Black Feather

Disclaimer: Don't own FFVII in any way, shape or form it belongs to Square Enix/Square Soft. All original characters, ships and other stuff are mine though.

Authors note: Well this has been sitting on my mind for some time now, demanding that I do something with it, so I've finally gotten around to sorting myself out and getting everything underway. This takes place roughly twenty-two years after DOC and should have some interesting surprises along the way. This chapters just a kind of mysterious intro, I blame the songs from the soundtrack for DOC for it but it works for me which is a good thing. Anyway, read and review.

Redemption

The figure moved with almost inhuman speed, the glowing red runes on the blade flashing moments after they had struck where Cloud had previously been. He wasn't sure if it was luck or the sheer amount of battles that he had been in that kept him from being struck by that blade but until he was able to parry or second guess what his opponent was going to do then he would have to fight defensively. Not the greatest of situations to be in but hopefully one that could keep him alive long enough for something to happen. There was no way that he was going to go down like this, not after all he had been through. Still his opponent was fast and strong, as well as being harrowingly familiar though Cloud was unable to place him.

Thankfully it wasn't Sephiroth that much he could tell but that didn't stop some sense of worry from gripping him in a cold embrace. The man was tall, slightly wide but more from training than eating, and had short cropped hair and that blasted sword which seemed to almost have a life-force of its own. Cloud got the feeling that he should call for back up, hell he had almost done so when he had first crossed paths with the guy but had been stopped by a strange greeting which had stung him to the core. Though the words meant nothing right now, he still looked for a way to call on the others and get them by his side.

In the past he would have wanted to protect them, keep them away from such things but that was when he hadn't been aware of whom he was himself. Back in the days where some part of Zack seemed to co-inhabit his soul and help the young man out. Sometimes it felt strangely quiet and empty without his voice twittering away into the darkest hours of the night but he had made his peace and moved on. Though sometimes secretly he wished it wasn't quite so.

"Fool" came a dark, baritone voice and Cloud suddenly found himself flung towards the ground with a hot piercing sensation through his left hand side. He didn't need anyone telling him what that was but a hiss escaped his clenched mouth as the heat from the blade began to move around his body. "I expected something far greater from you…grown lax in the years have we?" came the taunting voice before the blade was roughly pulled out and thrust downwards again.

However Cloud had moved, instinct overtaking rational sense and quickly his sword was thrown towards the figure with all the might he could muster. The other seemed slightly caught off guard by such an attack but managed to move back to avoid the main blow. Unfortunately an edge caught his chin and had him growling but the man suddenly knew that he was at a slight disadvantage and was forced to fight defensively. Sparks flew as the blades connected, shimmering white for Clouds and blood red for his.

The man grinned, seeing the fighter within the shell of the man who had been overlooked and ignored by all of those high ranking fools in Shinra until it was far too late to do anything about it. Though a cold stab did enter his heart as he thought about the one who had taken the then boy under his wing though it was not with sorrow but more with hatred for what that little brat had done to him and his beloved Goddess. She would rise again, that much he had made clear in his head, but first this planets protection had to be destroyed and knowing that simpering little pink clad child, she would do what she always did. So he, being the great Genesis, had decided to play the game ahead of time and gone immediately for the one target that she was liable to contact.

Genesis suddenly found himself blinded by a white flash and felt a stingingly cold sensation run up his entire body. Damn that materia, he would ensure to take it from this one's cold and dead body when he got the chance. But curiously, he found himself stumberling, a deep wound in his stomach and looking up he caught a glimpse of a very beautiful ice maiden disappearing back to the world from whence she came. He growled, staring at Cloud who though a bit battered and bruised, looked menacing and more than ready to continue the fight. Genesis growled and cursed the name of Shiva under his breath before chuckling deeply and standing upright, the wound closing almost automatically, "So you called on your friends for help did you?" he taunted, eyes shimmering, "Don't expect them to come anytime soon…they won't even be able to guess what happened here"

Cloud frowned but kept his cool, knowing that ideal threats were signs of stalling but then found himself crippled on the ground in more pain than he had ever felt before. His whole body felt like it was on fire, with bruises and breaks almost occurring randomly but what was worse was that Cloud had lived through this all before. His body twitched in pain, strangled screams escaped his throat and tears pricked at his eyes but refused to drop. He had no idea as to how this other was doing this; all he knew was that he was being forced to relive all the Hojo had done to him. Genesis grinned wickedly, "How does it feel Cloud, to have every last bone in your body broken, each piece of you skin burnt and tested on and then violated? How did you manage to hide all of the power within your being when things like this were happening? You're weak Cloud…more weak than you've ever been and no one can stop me"

Even though his vision was hazy from all the pain, Cloud thought for a second that he saw an all to familiar, black haired figure standing in front of him and shouting incoherently but he suddenly let out a high pitched yell as a harsh stab of pain shot through his entire body but this time it was joined by blood from his stomach. "Die the way you were supposed to all those years ago" Genesis said, a snarl on his features whilst his outstretched hand clenched tightly together.

Suddenly two shots were fired, one striking the hand whilst the other appeared to sail past harmlessly till it struck a wall on the opposite side. Instead of the projectile imbedding itself in the wall, it appeared to stop just before it and a ripple appeared which spread out and upwards, bouncing back off every surface until there was a low enough hum that vibrated back and forth constantly. Then the time bubble shattered, shards going everywhere and breaking into nothing but harmless water. Before Genesis could even glance in the direction that the bullets had come from, there was a flash of a dark figure and suddenly he found himself being forced back by swift movements and a blade which shimmered strangely in the darkness of the storm.

