Hey! I'm very sorry this took so long to post! I got too distracted with life XD

Firehedgehog: Lol thanks.

DaughterOfSorceress-Lion: Thanks so very much for all of your help with this chapter! I appreciate it so much! And I'm sure you're right about the end of FFVII game...I've just never played it ;)

Silverstargirl: You're very right about Rinoa. I'm glad I was slightly pressured into including her XD

Thatotherguy: Teehee thankies XD

rebirth-flame: All about Squall is about to be explained! And as far as I understand it, Sephiroth is not in fact an Ancient. He just thinks he is since he believes Jenova to be the last Ancient (which, as far as I know, is also not true).

JadeAlmasy: Thanks! I hope you enjoy :)

Disclaimer: I wish.

The ride had been a silent one, with maybe a total of three sentences uttered the whole time. Everyone had something else on their mind. Like how they were going to survive the next few hours.

Life was a fragile thing. A small piece of lead was really all it took to end it.

Irvine had been in many battles before. He was no stranger to death. He wasn't exactly afraid of dying, either. He knew where he was headed when all was said and done, and he knew it would be better than what he had here. But still, there was that primal fear that insisted on making itself known, the one that fought tooth and nail in the most basic of instincts: self preservation.

He always hated it when he had down time before a mission like this. There was too much time to think. Too much time to question and wonder and contemplate his own mortality.

He could see Tears' Point in the distance, rising up on the horizon with the sun behind it. Dark clouds swirled above the location, unnatural in their form. Cloud had mentioned that Sephiroth could do strange things like controlling the weather. The clouds spiraled around the stadium-like structure, the occasional flash of lightening adding to the group's unease and filling the air with the scent of ozone. Soon the clouds would swallow up the sun.

He glanced up to look at Cloud and Zell in the front, then his eyes fell beside him where Selphie sat, her arms wrapped around herself and her eyes staring at the storm. He placed an arm around her and she looked up, offering him a thin smile before turning away again. She leaned into him, though, allowing him to give her some comfort.

Irvine turned to look at the car beside them that was occupied by Vincent, the two cats and Quistis. Quistis had her eyes on the road as she drove, a small frown on her face. Vincent was staring out at the plains and it looked like the two felines were conversing quietly in the back seat.

Cloud soon slowed their vehicle to a stop about a mile from the site. Quistis followed suit, pulling up beside him and stopping the car. The dead silence that filled the air in the engines' wake was unnerving and a sharp peal of thunder only added to the effect.

Without a word, everyone left the cars and followed Cloud on foot, readying weapons and spreading out a bit. Traveling in too close of a knot made it easy for enemies to pick off multiple targets at once. And judging by what Cloud had said about Sephiroth, there was no need to make his job easier. They very well could all be dead by lunch.

Irvine wondered about Squall as they walked. He wondered if this was a choice Squall would have made. He would certainly have gone after Rinoa without a second thought, but Irvine wondered if he would have brought his team with him. Squall could be a pigheaded fool at times and might have easily classified this as a suicide mission. He had a way of seeing things as statistics and while he was more than willing to give his life for a friend, he was a bit more reluctant to ask others to follow him to Death's door.

It was strange what people thought when they believed these might be their last hours on the planet. One would think that last thoughts would be reserved for reviewing precious memories and wondering about the future of loved ones. Instead, he was pondering over the character of his friends and the frailty of life.

Cloud suddenly drew to a halt, making everyone else stop and look. He had his eyes glued on the stadium-like structure before him. They seemed to reflect the chaos of the storm they beheld as if the charge of the lightening had sparked something buried in his soul. A deep anger and perhaps hatred that smoldered inside his heart.

Irvine thought he saw them flash a dark, cobalt blue before returning to glowing aqua.

"Does everyone remember what they are supposed to do?" Cloud asked, his voice brittle as he stared. When no one spoke, he continued, "Once you have Rinoa, get out of here. Am I clear?"

Of course he was. But no one really had any intention of just leaving Cloud behind, or Squall for that matter. He was delusional to think they would just abandon him, orders or no.

It surged and flowed, the closer they came, pressing against him.

He was losing his will to fight it.

A million voices hummed, assuring him it was safe, assuring him he need only to accept it and all would fall into place, that all would end well.

He knew better than to trust blindly, but he didn't have much choice. He began to lower his defenses, one at a time.

They arrived at Tears' Point all too soon. All of the hours of mental preparation seemed worthless now, as if he hadn't even tried. He felt just as unready as he always felt before a fight, with the same cold fear gripping his heart and the same sense of isolation he felt no matter how many companions he surrounded himself with.

