Author Notes: This story is merely a picture of my imagination running wild. My writing is not as great as some of the fanfiction I've seen out there, but the storylines in my basement have pretty much just been sitting there. Bleach/Final Fantasy VII Crossover. I remember looking at Kira Izuru and Cloud Strife thinking they were very similar as do a lot of Bleach/Final Fantasy VII character. Mainly SephirothxCloud. There will be more pairings late on; I just haven't figured what other pairings it should be. Please feel free to give me constructive criticism.

Disclaimer: Neither Bleach nor Final Fantasy VII belong to me.

Dry wind blew the small pieces of dust off the ground and scattered into the air. The sunlight seared the area, and the heat bent the beige-yellow sands into transparent waves. There was nothing left in these barren lands; nothing but bones and dust. She heard a crunch as her boots moved forward and left behind a trail of footprints. Facing the open dessert, she could swear she was seeing mirages up ahead, only to remind herself that they were merely a figment of her imagination. Shaking off the exhaustion nearly consuming her worn out and tired body, she stopped when she heard the eagle soaring above and making sounds. Something wasn't right and she had a feeling in the pit of her stomach.

The first outbreak was reported to have started in the Junon area, and then made its way across the other continents. People began dropping dead then and there, and there was no one that could explain the strange phenomena. By the time they had discovered the source of the problem, many people had already died and their human forces proved to be no match for the invisible entities. There were very few humans left alive and the last surviving strongholds of civilization hid in the most remote places anyone could think of. The last remaining members of Avalanche had nowhere else to go and the desert was their last remaining hope.

Through red-lensed goggles, she saw what she needed to see and looked at the smoke bellowing closer and closer to her. Tch, no escape it seemed. Faint shadows circled her, quietly taunting her to make a move and like a deer caught in headlights, her left foot inched backwards in FEAR. They came in towards her fast, its black phantom ink running along her left leg, and slowly making its way upwards; the only thing she could do was scream as it began clouding her view of the environment and she felt as if needles were pricking her skin. In a last desperate attempt to free herself, her right hand reached out towards the small speck of light she could see.

Vincent clawed his way through as he ran towards Yuffie. From a distance, he could see her partially kneeling on the ground and shadows wrapped around her. He heard her scream, the painful sound resonating in his mind even as it was drowned in the sea of ghostly wails coming from behind them.

"Yuffie." Was all he muttered before he transformed into Galian Beast. The red mane flowed behind him as he moved to the side, barely dodging a swipe from another shadow. He moved forward as he thrashed his opponents with his sharp claws and long horns; tearing through the darkness as if it was made of paper.

Cloud did the same and killed as many of the shadows as possible. He knew that it was only a matter of time before the ghosts would overwhelm them, but he kept on fighting them. First Tsurugi slashed upwards, the massive blade cutting through the black phantoms as he briefly saw the faint edges of green pooling around the upper corners of his eyes. That's when he noticed ethereal tendrils quickly overtaking the sky and branching out above them. The neon vines reached down the area where Vincent and Yuffie were, swooping down and circling the former Wutai princess like pack of vultures.

Yuffie could feel the shadows moving off of her soul and herself being lifted by an ethereal force, its hold soft but firm. The vague ethereal green glow indicated just what was happening. Right in front of her, the firmiliar form her friend appeared before her – just as the older woman was four years ago. Brown hair that was tied in a bun reached just below her waste as her pale skin and her pink dress stood out against the bright white sky.

"Missed me?" Aerith asked, the base of a sad smile forming on her lips.

"You bet!" She responded.

"I'm sorry, but I don't have much to explain but what I can tell you is that I'm about to send you to another world. Hojo left us in a mess."

"Hojo?! He caused it?!"

"I'm afraid so. I couldn't contact you guys because I was busy sending the deceased onto the other world where the ghosts came from. I'm about to send you to that world to be reborn with all the memories of this world. I don't have enough power to keep your old body the way it was but I could keep you as a baby and you would grow up in a similar manner. I don't have much time, so I'll be sending you there right now."

Yuffie gave her a quick nod saying "Alright... Thanks for the save, didn't want to be a mindless shadow anyway!" and then promptly stuck out her tongue in a cheerful demeanor.

"Same old Yuf." Aerith smiled again, the feeling of longing to see her friends again never having left her even in the lifestream.

Yuffie saw a flash of white light before she felt herself dissolve into the other world. Aerith then turned her attention towards the other two. It looked like Vincent was too busy fighting in his demon form, so she focused on Cloud and projected her thoughts to him, mentally linking them.

Cloud then felt something touch his arm. Immediately, he turned around and swung his sword at the offender, phasing it through the image of the girl he had sworn to protect four years ago.

"No time to explain, I'm sending you to another world to be reborn. Sorry, it's going to hurt a bit." She said as she instantly vanished and the shadows dragged him down. Everything turned dark and he shut his eyes when the small blades pierced his skin.