The determination for Victory
Disclaimer: I do not own any of this fic's content, this fic is based on the 1997 RPG on Playstation from Squaresoft called "Final Fantasy VII", so to make this brief, I own this scenario, but do not own any of the characters or places or even everything else in it.
Chapter 1: R ising from his ashes.
The blond, spiky-haired man called Cloud, ex-SOLDIER and AVALANCHE mercenary who, with the help of his friends, killed Sephiroth and saved the planet from Meteore with the help of Aeris. Now everything was over, the Shin-Ra, inc. was destroyed by Meteore, and the planet was now ruled by the only executive from Shin-Ra, inc., the Head of the Urban Development, and the one who was controlling Cait Sith, Reeve, the one chosen by the people to rule the Planet.
As Cid was making repairs on the Highwind with the help of his three aprentices, Cloud, Barret, Tifa, Yuffie, Red XIII and Vincent were standing on a high cliff, the Highwind standing behind them, they were staring at a destroyed world.
"We may now start a new era." Said Vincent as he stared with them to the destroyed world, as the Sun was descending to leave the planet to the moon.
"Yes, and plenty of new Materias to be found by us!" Said Yuffie with a smile on her face as she jumped up and down.
Cloud sighed a bit to Yuffie's reaction, he had more important things to worry about than Materias. As he was thinking about Aeris, a man approached them, he was mounting a Chocobo, and had a letter with him.
"I am looking for AVALANCHE and the team who helped save the Earth." Said the man as he stared at all of them.
Barret turned to him and had his Last Score, which was his ultimate weapon attached to his arm to replace his lost hand. He replied "What do you want?".
"I have a letter from His Exellency Reeve for them." Replied the man as he hopped off the Chocobo and took the letter out of his backpack.
Barret waslked up to him and took the letter, as he did so, the man hopped back on the Chocobo and headed back to the Midgar Castle which now replaced the Shin-Ra building, of course it was just built, and was not quite finished.
Barret opened the letter and started reading to the others who all turned to him, awaiting to know what the letter said.
"Dear friends,
This is Reeve, as you may know, I was the one controlling Cait Sith, I have heard stories in my youth, and fairy tales, but never have I experienced one as great as the one I have experienced with you.
As new President of the Planet, I have now decided as my first action to invite all of you to the castle and receive the "Hero's Crown". I think you all deserve it, without you we would be all dead. Please do come, the Ceremony will be on January the first.
Good bye my dear friends, I cannot wait to see you again." Read Barret, done readong, he placed the letter back in his pocket and walked to Cid.
"When is the Highwind ready?" He asked to Cid.
"Well....you gotta wait a bit, It's not just a mere toy and it takes time to repair it, it'll take me about a day or so." Replied Cid as he was repairing the left engine.
_____The next Day_____
Cloud opened his eyes to see the shiny sun rising from the seas to illuminate all of the planet.
Cid was sleeping next to his toolbox along with his three aprentices, all sleeping on the Highwind, they had been working like crazy to be on time for the Ceremony which was tomorrow.
Along with Cloud, Tifa was now awaken, soon to be followed by Yuffie, Red XIII and Barret.
Over them was standing Vincent, the others looked at him, wondering if he ever slept. He turned around and walked to them.
Barret stood up and walked to Cid, he grabbed him and started shaking him to wake him up, Barret wasn't such a delicate person, and Cid wasn't too pleased with the way Barret woke him up, considering he had worked all day long.
"Arrrr...why is it that I must be treated like this, especially after doing all of you a great favor by repairing the Highwind!" He said angrily.
"Calm down." Said Cloud as he stood up with Tifa and the others.
They all walked in the Highwind and took off to fly toward Midgar. After a few minutes of traveling, they were finally above Midgar, all were amazed how much it looked better now that the Shin-Ra, inc. Building was gone. They saw the castle being constructed instead of the building, it had a landing spot for airships just like the one in Junon. They landed the Highwind on it and hopped off. A man walked to them and lead them to the Main Room of the Castle, where man people from the Planet where gathered. All were wearing nice dresses and suits, unfortunetly Cloud and his friends did not prepared for the Ceremony, but they still had one day left, and might be able to find something. The man lead them to a few floors above where their rooms were waiting. Rooms....it looked more like a suit for each. Tifa and Cloud shared the same room, Vincent and Yuffie had another one for them, and Red XIII, Barret and Cid had another room, Cid's apprentices stayed in the Highwind.
"Do you miss her?" Asked Tifa to Cloud as she was changing.
"Of course I do, we all do, don't we?" Said Cloud as he was brushing his teeth, wearing only his boxers.
"I have never asked you this before, but.....did you love her?" Said Tifa in an hesitating voice.
Cloud, done brushing his teeth and cleaning his mouth, headed for his bed and tried to avoid answering the question.
Tifa looked at him and understood his reaction, but it did not clarify everything, maybe he just didn't want to talk about it, maybe he doesn't love her, he just adored her as a friend.