He growled and swung back, "You again?"

The figure jumped expectedly out of the way, almost guessing the moves before ducking down as a stream of lightening came towards then ex-Solider first class. Genesis managed to deflect it but suddenly found himself at the mercy of a smaller figure, leaner and curvy who was wielding a partisan staff so quickly that he wouldn't have been able to see it clearly if not for the trail of the jewel on one end. The figure was fast, moving to counter attack his every move but not as confident to keep him moving backwards and into open spaced. She had definitely improved Genesis noted but slyly grinned before shoving her back a little way, "Nice try cutey but I don't play with the likes of you for very long" he teased.

Swinging the partisan around expectedly, the figure planted it in the ground before raising her hands as if to launch a spell at him but Genesis was immediately on the attack, rushing towards her with expert timing. Suddenly though he found himself being barrelled over by something large and heavy and crashed onto the ground. Looking up he met the horrid yellow eyes of a foe he had known long before this incarnation and he struck upwards to dislodge the beast and strike at it but when something was made of high grade platinum it was rather hard to do. The wolf like creature growled and snapped at Genesis, clawing and biting every last piece of him it could get to whilst the other two joined the battle once again, obviously keeping him occupied but there wasn't a lot that he could do now given the situation. He snarled and glanced towards Cloud, at least hoping to have done enough damage to him.

Ah, but there was the fourth figure, the one who had fired at him so expectedly only a matter of minuets ago. He had to stop her but there was no chance with this amount of attacks coming his way.

Cloud coughed weakly, barely able to register what was going on around him but aware that someone was attempting to call his name. He glanced in their direction but only managed to see a dark and hazy figure. His breathing was laboured and he felt cold, lost and alone. At first he didn't want the figure anywhere near him and tried to pull away from the gentle touches but suddenly felt warmth pass through him which he had not felt since the life-stream. He opened his eyes, not sure what to expect and frowned at the dark world that he was presented with. Only rain told him that this was reality and no one was with him. Frowning, he turned his head to the side as he heard what sounded like a battle and felt his heart skip a beat.

There was a battle raging on, between the man he had come across earlier and four others. They were moving quickly, working almost in strange forms of teams to attack, defend, counter attack, cast spells, heal and as he stared two raised their arms simultaneously and there was a glow in the sky. Staring as the great and mighty laythian was summoned, only curiously the white foam on the edge of the wave looked like a mad charging herd of chocobo's, Cloud didn't know what he should do.

Genesis's cold laughter reverberated throughout the wrecked area as he seemed to brush off the attack, "You four really have learned nothing on your travels have you? Oh well…I was looking forward to leading you on a merry dance once again but I think I shall end it here and save myself some hassle later on"

There was a glow around Genesis, a slightly off yellow colour which shimmered and shone. The four around him exchanged glances before nodding and moving away, curiously their weapons being holstered. With a roar yellow tendrils of light soared down from the sky, one locking itself around Genesis whilst the others found their targets and exploded in a shower of white stars. Cloud yelled out in pain though he didn't really know why and turned his eyes towards the heavens with fresh tears but suddenly was drawn to look back again.

The light had vanished and to his surprise the four figures were still standing, looking like they were praying. But what was unusual was the fact that they had their hands, or mane in case of the metallic wolf, clasped around a something which glowed with light. Genesis stared in shock as all together the figures opened their hands and small glowing orbs, not to dissimilar from materia, floated gently upwards. It was the colours that most confused Cloud though, one was a shining Mako green, another was bright white, and the third was a familiar shade of pink whilst the last was an ocean blue. He wanted to focus more, see what they were but his body and mind finally gave out and exhaustion overtook his senses forcing him harshly into the land of sleep.

"Cloud!" a voice woke him with a slight start, and instantly he reached for his sword but found that he was on an all too familiar bed. Frowning, he turned his head to find the kind and caring eyes of Tifa upon him whilst at the door he could see two others though couldn't quite focus upon them at the moment. He looked confusedly towards Tifa, hoping that she would at least be able to explain what had happened as he had a storming headache.

Smiling softly, Tifa knew that look all to well, "We found you in the remains of sector four…you were pretty beat up I can tell you"

Cloud sighed, hoping that the memories which were surfacing were just a horrid dream, "What happened?" he asked, surprised at how croaky his voice sounded.

Tifa stared her blond haired companion, wondering if he was speaking the truth but hearing a slight tail off, as if he were trying to piece together bits of information, "We were hoping that you could tell us. I mean you call my daughter, get her all worked up and by the time we've found you you're out cold and everything suggests of a battle but…"

"I called Lunar?" Cloud cut in, frowning, "Sorry I thought I had hit your number"

"It's alright. She knew what to do…though bless her, I never expected her to come all the way back home to just check on you" Tifa replied, knowing that this little bit of news would do the swordsman a whole world of good.

From the doorway, Lunar listened quietly to her mother talking to Cloud before smiling secretly to herself and turning to head back to her own room. Yuffie was for once behaving herself after rudely waking the other up but the young girl had other things to attend to right now. Sometimes she forgot what home life could be like.

They will find out one day you know said a playful voice inside her head, to which the girl did not reply, simply opening the door to pet the metallic creature that was busy grooming himself.

"I know" she whispered, in case anyone was listening, "But that days a long way off yet…we've only started down our path"

Picking up a photograph which showed herself, Chaos, Spike and Zen, Lunar sighed and shook her head slightly. They were just at the beginning of the adventure, even though so much had already befallen them. What else could this world hold now?