Disclaimer. Again… I have lost my mind so you know how it is. Don't sue me… bubbles 0_o

Well I got some pretty good responses from the last chap so by popular demand I'm back for round well…28 I guess… anyway now this chap is gona get long and weird… remember a few chaps back when cloud kina went psycho… well this is gona make a lot of sense when you read it now. So here you go… ciao.

One winged angel. "Beyond simple affections."

The morning woke him with an unsound feeling of nervous dread. 'Tomorrows the big day… better make sure no one side swipes me…' cloud pulled his head forward to notice that the rest of his body wouldn't follow. 'What the…' he was tied down by shackles and the light he thought was the sun was actually the eerie glow of mako.

"It's nice to see you again… cloud." The demonic baritone of sephiroth echoed from the far side of the room.

"Sephiroth…" his voice was gruff as if he hadn't used it in a while.

"so you would still curse my name… fine… but I have questions."

"what do you want…" he barked as he fought against his restraints in an attempt to reach his enemy.

"relax cloud." The man walked over to cloud with the speed of a cat and the air of a ghost. "those aren't going to break."

"this is a dream…"

"are you so sure?" He circled the object that cloud was attached to with a sinister laugh. "funny thing about dreams… sometimes its better just to stay awake."

"What are you getting at? no" cloud watched as sephiroth wheeled into view an operation table. Its contents frightened him. It was Tifa. Sleeping but still breathing. "You bastard… leave her alone."

"Oh but that for her would be so cruel cloud… hmm great mines have similar thoughts."

"Stop twisting my words."

"As I said I have questions… and you're going to give me answers."

"Screw you I'm not saying a thing."

"We'll see."

"What… no…" he watched helpless as sephiroth lifted Tifa's arm and then raised a scalpel to her wrist. "No stop."

"Tell me what I want to know."

"Fuck you."

"Still so arrogant. Would you seriously be this inclined to kill those around you?"

"No seriously fuck you."

"Very well then… this is going to hurt you more than myself." He slowly moved the bladed instrument across her arm with a twisted grin.

"TIFA!" cloud panicked and lunged forward trying to reach her. "Tifa... you sick bastard… let me go…"

"And ruin all of my fun… no… I think you make a nice wall ornament. Besides you still haven't answered any questions… do that and I may reconsider."

"Alright… what do you wana know…"

"Good cloud… my little puppet is finally learning his place. Now first… hmm… where is the paradox?"

"Like I would know that." He spat at the question.

"Perhaps that would be too difficult. Very well… then where is jenova's head?"

"What? I don't know that either. What are you getting at?"

"Cloud… you should already know my motives… but… I think you need to worry about something else… now imp going to ask one more question… this time I'm sure you know… so you'd best get this one right… or perhaps maybe Tifa here would like to miss her wedding night…"

"No… sephiroth stop this."

"Where is shinra?" his voice was hostile and almost feral as he lifted a small glove with what appeared to be scalpels on the fingertips.

"why do you want to know?" he attempted to stall but started to panic as the silver haired man swiftly tore off Tifa's jacket and shirt revealing her rather fragile looking torso.

"You fail to see the severity of this situation cloud. Tell me what I want to know."

"Again… you sadistic bastard fuck you."

"you try my patience puppet… shall I remind you who your master is?" he swiftly rammed the steel claws into the woman before him and cloud found himself frozen in horror as sephiroth's evil laugh brought darkness around him.

"Tifa!... Tifa!" cloud was lost in the darkness. Sephiroth's laugh was the only Constance in the jet shroud that surrounded him. That was until a soft female voice echoed in his head.

"Cloud…" the voice though soft and barely audible was clearly familiar.

"Aerith… where are you…?"

"Cloud… wake up… wake up!"

He shot forward his eyes open and cold sweat covering his forehead. "Tifa!" he still was caught in the dream before a gentle hand pushed him backwards with a soft motion.

"Shhh… its okay… cloud… its fine… calm down. Tifa's upstairs. She'll be fine. Trust me." Aerith sat at clouds side zack not far away. He was surprised to see that aerith appeared to be nursing him. Placing a cold rag on his face as he tried vainly to make his body move.

"You were running a high fever… are you sick man?" zack stepped forward offering cloud a bottle of water.

"No… I don't… have any of you heard about Rufus lately?" he swapped the subject.

"He's gone into hiding. There have been a few death threats towards 'his Excellency'" zack waved his arms sarcastically after cloud took the bottle.

"So you don't know…?"

"Nah… sorry dude… I'm as stumped as you."

"What about you?" he looked at aerith with panic written on his features.

"What happened cloud… something's bothering you. Tell me what it is."

"It's nothing."

"Liar. It's nothing when it doesn't give you nightmares. Besides imp a cetra… you won't fool me. So what's bothering you?"

"It was just a bad dream… but I've been having lot of them lately I think Rufus may know why… I need to find him."

"You and me both…" zack interrupted.

"Why you?"

"He… has something important of mine… and I kina need it back…"

"What is it?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Zack… no hiding."

"I'm not hiding I just think you're better off not knowing. Anyway it's about seven thirty so you should probably get dressed. Big day today."

"What?"

"Yeah man you were out for quite a while. Musta had too much sauce." He laughed. "But you seem fine now… so get your ass up and we'll get ya suited. That nice tux cid and shera bought you ought to fit nicely. So go ahead. We'll meet you downstairs. Later spikes."

"Oh joy..." when cid said something nice cloud was hoping that he had meant pens or a nice tie. However he later learned that they had bought a tux and that he would be more formal than he had intended to at the wedding.

Downstairs tifa was busy preparing the bar for the party afterwards. The town had decided to host the wedding at the church thus making the once costly wedding so close to free that it was unbelievable.

That simply left the after party. Granted the bar had already housed a drunken team AVALANCHE the night before. However the party tonight wasn't just about drinking and reveling in the past. Tonight was her night. 'I can't believe it… I thought… you know what screw what I thought… now where is that… ah.' She reached behind a small cupboard that had been her hiding hole for many a rare item for the past two years and found it. Her treasure. It was the ring cloud had given her. It wasn't as grand as the engagement ring he had given her but it had been with her even on nights when cloud was nowhere to be found.

'I wonder what he would do if he knew I still had this?' she twirled the wolf ring between her index and thumb before placing it on her hand with a loving admiration. 'I feel like a child hiding it from him… but when it comes to things that are sentimental he's worse than Yuffie and materia. Can't very well have him taking it back… I like it too much.' She grinned happily as she walked back to the den where she caught zack and aerith making a run for first base.

She had her hands running wildly through his raven locks. And his arm was wrapped possessively around her waist as his free hand ran absentmindedly along her hips and thighs. She let small moans escape into his lips and he hungrily pressed harder into hers.

"And what do we think we're doing?" tifa tapped her foot as zack panicked and aerith began to blush.

"Oh uh… tifa… didn't see you standing there." Zack stuttered quietly.

"I was just telling zack how women are superior lovers to men because we make them think they can take over." aerith pulled at her skirt in attempts to rid her dress of wrinkles.

"Yeah… ill go out on a limb and say you were both kindly hot and bothered…"

"Tifa! We were not… as I said I was proving a point."

"My bad… just try finding a room okay… then you can teach him all you want."

"Tifa!"

"Do I have to be blunt." She was about to really embarrass them before a loud explosion rocked the house and koty's laughter along with yuffie's swearing began echoing throughout the area.

"You jerk. Who told you, you could just say stuff like that to a lady and get away with it? You're gona pay… no shelke his ass is mine. Burn!" more explosions and tifa found it necessary to intercept the situation.

"What's going on out here?" she shouted as she walked outside. She considered herself fortunate for being so well trained at that moment as she dodged a flaming figure that slammed into the wall next to her.

"Ah… big sister… so you are up and about this morning… congratulations." His rare comical tone almost made her mistake him for cid or barret but once the cinders died and she noticed the red cloak she knew it was koty.

"Yuffie cool it!" tifa gave yuffie an intimidating glare as she came onto the porch. "You're tearing the house apart. Do I have to make you pay for damages?"

"But… he…" she stumbled before shelke pulled on her arm in the direction of the door.

"Thanks shelke. Now koty… what the hell is going on?"

"Well… yuffie is hot headed and shelke is very beautiful…" she noticed a slight slur in his speech.

