This story was inspired by a quote from .hack//SIGN. "I always wondered what happened to the world I reset... Thoughts turn into reality. So the world I abandoned by resetting might have been engulfed by evil..." It's such a simple idea, but it stuck in my head for years. "What if...?" There were things unanswered, like what was going on in the average Joe's mind, Meteor, and whether or not Sephiroth would actually become a god. After almost five years in progress, I think I've answered my own questions.

What happens after Game Over and the heroes lose...

-AR

Restart Ch1: Holy

The sun dawned a rosy pink that filtered through the misty veil of morning and reflected off of the sides of the airship hovering just above the couple. The woman's deep chestnut eyes followed the shadows releasing the ship, but then she could watch no longer. Her hands flopped limply at her sides and she shook her head. Her companion stood from where he had been thinking, not facing the hulking body of the ship, and moved to her side. He cleared his throat. "We'd better go."

The woman turned to the voice and rested those fearful eyes on the man. "But, I still…!?"

"It's alright, Tifa," he said, shaking his head. "You said so yourself yesterday. At least we don't have to go alone."

Tifa chewed on her lip in thought. "Yes…" She nodded. "That's right!"

"Okay! Let's go!" Cloud said with a grin, and they turned back to the airship. As they entered the cavernous belly, a cool wind caressed their faces. Though the usual droning of gears hummed gently in the background, the otherwise eerie silence caught their ears. A day ago, the hall had been full of the voices of the people they loved and trusted, their chocobo they had all raised had warbled in its stall, and that ninja girl moaned and complained as her stomach rebelled against the ship's motions. Today, the silence weighed down their already heavy spirits.

"The airship's too big for just the two of us," Tifa murmured as she glanced around the empty room. "Yeah, it's a little lonely without everyone."

Cloud glanced over his shoulder, then drew close to his companion. He rested his hand on her shoulder and raised her lowered chin. "Don't worry. It'll be okay." Leaping away from her, he grinned a strained grin and danced a little on the catwalk. "I'll make a big enough ruckus for everyone." Tifa just blinked, and Cloud cleared his throat. He idly batted at a strand of hair that had fallen in over his eyes with a gloved finger. "Besides, I'm the pilot. No more flying around casually like before. We won't have time to feel lonely."

Though she didn't feel any better, the woman nodded knowing that there was not much to do about the others. They had all been given the option of staying with the team and fighting, or spending their last few days with loved ones. Had she had family, Tifa would have left, but her family was Cloud and his family was her. They were in it for the long run, and that was a lonely position. But if they could die together…

The thoughts the two had been drowning in shattered as engines fired up from their idle humming and the ship gave a great lurch as it began lifting off from the ground. Cloud and Tifa exchanged glances and rushed onto the bridge. The early morning light flooded bright and clear through the front window silhouetting two figures hunched over the control panel. "Barret! Cid!" Cloud shouted, hardly believing his eyes.

The larger silhouette turned away from the levers and glanced from one dumbfounded face to the other. "O, oh… is that okay with you?" As though these words were a signal, the four absent allies stepped from the shadows and took their usual positions on the bridge.

Cloud leaped out of the way as Yuffie dashed out of the room and back to the rail. His mako-blue eyes took in the whole group, resting on one person at a time. He had to swallow before he could speak. "Thanks everyone."

Barret, wiping his own eyes but camouflaging it as just rubbing, retorted, "We didn't come back for your spiky-headed ass! We came back for Marlene. Guess it's jes' my… whatcha call, feelings or somethin'. I, uh, I ain't got no words now…"

Red XIII stepped up from his resting place, head hung low, knowing that he had to speak the thoughts haunting everyone's minds: there was one still missing. "…Although she's not here, she left us a window of opportunity…"

"We can't let it go like this," Cid finished with a nod and turned to Cloud.

The mercenary turned away from the others' eyes and stared out the front window. The ground seemed so far away from this place in the air. He spoke tightly, fighting back the sorrow and guilt that threatened to rule him, "…Aerith." Her name came out in a breath. "She was smiling to the end. We have to do something or that smile will just freeze like that." He turned back to the group, ignoring the hot tears burning in his eyes. "Let's all go together. Memories of Aerith…" He cleared his throat. "Although she should've returned to the Planet by now, something's stopped her and now she's stuck. We've got to let go of Aerith's memory."

