Final Fantasy VII: 25 Years after the Fact

The First Confrontation

(Chapter 6)

A single guard stood in the group's way. Aeris looked on with impatience. It was nearly 3 o'clock in the morning. She had been awakened not an hour earlier by the screaming of her precious Masamune. Sephiroth was nearer than she had expected somewhere around Kalm. It had been lucky for her that her "party" had been able to all stay at The 7th Heaven rather than a hotel room. Many of her friends protested, but when she threatened to leave them behind, they grabbed their bags full of various items and followed her. They had sneaked out of The 7th Heaven through a storm cellar, and made it all the way to the gates. One single guard stood there. Aeris shook her head as they stayed out of sight. "It's Sephiroth that's come to destroy everything and they put up one guard at the gates. Sheesh," Aeris mused aloud.

"Yeah, this is Sephiroth, Aeris. And you think we can match him?" Janica whispered harshly back. She was planning on calling her daddy just as soon as they reached Kalm.

"Shh!" Aeris said as the guard suddenly looked around.

"Who's there!?" he called out.

"Dammit! Now what?" Aeris asked.

"Maybe I can help. But we'll have to move really fast after it's done," Ellie said, still hand in hand with Tomas. Aeris had already caught them kissing twice.

"After what's done?" Tomas asked. Before his question was finished, a lightening bolt shot out of nowhere, causing a small bush to catch fire. The guard was distracted enough by it that Aeris and her friends had just enough time to run like hell through the gate without being seen.

"What the heck was that?" Deus asked, looking wide-eyed at Ellie once they were a good distance away from Midgar.

"What? Like you've never seen magic before?" she asked, placing a hand on her hip.

Lucas' attention was caught.

"Magic doesn't exist." Janica said.

"Sure it does. Lucas here has it, too. Don't act so surprised." Ellie looked at Lucas.

"Lucas what?" Janica laughed.

"Ellie, in this world, we only use magic through the use of materia. And all of this world's materia has been destroyed, so no magic remains here. I remember watching tapes of your father in the battle arena and he too could call down wondrous magic without the aid of materia. You have to understand why we are all amazed." Tomas took his time, smiling at her.

Ellie looked confused though. "Then how does Lucas do it?" She looked at Lucas.

Lucas looked at Deus. "How do you know that, Ellie?"

"I could sense it. Duh. I mean, when you told Deus to hush and you'd explain later, anyone with an ounce of magic could have heard that," she answered.

"Explain what?" Aeris asked.

"Lucas has magic?" Tomas asked.

"You guys are psycho," Janica said.

Lucas covered his ears trying to make sense of the situation. When everyone shut up, he looked around. "Yes. I have magic. I don't know why I have it, or how I got it. If I knew who my parents were, I might know those answers. Aeris and Deus know I have it. But, I don't use it. I'm afraid of the costs sometimes."

"You just don't know how to control it." Ellie bit her lip.

"Well, no, because no one understands it well enough to tell me what to do." Lucas sounded a bit sullen.

"Well, on this trip then, I've got a few things to teach you." Ellie smiled at him.

"Thanks," he said, grinning back.

"Okay, look guys. This is all fine and dandy and I'm glad that you two can play master and apprentice, but if we don't get moving they're gonna find us. Surely that fire caused a stir since the skies are clear tonight, and they'll notice us gone anyway in the morning time," Janica said.

"You truly are your father's daughter," Deus mused. He was glad that his sister had forgotten to ask Lucas about that mind-talk thing. Lucas had explained in detail how dangerous this was, and for the first time they could use The Turks to their advantage. Deus wanted to go along with his sister's plans, but he was smart enough to know that this was very dangerous.

The group began walking towards Kalm. The few wild animals that were brave enough to attack them were easily put down. Janica's gun was deadly, along with Deus' bladed gloves. Aeris and Lucas had no trouble with their martial arts. Tomas stood back watching for anyone to get hurt, ready to help them if necessary. Ellie's bits and pieces of magic also helped, stunning the animals so the others held a better chance.

As the sun came up, they came upon Kalm. They never got to go inside. The guards surrounding the town were thick. As they sat out of sight eating some of the food Tomas had packed, they tried to come up with way to get inside the town.

"Are you sure he's in there?" Lucas asked, soothingly.

"No. The Masamune called to me and said he was there, but now there's no telling." Aeris took a drink of her punch.

"Well, this is still kinda fun," Deus said.

"Yeah, I have to agree. It's like military camp, only we're not in the military," Janica said, smiling for once at Deus.

Lucas and Aeris exchanged glances. "Whatever," Aeris said.

Tomas laid down and put his head in Ellie's lap. He smiled happily as she played in his hair. "This is fun. I can't believe I'm agreeing with Amadeus," he said.