Tears' Point lay sprawled out before them, occasionally highlighted by a flash of lightening. It was nothing but a maze of black square columns of varying heights. In the middle, eight colossal statues of angelic looking figures were arranged in a circle in several poses.

Near the statues, atop one of the square columns, stood a man. His cool green eyes still held a glint of insanity and the curtain of silver hair was just as magnificent as he remembered. Even the haughty smile was the same, holding in it all of the man's contempt and arrogance.

Pride goeth before a fall. And Cloud intended to make him fall hard.

Beside him stood Rinoa. He saw the fear on her face, but he also saw the resolve in her eyes. She was ready for a fight.

'Squall?' he tried again, hoping against hope he would get a response, or maybe even feel the brush of the man's presence.

His mind was silent.

They approached cautiously, stopping a good ways away to allow a wide margin between the group and Sephiroth's sword. Lightening flashed behind him, adding an even more foreboding feeling to the situation.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud called, his voice filled with authority and strength. Strength he knew was forced. He held his sword at the ready, adrenaline pumping through his veins.

"Good to see you, Cloud," Sephiroth smiled, repeating those same words in the same tone he had used all those years ago.

"Let the girl go," Cloud ordered, ignoring the madman's greeting.

His smile broadened. "Come and take her."

So this was it. This was where it would all be decided. Cloud was very certain that only one of them would be walking away from Tears' Point alive. He had every intention of being that one.

He took about three seconds to center himself, to focus. He put every worry out of his mind, every fear. Those wouldn't help him. He would fight, and he would win.

He weighted his sword in his hands, the familiar load offering a bit of comfort.

He breathed.

He charged. A scream tore from his lips as he hurled himself up at Sephiroth, his sword held high to meet him.

Sephiroth too leapt from his perch, holding Masamune in is right hand low to come at Cloud from beneath his guard.

They met in midair, their swords clashing in a shower of sparks. The force of the impact jarred Cloud's bones and forced him down towards the ground. He shoved off of Masamune and somersaulted backward, landing on a square column.

As soon as Cloud was clear, Vincent and Irvine opened fire while Vaki and Tsumi moved in.

It trickled in at first through cracks and holes and filled slowly, the warmth and comfort washing over him, its touch gentle to his soul, despite the damage it was doing to his mind.

But soon, like a hole in any dam, the trickle turned into a dribble, the dribble a flow, and the flow a rush.

Soon he was drowning.

Zell ran hard through the thick maze of square pillars. He, Quistis and Selphie had to extract Rinoa before things started to get messy on the battlefield. She needed to be out of there before people started throwing some of the less accurate spells around.

As they neared the column Rinoa was on, he could hear Quistis whisper something. His body suddenly lifted off the ground as she cast Float on the party. They rose up as the spell permeated the space beneath their feet and caused the air to thicken. They ran, their feet sinking into nothing until they hit the solidity of the pillar.

Rinoa was waiting on them. Since he was the first to arrive, he was the first she threw her arms around, pressing herself against him. He wrapped his arm around her as a blur of silver appeared behind her.

Quistis' whip lashed out in the blink of an eye, wrapping around Sephiroth's sword and throwing off his aim. The slice came down centimeters from Zell's shoulder and bit into the black panel under their feet.

Sephiroth spun, tearing the blade from the whip's grasp as Selphie's nun chucks flew out to meet him. He blocked the weapon, entangling the chain around his sword with a quick flick of his wrist. He then yanked back, sending it flying off to the side and stepped in to deal the girl a blow.

Selphie produced a dagger from her boot and made a move to block the attack, but the heaviness of the blow snapped the blade and came down to cut deep into her arm. Selphie screamed.

Gunfire erupted off to the side as Vincent or Irvine got a clear shot. A barrage of bullets pelted the ground at the madman's feet. Sephiroth was forced to abandon his attack on Selphie and turn to deflect the incoming shots with a few deft moves of his blade.

Zell handed Rinoa off to Quistis and wrapped an arm around Selphie's waist before bailing off of the pillar. Quistis and Rinoa followed.

(Vincent POV)

He was as fast as Vincent remembered, if not faster. No sooner did he have his sights leveled on him before he was gone, spinning away to attack another.

He squeezed off a few more rounds and bounded to another column when the swordsman disappeared from view, Irvine mirroring his moves across from him. They managed to catch Sephiroth in a crossfire, but he deflected all of the incoming shots easily.

Out of nowhere, Vaki and Tsumi rushed him, Tsumi leaping high with claws outstretched and Vaki diving for Sephiroth's leg.

Tsumi met Sephiroth's sword, the weapon impaling him as Sephiroth slipped out of Vaki's way. Vincent's breathing hitched as Tsumi slid off the blade and fell in a lifeless heap to the ground.

