"So you're tellin' me the kid's like those guys we took out durin' the Geostigma days?" asked Cid before he downed pills and water from a jug, hoping to alleviate the pain in his back.

All present nodded. "That's what she said," confirmed Tifa. "I don't know much else."

"Interesting," stated Shera, her expression of deep thought emphasizing the lines on her face as she turned away from her work console aboard the ship's main deck. "She's been tested by Reeve?"

"Nope. Uh-uh." Yuffie shrugged. "The WRO just held her. They wanted to make sure she wasn't dangerous. No one went around testing if she was a Remnant or anything. No one even thought she was one."

"Perhaps it should've been obvious." Genesis hung his head slightly. "The girl had no parents. No name. Only knowledge from the Planet."

"Fair enough. But I doubt anyone had the time to put the pieces together considering our current situation." Shera then gestured to her computer, its display filled with the details of the Gaia's decade long decline thanks to the sudden weakening of the Lifestream. "It's why the WRO's special project is so important."

"Hey, you sure you should be telling us all this, Shera?" Barret scowled. "I mean if it's top secret and all."

Yuffie shook her head. "It's fine. Reeve gave us the thumbs up to tell you all. Keep going, Shera."

The scientist nodded. "Good. So, how many of you have ever heard of cloning?"

"Creating a genetic copy of another organism. Or at least a part of it," said Vincent.

All present nodded then, having become familiar with it thanks to their experiences with copies of Jenova.

"Good. You all know what it is." Shera sighed, relieved. "Well, to cut things short, the WRO has a cloning machine. That's the special project Rufus has been working on."

"And that's why we need to head over to that lab right now," hissed Cid, his voice tired. "Place's gone to heck. Those creepy things we've been fightin' attacked it. Doesn't help that Reeve's been usin' it to monitor tremor's around the North Crater."

"And where's the lab?" Tifa's eyes narrowed as she readied herself for the dangers ahead, her combat gloves already fitted over her hands.

"Cosmo Canyon," spoke Cloud as he made his way to the front of their group. "Nanaki and the Turks are already there. Give us another hour."

"Sure," grunted Barret. "But we don't take no orders from you."

Cloud nodded in response. "You won't. But you need to know what we're doing. We'll secure the device. We'll meet up with Rufus too."

"Shinra?" growled the dark skinned man. "He screwed up again?"

Genesis shrugged his shoulders. "Perhaps. But his money is the reason the device was completed in the first place. We'll need his help to keep it safe."

Barret sighed as he turned away from them. "Fine. But he makes one wrong move? I'll put him down."

"He knows," rasped Vincent as the gunner left the main deck. The meeting was adjourned then as every member of the party returned to their rooms. All except for Cloud and his hooded friend as they sat side by side on Fenrir in the Shera's hangar.

"That was tense," stated the girl.

"It always is," confirmed Cloud. But as he moved to continue their banter, a lithe figure appeared on the crate in front of him.

Yuffie simply sat there, her legs crossed as she eyed Cloud and the caster, her expression unreadable.

The swordsman broke the silence that had settled first. "Yuffie."

"Cloud. Girl who still doesn't have a name."

The Remnant gave a small wave in return.

"Right pocket. Empty it," commanded Yuffie.

"You saw?" Cloud's eyes widened slightly, hidden as they were by his goggles.

"Everything." Yuffied nodded while gesturing to a nearby hanging walkway.

Cloud promptly pulled the ring and chain from his pocket, holding aloft for the three of them to see.

"Cloud." The remnant, despite the blindfold over her eyes, knew that he felt her glare as he momentarily stiffened.

Yuffie was silent for a few moments, her eyes flitting between Cloud and his youthful companion. Her gaze could not be deciphered, its meaning mysterious until she finally spoke.

"I hate it."

"The ring?" asked Cloud.

The dress clad teenager cocked her head as she listened intently. "Is it because Cloud gave it to her?"

The kunoichi nodded. "Yup. And the fact that she kept it. She tried to get over you, Cloud. She dated a few guys."

Cloud's expression was calm, his visage betraying no surprise whatsoever. "I can't say I'm shocked."

