Chapter - 15: Calamity from the Skies
"Now!" Cloud shouted as he broke and ran to the right.
Sephiroth tore off to the left hand, as Vincent slowly walked forward, firing his gun. Cloud reached the hand and ducked as it swiped overhead. Sephiroth stabbed his blade through the left hand and gripped it tight. The hand reared up and swung him around, he held on as best as he could before it threw the blade free. He rolled to the side fast as the razor claws came back at him again. Several tentacles flew through the air towards Vincent, he quickly reloaded and fired, a bullet blowing each tentacle apart. The extremities sprayed purple blood as they retracted quickly.
Cloud turned his body fast as the hand flew past in attempt to stab him, and cleaved his blade down on the arm. Blood sprayed out and the creature shrieked an otherworldly scream as the sword embedded in it. Tentacles came at him, grabbing him and the blade, tossing them both into the nearby cavernous green wall. He recovered fast and hacked off the tentacles as they raced for him again.
Sephiroth crouched as the hand came at him again, when it got close, he leapt onto it, running up the length as he slid Masamune along the top, gashing the skin wide. Tentacles came at him, but Vincent shot them before they could reach.
He quickly holstered his gun and pulled a shotgun from behind the cowl of his cape. After cocking it, he released a barrage of gunfire on the torso of the hideous alien being. Sephiroth made it to the shoulder and knelt, digging his blade deep into the center of the creature.
The head of Jenova became like a bear, with long vampire fangs and snapped at the silver haired man as he twisted the blade. A lone tentacle came at Vincent as he fired on the head now; he caught it in his golden hand and held it tight, not letting it retract or interfere with his shots.
Sephiroth hopped back, pulling his sword free as the jaws snapped at him. Quickly he raised Masamune and stabbed deep into the middle of the head. It ignored the blow as if it did not phase it, and shifted to the head of a snake. He quickly pulled the sword out and fell back on the ground next to Vincent.
Cloud ran back up to the hand and blocked the claws with his sword, each one leaving a scratch on the blade. After enduring the attack, he ran around and cleaved the same spot he had hit before, severing the entire arm this time.
The alien screamed as it pulled its arm back in pain, and reared its head up into the roof of the crystalline cave, causing shards to fall.
"Look out!" Sephiroth shouted as he tackled Vincent over to knock them both out of the way of a giant, jagged, razor tipped shard.
"Thanks." Vincent offered as he stood back up and fired again.
Suddenly, the left hand swooped in, Sephiroth ducked as it went overhead. The razor claws ran right through Vincent, lifting him into the air as blood poured out his mouth.
"Vincent!" Cloud screamed as he ran up the arm and rammed the buster sword down hard.
Vincent smiled through the pain; Jenova pulled him right to eye level and opened her now shark-like head to bite him in half.
Anger took over. Vincent turned into Chaos; wings exploded out his back as he grew in size and gripped the jaws of the beast in his now clawed hands. Chaos pulled itself off the razor claws and flapped on its wings, keeping it at level with Jenova.
Sephiroth gathered himself and ran towards the being, stopping halfway. He fell to his knees and clutched his head.
"Stop it!" he screamed as he forced himself to the floor.
Cloud stabbed wildly on the arm and stopped to pull his smaller sword out for the closer range. Vincent let go of the maw and flew around to its neck, ripping the shark head off with his demonic strength. Cloud paused a moment, thinking it to be over, but a new head quickly came back, this time that of a woman.
The left hand came at Chaos and batted him into the ground with its fist. He lay there mangled for a moment before returning to an uninjured, but unconscious Vincent. Sephiroth dropped his sword as he screamed in agony and tried to control his own action.
The free hand came at Cloud and smacked him off and across the room to where they fell in at. Many tentacles pulled his large sword out and threw it, sinking the tip right near his feet.
As he stood, he saw Vincent out cold, and Sephiroth on the ground.
"I meant it, this ends now." Cloud muttered as he stood and pulled the buster sword free.
He slowly walked past Vincent and knelt next to Sephiroth.
"I…can't…move…" the silver haired man said, his voice quivering. "Might…lose…control…hurt…someone…else…"
Clouds face contorted with anger while he lifted the buster sword in his one hand, strength suddenly filling him. As the Lifestream flowed into him, he lifted the Masamune in his left hand, holding both blades steady. He walked past Sephiroth and towards the torso.
"My pain matters, you inhuman monster!" Cloud screamed.
The left hand moved for him, he spun to his side and arced the Masamune up through it, severing it. He drew on his emotions, this was truly the one responsible for everything, the death of Aeris, Nibelheim, his friends and his families pain all due to this one entity.
"We hurt, we feel, we are not you're puppets any longer!" he ran at the tentacles and swung both huge swords wildly.
He severed her tentacles apart as he flew at her in a blind rage. For everyone that he cut, more came. They all constricted around him and pinned his arms tight to his side. Jenova began squeezing the life out of him. It was tempting to give up, to let go and die, to be finally done with all of the pain and suffering. His body was over taxed by the Geostigma, his head spun from lack of sleep.
There is something, much like the planets own life stream that lives inside of all of us, that combats the wickedness that has threatened to consume us.
He remembered Vincent's words, and let go.
From somewhere deep inside, the real Cloud came, the one Aeris had been searching for, not the "real" Cloud, he had already surfaced when he ended the charade with Zack's memories, but the "real" Cloud's soul, his inner Lifestream.
He had reached his limit.
His body pulsed with a blue light as his skin burned through the tentacles as if it was coated in acid. He flew through the air as he had earlier against Bahamut, as he reached the torso of Jenova; he unleashed a mighty omni slash with both Buster Sword and Masamune. His arms flew like lightning, his movements were faster then the human eye could see as he cut, stabbed, and slashed at her, spinning and twirling. As he reached the end, he reared up and cleaved both blades down with as much force as he could.
Jenova screamed, like a human, like a snake, like a bear, all together sounding like a dying feral animal, as her body burst apart and into a puddle of purple ooze. Cloud regained his footing and walked forward, examining the white light that had been hidden behind her.
"A prayer…" he mumbled. "Someone prayed for Holy."
As he turned back, the purple blood flew at him, sticking fast to his chest and legs. He let go of both blades as struggled with it, his blue aura turned purple. With a burst of white light, Holy shot out, engulfing his body in a ray of light. The two lights whirled around each other as the forces fought. From the ground, a tiny pinprick of green light broke through the dirt and muck, slowly it grew and more came. The Lifestream tangled around Cloud's leg, burrowing towards the Jenova. As all the colors met, a blinding flash erupted and the world went white before his eyes.
