A/N: This is my first one-shot fanfiction so I hope it's not too bad. Enjoy!
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A World Lost: Part I
It was just another sunny day in Junon as Cloud Strife finishes off another delivery with a meek smile. The young woman before him accepts her package and thanks him with a warm smile of her own. With a wave of his hand, he turns to descend the wooden steps until a very familiar voice rings out his name. Curious, Cloud turns around to see a dark skinned little girl dash up to him happily.
"Wow, you look different, Cloud," she points out with a childlike innocence. She frowns upon seeing the young man's confused expression. "Don't you remember me? It's me, Priscilla!"
A light went off in his head as Cloud's eyebrows flew up in recognition. "Oh, yeah. Priscilla. How are you?"
"I'm fine thanks to your oh-so-wonderful mouth-to-mouth," coos the little girl, batting her eyes.
"Oh, so you're the Cloud that she keeps talking about," exclaims the young woman. "I apologize if my niece had caused any trouble for you. I was in Gongagga when you came along and rescued her. Thank you for taking care of her."
"It's no trouble at all," assures Cloud sheepishly. "I'm just glad she's all right."
"Don't you think you should change that SOLDIER uniform of yours?" asserts the young woman with both hands on her hips. "For many of the old folks around here, that outfit can bring back a lot of bad memories of Shin-Ra."
The young man looks down at his royal violet-colored clothes and SOLDIER armor as she spoke of his attire and blushes lightly.
Maybe Tifa's right, he thought. I guess I'll go clothes-shopping with her tomorrow.
"Well, you must have other deliveries that you must attend to so I'll just let you be on your way," sighs the dark-skinned young woman.
"Bye Cloudie-poo!" squeals Priscilla as he went down the stairs to his bike. "Come back soon!"
The blonde-haired swordsman chuckles quietly at his pet-name as he climbs onto his Hardy-DAYTONA and heads off towards the mountains. It was already late afternoon as Cloud rushes to get back to the newly-formed town of Edge before the more troublesome nocturnal monsters come out. As he nears the peak of the Junon mountain range, he suddenly began noticing the sky getting unusually darker. He stops at the top and takes out his PHS to check the time.
"It's only 2:45 PM and it's already that dark?" he exclaims in surprise. He looks up at the pitch-black sky to find not one single star. "This… is weird."
All of a sudden, black creatures with glowing yellow eyes emerge from the shadows around him. Quickly flipping the PHS shut, he takes out his trusty Buster Sword and slashes through one creature that leapt at him. Its body disappears in a cloud of black smoke as two more jumps at him. Jumping off the bike, he whips out a Magic Materia and brings those and several others down in a blaze of Fire3. More came from the shadows and Buster Sword makes quick work of them with a shot of Blade Beam.
"What are these?" wondered Cloud as he finishes off four more of the shadow creatures with Fire3.
Turning around, he quickly mounts the Hardy-DAYTONA and races towards Edge with the shadow creatures straggling after him. He was worried for Tifa and the orphans back at the new Seventh Heaven bar and wanted more than anything to make sure they were all right.
Halfway down the mountain, a humanoid shadow with wings and a ragged-edge sword lash out at him, causing him to fall off the bike and the bike itself to be sliced in two. A throbbing pain attacks Cloud's head as he struggles to his feet to face off against the strange monster hovering before him with sword in hand. Before he could reach for the Buster Sword, the creature flies at him and was about to deliver a powerful blow to his head until a gunshot rang out and the creature's sword was flicked away in an instant. In the blink of an eye, a familiar red-cloaked stranger lands between Cloud and the shadow creature.
"Vincent!" cries out the blonde-haired swordsman.
"Are you all right?" asks the gunman.
"I'm fine; just a few bruises here and there," answered back Cloud as he takes out Buster Sword. "What are these things anyways? I've never seen them before."
"They came from darkness," exclaims Vincent, shooting the airborne creature in the chest.
Cloud watches as the flying creature turns into black vapors just like the shadow creatures he encountered before. "Darkness?"
