Final Fantasy VII:
Restoration
Chapter Fifteen
The End Is Near
Sephiroth found a smirk pulling at his lips. "I have awaited this day eagerly, Cloud. It is time to settle this once and for all."
"I agree, Sephiroth," The blonde growled back. Vincent stepped forward slightly.
"Sephiroth, before you die, you must know something..."
"Sephiroth, your real mother was a scientist named Lucrecia, and regardless of what Hojo told you, he is not your father. Before your mother's wedding day, I came to see her. That is the night you were conceived." Sephiroth glared Vincent before stepping closer.
"I failed you, Sephiroth, I realize. It is time that I begin to right the wrongs I have done in my past. Unfortunately, you will have to die." Sephiroth lowered his head, and smirked.
"I am afraid that you are the one who shall die, father. I will not allow anyone to stand in the way of my plans." With that, Sephiroth charged forward, bringing his sword down on Clouds'. The two began to exchange several blows with each other.
***
Sonrei glanced around as they entered the the city of the Ancients. She glanced around herself, wanting take in every little detail. She had remembered most of it from Aeris' memories. It was even more beautiful in person, however. The four quickly made their way to a small building. This was the place... The place where Aeris had died. She quickly jumped from the chocobo and ran toward the building. So many memories flashed in her mind. She quickly pushed them aside and ran into the building where a staircase led down to a lower level. Sonrei could hear the others footsteps attempting to keep up with her quick pace as she ran.
Reeve glanced around the large city. It was breath taking. Sure, he had seen it before, but only with the robotic eyes of Cait Sith. He marveled at the crystal staircase and city. It was a weird feeling to see this place where his friend had died. Though, he didn't have time to dwell on his thoughts as he tried to keep up with Reno and Yuffie. Sonrei had disappeared from sight several minutes ago.
***
Rude and Elena both entered a small building just outside of Nibelheim. One of Hojo's labs. It was only by luck that they had stumbled upon the place. Next stop was Icicle Inn. They had gotten word that Hojo had been up there a lot recently.
"My Gods... He was cloning himself?!" Elena gasped as her eyes fell on several tanks. They were all labeled by the names of the people cloned. He had another few created ones. Two females and a male. She sighed and placed her hand on one of the glass 'tubes'. She felt sorry for the ones Hojo created himself. Especially since one was more than simply a fetus in a tank. The child had full features and was probably the equivalent of a eleven year old boy. He had short black hair, and a slender face, and a very pale complexion.
"What makes Hojo think he can play with life in such a way? He's insane," Elena hissed as she turned toward her partner who was also examining the figures in the tanks.
"We've wasted enough time. It's time to destroy these." With that, Rude stepped back and pulled a small explosive from a briefcase and sat it down on a table, setting the timer.
"Well, this place'll be destroyed in about ten minutes."
"Let's get out of here, Rude." With that, the two quickly made thei way back to the Highwind where Nanaki and Cid were waiting.
"Did you destroy it?" The beast creature questioned as the group made their way into the cockpit.
"Well, it will be in eight minutes," Elena replied.
***
Sephiroth and Cloud had engaged fully in battle now. Each would cast their most powerful spell or Cure once in a while, but mostly stuck with their swords. Sephiroth thrust forward, slicing Cloud's arm slightly. The blonde ignored the pain and kept up with delivering attacks of his own. Cloud resorted his his attack, Cross-Slash. It barely damaged Sephiroth, however.
Tifa ran forward next, throwing a serious of punches and kicks to the man. Only few actually hit, but at least she did some damage. Barret was next, firing his gun arm repeatedly at Sephiroth. Vincent was next. He quickly fired Death Penalty, only managing to nick Sephiroth's leg. Sephiroth was the next to attack. He charged forward, striking Vincent across the chest. The man stumbled back a little as he watched a thin stream of blood drip from the wound. It wasn't deep... And he had received worse in his time.
Aeris stood at a safe distance from the battle, watching. An evil glint in her eye. She frowned slightly as she watched the attack. There was no way they could win. Sephiroth had even defeated Futago! His own clone!
***
Reno sighed in relief as he finally saw Sonrei. She stood in front of a small room, just staring. She removed her glasses quickly and allowed her gaze to fall on the room again. "What's wrong, Sonrei?" He asked as the others finally finished their trip down the stairs, both were panting.