"We've got to find the bad guy, though. Aeris, this sword… if it can talk to you, can you call out to it?" Ellie asked.

"I doubt it," Aeris said.

Lucas thought for a moment. "Why don't you try?"

"Because I don't know how, for one thing."

"Just close your eyes and picture it. Try to remember how it's a part of you and feel for it," Lucas explained.

Aeris nodded, and closed her eyes. The long blade formed in her mind, and she kept asking the picture, "Where are you?"

"I swear to the Ancients if she starts to 'ooommm,' I'm gonna laugh," Janica said.

"Shh!" Ellie shushed her. "Don't break her concentration."

"Geez. Okay, sorry." Janica rolled her eyes.

Aeris began to shake as images formed in her mind. She could not help but to describe them aloud. "A house. Sephiroth is holding me, using me for his destruction. He's searching for someone but does not know where to find him. A woman appears, and there's red all over me. I'm dirty with an innocent woman's blood. A child appears, and runs from us. We chase and chase until he is dead, too. It's not fair! I have no want of this! I must call out to my other Master… 'Aeris! Help us! Head for Mt. Nibel. What this fiend is seeking he believes he can find there. Help us!' I hope she comes soon. She has to save us." She opened her eyes, wet from tears.

Lucas pulled her into his arms as she sobbed. He and the others could only imagine the scene she had witnessed. She had been speaking as if she were one with that sword. None of them could deny how she felt after that. He kissed her forehead as she began to calm down. His thumb wiped away her last tears.

"I'm sorry," she whispered as she sat up, wiping her own face some more.

"Don't worry about it. Are you okay?" Deus asked.

Aeris nodded.

"Mt. Nibel? Is that far from here?" Ellie asked.

Aeris nodded again. "It's pretty far. Basically, if we could drill a hole straight through the earth, we'd be there. It's almost below us."

Ellie whistled. "So what are we going to do?"

"Whatever we have to. Let's head for Junon Harbor, okay, Aeris? Maybe I can sneak us on a ship of some sort from there," Janica said.

"We have to remember that he can't get there any faster than us, right? Or is this guy like Superman?" Ellie asked.

"Superman?" Tomas asked.

"Nevermind. Super-human I guess I should say."

"He once was. We have no idea what he is capable of now," Lucas said.

Ellie nodded. "Can someone tell me more about this guy?"

"Let's head to Junon. We'll tell you along the way," Aeris said, standing up.

Ellie was filled in on what everyone believed about Sephiroth as they headed towards Chocobo Ranch. It took them the better part of the day to get there. Aeris knew that these ranchers lived out in the country and would not have heard much information pertaining to the fact Sephiroth was alive. Surely her dad's golden chocobo, Atma, and his family could get them through the swamps and over the caves. It would be safer to scale the mountains than risk the caves, they decided.

Only Chloe was on the ranch, and she was easily convinced that Aeris had brought her friends over for some fun. Ellie seemed amazed by the horse-chickens. Yet when she was placed on the back of one, she ended up on her butt on the ground. "Just give me the strongest one and let her ride with me," Tomas suggested.

Soon they all sat atop golden, green, and black chocoboes. Ellie sat in front of Tomas on Atma's black son. Aeris rode Atma, while Janica, Deus, and Lucas made do with some green ones. They were a lot faster than Aeris remembered when they took off. They only had to stop once because Ellie was complaining about sitting in front of Tomas. She moved behind him and felt more comfortable. It was well into the night when they finally reached Junon. Knowing that the chocoboes were tired and could not cross the waters, they hopped off of them. They took off running in the direction that they had come from, knowing where home was.

"All right, Janica. It's your game now," Lucas said.

"Piece of cake. I grew up here. And besides, most of the troops are deployed. Trust me, this will be easy." Janica smiled.

"How about you find us a place to sleep? I'm about to pass out," Tomas whined.

"Sure. We're going to my underground hideout. From there, we can easily sneak on a boat to Costa Del Sol. We can rest a bit on the boat, but when we hit the coast, we can stay at the villa. No one's there, most likely, and it's easy to break in." Janica said.

Lucas used his mindspeak. "You almost sound as if you are enjoying this," he said.

Janica's eyes widened as she looked at him and he grinned. "Somewhere to rest, please?" he begged.

Deus rubbed his eyes.

"Follow me, and stay quiet. Gosh, why didn't we wear camo?" Janica said.