"Has anyone here changed their mind?" Cid asked. A determined silence responded.

Cloud nodded at the resolute reply. "I'm counting on you, Cid."

"All right, so what should I do? You decide, Cloud."

Only the white glow from the mist just outside the window silhouetted the leader, standing a little taller within the gaze of the people who had become family. "This is our last battle. Our target is the North Cave. Our enemy is… Sephiroth." He thrust his fist into the air yelling, "So let's move out!"

Cid began flipping levers and pushing buttons to trigger the airship's transformation from propellers to the experimental rockets recently installed on the Highwind.

There was an incredible burst of speed and the ground far below fell away like a rushing river. Cloud watched it all pass through narrowed eyes locked on the far northern horizon, waiting for the Crater to peek over the rim of the world. "We're almost to the North Cave. We're on our way, Sephiroth!"

"Man, I'm going to stick it to him!" Cid shouted in agreement before being pulled back to duty by an alarm and flashing warning lights.

"What is it, Cid?"

"Some incredible force! Losing… control…!" It was then that the crew of the Highwind leaped from their hiding places and rushed to the aid of their Captain. Despite Cid's threats and curses, their loyalty is what really got him through those moments and gave him the strength to open up the new rockets and devour the distance to Crater.

Did Lady Luck smile down onto the weary souls just above Crater? Did Fortuna bless this party before they journeyed deep into Hell? Not to the eyes turned toward the depths of the earth, nor to the crewman unrolling the rope ladder to Crater's lip. Inside the airship, not far enough away from the oppressive atmosphere, Cloud paused at the great window in an attempt to procrastinate descending into the claws of his own devil. His mako blue eyes stared into the shadowed depths as though piercing the veil between worlds. Barret chuckled to himself from his place by the window, carefully looking away. "Time's got a way of sneakin' up on ya, huh? I'm shakin' all over…." His nervous laughter faded away as he deflated. "I feel sick…"

Tifa walked up to her friend and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, Cloud… would you tell me 'It's all right'?"

Cloud turned to her, plastered on the toughest grin he could muster, and ran a hand through his chaotically spiked hair. "It's all right, Tifa." Only he winced at the audacity in his voice, feeling as though he was tempting fate.

Tifa, however, clapped her hands together and practically beamed. "Now I feel like things are really going to be all right. Thanks, Cloud."

Duty was a heavy burden that Cloud shouldered, but he couldn't shake the unsettling feeling deep inside that only grew as he waited. He made his way back out to the deck, not looking back but knowing that the others would be following in their own time. Standing at the railing, it was all he could do to not gasp as the brutal northern wind sliced through the SOLDIER turtleneck sweater. He clenched his teeth in resolve and descended down the rope ladder that was whipping about in the gales. The edge of the crater was uncomfortably close once he was down and watching the tips of his boots knock pebbles into the pit. Just below the lip, Cloud could see a narrow trail – an unsteady outcropping, really. "Looks like we can only slide down," he murmured to himself. Taking a breath, he closed his eyes in prayer or maybe just telling himself what a fool he was. "Alright, let's go." He took a couple steps back to get a running start and took a blind leap of faith into the gaping maw. It seemed like eternity he hung there in the air before he twisted his body and landed in a crouch on the narrow path. He gave a small whisper of thanks to the SOLDIER program, then shook his head as he kicked himself. Cloud had never been in SOLDIER. There was little to keep him from his goal, not even the crumbling rocks from beneath his feet. It was an 'unsteady outcropping' after all.

If the winding, crumbling trail reminded Cloud of the ShinRa mansion, then the labyrinth of tunnels he now entered was just like the trail through the Nibel Mountains. Had he been born anywhere else in the world, this maze would have driven him mad, but it was almost a relief to be in familiar territory. His feet practically found their own way out. The tunnel opened into a massive cavern where a couple of the party were standing around, and the others soon drifted in. Cloud spent a few minutes surveying the area. "The road splits in two. We'll split into two groups. Tifa, Vincent, you're with me. The rest of you take the other path," his voice became grim. "Now don't any of you die on me…" he cleared a voice that had begun wavering. "Gotta get through to Sephiroth!"