"Yup." She's great. And my best friend." Yuffie's face fell. "And I thought it'd always be you two. I was rooting for you. Next thing I know, you're with the WRO and Tifa's alone. Well, she was. For a bit anyway."

The ninja giggled, the sound slightly wistful. "Tifa had a few guys. Funny thing is I knew she still had a thing for you."

"Everybody's been saying that but I don't see it."

"That's because you're dense," said Yuffie with a sigh.

"Told you," teased his seatmate as she bent over laughing, her form stabilized by her staff. "And yeah, she does. Again, Cloud, the ring. Left finger, remember, SOLDIER boy?"

"That and all the guys were like you, Cloud. The strong silent type," deadpanned Yuffie, her voice slightly disappointed. "Here I was hoping it'd just be a phase. But nope. First guy she dated after you was Rude."

The blonde warrior's mouth narrowed. He'd never liked the bald Turk. Especially after the party had discovered his crush on Tifa in the forest outside Gongaga. In every battle they'd had after that, Cloud had personally made sure that Tifa's enemy turned admirer had received a few extra deep cuts and bruises courtesy of the Buster Sword.

Yuffie immediately noticed the change in his countenance, allowing a smirk to play across her features. "What? He's like you!"

Cloud frowned. "I'm a creepy stalker now?"

"Well, you are the guy who was hiding out in an alley watching her on his bike," noted Yuffie. "Right, blondie?"

"Blondie". Cloud's eyes rose to meet hers, surprised. It was the first time she'd used her old nickname for him in nearly a decade.

Yuffie caught herself then, schooling her features into something more neutral. "It took you ten years. Ten. So don't hurt her. Again. Am I clear?"

"Clear," whispered Cloud. "But what about the other guys?"

Yuffie grinned conspiratorially, hers matched by the anonymous young lady serving as Cloud's seatmate. "Ask our friend over here."

"Nope," chirped the teen. "I'm not telling."

"You know?" hissed Cloud.

"I do. Yuffie told me when the WRO had me. I asked about you. And she sang!"

"I did! And ooh, no dice, Cloud! What now?" inquired Wutai's princess, her voice lined with sarcasm and false sympathy.

Cloud was left with only one option. "I'll talk to her. Right after this," he vowed. "Once we've helped Rufus, it's the first thing I'll do."

And with that, Yuffie released a breath. One that spoke of the weight she'd carried for a decade since she'd Cloud and Tifa had gone their separate and her old friend locked eyes then, a new understanding having just been forged between them. "You finally got it, blondie. Finally."

"Yeah, I have."

The hangar door opened then, revealing a burning Cosmo Canyon lab built into the mountainside below them as Cid's voice boomed over the intercom. The landing pad below them was infested with creeping, shadowy forms of Jenova's design that blocked the only entrance: a metal door on the far end of the landing zone indicative of a facility-wide lockdown. "We're here!"

Half a minute later, the entirety of their party had gathered as the Shera, set down its ramp, connecting itself to the ruins of a research facility overrun by Jenova's minions.

"Crap." Cid rolled his eyes. "I think we're gettin' too old for this."

"You are but I ain't!" replied Barret with a roar as his gun arm let loose a storm of lead into the oncoming horde.

"The communications room," said Vincent as he joined Barret in taking shots at their oncoming foes. "We get there. Signal for reinforcements. Then secure the device."

Genesis nodded as magical flames danced around him. "The layout of all WRO bases is similar. That room should be near the base's highest point."

"Then we head up. This is one entrance." Cloud immediately turned to the Remnant as he locked the last of his Fusion Swords into place on the First Sword. "Can you clear the way?"

"Not a problem." With a wave of her hands, the magic user sent forth a burst of frost that cleared the immediate area in front of them. Immediately, Cloud sprung forth with his blade swinging into the horde as Vincent and Genesis followed closely behind, ever careful of his more reckless tendencies as their foes rose to meet blade and bullet with fang and claw.