He snarled as he fired repeatedly at the silver haired figure. He had promised Nanaki he would do all in his power to protect his cubs. And now he had failed.

Every living entity inside of him came alive with rage, every one hissing and howling to be released. They fed off of his own fury, each wanting nothing more than to see this madman die by their own claws.

But Vincent wouldn't give them that pleasure. He wanted to kill Sephiroth himself.

(Selphie POV)

Her entire arm felt like it was on fire. The blood flowed freely from her arm at an alarming rate, soaking through her clothes and onto Zell's. Her breath was coming in short gasps and what wasn't burning felt cold.

"Hang on, Selph," Zell murmured as he ran, holding her close.

"I don't wanna die," she slurred, her voice as weak as she felt.

"You won't," he promised, glaring ahead, his face a composed mask of determination.

Her vision was beginning to dim around the edges, the darkness closing in on her. She was suffocating. "I can't see, Zell."

"Hang on! Just hang on!" he repeated, over and over again.

"Sorry—," she whispered and fainted.

(Zell POV)

"Selphie!" he screamed. He couldn't stop now. If they stopped to check on her and Sephiroth caught up with them, he had no doubt that they all would die.

But she was bleeding out and he had nothing to staunch it with. A hasty Cure spell wouldn't be enough to mend a major artery. It would heal the skin and she would bleed out beneath. She needed surgery.

He looked beside him where Quistis and Rinoa were running beside him, both looking worriedly at the girl in his arms.

"We've got to get her to a hospital!" he insisted.

"She'll die before we get to Esthar." Quistis said. She looked at the sorceress running next to her. "Can you do anything?" she asked.

Rinoa shook her head. "Magic won't heal that." Tears were streaming down her face. She tore off her sweater. "Stop for a second."

"But Sephiroth—"

"Just a second!" her voice rang with authority despite the fear in her eyes.

Zell came to a halt, careful not to jar Selphie more than necessary. Rinoa tore her sleeve from the sweater and formed a tourniquet, tying it tightly above the injury.

The sharp cling of metal and the piercing report of gunfire came steadily closer.

They ran for the exit.

(Irvine POV)

Over an hour into the battle and Sephiroth didn't have a scratch on him. Incredible.

Irvine himself had caught a ricocheted bullet in the hip. It was slowing him, but it wasn't enough to put him out of the fight.

What would put him out of the fight, however, was his rapidly depleting supply of ammunition. He didn't know how Vincent stood, but he himself was running low.

He emptied his magazine and dug his hand in his pocket, pulling out a few more shells and ramming them in. In a well-practiced maneuver, he cocked his weapon to put two in the chamber and kept firing.

When he ran out, he would have to resort to magic and the dagger in his boot.

Sephiroth suddenly turned his eyes on him and narrowed them.

Crap.

Irvine did the only sensible thing he could do. He squeezed off another round then hobbled off for cover. There was no way he could survive close combat with that guy.

Metal bit into metal behind him and he chanced a look over his shoulder. Cloud had intercepted Sephiroth's attack.

(Cloud POV)

Cloud cut off Sephiroth's attack on Irvine. He parried a blow and leaned forward to deal one himself, only to have it blocked. Sephiroth spun out from under his blade, bringing his own around to cut into Cloud's side. He rocked his sword back and caught it in the hilt, but Sephiroth lashed out with a foot, sending Cloud flying back and into one of the angelic statues.

The force of it knocked the breath out of him and tore the Buster Sword from his grip, flinging it out of his reach.

He tried to stand up, but Sephiroth closed in on him, firmly planting a booted foot into his chest and leaning in on it.

"Fool," he hissed, his voice dripping with contempt even as a smile crossed his lips. "You think I will be defeated so easily?"

With a glare, Cloud twisted his body, throwing of Sephiroth's balance and allowing himself a chance to dive for his sword. His fingers brushed the hilt before it was kicked out of his reach.

Cloud rolled before Masamune sliced down, biting into the tiled floor where his chest had just been.

What he wouldn't give for a materia right now.

Gunfire sounded from nearby, forcing Sephiroth to turn and defend himself. Cloud took the opportunity to grab his sword. He ejected one of the side blades into his other hand as he spun around to confront the silver haired man again.

He was gone.

A rush of wind above him caught his attention. He looked to see Sephiroth, flying to the top of the statues.

Clenching his jaw, Cloud ran to the nearest column. He gathered his feet beneath him and leapt, landing on the top. He then leapt again, his body cutting through the air like a missile as he climbed into the sky.

He came up behind Sephiroth as he ascended and readied his sword to drive it through him.

Sephiroth suddenly turned, swinging his arm around and hitting Cloud out of the air.