Vincent walked forward, his somber eyes staring out from behind a veil of raven locks. "It's all over now. With this…"

Yuffie, on the other hand, slumped her shoulders and kicked at a rock halfheartedly. "Oh man… 'Materia Hunter Yuffie' sounds like the last chapter of 'Materia Forever'," she pouted.

"All life on this Planet, indeed the very life of this Planet is in our hands…" Red said, ignoring the ninja's whining.

Cait chirped up with his usual optimistic tone. "I'm so happy to have met you all, really!" It was Reeve they heard through the act, and it sounded final.

Barret was the last to say his goodbyes. He walked over to Cloud and Tifa and clapped his big hand over the leader's shoulder though he addressed them both. "Well… looks like this is our last big job!" Tifa took a moment to throw her arms around him in a quick hug; he tried to hide the moisture in his eyes by turning to the others and began to trudge down their path.

Once they were out of sight, Cloud turned to his small party. "This will be the end of it!" Vincent and Tifa both nodded and began the trek down their own tunnel. Besides the usual scattering of monsters made powerful by the heavy amounts of residual mako in the area, their only interruption was when their path split. If Vincent hadn't been there with his cool logic, they would have listened to Cloud and split once again to cover both. Instead, the ex-Turk suggested the lower path. Finally, the tunnel opened up into another, deeper cavern. High above, the mouth of the crater stared up at them like the eye of God, but no one looked to the heavens. Their eyes were drawn to the golden mist that boiled out from the second crater at their feet, glowing and pulsing green. It was through this almost overbearing light that Cloud and the others squinted into, noting the stones that form a stairway into the heart. A corrupt parody of the pathway to the City of the Ancients is what it was. Hands flew to weapons at the scraping and rustling coming from a different opening. Once Barret first tumbled out, then the others, Cloud's hand released its grip on his sword. The large gunner separated himself from the heap and smiled in a rather sheepish manner. "Yo," he hailed, "we're a bit late?"

Quite a while passed down in that purgatory, each feeling that he was stretched between heaven and hell. Everyone had taken to either stealing wary glances to the smoking pit, else turned their eyes entirely elsewhere as though willing the pit away. Cloud, though, hadn't ceased his masochistic vigil. "This is the center of the Planet…?" he thought aloud.

Cid shot a glance to his leader then returned to his own thoughts, watching the gently smoking tip of his third cigarette. "Let's just get this over with!"

"This is it," Tifa agreed and pulled her eyes to the pit.

Barret snapped the hinge of his gunarm shut, watching it load itself in whirring gears and clicks. "Awright, this's the last dance!"

With a breath somewhere between fear and wonder, Red murmured, "We finally made it here."

"Well, shall we get goin'?" Cait responded in his false enthusiasm; Reeve's echo was strained.

Vincent, however, watched the pit's glow reflect off of five bronze claws, each a little knife, each glittering in the light from hell. He wasn't thinking about death of himself, but of the others. "Being with you all is not so bad," he said in a subdued whisper.

Cloud couldn't help the grin that surfaced at his friend's attempt at fellowship. It, more than anything else, brightened his hopes. With a renewed vigor, he turned to face the rest of the party. "All right, everyone, let's mosey."

"Damn! Again!" Cid choked on his cigarette and spun to face his leader. "Stop sayin' it like a wimp! Can't you say 'Move out!' or somethin'?"

The younger mercenary looked properly ashamed, scratching his hair like a boy. Before long, though, a gleam came to his eye and he returned to being their fearless leader, calling for them to "Move out!!" Rather than his comrades' cheers, innumerable monsters filling the crater answered his call.

Barret was the first to speak, eyes wide and jaw agape. "What?"

"Look at the number…" Red added.

Cid's hand clenched around the shaft of his spear until his knuckles turned white beneath the cloves he wore. "They're comin' out in full force!"

The first glanced over his shoulder but kept his gun aimed at the descending monsters. "Cloud! You go first!"

Cloud stood his ground. "I'm fighting here, too."

"Shu'up! It won't do us no good wit' everyone back here!"

"Barret's right," the Captain agreed. "You take two of us with you and go first. The rest'll catch up with ya later."

Tifa took a moment to adjust her glove, a nervous habit more than anything. "Is this like a practice run before the real thing?"