"Good night Tifa." Said Cloud as he turned off his light.
"Good night Cloud." Relied Tifa as she turned off her light. She hugged her second pillow tightly as she rested her head on the first one, she had tears coming out of her eyes, she was crazy about Cloud, she liked Aeris as a friend, but also saw her a rival. Tifa had been with Cloud all her life, but she didn't want to admit her feelings until she was sure of Cloud's feelings.
_____The next Day_____
A knocking could be heard on Cloud and Tifa's doors, they both woke up and walked to the door opening it. They found Barret standing in front of the door. He looked at the both of them and said with a smile:
"So....did the two love birds sleep well in this classy suite?"
Tifa was blushing to this comment, but Cloud remained with no emotion showed on his face.
Barret saw that none of them would replied so he kept going.
"Well....get ready, we have some shopping to do."
They both nodded and after a while were dressed up and ready to shop in the Sector 6, where Wall Market was. After a few hours, everyone was ready, it took them a long time to find something at Barret's size.
They all headed back to the caste, by the time they got back, it was almost time for the Ceremony, they rushed back to their rooms and started changing. All men were wearing Tuxedo, Tifa was wearing a long red dress, which was cut sideways, Yuffies, was wearing the same one, only hers was green. They all met in the Ceremony room, along with many people, as they made their way in, people saluted then, gave them their cards, proposed to have them starring in a few movies, and such. At 9 PM, Reeve made his way to the throne where a microphone was, he saulted everyone and started his speech.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for being present to this memorable event, we are here to honor the planet's new Heros, they have deserved this title through hard work, through utting their lives on the line for humanity's sake." He said with a smile on his face as he turned to one of his servant who was holding a larb treasure chest which he placed on the floor and opened, he handed a golden crown with a red jewel at its center. He took one and held it up in the air.
"This is the only sign of courage a human can wear on his forehead, by wearing this "Hero's Crown" they are considered the Planet's defendant, they are considered TRUE HEROS. And now, I would like everyone, to welcome our Heros, as they make their way to the throne."
Cloud and his friends started making their way to Reeve, as everybody was clapping and cheering for them.
But on the Balcony, in the middle of the people was standing a man, who stared at the scene.
It was and outrage to him to have these people rewarded for what they had done, He was standing in a black and white tuxedo, he stood at a six foot one, and had long strands of silver hair. His shiny green Mako eyes stared at the scene with anger, as his left fist was tightening in anger while the right hand was holding a cup of champaign. He had been defeated in the past, and was supposedly dead, his name is Sephiroth, a name that still stands strong as a Leviathan, even though his past was sealed by the Shin-Ra, inc.
"Congratulations....Cloud, but I wouldn't rest so easy if I were you." Said Sephiroth to himself.
As Cloud was receiving his Hero's Crown, Sephiroth grabbed one of the spectators from the Balcony and threw him down to the Throne.
Everyone gasped in fear to the scene they just saw, as everyone were turning their attention to the dead person, Sephiroth took his leave. Reeve asked the Medical Staff to take care of him, and sent the soldiers to search around. He tried to keep the Ceremony underway, but Cloud and the others were not paying attention to it no more.
"I wonder who did this..." Said Tifa as she held onto Cloud's right arm in fear.
"Judging from how far the Balcony is, he must have been thrown by someone extremely strong, maybe even stronger than Barret himself." Said Vincent as he remained unchanged and kept his cold calm.
"That's what I was thinking, but why would someone do something like that?" Said Cloud as he looked around the scene as he held his Hero's Crown tightly.
"We must continue with the Ceremony, we shall find out soon enough." Said Reeve in a calm voice, trying to get their attention back to the Ceremony.
After a while, everyone had their Hero's Crown on them, and everyone applauded, they also were counting on them in case something happened. After the ceremony, Reeve lead them to his meeting room where they all sat down, and started thinking.
"We have killed every powerful evil person in this world, we even destroyed a few WEAPONS, so why is it that there is someone left who is extremely strong, and who apparently is not a monster?!" Said Reeve as he slammed his fists on the golden table.
Cloud was looking around the unfinished room, but his attention turned to another Hero's Crown, everyone had theirs, so why was it that another Hero's Crown was there, he turned to Reeve and asked him.
"Why do you have another Hero's Crown?"
Everyone turned their attention to the Hero's Crown and were asking themselves the same thing.
Reeve turned to Cloud and replied: "For Aeris of course, would you be kind enough to go visit her and give her this Crown for me?"
"We'll do that for sure." Said Barret to Reeve.
Cloud took the Crown and wrapped it around a tissue and placed it in his bag, he placed the bag on his back.
"Where are you going?" Reeve asked.
"To see her, she should get it the same day we did, Cid....I need you to get the Highwind ready."
Cid nodded as he got up and rushed to the Highwind, eveyone else followed him.
Reeve placed his hand on Cloud's shoulder and said:
"Please....give my regards to Aeris, she was a true Hero too."