"T-This is where Aeris died... To save the planet. Her body is still in the water below." Sonrei fixed her gaze on the others and smiled slightly.
"Stay here... I'll be back in a second." With that, she jumped across the small steps to the room and looked around some more. All eyes were intently fixed on her.
***
Sephiroth lowered his head and screamed out, "Comet Three!" With that, anyone who was in front of the town's entrance ran for fear of being killed by the spell. Sephiroth laughed evilly and began to run toward the entrance. Cloud cursed angrily and followed, along with the rest of his friends and Aeris.
Sephiroth growled as Cloud jumped at him, slicing his back deeply. The man stumbled forward a bit, but slashed forward with his sword, narrowly missing Cloud's neck. The two furiously exchanged attacks. Sephiroth gasped as he felt a bullet enter his side. He turned to see Vincent holding the Death Penalty. He was too close to die now! He had to win!
Next, Cloud charged forward, using Omni-Slash on his opponent. Blood covered Sephiroth's face as he stumbled back. He looked down at his new wounds. He had to get to the Lifestream. With that, the silver haired man took off running again. He was so close, but Cloud once again jumped at him again. Sephiroth parried the blow quickly. The two exchanged attacks once again.
"Tell me, Cloud, where are your other friends hiding?" He screamed angrily.
"We are the only ones here! The others have their own missions to accomplish."
"You sent that madman's creation to summon Holy, didn't you?"
"Aeris will stop her, correct?" Sephiroth glared toward the young woman. She nodded. Cloud growled angrily and charged toward Sephiroth, bringing his sword down hard on the other mans'. Sephiroth slashed forward, cutting Cloud's leg. The former SOLDIER stumbled back a bit, but continued his attack.
Meanwhile, Aeris dropped to her knees and began to pray. She would stop Sonrei from summoning Holy. She had to.
Tifa rushed forward, kicking Sephiroth several times, then quickly moved back with the rest of the group. Barret angrily fired his gun arm again, this time suceeding in hitting Sephiroth in the arm. The man growled in pain and turned toward Aeris.
"Aeris! Take care of the other three!" Aeris nodded and started praying again. Tifa yelped as the Lifestream rushed forth from the ground and wrapped itself around her, covering her entire body, she turned to her friends to see they were in a similiar position. Barret began trying to shoot himself out from the liquid, as Vincent stood calmly. Tifa tried to cry out as she found that she couldn't breathe as the liquid began to cover her face.
***
Sonrei began to pray, her eyes closed as tight as she could manage. She had to summon Holy. The world depended upon it. She had to. There weren't any choices in the matter. She attempted to calm herself as she continued.
Reno stared at her. He felt uneasy about this whole thing. Was something wrong? Sonrei looked troubled as she continued to kneel, her head bowed slightly. Soon, she shook her head, and allowed her body to slump forward, her hands placed on the ground. Reno quickly ran toward her.
"Sonrei, what's wrong? Did something happen?"
"Something's interferring... I can't summon Holy. The clone of Aeris... She's turning the planet against me. She's making it believe we're the cause of it's pain. If she doesn't die..." Sonrei's head shot up, her glowing Mako eyes locking on Reno's.
"Reno, leave. Please... I, I have to do something." Reno sighed and nodded. He turned and slowly left. With that, the girl returned to her kneeling position, her eyes closed and mummbling something under her breath.
***
Cloud watched his friends as they struggled to breath. "Tifa!" He screamed as the girl desperately tried to breathe, trying to free herself of the lifestream.
Cloud...
Cloud jumped and looked around. "Sonrei?" He called.
Cloud, I'm speaking to you with telepathy.
...I can't call forth Holy unless you kill Aeris. She is interferring with my actions. She has turned the Planet against me. I can't do anything until you kill her...
"Kill Aeris....?"
Cloud, it is for the good of the Planet. You know that isn't her anyway... She is just a creation of Hojo's. She doesn't care for you like Aeris did, nor does she care what happens to this planet. Kill her, please. You have to save your friends... They're suffering, and they're dying.
Cloud quickly pulled himself out of his trance and turned back toward Sephiroth who crawled toward the Lifestream, only pausing ocassionally to cough blood up. "A-Aeris... Help..." He choked. The girl nodded. The Lifestream poured forth and began to envolope the the warrior. His body quickly disappeared into the Lifestream.