Cait gave her a flat look through the corner of his eye, but it was Reeve's voice that filtered through the stuffed doll's speaker. "Yeah, a major practice run…"

"I'm fine with that," Yuffie commented, taking a couple swipes at the air with a feral laugh. Aside, she added, "It's probably more fun than fighting Sephiroth down there."

The ex-Turk had been ticking off the number to himself while the others bickered. He had to recount at least twice before he just gave up at 'a lot'. "Hmm, this might be fun to pass time." Vincent made no acknowledgement of the incredulous looks the others gave him.

Another scream tore through the cavern. "They're coming!" Red shouted, ears pricked to the sound. "They're already on the floor next to us!"

"Cloud! Hurry up and make up your mind!" Barret sounded strained.

"Tifa, Vincent. You're with me." The two named moved to the young mercenary. "All of you!" They stole a glance just long enough to catch Cloud's wave farewell. "Later!"

The three never heard Barret respond over the sounds of the attacking monsters as they spiraled down into the Crater's heart. It seemed the very soul of the world lit this cavern, even the lowermost platform formed of black cubed crystals. Cloud sped headlong down the spiraling path, followed closely by Vincent and Tifa. Each creature they encountered they moved past with all haste, hardly pausing at each step. After what seemed like an eternity, their boots hit the hematite surface with a resounding chime rather than the previous gravel crunch. Never hesitating, Cloud walked to the center of the platform, looking around. "Where are we…?"

With a voice to challenge even the frozen wind, a huge creature appeared from the mist. Vincent's sharp breath and Tifa's gasp of shock both echo Cloud's own disgust as he takes in the bulging, pulsing body levitating just above the gleaming surface. The face grinned in a grotesque parody of a woman, once beautiful but turned demonic by hate. "Jenova…!?" Cloud exclaimed, confused only for a moment. He gripped his sword's hilt with a steely determination and took off full tilt against the monster. The creature's appendage caught Cloud in the stomach and threw him clear across the arena. Tifa gasped and ran to the man's side; Vincent providing cover with expertly placed shots from his handgun.

On the ground where he landed, Cloud winced and gripped his now bruised side. When Tifa ran up and found him alright, she was filled with a protective fury. "You're an idiot, you know that, Cloud? You never think before acting!" Nevertheless, she reached down and gave him a hand up. "We might not always be here to cover your back.

Cloud shook his head ruefully, acknowledging that she was right, then assessed the situation. Vincent continued to pump shot after shot into Jenova's seemingly immortal form. One arm finally succumbed to the attacks and lay limp at the monster's side. That gave him an idea. "You and Vincent take the other arm. I'll come from the front.

The two companions nod and begin their attack at the flailing tentacle. Tifa sprinted forward and wrapped it around her wrist and pinned it down as Vincent landed shot after shot just above the fearless woman's head. At her signal, Cloud took off running at the creature's main body, hacking with a graceless ferocity until both he and the sword were covered in black blood. He took a step back, gasping for breath, and wiped his eyes clear of the tar-like substance. Suddenly, he blinked, watching Jenova's wounds close and seam together as though they'd never been. Confused, he stole a glance over to Tifa who was growing steadily weaker as the beast grew stronger. Before he could run to her rescue, she was flung to the ground.

"Tifa!" Cloud shouted and knelt by her stunned body. Just after Tifa groaned and showed signs of waking, he rounded on the creature in a fury. The mercenary raised his sword and prepared for another attack though was caught off guard. A powerful poison spell hit him and he was forced to one knee, resting most of his weight on his weapon. Vincent, glancing through the corner of his eye, redoubled his effort to buy Cloud just a little time. Jenova turned her grotesque head toward his gunfire.

Cloud had fallen to the cold stone by the time Tifa had finally woken from her stunned state. One hand reached into her item bag and fished out a Remedy while the other had already begun pulling him away from his blood-tinged vomit that was sprayed on the mirror surface. She wiped his blonde hair away from his cold sweat soaked brow and tipped the vial to his lips. "Come on, Cloud." The precious liquid dribbled down the side of his chin. Hurriedly, she caught it in the glass vial. "Drink this. Please!" Finally, the cool medicine poured into his mouth and down his throat. The woman was denied any relief, however, as her mind was filled with a voice. Five, it said. Her head snapped to Jenova, levitating there in the center of the platform. The rhythmic double gunshot missed a beat; the only sign that Vincent even heard the voice, but his eyes had narrowed and the shots came faster. Tifa spun her focus back to Cloud who was only just finding his way back from the Bio induced fever. "Focus on me, Cloud! I'm right here." His eyes blinked the film clear and wiped the bile from his lips. Again, that voice filled their minds. Four.