Cloud nodded with a faint smile, and rushed to the Highwind too. Everyone was waiting for him, he hopped in and they took off to the Lost City.
____In the Lost City____
When they all arrived and hopped off, they looked around to see that the city remained unchanged. They headed straight for the mysterious lake were Aeris' body was.
They all tried to look deep in the bottom of the clear lake, but were unable to perceive it, the lake was really deep and it was maybe impossible for them to see it, they took the Crown out of the bag, and all stepped in the lake, they all went on their knees, behind them were the shadow staring at them, this shadow was slightly different than Sephiroth's, it stared at the scene with a smile on its face. As they placed the Crown above the lake, and all said:
"Aeris, what you have done for the world makes you a bigger Hero than all of us, you have sacrificed your life in order to cast Holy, we will miss you always."
Cloud then let go of the Crown which was now sinking to the bottome of the lake, where Aeris' body was. Cloud and a few of the others had tears rolling down their cheeks, as they all sighed a bit, but Vincent's attention was elsewhere, he could feel something, or someone watching them, Vincent's instincts were as powerful as animal's, and after searching a while he could see the shadow. He tried not to show it, but he had his hand placed on his handgun just in case something was to happen.
Barret noticed Vincent's attitude, and walked to him.
"What's wrong, Vincent?" He asked as he was trying to wipe out a few tears, he didn't want others to see him crying, it made him look weak in his opinion.
"Someone is watching us..." Replied Vincent in a serious tone.
"Where?!" Barret asked as he held his right arm, which was his only weapon beside his massive power.
"Quiet...I don't think we're in danger, but it's on my right." Vincent responded in a whisper.
Barret turned to Vincent's right side to notice the shadow, it looked an aweful lot like....
"AERIS!!!!!" Barret shouted out loud, making everyone turn to Barret.
As everyone was turning around, the shadow slowly disapeared.
"Aeris??? Whatddya mean Aeris?" Said Cid as he lighted up a cigarette.
"I swear it was Aeris, she was on that cliff, I swear, even Vincent saw her." Replied Barret with his eyes widened, he looked at the others, trying to convince them he was telling the truth.
"I didn't say it was Aeris, but there surely was something up there." Vincent replied as he leaned against a large rock and closed his eyes.
Red XIII started smelling the air trying to find someone.
"I know how Aeris smells, and I can't find her, and my odorat is unbeatable." Said Red XIII to the others.
Cloud walked to Barret and placed his right hand on his shoulder.
"Let's go Barret, we'll find out what it was eventually." He said in a recomforting voice.
They all nodded and walked back to the airship, but to their big surprise, the airship was completely destroyed, on the right side was written "I am back", it seemed to have been written with the use of a blade, out of the letters floodded out kerosin.
They all gasped in fear, and all had the flashback of the man who was killed during the ceremony, only someone who was outraged by this event would kill someone, it could be non-other than Sephiroth himself!
"S......S......Sephiroth!" Cloud studdered as he stared with fear at the letters.
"Yes...indeed I am back, even more powerful than ever, they call you Heros, but you couldn't even finish me off." Said a shadow standing on a cliff way above them, the shadow was standing at 6 foot one, and was holding a seven foot long blade with him, he had long strands of silver hair, but the rest of his body was hidden in the shadows.
"That's impossible, I saw you die, I saw your body decompose in front of me!!!" Said Cloud as he had his hand on his Ultima Weapon.
"That's right....you did kill me..." Said Sephiroth as he chuckled a bit.
"Then you're nothing but a ghost!!" Said Tifa in fear.
"No.....Ghosts are dead, I am very much alive." Sephiroth replied with a smirk on his face. "Allow me to explain, after all it is a simple process, I have the cells of Jenova, which are considered as Ancient's cells, Ancients' DNA is very different than human's, and Jenova's DNA is even more different, with the simple contact with the Lifestream, I may regenerate at will, but it takes a little while, when you used Omnislash against me, my whole body was decomposed, but I fell deep in the abyss of the Lifestream. When my body was fully regenerated, I woke up in a destroyed cavern, having my body drifting on the Lifestream, but during my regeneration, I have found quite a few...how shall I say this...comrades." As he said this, about 30 men were surrounding Cloud and his friends.
"I have brought them back to life by casting Revive on the Lifestream, I could feel all these souls somehow, it was just surprising that my idea of reviving them actually worked, they now see me as their saviors, and are ready to give up their lives for me. One thing I also was happy to find out is that....the Black Materia is still in my body." Sephiroth started laughing like a maniac as he placed his hand on his chest which started emmiting a black glow.
Everyone gasped in fear as they realized that Sephiroth was able to cast Meteore once again at any time.
"Also...I am not the only one to be brought back to life...." Said Sephiroth with a smirk on his face. "You see....that girl too is back to life, she had to die in order to cast Holy, it was a mistake to kill her, but now that she is back to life, I can cast Meteore and get rid of all humans to leave the planet to Mother."