Cloud walked toward the girl who was in a deep trance as she mumbled incorehently. He raised his sword up above her neck and watched. It seemed like so much like the distant memories of her death. She looked so peaceful there. Aeris turned up and glared darkly toward him.
"Are you going to kill me like you attempted back at the Ancient City?" She asked as she reached for her staff. She quickly pounced at him, striking Cloud across the face. He stumbled back, and spit some blood out. "You're not the Aeris I once knew. The Aeris I knew would never have harmed this Planet. She sacrificed herself for the Planet." Cloud growled and glanced back toward his friends. Vincent kneeled to the ground slightly, Tifa stood motionless with her eyes close, and Barret, in his fights to escape had grown sluggish and slow. Soon, he collapsed.
Cloud growled and slashed forward with his sword, slashing the girl across the stomach. Aeris stared, in shock. "I have to kill you," He stated angrily as he thrust forward with his sword, impaling the girl on it. Her face contorted in pain as she stared at him. She pushed herself off the sword and fell back.
Tifa, Barret and Vincent all fell to the ground, all three coughing and gasping for precious air. "Damn man, wha'took ya so long," Barret wheezed. Cloud shrugged. All four heads, however, turned to the form of Sephiroth rising from the water. Angel wings had sprouted from his back, his clothing had been destroyed so only Lifestream covered him, and his wounds had been healed.
"Now you die!" He screamed as he held his hand up, the Black Materia resting in his hand. His eyes closed and his face lowered. Energy poured from the small crystal as he summoned Meteor. What was left of the town was destroyed by the outburst, and the four were thrown back. It was an awesome sight to see. Cloud covered his eyes as the light soon became unbareable.
"Cloud!" Tifa screamed as she buried her head in her hands as the light continued on. Cloud quickly wrapped an arm around her. Soon, however, the light faded into darkness once again. Sephiroth stared angrily ahead. "It is time you accept your fate, Cloud Strife. It is time for you and this Planet to die."
"And this," The man gestured to toward the large Meteor in the sky. "Is going to be your death," He finished darkly. Tifa shook her head, as tears showered from her face.
"You're insane! You won't win!" She screamed angrily. Sephiroth's eyes fixed upon hers. "I will." Tifa growled angrily and rushed forward, throwing a series of punches and kicks. Sephiroth laughed and quickly knocked her away. Tifa growled as she pushed herself from the ruins of a building, but she almost instantly collapsed again.
"Tifa!" Cloud called, no answer. Barret quickly made his way over to her, and knelt beside her. "She's okay! Jes' passed out!" The blonde sighed in relief, but turned his attention to Sephiroth once again. He charged at the man, using Omni-Slash once again. Sephiroth laughed as a stream of blood dripped from a wound on his cheek.
"That attack is far too weak to be a threat to me now," Sephiroth hissed as he wiped the blood away. Vincent was the next to attack. He fired several shot from the Death Penalty. Each barely even injuring Sephiroth. The man laughed insanely.
"You cannot harm me, don't you see? I am far too strong for you! I am the closest thing there is to a God on this planet!" Barret quickly fired his weapon until he had exhuasted his bullet supply. He cursed angrily as he watched Sephiroth. He was still uninjured. Cloud screamed in anger as he rushed toward Sephiroth and repeatedly slashed at him, suceeding in cutting a deep cut across his chest. Sephiroth stared at the wound, in shock.
"It is time I quit playing with all of you," He mummbled and closed his eyes.
"Super Nova!" Cloud yelled to the others. Everyone began to take cover as the the summon began. Cloud fell to the ground as the flares of the Sun crashed on all of them. Was this it? Would they all die? They all almost died the last time he used the summon. Cloud groaned in agony as he finally allowed the peaceful darkness surround him. Sephiroth glared at all of the fallen fighters as the summon finally ended. He laughed evilly. He had won!
