AN: The beginning... um... yeah. Hi. Updates about life are on my profile for those who care to know. Those that are not going to read it, long story short. I'm here, but I'm not here. If you're just reading this then there are going to be some parts toward the end that don't match up to the beginning because I'm updating chapters. There's some stuff in there that isn't flowing toward the progression that I want. A lot has been taken out. A little has been added. In total I feel what I've changed is better for the story.

Chapters I've updated. If you are on Ch 4 but it says 3 in the title. It means I haven't updated it yet and you should probably stop reading. It's going to be Ch1 to doc1 (as chapter 1 used to just be an intro, the old ch1 was on doc2)

On that note - Please enjoy.

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~Intro Picture!~ (get rid of spaces)
hellsamess .deviantart #/d2q14uy
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Summary: Tragedy strikes Gaia and triggers its failsafe: Final Attack. The planet's last option is to trust in humanity's strength and hope it doesn't guarantee another life of death. Seph/Cloud, Zack/Angeal, and some not so subtle hints of Genesis/Aerith.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or any of its characters, nor do I own the songs mentioned. I make no profit from this and am working on it for my own (and your) entertainment.
Rated: T (may be raised in the future)
iWarnings! This fic has character deaths, Language, Violence, and is a Yaoi. If you cannot handle any of that, please leave.

The Beginning is the End is the Beginning
(By: Smashing Pumpkins)

Chapter 1
The End is the Beginning is the End

*Western Continent: Twenty miles from Gold Saucer*

The deafening sounds of bombs and gunfire were heard from below as the terrorist group known as AVALANCHE attacked Shinra's company building. Every house within a ten mile radius had been long abandoned, and what was once luscious green grass was now broken rubble and dirt dryer than the desert sand.

Scarlet watched below with cold eyes as the bodies from both terrorist group and Shinra alike fell to the withered ground. She was up in the highest part of her tower, protected from the outside. It didn't matter what was down there or who her military was fighting today, they were all the same.

The office doors opened behind her and a man in the issued blue Shinra uniform greeted her. "Madam President."

Gracefully she turned, red dress slightly creased from her curvature and complimented her already well-defined chest. "General Rossly," she, the lady President, languidly greeted back. "I do hope you have good news for me," she said as she moved to her desk, red heels clicking against the white marble floor.

"Yes… and no," the General slowly followed after her. His controlled mask slipped as he nervously licked his dry lips. He watched as a pale leg slowly rose to rest on top the other while the woman leaned into the black leather of the chair as she sat.

"No?" she questioned, tilting her head.

"AVALANCHE has a terrain advantage over us, and they are getting closer. Our military forces and supplies are running out as they've cut off access to our roads."

The President closed her eyes and folded her hands together as she took the information in. "And what of the good news?"

The General stood confidentially, becoming more secure with his words, "Project SB113 is ready to launch. We're waiting for your orders to fire."

SB113, the name of Scarlet's newest creation, had the power of flight, overcoming all terrain obstacles, and included an AI much like Reeve's doll. SB113 was powered with the planet's life energy and was capable of mass destruction. The woman opened her eyes, a smile slowly spread across her painted red lips as she flicked her bleached blonde hair away from her face. "Fire it as soon as possible!" she ordered.

"Of course, President!" the man did a perfect salute and quickly walked out of the room, closing the double doors behind him. The blonde folded her hands again, her smile becoming sinister. Her callous eyes glanced out the window yet not seeing the battle, not caring about the people below.

Poise perfect, breathing calm.

I win.

*~0~*

There were bullets flying in all directions while bombs caused debris to drift through the air. Cloud, Tifa, and Cid dove between old rusted vehicles and parts of fallen walls to get closer to the Shinra building, all firing as they moved. The trio rested their backs against the hard surface as Tifa and Cid tried to catch their breath, coughing from the heavy dust in the air.

Cloud reached for the PHS and held it to his mouth. "Squad 1, this is Strife. Is everyone in position?"

"Hey, Cloud! If you get hurt try to keep the Materia safe! Otherwise I won't come and save you!"