Cloud and the others realized Sephiroth was talking about Aeris. Even though Sephiroth was alive and well, and they were surrounded, hearing that Aeris was alive made them all smile.
Sephiroth stared at them with an evil smile, he was enjoying his revenge on them, they were named Heros for killing him, but he wasn't dead, they didn't deserve this title.
"Sephiroth....why are you doing all of this?" Vincent asked.
"For my mother, the one who is supposed to be ruling this planet, humans are a virus to the Planet, they spread from areas to areas, drain all its energy, sucking up on all the Mako energy. Not realizing they are threatning pure destruction to its fullest by doing so....I am the cure of this planet, the son of Jenova, the only true savior and ruler of this planet. While I was in the temple of Ancient I have learned a lot about Meteore, it was the only was to re-create the planet.
Imagine a little....I will cast Meteore, and re-create the world, make it a better place. I will find Aeris, she shall be my wife, and the race of Ancients shall be brought back to life, it will be wonderful." Sephiroth replied and at the same time revealed his plan, he stared at them all, he always had this smirk on his face.
"Fool!! Your mother isn't Jenova, her name is Lucrecia, Jenova is nothing but an organism, a few of the cells were injected in your body." Shouted out Vincent, outraged by Sephiroth's attitude, Vincent loved Lucrecia, and deeply regretted that she had to have her son forgetting her completely.
"Pffff....nonsense, my mother is Jenova and non other, now....DIE!" Sephiroth replied as he casted Shadow Flare on Vincent, causing great deal of damage, the shadow attack put Vincent to the ground, unconscious. Sephiroth's magic attack was now greater than before, which surprised everyone.
After everyone checked on Vincent, they turned back to the cliff where Sephiroth was, all of his mercenaries were there, but he wasn't, in the blink of an eye, his body disapeared.
Red XIII turned around and saw Sephiroth standing behind Cid with his Masamune.
"CIIIIIIIIIIIIIID!!!!!!!!! HE'S BEHIND YOU!!!!!!!" Red XIII shouted out.
Cid turned around to see the Silver-haired, six foot one man, considered as the most dangerous person the planet has even seen, standing right behind him, holding his seven foot long, deadly Masamune, before he could even react, he had the long blade thrusted through his chest, the blade went in and came out of his back. The others watched the scene with horror.
Sephiroth smirked a bit, but his smile turned into a serious attitude as Cloud charged at him with the Ultima Weapon, trying to slash Sephiroth veritcally, Sephiroth riposted with an horizontal attack, not only blocking, but also pushing Cloud away. No doubt about it, Sephiroth was stronger than ever before, stronger than Cloud.
As Sephiroth was going to thrust the Masamune through Cloud's throat, a voice shouted out:
"SEPHIROTH!! STOP THIS!!!!"
Everyone turned to the voice and saw no one else but the only true Ancient, Aeris, standing on the cliff where Sephiroth was.
Sephiroth turned his attention back to Cloud and said: "I'll finish you off later, I have important buisness at hand, and it cannot wait." He laughed a bit at the defeated Cloud, and his body suddenly completely faded to reapear right in front of Aeris who had her face hidden under a coat, he took off the coat and stared at her face.
"Back from the dead...well I thought it would be a problem, but I have other plans now, you shall be my wife, together we will bring our lost Ancestors, and the race of Ancients shall be back as rulers of this planet, I am the only Ancient warrior, our race had the power of doing anything they wanted but unfortunetly they couldn't use violence. Well....it is time for us to change the world." He said to her with a smile, Sephiroth had his mind set on the goal of changing the world before the casting of Meteore, but he always had feelings for Aeris, unfortunetly he had to kill her thinking that if she was alive it would be a major threat to the execution to his plan. He placed his hand covered by his black gloves on her face, holding her tight so she wouldn't try to escape and he started making his leave.
Aeris followed his steps in fear, if going with him was the only way to save her friends she hasn't seen since she had died. She wanted to talk to them, share stories, and be back with them.
But she didn't really have that much of a choice. The other look at the both of them leaving, as Cloud desperatly tried to save her, one of Sephiroth's soldier kicked him away.
Tifa got up and tried to cheer up everyone and fight to save Aeris. Everyone got up and shot, slash, thrusted their ways through their ennemies while Tifa was healing Cid, after a while, they had killed all of Sephiroth's soldier, but it was too late. Sephiroth was gone, and so was Aeris.
-End of Chapter 1.
Author's Note: First off, I'd like to thank each and everyone of you to "waste" your time on this fic, this is my first fic about FF VII, I liked FF VII so much that I still can't forgive myself for actually finishing the game, a few of my friends could confirm that I am a FF Freak, I have a 6 foot one statue of Sephiroth which I "worship" everyday. I would like all those who read to plase review the fic, just to see how you feel about it, I hate wasting my time, and if I get too many bad reviews...then I'll....still write Chapter 2 ^^; but I still want you all to be honest about it or else I'll never get better, thank you.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of this fic's content, this fic is based on the 1997 RPG on Playstation from Squaresoft called "Final Fantasy VII", so to make this brief, I own this scenario, but do not own any of the characters or places or even everything else in it.