Vincent coughed blood up as he weakly held the Death Penalty up. He had one bullet left, he couldn't fail. He began to crawl toward the Lifestream. He was lucky enough to have been knocked closer to it. The blast had done quite a bit of damage. He knew he had at least four broken rips, his leg had been broken at the knee and he was sure he had suffered several other internal injuries. Well, they did have a mastered Restore with them, so it would be able to heal most of the injuries. He forced himself to pull the last bullet from his weapon. He gritted his teeth against pain as he reached out with his arm and dipped the bullet in the Lifestream. After that, he quickly put the bullet back in.
Vincent quickly spit some more blood out and held the Death Penalty up with his robotic arm as the weapon shook violently from the Lifestream. "S-Sephiroth!" The man looked toward him, a shocked expression on his face. "H-How can this be? You should all be dead!"
"Y-You have lost, Son..." With that, he fired. The bullet sped toward Sephiroth, the gun exploded, sending Vincent flying back. He landed against some rumble from what was once a building. He weakly glanced up to see Sephiroth standing there, blood spilling from his mouth. The bullet had blown a hole through his chest and stomach. With that, the silver haired man slowly sunk back into the green liquid, dying.
Vincent grabbed his robotic arm in pain. It had been destroyed when the Death Penalty exploded. He watched as Cloud stumbled over to him. A large gash ran the length of the boy's face and crimson blood dripped freely from it. "Good work, Vincent," He said as he equipped a Restore and All in his armor. Soon the four were restored to full health. Tifa was the first to rise up.
"Vincent! Are you okay?!"
"Yes, I'm fine," He replied as he stood. He held the what was left of his left arm, it still ached slightly, but it was getting better... Or at least more bareable.
***
Sonrei glanced up quickly and ran out of the small building. She slowly extended her hand as a small, white crystal floated from the water and into her waiting hand. "Let's get outta here! We have to hurry and use this!" With that, the girl began running the length of the staircase, everyone followed her. Once out, the four quickly mounted their chocobos and left.
***
Cid stared up at the sky, a tired look spread across his face. "Does this mean they failed?" Asked Elena, who sat close to Rude. Cid shook his head slightly and lowered his gaze to the ground. Truth was, he didn't know. If they had, then they were all dead.
"We just have to wait and see," He replied quietly.
"Are you sure you destroyed all of the labs?"
"Yeah, we're sure. But we still didn't find Hojo," Elena quietly said.
"Wonder where he is?"
***
It was almost sunset by the time the group had finally gotten out of the Ancient City. Sonrei quickly held Holy up to the sky and closed her eyes. She prayed silently as a soft light rose from the crystal. Everyone stared at the almost hypnotic light as it rose to the sky to destroy Meteor. "Wow..." Yuffie mumbled under her breath. Soon, however, the light grew almost blinding, causing everyone to turn their heads away. It ended with an explosion in the sky as it destroyed the Meteor. It blew all of them back slightly. Soon, it the Meteor had been destroyed. "We did it!" Yuffie said joyfully.
"Hmm, the Planet may not be in danger of Meteor anymore, but there is still Hojo. We shouldn't celebrate just yet," Sonrei commented flately as she glanced toward the girl. Reeve nodded.
"You're right. We better get back to Cloud and the others," He said in agreement.
"I'm going to go see how Cid's doing. If they're finished, then they can come and get us." With that, Reeve walked off to contact Cid on the PHS.
***
Cid quickly grabbed the PHS that he always had on him and held it up it his ear. "Hello, Cid. We've destroyed Meteor, but we think it's best that we go back to Mideel. Can you come and get us? We really don't want to waste the time riding back on Chocobo."
"Yeah, I'll be there in an hour," The old Pilot replied as he placed the PHS back in his pocket and left his room and headed toward the cockpit.
***
Everyone's attention turned toward the Lifestream once again as Hojo swooped down. Putruding from his back were devil-like wings. He quickly grabbed Sephiroth who was now almost completely covered in blood. "It is time to end this, Avalanche. I will give you tonight to enjoy the final hours of your life. You will know where to find me tomorrow." After that, Hojo quickly flew off. Cloud turned to the others, a puzzled look on his face.
"That can't be just a clone, guys. It's too strong. I mean, didn't you notice that when we fought Sephiroth, how much weaker he was than when we fought him before?"
"Cloud is right," Vincent began. "The Hojo we fought so long ago was the clone..."
"But, he was so strong! If that was a clone, then that means..." Tifa trailed off.
"This is the real battle," Vincent solemnly said.
