Prelude
"I... will never be a memory."
Cloud flinched as that cruel mouth smirked for a moment before the black wing came to cover his body and Sephiroth dissolved in a flurry of feathers to reveal his avatar, Kadaj.
Kadaj coughed several times and grasped at his sword. Raising his head up unsteadily, he glared at Cloud, who simply took up the heavy pommel of First Tsurugi and set himself into a ready stance. With a cry, Kadaj lunged at Cloud before weakly collapsing under his own weight into Cloud's arms.
Cloud nearly froze as searching green eyes, so like his, searched his own and received a shaky, "Brother?" He simply looked at the Remnant with searching Mako-shining eyes as a light shower started to cascade around them. Kadaj blinked weakly with an "Eh?"
The blond warrior could see the lifestream start to come off the silver-haired avatar. A healing rain, then. He heard a childish, "Mother, is that you?" and jerked his attention to the man in his arms.
Cloud could do nothing as Kadaj stared at some ethereal image only he could see. The avatar laughed and nodded before shakily putting his hand up. He seemed to grasp something and Cloud gasped as he peacefully dissolved into the lifestream.
As the Highwind loomed closer to pick the young man up, Cloud sighed, a great weight seeming to come off his chest after that dangerous battle with Sephiroth. Cloud never dreamed his nemesis would have made such an elaborate way to return, making sure that the JENOVA cells and the remnants of his and JENOVA's psyche were programmed to relentlessly create the REUNION that Sephiroth, and by extension JENOVA wanted.
REUNION would give this Sephiroth the one thing he seemed to be focused on: revenge against Cloud and then to destroy the world. Cloud had realized toward the end of the battle that this version was more brutal in his fighting style, not holding back a second of his immense strength. It pained him to realize he'd have to destroy him again, a third time.
With a pool of hidden strength, fueled by his friends and family lost to the Lifestream, Cloud knew of only one way to end JENOVA's rage a final time against the planet and unleashed Omnislash V5. Thirteen brutal slashes that the one-winged man was not prepared for at all as by the surprised look on his face when he'd been hit by the first few and the wet noodle of his body as the remainder hit him after.
Taking a deep breath of the Healing Rains, Cloud tipped his head back, feeling like he could finally enjoy the sun hitting his face when a gun-shot burst through his chest, screaming PAIN through his body.
"We'll… go… together."
Fuck. The other two clones. Yazoo and Loz. Cloud had completely forgotten about them and he clenched onto his sword with all his might and used it to stand up.
"And… together… we'll play."
Play. He wanted to fucking play? That threw the blond warrior into a fury. He whipped around and grasping the hilt with one hand started running toward the silver haired avatars with a war cry. Their arms glowing with materia of all types, they cried out and pushed their power into the glowing balls and shoved it all toward Cloud's direction. He leapt as the power reached him and Cloud realized he'd never be able to make it out of it in time. He wouldn't even have time to-
Somewhere in Midgar, a sable-haired girl with green eyes tending a garden gasped.