"And you're very drunk aren't you?"

"Oh no-no-no-no. I'm not drunk… this is… nirvana." He flopped his arms at his sides with an almost exhausted smile.

"Nirvana… right… um… how much have you had?"

"Only a few bottles… maybe… three… four… I don't remember." He propped himself against wall he had plucked himself from moments before.

"Oh… koty… look… sober up… we need you to think straight…"

"Right away… yes first order of business … umm… what was it again?"

"Wedding… hours from now… dry yourself out… wait no!" she swiftly snatched a bottle he had collected from seemingly nowhere and immediately scolded his lack of self restraint.

"But sister… it is nirvana…"

"And in the morning you'll pay hell for it. No more… got it? Here… take this it might at least soak up some of the drunk."

"Are you angry with me?" he asked hanging his head.

"No… its just… no more whiskey okay?"

"Very well." For being intoxicated he seemed very level headed as he lifted himself. "Sister… cloud… he is a lucky man… he will never know how much so…" he took the foreign capsules that tifa had relinquished quickly and stumbled back inside.

'Crap… if it wasn't for the fact that… that I can't stand to see him hurt I wouldn't even let him near the liquor… but… I guess we each have our poison.' She gently touched the small scars on her inner arm and wrist. They brought back painful memories of clouds absence and the feeling of fire in her veins. The mako she had once sought comfort in now seemed like a terrifying nightmare long since past. 'Isn't that stuff suppose to be addictive… yet… since that night… I haven't needed it… or wanted it either… what did he do…' moments after this thought koty stumbled back out into the sun. He looked like his head hurt him and he walked with a more sober air than before.

"You good?" she quizzed his condition.

"Ill live… gha… but the sun… it hurts…" he flinched at the rays as they illuminated his face. "What happened?"

"Its called a hangover babe… you took the pills right?" she prodded him as she asked.

"Yes… please refrain from doing that…"

"Something bothering you?"

"Always… why?"

"Well… you've been so blunt lately… not that its bad… but it's a little unnerving."

"Would you like me to stop?"

"No… but I want to know what's bothering you…"

"id rather not talk about it…"

"yeah right… its shelke isn't it… you've been uncomfortable since last night… what's on your mind…"

"Kara…" the man spaced out as he had several times before.

"oh… you miss her don't you… I'm sorry… but… at least you got to say goodbye." She embraced him lovingly "some people don't get that chance…"

"Its not what you think… she's… just a glitch…"

"a glitch huh? Well then why are you stuck on her? You know I hear you at night… you still scream her name in your sleep…"

"my apologies."

"you two were close… must've been a lot of affection there…" she murmured as she felt him tense. "its okay… shhh… you don't have to hold on that tight. She's not mad trust me…"

He dropped like his knees were made of lead. Hanging his head low he strained his voice as if not crying were his only goal in life. "it was beyond simple affections… I … I… I took her… she was… my better half… all the colors I could never hope to be."

"shh" 'so the last two years have been hell on you… I guess… it would be for anyone.'

intermission.

Alright now that we're all set up for the big event we see bonds growing and bonds about to break. In both the verbal and literal sense. The alcohol addiction for koty is only a quarter of the deep water that's gona be present in the chaps to come so just go with the flow and it'll all come together.

resume

One winged angel "brother 'the last time'."

The events had started. The group had reached the church and the entire gathering town had made sure that the heroes had more than an ample amount of good will. The whole city had gathered including Reno and rude who tifa had decided would be only right to invite.

Cloud as it were felt rather awkward. His tux just didn't seem to want to work for him. he had always been use to wearing belts and leather as appose to the formal attire that now accosted him. it just didn't fit him. however when he saw tifa's dress for the first time he forgot that he felt ridiculous.

She was drabbed in pure white. The pale skin of her shoulders gently calling for him. her lips glossed to a point that he could hardly refrain from taking them to his own. The dress itself reflected tifa's true beauty. It was the white of the clouds that hung so elegantly in the sky bearing with it her lithe and almost delicate form. It almost seemed to be part of her. Its tight yet obviously tailored look granted her hips and breasts just enough curve to keep cloud's eyes glued to her while the elegant lace added to the fact that she was most inarguably a lady.

She radiated beauty and cloud could almost feel the intensity in his chest rush forward to greet her. He had wanted her but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to pay attention.

"dearly beloved. We are gathered here today" the priest's words echoed off into nothing as he stared into her eyes. The dark color seemed to wash away all awareness that he was indeed awake. He couldn't help but stare.

It wasn't till it was time to exchange vows that cloud snapped into attention. Tifa went first noting that cloud was preoccupied.

"cloud… I can't tell you how many times… I've just wanted to break down and cry… I can't count the times I've felt entirely overwhelmed… but… every time I've felt like that I look at you… and I realize… that even if I'm overwhelmed you are always there to catch me… even when you weren't around… I always had the feeling that if I were ever going to break that you would come and save me… I … I love you… and that has kept me going. Even when alone I always felt like you were right there… when you had geostigma… I knew that you were gone not because… you didn't love me… or because you were scared… you just didn't want to see me hurt… I know that now and I just want you to know… I love you… and you don't have to fight alone… ill be with you…" the small speech brought with it tears from her beautiful red brown eyes. "I want to be with you… from now on…"

Cloud was up next and the crowd after a bit of sniffling and a few sympathetic looks all silenced to hear the man of few words speak. "tifa… I… all the times… that I left… I… I couldn't think straight if I didn't hear your voice… there were a few times… when I wanted to die… just to end the pain of having guilt… whenever I wanted to break… I always… I always remembered you… you were my strength… everyone here thinks I'm a hero… the truth is… I'm weak… I've always been weak… I was never strong enough. Not enough to protect aerith… or save zack… or even defeat sephiroth… all of that strength… I got it from you… the way you seemed to smile even when everything was going wrong… even if the world was about to end… the way every time you got knocked down… you stood up… the way even after I abandoned you and Denzel…" he faulted. "you just simply stood up… and pushed through… after I saw you doing so well… I felt I didn't have a place… so I left… and when I got sick… you found me… and… that's… that's when I knew… I love you… I've always loved you… tifa… I know… I'm not a knight in shining armor… but… I… if you'll let me… I want to be your hero… from here on… I want to be there… I want to be yours… I am yours… I love you… and I promise… ill always be there…"

They all stood silent. Even yuffie and koty seemed to revel in the scene. They all just watched as the blond man placed the ring that though still held so much beauty, didn't compare to the absolute awe of the scene before them, onto the woman's finger.

The priest bowed his head and spoke again. A few meaningless lines from passages in a book and then the one thing neither the groom or bride hesitated to execute. "I now pronounce you man and wife… you may now kiss the bride."

"koty do the trick… come on man its time." Zack whispered as he elbowed the man who smiled and stepped forward his left hand glowing with an eerie light.

"sublime." He waited for their lips to meet. As soon as they did he lifted his hand and immediately lights and sparks of colors resembling fireworks exploded over head. "magic in the making."

The loud cracking explosions and the display of light did very little to bother the couple. They simply ignored the lights, the sounds and cheers, and even the now proud couple following them as they kissed. Though barret had a few choice mutters to issue he also said nothing as Denzel and Marlene followed suit with the now married couple.

"and so it is… as it should be… as everything should be…" nanaki's poetic tone purred through the loud sounds invading the church.

"old one… have you a moment?" koty moved forward to talk to the large feline.

"of course… I believe the night has much in store for the newlyweds… so let us part from them for the moment whilst they enjoy each other's embrace." The large cat followed the man outside. "what is it you needed?"

"I need you to stand watch over me for a moment… I have one last gift… a wedding present of sorts… for sister… that I will be very weakened from"

"as you wish… but may I ask… what is it?"

"that is a secret… make sure no one but you can see me… it would be difficult if yuffie found out before hand."

"I see… very well… I will do as you request."

Almost instantly koty's arm began to glow. "oh ethereal wind… bring unto me that which I so desire… give unto me the strength to sever the soul that I so now hold… please… I implore you… give unto me the gift of life…!" he dropped to one knee as if trying to hold onto something very strong and not be dragged away. "ughaaa." He shouted in an almost demonic tone as a bright flash of light overtook the area around him. "I release you… Vincent valentine… harbinger of anarchy… keeper of chaos… return!"