Restoration
Chapter Fifteen
The End Is Near
Sephiroth found a smirk pulling at his lips. "I have awaited this day eagerly, Cloud. It is time to settle this once and for all."
"I agree, Sephiroth," The blonde growled back. Vincent stepped forward slightly.
"Sephiroth, before you die, you must know something..."
"Sephiroth, your real mother was a scientist named Lucrecia, and regardless of what Hojo told you, he is not your father. Before your mother's wedding day, I came to see her. That is the night you were conceived." Sephiroth glared Vincent before stepping closer.
"I failed you, Sephiroth, I realize. It is time that I begin to right the wrongs I have done in my past. Unfortunately, you will have to die." Sephiroth lowered his head, and smirked.
"I am afraid that you are the one who shall die, father. I will not allow anyone to stand in the way of my plans." With that, Sephiroth charged forward, bringing his sword down on Clouds'. The two began to exchange several blows with each other.
***
Sonrei glanced around as they entered the the city of the Ancients. She glanced around herself, wanting take in every little detail. She had remembered most of it from Aeris' memories. It was even more beautiful in person, however. The four quickly made their way to a small building. This was the place... The place where Aeris had died. She quickly jumped from the chocobo and ran toward the building. So many memories flashed in her mind. She quickly pushed them aside and ran into the building where a staircase led down to a lower level. Sonrei could hear the others footsteps attempting to keep up with her quick pace as she ran.
Reeve glanced around the large city. It was breath taking. Sure, he had seen it before, but only with the robotic eyes of Cait Sith. He marveled at the crystal staircase and city. It was a weird feeling to see this place where his friend had died. Though, he didn't have time to dwell on his thoughts as he tried to keep up with Reno and Yuffie. Sonrei had disappeared from sight several minutes ago.
***
Rude and Elena both entered a small building just outside of Nibelheim. One of Hojo's labs. It was only by luck that they had stumbled upon the place. Next stop was Icicle Inn. They had gotten word that Hojo had been up there a lot recently.
"My Gods... He was cloning himself?!" Elena gasped as her eyes fell on several tanks. They were all labeled by the names of the people cloned. He had another few created ones. Two females and a male. She sighed and placed her hand on one of the glass 'tubes'. She felt sorry for the ones Hojo created himself. Especially since one was more than simply a fetus in a tank. The child had full features and was probably the equivalent of a eleven year old boy. He had short black hair, and a slender face, and a very pale complexion.
"What makes Hojo think he can play with life in such a way? He's insane," Elena hissed as she turned toward her partner who was also examining the figures in the tanks.
"We've wasted enough time. It's time to destroy these." With that, Rude stepped back and pulled a small explosive from a briefcase and sat it down on a table, setting the timer.
"Well, this place'll be destroyed in about ten minutes."
"Let's get out of here, Rude." With that, the two quickly made thei way back to the Highwind where Nanaki and Cid were waiting.
"Did you destroy it?" The beast creature questioned as the group made their way into the cockpit.
"Well, it will be in eight minutes," Elena replied.
***
Sephiroth and Cloud had engaged fully in battle now. Each would cast their most powerful spell or Cure once in a while, but mostly stuck with their swords. Sephiroth thrust forward, slicing Cloud's arm slightly. The blonde ignored the pain and kept up with delivering attacks of his own. Cloud resorted his his attack, Cross-Slash. It barely damaged Sephiroth, however.
Tifa ran forward next, throwing a serious of punches and kicks to the man. Only few actually hit, but at least she did some damage. Barret was next, firing his gun arm repeatedly at Sephiroth. Vincent was next. He quickly fired Death Penalty, only managing to nick Sephiroth's leg. Sephiroth was the next to attack. He charged forward, striking Vincent across the chest. The man stumbled back a little as he watched a thin stream of blood drip from the wound. It wasn't deep... And he had received worse in his time.
Aeris stood at a safe distance from the battle, watching. An evil glint in her eye. She frowned slightly as she watched the attack. There was no way they could win. Sephiroth had even defeated Futago! His own clone!
***
Reno sighed in relief as he finally saw Sonrei. She stood in front of a small room, just staring. She removed her glasses quickly and allowed her gaze to fall on the room again. "What's wrong, Sonrei?" He asked as the others finally finished their trip down the stairs, both were panting.
