Aerith's help."

"He knows," said Cloud quietly, "He doesn't care."

Sephiroth spoke calmly, "Let us see if you have the will to truly stand alone, Cloud. One more life shall end this day, and it will not be yours. Choose then, who dies. Shall it be Miss Lockheart? Or will you sacrifice another of your friends in her place?"

Cloud stared at him in shock.

"Choose quickly Cloud, strike down one of your friends, or I will kill her," warned Sephiroth.

"You... sick bastard...," hissed Cloud.

Aerith Gainsborough watched the scene from the lifestream, biting her spectral lips nervously. "Cloud..."

"Damn, Sephiroth's really got Spikey in a bind," came a voice from her side.

Aerith turned to see the spectral form of Zack Fair appear next to her, he gave her a shrug and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Minerva thought you could use some company right now."

Aerith gave him an appreciative look. "It's bad... Vincent's gone and Tifa's bleeding out. I don't know what to do."

"To be honest, I'm surprised it took him this long to get one of them," said Zack with a grimace.

"ZACK!" exclaimed Aerith furiously.

Zack shook his head. "I'm just being brutally honest here. It's Sephiroth were talking about after all. They've fought him how many times and this is the first time he's killed one of Spikey's friend?"

Aerith bowed her head. "I... I know... I knew this could happen, but I was just hoping that they could all make it out of this alive, and live their lives happy and free."

Zack sighed. "I know Aerith, I know. If life was that nice, you and me would still be alive."

He gave her a mischievous smile. "And with tons of little Aerith and Zack babies running around!"

Aerith gave him a brief giggle. "Oh Zack stop..."

There was a tremor in the lifestream, and before them, a golden being began to form. Within moment's Minerva in her full glory appeared before them. However, she was not alone. At her side, in full of body, well, a spectral body, was Vincent Valentine.

Aerith looked at him sadly. "Oh Vincent... I'm so sorry."

Vincent shook his head. "Don't be."

"Calamity's Child will most likely kill one more before this day is done," warned Minerva, "Already I can feel Gaia's Champion begin to crack, when the next dies he will splinter. We must take action when the Calamity's Child is returned to the lifestream, no matter what it takes, he must not be allowed to return once more to life. Gaia's Champion cannot keep facing him again and again. He will break. We must..."

Minerva paused, a startled look crossing her usually calm and serine face, she glanced upward, as if looking into the sky. "What is...?"

They turned their heads, all of them did, and Aerith's eyes went wide. "Is that a...?"

Sephiroth smiled cruelly at Cloud. "So then, will you not decide?"

"I'm not playing your sick game's Sephiroth!" yelled Cloud.

"A puppet to the end it seems," said Sephiroth, gripping his blade heavily.

Before he could drive the the blade through Tifa's skull, the clouds above them all parted and left, giving him pause.

Sephiroth looked up, raising an eyebrow. "It would seem even the little ancient abandons you puppet, as will all before the end."

Suddenly, the ground began to tremble. Off in the distance, green tendrils of the lifestream began to snake out of the ground. But, they did not move towards the battlefield. Instead, they began to move to Midgar, condensing and forming a shield of green energy.

Sephiroth frowned. "What is the Ancient up to?"

The entire planet began to tremble, and an ear splitting cry filled the air. They all stared up into the sky, sighting a massive meteor begin to descend from the sky.

Cloud's eyes went wide. "NO! How?! The Black Materia was lost to the lifestream! How could he have gotten it?"

Sephiroth scoffed and pulled his sword away from Tifa. "Foolish Puppet, does that look like the same Meteor? It's a natural one, not my doing."

Sephiroth held his sword out defensively, a barrier of magic surrounding him. "I suggest, Puppet, if you wish to continue our battle after, that you brace yourself. The lifestream around Midgar is to weak too repel or fully stop that."

"Behind me!" cried out Cloud.