There was a loud rumbling as if an earthquake had started and nanaki instantly took stance. He wasn't sure what koty was doing but whatever he had in mind involved a great deal of power and the old cat could feel the intense strain coming from the man as the light intensified.

"koty… strange one… what is happening?" he tried in vain to communicate.

"return to this land your den of promises… your home your family… come… come back to us… it is not your time!" the light erupted to a blinding degree and the rumbling ceased. However nanaki was stunned to see the sight before him.

There in the center of the light that now receded was a man drabbed in black. With his dark raven hair and slender stature it seemed impossible. Until he turned around. The crimson eyes that pierced the felines soul gave weight to the truth, that Vincent valentine lived.

"welcome… home… brother… Vincent…" koty collapsed to the ground and the man knelt beside him.

"Vincent?" red was completely taken aback. He was almost certain that the event was impossible but somehow koty had resurrected Vincent. Even after resurrecting aerith nanaki had his doubts but now that he saw the Turk standing before him all of his doubts were washed away.

"red… how… koty… did he…?" the man spoke as if confused. "where am I…"

"kalm… Vincent… is that really you…"

"I'm not sure…"

"it is him… he is alive... I made sure of it…" koty stood on shaky legs as he greeted the man. "Vincent… it is… good to see you… again."

"koty… what did you do?"

"I have revived you… but… I don't think they will recognize you… here" the man removed his crimson keepsake along with the gauntlet and Cerberus and handed them to the man with reverence. "I have kept these safe… for your return…"

"you planned this… koty… you could have been killed… that wasn't very smart…"

"be that as it may… I am wiser… I've finally discovered a way… to separate myself from… this…" he held up his arm that looked as though he had recently stuck it into a fire. However as soon as Vincent went to touch it ,It healed. "I have developed a formula for reversing the effects of the infernal… I'm sorry… but it appears you were my guinea pig for this experiment… my apologies."

"thank you… but… how long…"

"two years… it has been two years… too long… yuffie will be angry with me… but first… go see cloud and tifa… I will rest for a moment… besides… I wouldn't want to face the wrath of wutai in this condition."

Giving a nod of approval Vincent followed nanaki into the church leaving koty to tend to himself.

It was only a few minutes later that a man with red hair followed by a larger bald man wearing sunglasses emerged.

"well well if it isn't the local body guard service." Reno spoke as he looked downward at the sitting man.

"my good man what is it you require?" koty spoke with a confident tongue.

"you need to come with us." Rude quite bluntly broke the ice.

"and who are you to request my audience… don't think me a fool I know who you are… we met long ago when we left for the WRO base… you are Turks… to my knowledge not friendly with AVALANCHE."

"so you do your homework… well then." Reno stepped in front of koty and revealed a small trinket. A tiny blue medallion shaped like a crystal.

"that is mine… return it to me…" the man stood hastily almost forgetting his weakness.

"not so fast… you'll get it back if you come with us… or would you rather us just smash it?"

"no! harm that and ill rend your soul!" his tone changed to a dark otherworldly rumble.

"well… we'll give you some time to think about it. When you've decided what to do meet us in modeohiem. I'm sure you'll find the climate wonderful this time of year."

Koty lunged at the red head only to be struck on the back with by rude's EMR.

"now if you're gona insist on bein a dick we're gona have to get a rock crusher." Reno quickly turned from sarcastic laughs to a fearful gasp as koty lunged again and caught the Turk by the collar of his shirt.

"return her to me… now!" his hand was now mere inches from Reno's face. "or so help me I'll"

"you'll what… who's saying this is the real deal? Besides… I'm gona play on your supposed sense of conscience and ask you what you'd do to save your 'sister'"

"what are you getting at." He was blunt.

"come to modeohiem and we'll tell you more… but first… my boss just wants you to know… that tifa is in some serious trouble you know…"

"touch one hair on hers or clouds head and you will suffer."

"never said I was going to…but this kina trouble don't just go away… you're the only one that can stop it… but you can't do a thing if anyone else knows about it trust me… we know a way… but we need your power." Reno mocked him momentarily "now what kina brother doesn't help their sister out… we'll be waiting…" he wrenched himself from koty's grasp and tossed the crystal at him "here ya go… now… we'll see you there… you've got a week."

He stared at the crystal with a sense of longing. For the longest time he stood there contemplating the Turk's 'proposition'. The idea of tifa in trouble writhed in his brain. But somewhere in his deepest subconscious he could sense the severity of the conversation hinting at truth.

"I'm sorry sister… but it looks like I will not be staying long… forgive me." He whispered into the night as he clinched the crystal in his right hand.

Inside Vincent found that everyone was dancing except for barret who had thought it a better idea to play a round of shot games with cid and yuffie who sat idle and listless on a pew to the far wall on his right. In the center of the grandeur of what appeared to be a party were cloud and tifa. Kissing as if they had no idea of the events around them. 'I suppose that this is a wedding… from the looks of it… Id say cloud finally got around to tifa.' He simply stared at the couple until an astonished zack brought the house to a silent calm.

"v…Vincent… hey… kill the music… everyone look!" he pointed from the dance floor to the crimson clad Turk standing in the doorway.

The immediate attention from most of the room took Vincent by surprise. He hated drawing attention to himself, and short of yuffie cloud and tifa he had officially gained everyone's interest.

"hmm…" the only thought he could muster was a well placed nod.

"how the hell?" cid was the first if not the loudest to ask.

"koty… he…" he didn't finish as shelke walked up to him.

"so he finished it… well… at least we know what he's been doing for the last few days… Vincent… is that really you… Vincent valentine?"

He nodded in response and looked behind him to see koty stagger in and immediately grab a random bottle of liquor from a seat that held a few random bags Vincent assumed were his.

"its good to see you… I have no idea how he did it… but…" shelke hugged the man and then backed away. "ill go get yuffie… she's… really missed you."

"Vincent…?" tifa's voice echoed in his ears as she quickly leapt from her spot and crossed the room with incredible speed, cloud following close behind. "Vincent!" she threw her arms around the man and then looked at him for a moment. "you're… you…"

"I'm back… again… hmm… fate it seems has a strange liking for me."

"oh… Vincent… you're back…" she slammed herself back into him and embraced him again. "we thought you were gone for good."

"well… I'm not… now please let go… I'm sure cloud doesn't like it when other men give you attention…" he finished his sentence and no sooner did tifa release him did cloud attempt to constrict the life out of him.

"Vincent…" he was strangely overcome with the moment. "its good to have you back."

The ardent Turk blushed for a moment before returning the friendly gesture. "cloud… this is hardly appropriate… you're married now correct?" his rare humor made cloud immediately release him and the entire rest of the room laugh out loud.

"you… he… he didn't…" a sad but angry female voice silenced the room. "vin… vinvin…" it was yuffie and she appeared to be on the verge of tears.

"yuffie…" he stared at the young woman from behind his once again trademark high collar.

"Vincent…" she rushed him and he expected to receive another rib crushing hug but instead found himself locked in a war of lips and groping hands the taste of tears mixed with the scent of the young woman occasionally invading his senses.

Despite the unusual greeting he didn't reject her. He instead pulled her closer. 'yuffie… I've missed you too…'

As she pulled away from him he paused and then spoke. "you know I still haven't delivered my punishment to you for the last time you did that."

intermission

Wow this thing is really coming out well. But there are too many ideas. Anyway now vinies back and yuffies probably gona be less of a bitchy person… one would hope… all things aside now I've got it all set up for the final battle… and yes I mean battle. Now in the immortal words of Jay-Z on to the next

One winged angel "in love and madness 'the ties that bind'"

The night had come and went so quickly. Tifa and cloud had barely noticed it. But the rest of the group had taken the time to tie up loose ends and reignite old flames of friendship, love, and camaraderie. They all celebrated short of koty, cloud, and tifa, who for most purposes seemed preoccupied.

Cloud and tifa had taken the large amount of time after the wedding to get more 'acquainted' with each other. To them the sounds coming from their room seemed too quiet to notice. However downstairs the rest of the group had started to place bets on who would win the bed match. They knew well what was going on and fully expected and welcomed the awkwardness that followed.

The couple had been through more in just their relationship than most people had in their whole lives. That made their odd moment of most well known passion expectable.