"T-This is where Aeris died... To save the planet. Her body is still in the water below." Sonrei fixed her gaze on the others and smiled slightly.
"Stay here... I'll be back in a second." With that, she jumped across the small steps to the room and looked around some more. All eyes were intently fixed on her.
***
Sephiroth lowered his head and screamed out, "Comet Three!" With that, anyone who was in front of the town's entrance ran for fear of being killed by the spell. Sephiroth laughed evilly and began to run toward the entrance. Cloud cursed angrily and followed, along with the rest of his friends and Aeris.
Sephiroth growled as Cloud jumped at him, slicing his back deeply. The man stumbled forward a bit, but slashed forward with his sword, narrowly missing Cloud's neck. The two furiously exchanged attacks. Sephiroth gasped as he felt a bullet enter his side. He turned to see Vincent holding the Death Penalty. He was too close to die now! He had to win!
Next, Cloud charged forward, using Omni-Slash on his opponent. Blood covered Sephiroth's face as he stumbled back. He looked down at his new wounds. He had to get to the Lifestream. With that, the silver haired man took off running again. He was so close, but Cloud once again jumped at him again. Sephiroth parried the blow quickly. The two exchanged attacks once again.
"Tell me, Cloud, where are your other friends hiding?" He screamed angrily.
"We are the only ones here! The others have their own missions to accomplish."
"You sent that madman's creation to summon Holy, didn't you?"
"Aeris will stop her, correct?" Sephiroth glared toward the young woman. She nodded. Cloud growled angrily and charged toward Sephiroth, bringing his sword down hard on the other mans'. Sephiroth slashed forward, cutting Cloud's leg. The former SOLDIER stumbled back a bit, but continued his attack.
Meanwhile, Aeris dropped to her knees and began to pray. She would stop Sonrei from summoning Holy. She had to.
Tifa rushed forward, kicking Sephiroth several times, then quickly moved back with the rest of the group. Barret angrily fired his gun arm again, this time suceeding in hitting Sephiroth in the arm. The man growled in pain and turned toward Aeris.
"Aeris! Take care of the other three!" Aeris nodded and started praying again. Tifa yelped as the Lifestream rushed forth from the ground and wrapped itself around her, covering her entire body, she turned to her friends to see they were in a similiar position. Barret began trying to shoot himself out from the liquid, as Vincent stood calmly. Tifa tried to cry out as she found that she couldn't breathe as the liquid began to cover her face.
***
Sonrei began to pray, her eyes closed as tight as she could manage. She had to summon Holy. The world depended upon it. She had to. There weren't any choices in the matter. She attempted to calm herself as she continued.
Reno stared at her. He felt uneasy about this whole thing. Was something wrong? Sonrei looked troubled as she continued to kneel, her head bowed slightly. Soon, she shook her head, and allowed her body to slump forward, her hands placed on the ground. Reno quickly ran toward her.
"Sonrei, what's wrong? Did something happen?"
"Something's interferring... I can't summon Holy. The clone of Aeris... She's turning the planet against me. She's making it believe we're the cause of it's pain. If she doesn't die..." Sonrei's head shot up, her glowing Mako eyes locking on Reno's.
"Reno, leave. Please... I, I have to do something." Reno sighed and nodded. He turned and slowly left. With that, the girl returned to her kneeling position, her eyes closed and mummbling something under her breath.
***
Cloud watched his friends as they struggled to breath. "Tifa!" He screamed as the girl desperately tried to breathe, trying to free herself of the lifestream.
Cloud...
Cloud jumped and looked around. "Sonrei?" He called.
Cloud, I'm speaking to you with telepathy.
...I can't call forth Holy unless you kill Aeris. She is interferring with my actions. She has turned the Planet against me. I can't do anything until you kill her...
"Kill Aeris....?"
Cloud, it is for the good of the Planet. You know that isn't her anyway... She is just a creation of Hojo's. She doesn't care for you like Aeris did, nor does she care what happens to this planet. Kill her, please. You have to save your friends... They're suffering, and they're dying.
Cloud quickly pulled himself out of his trance and turned back toward Sephiroth who crawled toward the Lifestream, only pausing ocassionally to cough blood up. "A-Aeris... Help..." He choked. The girl nodded. The Lifestream poured forth and began to envolope the the warrior. His body quickly disappeared into the Lifestream.