Their friends followed soon after. Yuffie's shuriken drew wide arcs, cutting swaths through the creatures. Vincent brought his taller form to her side, blasting away at any that dared to come close to them both. Barret and Cid followed a similar tactic as the musclebound titan pushed towards their destination with his gun arm running hot while Cid impaled one contorted shape after the next. Tifa and the Remnant fought in tandem as well, crushing their enemies in a whirl deadly magic and devastating martial arts as they pushed onwards like their companions.

When they reached the door, Yuffie tore the display off it's access console as she went to work in order to hack through the door, her hands deft as she worked with the exposed wiring. "Gimme a sec!"

"Make it quick!" grunted Cloud as he cut through more of their grotesque opposition with fast slashes.

Nearby, Tifa did the same, sending two flying with a right hook followed by a swift and powerful spinning heel kick with her left leg. "Yuffie!" called the martial artist as she retook her fighting stance.

"Hold on..." groaned the short haired woman as the young mage of their cadre cast a barrier spell over her, rendering a creature's lunge harmless as it bounced off the invisible shield.

However, the horde inched ever closer, slowly gaining ground until a howl rang out. The very edge of the landing pad erupted as a number of Jenova's creations felt the bite of Red XIII's fangs. With another howl, he called down rays of starlight, watching them burn through those who had attacked his home. As his adversaries went up in flames, Red XIII dashed in between them, coming to a stop by his friends near the door.

"Good to see you," greeted Barret as he continued to fight. "What took you so long?"

"Rescue operations, my friend," revealed Red XIII with a bestial growl as he tore into more products of Jenova's biology. "We've evacuated a number of the station's personnel! But the Turks have found pockets trapped by these creatures! It's imperative we reach the communication room!"

"We were thinking the same thing, Nanaki!" yelled Yuffie as the door finally flew open. "Get inside everyone!"

And they did, rushing through the research installation's darkened lobby. Yuffie and Vincent immediately made for the elevators only to find them disabled.

"Damn it!" growled Yuffie.

"We'll have to take the stairs." Vincent's voice was grim but determined as the distant roars of more monstrosities echoed throughout the facility's shadowy interior.

Cloud twirled his blade, an old habit of his after every battle. "I'll take the front. Point us to the stairs."

"Over there," noted their hooded mage, gesturing with her staff towards a nearby door. "We need to be careful though. I can sense more coming. They know we're here."

"How far up do we have to go?" asked Tifa as she readjusted her gloves.

"Far," said Red XIII. "This facility is thirty floors tall and built into the mountain. The communications room is at the very top. We may even have to find other stairwells if they've been damaged or overrun."

Genesis' eyes shined bright in the dark as a smirk played across his features. "Then let's not waste time."

"Damn right," grunted Cid, stretching his back with an audible pop. "You good, big guy?"

Barret sighed in response, flashing back to a night nearly twenty years ago when he'd had to run up sixty flights of stairs. He'd already had trouble back then as a younger man. But now as a weathered warrior? "I hate stairs," growled the old rebel as he cocked his gun arm.

Not even a minute later, it was a sentiment that would be echoed by all as the nine of them would find themselves climbing up a narrow stairwell as more corrupt abominations skittered down the walls towards them.

"W-we need to get out of here," panted the purple clad mage as she found herself batting away a claw with her staff.

Cid did the same, the blade on the end of his spear lopping off the monster's limb that quickly turned to dust. "Damn straight! We got another exit?"

Vincent quickly tapped Cid on the shoulder, drawing the spearman's attention towards a doorway he had begun to fire on. The gunman's shots cleared the area around it, bringing a cheer from Cid.

"What is it?" called Cloud as he parried incoming strikes without countering, unwilling to use his sword in such a cramped space surrounded by his allies.

Yuffie pointed to the door. "On your left, blondie! Knock it down!"

"Can't!" said the blade wielder. "If I swing, you're too close!"

"Let me," huffed Tifa, her movements quick as she jumped to the other side of the stairwell. After quickly dispatching more of her twisted assailants with deadly precision, the striker sent the door flying with a right straight. "Come on!" she called as the rest of the party followed her into a wider hallway.