Easily sneaking on a boat to Costa Del Sol turned into Janica sweet-talking a guard into sneaking them aboard one of the fastest ships in the world and hiding them in the chocobo stables. The warking made it hard for any of them to get some rest but at least they got to rest their feet and eat. Getting off the ship the next day was even easier since the guard saw to it personally to escort General Rahn's daughter off. As if trying to make up for putting them in the stables, he had arranged for them to stay in the largest suite available at one of the local hotels overlooking the beach.

After everyone showered and had eaten a decent meal, sleep overtook them.

*****

"We're never gonna make it in time. I'm sure Sephiroth is already there, Aeris. You have to be realistic," Janica said.

"He's on foot, Janica. He can't move any faster than us. If we just had some way of getting there before a week's time has passed, I'm sure he'll be there with my sword!" Aeris was seated on a loveseat beside Lucas.

"That's such a long way to walk!" Tomas complained.

"Then you should have stayed your ass at home," Aeris replied. "Where the heck is Deus? He should be back by now." After spying an ice cream stand on the end of the block, they had nominated Deus to go fetch some for them all.

Suddenly the door opened and an empty-handed Deus entered. "Sorry you guys…" he muttered. A large man dressed in a suit with graying hair stepped into the suite behind him.

"Dio!" Aeris exclaimed, her eyes wide.

"Hello, Aeris. Hello, everyone." He smirked as he shut the door behind him. "Lots of people are looking for you kids, you know."

Aeris' face fell. "You can't, Dio. We've come so far now. You can't tell them… please!"

"If this man is dangerous, you and I can take him down with magic," Ellie said to Lucas' mind and he merely nodded in response.

"Oh, no, no, no, we can't have that. Of course not. Little Amadeus was just telling me how you guys needed to get to Nibelheim. I found it ironic that I have an airship and you guys need it. I figured, hey, an eye for an eye. You kids would be willing to work for the use of the ship, right?" Dio's smirked radiated.

"What did you have in mind?" Aeris asked, interested.

"Come spend a day and night at the Saucer. Otherwise, I'll have to call your dad," Dio said.

"Blackmail?" Ellie asked.

"More like a you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours instead of throwing more itching powder on it," Dio said.

"Whatever, Dio. What do you want us to do? Sing? Dance?" Lucas asked, annoyed.

"What else would I have such great warriors do but fight in my Arena?" Dio's laugh filled the silence that followed.

"You used to be a good man," Aeris said. "You've been greedy too long, you old fart."

Dio kept laughing. "Come on kids. Let's go to the Saucer."

*****

Soon the group was settling into their new suite at the Ghost Hotel. While Ellie was rambling on about how seeing this place was like visiting the fairy tales her parents used to tell her, Tomas was griping about how much he hated the place. Aeris, Lucas and Janica ignored the prattle, sitting down at a table that seemed to be made of mismatched skeleton parts.

"I can't believe that jerk," Aeris muttered.

"Well, we need a fast way to Nibelheim, right? If you think you're strong enough to take on Sephiroth, what's a battle in the Arena? Nothing at all. You guys have fought there before, right?" Janica asked.

"I've fought there a few times in tournaments for Wutai," Lucas said.

"Deus and I both have fought there, as well. Maybe you'll be fine if you use that gun, Janica. Ellie is a Maza, so she'll be just fine, too. The only problem is Tomas. He's always feared going in there because he simply can't fight. I mean, he runs the other way if he sees a bug. Maybe Dio would understand, but I doubt it. I doubt he'll let us use the airship unless we all win our matches," Aeris explained.

"We could always steal the airship," Janica suggested, nearly laughing at the wide-eyed stares she received. "Oh, come on. Even a priestess needs to break some rules sometimes. The Ancients are forgiving."

"We may have to do that. Ellie would come in handy if it came to that," Lucas said. He had learned quite a few tricks from her since they had met.

"Let's see what I can get Dio to do first. Right now, I want some more sleep," Aeris said, standing up.

"I as well," Lucas said, following Aeris into a bedroom, shutting the door behind them.

Janica sighed as Tomas and Ellie claimed the second room. It looked as if her and Deus would be fighting over a room yet again. She looked over at him.

"I'm not sleepy," he said.

"Me either. Wanna sneak over to the Wonder Square? Dio did give us all this GP to have fun with, after all."

Deus shrugged. "Cool by me. Let's go."

*****

Ten minutes later, they walked into the Wonder Square. Flashing lights and loud video game noises filled the air. Deus went straight to G-Bike VI and proceeded to get the high score easily. Janica made her way to the Wonder Catcher, wasting her GP trying to win a stuffed moogle. Eventually, Deus made his way over to see what she was doing.

God, you suck," he commented. He pushed her aside and plopped in some GP. "You want the moogle, right?" he asked, remembering all the moogle figurines he had seen in the apartment long before.