Chapter 1: R ising from his ashes.
The blond, spiky-haired man called Cloud, ex-SOLDIER and AVALANCHE mercenary who, with the help of his friends, killed Sephiroth and saved the planet from Meteore with the help of Aeris. Now everything was over, the Shin-Ra, inc. was destroyed by Meteore, and the planet was now ruled by the only executive from Shin-Ra, inc., the Head of the Urban Development, and the one who was controlling Cait Sith, Reeve, the one chosen by the people to rule the Planet.
As Cid was making repairs on the Highwind with the help of his three aprentices, Cloud, Barret, Tifa, Yuffie, Red XIII and Vincent were standing on a high cliff, the Highwind standing behind them, they were staring at a destroyed world.
"We may now start a new era." Said Vincent as he stared with them to the destroyed world, as the Sun was descending to leave the planet to the moon.
"Yes, and plenty of new Materias to be found by us!" Said Yuffie with a smile on her face as she jumped up and down.
Cloud sighed a bit to Yuffie's reaction, he had more important things to worry about than Materias. As he was thinking about Aeris, a man approached them, he was mounting a Chocobo, and had a letter with him.
"I am looking for AVALANCHE and the team who helped save the Earth." Said the man as he stared at all of them.
Barret turned to him and had his Last Score, which was his ultimate weapon attached to his arm to replace his lost hand. He replied "What do you want?".
"I have a letter from His Exellency Reeve for them." Replied the man as he hopped off the Chocobo and took the letter out of his backpack.
Barret waslked up to him and took the letter, as he did so, the man hopped back on the Chocobo and headed back to the Midgar Castle which now replaced the Shin-Ra building, of course it was just built, and was not quite finished.
Barret opened the letter and started reading to the others who all turned to him, awaiting to know what the letter said.
"Dear friends,
This is Reeve, as you may know, I was the one controlling Cait Sith, I have heard stories in my youth, and fairy tales, but never have I experienced one as great as the one I have experienced with you.
As new President of the Planet, I have now decided as my first action to invite all of you to the castle and receive the "Hero's Crown". I think you all deserve it, without you we would be all dead. Please do come, the Ceremony will be on January the first.
Good bye my dear friends, I cannot wait to see you again." Read Barret, done readong, he placed the letter back in his pocket and walked to Cid.
"When is the Highwind ready?" He asked to Cid.
"Well....you gotta wait a bit, It's not just a mere toy and it takes time to repair it, it'll take me about a day or so." Replied Cid as he was repairing the left engine.
_____The next Day_____
Cloud opened his eyes to see the shiny sun rising from the seas to illuminate all of the planet.
Cid was sleeping next to his toolbox along with his three aprentices, all sleeping on the Highwind, they had been working like crazy to be on time for the Ceremony which was tomorrow.
Along with Cloud, Tifa was now awaken, soon to be followed by Yuffie, Red XIII and Barret.
Over them was standing Vincent, the others looked at him, wondering if he ever slept. He turned around and walked to them.
Barret stood up and walked to Cid, he grabbed him and started shaking him to wake him up, Barret wasn't such a delicate person, and Cid wasn't too pleased with the way Barret woke him up, considering he had worked all day long.
"Arrrr...why is it that I must be treated like this, especially after doing all of you a great favor by repairing the Highwind!" He said angrily.
"Calm down." Said Cloud as he stood up with Tifa and the others.
They all walked in the Highwind and took off to fly toward Midgar. After a few minutes of traveling, they were finally above Midgar, all were amazed how much it looked better now that the Shin-Ra, inc. Building was gone. They saw the castle being constructed instead of the building, it had a landing spot for airships just like the one in Junon. They landed the Highwind on it and hopped off. A man walked to them and lead them to the Main Room of the Castle, where man people from the Planet where gathered. All were wearing nice dresses and suits, unfortunetly Cloud and his friends did not prepared for the Ceremony, but they still had one day left, and might be able to find something. The man lead them to a few floors above where their rooms were waiting. Rooms....it looked more like a suit for each. Tifa and Cloud shared the same room, Vincent and Yuffie had another one for them, and Red XIII, Barret and Cid had another room, Cid's apprentices stayed in the Highwind.
"Do you miss her?" Asked Tifa to Cloud as she was changing.
"Of course I do, we all do, don't we?" Said Cloud as he was brushing his teeth, wearing only his boxers.
"I have never asked you this before, but.....did you love her?" Said Tifa in an hesitating voice.
Cloud, done brushing his teeth and cleaning his mouth, headed for his bed and tried to avoid answering the question.
Tifa looked at him and understood his reaction, but it did not clarify everything, maybe he just didn't want to talk about it, maybe he doesn't love her, he just adored her as a friend.