Above any one else, Cloud knew that voice, having had it whispering in his ear through countless nights. He clenched his hand around his sword's hilt and leapt to his feet. "Not this time, Jenova. This is where it ends!" With a yell, the mercenary flung himself sword first into the pulsing monster, impaling it deep. He wasn't satisfied with the dark blood pouring out around his sword, however. He flipped his right hand around, gathered his legs beneath him and pushed off with all the strength his mako-enhanced body could muster. The heavy blade carved its way straight up through Jenova until it freed itself from her skull and Cloud jumped back to admire Climhazzard's handy work. His grin slipped as he realized that the bloody ruin of a body was still living, and still whispering to them. Three, it said. "Shit…" The mercenary whispered, taking an involuntary step backwards. Ashamed at his weakness, he regripped his blade and squared off against the levitating creature. Two.

A soft, unmistakable click echoed in the vast chamber as Vincent reloaded Death Penalty. His deep red eyes narrowed down the barrel of the gun. "Die" was the only word that escaped his lips as he pulled the trigger. Two bullets sped across time as it voiced One and came to a thudding halt somewhere deep in its brain. The force that had been keeping it hovering just inches above the hematite surface evaporated and the shell once housing Jenova crashed in a bloody, mangled heap.

The danger now passed, the dark shroud that had hardened their features lifted. Cloud walked up to the corpse with a half smile playing across his face and poked the tip of his sword into the bloody pulp. "Here we are, saving the world, and there's not a single gil for the Crisis from the Skies."

Tifa shook her head, not trying to hide her own relieved smile. "You're an idiot, Cloud." This time, it wasn't meant as an insult. Together, they watched as the husk dissolved into the Lifestream with a caustic hiss, Jenova vanishing before their very eyes. They had very little time to celebrate, however, for it seemed that Jenova's will had held the platform together. Each shining hematite cube flew away like a shattering glass, taking the three warriors even deeper to the heart of the Planet.

Darkness pressed in all around Cloud, smothering him. A soft pulsing light blossomed before his eyes. "Li…ght…" he breathed as he drifted in that endless night. "A light… Is this… Is this light… Holy?" He closed his eyes and allowed it to absorb him completely and chase the shadows from his mind. The mercenary realized that he had been unconscious when he awoke on a blood red stone platform, the light glowing nearby within a red stone cage.

"Owww… damn, man!' The familiar voice seemed muffled in the oppressive silence.

Cloud jerked his head around in surprise, spotting the speaker shaking his head on another platform just above him. "Barret!?"

"What…?" the large gunner looked around from his perch. "So everyone's together again…?" Answering moans struggled against the heavy silence as the others woke. Just as they began to take account of their surroundings, the light pulsed a ring of power and the eight of them found themselves in an invisible grip as solid as steel that lifted them into the air. They froze midstruggle as arrogant mako green eyes invaded their minds. As though stepping from a fold of reality, the owner of those eyes emerged in a swirl of silver hair and black leather.

"…Sephiroth!!" Pure hatred turned the name into a curse as it tore free from Cloud's lips. The General hardly glanced his way; instead another burning ring pulsed free from the light.

"Is this…" Barret could hardly speak around the pain tearing through him, "the true power of Sephiroth?"

Cid's limbs seemed to be stretching to their limit. "My… my body…" he gasped. "I can't control my body…!?" A sadistic smile skewed Sephiroth's features as he first brought the eight of them close then held them as another wave of energy ripped through their bodies.

"My front legs… my hind legs…" Red panted, tears streaming from his one good eye, "my tail's about to tear off!!"

Cait Sith was blessedly immune from the pain. "This is definitely not good… He's way outta our league…" Unfortunately, Reeve's call for retreat fell on deaf ears.