"Yeah," she said, grinning as she watched the crane move, reaching down and plucking the moogle from the pile. She held her breath until it fell into the prize hole. Before she could reach in to get it, Deus grabbed it.

"Mine!" he said, grinning.

Janica's face fell. "You little brat!"

Deus laughed. "Here. Take it," he said, handing it to her.

She hugged it tightly. "Thank you!"

Deus' eyes suddenly widened. "Dear Ancients! Oh man! Square Vs. Konami! Come on, Janica! You have to play with me!" He ran to the video game with Janica walking behind him, cuddling her new toy.

"Deus, I'm really good at this game. I don't want to beat you after you were nice enough to get me this moogle," she said.

"Aww, shut yer yap and quit stalling! I love this game, too! Tomas used to play all the time with me. He'd always win, but we still had fun," Deus said, shoving in enough GP for them both to play.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," she muttered. She chose her favorite character of Mog from the Square Side of the game, leaving Deus to chose Arawnt from the Konami Side. Within three minutes, Mog's head was hanging from a pigpole. Janica growled and put in more GP, demanding a rematch. Seven rematches later, she admitted defeat. She stood by and watched as Deus went on to finish the game.

"Now what?" Deus looked around, then up at Janica. But Janica's eyes were fixed on the TV hanging from the ceiling.

"Uh-oh," she muttered. Her face, along with the rest of the groups' faces were showing on the news. She couldn't hear what the newscaster was saying, but she understood the words "missing" and "reward" that was posted alongside their pictures. "Deus, we better get back to the room. Like, now," she said, glad the video game sound effects covered up the news report.

"Yeah... We better hurry," he said, seeing the TV as well. Janica led him to the fire escape instead of the main elevators, fearing people in other parts of the Saucer had seen the report and recognized them. They made it back to their room praying they were unnoticed.

"Well, that was kinda fun," Deus said. "At least I'm tired now."

"Me too. Paper rock scissors over the bedroom?" she asked.

"Nah, you take it. This coffin-couch seems nifty, I'll just use it," he said. It didn't take him long to settle down on it.

Janica grinned and blew him a kiss. "Night, cutie-pie," she said, leaving him alone in the living room of the suite. She lay down on her bed, snuggled in with her moogle.

*****

Aeris sat quietly in Dio's office waiting for him to arrive. The order had come earlier announcing that they all would be entertaining him in battles that only he would see. Usage of the airship would come if they all won their Arena fights. Tomas had not complained, surprisingly, but Aeris knew it was just to impress Ellie. Aeris had called Dio immediately and arranged the meeting she was waiting for him to arrive for. There was no way Tomas could handle it.

Aeris raised a hand to her head as she felt a wave of nausea hit her. "Tomorrow, Master! Please, be here by tomorrow!" The Masamune's voices were quivering making Aeris feel like crying at the sorrow of it all. Time was running out.

The door swung open and Dio stepped in. The nausea instinctively left Aeris alone and she straightened up in her seat. Dio was dressed in his usual loincloth, showing off the muscles that somehow he managed to retain in his old age. A deep smile was on his face as he sat down at his desk in front of Aeris. "At least I'm not making a big show out of it, lil missy," he said.

"Yeah. Right. So who will we be fighting anyway?" She folded her arms.

"Not sure just yet. Why don't you let me know why you called this meeting and then I'll decide?"

Aeris frowned. "We all have to win, right? My middle brother will never make it and you know that."

"Yes I do. Even faced against some weak enemies, he'd lose?" Dio asked.

"The Arena is one of his biggest nightmares, Mr. Dio. If you're going to make him fight in there, then I'll just go call my dad myself. It's useless and I'm not going to put my brother through that kind of shock."

It was Dio's turn to frown. He had definitely underestimated sisterly love. "Fine. There's what? Six of you?"

Aeris nodded.

"I'll pick five of the best gladiators. Those five and you six will face off. Does that sound more fair?" Dio asked.

Aeris' eyes widened. "A REAL fight? Come on, the monsters in the Arena are nothing more than holograms, you want us to kill real people?"

Dio shook his head. "Holograms of the gladiators, of course."

"Oh." Aeris thought back on the fights they had gotten into on the way to Kalm. Tomas had stood back and helped with wounds a lot, maybe he'd be willing to do the same in the Arena. After thinking for a moment, she knew he had to. This would be as much as Dio would give. "Sounds fair enough, then."

"Oh, good. Feel free to use the warm up area. I've shut the Arena down for the next 3 hours so you guys will be safe and unnoticed there. I will be making a tape of this fight as well. I plan to auction it off for charity. It will most likely do well, seeing as Cloud's children and Yuffie's child is in it. See you in two hours, then!" Dio said.