"Good night Tifa." Said Cloud as he turned off his light.
"Good night Cloud." Relied Tifa as she turned off her light. She hugged her second pillow tightly as she rested her head on the first one, she had tears coming out of her eyes, she was crazy about Cloud, she liked Aeris as a friend, but also saw her a rival. Tifa had been with Cloud all her life, but she didn't want to admit her feelings until she was sure of Cloud's feelings.
_____The next Day_____
A knocking could be heard on Cloud and Tifa's doors, they both woke up and walked to the door opening it. They found Barret standing in front of the door. He looked at the both of them and said with a smile:
"So....did the two love birds sleep well in this classy suite?"
Tifa was blushing to this comment, but Cloud remained with no emotion showed on his face.
Barret saw that none of them would replied so he kept going.
"Well....get ready, we have some shopping to do."
They both nodded and after a while were dressed up and ready to shop in the Sector 6, where Wall Market was. After a few hours, everyone was ready, it took them a long time to find something at Barret's size.
They all headed back to the caste, by the time they got back, it was almost time for the Ceremony, they rushed back to their rooms and started changing. All men were wearing Tuxedo, Tifa was wearing a long red dress, which was cut sideways, Yuffies, was wearing the same one, only hers was green. They all met in the Ceremony room, along with many people, as they made their way in, people saluted then, gave them their cards, proposed to have them starring in a few movies, and such. At 9 PM, Reeve made his way to the throne where a microphone was, he saulted everyone and started his speech.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for being present to this memorable event, we are here to honor the planet's new Heros, they have deserved this title through hard work, through utting their lives on the line for humanity's sake." He said with a smile on his face as he turned to one of his servant who was holding a larb treasure chest which he placed on the floor and opened, he handed a golden crown with a red jewel at its center. He took one and held it up in the air.
"This is the only sign of courage a human can wear on his forehead, by wearing this "Hero's Crown" they are considered the Planet's defendant, they are considered TRUE HEROS. And now, I would like everyone, to welcome our Heros, as they make their way to the throne."
Cloud and his friends started making their way to Reeve, as everybody was clapping and cheering for them.
But on the Balcony, in the middle of the people was standing a man, who stared at the scene.
It was and outrage to him to have these people rewarded for what they had done, He was standing in a black and white tuxedo, he stood at a six foot one, and had long strands of silver hair. His shiny green Mako eyes stared at the scene with anger, as his left fist was tightening in anger while the right hand was holding a cup of champaign. He had been defeated in the past, and was supposedly dead, his name is Sephiroth, a name that still stands strong as a Leviathan, even though his past was sealed by the Shin-Ra, inc.
"Congratulations....Cloud, but I wouldn't rest so easy if I were you." Said Sephiroth to himself.
As Cloud was receiving his Hero's Crown, Sephiroth grabbed one of the spectators from the Balcony and threw him down to the Throne.
Everyone gasped in fear to the scene they just saw, as everyone were turning their attention to the dead person, Sephiroth took his leave. Reeve asked the Medical Staff to take care of him, and sent the soldiers to search around. He tried to keep the Ceremony underway, but Cloud and the others were not paying attention to it no more.
"I wonder who did this..." Said Tifa as she held onto Cloud's right arm in fear.
"Judging from how far the Balcony is, he must have been thrown by someone extremely strong, maybe even stronger than Barret himself." Said Vincent as he remained unchanged and kept his cold calm.
"That's what I was thinking, but why would someone do something like that?" Said Cloud as he looked around the scene as he held his Hero's Crown tightly.
"We must continue with the Ceremony, we shall find out soon enough." Said Reeve in a calm voice, trying to get their attention back to the Ceremony.
After a while, everyone had their Hero's Crown on them, and everyone applauded, they also were counting on them in case something happened. After the ceremony, Reeve lead them to his meeting room where they all sat down, and started thinking.
"We have killed every powerful evil person in this world, we even destroyed a few WEAPONS, so why is it that there is someone left who is extremely strong, and who apparently is not a monster?!" Said Reeve as he slammed his fists on the golden table.
Cloud was looking around the unfinished room, but his attention turned to another Hero's Crown, everyone had theirs, so why was it that another Hero's Crown was there, he turned to Reeve and asked him.
"Why do you have another Hero's Crown?"
Everyone turned their attention to the Hero's Crown and were asking themselves the same thing.
Reeve turned to Cloud and replied: "For Aeris of course, would you be kind enough to go visit her and give her this Crown for me?"
"We'll do that for sure." Said Barret to Reeve.
Cloud took the Crown and wrapped it around a tissue and placed it in his bag, he placed the bag on his back.
"Where are you going?" Reeve asked.
"To see her, she should get it the same day we did, Cid....I need you to get the Highwind ready."
Cid nodded as he got up and rushed to the Highwind, eveyone else followed him.
Reeve placed his hand on Cloud's shoulder and said:
"Please....give my regards to Aeris, she was a true Hero too."