Again, into the statues.

This time, the force of his impact cracked a weakened portion of the figure and he felt some part of his ribcage give way as fiery pain flashed through his nerves. He slumped and fell down the side of the statue, landing mercifully in the crook of its stone arm instead of falling some twelve stories down.

He was winded, but he couldn't catch his breath. Every inhalation brought with it a new wave of sharp pain. He heard Sephiroth land nearby, the soft whisper of his wing halting and heavy footsteps approaching.

He didn't want to get up.

Cloud began the painstaking effort of lifting his head off the ground.

"You are so predictable, Cloud," Sephiroth chuckled darkly from somewhere above him. "Even after all these years, I have you in the palm of my hand. You are still my puppet."

Cloud snarled with renewed vigor and sliced his sword over the ground in an attempt to cut into Sephiroth's leg.

The man danced away with ease before throwing a telekinetic blast his way, hurling him into the stony figure again. He gasped as something else broke within him. Cloud crumbled to a heap on the floor.

"You always wanted to be the hero, didn't you?" Sephiroth asked, his voice ringing. "And when you couldn't do it by yourself, you stole Zack's life. But even that couldn't help you. In the end, you couldn't even save your little flower girl."

Cloud grunted. He tried to lift his sword, but he could only get it a few inches off of the ground. It was too heavy for him.

"I'm sure you miss her, though. How would you like to go see her again?"

Cloud was going to die here.

All he could see was a shadow illuminated by a flash of lightening as Sephiroth raised his sword.

Squall couldn't hold it in any longer. The energy had become volatile and had expanded as much as his mind would allow, but there was so much more. It had filled every pore and recess of his mind, burning like acid as it swirled inside of him. It was searching for escape and for direction. All he had to do now was focus it.

He surged forward, hurling his consciousness ahead. His mind was like an ocean and Cloud's like an island in the vast waters. It was easily overtaken.

Sephiroth smiled broadly. This would mark the beginning of the end. With Cloud's death, he could begin the destruction of mankind unopposed.

He brought his sword down over the blond's neck to deal the final blow.

It stopped short.

His sword would not move down any further. It instead hovered inches over Cloud, sparking like it had encountered some kind of invisible shield. A Protect spell would not have shielded the boy from an attack like this.

Sephiroth frowned as Cloud raised his head, slowly.

The eyes that met his were not Cloud's. Cloud's were a glowing aqua color, bright and alive with Mako. The eyes that met his were a dark, storm blue.

Squall met Sephiroth's gaze and immediately felt the old hatred burn inside of him, but he shoved the irrational emotion aside. It wouldn't help him here.

He picked himself off of the ground, or Cloud, rather. The foreign body moved at his command, the pain a distant echo of what it would have been if it were Squall's own body.

Sephiroth raised his sword and sliced, but it glanced off of his shield harmlessly. The energy hummed through him and through the air around him.

"Who are you?" Sephiroth demanded coldly, holding his sword before him.

Squall didn't answer. He instead held out a hand.

His palm glowed a bright green and pure, raw Lifestream poured through the appendage.

It shot at Sephiroth, engulfing him in green flame when it made contact with his skin. Sephiroth collapsed to the ground and screamed as the fire seared his flesh, turning it a grisly black slick with blood as it encountered the flesh of Jenova and made to destroy it.

Like any efficient immune system, the Lifestream recognized a threat to the planet's existence from long before, remembering all of the damage and grief the Calamity from the Skies had brought down to the world.

Before the fire could finish its work, Squall delved himself into Cloud's own power, enhanced as it was with years of practice, skill, experience and infused with Mako energy. He linked their energy together and raised his sword.

White, gold and purple light swirled around his body as he forced his body to its Limit Break. He raised a piece of Cloud's sword and rushed Sephiroth.

He dealt blow after blow in rapid succession, each one powered by Squall and Cloud's combined strength. They landed with bone shattering force, doing as much blunt force trauma as anything.

The attack ended moments later, leaving a broken, charred and bleeding body beneath his sword.

Sephiroth chocked and whispered something Squall didn't understand. With what looked like a great effort, Sephiroth pulled his burnt wing over his body, completely obscuring it from view.

He disintegrated into a pile of black feathers that were captured by the wind and carried away, riding a current into the heavens.

Squall collapsed.

Special Thanks: DaughterOfSorceress-Lion. She was incredibly helpful with this chapter and that last move was all her idea. I believe she called it "Lomnislash".

Well, all that's left is the epilogue ;_; It makes me sad.

Thanks for reading! Realize that I will have nothing to write for a long time unless inspiration strikes me. If you have ideas or suggestions, I would love to hear them!

God Bless,

-RainFlame