For those who either were drinking or hadn't been caught up in cid's betting on whether or not cloud or tifa would win dominance, there was the bar. However it was rather lonely as the only three people there were shelke koty and aerith. Shelke and aerith just didn't find it appealing to find out if tifa was a dominatrix as zack had so gently put it. Koty on the other hand seemed deeply immersed in thought and whiskey. With the first bottle he had sitting idle on the counter its bottom empty he had almost downed his second, when shelke noticed his odd behavior.

"that isn't a healthy habit." She stated leaning over to him with an inspecting glance.

"there is no other medication strong enough for the sickness that ails me tonight." He was abrupt and blunt as he downed a large swig.

"honey… is there something bothering you…" aerith pulled a stool up to him and was shocked as he stood up and walked to the small area where zacks guitar stood. It almost seemed as if he were ignoring her.

It didn't take long for zack to pick up on koty's odd behavior as he pulled the guitar up to himself and turned it on.

"what's he up to?" he looked at aerith though the question was answered when he struck a chord.

The room went silent for a moment and zack noticed koty's head hang low as the note continued. With a sudden whim he reached over to the keyboard and turned the mech drum machine on the rhythm set on. After that koty began to follow the rhythm as if he were blocking all other thoughts out.

As the tempo upped he started singing in turn with the almost angry melody. "our buildings have fallen our walls all caved in and we comprehend this sad state that we're in. so we sift through the ashes of what we've become and surrender here one by one. So push us down." He paused momentarily "and we get right back up again… the things you're telling me aren't making any sense… right back up again I'm sick of wishing for someone else to come…" the tone changed to a slow melody. "let the blind lead the blind cause its eye for an eye in your so called life… are you out there are you listening… is there something we're still missing." The tempo suddenly shifted and became its original fast pace again. "let the blind lead the blind cause its eye for an eye… we all fall down… and we get right back up again… the things you're telling me aren't making any sense… right back up again… I'm sick of wishing for someone else to come." He took a moment to simply play the strings.

It sounded as if he were holding something back to later translate to the strings. The solo lasted only a few seconds but long enough for the rest of the group to stare in shock at the random outburst of song. They were impressed. From the look on cids face it seemed obvious he didn't favor the style of music but couldn't bash the man's talent. Yuffie on the other hand had found it apparently to her liking and started her own little dancing fest in her seat. As the solo came to a close he started his vocalization again.

"we're spinning out of control… trying to find somewhere to land… and I don't want you to know the things that keep me down… cause we get right back up again… the things you're telling me aren't making any sense… right back up again… I'm sick of wishing for someone else to come." He didn't bother being flashy or holding any notes he simply let it end with a drawn out power cord.

After the display he shut the amp off and hit the power switch on the keyboard. Then without even waiting for any applause he left the room and walked outside.

"damn… guess the creep really has a knack for music huh." Cid laughed as he took a long drag off of his cigarette.

"cid… not nice" shera scolded his gruff gesture with a smack to the back of the head.

"where did that come from?" zack stood in amazement as he checked the guitar without any reason. "I know he didn't rig it for that…"

"I think that was his way of venting." Vincent growled as he snagged the bubbly ninja and stilled her movements. "unlike some people here he doesn't communicate with words so well… or movement."

"point taken… maybe we should check on him…"

"ill do it…" aerith grinned with a chipper demeanor before shelke stood in her way.

"ill do it… he's not on his best foot right now and a cheery disposition may make him worse… ill check on him… you stay put." She pushed the flower girl back down and walked out of the bar.

Once outside she found him. lying on the ground next to the door step. It looked like he had fallen over however he seemed unphased.

"no more hiding it… what's on your mind?" she looked down at him from the steps above.

"its nothing ka… shelke." She caught his faltered response.

"right… and that's why you've been drinking yourself into a coma for the last three days. I don't buy it… you can fool aerith and even drag sympathy from tifa but you won't do either with me… now what's wrong?"

"its nothing… I just feel like drinking."

"lie… you're not the type… I can tell by the disgusted look on your face that you don't like the taste of it… only its mind numbing property… what are you trying to forget…"

He simply held up the crystal that he had received from the Turks earlier. "with Vincent It was a success… but…"

"with Kara it wasn't…?" she reached down and took it. He for a moment reached for it as if upset that she had taken it from him. he looked like a child reaching for a cookie or a toy.

"wait!..." he was definitely upset about it.

"I won't break it… I promise." She lifted the gem as if to study it. "what is this?"

"Kara…" a tear formed in the pit of his eye.

"so… this is what happened… I'm so sorry."

"it was her soul… and now…now there is no hope…"

"there is… you just don't see it…"

"I have destroyed that which I loved… that which was precious… and good… it is in my nature… I am truly the god of war… for that is all I know."

"or maybe its just all you've known as of yet."

The two stared each other down for a moment. Koty's omnipresent depression squaring off with shelke's unwavering determination.

"we'll find a way to fix it… if you'll let me…"

"and what if you can't… what then?"

"then… well… then you can hate me…"

"I have not the power to hate anymore…"

"then… ill take her place…"

"ha.." he scoffed at the young woman. "I appreciate the concern but I do not think you would do that."

"you don't believe me?"

"I don't think you understand what you imply."

"I know what I'm talking about… but I don't think you do… for someone with such a large and odd vocabulary you don't seem to understand a whole lot."

"are you calling me stupid?"

"not necessarily…"

"then what is it you insinuate?"

"nothing."

"if you find me naïve enlighten me."

"you'll see."

Upstairs cloud and tifa lay exhausted on the bed. Sweat had beaded itself on clouds skin as well as tifa's with the settling of their moment of passion.

"cloud…?" her voice was barely a content whisper.

"huh?" he struck a chord with his usual bluntness.

"do you think… maybe this is fate?"

"maybe."

"one word sentences again? I thought we were past that."

"not much to say… sorry."

"not much to say or just not feeling like talking?"

"seriously… I don't have any words."

"so what if I do this?" she pinched his side in an attempt to get a stir out of him.

"do what?"

"oh my god… you're a frigging rock… you mean you can't feel that?" she pinched harder.

"ow… now I can…"

"well… guess you're not so stony after all."

"what's that suppose to mean?"

She stood on that note. 'wow… that's a sight for sore eyes.' Clouds eyes followed her curves even as they disappeared through the doorway. 'I've really gota get a hobby… so… this is life after strife huh? Well if this is torture… I think I'm a slave…' he lay there for a while his eyes closed for a moment of rest. His nap however was interrupted as a sudden resilient cold object bounced off of his torso.

"ouf… what the…" he reached around to find a bottle still cold lying on its side.

"thought you could use one too." She waved a beer as if she were proud of herself.

'you know…' "teef has anyone ever told you that you'd be kina cute if it wasn't for the fact that you could kill a man with a bottle."

"yes… as a matter of fact you did… day before yesterday."

"I did didn't I… its true you know" he popped the cap on his bottle and took a swig. "wouldn't say it otherwise."

"really… so when I'm old and ugly you'll tell me…"

"nope…"

"so you'll just let me think I still look good…"

"nope…"

"will you just stay quiet… I think eternity can outlast your silence babe."

"well you see you couldn't ever be ugly… old sure… but ugly… ugly's afraid of you."

"wow… as I said you suck at compliments." She chuckled as she slapped his arm playfully. "you know… If it helps… I think the same thing…"

"oh so modest art thou…"

"what?"

"so you think you'll be sexy forever too… so modest."

"you're such a dip… I was talking about you."

"well… I know ill be sexy forever… mako and all." He was being both honest and comical with one fell swoop.

"if that's the case we should both be fairly good looking when we're old."

"not funny… you know… I don't want you messing with that stuff…"

"relax cloud… its over… me and the needle have parted ways so no worries… Kay?"

"okay… just no more…"

"promise."

she finished her drink and nestled down into the bed. As he wrapped his arms around her he could hear sephiroth's evil laugh echo through his mind. 'ill protect you… I promise.'

"cloud… baby what's wrong… you're shaking." She moved closer to him.

"its nothing… just nerves."

"I'm here now… you don't have to pretend… you're not alone anymore."

"I know… and that's why I've got the nerves."

She was slightly put off by this phrase. Not knowing what to think of it until like a bell something chimed in her mind. 'wait… why would that give him issues…'

"cloud… what happened…"

"huh?"