Aeris nodded, realizing it was her dismissal. She wasn't too fond of taking the fire escapes to get around but after hearing what Deus and Janica had saw on the news she had no choice. She reached their suite in the Ghost Hotel and was surprised to see both Lucas and Ellie in lotus positions. It didn't take much to realize they were preparing themselves for the fight. Janica was at the table playing with an assortment of guns. Deus was busy at the table as well, resetting his glove with sharper blades that were not damaged. It had been nice of Dio to give them free access to his armory as well. She was sure her new katana would work well for now. It had a very nice balance to it and it fit her style well. Lucas had been surprised at Ellie's choice of a pair of Wutanese tonfas. After a small display of kata using them, she had made her weapon choice. Hanging on a wall Lucas found a razor ring with a plaque beneath reading, "Donated by Yuffie Kisaragi, from her personal collection." It didn't take Lucas long to take it down, claiming it his. Ellie had laughed at Tomas' choice of a spear when he said that it looked sharp enough to keep things from getting close to him. Janica had chosen two small handguns, a rifle, and plenty of bullets. Deus already had his bladed gloves, but the new blades would make them a lot more powerful.

They all looked up at her when she entered. "So what's the plan?" Lucas asked.

Aeris sat down on the coffin couch. Finding Deus sleeping there earlier with his arms crossed across his body like a vampire had sort of bothered her. "The Masamune says we have to be there by tomorrow. Dio has agreed to let us go in together and fight as a team against five gladiators. A tape will be made of the fight and auctioned off for charity as Tomas suspected. Lucas, that means under no circumstances are you to use your little gifts, understand? The worst we can do is lose. It's not worth the world knowing what you can do. Ellie, you use your magic for all it's worth. You can be explained like your father was. People will think it's just computer imaging anyway. We have about an hour and a half left before the fight. Dio has welcomed us to use the warm-up Arena, so you guys do whatever you do to get your mind it the right frame."

"My dad's gonna kill me. I'm gonna lose all respect after this and never make it as a priestess," Janica said.

"I thought the Ancients chose you, not people. They'll understand, right?" Lucas asked, looking back at Janica.

She just shrugged and continued playing with the guns.

*****

Aeris winced hearing the doors slam shut behind them. She kept telling herself she wasn't afraid. The Arena's floor still read, "The Brave Do Not Fear the Grave" as it had since the day it was created. Dio had wished them luck as they had stepped inside. It didn't take long for the projections of 5 gladiators to appear.

Aeris stiffened with fear. She heard Ellie gasp, as well as Deus yell, "Oh shit!" She looked at Janica and saw that her teeth were clenched. Lucas' eyes were closed in concentration. Tomas looked absolutely mortified.

"This isn't happening," Tomas whispered.

"Yeah it is. It's just holograms, right? Programmed to fight like the real things?" Ellie asked.

"So whatcha think, Aeris? Can we take 'em?" Deus asked.

Aeris' eyes narrowed. "Damn straight." Holding her katana at eye level, taking a battle stance, she stared at the hologram of Cloud Strife dead in the eye.

The holograms of each of their parents stood before them. Cloud, Tifa, General Rahn, Yuffie, and the demigoyle Nic Maza stood poised, waiting on Dio to tell them to start. Aeris was glad that he was giving them time to let the shock wear in. "Deus, you strike mom. I've got dad. Everyone else take their own parent. No one else will know their fighting style like you will. Tomas, you keep a close eye on what is going on. Those potions aren't just for play. We've just got to win, you guys," she instructed.

"Let it begin!" Dio announced.

Cloud whirled around quickly, programmed to go after Aeris alone, bringing down his sword hard. Aeris was quick to block with her katana, the force of the swing bringing her to her knees. "Ha!" she yelled, sweeping her leg around and knocking Cloud down as well. For the program to fall for something like that, she realized it must be a weak version of her father. She didn't get too excited over that fact though as Cloud's fist met her jaw, sending her onto her back.

Deus had also felt fists, but at least he was still on his feet. Hitting his mother wasn't quite making him happy, but he kept trying to remind himself it wasn't her. Swinging his left, his blades swiped her cheek, sending a rain of blood across the Arena floor. "Sorry, but you really shouldn't mess with me," he muttered.

Lucas' love of the razor ring shone through as he fell into the deadly fighting dance he used when fighting his Master. It seemed to him that she was weaker than she should be though. He refused to let up as she continued her offense as he played defense, waiting for a opening to strike through.

Janica learned the hard way that her father always wore a bulletproof vest. He had moved in on her, taking her by the wrists and forcing her guns into angles that she dare not shoot in. One gun pointed at Deus as she struggled to get it raised higher.

