Destiny Revisited

Part 3:Feelings of Hate

All of a sudden, Jenova was changing. Her blue skin turned pale ivory, her tail turned into legs, she lost her wings, her devious eyes were replaced by blue ones and a golden mane of hair appeared on her head. Finally her mouth lost its horrible fangs and tongue. She looked like a beautiful human woman. She had a shapely body and girlish facial features. "I don't know what you're doing, but I do know this. We're both dead, so we can't kill each other. But I WILL find a way to get you out of the lifestream. Soon." Shouted Cloud, who was at his boiling point. "You do not seem to understand. I am your mother and you do what I say. Aeris was just my creation. You can not love her. Besides..." she lingered. "You're not capable of love, sweetie." Cloud jumped back, trying to hold back his anguish. "You have no feelings, just as Sephiroth." she leaned forward. "Now, I shall return to earth to aide my son in his new godship. You have failed, and are not worthy of my attention. Goodbye, my son." and with that Jenova disappeared. Cloud was silent. He stood, motionless. Then he clenched his fists in rage. "I'll get you, Jenova." he hissed.

***

Somewhere else in the lifestream, in a dark conference room, a group of Ancients talked. "Holy didn't save Midgar from Meteor or the world from Sephiroth becoming a god. Jenova is running amuck. She and her son will destroy the world again if we are not careful." then the talking Ancient shrugged. "What can we do?" he asked solemnly. "I know." said a girl Ancient quickly as she rose from her seat. "We can bring them back to life, and they can stop Sephiroth and Jenova." The other Ancient raised his eyebrow. "Them?" he blinked. "You mean Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockheart, Barret Wallace, Cid Highwind, Vincent Valentine, Yuffie Kisaragi, RedXIII and Cait Sith? Ahhh yes the heroes that tried to save the world. They are strong. Perhaps they can end this madness. Very well then, it shall be done." He turned to a young Ancient standing by his side. "Go now and fetch them here." he commanded. The other Ancient turned and walked out of the room.

***

Sephiroth smiled evilly as he re-entered Nibelheim. By now it was morning again, and the sun was shining brightly. Birds were singing. Everything was peaceful. Sephiroth would make sure it didn't stay that way for long.

"Look! It's Sephiroth! He is alive!" shouted a local villager who had spotted the man entering the town. "Oh my God, you're right! Everybody run! We got to get out of here before he kills us all!" With that the terrified villagers scattered. Sephiroth's power burst and his black aura flamed. His eyes glowed with a deathly look. He spread his black wings and drew masamune. "Fools, there is no escaping from God. Run if you please but that will only prompt me to make your deaths slower." They didn't listen and still ran. Sephiroth raised his hand and executed a spell. "Fire 3!" he shouted. With that, the entire town was ablaze.

Frightened people tried to flee their homes, but met a painful death at the hands of Sephiroth. Sephiroth raised his blade again and brought it down hard on an elderly couple. He laughed as their heads fell on the ground, blood squirting out of their necks like a garden hose.

Suddenly a small boy walking a dog came into view. In a flash he was there. There were a few quick slashes and crimson fluid covering his sword. He saw the kid drop the leash. There wasn't enough left of the dog to make a cheap fur coat. The child was shaking badly. "P--pl-please ... M-...Mr. don't kill me..." the kid whimpered as tears formed in his eyes. Too late. Sephiroth picked him up and slide masamune through his spine, and he fell onto the blade. Then he shook his sword and the kid went flying.

All of a sudden Sephiroth heard a voice. Far away someone was looking at the boys body. "No...not my baby..." cried a young woman. She closed her eyes and stood up slowly. The woman went up to Sephiroth, her face red and streaked with tears. "You bastard! You will burn in hell for this! I swear!!!" screamed the enraged woman. Sephiroth simply shrugged. Then he slashed the woman across the stomach. In a second she was holding her intestines in her hands. Blood gushed from her horrific wound and poured over the edges of her mouth. "Don't...play God..." said Sephiroth slowly as he watched the woman drop to the ground, her entrails hanging out from the inside of her body.

The terror was just beginning. Sephiroth would create the future, and to do that he had to destroy all who were unworthy.