"Ey, Las, that's no way tah talk. Give that here tah me!"

"Eh?! No way! I grabbed it first so it's mine!"

Cloud sighed as the usual bickering between the ninja and cat doll started up again. He gazed out into the area and observed the groups that were quietly snickering at the ninja's antics, and giving their confirmation that they were ready. 'Damn it, she should at least keep her finger off the talk button when they do that.'

Tifa came back down from on top of the rock to reload her cartridge. She squinted up at the blazing sun in the sky, beads of sweat glistened on her neck. "We ready to go?" she asked.

Cid looked down on them and yelled, "Come on! We don't have all cott'n pick'n day!" Unlike Tifa and Cloud, he was soaked with perspiration.

"Go." Cloud ordered the team. Tifa re-adjusted her gloves while Cid grabbed hold of his spear, readying themselves in case something went wrong. "Be careful, Yuffie. Tell us when you get the tanks down."

"O.K!" the cheerful ninja's voice chirped through the radio.

*~0~*

The second team, the stealth group, was composed of Yuffie, Cait Sith, and Nanaki. Though Nanaki was young to his kind, he was very mature and good at prowling. The large dog-like lion didn't have opposable thumbs to carefully cut the wires of a bomb, but his teeth worked just fine to rip out the wires of a vehicle.

Yuffie, a loud and annoying young woman, was truly the definition of ninja when she wanted to be. Her steps were quiet and nothing but dead silence accompanied her as she moved.

Cait Sith was… well, Cait Sith. The cat doll wasn't quick like Yuffie, nor could he prowl around like Nanaki. Neither was he made to be good at hiding, as he was always spotted eventually. The beautiful thing about the doll was that he just couldn't be caught moving. Being hidden in plain sight was the best ability he had as Shinra was only aware of the white marshmallow of its transportation. They never heard about the actual combat cat. So, if he was seen, all Cait had to do was play dead and look as inconspicuous as possible.

Even though Cloud kept reminding himself of these things he still worried about their safety. Time seemed to go on slowly as their group waited for the clear. Then, a series of beeps was sent over the radio so that her position wasn't given away.

"Yuffie's code," Cloud said as he shouldered his gun in favor of his buster sword. "Time to go."

Tifa adjusted her gloves while Cid grabbed hold of his javelin, and they charged.

The Shinra military quickly noticed the change in AVALANCHE's movement and also changed their tactics. Though once inside the tanks, the drivers began to panic when they realized that the vehicles were sabotaged. It wasn't long until the soldiers were pushed back into the building. They had no use of their tanks, their grenades were gone, and most of their gunners were shot down long ago.

"Cloud!" he heard a voice call out to him from the rabble.

The blond warrior searched the area until he caught Yuffie finishing off her assault with a round-house kick to a man's face. "Cloud!" she hollered again and ran over to him.

"What's wrong?" he asked as they faced each other.

"I overheard one of their officers yelling to shut down the power! They're trying to lock us in!"

If they got stuck inside this room it would end in a mass slaughter.

"Head back to the gate!" Cloud ordered into the PHS. "Retreat!" Most of AVALANCHE made it outside by the time the power went off. The doors auto-locked and sealed shut, but by the sound of gunfire from the inside there were some who just didn't have the time to make it out.

"What do we do?" Nanaki asked as he came up beside him.

"Right now, for them?" Cloud sighed in regret. "There's nothing we can do. We don't have anything to blast down the doors. We don't have time."

Everyone was looking toward him, waiting for guidance… he had to come up with something. "Cid, split the group up into two and have them join the others at the side gates. Tell them to be ready to retreat if they cut off the power to the area."

Tifa stood firm by their young leader, placing a gentle had on his shoulder. "Cloud, tell me what you're thinking."

Cloud could hear Cid cursing and giving out orders in the background. He could hear the yells of pain and gunfire behind him as well as on the other side of the sealed door. "I'm going to find a way to blast this door down."

But just as he was about to contact Reeve, the ground started to rumble beneath him.

"Ah!" Tifa cried out, "earthquake?!"