Ellie was completely irked as she took another punch to the gut. She had sparred with her father on numerous occasions, but this Nic Maza come from a time before she was born and showed her no compassion. It had confused her at first, but at least his moves were easy to read.

Tomas watched in horror as his friends and family fought their family members. He began to wonder if he had to fight, if he would be able to do it. He yelled out as he saw Ellie fly to hit the wall of flames that surrounded them. He knew from watching fights in the Arena before that the flames were just illusions, they were really just a stone wall. He rushed over to her to try to check on her to make sure she was okay, but Nic was upon him. Nic merely picked Tomas up and threw him to the side.

"Stay back, Tomas! I can handle this!" Ellie yelled, jumping to her feet and actually landing a heavy kick on Nic's chest.

Aeris was concentrating on her fight, but with half a heart. She found that even doing so she still had the upper hand in the fight. Her eyes were watching the other fights, noticing little things. Little things like a punch her mother should have dodged, a roundhouse that Master Kisaragi should have avoided, a slice across Cloud's shoulder that he didn't counter. Even General Rahn had taken a shot to the leg. There was something fishy about the fight. It was too easy. Her eyes went to Nic, whose head flew to the side after being struck with a tonfas. Time slowed down for her as she realized what was going on. Nic was the proof. All their parents were in a younger less experienced state. After all, Nic had only fought once in the Arena and Dio had no way of knowing how much better he had gotten with time. But surely her father had been better than this...

Unless Dio wanted them to win. The realization that they were meant to win these fights hit her hard and she was enraged that Dio thought they could not handle the full capacity that could be unleashed with these holograms. At the same time she thanked him for it. Nonetheless, the surge of emotion gave her the strength to swing her katana around, knocking the buster sword from her father's hands, and swiftly slice through the soft skin of his neck. Cloud fell to his knees and disappeared.

"You guys, they're weak! Give it your all! It's not that hard!" she called, not wanting Dio to hear that she knew what he was doing. She fell back beside Tomas who was watching the battles intently.

As if reading Aeris' mind, Lucas knew that they were meant to win as well. A floor sweep brought his Master to her knees, the razor ring slashing through her chest mercilessly. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see her blood flow. He heard the swoosh of her disappearing and he too fell back with Aeris and Tomas. Tomas checked Lucas' arm where Yuffie's pinwheel had hit him.

Aeris watched as the last fights ended suddenly. A bullet-proof vest couldn't save General Rahn from the gunshot from underneath his chin. Deus' fist plunged deep into his mother's stomach. A mighty resounding whack of a tonfas to the back of Nic's head crushed his skull and he fell down, disappearing.

Cheesy music played throughout the Arena as they were supposed to celebrate their victory. But each of them felt unnerved at the fact they had fought their parent, killing each one savagely. The flame walls vanished and the doors opened. Dio walked in.

"Congratulations! You won!" he said, walking up to Aeris.

"Our airship, you bastard. That was totally senseless. You knew we would win, we could have done this later rather than have you delay us," she said, speaking in a cold manner, the katana in her hand gripped tightly.

"Well, it was my ship, we play by my rules. I wanted a fight, I got it. Now you get your airship, along with a few of my finest pilots that will not get in your way and will take your every command," Dio said.

Aeris shoved past him, her friends following, ignoring the muscle-clad man. There was much to be accomplished and so little time left.

*****

After restocking their supplies in Dio's weaponry, they were led to the airship. In less than an hour, they'd be in Nibelheim. Not much was said on the trip there. Aeris stood on the deck, leaning on the railing with folded arms, her head resting on her arms. Somewhere on the other side of the deck Tomas and Ellie were making out. Lucas, like his mother, was fighting off his spells of motion sickness. Janica was deep in prayer. She wasn't sure where Deus was.

"The time has come," she whispered into the wind that was blowing her hair into her face as she saw the mountain range in the far distance appear. For the first time, she began to doubt herself. She began recalled how scared she would get when she was younger and she'd read Nanki's book about what happened 25 years ago. But yet, it didn't matter. The Masamune, what Aeris believed to be Sephiroth's only source of power, had to be taken from him. A sword like that didn't belong in such evil hands.

She closed her eyes and concentrated and could feel and evil presence radiating from one central place. When she opened her eyes, they focused on the one mountain she knew that presence was coming from within. Her eyes narrowed to slits, knowing she would meet her new nemesis soon.

*****

The pilots of the airship suggested that they land behind the mountain range instead of in Nibelheim. That way, they wouldn't have to parade down the streets of the town and risk getting seen. Aeris gave the pilots the okay after realizing that it was the truth.

As they stood at the foot of the mountain range, the pilots went back aboard the airship. Aeris looked to Lucas and pointed at the mountain she knew Sephiroth was inside. "Get us there," she told him.

