Gaea was gone.
Destroyed by the Heartless and forgotten by the survivors.
Cloud had defeated Sephiroth. They had fought once (or was it more then that?) at the Coliseum (Northern Cave) but, he could still feel his presence.
Hallow Bastion still looked the same to him, regardless of the rebuilding. He tried to avoid the place; he didn't want to be there.
He couldn't explain it, but it wasn't home.
Unfortunately, he didn't know how right he was.
He avoided the town's residents, something wasn't right. It was all wrong.
Yuffie ran around the town, taking pride in defeated the heartless, and being immature, bugged Squall . . . Leon . . . whatever he called himself. As he watched the two from a distance; it reminded him of something else – a hyperactive teenager and her stoic companion – but . . .
His mind went blank.
Cid didn't seem any different then his persona in Gaea; he tinkered with his massive computer system and spent hours glancing over the Gummi Ship (Airships) blueprints, usually at odds with everyone else.
Then there was Aerith (his Aeris was gone, replaced), the flower child he could never forget, her smile and bright emerald eyes knocking his breath away as he caught her eye.
But something – someone – was missing.
Wasn't there supposed to be more to their little ragtag group?
He didn't know, but five didn't sound right.
That was why he distanced himself from everyone; there was something there, hidden in his subconscious. But every time he thought he had it, it would disappear just as fast, leaving him right where he started.
Maybe he was reading too much into it.
But, he shook his head. There had to be a connection – why else would he see the others like that?
He felt something for Aerith (Aeris). The sight of Yuffie made him want to roll his eyes. Seeing Cid hovering over his machinery made him shake his head and walk off. Leon's silence reminded him of another.
But there was supposed to be more . . . wasn't there?
The childhood friend who could take down anything . . . the burly man who acted first and thought later . . . the wise beast with all the answers . . . the shadowed black figures who could, would shoot you in the back . . . a double agent robot and their ever present conscious . . . the list went on, but the list was blank.
His mind was blank, but each time, he was brought back to Sephiroth.
He frowned as the silver haired male came to mind, there was something about him that he didn't like.
He usually shrugged it off; fighting Sephiroth gave him something to do. Searching for him meant that he didn't have to look at Aerith (Aeris) and wonder what was missing.
Cloud didn't understand, but out of the blue, he felt it one day.
It wasn't the darker pull of Sephiroth . . . it was the lighter pull of something – something he couldn't put a name too.
But, it was something familiar and comforting at the same time.
It brought a frown to his face, drawing him away from the hustle of the small town, trying to place a name to the feeling. He knew Sora was in town (the hero, that didn't seem right) catching sight of the brunette on his way to the old forgotten tower looming over the town. He used to frown at the looming building, it was familiar (the ShinRa building) with some kind of Omnipresent feel to it.
Within the Crystal Glade (Forgotten Capital) he felt that feeling again. He felt the lightness pulling on his heart, the fifth time that week . . . it had all started the first time Sora showed up in Hallow Bastion. A frown marred Cloud's features as he felt another presence make itself known, one of a darker intent.
Sephiroth.
He was nearby.
His darkness was here.
His light was here.
And why, why did this feel like déjà vu?
Gripping his Buster Sword out of habit, he narrowed his oddly coloured blue eyes before turning on his heel.
He couldn't explain it, but he had to make sure the light and dark that seemed to haunt him never met.
It was going to end.
He saw Sora in passing, the brunette having started down the slope. He had to smirk as his Buster Sword sliced through the hard shelled Heartless, Sora wasn't a hero; he relied on others too much. Pushing past the brunette, he moved up the slope, Buster Sword glinting at his side.
That was how it should have been.
He was Cloud Strife. He was supposed to be the hero. He was supposed to be the one to restore the Worlds (Planet).
And, he was supposed to be the ones people relied on. Not some goofy teenager who wandered around with a Duck and Dog, swinging a key around.
That didn't scream hero.
As his footsteps sounded heavily against the mountain like surface, he felt the light pulling him, growing. He was getting close, it was just around the . . .
Empty.
Minus the remaining Heartless bodies, there was nothing there, nothing alive. Whoever, whatever had been there, was gone . . .
However, an imprint from someone's shoes remained etched in the dirt.
He frowned. The print was too small belong to Sora . . .
He shook his head, it was just a footprint. It was Yuffie's or Aerith's, he was thinking too much about it, letting it get the better of him. (Hadn't he heard that before?) Turning on his heel, he narrowed his eyes as he caught the sight of the second old, destroyed castle and he could feel Sephiroth's presence. He could feel the darkness in his heart stirring, his fingers gripping the hilt of the sword tighter.
