PROLOGUE: Unfinished Story

The Northern Crater, the place where two of the most important events in history have occurred. Thousands of years ago, while the Cetra, or the Ancients, were colonizing the planet, a meteor struck the planet, leaving a great crater where it hit. Most of the Cetra were wiped out and those who survived decided to stay on the planet instead of continuing their long tradition of moving to a new planet once it was fully colonized. These remaining Cetra sowed the seeds for all the humans that would eventually inhabit the planet.

The meteor that struck the planet left a massive hole in the ground. And as with all wounds inflicted upon it, the planet began to gather energy to heal itself. But to heal a wound of this scale would require massive amounts of energy. This large build-up of planetary energy produced a near limitless supply of what humans began to call Mako. When compressed and refined in a certain way, Mako energy produced a small jewel called a Materia. Wielding a Materia, a person could do anything from healing wounds to summoning a massive six-winged dragon.

The Northern Crater, with its large amount of Mako, became the vision of Paradise for many people, including the mega organization, Shinra. The president of Shinra, Rufus, schemed to build a massive complex on the crater that would suck out all the Mako. But his plans were thwarted by two powerful individuals, Sephiroth and Cloud.

Believing he was the one chosen to lead the planet away from the humans, Sephiroth plotted to unleash the ultimate destruction magic, Meteor. If this spell even brushed against a planet, the planet would be incinerated along with everyone on it. The Northern Crater was where Sephiroth chose to summon Meteor.

Through the combined effort of Cloud and the last Cetra, Aeris, Sephiroth was defeated and Meteor was destroyed. Sephiroth's death meant the world would return to normal. But with the apparent death of Rufus, Shinra was finished. The once massive corporation was split into several small ones as it was split amongst the surviving staff members.

The strongest of the smaller corporations was called Requiem Inc., and was led by a man named Reeve. Wanting to get back in the Materia business, Reeve dispatched troops to the Northern Crater to bring back sample of Mako to see if it could be used for profit. This group of soldiers would set off a chain of events that would again put the world in imminent peril.

CHAPTER 1: Masamune

The helicopter held its position over the Northern Crater. On its side was the symbol for Requiem Inc., the corporation owned by the former head urban development of Midgar. Inside it were three shocktroopers ready to repel down into the crater and retrieve samples of Mako.

"You fly boys all set?" The pilot yelled over the whirring sound of the helicopter's giant propeller. "Just make sure you're not down there for too long. I don't want my engine to freeze over."

The captain of the small squad attached a grenade launcher to his rifle. In gold letters on his uniform was the name Schwartz. "Just have a pot of coffee brewing. We'll be back before it gets hot."

"We're now at safe repelling altitude. Bon voyage guys." The pilot said.

"Benjamin, you first," Schwartz said.

The small man behind Schwartz grasped the black cable tightly and pushed himself off the helicopter. He smoothly slid down the cable and came to a soft rest on the crater bottom.

"How long you expecting us to be down there, Captain?" The other shocktrooper said. On his uniform was the name Cayne.

Schwartz shrugged. "Best case scenario, we find the Mako and we're gone in 10 minutes. If the Mako decides to be a bastard and not reveal itself, we could be here for days."

"Something doesn't feel right," Cayne said. "I got a bad feeling about this."

"This is where Sephiroth died. Of course this place gives off bad vibes. Now jump. Ben's getting lonely."

Cayne grasped the cable and repelled into the crater and was followed by Schwartz. When its cargo was safely inside the crater, the helicopter began to circle the rim of the crater.

"Its pitch black in here," Cayne said.

"Ben, give me a night scope." Schwartz said.

Schwartz attached the heavy binocular-like object to his protective face mask. His eyesight was shifted from black to various shades of green and black when the night scope buzzed to life.

"All clear," Schwartz said as he took the night scope off his mask. He unsnapped one of the numerous buttons on his combat belt and drew out his walkie-talkie. "Blackbird 9 this is Bravo Team, we have successfully made touchdown in the crater." He was talking to the helicopter. "Look it's darker than an Angus's ass down here. Think you can drop some flash tubes for us?"

"No problem, Cap," the helicopter pilot said. "Sit tight."