He looked surprised. "Me?"

Aeris nodded. "You grew up in Wutai, right?"

"Oh yeah, I guess I did," he muttered, looking up. "There should be a path..." He began walking around the bottom.

"Sheesh, you don't know anything about your powers, do ya, Lucas?" Ellie asked.

"Well, there's no easy footpath, Ellie. We're going to have to climb," he said.

Ellie rolled her eyes. "You're going to make me waste all my energy, huh? Geez. Everybody stand back."

Everyone just stared at her.

"Well, do you want an easy footpath or not?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Magic?" Lucas asked.

"Get back!" she said again, placing her hands on the side of a boulder easily five times her size. "The 'easy' footpath is behind here. This rock's fallen in the way."

"What are you going to do? Push it?" Janica asked.

Ellie's arms dropped to her sides. "Last time you guys! Stand the hell back!" she said, her wings popping open making a sharp crack in the air that made her friends jump. It got the point across as they began to back up. She looked up at the boulder again, knowing her task wasn't going to be an easy one. It would use a trick a family friend had taught her long ago, one that she had laughed at. She never thought she'd need it. Closing her eyes, she felt mentally for the center of the stone. When she was certain she had found it, she took a deep breath and sent a surge of power outwards from the center, forcing the rock apart. She had just enough time to crouch and cover her head as the tiny pebbles she had created from the huge rock pelted her.

Everyone stared in wonder when the dust began to clear and the sound of falling rocks stopped. The boulder before Ellie lay in a large pile of pebbles. They'd still have to climb a bit, but it was more like a hill than a mountain now. "Sugoi," Ellie whimpered.

"Elisa!" Tomas yelled, rushing to her side to check on her.

"I'm fine, Tomas. I think I'll have a few bruises from the falling rocks, but otherwise I'll be fine. I'm just dizzy from... power loss," she said. She was huffing but she was also grinning.

Tomas still found one cut on her arm that was bleeding insistently. As he cleaned and dressed it, Lucas carefully scaled the pile of rubble, making sure it was stable with no sinkholes.

When Lucas had been to the other side and returned, Ellie was on her feet again, trying to answer questions of how she knew the boulder was blocking a footpath and what she had done to the boulder. She looked at Lucas and shook her head. "You could've done that, you know," she said.

Lucas blinked. "No actually, I may have the power to, but I can't. It's against my religion to destroy anything in nature that isn't threatening anything else." He knew it was a lame excuse, but he honestly didn't know he could've done that.

Aeris shook her head. "We haven't got the time to argue over it. We've got to get inside. Come on," she said, tugging on Deus' arm.

"Hey! Leggo!" he complained, jerking away from her and frowning.

Lucas nodded and led them over the pile of rubble. "You guys watch out for loose rocks. I don't think this place is as stable as the mountains I'm used to," he said. He led them up the footpath at a slower pace than Aeris wanted. Amazingly enough, the footpath led them right to the central mountain that Aeris had pointed out.

She felt a chill go up her spine. "Dear Ancients, he's in there," she whispered, looking at the opening leading inside.

"Yeah, but the question is where in there," Janica said, as they headed inside.

Tomas pulled out a flashlight, handing it to Lucas. He was still serving as their guide and he was smart enough to keep the light pointed at the ground. It got darker as they inched away from the cave entrance. But soon going forward wasn't going to help them anymore. Lucas held out an arm to keep those behind him from running into the wall. "You wanna blow this one up, too, Ellie?" he asked.

"Ha, ha," she said sarcastically.

"The only way from here... is up. But..." he started. He began to climb the metal ladder that he had found on the wall. Everyone followed him.

Aeris' heart had started pounding harder. It was then she noticed the faint light coming from around the corner just ahead. It was flickering, like fire. She could feel the evil then and unsheathed her katana.

"Master!" she heard the Masamune crying out.

"He's there!" she yelled, shooting any chance of an ambush straight to hell. She took off running towards the light.

"Who dares...?" she heard as she turned the corner. Sephiroth was there on his knees, his back to her. His head turned to look at her.

"Aeris!" Lucas called out, finally catching up with her. The others were right behind him, all seeming to skid to a halt at the sight of Sephiroth.

Sephiroth grinned demonically and stood up slowly, pulling his Masamune from his back. "Have you come to kill me?" he laughed.

"Bastard! Give me my sword back!" Aeris spat.

"Yours? What do you know of the power of this sword? What can you know? Go home, little girl," he said. "Go home before you get hurt."

Aeris snarled. What had come over her she wasn't sure, but she was enraged at the thought of her sword in this man's evil hands.