"No," Vincent said as he appeared from out of nowhere, crouched on a large rock beside them, "whatever it is it's coming from the Shinra tower."

They all looked up and, as he said, a giant object reflected light from the sun as it rose out from Shinra's rooftop. They straightened as the shocks from the ground dulled and they stared up at the massive object.

"Holy mother of hell… is that… it looks like," Cid was hardly able to finish his sentence as he stood there in disbelief. Everyone in old AVALANCHE knew what that thing was made to resemble. "WEAPON...?"

*~0~*

From every corner, Shinra and AVALANCHE alike watched in awe as the silver manmade WEAPON began to move on its high perch. The large tubes that pumped mako into its chest, arms, and legs broke away as the dragon BAHAMUT forced its way forward. Its sharp, metallic wings spread while it gave a painfully earsplitting screech as it flew into the sky. The mako that was still being pumped through the tubes flowed freely down the building, raining onto the unprotected skin of the people below.

Cid began turning a sickly pale, as did Tifa and everyone else that Cloud could see. Though the mako was processed, it would still affect anyone not acclimated to it.

"Get out of here!" Cloud and Vincent both shouted. Only they, besides Nanaki, seemed unaffected by the shower of mako. It was a gifted curse brought to them years ago by the same doctor. Tifa nodded, grabbing Cid by the elbow and running further back to where Barrett was located. The mako was falling so heavily that puddles were already forming.

The three stood their ground and watched as the Shinra WEAPON rapidly beat the air with its mighty wings. And with another war cry, it made a speedy descent toward them.

They dodged as the WEAPON went straight at them, ramming into the ground and sending chunks of earth flying everywhere. It wasted no time getting up. Ready to end the battle in one blow, BAHAMUT unhinged its jaw. A beam of bright green light was charging inside its mouth, aiming it at the trio.

"Vincent, Nanaki, be ready!" Cloud called and set into a defensive stance.

"Ready," Vincent coolly replied back, his gun out and already equipped for a long battle.

"…"

"Nanaki?" Cloud and Vincent both looked over their shoulders and watched as the young lion gave a weak roar and collapsed beside them, golden eyes glazing over. The lion's chest stilled and a steady stream of both mako and mud flowed down his once bright red mane.

The people running away from WEAPON were falling to the ground, and the gunfire around them came to an abrupt halt.

"Tifa!" Yuffie yelled out, catching his attention. His childhood friend was limp in the arms of a weeping Barret. "Tifa!"

"Oh, Gaia," the large black man sobbed over and over again as Cid was for once frozen in shock. "Oh, Gaia, why? Cloud, you spiky-haired idiot! Help!"

But people were dying all around them. Cloud looked at the green liquid covering himself and brought a hand up to test its density. It felt like the same substance used in everyday fuel. Though dangerous if exposed to it for too long, the green substance shouldn't contain enough energy to be able to kill on contact. It didn't feel like it was bothering him in the slightest. Confused, Cloud looked at the scene and tried to find out why. There were people on the ground that weren't even touched by the ooze. It didn't make sense!

He looked to Vincent, who looked as lost as he was. There was no explanation.

Cloud glanced in the direction of the slow mechanical beast. The mako rain was making trails of green along its dark metallic frame, the light from its mouth focusing, and Cloud looked up at the highest point of the tower and realized. Mako was being forced out by the gallons from the tubes that had once been attached to the WEAPON… like a never ending, volcanic eruption. Was the Planet taking the lives of those living just so it could keep itself alive?

Why wasn't the company shutting off the pipes?! Why weren't they doing anything to stop the flow of the mako?! Mako was the planet's life force, but Shinra still used it for energy. Wouldn't the company shut off the pipes if nothing more than to save their profits?

*~0~*

"Ey, Las," Cait Sith used his small paws to shake the frightened ninja, trying to turn her away from the body of her friend and to get her to come back to her senses. "Now's n-not the time t-o.. ooo… s-start…" Sith's smooth motions turned robotic and his words died off when it simply shut down. Yuffie looked up at the doll and brought her hands to her mouth. Her eyes were filled with more tears as she looked numbly at the mechanical doll that Reeve was supposed to be controlling from the safety of his hideout.