"Finally," whispered Genesis as he brought up the rear, launching fireballs at their foes to collapse the stairwell which he and his allies had emerged from.

Red XIII led the group then. Thanks to his knowledge of the facility and his four legged form, Cosmo Canyon's guardian guided his friends through winding halls and long stairwells.

Halfway up, Cid lobbed a stick of dynamite at a group of oncoming creepers, obliterating them and collapsing a whole room that had already been set ablaze. "Just like the old days!"

"You bet!" chirped Yuffie, surprisingly cheerful despite the ongoing battle as she swung her shuriken once more. "We got the band back together!"

Genesis danced through his foes, his swordplay equal parts deadly and graceful. "Not exactly," noted the SOLDIER with a half-smile reflected in the flames that burned on outside. "I wasn't there to share your early days."

"I wasn't either!" added the Remnant, her cloak fluttering behind her as her staff glowed with healing energy, mending the wounds of a certain black clad pair as they led the charge through the encroaching hive of their enemies. "But I don't think we missed everything!"

One left the ground thanks to an uppercut from Tifa, only to find itself slamming sideways into more of its kin thanks to her roundhouse kick. Cloud stood behind her, reducing more creatures to dust with powerful sweeps of his blade, taking a step back into his companion. The duo lunged at each other then, only stopping when they realized what had almost happened.

"You, uh, you okay, Tifa?" Cloud lowered his blade, taking a moment to seemingly adjust his goggles.

"D-definitely, Cloud. What about you?" Tifa dropped her stance and pulled on her gloves, their fit on her hands apparently having loosened in the middle of their battle.

Suddenly, the area beside them exploded, kicking up dust as a group of their foes had rounded the corner. Their corpses began to fade away into dust as Barret's mountainous form pushed in between the pair, allowing him to shoot Tifa a confused look and to give Cloud an angry one. "You two done here?"

The hall was quiet for a few moments until Yuffie's snickers rang out while she ran past them, drowning out Barret's frustrated murmurings. "Fifteen more floors to go! Keep up!"

And as they did, the group fell into a rhythm, the years vanishing as they once more became the Planet's heroes. The Calamity from the sky had conjured up it's army and they battled through it until they finally reached their objective. On the twenty ninth floor, Red XIII let loose a triumphant howl. "We're close, my friends! One more floor!"

Suddenly, a flash of red hair came into view as they reached the top of the staircase. "Yo, you're all here," said Reno with a cocky smirk. "Babe and I we're just headin' up."

"Then we should probably stop talking," replied Shalua as she calmly strode up to Reno's side, the sheen of her mechanical arm and the scars on her form visible beneath the dimmed lights of the lab.

"All right, all right, we'll get there, no problem," promised the red haired Turk. "Not like I was stallin' anyway. Tseng'd dock my pay for the month if I did."

"Guess this means we're on the same side for once." Barret nodded at Reno, the older man's usually dour expression slightly softened.

"Guess so." Reno then eyed the rest of his new allies, shooting Tifa a wink. "Hey, Lockhart."

"Reno, you have a girlfriend," deadpanned Tifa, her voice slightly tired.

The girlfriend in question allowed herself a half-smile as she adjusted her spectacles. "He's harmless. I'm not worried. He should be though."

Reno turned to face her. "Why's that?"

And when the Turk turned to face Barret's group, he got his answer: Cloud Strife. The swordsman had stepped in front of Tifa, blocking Reno's view of her. "You gonna help us or not?" he asked.

"Hey, definitely, Strife. Not a problem." Reno peered over Cloud's shoulder. "Hey, Valentine, Rhapsodos, mind calmin' 'im down?"

The two simply crossed their arms.

Reno took a step back. "Kisaragi?"

The ninja just gave him a shake of her head and a wink.

"Lockhart?"

Tifa nodded, her face slightly red from what Reno was going to attribute to fatigue from battle. "Cloud."

Obviously slightly embarrassed, Cloud took a step back, his gaze lowered as he made his way up the staircase.

"Oh, well, after you, big guy," said the Turk as he hefted his baton. As they all made their way upwards, Reno whispered to himself as Shalua joined him. "Sorry, Rude."

