They say either you die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. But sometimes if you can survive it all you get to be the hero again.
Genesis stood on top of a building, well really it wasn't a building anymore, it was a stone wall that had once been part of a building.
"You say he did all this? The one that defeated Sephiroth?" Genesis asked looking down at one Vincent Valentine.
"Yes, he came in contact with a pocket of Jenova's cells." Vincent said smoothly.
"You can't hurt him!" Tifa cried running up next to Vincent. "He's not in control of himself!"
"Neither was I and for that matter neither was Sephiroth. It doesn't make any difference now." Genesis said looking back over what had once been Junon.
"Don't you dare I won't let you! We have to help him!" Tifa screamed.
Vincent just put his arm out in front of the woman before she attempted to scale the wall. "That's enough Tifa. Innocent or not, we can't let this destruction continue. He will finish the job Sephiroth started."
"Listen to the gunman woman. Look around you, he's done more damage in less time than either Sephiroth or I combined. Sephiroth needed Meteor to destroy Midgar, Strife did this of his own power." Genesis said as he watched the red beast search for more survivors. So far there had been 20 in a city of 2 million.
Tifa just had tears in her eyes as she ran the other way. She wasn't ready to face the truth that Cloud was lost to them.
Genesis had been restless since he awoke in the caverns under Midgar a little over a year ago. He had tended to Weiss, got the man back on his feet, then went out to find a changed world. Learning that the comatose blonde haired cadet that had been with Zack was the one to finally defeat Sephiroth, rivaled him in pure strength, had been both humbling and startling.
It was by chance he had been near Junon when he heard the explosions. Steal torn apart and a shockwave strong enough even to throw him to the ground. When he had arrived to the scene he had found the rag tag group that went by the name AVALANCHE. Though they didn't seem to have any ties to the original terrorist group.
The only survivors hadn't been in the city proper. They were the crew of a ship that was about to dock in the port city. They had given the description of the man who had done this. It was no doubt it had been the hero of the world.
The only one in their group that had recognized Genesis was a small stuff doll that turned out to be the former head of Urban Development and the black haired princess of Wutai. Neither one had been too thrilled to see him and even went so far as to assume he had something to do with the attack.
As it was Genesis still didn't think any of them actually trusted him, but he was the only hope they had. The only one left alive with the strength needed to take on someone like Cloud.
"He's likely heading to Edge from here. If we don't stop him half the world's population is going to be gone." Genesis said unfurling his wing.
"What are you doing?" Vincent asked.
"If there are survivors here, they need you. None of you would stand a chance against Strife as he is now. I'm going to stop him. Call ahead and get Tsueti to evacuate Edge in case I fail." Genesis said preparing to take to the skies.
"I'll place the call, but if you fail there won't be anywhere to run." Vincent said and Genesis nodded before he leapt into the sky.
"They couldn't have just disappeared." Yuffie said kicking a stone out of the way.
"Genesis must have found away to stop Cloud." Nanaki said sniffing the air. They had been searching for signs of either Cloud or Genesis for over a month now and were turning up nothing. It wasn't worth the risk the Cloud had escaped and was planning something akin to Meteor.
"I still think he's the reason Cloud went crazy. Genesis's crazy is contagious." Yuffie said shoving her hands in her pockets.
"The man seemed perfectly sane to me." Nanaki said before he stopped. "This way." He said in a whisper and took off, the ninja was close behind them.
What they saw made Yuffie gasp and Nanaki turn away.
Genesis's was pinned to the side of a rocky outcrop, most of his body had rotted away in the last month. A skeletal wing with a few feathers and his red coat that was in complete tatters being the best identifiers. First Tsurugi was planted deep in his chest.
Cloud's corpse mirrored his, feathered wing and all, Rapier standing in for First Tsurugi.
"The lifestream..." Yuffie trailed off wanting to throw up.
"Is weak, and with the Jenova cells present in their body I imagine they'll be here for several more months." Nanaki said as something caught Yuffie's eye.
"Materia," She said lifting it up. "This one's different, It's like a mirror displacement spell or something." She said mind working.
Yuffie looked back up between the two corpse and nearly gasped again. "He...he must have..."
"Taken the hit to ensure Cloud was injured as well? This looks like Omnislash's work, and there is only one way their injuries could be so identical." Nanaki supplied.
"We should tell the others. They are still looking. Maybe Vincent will know what to do with them." Yuffie said, looking away. Guilt was encroaching on the corners of her mind.
Nanaki just nodded as Yuffie held the materia close to her chest. "Let's go."
Don't ask me where this came from because I don't know . Please review-DHT