"Cait?" Yuffie questioned the doll as she looked into the mechanical eyes that functioned as built in cameras. It allowed Reeve, who made Cait Sith, to see what was going on. He once showed her how the doll worked, and she had enjoyed listening as he explained the devices within like an excited child. "Reeve?" her voice was breaking at the silence of the doll. "Reeve?!"

"C'mon, ya damn brat!" Cid yelled as he picked the young girl up and threw her over his shoulder. The pilot didn't understand how people were dying, but he felt that if it was because of the mako then it was better to get as far away as possible.

"NO!" Yuffie cried out as her hands slipped away from the cat doll. She didn't want to believe it, she didn't want to believe that from somewhere nearby, close to the battle, Reeve was there- alone, dead. It was the only explanation as to why Cait Sith had ceased to function. "NOOO, REEEEVE!" the ninja continued to shriek out as she began to kick and punch at Cid to get away. She wanted to run to the van where Reeve was located. She had to see for herself to prove that he couldn't be dead. She never told him how she felt. She never said anything because her father had never believed that people not of Wutai would be suitable for her. She never…

As Cid turned to run, she saw Barret lying beside Tifa, the two half submerged in a growing pool of mako only a few meters away. Yuffie suddenly went from kicking and screaming to bawling and grabbing at the back of his shirt as if her life depended on it. Only this once, Cid decided, was he going to let Cloud and Vincent take care of the problem while he got everyone to safety.

Yuffie pulled Cid's blue shirt up to hide her face, not being able to contain any of the emotions that were pouring out of her. She tried to kid herself, to believe that Reeve couldn't be dead and that he was just evacuating like the rest of them. The doll was expendable, he could always create more, but her gut instinct knew better. All of her strength left her and the young ninja allowed herself be bounced around on Cid's shoulder as he carried her away from the tragedy.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. They were supposed to stop Shinra long before any of this happened. Weren't they heroes? Weren't heroes supposed to save the day?!

Yuffie wasn't ready for when Cid's legs gave out, and she yelped as she was pitched forward, landing hard on her backside as he collapsed on top of her. She wondered what had knocked Cid down as they laid there in the mud. "Cid?" she asked as she looked down at the blond man that was still on top of her. He was unresponsive, unmoving, not breathing…

There was a dead body on top of her, Cid's dead body; it was on top of her.

She started to shiver as a new fright took hold of her, and she was suddenly on the verge of hyperventilating.

Yuffie's terrified scream was so loud that it overpowered everything else around her. The girl immediately struggled to push the dead body away and scrambled backwards. It was Cid and Reeve and Tifa and Barret and everybody! And they were dying all around her and she just couldn't take this!

Her back hit a dead, disfigured tree and she immediately found some crook to hide in from all of the insanity, though no matter how hard she tried to push further in, the crook wasn't large enough to save her. The ninja sat there, trying to make herself as small as possible while she hugged her knees. Covering her mouth with a hand, she tried to keep her sobs from wrecking her body. Tears slipped from her eyes and ran down her cheeks as she began rocking back and forth, and the only thing she could see was the green rain.

*~0~*

The WEAPON that was once a threat only moments before gave another shrill cry as the beam it created lost its energy and vanished. The monstrosity soon malfunctioned and slumped, its joints buckling in on itself. Whatever lifeforce it had was taken by the desperation of the planet.

Cloud heard Yuffie's cry and the instinctual urge to protect the youngest of their group overcame him. He scanned the area to see if he could locate her, but a golden claw-like hand stopped him.

"Cloud!"

The blond turned to look as the gunman pointed with his flesh hand to a different kind of light coming from on top of the tower. He mentally apologized to Yuffie. He had to stop Shinra as soon as possible and promised himself that he would search for her later. He trusted her ability to stay alive until then. The clouds were maliciously gathering above and began to swirl, and Cloud motioned to Vincent. He was ready. The mechanical beast wasn't a threat anymore and was quickly left for dead as the two scaled up the building.