"Aeris..," Janica said, pulling out her gun.

"Aeris? Now why does that sound familiar? I once used this blade to slice through someone with the same name," he said.

"Damn you!" Janica spat at him, realizing that he was the one that martyred Aeris Gainsborough.

"So tell me why you think this is your sword," Sephiroth said, looking at Aeris.

"Because it calls me Master. It was given to me by my father and it's mine. I won't let you do evil with it any longer!" Aeris yelled.

"Your father?" he asked, Doctor Brierley's words returning to him. The realization that this was Cloud Strife's daughter rushed over him. He smirked.

It was apparent to Aeris that he wasn't just going to hand over the sword. She realized she was being stupid for thinking that he would. She drew her katana and narrowed her eyes. "This ends here," she said. Her friends' weapons were bared as they lined up beside her.

Sephiroth laughed. "What sort of sick joke is this? If you think that you can take me on, I'll show you your places in life. I am destined to rule this world. For disturbing me, you shall pay." He lowered the Masamune and lunged at Aeris.

"Aeris, look out!" Lucas shouted.

Aeris wasn't a complete idiot. She bent her knees to get leverage as she blocked the Masamune with her katana. Her eyes met with Sephiroth's and they both snarled at each other. She pushed upwards from her knees, causing Sephiroth to jump back. Her hopes that his muscles were weak after years of unuse were realized. Then her hopes were shattered as he spun back around, slicing downwards at her again.

Lucas jumped at her and pushed her out of the way of the deathblow, feeling it hit the heel of his boot and slicing through the rubber completely. "Shit!" he yelped, kicking Sephiroth in the leg before he could take another swing with his sword.

Tomas stepped forward without even thinking to check on Lucas' foot as Janica began firing her gun and Ellie ran towards Sephiroth, Deus on her heels.

Aeris grunted and wiggled her way from beneath Lucas and helped her friends try to overwhelm Sephiroth.

Ellie knew she was the only one experienced enough to realize that energy was being gathered. This Sephiroth guy had magic, too, and while he was laughing off their attacks, he was readying himself. She snarled, holding her wings tight against her body. "Keep attacking everybody. I'll take care of his magic blunt," she thought, ready to counter.

A swing of his arm sent Janica to the cave wall. She hit her head against it, her eyes rolling as she passed out and slid down the wall. Lucas looked at her, crying out as the butt of the Masamune's hilt came down hard on the back of his head, sending him into the same state. Aeris swung her katana at him in a form that her father taught her, only to have it blocked by the mighty Masamune. She felt her hold loosen and she dropped her katana. The Masamune cut into her arm before Tomas and Deus both jumped onto Sephiroth, knocking him down.

It was then that Ellie realized the magic power was at its height of drawing and Sephiroth was about to unleash it on Deus and her beloved Tomas. She concentrated with everything she had, waiting for it. It wasn't but three seconds later that it was set, black lightening like Ellie had never seen before crashing down towards the two brothers. Ellie reacted quick enough. The shield over the boys sent the lightening every which way. The most of it reflected back at Sephiroth, hitting him in the chest, making him holler. Two of the forks came back and hit Ellie and she fell to her knees, crying in pain. The shock was like nothing she had felt before. Her entire body was aching as if thousands of pins had been pushed through her skin and into her muscles.

"Elisa!" Tomas cried out, running to her side.

Sephiroth stood back up, roaring. "Bitch! You don't even belong in this realm! Go back to your Hell!" With a wave of one arm, a black circle enveloped Ellie and closed around her.

Tomas' eyes widened. She was gone. He looked to Sephiroth with wide eyes.

Aeris took the advantage to get her katana back and landed a pitiful slash on Sephiroth's leg. He howled again, as if not able to handle the little bit of pain it caused.

"This isn't the end!" he yelled at Aeris as he vanished.

"NOOOO!!!!" Aeris yelled. "Get back here you bastard! GET BACK HERE!!!!" She began to cry when she realized he wouldn't. She fell back to her knees. "Get back here," she kept whimpering.

Deus was checking on Janica when he looked behind him at the cave entrance. Cloud Strife stood there, sword in hand, looking ready for battle. "He's already gone. He was here, but he's gone now," Deus said softly, glad to feel a strong steady pulse in Janica's neck. So the Turks had come in handy after all. They must have reported their whereabouts. He looked at his sister, broken and upset over the loss. He looked at his brother, who was still in shock over the missing Ellie. Lucas seemed like he was coming to already.

Cloud closed his eyes, relieved at seeing his children alive. "Sephiroth..." he muttered.

{Author's Note: This chapter is dedicated to everyone who fought in the Square Vs. Konami War. You guys were the best and your War Master wishes you the best.}