Yuffie, having caught his murmur, took a step down to the baton wielder and his beloved. "Told you guys."

Shalua smirked. Reno did the same. So did Yuffie as they finally reached the landing of the thirtieth floor. The floor was one long hallway, dimly lit save for the communications room at its end. A single form dressed in white was visible there.

It was a familiar one.

Reno sprinted forward. "Hey, President, what're you doing here?"

Rufus didn't reply as he continued to type away at the various consoles before him.

"Yo, president!" called Reno as he neared. The rest of his companions followed closely. "President!"

And when Reno finally stood in the doorway, Rufus whirled around, flinging his cane at the Turk. The redhead tucked in time, leaving the cane to punch through a spot on the wall his head had just occupied. The last Shinra then drew his guns, opening fire on anyone that came through the doorway.

Vincent and Remnant rushed forth, the gunman answering Rufus' shots with his own as the young girl as his side sent forth a corona of lightning aimed at Rufus.

The white clad man simply dodged, rolling with an agility that a cripple could not have possessed. Rufus continued to fire, aiming one firearm at his new foes and the other at the various devices in the room.

"No!" yelled Red XIII, darting forward with a whip of his tail. It missed narrowly as Rufus leapt up on a ruined console. He then took aim at a nearby glass pane, shattering it with gunfire before leaping out of it into the blaze below.

"Wh-why?" asked the blindfolded mage beside Vincent, her shocked expression visible even beneath the cloth over her eyes. "He's with us, isn't he? Is he even alive?"

"I dunno, kid," answered Reno as he rushed over to the shattered window Rufus' had leapt from.

As they all filed into the room, it was Cloud who entered last. His mind raced as he struggled to piece together what had just happened. Beneath his goggles, his eyes scanned the room. The destroyed communications array. Rufus' strength and speed. And his betrayal, dooming them to a battle with no reinforcements as they secured his special project and rescued his employees.

"Why?" hissed Cloud, his hold on his Fusion Sword tightening into a deathgrip. It was then that he began piecing it all together, his memories of his last conversation with Rufus echoing in his mind.

"As a matter of fact, I believe you and I share a purpose. I might have a deal for you one day. I hope you make the right choice," said Rufus as he raised his hands into the air.

Cloud had rebuffed him then. But Shinra had continued, raising his hands into the air. "Not even for a higher purpose? Because I promise you, I will need your help one day. You and I are strugglers. Brothers in arms. I just don't think you realize it yet."

Primal fear crept up Cloud's spine as Sephiroth's words echoed in his head.

Sephiroth smirked, his face shadowed beneath the canopy of trees outside Corel. As if his death had been but a mere trifle. "For now," stated the madman. "Currently, you should get back to those girls. I'll be seeing you soon."'

Cloud eyes darted from side to side, terrori gripping him as his eyes fell on Rufus' cane.

On it, black angel wings danced, their shapes lit up by the inferno engulfing the base's exterior.

The operator breathed heavily. "Wh-where is it? Rufus' project."

Reno turned to face him, his expression confused. "Seven floors down. That lab is sealed up though."

"It's not," growled Cloud as turned on his heel and ran off into the dark.

"Cloud? Cloud!" called Tifa. Soon after, the brawler had rushed off after him. And so did the rest of her friends, one by one, unaware of the danger that awaited them.

But Cloud was. The fading bodies he left in his wake were proof enough. As were the smears of blood he left, obviously unconcerned with his own injuries. And as bewildered as they were, his friends still followed him, fighting their way to the twenty third floor.

Yet the resistance they encountered was little, leaving the station eerily quiet. It was a sensation unfamiliar to most of Gaia's saviors. The few that had felt this before had been freed in the middle of the evening, their cell doors in the Shinra building suddenly open.

Tifa, Barret, Red XIII and even the Remnant, a piece of their flower girl, locked eyes for a split second as they rushed towards Rufus' lab. It was then that they knew what Cloud feared. What had awoken thanks to the plotting of an old foe.