The helicopter reappeared above the crater and dropped off a small box. As the box fell a small parachute opened up and it safely glided down to the ground. Cayne pried the box open and pulled out a small green tube. Flash tubes were small tubes that when thrown onto the ground hard enough, the glass would break and a reaction between the chemicals in the tube and the air would cause a bright flash of light that would hold for about 20 minutes.

"Looks like we got about 15 to work with," Ben said as he reached into the box.

"That means we got five each. Okay. Cayne, Ben, I want you to set off one flash tube over there and over there." Schwartz said pointing. "I'll set off one here and that should give us ample light."

Cayne and Ben followed their orders and three flashes of white light were set off, illuminating the area the soldiers stood in.

"Okay guys, spread out and find that Mako."

The three men spread out and began to dig around the rocks in the hopes of finding any unique Mako. As Cayne dug through one of the bigger rock piles, something caught his eye. It appeared to be metal, but it was a long, thin strip of it.

"Hey Captain, Ben, take a look at this."

"What is it?" Schwartz asked.

Cayne gave the object one good pull and it was freed from the rock. "It's a sword; never seen a katana like this before."

"That's not what I think it is, is it?" Ben asked.

"It is," Schwartz said. "That's the Masamune. Congratulations Cayne, you just found Sephiroth's lost sword. That'll make a good trophy on your wall."

"You think so?" Cayne asked looking the sword over.

"Think about mounting it after you find that Mako. Now get back to work." Schwartz said as he walked away.

As Cayne continued to examine the sword, a strange power came over him. When he raised his head, he saw Ben. But now Ben seemed alien to his eyes. He saw an enemy rather than a friend he had known for years.

Ben's back was turned to Cayne. Cayne grabbed Ben's shoulder and shoved the sword through the back of his head. The bloody sword blade emerged from Ben's forehead. Ben was still alive as Cayne pulled the sword out of his head. He got off one gurgled cough before he died.

Hearing the suspicious sound, Schwartz turned to face Cayne. He felt sick as he saw Ben lying in a pool of his own blood. He almost completely lost it when he saw Cayne bring the sword up to his mouth and lick the blood off.

"Cayne, what the hell are you doing?" Schwartz pulled his hand up and covered his mouth.

Cayne put the sword blade on his shoulder. "So this vessel's name is Cayne huh? Not a bad name. Not quite as interesting as my last one though." He said in a menacing tone.

"I trained with Cayne for years, and I know you're not him. Who are you?" Schwartz said, taking the safety off his gun.

"Oh Cayne's still here. His mind is just kinda taking a nap now. I'm the one in control."

"Then who are you?"

Cayne laughed under his breath. "You should know me. You knew what I was." Cayne said holding up the sword.

"The Masamune," Schwartz said in a low voice.

"Yes. At least that's my name now." Cayne stuck the sword into the ground. "No. Even I can't remember my real name. You wouldn't think five years trapped in a sword would do that to you, but trust me, it does."

Schwartz tightened his grip on his gun. "Who are you exactly?"

"I was once a mighty demon, till that damn guy with white hair showed up."

"White hair? Sephiroth?"

"Yeah. Sephiroth. Never had I met a human with as much power as him. He overwhelmed me. I'd never seen anything like it. He was truly unstoppable." Cayne chuckled darkly. "But even he couldn't kill me. As soon as he would kill me, I'd resurrect myself. I am immortal. But then he got smart. When he killed me for the last time, he cast some sort of spell and sealed me inside this blasted sword. But even that didn't stop me. I was still there. Always present. Poking and prodding at his mind."

"It was you," Schwartz said lowly. "You're the reason Sephiroth went insane. It wasn't because he found out he was an Ancient, it's because you had pushed him to brink."

Cayne smiled maliciously and put the sword blade back on his shoulder. "When we entered Nibelheim, Sephiroth was just barely holding on to his sanity. The shock of finding out the secret of Jenova and his heritage was too much for him."

"And I'm sure you got a big kick out of watching him slip further away from sanity."

"Oh I did. There was no sweeter revenge. Watching him tear the world apart he was created to protect." Cayne menacingly let the sword slide across the ground.

"That's all fine and dandy, but," Schwartz raised his gun. "You've possessed one of my friends and killed another. Do you think I'm just going to stand here?"