"that night… reeve said you slaughtered some thirty trainees… but no one said anything to you about it… right?"

"insufficient evidence… even if it was a laps of insanity it never made a reoccurrence… even after three weeks nothing… so they just put surveillance on me… I kina felt like I was in a loony bin… all of the guards watching me… but… nothing."

"what happened before I woke up…" she was both terrified of an answer and at the same time desperately searching for one.

"I woke up after a daydream… and there were bodies all over the place… please tifa can we drop this… I don't know what happened and Id rather keep it that way…"

"but…" she was cut short by a timid knock at the door.

"cloud… its me… I need to speak to you while I have a moment away from yuffie." It was Vincent.

"okay… sure come on in." he was stunned for a moment and also slightly irritated by the man's intrusion as he opened the door.

"oh… tifa… am I interrupting."

"five minutes earlier and you would've been." She giggled and noticed the heat rising to clouds face even as she faced away from him.

"what was it you needed?" cloud changed the subject expertly.

"its about that night… at the WRO base… I…"

"save it Vince… I don't want to hear it right now."

"want to or not… you need to… sephiroth… he's found a way back… and I'm afraid that with koty's unusual behavior he may very well exploit him… we all are aware of how koty's abilities work… but sephiroth is not just content with staying in the life stream… he intends to use koty as a conduit."

"what… that's impossible… he's not even part of the life stream… he certainly doesn't have jenova cells. And as far as I know there's no remnants of sephiroth left so even if koty wanted to there's no way of bringing him back."

"are you so certain… being in the life stream is somewhat enlightening. You should try it some time."

"not interested."

"too bad… if we don't deal with this problem at its source… we may very well be dealing with the nightmare again."

"and what is the… oh you gota be kidding me Vince." He slapped his forehead in realization.

"we have to warn koty at the very least… but I've also observed his behavior. He tried to bring her back… and failed."

"who…"

"Kara… he failed to resurrect her. And he paid a price of both love and sanity in the process."

"you mean its knocked him off his rocker… Vince he's been here all week… if he were going to hurt us I think he would have done tried."

"if tifa were trapped in the life stream and there was a possibility that you could bring her back… what would you do?"

"obviously id try… but that wouldn't drive me nuts."

"but what if you failed… and it resulted in her forever having her soul trapped on the other side."

"oh…" he silenced himself.

"Vincent… what happened?" tifa whispered.

"her life essence was crystallized… she is at this point beyond his reach."

"oh… my… that's… I see."

"haven't you noticed. He's antisocial… even more than usual… he's not talkative… he refuses to sleep… he spends an odd amount of time alone. He's been configuring formulas… even as he simply ponders… he's been developing a formula… to revive her… and each time he has failed… bringing him one step closer to madness… I fear… that perhaps sephiroth… being only loosely tied to the ephemeral plain will exploit his moment of weakness and truly push him over the edge."

"so if we don't knock some sense into koty… we're all gona pay…" cloud sat up as sephiroth's laugh came back to his mind.

"precisely."

Outside shelke desperately tried to collect thoughts with koty.

"she's not gone… she's just sleeping." She protested as she knelt down beside the man who hadn't moved in several minutes.

"you weren't there… you didn't see the blood… you didn't see her eyes so full of pain… I… I heard her scream… I saw her eyes… the blood… I felt her heart beating beneath my fingers and… and… she is gone…" he let a loose hand fall limply to his side.

"she's not gone… you just haven't found her."

"dammit all your personalities are all alike… so optimistic… so foolish… so naïve…"

"and sober mind you."

"ah and my painkiller… this bottle…" he lifted the bottle to his lips to find its contents gone along with the bottom of the bottle that had apparently gotten smashed. "damit."

"I think you've had enough anyway… besides… how are you suppose to bring her back if you're too drunk to know what you're doing?"

"have you heard a word I've said… she's gone… there is no coming back… her soul is destroyed…"

"no its crystallized… not gone… maybe this is destiny…"

"no… destiny doesn't exist… only fate… that which is the divine end… and this is what we are meant to be…"

"alright I've had enough pity party time… if you're not going to look for her then move on… there are plenty of girls out there… I'm sure you could find one who would gladly help you forget… but laying here in a puddle of self loathing isn't helping a thing."

"none are Kara…"

"and she isn't any other girl either… no one can replace her… but she can't replace everyone else either… look at yuffie and tifa… and zack… they've all found someone… why can't you find someone else… hmmm… are you afraid you'll forget… are you afraid that something will happen that you can't change… well news flash that's life… my sister is dead because of me… hell my whole family is… and I'm still not moping Over it… sephiroth killed half of Gaia and cloud moped over a small town… that's when tifa came along… you see alone they couldn't stand themselves… but together they stood strong… now I don't know what you've done that's so terrible… granted having your heart literally ripped out of your chest is a brutal way to die… but at the same time so are all other deaths… so hers was no worse than any other and I don't know why you're stuck on it… find someone who can help you forget…"

"wait… that's it… it would work… but… I would need to pull a great deal of power." He immediately shot forward and took the broken bottle and began to draw circles on the ground.

"what… are you listening to me…" she watched with an irritated fascination.

"that would… yes… sublime!" he sat forward as if thinking very hard. "if I reverse…" his speech drifted off into a void and muffled background as shelke studied him.

'I honestly want to help him forget… I want to take her place… because… he's so… intriguing… and … beautiful… such concentration… and devotion… if only I could get under that skin… and see him for what he is… but he's so … hidden…' she watched speechlessly until he paused and turned to her.

"shelke… I need mako…"

"mako… why?"

"I need more power… a lot more power…"

"why do you need it…"

"if I can conjure enough power from the life stream I can manipulate it through the infernal… and then… I can use it to release Kara from this prison… but without an immense amount of power…"

"it won't work…"

"understated but correct… however… if I can pull her life from this crystal into the life stream… I could then resurrect her… and that…"

"its dangerous… mako isn't something to take so lightly…"

"But!"

"dammit… are you so set to bring back the dead that you'll risk getting killed to do it… its not worth it… if you die bringing her back what will that accomplish?"

"if I die then my troubles only need follow me to hell… and there… I would be able to live knowing that at least I tried."

She didn't hesitate at this point. Now severely agitated and slightly more or less jealous she lunged forward and pressed her lips to his.

She was slightly put off at first by his lack of response but soon became marveled at the fact that he didn't push her away. 'I don't think he necessarily likes it… but he isn't fighting it either.'

After she pulled away she took a moment to breath and attempt to relieve herself of the blood in her face. She had no idea why she had done it or for that matter why he hadn't rejected it but the simple act made her blush so profusely that she could almost feel the heat coming off of her in waves.

"shelke…" his gruff voice uttered her name with the sound of a miraculous chorus as he studied her with both confusion and a great sense of analytical interest.

"you don't understand a thing… you think you have it all figured out… that if you die then everything turns into rainbows and sunshine… so damn set to believe that you're the only problem… you don't get it… life was always hard… the world was always full of problems… and even if you hadn't been the one to do it she would have eventually died… and long after we're all gone… the world will still be as bad as it is today… you haven't got a clue…"

"shelke… I…"

"look… if you want to waste your own life looking for a way to bring back those who don't need it then that's fine… but it won't change a thing… with or without Kara you're still alive… yes… without her sacrifice you wouldn't be here… but even if she was here now everything would still be the same… always screwed up and hopeless… koty… I won't lie… I…"

"please don't say it…"

"what… why are you so afraid to hear it… is it because you're afraid you might realize the goal you're reaching for is pointless… or perhaps maybe you're afraid you might love me more than her… what are you so damn afraid of… for someone so powerful I think you need to grow up… she's gone… and if you can't bring her back any other way then dying maybe she should stay that way…"

He hung his head low and shelke knew she had hit a bad cord.

"koty… koty I'm…"

"save it… spare me the folderol… I've heard enough…" he stood on that note and shelke could almost feel the absolute lack of emotion pulling her in. "I will do what I please… from here on out… I walk alone…"

As he started to walk in an undisclosed direction shelke felt herself reach out to him.