Shinra's pipes burst open from the ground as the pressure inside them became too great, and the few people left below gave renewed screams of terror as the ground started to spit green mako across the surface like lava.

The building trembled and cracked. It was difficult to get solid footing, and the air was misting and turning a heavy green hue. Cloud was the first one to reach the top as he pulled himself up from the ledge, Vincent only a leap away, and as they got up they found themselves witnesses to a battle already taking place. A battle of those that should have already been dead…

Somehow, yet again, Sephiroth was in the world of the living and stood hovering above the roof before them. His elongated katana was stained red with the blood of his enemies while his hair gravitated almost disturbingly in its elegance against the rage of the wind. His maniacal smile wasn't for the newcomers, but toward the two that had somehow gotten there before them. The male and female were both hunched on the ground with their backs toward Cloud and Vincent.

Vincent was weary, but apparently his sword wielding companion wasn't.

"Zack?" Cloud called out.

Vincent barely heard him because of the gusting winds. The blonds' face was as passive as always, but he'd learned long ago to read the other's eyes. Right now they were pained, confused. It was all Vincent needed to know that the unknown male was one of Cloud's many long lost friends. If the dead Sephiroth was here, and the dead flower girl was here, then it was a good assumption that this 'Zack' was dead too.

Aerith changed her grip on her staff as she twirled it around, beginning to cast a healing spell on Zack and herself, only Sephiroth didn't allow it to go off. Time seemed to slow for Cloud in those few moments it took for Sephiroth to send a powerful slash into Aerith's torso. He saw everything as her face twisted in pain as she fell to the roof, blood forced from her mouth when she landed.

"Aerith!" Cloud yelled and the two rushed to her side, the gunman firing at the silver-haired madman as Zack tried to keep on the defensive. Cloud cradled the small woman as she labored to breathe.

"Cloud? her brilliant green eyes looked into his blue, just noticing that he was there too.

"How…" Cloud tried to ask the Ancient how she came back from the dead, how they all came back, but couldn't seem to form the words. He tore off his shirt sleeve and put pressure on the wound. "Why?"

Before Aerith could give him an answer, a massive coughing fit caused blood to splatter onto her chest and chin. Her breathing was getting weaker. Zack called to him between fighting off strokes from Masamune as he tried to stop his own wounds from bleeding out.

"Cloud, it's the Lifestream!" Zack ducked a swing, "the planet," counterattack, "creating a Materia," parried, "last chance!" The SOLDIER tried to dodge the next swing, but failed as the long sword went through his stomach, "…ahg!"

Sephiroth chuckled and slowly pulled the sword out, watching with amusement as his opponent fell to one knee in pain. "What's wrong, Zack? Not as fast as you used to be?"

Zack's hair, once spiky enough in Cloud's visions to rival his own, was flattened into dark tresses while the mako soaked them down. "Bastard! Shit!" Zack complained and his body finally gave up, falling to the ground from too many wounds.

Sephiroth smirked and was about to pierce his enemy through when another gunshot rang in the air. It was the only warning Sephiroth had for his instincts to kick in and easily deflected the bullet with his sword. Sephiroth knew that Zack wasn't getting back up and kept his attention focused on the gunner.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud yelled in rage as he gripped his sword, ready for battle. He was just getting up as Aerith gathered enough strength to grab hold of his shirt and stop him.

"The Materia… it's a Time," she greedily took in breaths as shallower coughs interrupted her speech, "don't let Sephiroth get it… or this, will all be… for nothing." Her delicate hand fell from his shirt as her strength left her. Aerith's eyes closed. Her paling features and bluing lips took on a sharp contrast to the darkening blood and mako solidifying on her chin. Cloud could only watch in silence as the woman that he could have once loved was taken from him yet again by the very same man who killed her before. He tried to hold his feelings back as he reached up to gently wipe away the wet trails from her face.

"You called, Cloud?"

The blond gasped as he was caught off guard and barely had enough time to roll out of the sword's extensive reach. Sephiroth barely blocked a bullet as his attention was drawn to the other.

"You don't have time to talk, Sephiroth!" Cloud shouted as he flew toward his opponent.