Cloud walked toward the girl who was in a deep trance as she mumbled incorehently. He raised his sword up above her neck and watched. It seemed like so much like the distant memories of her death. She looked so peaceful there. Aeris turned up and glared darkly toward him.
"Are you going to kill me like you attempted back at the Ancient City?" She asked as she reached for her staff. She quickly pounced at him, striking Cloud across the face. He stumbled back, and spit some blood out. "You're not the Aeris I once knew. The Aeris I knew would never have harmed this Planet. She sacrificed herself for the Planet." Cloud growled and glanced back toward his friends. Vincent kneeled to the ground slightly, Tifa stood motionless with her eyes close, and Barret, in his fights to escape had grown sluggish and slow. Soon, he collapsed.
Cloud growled and slashed forward with his sword, slashing the girl across the stomach. Aeris stared, in shock. "I have to kill you," He stated angrily as he thrust forward with his sword, impaling the girl on it. Her face contorted in pain as she stared at him. She pushed herself off the sword and fell back.
Tifa, Barret and Vincent all fell to the ground, all three coughing and gasping for precious air. "Damn man, wha'took ya so long," Barret wheezed. Cloud shrugged. All four heads, however, turned to the form of Sephiroth rising from the water. Angel wings had sprouted from his back, his clothing had been destroyed so only Lifestream covered him, and his wounds had been healed.
"Now you die!" He screamed as he held his hand up, the Black Materia resting in his hand. His eyes closed and his face lowered. Energy poured from the small crystal as he summoned Meteor. What was left of the town was destroyed by the outburst, and the four were thrown back. It was an awesome sight to see. Cloud covered his eyes as the light soon became unbareable.
"Cloud!" Tifa screamed as she buried her head in her hands as the light continued on. Cloud quickly wrapped an arm around her. Soon, however, the light faded into darkness once again. Sephiroth stared angrily ahead. "It is time you accept your fate, Cloud Strife. It is time for you and this Planet to die."
"And this," The man gestured to toward the large Meteor in the sky. "Is going to be your death," He finished darkly. Tifa shook her head, as tears showered from her face.
"You're insane! You won't win!" She screamed angrily. Sephiroth's eyes fixed upon hers. "I will." Tifa growled angrily and rushed forward, throwing a series of punches and kicks. Sephiroth laughed and quickly knocked her away. Tifa growled as she pushed herself from the ruins of a building, but she almost instantly collapsed again.
"Tifa!" Cloud called, no answer. Barret quickly made his way over to her, and knelt beside her. "She's okay! Jes' passed out!" The blonde sighed in relief, but turned his attention to Sephiroth once again. He charged at the man, using Omni-Slash once again. Sephiroth laughed as a stream of blood dripped from a wound on his cheek.
"That attack is far too weak to be a threat to me now," Sephiroth hissed as he wiped the blood away. Vincent was the next to attack. He fired several shot from the Death Penalty. Each barely even injuring Sephiroth. The man laughed insanely.
"You cannot harm me, don't you see? I am far too strong for you! I am the closest thing there is to a God on this planet!" Barret quickly fired his weapon until he had exhuasted his bullet supply. He cursed angrily as he watched Sephiroth. He was still uninjured. Cloud screamed in anger as he rushed toward Sephiroth and repeatedly slashed at him, suceeding in cutting a deep cut across his chest. Sephiroth stared at the wound, in shock.
"It is time I quit playing with all of you," He mummbled and closed his eyes.
"Super Nova!" Cloud yelled to the others. Everyone began to take cover as the the summon began. Cloud fell to the ground as the flares of the Sun crashed on all of them. Was this it? Would they all die? They all almost died the last time he used the summon. Cloud groaned in agony as he finally allowed the peaceful darkness surround him. Sephiroth glared at all of the fallen fighters as the summon finally ended. He laughed evilly. He had won!