"I," Yuffie squeezed her eyes shut and forced the tremble from her voice, "I don't know if I can… go on…" Sephiroth merely laughed and spun them about like toys, mocking them with his power.

"Cloud…" Tifa called out, barely above a whimper. "Cloud…"

The mercenary could do no more than grunt in reply, having to fight both physical anguish and the General's ringing laughter in his mind. Another ring tore through his thoughts. "…there…" he struggled to voice. "It's… there…"

Tifa could barely open her eyes against the pain. "Cloud…?" she whispered, confused. Another pulse shattered her train of thought.

"…Holy… Holy is there…" The mercenary forced the words through numb lips, his own thoughts scattering. "Holy is shining… Aerith's prayer is shining…!"

"Holy…" she tried to piece together. Finally, the name made sense. "Aerith…"

One more pulse tore through the captive party, but Cloud grit his teeth and stood firm against the pain. "It's not over yet…" he gasped. "This isn't the end yet!!" His will, combined with Tifa and Vincent's, held them steady through the final, strongest wave of energy that knocked the others to the platforms.

Tifa glared pure defiance toward Sephiroth, the man who tore her life apart – hers and so many others. "…We're not gonna lose!! Aerith is here…" she stole a glance at the white light trapped within the red stone cage. "Everyone is here…. Cloud is here with us! There's still many things for us to do… I'm not giving up!!" Vincent spoke volumes with the single poisonous look with which he concluded Tifa's speech.

Cloud locked eyes - blue to green - with his nemesis, hatred and anger a fire burning deep within his chest. "Aerith's memories…" he could see her soft smile and her willful stance, "our memories…" how long had he stood at Tifa's window all those years ago? "We came… to tell you… our memories…" For a moment, he broke eye contact with the General and addressed the empty hollow. "Come Planet! Show us your answer!" His voice echoed into the vast silence, and he once again sought out the black-garbed man. "And Sephiroth! To the settling of everything!" The mercenary brandished his sword while his companions readied their own weapons. Sephiroth, however, merely laughed in response and began to emanate a vile light. Calling upon the final dredges of Jenova's power, he mutated; the two entities merged into one single being, a horrible parody of angel and puppet master.

Vincent took careful aim, no questions asked, and pulled the trigger. Two shots rang clear, then there was silence. He cursed under his breath as he lowered his weapon. "Nothing."

"What?!" Cloud spun around in disbelief, but it was true. Not a single scratch marred the perfect golden orb that was the bizarre creature's heart. While he stared, first one then several lavender specks floated into view. Confused and more than a bit irritated, he glanced askance to the other two warriors.

"Cloud…" Tifa whispered anxiously, eyes turned upward to watch a dark shadow pass over the brilliant lavender light. The first thing that emerged from the silhouette was a glint of light from a fine silver chain entwined in the angel's dark wing, then a spark from the metal braided into his snow white hair. His katana sparkled wickedly in the divine light, the only hint that he would move. Vincent was the first to taste the ethereal steel, falling to his knees without a mark though that razor sharp blade clearly cut straight through. The heartless angel didn't give Tifa a chance to defend herself, darting forward and slashing past her defenses. With a cry, she collapsed to the ground, barely conscious.

"Damn you," Cloud muttered through clenched teeth and brought his sword up in defense. The angel's eyes – wine splashed cherry blossoms – turned toward the voice, staring through a veil of white hair. Pale lashes lowered lethargically before he darted forward, quicker than thought, and slashed clear past the mercenary's defenses. Cloud's pain-hazed eyes could barely see the raven-winged creature fade first into the lavender light then to darkness.

Tifa struggled to bring herself to a kneeling position; she would not face Sephiroth collapsed there on the floor. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction. Vincent, too, forced himself off of his rifle and shook his head to clear his vision. Cloud merely glared at his adversary and wiped the trickle of blood from his lip. Though he felt close to death, he didn't allow himself to show any weakness. For a moment, he thought that he could see a smirk cross Sephiroth's face. A faintly lavender fog filled his vision and he watched as Tifa was swallowed up by the monstrous general's next attack. He would have none of that! He shook the premonition from his mind as he leaped forward, covering Tifa from the exploding stone.