As much as he wanted to clash his sword against Sephiroth's – he could feel his light . . . somewhere in the emptied town.
Turning his back on the raging battle, he headed back towards the emptied town, feeling at home as the mountain side turned into the cobbled street, the metal gates and brick pieces thrown in every direction from the blast. He couldn't explain it, but something about the emptied Hallow Bastion (Midgar, Edge, Nibelheim) made him feel home.
---
He hadn't found what he was looking for. The emptied town hadn't given him any clues as to what he was looking for; it was impossible to find.
It made him frown, wasn't it usually him who went missing? That sounded better.
He could feel Sephiroth's presence, the silver haired male wasn't far away and the darkness was too present in his being. He tried not to dwell on it as he could feel his light somewhere in there, moving. Whatever it was – it wasn't staying still. The others, he had noticed, had all but disappeared. Leon and Aerith spent a majority of their time in the castle pouring over the documents on the recently discovered computer systems, more so now that the town's Claymores had gotten out of control. (It still irked him that Sora was the hero – it didn't sound right).
That was why he remained in the Market Square; he could ignore Sora, avoid the town's residences and above all, keep his light and darkness at bay.
And, that was where Sora found him hours later – much to his annoyance.
Arms crossed over his chest, his eyes narrowed as he heard what Sora had to say, nodding here and there. He had been right; Sephiroth had been waiting for him, bidding his time until he couldn't be ignored anymore. His frown grew more pronounced as Sora mentioned that he had already dueled – and won – against Sephiroth in the Dark Depths.
There was a flash of silver, the clang of metal against metal sounding, echoing in the dark depth.
The ground beneath them started to rumble before it started to crumble away.
Not caring, the swords clashed once more – this would finish it, it would end here.
As it turned light around him, his nemesis disappearing before him, he didn't know which way to go.
The light would return him to her if he waited long enough and let the ground crumble away beneath him . . .
But then there was that voice, the one that always brought him back to his senses, brought him back to the living.
A voice he had heard many times over . . .
Cloud shook his head, where had those thoughts come from? What was all that supposed to mean anyway?
He frowned as he noticed Sora staring at him, waiting to answer. He wanted to roll his eyes. "I see . . . so I guess it's time we settled this." Again.
He pushed himself away from the wall, moving silently past Sora. Sephiroth wanted to see him, to finish this once and for all. It was time for the darkness to disappear. Maybe things could go back to normal afterwards . . . whatever that was supposed to be. He heard Sora mumble something to Donald and Goofy, but didn't look back, not caring about what the brunette was doing.
He made his way through the small town quickly – the meaningless shadow heartless were hardly worth the effort – and down the mountainside. His eyes narrowed as he started down, his eyes catching sight of the small outcrop of land before the old, destroyed castle. Reaching back for the Buster Sword, he grabbed the hilt, swinging it around experimentally.
Sephiroth . . .
Reaching the Dark Depths, the mountain sides narrowing in on him, he frowned when he came around the corner. Somehow – and he didn't know how – Sora had beaten him down here and was conversing with Sephiroth, a scowl on his face. Sephiroth merely smirked, his Masumane at his side.
"Sorry to keep you, Sephiroth!"
He was hardly sorry at all.
Turning slightly, his dark wings rustling with the movements, Sephiroth smirked as he saw Cloud emerge, Buster Sword at the ready. "Cloud . . . you'll never let go of the darkness –"
"Shut up!"
Cloud's eyes narrowed as he saw Sephiroth move closer to him again. Gripping his Buster Sword tighter, he raised it before him, readying his guard. With Sephiroth, he expected the silver haired man (terror) to do something unexpected. A suppressed memory told him Sephiroth would attack when you least expected it.
"You'll never let go of your past . . ."
"Shut up!"
Cloud couldn't help the surge of hate he felt for Sephiroth (the One Winged Angel, his mind told him) and his loud, hateful words.
Gripping his sword's hilt tighter, wanting nothing more then to kill him (again), he lunged forward, hoping for surprise. The smirk never left Sephiroth, as if he was expecting Cloud's actions; he unfurled his black wings, moving nimbly out of Cloud's way. Biting out a curse, Cloud jerked his head up, momentarily locking eyes with Sephiroth, he jumped up as well.
As they exchanged blows in midair, it felt strangely familiar, very familiar.