Cayne smirked. "What can you do? I'm not at full strength, but I still have the power to take out half an army." He held the sword hilt up to his shoulder like Sephiroth used to hold it. "But feel free to try."

Schwartz fired twice in less than a second, both of which were deflected off the sword. Cayne shot forward like he had been fired from a cannon. He drove the hilt of the sword into Schwartz's chest. As Schwartz fell Cayne brought the blade down like he would cut Schwartz from head to crotch. But Cayne raised his foot and stopped the blade with the metal bottom of his boot. Schwartz pushed the blade back up throwing Cayne off balance, then swiped Cayne's feet out from under him with his other foot.

Schwartz rolled over onto his stomach and a fierce pain went through his chest. "He must have broken one of my ribs."

Cayne spun on his shoulders and was on his feet again with acrobat-like agility. Schwartz rolled to the side as Cayne began to stab the tip of his sword into the ground trying to skewer him. Just as Cayne nicked Schwartz's shoulder, the flash tubes went out and the crater was again plunged into darkness. Seizing his chance, Schwartz got to his feet as quick as he could and struck out with his fist. He definitely hit Cayne, but he couldn't what part he hit. He just figured it was his face.

He sprinted in the direction opposite direction of Cayne, wanting to put as much distance between them as possible. On the fly he quickly switched out the grenade launcher on his gun for a flashlight. When he was convinced he was an ample distance away from Cayne, Schwartz skidded to a stop and switched his flashlight on. When he turned around to see if Cayne was where he had been, he was gone.

Schwartz slowly sneaked around the crater. Never had he been more scarred. He scanned the area with his flashlight. He didn't really know what he was doing. Sephiroth was said to be able to down a dragon by himself. If Cayne was even half as strong as Sephiroth, Schwartz didn't stand a snowball's chance in hell of beating him.

As he continued to scan the darkness with his flashlight, he spotted Ben's body. Schwartz would miss Ben; he had always been like a little brother to him.

Schwartz heard the sound of rocks crunching under boots behind him. Cayne had snuck up behind Schwartz in the darkness. Cayne spun around and shined the light in his eyes. Cayne dropped his guard and raised his hand to block his face. Schwartz squeezed the trigger and fired multiple times. Cayne dropped, three bullet holes through his chest.

Schwartz's feet gave out from under him and he collapsed to the ground. As he sat on the ground looking at where Cayne had fallen, he stuck his head between his legs and emptied the contents of his stomach on the ground. In less than an hour, two of his best friends were killed and he was responsible for one of them.

"Bravo 1! Come in, Bravo 1!" A voice on Schwartz's radio said. It was the helicopter. "Bravo 1! Come in! Bravo 1! This is Blackbird 9! Do you copy?"

"This is Bravo 1." Schwartz said tiredly. "I hear you, Blackbird 9."

"Thank god. What the hell is going on down there? I registered gunshots."

"Ben's dead. And I'm pretty sure Cayne is too. How about an evac? I'll tell you what happened on the way back to Midgar."

"Got it, I'll be there in a minute. Hold tight."

The helicopter appeared back above the crater and dropped a thick black cable. On the end of the cable was a metal ring that Schwartz slipped his foot through and took hold of the cable which the helicopter reeled back up. When Schwartz was back up on the helicopter, he flopped down into one of the hold-out seats on the sides.

"So what happened?" The pilot asked.

"Well, we were looking for the Mako when…"

Something hit the front of the helicopter and it swayed violently.

"What the fuck?" The pilot swore.

Schwartz looked towards the cockpit and saw that Cayne was now standing on the nose of the helicopter. Blood was still seeping from the three bullet holes in his chest. His face was pale. His eyes were that of a madman and he was wearing a sadistic smile. Cayne raised his sword and plunged the blade through the windshield. The point of the sword passed through the pilot's chest and out the back of his chair.

The helicopter began to drop without the pilot. Without a second thought, Schwartz drew the magnum that was the standard sidearm for Requiem Inc. troopers. He stepped up beside the dead pilot and fired. The magnum's bullet went into Cayne's forehead and when his head jerked back, the sword was yanked out of the pilot and Cayne fell off the nose.