She never knew she was screaming until the silence deafened her ears. Shuddering breaths threatened to tear her chest apart with more screams when her eyes finally found the broken form nearly buried in the blood red rock and dust. "No…Cloud…" Tifa's surroundings blurred until nothing existed except his gently parted lips and closed eyes. He truly seemed to be sleeping, this silly boy from her memory. This was no place to rest, Cloud. She gasped a broken laugh as she fell to her knees by his side and reached to wake him. No matter how hard she shook him, he remained still beneath the crimson dust. She removed her hand from his shoulder to find it red from his cooling blood. Only then did the searing tears run down her face, leaving streaks in the dust on her own face. "Cloud…" She wrapped her arms around her chest, fighting down the consuming cries, suddenly terribly cold. The memory of the last phoenix down drifted away on the winds of time. Sorrow shifted like quicksilver into hatred, her chestnut eyes smoldering with vengeance snapped to the malformed general. "You bloated leech," she sneered. "How much blood do you need before you're satisfied? Wutai, Nibelheim… Aerith. And now…." Her voice faded for a moment then came back even stronger. "There can never be forgiveness." Again blinded by blistering tears, she flew at Sephiroth in a berserker rage, beating and tearing anything she can reach.

Her energy disappeared almost as fast as it came, the heartless angel's wound taking the strength from her knees and into Vincent's waiting arms. The gunman could make out few words other than Cloud's name and "for me…" Tifa refocused her eyes on the stoic figure gently setting her down. Was that sympathy she saw in his eyes? She curled her lip into a poor imitation of a smile.

Barret watched from his own platform then turned to face the monstrous golem. "Come on, jackass. Lemme show ya what we got!" He raised his gunarm and fired his burning lead rain. Yuffie joined in almost immediately afterwards, her massive shuriken coming from everywhere. The usually buoyant teenager lost herself in the battle's rhythm: throw-and-catch-set throw-and-catch-set.

"Let's go, guys! We can take him!" Cait Sith stood aside with his materia, cheering the fighters on. He sounded strangely hollow, however, as though he didn't believe his own words.

The grotesque face slowly turned towards the party, an eager and malevolent smile mocking their efforts. Once again, the luminescent dust drifted down.

Like the others, they glance up at the lights. Yuffie giggled nervously and held her hand out as though catching snow. "Well, we all wondered about Sephiroth," she drawled the insinuation out, indicating the purple dust in her hands. "I mean, now we've got proof."

"Shuddup, Yuffie. Ain't no time for your dumbass jokes." Unlike the ninja, Barret was less interested in the monster's sexual orientation than with the angel he knew was being summoned. Both his eyes and his gun were trained on the heavens, waiting for the first sign of wings or weapon. The gleam of white feathers received the first pulse of bullets, but was unperturbed and continued to descend. The golden tips of messy black hair glowed around the angel in a mockery of a halo, and his blue eyes sought out his first target. He nocked his white bow, ignoring the constant shower of hot bullets, and aimed first at the robotic cat. Reeve let loose a cry of frustration as the silver shaft pierced the moogle's stuffed body and fried the circuits. The angel caressed the black feather tattooed around his wrist in thought, then fired two shots, one after the other, into the remaining fighters. They, too, fell to the dirt, barely able to raise their eyes high enough to watch the angel fade away.

"Shit," Barret cursed through clenched teeth as he struggled to his feet. "I'm so sick of you! Go to hell!"

Cait crawled up on top of the now useless moogle and removed a green orb from his megaphone. Words spilled hurriedly from his lips before he called out "Cure!" He was willing the weak spell to work faster when electricity crackled from the ends of his synthetic whiskers. The chanting paused for just an instant in confusion then ceased entirely as bolts of energy tore his stuffed body to pieces. The materia fell from the doll's lifeless fingertips and rolled away.

Yuffie watched the lightning spell flicker away and grabbed for the item bag strapped to her waist, determined to get out of this battle alive. "Barret! I got it!" she calls as she fumbled with the knotted flap. Automatic fire rapped out in staccato bursts, shattering her concentration and trying her already short patience.