Cloud nodded with a faint smile, and rushed to the Highwind too. Everyone was waiting for him, he hopped in and they took off to the Lost City.
____In the Lost City____
When they all arrived and hopped off, they looked around to see that the city remained unchanged. They headed straight for the mysterious lake were Aeris' body was.
They all tried to look deep in the bottom of the clear lake, but were unable to perceive it, the lake was really deep and it was maybe impossible for them to see it, they took the Crown out of the bag, and all stepped in the lake, they all went on their knees, behind them were the shadow staring at them, this shadow was slightly different than Sephiroth's, it stared at the scene with a smile on its face. As they placed the Crown above the lake, and all said:
"Aeris, what you have done for the world makes you a bigger Hero than all of us, you have sacrificed your life in order to cast Holy, we will miss you always."
Cloud then let go of the Crown which was now sinking to the bottome of the lake, where Aeris' body was. Cloud and a few of the others had tears rolling down their cheeks, as they all sighed a bit, but Vincent's attention was elsewhere, he could feel something, or someone watching them, Vincent's instincts were as powerful as animal's, and after searching a while he could see the shadow. He tried not to show it, but he had his hand placed on his handgun just in case something was to happen.
Barret noticed Vincent's attitude, and walked to him.
"What's wrong, Vincent?" He asked as he was trying to wipe out a few tears, he didn't want others to see him crying, it made him look weak in his opinion.
"Someone is watching us..." Replied Vincent in a serious tone.
"Where?!" Barret asked as he held his right arm, which was his only weapon beside his massive power.
"Quiet...I don't think we're in danger, but it's on my right." Vincent responded in a whisper.
Barret turned to Vincent's right side to notice the shadow, it looked an aweful lot like....
"AERIS!!!!!" Barret shouted out loud, making everyone turn to Barret.
As everyone was turning around, the shadow slowly disapeared.
"Aeris??? Whatddya mean Aeris?" Said Cid as he lighted up a cigarette.
"I swear it was Aeris, she was on that cliff, I swear, even Vincent saw her." Replied Barret with his eyes widened, he looked at the others, trying to convince them he was telling the truth.
"I didn't say it was Aeris, but there surely was something up there." Vincent replied as he leaned against a large rock and closed his eyes.
Red XIII started smelling the air trying to find someone.
"I know how Aeris smells, and I can't find her, and my odorat is unbeatable." Said Red XIII to the others.
Cloud walked to Barret and placed his right hand on his shoulder.
"Let's go Barret, we'll find out what it was eventually." He said in a recomforting voice.
They all nodded and walked back to the airship, but to their big surprise, the airship was completely destroyed, on the right side was written "I am back", it seemed to have been written with the use of a blade, out of the letters floodded out kerosin.
They all gasped in fear, and all had the flashback of the man who was killed during the ceremony, only someone who was outraged by this event would kill someone, it could be non-other than Sephiroth himself!
"S......S......Sephiroth!" Cloud studdered as he stared with fear at the letters.
"Yes...indeed I am back, even more powerful than ever, they call you Heros, but you couldn't even finish me off." Said a shadow standing on a cliff way above them, the shadow was standing at 6 foot one, and was holding a seven foot long blade with him, he had long strands of silver hair, but the rest of his body was hidden in the shadows.
"That's impossible, I saw you die, I saw your body decompose in front of me!!!" Said Cloud as he had his hand on his Ultima Weapon.
"That's right....you did kill me..." Said Sephiroth as he chuckled a bit.
"Then you're nothing but a ghost!!" Said Tifa in fear.
"No.....Ghosts are dead, I am very much alive." Sephiroth replied with a smirk on his face. "Allow me to explain, after all it is a simple process, I have the cells of Jenova, which are considered as Ancient's cells, Ancients' DNA is very different than human's, and Jenova's DNA is even more different, with the simple contact with the Lifestream, I may regenerate at will, but it takes a little while, when you used Omnislash against me, my whole body was decomposed, but I fell deep in the abyss of the Lifestream. When my body was fully regenerated, I woke up in a destroyed cavern, having my body drifting on the Lifestream, but during my regeneration, I have found quite a few...how shall I say this...comrades." As he said this, about 30 men were surrounding Cloud and his friends.
"I have brought them back to life by casting Revive on the Lifestream, I could feel all these souls somehow, it was just surprising that my idea of reviving them actually worked, they now see me as their saviors, and are ready to give up their lives for me. One thing I also was happy to find out is that....the Black Materia is still in my body." Sephiroth started laughing like a maniac as he placed his hand on his chest which started emmiting a black glow.
Everyone gasped in fear as they realized that Sephiroth was able to cast Meteore once again at any time.
"Also...I am not the only one to be brought back to life...." Said Sephiroth with a smirk on his face. "You see....that girl too is back to life, she had to die in order to cast Holy, it was a mistake to kill her, but now that she is back to life, I can cast Meteore and get rid of all humans to leave the planet to Mother."