In the back of his mind, he heard Sora shout something about beating Sephiroth. If he wasn't so focused on what he was doing, he might have smirked. He was sure he had done this before, somewhere else (Northern Cave). He could win; he was one hundred percent sure. He gritted his teeth as the Masumane knocked him back. Cloud's mind whirled as he fell, propelled towards the mountainside, he wasn't going to let Sephiroth have the high ground here. Moving his body around slightly, he felt his feet collide with the rocky side and bending his knees from the impact, forced himself to jump higher, closer to the One Winged Angel. Feeling Sephiroth closing in behind him – neither one intended to let the other walk away from this fight.
After a handful of blows, neither allowing the other to gain any ground, Cloud, in an attempt to end this quicker, brought his Buster Sword up above his head before cleaving it downwards, hoping to stop Sephiroth's range of effortless movement. Sephiroth merely smirked at the movement – which made Cloud wonder if Sephiroth expected it – quickly retaliated with a couple quick, and potentially deadly, strikes, all which Cloud managed to block, but lose ground at the same time. He wanted to curse himself; he was losing to Sephiroth . . . and that, that was something he thought he'd never had to do. He wanted to cringe as the Masumane collided with him once more, knocking himself to the ground. Not about to be beaten by the twisted man, he quickly managed to regain his footing near the base of the mountainside, and righting his grip on the hilt, he moved quickly, wasting no time in exchanging a couple more blows with the other.
"Absurd," Sephiroth commented, his voice icy. "Defeating me is meaningless. You know that more than anyone, Cloud," he shook his head, his smirk growing more pronounced. "No matter how many times I fall, your darkness keeps calling me back!"
"Wrong!"
Cloud paused, his eyes widening as he heard that familiar voice . . .
He knew that voice . . .
"You know that I'm the best guide in this village."
". . . You promised . . . You promised that you'd come . . . when I was in trouble . . ."
"The Planet is dying. Slowly but surely it's dying. Someone has to do something."
"Cloud! Please don't die! You can't die! There's still so much I want to tell you!"
"Precious specimen…? Is it going to be used for a biological experiment?"
"Right, Cloud. We'll be waiting and rooting for you."
"It feels like . . . it feels like you're going far away . . . You really, really are . . . you . . . right?"
"So Sephiroth is traveling the world because he's searching for the Promised Land? Is that it?"
"Lets go, Cloud!"
"Cloud, we came this far... Aren't you going to settle up with Sephiroth?"
"Cloud, it'll be all right. We're all with you."
"Cloud! What happened to you . . .!"
"I see. We're . . . in the Lifestream aren't we? Everyone's waiting. Let's go back, Cloud. Back to everyone . . .".
"We'll meet up later!"
". . . You're right. We've done all that we could do."
"Tifa! Stay back!"
Cloud cast a glance in the direction her voice came from. He squinted through the bright light that pieced his eyes, until he could see her outline as she approached him. He could see her long dark hair moving with every step, clothed in all black, her hands drawing up into a fist, flashing him a smile.
His childhood friend . . . Tifa . . . she had survived.
"How can I?" she shot back at him, her eyes hard as she stopped a couple steps away. "I want to help you!"
He shook his head – Tifa seemed as headstrong as he remembered. Shaking his head, he parried an attack from Sephiroth – the ShinRa General, wasn't going to beat him. He ignored the smirk on Sephiroth's face as he moved his Masumane with ease, driving Cloud back with ease jab, placing himself between Cloud and Tifa.
Cloud narrowed his eyes as he glanced between Sephiroth and Tifa, it would figure, Sephiroth would manage to effortlessly place himself between them. He gritted his teeth together, everything seemed to come easily to Sephiroth and it was no surprise that he had managed to place himself between the two childhood friends.
"You can't," Sephiroth said, his voice icy. Cloud remained motionless, while Tifa on the other hand, balled her hands up into fists, her eyes narrowed as she glared at the silver haired man. "He'll never let go of the darkness."
Cloud paused, his smirk turning slightly into a frown. He had killed Aeris . . . he hadn't helped her; he had let Sephiroth kill her . . .
"He doesn't have too," Tifa countered, her tone harsh as she shifted her feet slightly in the ground beneath her, bracing for an attack. "He just needs to someone to surround him with light."
Cloud let out a low breath, shaking his head minutely. That was just like Tifa . . . she never thought of herself first.
She hadn't changed.
But, if she was here, then the others . . . could they be alive somewhere?
He was starting to remember snippets of a hazy past . . .
There was a metropolis made of metal and life sucking machines.
He remembered things blowing up and the mystery of his past.