"wait… where are you…"

"modeohiem…" he stopped briefly and held out his hand. A bright flash and a few high pitched whistling noises and a trench coat of ebony sheen appeared in his hand. "if you value your life… you will not follow… relay the message to the rest of the group… I don't wish to disturb them." His icy tone cut through her like knives and she momentarily felt immobile before the tears welled up in her eyes and he disappeared from sight.

"leave him shelke… he must find a reason… you can't give him one." Nanaki had sat perched on the front step for an amount of time shelke hadn't known.

"but… he…"

"he will return if and when he's ready… but for now… he must travel his path in solo…" he lurched a paw forward to rest on the girls shoulder. "let us tell the others of his departure… we wouldn't want them to worry.

He walked. Not that he needed to. His power to instantly teleport would have easily gotten him to his destination. But shelke's words still hung on his ears like an irritating insect that refused to leave.

'maybe she should stay that way… for someone so powerful I think you need to grow up… she's gone… maybe you're afraid you might love me more than her… you're afraid you might realize the goal you're reaching for is pointless…'

Over and over her voice cracked the silence like a hammer to a thin sheet of ice. Somewhere in the back of his mind he believed her. But he couldn't and wouldn't betray Kara's memory. He had lived a life of servitude until her and she had freed him. still something in him wanted to believe shelke. Even if he himself had tossed it aside he couldn't deny the truth she held.

"you… you have lost much… yet… you have so much left to lose." A dark and strange tone echoed in his ears like the roar of thunder and he turned to find a single black feather on the ground behind him. "this is how we measure the wages. To see if these are the ties that bind. Follow if you wish the answer to your questions."

"but I have no questions… only a goal… I need…" he whispered to himself.

"need… what do you desire?" it hummed with anticipation the ghastly tone heralding both disaster yet at the same time almost an alluring tone of satisfaction.

"… power…." Without second thought he stepped back revealing the same demonic wing that he had bore two years the prior to the night. "very well specter… I shall take your lead… show me the way."

Following a trail of fluttering black feathers koty took flight into the darkness and out of the reach of the members of avalanche. The entire time his conscience slipping away with the feathers and the disembodied evil laugh.

"very soon… puppet… your biggest role will be over… the curtain is finally closing on this delightful little performance… and this man will be my instrument… of sovereignty… now its time for the final act…" the voice echoed in koty's ears promises and hope that he hadn't realized. "very soon… puppet… very soon."

intermission.

Actually I have nothing to say… I just needed to take a pause to fast forward and give you all a moment to wrap your cracking minds around this… well now that we're done resting back to the story.

resume.

One winged angel "when the music stops. 'you loved him' shelkes regret"

Morning hadn't come easy. She hadn't forgotten the feeling of emptiness that he left her with. It was a strange feeling. It didn't hurt physically but she couldn't function right. It was like trying to breath underwater. Not a painful experience but uncomfortable was an understatement.

"shelke… are you okay… you haven't slept all night" aerith was speaking to a brick wall as shelke's eyes stayed glued on the now stagnant cup of coffee she had poured several minutes before hand. "shelke?... shelke?"

"huh?" she finally responded as aerith let a gentle hand rest on her shoulder. "yeah I'm fine… I'm just…"

"what happened?"

"he…"

"what?" she was gentle but persistent.

"he left…"

"its worse than that… isn't it? Shelke did he say something to you?"

"no… I… he…"

"oh… you… you did… I see… if its meant to be he will come back."

"what… no its not like that."

"oh blah… don't lie. You loved him."

"I wouldn't call it that… I just…"

"you were concerned."

"yeah…"

"then you loved him."

She scoffed at the phrase thinking the flower girl would simply blow it off as a small infatuation. However when she realized that the pink clad woman would not relent in her beliefs she blushed profusely.

"I don't think so." Shelke's voice was uncertain as she whimpered the phrase.

"… you look tired… come on lets go nap. We'll talk about it when you wake up."

"okay… wait… aerith… I…"

"nuh uh… first let's get you rested up and then we'll deal with the rest. Now come on… you can sleep in my room… ill make sure no one bothers you.

Nightmares invaded his peaceful slumber. It was sephiroth again. For one of the most definitely dead beings to ever have perished sephiroth still tormented clouds sleep with endless and unwavering horror.

"very soon… puppet… your biggest role will be over… the curtain is finally closing on this delightful little performance… and this man will be my instrument… of sovereignty… now its time for the final act…"

Cloud saw a man clad in black standing upon a cliffs edge. In front of the man was what appeared to be a giant storm of glowing wind. Its luminescence granted an eerie light to the field. more disturbing still was that his back bore a single black and tattered fleshy wing. Like a dragon from a monster movie its wing was torn. The flesh decayed and the bone present, an ominous sign of things to come.

More disturbing still was the long curvature of a slanted razor sharp blade resembling a scythe that hung on the man's back like a marker of the disaster to follow.

"look closer puppet." Sephiroth's tone was slightly prideful as clouds body mindlessly loomed toward the edge of the cliff and he found himself peering over.

A horrific pile of mutilated and tattered corpses lay strewn on the ground beneath the glowing storm and amidst the storms eye he peered up to observe tifa levitating dangerously far from the ground.

"tifa!" he shouted trying to get her attention. She turned to look into his eyes and he noticed that her once lovely wine had now turned obsidian. "what? No!"

"oh yes… you see your lovely little woman will be a goddess before long… to an unrightful king… and I shall claim my thrown regardless. very soon… puppet… your biggest role will be over… the curtain is finally closing on this delightful little performance… and this man will be my instrument… of sovereignty… now its time for the final act…"

He looked again to see the man had drawn his weapon and stared now with murderous intent at tifa.

"wait! No stop… please!"

"the time for begging is over… now… kill her" his voice didn't go without command as the strange dark clad figure leapt at tifa and straight into the eye of the storm. "puppet… this is the fate of all that you cherish… each time you receiveith I shall takeith away… and that puppet is fate…"

"cloud… cloud strife?" a voice soft and serine broke his focus on the man.

"who?" the scene was now white. And the hallow emptiness that filled him both brought comfort from the horror before and a sense of meaningless dread of what was to happen next.

"you don't know me… but I've heard so much about you…"

"who are you…"

"there isn't time for that right now…" the voice almost reminded him of aerith. But its docile tones seemed more desperate than aerith's had ever been. "he needs you… he's lost… and alone… he's frightened. Please… help him… he thinks he's doing the right thing… but as good as he is he is terribly gullible… please cloud… you're his last hope… and my last prayer… please help him."

"are you… Kara?"

"I see he hasn't let go yet… and after all I go through to ensure he does… just like a child… he never wants to give up that one toy… cloud please… help him."

"but what if I can't…"

"you've saved your world more than once… wouldn't one man be an easy task…"

"but… I… tifa…"

"if you don't help him he'll die… he won't stop… he doesn't know how… please… if not for me then do it for your world… he doesn't understand his true power… if he goes through with this… your world may be in danger…"

"what do I have to do…"

"I'm sorry… I don't know that… please… when you see him… tell him I love him… and that I want him to forget… forget all that ever happened… for his own safety you must help him… please…"

"… alright…. Ill do it… but…"

"don't worry… I have confidence in you… so does tifa… and tell Vincent I said thank you…"

"alright… but… how do I find him… I don't feel him anywhere… did he leave?"

"yes he's gone… and you'll have to head north to the cold lands… you'll know where he is… when you see into his world… now cloud… my last hope… please wake up."

"tifa!" he snapped into a conscious state and he felt the trade mark cold sweat roll down his cheek and then a strong soft feminine hand pulled him into a relaxing position.

"cloud… sweetie… shh… I'm okay… we really need to see about getting you some help for those." Tifa spoke gently and playfully as the rays of the sun danced upon her hair.

"koty… I have to find him…" his voice was still hoarse as he moved to get off the bed.

"he's probably still sleeping."

"no… he's gone… I have to find him… I…" he was frantic even in his groggy state.

"cloud! What has gotten into you… he's fine… he can handle himself… cloud… wait… what happened?"

"I saw her… well… I spoke to her…"

"who… cloud… what's going on?" she forcefully pulled him back to the bed to reveal his crystalline blue eyes drenched in uncertainty.

"Kara… she spoke to me… koty I think… I think he's gona do something… really bad…" he tried to make it sound as if he were actually talking to an adult however tifas eyes warned him that he had failed.