Cloud and the others realized Sephiroth was talking about Aeris. Even though Sephiroth was alive and well, and they were surrounded, hearing that Aeris was alive made them all smile.
Sephiroth stared at them with an evil smile, he was enjoying his revenge on them, they were named Heros for killing him, but he wasn't dead, they didn't deserve this title.
"Sephiroth....why are you doing all of this?" Vincent asked.
"For my mother, the one who is supposed to be ruling this planet, humans are a virus to the Planet, they spread from areas to areas, drain all its energy, sucking up on all the Mako energy. Not realizing they are threatning pure destruction to its fullest by doing so....I am the cure of this planet, the son of Jenova, the only true savior and ruler of this planet. While I was in the temple of Ancient I have learned a lot about Meteore, it was the only was to re-create the planet.
Imagine a little....I will cast Meteore, and re-create the world, make it a better place. I will find Aeris, she shall be my wife, and the race of Ancients shall be brought back to life, it will be wonderful." Sephiroth replied and at the same time revealed his plan, he stared at them all, he always had this smirk on his face.
"Fool!! Your mother isn't Jenova, her name is Lucrecia, Jenova is nothing but an organism, a few of the cells were injected in your body." Shouted out Vincent, outraged by Sephiroth's attitude, Vincent loved Lucrecia, and deeply regretted that she had to have her son forgetting her completely.
"Pffff....nonsense, my mother is Jenova and non other, now....DIE!" Sephiroth replied as he casted Shadow Flare on Vincent, causing great deal of damage, the shadow attack put Vincent to the ground, unconscious. Sephiroth's magic attack was now greater than before, which surprised everyone.
After everyone checked on Vincent, they turned back to the cliff where Sephiroth was, all of his mercenaries were there, but he wasn't, in the blink of an eye, his body disapeared.
Red XIII turned around and saw Sephiroth standing behind Cid with his Masamune.
"CIIIIIIIIIIIIIID!!!!!!!!! HE'S BEHIND YOU!!!!!!!" Red XIII shouted out.
Cid turned around to see the Silver-haired, six foot one man, considered as the most dangerous person the planet has even seen, standing right behind him, holding his seven foot long, deadly Masamune, before he could even react, he had the long blade thrusted through his chest, the blade went in and came out of his back. The others watched the scene with horror.
Sephiroth smirked a bit, but his smile turned into a serious attitude as Cloud charged at him with the Ultima Weapon, trying to slash Sephiroth veritcally, Sephiroth riposted with an horizontal attack, not only blocking, but also pushing Cloud away. No doubt about it, Sephiroth was stronger than ever before, stronger than Cloud.
As Sephiroth was going to thrust the Masamune through Cloud's throat, a voice shouted out:
"SEPHIROTH!! STOP THIS!!!!"
Everyone turned to the voice and saw no one else but the only true Ancient, Aeris, standing on the cliff where Sephiroth was.
Sephiroth turned his attention back to Cloud and said: "I'll finish you off later, I have important buisness at hand, and it cannot wait." He laughed a bit at the defeated Cloud, and his body suddenly completely faded to reapear right in front of Aeris who had her face hidden under a coat, he took off the coat and stared at her face.
"Back from the dead...well I thought it would be a problem, but I have other plans now, you shall be my wife, together we will bring our lost Ancestors, and the race of Ancients shall be back as rulers of this planet, I am the only Ancient warrior, our race had the power of doing anything they wanted but unfortunetly they couldn't use violence. Well....it is time for us to change the world." He said to her with a smile, Sephiroth had his mind set on the goal of changing the world before the casting of Meteore, but he always had feelings for Aeris, unfortunetly he had to kill her thinking that if she was alive it would be a major threat to the execution to his plan. He placed his hand covered by his black gloves on her face, holding her tight so she wouldn't try to escape and he started making his leave.
Aeris followed his steps in fear, if going with him was the only way to save her friends she hasn't seen since she had died. She wanted to talk to them, share stories, and be back with them.
But she didn't really have that much of a choice. The other look at the both of them leaving, as Cloud desperatly tried to save her, one of Sephiroth's soldier kicked him away.
Tifa got up and tried to cheer up everyone and fight to save Aeris. Everyone got up and shot, slash, thrusted their ways through their ennemies while Tifa was healing Cid, after a while, they had killed all of Sephiroth's soldier, but it was too late. Sephiroth was gone, and so was Aeris.
-End of Chapter 1.
Author's Note: First off, I'd like to thank each and everyone of you to "waste" your time on this fic, this is my first fic about FF VII, I liked FF VII so much that I still can't forgive myself for actually finishing the game, a few of my friends could confirm that I am a FF Freak, I have a 6 foot one statue of Sephiroth which I "worship" everyday. I would like all those who read to plase review the fic, just to see how you feel about it, I hate wasting my time, and if I get too many bad reviews...then I'll....still write Chapter 2 ^^; but I still want you all to be honest about it or else I'll never get better, thank you.