***

"You were brought here for a reason, young ones." said the elder Ancient. "What do you want us to do?" asked Tifa, who was sitting next to Cloud. "Yeah why the hell did you bring us here? What do you expect us to do if we're dead?" demanded Barret. Yuffie promptly slapped him. The elder simply nodded. "I was planning to restore your life-force, so that you may challenge the Angel From Hell." Suddenly Cloud looked up. "I know everything that happened. I...I met Jenova in the lifestream before she left." Everyone stared at Cloud. "It's true. And I also discovered something..." Cloud averted his eyes. "Aeris was not who we think she was. She was...a demon created by Jenova." Tears began to gather in his eyes. Tifa looked at him worriedly "Cloud..." she said his name with genuine concern. The rest remained silent. Then the elder spoke. "Listen, that is all irrelevant to what is going on here." Cloud nodded. "You must save the earth. That is why I called you here. In a few moments you shall be transported to the living plane. Just relax your bodies and take a deep breath..." the elder's voice trailed away as the fighters slowly vaporized out of sight. "Wait a minute where's Vincent?" shouted Cloud suddenly, realizing the missing party member. Just before Cloud disappeared, the elder answered. "He has decided to stay here."

***

"Our son has sinned allot. Much more then I have, even." echoed Vincent's voice. "And I intend to stay in the lifestream until things are cleared up." Lucrecia's eyes snapped open. "I can help him much more efficiently from here. What he needs is a spiritual guide." Lucrecia smiled softly. "I understand, my love." she said serenely . She smiled to herself. Everything was going to be ok.

***

"I can sense Mother..." Sephiroth whispered. He walked quickly over the ash and corpses that was once the lively village of Nibelheim. "Mother...where are you? Answer me..." he called out. He quickly got a reply.

"I am here, my son. And I must say that I am very proud of you.." her voice was saturated in falsity. "You did much better then your brother...although he was a failure anyway." Sephiroth laughed at this. "Where are you Mother? I can sense you but cannot see you...and your voice sounds different." Sephiroth looked around, his mako eyes glowing insanely. Suddenly he spotted someone...was this his Mother? But she appeared human.

"Sephiroth do not act surprised. It is I, your mother Jenova. I have simply taken a different form." Sephiroth nodded and walked closer to his mother. "Listen son I have something to tell you. Cloud and the others are returning. And they know the truth about Aeris." The silver haired man nodded. "I see. So you've told them? That is good. I was getting tired of seeing that failed clone of mine hanging around with that flunky. I was beginning to think they made a good couple...both inferior puppets of ours!" Sephiroth began to laugh bitterly. "Ha...ha ha...those fools. Just thinking about their ignorance makes me laugh." Jenova interrupted . "There is one thing I must say...they are strong. And just because you beat your brother once doesn't mean you'll do it again." Sephiroth stopped laughing for a minute. "I think you have a point Mother, he is quite strong. Although I have become a god. My strength has increased to it's full potential." Jenova nodded. "I know what you mean Sephiroth. We have a long way to go. Soon this planet will be cleared of all who oppose us." With that Sephiroth flew off, Jenova watching from afar.

***

Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Cid, RedXIII, Yuffie, and Cait Sith were standing in the middle of a big field. "Where the hell are we?" demanded Barret. "Do I look like I friggin know? Ass." replied Cid. "Look you two just be quiet. I think someone is following us." Cloud said worriedly. Just as on cue, Sephiroth appeared.

'He's different.' though Cloud. 'His eyes...his wings...and that black aura...' Cloud's eyes narrowed. "He has become a god, just as Jenova said..." Tifa was silent. Then she spoke. "Sephiroth has achieved his goal. He is now divine..." she was amazed. The rest of the party were silent. Only Cloud and Tifa were really in a state of reality. They knew the power of Sephiroth was a force to be reckoned with.

"Ha ha ha...I am not here to fight you. I just came to tell you that if you wish to battle me I shall be stationed at whatever's left of Nibelheim." Sephiroth floated above them and drew masamune. "Oh, and if you do want to fight me I can assure you you'll die much slower and more painfully then last time. Trust me on that." With that he vanished.

***

"He's gone..." said RedXIII, who finally spoke. "You can say that again." answered Yuffie sheepishly. "But how do we stop him? He's a god for crying out loud! A god!!!" cried Tifa furiously. "I don't know Tiff." said Cloud wrapping his arms around her. "I just don't know. But we can't give up hope, no matter what happens." Tifa snuggled against Cloud's shoulder. "I only hope you're right." she said miserably.