The fury built up over the time on the road exploded in a raging fire in Barret's chest. "Biggs, Wedge, Jessie. Aerith. Cloud." The first sharp blasts of cold air were ignored in his madness. "They're all dead! Now you gonna take the whole damn Planet?" Only when the numbing gusts froze the air in his lungs did he realize the ice spell enveloping him. "You bastard! You ain't gonna take me down!" He screamed defiance into the winds, still firing. It was at the peak of the spell, as he felt his life slip into silence, did he whisper, "Marlene…" Bitter darkness enveloped him, snuffing his life into nothing.

The ninja flung the uselessly knotted bag away and regripped her shuriken. "Not without a fight, Sephiroth." With that, she took off running, tossing the star and ignoring the spray of stone behind her. She leaped aside to catch the returning weapon, but before she could move, the dirt beneath her feet began to shift. Bitter tears fell from her staring eyes as her body was flung across the ground only to bounce off of a rock, crashing down, sprawled like a broken doll.

Tifa's cry filled the battleground when she saw her friends fall. So many of her friends had died on this crusade, her heart was numb from it. She hefted Cloud's limp form over her shoulders and called for their retreat. The remaining members of Avalanche turned and ran, but the retreat felt more like abandonment to Tifa. "We'll return with help. I swear."

They had almost made it away from the battlegrounds when her vision faded into a tunnel and was pressed into the ground. She lost her grip on Cloud in her fall beneath the gravity spell. Vincent returned to her side to help her back up, but she was searching frantically for Cloud. There, just behind them, he laid behind them in a discarded heap. The woman breathed a sigh of relief and moved to retrieve him. Her first footstep closer to him shattered the weakened rock. Cloud slipped down with the cascading stone; Tifa leaped forward with a cry to grab his wrist, but missed. Horrified and helpless, she watched as two seconds devoured her love in darkness. Her chilling scream went on and on forever as madness took control of her mind. Sorrow, grief, and guilt circled like raging tides as she watched Cloud fall again and again.

"TIFA! Dammit!" Cid cursed as he pulled her convulsing body from the precipice. She fought him, grasping back for the edge and screaming. "He's gone! Cloud's dead!" His heart chilled as the words escaped his lips, their weight finally coming to light. "It's over," he whispered and reached for the only materia in his cuff. The captain closed his weary eyes almost in prayer. The materia's bright glow illumined the four in sickly chartreuse, stripping away any strength that remained. Vincent watched the orb in contemplation with eyes already resigned to his fate. Red turned his eyes away, unable to face even one tiny fragment of the Planet he failed. Tifa's face, the most haggard of them all, didn't even acknowledge their existence. Cid's eyes opened, bright with unshed tears and whispered, "Escape."

Silly me. I had the first version written ages ago, but I totally rewrote it. Therefore "Restart Redux". The most notable change is the tense switch from present to past. If you see any problems, please notify me. Another change is with the battle with Reverse (Bizarro) Sephiroth. See, I made the stupid mistake that Seph could use Blue Light. Originally, Cloud pushes Tifa out of the way of the light. Then I discovered that only Jenova uses that attack. Now, I review it and the small quake works so much better.

Yes, this is almost entirely verbatum to the script. Thanks LittleChiba (wherever you are) for posting the entire script.

Oh, haha, when I was first writing Cloud's death, the strangest thing happened to me. Everything that came out of Tifa's mouth was in JAPANESE! See, at the time, I had absolutely no knowledge of the Japanese language. I couldn't even spell "iie". Besides, I'm not such a Weeaboo that I'm going to put butchered Japanese in my fanfics. If anything, it would need to be butchered German (since Nibelheim is so very, very German).

I also tried this very battle to make sure it worked the way I wanted: absolute failure. If Bizarro over here had cooperated, everything would've worked out fine. (Bizarro, I love you! Bizarro!) Anyway, here's the materia list:

Barret: 3 Counter
Cait: Cure, 1 Counter
Yuffie: Steal/Mug, Throw
Cloud: Cover, Phoenix (fat lot of good that did him), HP Plus, Time
Tifa: Cure 3, Deathblow, Ice 3, Bolt 3
Vincent: 2X Cut, HP Plus, Barrier, Contain
Red: Fire 3, Contain
Cid: Mime, Exit

I'd like to add that except for Vincent, they all have initial equip. Vince gets Death Penalty because he needs to have access to Chaos later, and they're a package deal.

Hope to see you in Ch2: Meteor!

-AR