"I'll always make time for you." Sephiroth easily evaded his swing. "Tell me, between the two, which death hurts you the most?"

The battle waged on as the sky turned and spun like a maelstrom. The light that had once seemed to come from nowhere began focusing somewhere above. The building was quickly deteriorating from the quake, wind, and an unknown acid circulating from within the Lifestream. As the fight progressed, they had to resort to jumping off falling concrete walls as they each tried to get their attacks in.

*~0~*

Zack gazed up at the sky as the roof slowly started cracking around him. He felt light headed, really light headed, and dizzy from all the blood loss. He used what little strength he had to lift his head up and remove his hand from his stomach so he could see the extent of the damage. There was blood everywhere and more was rapidly flowing out of the wound that his once good friend and General caused. He knew he was dying, he knew because it felt the same as the last time he'd tried to protect Cloud. Zack let himself rest back on the ground. He turned his gaze to Aerith. Aerith… another person he failed at saving. How come she had to die, not only once, but twice in order to help protect the world?

The winds were making Aerith's long brown hair and pink dress fly in every which way, and he could only remain immobile on the roof. Cloud really was their last hope. Zack turned back to the sky once again. The planet looked angry, and he feared what would happen to those already dead, and those soon to be dead, if it was destroyed.

Aerith didn't explain what exactly the Materia would do, and he wasn't sure if she was fully aware of it herself. It all happened so fast. The two of them just followed the madman out of the Lifestream when it turned warped and had only hoped that they could stop whatever new plan he'd come up with.

Unable to do anything more, Zack moved his hand away from his wound so he could grip the hilt of his sword. He took a few steady breaths while trying to stay calm. He knew death would take him soon, and he wanted to ignore the part of him that was still so scared of it. He closed his eyes in an attempt to hide away from the lurking darkness that crept into the edges of his vision. It made him dizzy. His eyes were shut tight and his lungs harshly took in air. Maybe if he wished hard enough, he could go while imagining the familiar feeling of safety… of a home back in Shinra.

"Angeal…"

*~0~*

Sephiroth was the first to land on the ground below. He grabbed a metal pipe in mid-decent and threw it to pierce the gunman's heart. Cloud landed in a puddle of knee-high mako as the cloaked man crashed into a pile of rubble.

"VINCENT!"

Vincent was between them, barely alive, but still dying as his heart struggled to beat.

A blinding flash of light from above made the three look up. From the sky, a small light-blue orb of pure concentrated mako fell. The Materia landed close to Vincent's still frame. Sephiroth was uncertain of what the orb's power possessed or why it was there. He gazed at Cloud. The other's face betrayed the fact that he somehow had prior knowledge to its formation. Cloud's blue eyes focused steadily on Sephiroth, clearly not wanting him to have it. Sephiroth smirked, daring the smaller swordsman to move.

A twitch in the blond's muscles caused him to react, and both swordsmen simultaneously dove toward the object. Each focused on it, trying to be the first to grab it. Both getting closer, feeling the warmth as if reaching for the life of the planet herself.

Neither knew who grabbed it first, but at the touch of raw power came forth a brilliant whiteness that burst through all matter as the Materia activated and engulfed everything it consumed in a warm, pleasant heat.

A gentle summer's breeze went through in a singular passive moment, and the pause created a serenity that felt almost as if they'd stepped into nirvana, the Promised Land, but the feeling was hastily torn away as soon as it turned chaotic. The wind beat down and turned as sharp as blades cutting into their skin. Its effect fogged up their minds while the vacuum in the air threatened suffocation. Unknown amounts of time passed, but if felt like just as soon as the winds came, they left.

The white substance faded.

And slit, mako green eyes opened.

To be continued…

AN: Jenova theory: mine is that Jenova, the destroyer of worlds, is used to planets dying and slipping through Lifestreams while finding opportunities to come back into existence to take over a dead planet to sail the cosmos. So insert Seph in there and you got a recipe for Aerith and Zack following him out... somehow.

Please Review! (Criticism accepted as long as it's constructive...)