Another five shadow creatures leap at him, which quickly dissipates as Buster Sword's blade ran through them. As Cloud and Vincent fought off the strange creatures, another, more powerful one emerges from the shadows. This one causes all of the other shadow creatures to withdraw in fear and disappear into the shadows. Confused by the retreat, the two fighters wonder what was going on. It was Cloud who was the first to notice the powerful being and his eyes widen in horror at the sight.
There, standing before the two of them was Sephiroth in the flesh! Vincent couldn't believe it either. Though dressed in otherworldly garments and sporting a navy-blue and black colored wing on his right side, it was still Sephiroth nonetheless. The madman who threatened to destroy the Planet was back. Masamune in hand and all.
"It's been a while, Cloud."
"This can't be!" exclaim the swordsman. "You're supposed to be dead!"
"Even after all this time, you continue to fall into darkness," responded Sephiroth with an evil gleam in his eye and a satisfied smirk on his face. "As long as you continue to turn to darkness, I will never be just a memory."
In one quick stroke, the silver-haired man aims his deadly sword towards Cloud and strikes. Before the tip of the Masamune's blade could reach the young man, Vincent instantaneously intervenes and the sword goes through him instead. Everything happened so fast that Cloud was unable to fathom what was going on in front of him.
Greatly disappointed by the unexpected act of sacrifice, Sephiroth tears Masamune out of Vincent, leaving the man gasping in excruciating pain. Cloud rushes to catch him before he could hit the ground.
"Vincent…" he exclaims as he held the dying man in his arms. "Why… you shouldn't…"
"You must live, Cloud," chokes Vincent. "Our world is gone. You must live so that there is hope for our world."
"What are you talking about?" demanded the blonde-haired swordsman. Up until now, Cloud hadn't been paying much attention to their surroundings, but now he finally looks up and gasps at the horrors around them. "Wha-what…"
They were all on a single crust of mountainous earth. Everywhere else was nothing but an endless abyss of darkness. Cloud couldn't see his world anymore. Pieces of it floated about around them as if something had eaten away at the Planet.
"No…" stuttered the young man, his eyes wide with shock. "Tifa… Marlene… Everyone… Where did… Where did they go?!"
"They're all gone, Cloud," exclaims Sephiroth in a sneering tone. "Gone. Everything and everyone you've ever known. And it's all your fault."
"What? But how… I don't understand!"
"You just couldn't let go of the darkness in your heart, could you?"
"What are you talking about? All I wanted to do was help people!"
"You keep on saying that and you just might believe it."
"How dare you!"
"You can't help anyone. You're still the weak little puppet I've always known."
"You don't know me!"
"Oh, but I do. I know you better than anyone. Even better than yourself."
Vincent could see that Sephiroth was getting the better of his friend and had to do something about it. Cloud can't fight if he is clouded by his own anger and hatred for Sephiroth. With the last of his strength, he plunges his clawed hand into his chest to pull out the Ancient Materia within him.
"Vincent! What are you doing?" exclaimed Cloud, appalled by his friend's actions.
Without a word, Vincent forces the glowing orb into his friend's chest. A bright light engulfs the area as Vincent's body began to deteriorate. When the light has faded away, Cloud was surprised to don the man's signature tattered cape and his claw hand. A dark demonic wing flutters over his left shoulder, signifying a complete mergence. Clad in a completely new outfit and new strength, Cloud wields his now-bandaged Buster Sword with determination in his blue eyes.
"Humph, you're still no match for me even with your friend's help," scoffs Sephiroth with Masamune ready to strike. "I possess the power of darkness."
Growling under his breath, Cloud lashes out at the silver-haired man and the two engaged in a blinding swordfight. As their blades clashed, the rest of the Planet around them was getting sucked up into a dark hole in the sky. Cloud could sense the ground beneath them moving, but continues his onslaught of slashes and deflections to defeat his powerful nemesis again and hopefully for good. He brings his sword up towards the airborne Sephiroth, who blocks it with his own, putting the two in a blade-to-blade midair standoff as they were getting sucked into the mysterious hole as well. The last thing Cloud saw was Sephiroth's sneering smile as his world went black.
To Be Continued…