"There must be hope, if not in war then in peace." suggested RedXIII. "Peace?!?" cried an infuriated

Cloud. "You have no idea who you're dealing with! Sephiroth is a cold hearted killer and that's that! You don't no how many he's slain, yet he shows no remorse! He ruined 6 years of my life...and he killed those I loved. And he almost took Tifa from me.' Cloud looked down at his longtime childhood friend sympathetically. "There is no way we can forgive him. Not now. Not ever. And you just heard what he did. He destroyed Nibelheim again." Cloud closed his eyes. "Sephiroth doesn't deserve anything. He doesn't deserve to live and he certainly doesn't deserve to be a god." Crossing his arms angrily, Cloud walked away from the group.

"Listen Cloud." Cloud heard a voice. "You mustn't kill my son. He is not fully aware of what he is doing. He is being controlled by Jenova." Cloud's blue eyes widened. The blonde stepped back in surprise. "Vincent? Is that you? Calling from the- the lifestream?" Everything was still. "Yes Cloud this is Vincent. But that does not matter now. You must not kill Sephiroth. Trust me." Cloud blinked. "Did you say your son?" the voice faded. "Never mind that. Just don't kill him..."

Cloud walked back to the others. "He says not to kill Sephiroth." he said in awe. "Who? Who said what?" asked Cid angrily. "Yeah, speak up Cloud." added Cait Sith. "Vincent said not to kill Sephiroth." everyone was stunned. "Yeah didn't he stay in the lifestream or somethin?" Tifa looked at Barret, who asked the question. Cloud answered. "Yeah he did. And apparently he's also Sephi-" he stopped. "Never mind. Just everyone listen to me. I want to kill Sephiroth very badly. But we were brought back to save the planet, not destroy it. So I guess in a sense we are following Red's plan." RedXIII smiled slyly. "That is good. I hate violence anyway, all it does is make things worse." he retorted. "Well I guess we better figure out where we are." said Tifa as-a-matter-of-factly. "Let's just keep walking until we find somet-" suddenly she was interrupted when a green mist swept over them all...

***

Sephiroth was walking quickly to the remains of Nibelheim. But all of a sudden he heard a voice. "Son stop this madness now. There is no need for such carnage." Sephiroth stopped. It was a man's voice this time. His father? "Father?" he called out. "Wait...I have no father. What is this?" Sephiroth thought for a moment and closed his eyes. "Listen Sephiroth this is your father." Then Sephiroth realized. "You...you are that man that traveled with cloud in his friends before I killed you all." The man waited and then replied. "That's right. And I am also your father." Sephiroth's eyes widened and then he grunted. "You are not my father. I have no father. My only parent is Jenova." Sephiroth continued to walk. Suddenly he heard another voice. "Listen to him son for he is telling the truth, as am I." Sephiroth fell quiet. "If I come and listen to what you humans have to say then will you leave me alone?" he inquired. "Yes son just come and hear what we have to say, that's all. Meet us in the same place as last time." Then the voices disappeared. Sephiroth put his hands to his head and sighed.

***

Lifestream. Lifestream was here. It was bringing them to where they needed to be, the living plane. They had just been temporarily paused in the dimension between them both. "Well, at least we know where we are." chirped Yuffie. "Yeah I guess..." Tifa replied a little more annoyed then she had intended. "Look, since we're not out to kill Sephiroth yet...well let's just camp by Nibelheim and wait and see what happens." Let's see...we are at Gold Saucer so we'll get to Nibelheim within...oh give or take 5 days." said Cloud, his leadership qualities showing the most since the last confrontation in Northern Crater. "Hmmm 5 days ain't all that bad." added Barret. "Yeah you guys are right. Let's head later. We need to stock up on provisions." said RedXIII. The group set out to Gongaga , in hopes of finding helpful goods.

~AUTHOR'S NOTE~

Sorry it's been a while. ^.^; but I promise ill be on time from now on. I hate finals! Well what do you think so far? What will happen to Sephy? And what about Cloud, Tifa, and the others? And where is Jenova? Please R&R.