He had met up with a strange group of people – unwillingly, he might add – to save a dying planet.
A ragtag group trekking across the Planet after Sephiroth, unraveling the past . . .
A Calamity from the sky . . . a Summon from beneath Gaea . . .
This wasn't home – this Hallow Bastion wasn't Gaea, he didn't belong here.
No, they didn't belong there. Tifa and himself didn't belong here. Yuffie and Cid didn't deserve this.
Aeris died in their world – so maybe she belonged here . . . but then, was Zack here somewhere?
But, where was everyone else?
"Is that right? Let's see what this light of yours can do."
"No!" he shouted, coming back to his senses at Sephiroth's harsh words.
He gripped his hilt tighter, as Tifa launched herself at Sephiroth, her fists flying rapidly, trying to hit the quicker moving man. Missing him, she bit out a curse as she caught her ground, spinning around on her heel to face him once more.
"No!" he shouted, coming to his senses as Tifa balled her hands into fists again.
Tifa hadn't changed . . . she was still headstrong as ever.
He shook his head as Tifa launched herself at Sephiroth again in a flurry of black, her fists and feet moving quickly, trying to connect a hit. Raising his Buster Sword slightly, he paused as he took a step forward, a sudden bright light blinding him.
Was Tifa . . . was she his light?
"Look out!"
Cloud snapped his head up at the shout – he had forgotten Sora was even there – quickly finding Tifa's nimble form, dodging Sephiroth's sword. He gritted his teeth as he noticed Tifa backing up from each jab, the side of the mountain behind her. Knowing Sephiroth all to well, he glanced at Sephiroth, his smirk more pronounced at the sight of the cornered bartender.
Finally finding Tifa . . . he wasn't going to let Sephiroth win . . .
As Sephiroth's black wings unfurled, his Masumane coming up, his piercing eyes locked on Tifa – who, Cloud noticed, still had her hands drawn up into fists – he bent his knees, surging forward the second Sephiroth's pose changed. His Buster Sword at his side, it connected solidly with Sephiroth's sword, a horrible twang ringing out through the still air.
Sephiroth had almost killed Tifa in Nibel's Mako Reactor . . .
He had almost killed them all of in the Northern Crater . . .
He wasn't going to let Sephiroth have the upper hand here.
"Cloud!" Tifa shouted, her hands falling to her side as he held his sword out before him. "You can have my light!"
"The light doesn't suit you," he didn't have to look at Sephiroth to see the smirk he no doubt wore.
"I just . . . don't know . . ."
He shook his head, he wasn't sure if he was answering Sephiroth or Tifa's words. He wasn't sure if the light was for him – he had done so much wrong in his time. No, he wasn't going to take Tifa's light, he had already taken so much from her; her childhood, her father, her town and the list went on. Tifa might have said he was wrong on all those accounts . . . but, he knew he was right.
"Stop!"
Before he could glance up, Sephiroth had drawn out his Masumane once again, and his wings already unfurled, launched himself at Cloud. As he brought his Buster Sword before him, preparing for the onslaught, he felt something stirring inside him . . . it was light, familiar . . .
Omnislash . . .
He noticed Sephiroth stop in midair, sensing something changing in the air around him. Smirking to himself, he launched himself up at the ShinRa General, the stirring inside him growing as he felt the air around him. And then . . .
. . . and then . . . everything went blank . . .
As the blankness enveloped him, he cast a glance downward, his strange coloured eyes catching sight of the black clad female in the fissure.
Tifa . . .
He had finally found her . . . someone from the past . . .
But, he knew Tifa, she wouldn't stop searching for him and the others – she was still the headstrong woman he remembered.
She would find Yuffie and Cid in the confines of the town; Tifa had made him remember – she'd be able to get the others to, right? He shook his head; he knew she'd get through to them. The others had to be out there somewhere; they were too strong willed to let something as tiny as the darkness overcome them . . .
Barret, Red, Reeve, Vincent, Shelke . . . they were all out there somewhere.
He knew Tifa wouldn't stop searching, and then when the eight – Aerith wouldn't be able to remember, he suspected – they'd be able to leave this mess behind . . .
They could return home . . .
Gaea was waiting for them.
"I'm sorry Tifa," he muttered as the blankness encased him, carrying him away from the world he had hated . . .
---
A/N –
Okay, so it's been a couple months, but here is the companion to my other piece; Forgotten.
I was curious as to how Tifa could come into this story since she had survived the destruction of Gaea . . .
After thinking of a plotline, viola, here we are!