So I'm back with yet another chapter! I'm excited to get this started and it's maybe one of the most important chapters, so I'm not going to say much besides the fact that I don't own the FF7 compilation.

Note: After seeing more of this fic's colors does the genre fit the story?

Chapter 14 The Last Battle

Cloud

It had to be this sword to finish everything. Although it didn't seem like the most reasonable thing to do, I was pulling the rusted weapon from the ground, anyway. The sword would be back where it belonged in time, but it had one more battle before doing so. I cleaned off what I could with a rag I kept in my gallery of swords that stayed concealed. Dust and other dirt that had been blown in by the weather came off and I managed to clean a lot of the grime off, but the rust was still there. Nevertheless, I knew the Buster Sword was still far from falling apart.

I looked off into the view the cliff provided for me. Edge, in its cluster of buildings, sat in the middle of the brown wilderness, but I noticed something that was off from the color scheme. I could see grass or some sort of vegetation somewhere in the distance, headed straight for Edge and I couldn't help but smile over it. For a moment, I was impatient to see if there were going to be flowers in the spring. It was still that awkward time of year that was technically after winter, but the fruits of spring were still waiting to blossom.

I got back on my bike and rode off with the sword, in hand. I would have probably made a phone call, but I knew that AVALANCHE would be waiting for me, anyway. I just hoped they wouldn't start the fight without me.

Mia

After I recovered from the shock of the pain, I could feel the change of temperature as my physical body must have changed location. Nevertheless, I was still trapped in the mental prison of steel that I had to get out of.

The tight cell brought back unwanted memories that weren't thrown onto me by Jenova. They had floated back into my conscious mind and reminded me of the pain and loneliness I had been forced to endure before diving into a whole new prison with my escape. The return of memories prompted me to turn over on the bed I had managed to scramble on when I had been affected by the pain from outside.

I stared at the ceiling and had to squint because of the fluorescent light bulbs, like the ones you see in public buildings. It was a drastic change from the gloom of the rest of the room so I covered my eyes with my arm. Frowning at the interruption of the light spectrum that my eyes had grown accustomed to I tried to rake my mind for anything I may have spotted, previously. Then, I smiled and reached for something to throw, not knowing the outcome.

Knowing that the room was proofed of anything that could be used as a weapon, I took off my shoe, or my mental shoe, at least. Acting like I was just normally taking my shoes off, I took one more look at my target before hurling my left shoe at the light bulb above me. Although it was something easy to miss, I knew that there were only three lights on the ceiling, not four, and I had struck the fourth one which was raining down sparks that washed away the scene, like a cleansing rain.

The setting changed to my classroom and I was surprised to see Jenova using things that were barely on the edge of home, now. It was weakening.

Cloud

I was actually the first at the church, but I realized that Cid wasn't too far behind by the roaring of his aircraft. It was only a matter of moments before I would be barraged by the random questions and banter of all my old friends and it was only expected that I wait for them before going into the church that had already survived enough damage.

"You changed your number, again?" I heard the loud voice of Yuffie over the sound of the opening hatch. At first I thought she was talking to me, and I was about to tell her that I had lost my phone when I realized she was going on to Vincent who was refusing to answer. "You never call anyone, to begin with, and you change it again! Why just even keep a cell phone? - Oh, hi, Cloud!"

I turned around to face the handful of people getting off, and waved back.

"Let's just get this over with." Vincent said to me, as he passed me by, most likely exhausted by Yuffie's high energy. He made a beeline for the church, but waited at the doors for the rest of us.

"So did Shinra get his present?" I asked, indicating the number of unconscious people from the Forgotten City.

Cid answered my question before anyone else could get a hand in, "Yup, I hope he has enough medical sta-,"

"-That was so lame of you to leave all those people for us to clean up! Do you realize how long it took?" Yuffie butted in, immediately getting fired up at me.

"Shut your trap, couldn't you see I was talking?" Cid shot back at her.

"I had to go pick something up," I cut in before anymore bickering could commence.

"Yeah, little lassie, over there, wasn't listening to that part when Vincent told us." Cait Sith said from atop Red XIII's head, "I'm pretty sure all she heard was the part about heavy lifting."

"Hey!" Yuffie shouted back.

I didn't even try to stop the arguing, but my eye caught on Tifa, who was standing at the back of the crowd.

"Well, I knew you would take care of yourself," she said to me, hardly audible above the others' fighting.

"Alright, can we get this done? I don't think we need to stand around yapping to each other." Barret was able to throw in, his voice always managing to be heard above the rest, but only ended up getting fussed at by Yuffie.

"Jenova's in there waiting for us, and we can't be sure if it'll remain long enough for us to get in." Vincent said, sobering the group up whose attentions returned to the mission at hand. I turned to go inside and couldn't believe that the doors of the church were still on their hinges after all this time and after all the damage it had suffered before.

We went in, all at once, because of the wide doorway. There were a few flowers trying to bloom around the edges of the wide pool that was in the church. It was a mess after that last battle with Kadaj, but no one had touched any of the rubble out of reverence. The roof was completely gone and there was a clear view of the sky above us.