The door to the lab was open, leading into a vast room of hardened metal with a shining tank in the middle. Pipelines fed into it, their transparent shapes containing oozing matter that could only have belonged to Jenova. The four who had accompanied Cloud that night in the Shinra building were the first to rush in, calling his name as he leapt into the air.

Poised to strike at Rufus with his blade raised, Cloud yelled.

"Sephiroth!"

And so One-Winged Angel turned, stretching out a hand that had once belonged to Rufus Shinra as he froze his enemies in place. With his plan fulfilled, he held them there, his eyes a horrid and slitted Mako green. It was the same power that had restrained them during the battle at the North Crater. It was the same sense of dread that had emanated from him as they had descended into Gaia's core so long ago.

And as he hung in the air, Cloud could only curse himself for not seeing it sooner. His friends could only do the same as they writhed helplessly in the insane SOLDIER's invisible grip. But suddenly it weakened as Rufus' form collapsed to the ground.

"Please," hissed Rufus as he struggled to his feet. "End it."

Vincent's hand went for his gun, taking aim at Rufus who had suffered for so long.

The final member of the Shinra family stared the gunslinger in the eye, locking his blue eyes with Vincent's crimson gaze.

"Do it."

And Vincent did, a flash from the muzzle of his gun signalling his compliance.

And the bullet sailed, aimed squarely in between Rufus' eyes. Then it stopped. And Rufus was gone.

Sephiroth had once again reasserted himself, holding Vincent's bullet in midair only to let it drop uselessly to the metal floor. He let a smirk cross a face that wasn't his own for but a brief moment before he finally stepped into the machine, letting it's cold metal enclose him.

One second.

Then two.

Then three.

Then the Planet's saviors lost count until the tank opened.

And from within, Sephiroth emerged, remade by Jenova's biomass.

Draped in black, the silver haired avatar of the Calamity's will stretched out his hand. And in it formed his legendary Masamune. Sephiroth let loose a low chuckle then. "Good to see you, Cloud. You too, Genesis. You were right, you know?"

The two SOLDIERs could only sneer in anguish. Genesis let no sound escape him. But Cloud was different, actively struggling against Sephiroth's will. His feeble attempts at resistance only drew a smirk from the fallen hero.

"I told you, Cloud, I'd have you on your knees. Begging for forgiveness. I'd give you despair." Sephiroth then tore Cloud's goggles from his face, their eyes mirroring one another. Then the monster of a man turned his gaze away from the younger bladesman. Cloud followed. And when he saw who Sephiroth was eyeing, despair was all Cloud had.

Sephiroth held his blade out towards Tifa, only for him to pull her onto it's edge with nothing but the strength of his desire to do so. The girl he had spent the last decade fighting for sailed forward and time slowed. Carmine met sickly green eyes tainted with Mako, a final goodbye and a thousand things unsaid between them.

Then everything exploded. The steel walls fell away to reveal the Shera hovering in the night sky, near the edge of the former lab. It's hangar doors were open as its namesake called out for her husband and their allies. "Everyone get on board! Now!"

And they retreated towards the airship. All except Cloud, crouched beside Tifa's body as he attempted to pull her from the rubble. Barret and their young mage friend rushed to his side. The one armed man lifted the rubble, freeing Tifa as the Remnant unleashed the full force of her magic onto Sephiroth. Fire, lightning, ice and poison rained down on Jenova's champion. Yet he continued onwards, countering every burst of magic with one of his own as his enemies went into full rout.

Cloud and Barret made it onto the Shera safely followed by the hooded caster, the cloth over her eyes doing nothing to prevent her from locking eyes with Sephiroth.

"So that's where the both of you went," noted the reborn SOLDIER, halting more of Jenova's children from meaninglessly pursuing their foes. "Mother and I were wondering where you two were."

And as the Shera rose into the blackness, the Remnant vowed to defeat him. "We'll stop you," she vowed as she eyed the hangar full of the WRO's personnel. "We will. We have to."

YEAH CHAPTER 7! I wasn't as late this time. HAHAHA I hope it was enjoyable enough and please don't hesitate to leave a review. =)