Immediately, the members of Avalance rushed to Cloud. Each of them began to funnel magic into a barrier around them. They watched, terrified, as the meteor barreled down from the skies and slammed into the lifestream barrier, slowing a bit, but still breaking through it and slamming into Midgar. There was a flash of light and a massive explosion. Fire ripped past them, slamming into their barriers and turning the landscape into a living hell.

"Oh gods, I hope Edge is okay," said Yuffie with terror.

"Marlene!" cried out Barret.

"Keep your focus!" warned Cloud, "It's not over yet!"

The ground buckled and churned as the ground heaved around them. A wave of dust and debris followed the wave of fire. They held on, struggling to maintain the barrier, until it finally settled. When the dust cleared, a crater stood where Midgar used to be...

Cloud lowered the barrier and fell to a knee. "Ugh..."

"I thought Midgar was an eyesore, but that's way overkill," said Yuffie, jittery.

"Hmph, even the heavens tremble and lose pieces of themselves to our battle puppet," mocked Sephiroth.

Cloud turned angrily towards him and then froze, noticing that Tifa was still alive behind Sephiroth. "She's... you..."

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. "What? Did you think I'd let a meteor deprive me of personally giving you despair? She dies at my blade or not at all."

Cloud glared at him. "I'm going with not at all."

Sephiroth smirked. "Do you think you can close the distance before I..."

Sephiroth froze and whirled, turning towards the crater, "What is...?"

Cloud froze and shivered, feeling a tingling sensation crawl over him. "J-Jenova? No... its... what is it...?"

Yuffie glanced at him. "What's going on?"

Cloud clutched his head. "Somethings... something's not right...something... something came down with the meteor..."

Sephiroth shook with rage. "I will suffer NO rival!"

Sephiroth flew into the air and rushed towards the crater, abandoning the fight.

Cloud shook his head, rose to his feet, and charged after him. "Barret! Heal Tifa as best as you can! The rest of you with me! We have to go, NOW!"

Cloud followed Sephiroth with a sense of dread. There was a presence screaming in the back of his mind, and it WASN'T Jenova or Sephiroth. The group followed in Sephiroth's wake until the reached the edge of the deep crater. They looked inwards, sighting peices of the meteor everywhere. Green liquid, the blood of the planet, oozed along the ground in streams. It puddled at the bottom, a gory horrific wound to the planet.

However, it wasn't the wound itself that gave pause to Cloud and his friends, to even Sephiroth who floated high in the air, a mixture of rage and dread on his face.

At the bottom of the crater, feeding off the lifeblood of the planet, was a being that look frighteningly familiar, but still different, from the Jenova they had fought years ago on their way to fight Sephiroth at the end of Meteorfall. It had a human-like toso with a black, gaping hole in its center, but without legs and arms. Its head was a silver looking mask with black-red slits for eyes and a mouth, and sprouting out above it instead of hair was a blood red crystal. Two tentacles with scythe like endings stretched out of its body. Upon its back was a huge tan egg-sack like growth, pulsating with black veins. Underneath it were eight thin legs like a spider. Connecting to its back and the egg-sack were red petal like growths that almost seemed to be a flower. Unlike Jenova, they kept extending, turning into black-red leathery looking wings, seven in total.

"Holy... what the FUCK is that?!" yelled Cid.

The creature paused its feeding on the lifestream to turn its head and body, looking to study them. It's gaze flickered from one to the other, before raising its head to look up at Sephiroth. It's body tensed, and it began to hiss, its wings fluttering and flapping threateningly.

"It's... it's another Jenova," whispered Cloud with disbelief and pure terror...

Author's Notes:

I was enjoying writing the Sephiroth VS Co. part of the battle before I remembered I actually had a premise to the story and had to incorporate it.

The New Calamity is meant to look like JENOVA Synthesis, but, a bit more complete.

So yeah, I had a story idea and decided to put it to pen/paper (or rather, to a fanfic doc) before it slipped me by. Tell me what you guys think of the start of the story.