We all set our eyes on the figure that was framed by the star speckled sky, awaiting us to come finish the battle. We may have not felt the exact same when we fought Sephiroth or had the same will to fight, a few years ago, but we didn't have to for something like this.

Mia

I was sitting in my chair at my desk. For some reason, it really was good to be back at work even if it was a fake classroom. I could feel a stronger connection to my physical being and I began to hear things outside of me and had to stop myself from looking over my shoulder when I heard footsteps. They were outside my body, but I was almost convinced it may have been a student or even Jenova coming to finish me.

Jenova couldn't finish me. I was able to pick that up from its thoughts and reveled in the fact that I couldn't be terminated so easily. It needed my body to use as its own and if it removed the real me, the body would have to go, too.

"Where to start?" I said, wondering the level of difficulty this would provide for me. For a second, I was experiencing the same feeling as when I did when playing videogames. Annihilating one level and going to the next was something exhilarating.

Exhilarating; I was beginning to feel things again. There was still that wall there, but I was either beating it or someone else was. I guess I would just meet them halfway.

I was startled, though, when I thought I heard shouts and for a second, I thought I heard Yuffie. This was going to be annoying if I was going to jump at every sound, and I tried to ignore the sounds outside of me. I had to find this gate.

"But where?" I asked out loud as I rummaged around my desk and even went over each student's computer, pulling up each and everyone. It would take forever to go through every file and it seemed unlikely for this gateway of sorts to be an individual file. Everything looked normal and I sighed exasperatedly as I looked at the white board, with my hands on my hips.

"Ah ha!" I said with a bounce in my step and tried to rip the whiteboard from the wall. At first, I forgot it was bolted in, but that's what Jenova had forgotten, too, and it came off, even though it was huge and stiff. The board seemed like it was heavy enough to crush me, however it came off easily like I was pealing tape off the wall. I let it drop to the floor, after getting all four corners removed and it began to sway before leaning forward.

Before the board could fall on me, my setting changed, once again, getting an angry shout from me, but then I started laughing madly when I realized that I could get angry. All there was left now was to get out.

Cloud

Jenova was waiting for us, suspended in the air and framed by the moon that was visible through the roofless ceiling. The star-like eyes, almost lost in the other stars that were in the backdrop of sky, seemed to look down on us and we were all looking back up. Jenova's silver hair flowed all around it and the black wing was outstretched again, recovered from its previous injury.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Barret asked all of us, who were in some sort of staring contest with Jenova. He made the first shot which was dodged like my sword had been, nothing more than a twitch let Jenova evade it.

After that, the battle sparked to life. Vincent was letting loose more bullets and Yuffie had thrown her shuriken at Jenova. The church was lit with gunfire, but the tentacles of red light had made a return, but without the protective shield and Jenova had to deflect everything with its limited amount of solidified light, leaving it open.

It was obviously weaker than it was, earlier, but the determination to survive had made it that much more untouchable. Jenova was able to dart around, airborne, which gave it an advantage against those of us who were too close-ranged for that.

Finally, though, a bullet had touched the creature, piercing its side and another in its wing in the split moment of distraction. Even if both were nonfatal, they were still weakening shots. Jenova might be untouchable, but it was able to wear down.

The battle waged on, though, maybe for minutes or maybe for hours and the sun had well risen, peaking over the walls of the church and flooding it with sunlight. Jenova was still alive and some of us were getting worn down, ourselves.

"How do we even fight this?" Yuffie asked no one in particular when she had fallen back.

"Who knows? I can't even get a hit on it." Tifa replied, her hand-to-hand combat almost useless in a situation like this.

"Great, we're going to be here forever." Yuffie said, agitatedly. I was ready to agree, but then, I remembered the way distraction had been Jenova's downfall in our last fight. I couldn't help but think she got that from Mia.

"I've got a plan," I said, getting ready to charge back into the fray, "pass on to the others to keep hitting it from the front."

"Gotcha!" Yuffie said, immediately entering back in and spreading the news, rather loudly.

"Cloud," someone called out to me. I noticed Tifa, not too far away.

"I know," I said giving her a smile, "I'll be careful."

She smiled playfully and followed Yuffie's lead back into the fight. I was able to get around Jenova while everyone had it distracted. I found myself on a slab of stone somewhere behind the malevolent life form.

"This is where it ends," I whispered to myself.

Mia

I immediately set to work on finding the exit of the room I was in. This prison was Beatrice's guest room that I had been locked up in and I didn't appreciate the throwback Jenova sent me. I also didn't appreciate all the noise going on outside of me, which not only distracted me, but signaled that there was a fight going on. I had to end this quick. I didn't know what would happen when I did, but I knew that I had to.

"Come on!" I almost shouted. For a second, I had the sun in my eyes, even though I was facing a wall without any windows. I was beginning to gain some control over my sight, and the light didn't help with my search.

I ran around the room, wondering where my target could be hidden. The door had been locked just like Beatrice would leave it, so I knew that this was where my gateway would be. I couldn't find any difference, nevertheless, even if Jenova was weakening.