"okay… now will you please tell me why its so dangerous…"

"I don't know… it was just a vague dream… but it wasn't a dream… it was more like… a vision… I have to find him tifa…"

"shh… just relax and collect yourself ill go get him.

Zack had watched with precision and stealth the night before. So much stealth that even the master of invisibility shelke was none the wiser of his eavesdropping.

He had watched the argument and even witnessed the man leave previously to shelke's now depressive state.

To say the least he was curious. Something had definitely gone down. However what still perplexed him.

"well… only one way to find out." He hefted himself from his former thinking position and walked into the foyer. "its always so sad when the music stops…"

intermission

Short filler… aint it… well this next one is a parody but I think you'll find it a little enlightening… well at least its moving forward. Now back to work. My reading slaves bwahahaha.

resume

One winged angel "chronicles and the way of the… soldier?"

The room was now desolate of any life. The man that had once occupied it apparently cared very little for the creature comforts of a normal person. There were no paintings no personal items short of a few laboratory supplies and a book, not even a wardrobe. He definitely stayed busy a lot.

However the state of the room zack found a small leather bound book that looked to contain documents of some importance. He cracked the book open to reveal a stream of knowledge that spun his head. It was full of algorithms theories and even a few personal notes on materia, chemistry and to a certain extent magic.

"what the hell was he doing back here?" zack read further to reveal a small series of journal entries that appeared to cover the last three days.

'chronicle…'

I haven't yet concluded the formula… two years and a day and nothing that I have to show for my research… I make myself angry at my lack of ability… however… no one survived the assault on the base that could even vaguely understand the infernal… no one but me of course… I always survive even if my intent is not to… this whole nightmare was after all my creation… I have brought my disaster to this world and as a result… my friend and savior was destroyed… an entire city was rent asunder by my pursuers… and a lot of people died… for their souls I will live… my life now is but a debt to be paid… and to pay that debt I must complete the resurrection formula… if I only had the documents on the lifebringer prototype I could easily have finished this… but alas… I am an outlaw in my own world… unwelcomed and unwanted… hunted like a common beast. So I must cope.

'conclusion.'

"wow… so he's been at this for a while… he reminds me of spikes before geostigma… I wonder if he knows how weird he is… well I guess ill keep reading." He flipped the page to find more theories and documents followed by a complex mathematics problem. "damn… he may be one creepy bastard but if he can complete these… pheww." He whistled at the size of the problem. It spanned nearly three pages before a strange symbol looking in similarity to the runes found on ancient technology ended the study.

'chronicle'

I think this will work… I only need to find a conduit… with past failures using materia and ruin matter I think it would be a safe bargain to use the infernal itself as a conduit… the amount of power needed to revive a bound spirit is massive but feasible… if I could conjure up a small amount of burst power I could indeed separate the spirit from this accursed instrument and then use the ether around me in order to resurrect a solitary figure… my failure to do this last time resulted in the crystallization of the soul… I am truly sorry Kara… I couldn't quite master the power of the infernal… but I might be able to bring Vincent back… I hate to ponder what could possibly happen if I should fail… but I have to try… for yuffie… and for myself… I cannot… will not sit idly by and allow my sins to consume the world around me with sorrow. Tomorrow is the wedding… it wouldn't be coincidence that it also happens to be the night of the full moon. Perhaps it is an omen… I will try to execute this before yuffie has a chance to play spy again… Vincent please forgive me for what I am about to do… but it isn't your time yet… you cannot rest my friend… there is work to be done.

'conclusion.'

"damn… this guy is deep but ill give him one thing… at least his heads in the right place. Now what is he planning to do?"

'chronicle.'

I've finally finished the formula… to my knowledge shelke is the only one to know of it… perhaps she would be more inclined to help… but I wouldn't want her caught up in all of this… she is far too kind a person to allow harm to come to… besides… she reminds me so much of her… I cannot allow her to assist me for she would be too great a distraction. Sister is getting married today… I hope I can manage to fight off the ever impulsive danger that seems to follow me for at least that long. Cloud hasn't woken since last night. He is weary I know… but this nightmarish coma he is in is quite perplexing. A name… sephiroth has made its appearance several times… I am aware that he was clouds enemy in the past… but he is far from existence now… perhaps a form of post traumatic stress… no matter… I shall now prepare for the final act of redemption… if I can successfully resurrect Vincent… then I will be able to die peacefully… there will be no more fighting to be done… with my death perhaps I can also vanquish the paradox… and if I cannot… then… my apologies… cloud… sister… at least I will have tried.

'conclusion'

"what… he's… it's a suicide mission… no way… I gota tell cloud." Zack threw the book to the desk but before he could turn to leave the room the voice of his mentor invaded his mind.

"wait… zack… if cloud knows what he's up to… things won't end well… its better just to tell them he's left…" the voice echoed in his mind with no body to hold it. He simply passed it off as a crisis of conscience. "wait… for the right moment."

intermission.

Now here's the kicker for this chapter. It will focus around koty for the most part with a tiny hint of shinra… you'll see what happens. Now please read and enjoy… read read read until you die. Bwahahaha

resume.

One winged angel "birth of a champion. 'beginning of the end' he who holds the strings."

"here…" a voice called to him as he landed. The long flight had drained him of energy but he was still strong. "take a moment to rest…"

"who are you specter." He voiced his irritation at the leading voice.

"I am a one winged angel. But you may call me whatever suits your taste. It won't matter in the end."

"well then angel… tell me where I am."

"modeohiem. The ruins of the northern town house an important artifact… a being that was originally moved to protect it from… undesirables."

"very well then…"

"shinra is here…

He stood from his sitting position and his coat whipped about with the wind. "a storm is coming…" the voice made no attempt to respond and koty once again assured himself that he was alone.

He entered what appeared to be an abandoned inn. He found no one there. No people, no sign of anyone using it as a habitat for ages, not even house hold pests. It was completely barren. However he couldn't shake the feeling he wasn't alone.

"where are the people… to my knowledge modeohiem was a city at one point." He voiced to the silence as he cascaded his hand over what appeared to be a dilapidated countertop.

As if the specter that had been watching him had heard his phrase a door on the far side of the room opened. The wall itself moved aside to reveal a hallway that any common person would have overlooked.

"enter." The dark baritone from before echoed him inside with a sinister chuckle.

"quaint… it must have been abandoned for cover purposes." He entered without hesitation.

The corridor went some several hundred feet in a gradual downward slant until a large access panel adorning what appeared to be a large metal door came into view. He studied it momentarily looking for a way to open said metal door until his temper got the better of him and with superhuman strength he forced the object out of the way.

"holly shit…" the red headed Turk from earlier with his bald companion appeared after the brief almost explosive clank of metal on metal as the door hit the ground.

"ah… you must be koty." A man drabbed in white and confined to a wheelchair made his appearance and greeted him with hospitality that reeked of disaster "please… come in… make yourself at home."

"humph… don't toy with me cripple… I'm not as ignorant as you would believe." He scoffed at the sitting man as he walked forward. "your lackeys were lucky last time… I could now kill the lot of you if I wish…"

"but why would you do that… you have no reason for hostility." The man was confident as he wheeled himself closer to the man in order to stare him down. "I believe we have a common adversary… or should I say goal… you see now that cloud strife is happily wed… I have an interest in tifa as a whole… cloud to me is useless… a washed up project that had long since failed… however… you and tifa interest me."

"go on…"

"you see… cloud is a self proclaimed ex soldier… and you are a unique individual… I've been studying both of you intently… I would like you assist me in an experiment…"

"spare me the benevolent façade shinra… I know who you are and what you've done… I will not let you harm tifa."

"harm her… the mother of possibly the greatest weapon to ever exist… no I think not… however… this is where you come in… you as I'm aware are familiar with this creature." He removed a cloth over a small containment pod to his right. "this creature was seen attacking you and cloud after the resurrection of one soldier first class zack fair… oh yes… I've been keeping an eye on you…"

"the paradox… that thing is too dangerous to simply cage… you are lucky to be alive." He stood immediately his hand glowing with a violence that could be felt. "that creature is a threat to existence."

"ah… but that's where I believe we differ… do you even know how to destroy it? I didn't think so." The wheelchair drifted away to a keyboard and the man began typing. "I believe If we can use that weapon to trap it… then perhaps we can reverse the effects of the creature itself…"

"and how do you suppose we do that?" he was hostile and distrusting of the disabled man.