Vincent coughed blood up as he weakly held the Death Penalty up. He had one bullet left, he couldn't fail. He began to crawl toward the Lifestream. He was lucky enough to have been knocked closer to it. The blast had done quite a bit of damage. He knew he had at least four broken rips, his leg had been broken at the knee and he was sure he had suffered several other internal injuries. Well, they did have a mastered Restore with them, so it would be able to heal most of the injuries. He forced himself to pull the last bullet from his weapon. He gritted his teeth against pain as he reached out with his arm and dipped the bullet in the Lifestream. After that, he quickly put the bullet back in.
Vincent quickly spit some more blood out and held the Death Penalty up with his robotic arm as the weapon shook violently from the Lifestream. "S-Sephiroth!" The man looked toward him, a shocked expression on his face. "H-How can this be? You should all be dead!"
"Y-You have lost, Son..." With that, he fired. The bullet sped toward Sephiroth, the gun exploded, sending Vincent flying back. He landed against some rumble from what was once a building. He weakly glanced up to see Sephiroth standing there, blood spilling from his mouth. The bullet had blown a hole through his chest and stomach. With that, the silver haired man slowly sunk back into the green liquid, dying.
Vincent grabbed his robotic arm in pain. It had been destroyed when the Death Penalty exploded. He watched as Cloud stumbled over to him. A large gash ran the length of the boy's face and crimson blood dripped freely from it. "Good work, Vincent," He said as he equipped a Restore and All in his armor. Soon the four were restored to full health. Tifa was the first to rise up.
"Vincent! Are you okay?!"
"Yes, I'm fine," He replied as he stood. He held the what was left of his left arm, it still ached slightly, but it was getting better... Or at least more bareable.
***
Sonrei glanced up quickly and ran out of the small building. She slowly extended her hand as a small, white crystal floated from the water and into her waiting hand. "Let's get outta here! We have to hurry and use this!" With that, the girl began running the length of the staircase, everyone followed her. Once out, the four quickly mounted their chocobos and left.
***
Cid stared up at the sky, a tired look spread across his face. "Does this mean they failed?" Asked Elena, who sat close to Rude. Cid shook his head slightly and lowered his gaze to the ground. Truth was, he didn't know. If they had, then they were all dead.
"We just have to wait and see," He replied quietly.
"Are you sure you destroyed all of the labs?"
"Yeah, we're sure. But we still didn't find Hojo," Elena quietly said.
"Wonder where he is?"
***
It was almost sunset by the time the group had finally gotten out of the Ancient City. Sonrei quickly held Holy up to the sky and closed her eyes. She prayed silently as a soft light rose from the crystal. Everyone stared at the almost hypnotic light as it rose to the sky to destroy Meteor. "Wow..." Yuffie mumbled under her breath. Soon, however, the light grew almost blinding, causing everyone to turn their heads away. It ended with an explosion in the sky as it destroyed the Meteor. It blew all of them back slightly. Soon, it the Meteor had been destroyed. "We did it!" Yuffie said joyfully.
"Hmm, the Planet may not be in danger of Meteor anymore, but there is still Hojo. We shouldn't celebrate just yet," Sonrei commented flately as she glanced toward the girl. Reeve nodded.
"You're right. We better get back to Cloud and the others," He said in agreement.
"I'm going to go see how Cid's doing. If they're finished, then they can come and get us." With that, Reeve walked off to contact Cid on the PHS.
***
Cid quickly grabbed the PHS that he always had on him and held it up it his ear. "Hello, Cid. We've destroyed Meteor, but we think it's best that we go back to Mideel. Can you come and get us? We really don't want to waste the time riding back on Chocobo."
"Yeah, I'll be there in an hour," The old Pilot replied as he placed the PHS back in his pocket and left his room and headed toward the cockpit.
***
Everyone's attention turned toward the Lifestream once again as Hojo swooped down. Putruding from his back were devil-like wings. He quickly grabbed Sephiroth who was now almost completely covered in blood. "It is time to end this, Avalanche. I will give you tonight to enjoy the final hours of your life. You will know where to find me tomorrow." After that, Hojo quickly flew off. Cloud turned to the others, a puzzled look on his face.
"That can't be just a clone, guys. It's too strong. I mean, didn't you notice that when we fought Sephiroth, how much weaker he was than when we fought him before?"
"Cloud is right," Vincent began. "The Hojo we fought so long ago was the clone..."
"But, he was so strong! If that was a clone, then that means..." Tifa trailed off.
"This is the real battle," Vincent solemnly said.