"Where are you?" I shouted, feeling my rage boil. I would have basked in the glory of gaining the full extent of my emotions back, but I had no time.

I looked out the windows and almost gave up. I sat on the bed and stared at the world outside that had been perfectly recreated, although still beyond my reach, like a painting. I remembered how I had escaped from those windows one night and got so far from escaping all of this, entirely.

"That's it!" I said with a spark of joy. I picked up the nightstand beside the bed and brandished it like a weapon, assuming the position by the window I had took maybe a week before when I had tried to escape by bashing in the panes. "Time to pick up where I left off!"

I swung the nightstand like a baseball bat and the windows, that were missing their wooden bars that had kept me from escaping, splintered into many fragments. With the glittering shards of glass, everything else seemed to shimmer and flash as I awaited my release.

I felt a head rush as all the fake visions dissolved and I could sense fresh air rushing in and out of my lungs. This was a moment where I was one and the same with Jenova. I could feel the rising sun warm my skin and I heard the sounds of a battle that I was in the midst of. I was hurt and I was fighting back. It made perfect sense, too, and for some reason I both experienced the terror and enlightenment of Jenova's own thoughts and Jenova experienced the pain and joy of mine. It would have been a moment any other person would have thought horrific and scarring, but I wasn't frightened, Jenova was.

I realized, though, that Jenova was still wreaking havoc. I was fighting AVALANCHE and I couldn't stop myself. I didn't have time to have any fangirl freak outs, either. I was still Jenova.

That's when the terror finally gripped me and I tried to speak to plead for help, even if it was futile. I was able to choke out a few words, but they weren't at all audible. There was control I was yet to breach, however there was control over me that Jenova had yet to take, also.

Somehow I was beginning to fight Jenova within me, but it just wouldn't let go of my body. Even if I had gotten back some control, it still held me in its waning grip. I began to wonder if I was better off inside the dream worlds Jenova had created to keep me incarcerated. Witnessing the destruction was beginning to be too much, no matter which side was winning. I didn't want my opponents to get hurt, but I was just as hurt, too.

I could feel bullets piercing my body as I fought for control. Jenova couldn't fully defend itself with me trying to take back over and both of us were suffering for it. I had never felt a single gunshot in my entire life until now and I couldn't fight back. Jenova was still fighting for my body, redirecting what other harm could come our way. It wasn't enough, though.

Then, there was one pain that took away all the others. One explosive pain that canceled out everything else that I was feeling. I turned my head over my shoulder to see Cloud's face, sword in hand, and too close for the sword not to be touching me.

"Thank you," I said as I slipped into blackness.

Cloud

It had begun to act different when I got behind it. Its movements were jerkier as its defenses weakened for some strange reason and I thought I heard it try to speak once. I thought about waiting to see if something was going on, but this was a shot I couldn't waste.

This wouldn't be anything fancy, no epic moves involved, just one clear shot. Things were different from all those other fights.

Launching myself off of the flat of stone I had climbed upon, I drove my sword forward. I realized that I had hit the target and, in one moment, I had defeated Jenova.

"Thank you," I heard someone say. Out of ignorance, I glanced around for Mia and then realized that the voice was coming from the falling body, now dead, descending from its levitation.

I landed on my feet, as the body landed with a splash in the pool of water that was sent from the Lifestream maybe a year ago. The water enveloped Jenova entirely as it sank to the bottom, silver hair lingering at the surface and the light of the starry eyes quickly fading.

I heard cheers from my comrades who were relishing in the victory over a great evil, all except for one. Only Tifa and I realized what had just been done. With victory always came loss, I think it's safe to say we know it better than anyone.

When I looked at her, I could see the sadness in her face along with the tears brimming in her eyes, and wondered why no one else had noticed our somber moods. I couldn't tell who, but someone had left to alert the public and Shinra. No one else but us had bothered to acknowledge that someone was lost, now.

Would she have been lost, anyway, though? Someone who never belonged to our world may not have lasted. At least, that's what I wanted to think so the wound wouldn't feel deeper than it had really cut.

I approached Tifa, who leaned her head against me and looked at the ground, hiding her face. Still, the happy words rang on around us as if we didn't exist, at the moment. Mia may not have known it, but she was a friend. She may not have known it, but the loss would leave another scar to go with many others.

"Look!" someone shouted. I didn't try to place the voice, but followed their directions. Cait Sith pointed towards the pool of water and everyone was silenced by the sight they saw.

A body of a girl had surfaced and was lying at the edge of the pool. Hair darkened to brown by the water, covered her face and pale peach skin covered the hands that were peaking out of the oversized workman's clothes she was wearing.

Oh, the intensity of it all! I hate to make the readers wait for the next chapter, but I must hold off updating until next week as I've been able to do decently. Tell me if you think the rating still needs to be bumped up a notch. I, myself, feel that it may be alright, but then there are some people who might not be able to take this sort of stuff.

I hope my portrayal of the members of AVALANCHE was decent. It also felt like this chapter went by too fast, but I just can't help myself! It was such an important one, too.

Ninja Cat of Light