"by trapping it within a body… a pure body… a good new body…"

"I don't quite follow…"

"a child… or more specifically a fetus… you see if tifa were to be impregnated than perhaps maybe…"

"why her particularly?" he cut the man off.

"but you already know that don't you?" he turned "she is uniquely bound to this creature… and yes we've tried. Rude… show him the end result of the last experiment…"

The bald man nodded before pushing a button on the side of the door frame. On the far side of the room a window revealed itself from behind steel shutters. On the other side were cubicles similar to prison cells with what appeared to be the remains of several female humans sprawled in awkward positions.

"what… this… what did you do?" a hint of retribution was present on kotys voice as he looked on in horror.

"our prior test subjects… didn't quite make the cut… the creature was simply too strong. It was… quicker to give birth to itself than their bodies would allow… however I believe with tifa…" he was cut short as an angry and vibrantly glowing claw slammed into the glass in front of them and cracked the supposedly bullet proof window.

"save it… just shut up… you're sick… all of you."

"hey now big guy you better cool it before we have a problem…" Reno relinquished his emr before stepping forward.

"you already have one." He spoke angrily as he turned to reveal his eyes glazed pure black.

"take a look buddy… you're locked in here… you off us… and you'll be stuck here forever… and no one would give a damn because this place is abandoned."

"I pity you… you don't see…"

"I aint blind… but what aint I seein… humor me…"

"I'm not locked in here with you… you're locked in here with me." Koty lunged at the man and commenced his assault.

Cloud was stunned. He couldn't believe koty had left. And what's worse he didn't even tell them good bye. According to shelke he was angry but it had been a good two days he had apparently been gone. The dream he had told him he should go north and shelke said that he had warned her about modeohiem. But cloud couldn't just leave. He had to worry about tifa. Not that he actually had to. But the nightmares had been terrible and he couldn't bear the thought of tifa being alone.

"maybe you should get a drink. Always helps me" yuffie tried vainly to take a swig of the liquor she had acquire but Vincent had his better wits about him and snatched the bottle out of her hand. "hey."

"you've had enough… I don't want you throwing up on me." He protested as he pushed the glass container to the side and settled his arms around the girls waist.

"I'm sure he's fine… he'll be back in a few days…" tifa tried dryly convincing them of his safety before a loud knock at the front door caught her attention. "that's probably him right now… cloud be a dear and get that."

"alright." He sauntered to the door and undid the locks and half opened the door. "sorry we're… Reno?" he caught the red headed man who appeared to be wounded. "tifa… bring a med kit… we have a problem."

It was a few hours later when the Turk finally came to.

"hey… Reno… dude… can you see my fingers…" zack waved his hand in front of the man's face. "how many?"

The gruff natured Turk stared woozily at the man's outstretched digits.

"you okay man?" he waved again trying to get his attention before the man slapped his hand away with an irritated manner. "yup he's cool."

"damn… what happened to you… rude finally get back at you for all of the times you sucker punched him?" cloud laughed as he handed him a small bottle of water which the man took enthusiastically.

"no… rude… rudes… gone." He answered after catching his bearings.

"what… whadaya mean gone?"

"he's dead…"

"what?"

"you weren't listening… he's DEAD!" the man was frantic.

"and the others"

"tsung, Elena, even the boss…"

"what happened… Reno I need to know." Cloud shook him.

"we were in modeohiem… we were hoping to get a hold of that friend of yours…"

"what happened?"

"we got more than we bargained for… we waited… and when he got there… the boss tried to get him to help us…"

"what did you do?" tifa was angry as she questioned him.

"we apparently pissed him off… outa no where… he turned on us… rude went down first… then Elena … then tsung… then the president was last… you guys… I don't know… what he was trying to do… but the last thing he did before rippin Rufus a new one… was …"

"WAS WHAT!" tifa shouted as she grabbed the man "HE WOULDN'T HURT A SOUL UNLESS YOU DID SOMETHING… WHAT DID YOU DO?"

"tifa calm down." Cloud pulled the woman back into his chest in an attempt to calm her.

"he wanted jenova's body… I know it was what he was diggin for… he didn't voice it directly… it was like he didn't know what he was searching for until the boss gave it to him… I don't know what he's up to but… he's he was too strong… we got in way over our heads here…"

"oh no… it… it can't be." Cloud suddenly had a revelation and the dawning realization of koty's only purpose for having jenova's body hit him.

"cloud… what is it?" aerith picked up on clouds worried tone.

"everyone stay here… ill be back soon I promise."

"where are you going?"

"modeohiem."

"wait cloud… no you can't… if koty's still there… you guy's gota stay away!" Reno was now petrified and as rare as it was for him to actually be frightened he was also concerned. "that guys nuts… he'll tear your ass up man."

"I'm not gona sit by and wait… this time… I'm making the first move."

Back in modeohiem.

"yes… this is the artifact." The voice echoed again as koty dragged the once living corpse of Rufus shinra behind him. "he is the only one with access to the chamber… now open the door."

"if I bring you here… you will help me resurrect Kara?..." he questioned the voice.

"a deal is a deal… bring me a body and I shall give your precious one to you."

He lifted the arm of the cadaver and placed its hand on a panel that looked to be a print access lock.

The door opened and koty looked up to see a strange being humanoid in appearance but obviously not human.

"jenova I presume?" he dropped the corpse. "definitely not human… far too ancient."

"she fell from the sky… they called her a calamity… but the truth… she is a sovereign a matriarch… and mother." The voice spoke in reverence.

"mother… I don't understand."

"this is how you will be able to resurrect your beloved. But first… to your left."

He looked in the spoken location to reveal a small containment pod.

"in this pod is mako… the power of the life stream… through this and the cells of jenova I can gain a full form… and then I can assist you in your trials."

"so if I conjure you a body… then you will help me reclaim Kara."

"yes… now take the presidents corpse before he has the opportunity to return to the life stream and do what must be done."

He grabbed the freshly dead cadaver and tossed it mindlessly into the pod.

"good… now… use your weapon to transfer my formula."

Koty held out his hand now glowing and waved it over the corpse. Suddenly a bright light shot forth from the pod and koty was thrown back by a large burst of energy.

"I live… again…" the voice now took a more sinister tone and koty looked into the smoke of what once was the pod to reveal a man standing among the rubble.

He was tall, with slender features. He bore a black coat not unlike koty's short of the metal plates adorning the shoulders. He bore a large katana and long flowing silver hair did little to hide the glowing cyan eyes peering out at koty with a sinister intent.

"so… I suppose it is time I fulfill my end of the bargain…"

"angel… why is it you assist me?"

"it isn't I who assist you… I merely have a debt to pay. Now shall we begin."

Cloud revved the engine on finrir and hoped he would be able to stop koty before his nightmares could be realized.

"cloud… I'm going with you." Shelke hopped aboard and gripped his sides. "if I don't go ill never be able to tell him… and regardless of what he wants he needs to know."

"alright… tifa… ill come back… I promise."

"cloud" tifa almost let a tear drop. "what ever happens out there… if he's too strong… you run… don't try to fight him alone… just get home safe."

"alright… I love you… bye…" he sped out of the drive and onto the road leaving smoke from the tires still lingering in the air.

Denzel at this time walked forward carrying the huge sword his teacher had previously forged flung haphazardly over his shoulder.

"and where do you think you're going?" tifa stopped him midway of his movement and turned him around to meet with determined eyes.

"mom… please."

She shed a tear and released him. "nothing foolish… okay… don't try to be a hero… just do what you can handle… Denzel…"

"it'll be alright… ill be fine… tell Marlene ill be back in a few days…" he walked away and left the rest of the group with the job of catching tifa's falling form. Even for someone as strong as her it was easy to see the strain of having her whole family endangered on tifa's face.

No one knew what was going to happen. No one knew what had happened. But for all of their fear they trudged forward with hopes of a better tomorrow.

With hopes that this would be the last battle they dove in and gritted their teeth. For tifa she had to watch her family prepare for battle. For Denzel he had the hopes of becoming a man. For koty the thought of regaining a fallen companion and for cloud the thought of with your sword or with your blood. These four would without intention paint the future. But the better question now. Was with what would they pay the price for freedom.