L-sama smiled to herself, she had to say, giving that boy Vassago the staff and Materia had been a stroke of genius that had amused her for quite some time. However, she'd been more than a little disappointed when he'd been taken down so easily. On the other hand, it looked as if her fanfic writer and general pairing had managed to survive and were now standing on the edge of the final battle.

She laughed.

How delightfully entertaining this had been! And the best part had yet to come. Her hidden eyes focused on the spinning worlds as the barrier between them was solidified and their Lifestreams merged. That was an interesting solution, but put both worlds in grave danger. Should one fall, the other would follow. What beautifully high stakes! This was going to be another one of those battles where those silly mortals would have to stand up and fight for their right to live in her ongoing war between Chaos and Order.

It was almost as good as the battles little Lina Inverse got in all the time!


Naomi stalked the halls of the Shinra tower, smiling to herself in a fashion that left her fangs quite visible. From head to toe, she was covered in blood, some of it dried and cracking on what had once been white pants and shirt, much of it in her hair was semi-dry, leaving a gooey sticky mess that she felt no compulsion to clean. As for the source of that blood...

Hawaii had been fun.

There had been lots of things to go see and destroy. Lots of people, homeless and not, walking the streets, trying to make sense of their sudden relocation, and Naomi had killed them all, indiscriminately.

Humans... Cetra... It didn't matter what they were, they were a disease, and they were preventing her from feeding on this world, and Earth, and moving on to some new planet where she would destroy all life and suck it dry. She hated living things. They were disgusting, but fun to tear to shreds.

At last, she'd reached Hojo's lab- her dear... foolish puppet. Naomi laughed softly and stepped in, her slit brown eyes peering towards the canister that had once held Jenova's body. That too, had been a host and nothing more, but it had been useful enough to repeat the experience. Deplorable as it had been.

A lab assistant was cowering in the boxes to the left, having heard the screams of the other people on this level as Naomi had slowly ripped them open and tore out their still-beating hearts. It was so very fun! In a single bound, Naomi leapt over the boxes and landed on the floor behind the man. He screamed deliciously, and sprinted for the door, tripping on his own feet in the process. She could smell him- smell his fear, and his piss. Licking her lips, Naomi launched forward and latched onto his back, digging her claws between his ribs and pulled.

With a shriek, his spine broke, then his ribs shattered under the pressure of her fingers and she dug her hands in as the blood sprayed upwards into her face and across her chest. Ripping his flesh, she exposed his beautiful insides to the air and reached in to rip out globs of pulsing organs and flesh, tossing them aside like a child throwing toys.

She amused herself for another minute or two before finally getting off the twitching, dying man. Naomi had a goal here, after all.

Striding towards the elevator, dripping blood and leaving footprints as she went, Naomi stepped in, and casually pressed the button for the next floor. The gate cranked shut with a clatter, and the box began to rise. Light streamed in as the lift topped the next floor, and finally, Naomi could see.

Hojo stood in the center of the room, facing her, his glasses on, hands clasped behind his back. He didn't blink, didn't twitch, as Naomi calmly opened the gate and stepped out. "Master," she murmured with amusement.

"I figured it'd be Sephiroth who got me," Hojo stated, aged chin set firm, facing his death with no fear. "I have to admit, I never expected you." His usual lab coat was missing, it was odd seeing him without it.

Tipping her head to the side, Naomi paced closer, smirking, "You made it so convenient- gave me a new body when the other was destroyed by that Cetra slut. I should thank you. I will thank you, with a painful death."

Reaching out, Naomi continued forward another few paces, finally placing her hands to Hojo's throat. Leaning forward, she sniffed.

"Who was here?" she hissed, catching the scent of a pregnant female.

Hojo smiled, "My legacy," he stated, "You'll never catch her."

Naomi's eyes narrowed, "You underestimate my powers," she hissed, fingers tightening- claws piercing his neck. Hojo choked, involuntarily lifting his hands to claw at her wrist as her grip closed, closer, and closer, until finally, his windpipe was crushed. Slowly, Hojo sank to his knees, blood seeping out from around Naomi's fingers as she continued to squeeze. A satisfying pop from his neck sounded, his bulging eyes rolled up, lips turning blue from lack of air, hands flopped limply at his sides as Naomi leaned forward, and kissed him gently.

"Sleep well, Master. Soon, I'll own you too."


She'd gone through the tower, and now, she was working on Midgar, oh how fun it was to slaughter the helpless! Naomi laughed softly to herself as she tore the face off a young woman.

This one had been particularly annoying, kept calling her 'Michelle' and saying stupid things like 'I'm a friend of Katy's! My name's Jessie!' and 'Katy will save you!'.

"I don't need saving," she informed the girl as she plucked those pretty little half Japanese eyes out and flicked them away. Hooking her claws into the empty sockets as the girl continued to shriek, Naomi gave a sharp pull. The spine popped free, but the chords were particularly tenacious in this one and Naomi gleefully pulled and tugged until they popped free, one at a time, then hurled the head at a wall.

Like a pumpkin, the skull smashed.

"Stop right there!" came a nervous shout from behind her, and Naomi turned, letting the headless corpse fall to the ground at her feet, a lazy smile curling her lips. The man who faced her was one of the regular Blues, and Naomi leaned forward a bit, sharp eyes catching the name on his tag.

Softly, she read it aloud. "Johnston," taking a breath, Naomi lifted her eyes back to his sweaty face, "Well, I guess you like dying slowly and painfully." He shifted his grip on his standard issue gun, then fired, emptying the clip into her chest, screaming at the top of his lungs until only the hollow click of his automatic machine gun firing nothing filled the air.

Panting, Johnston lowered his gun, staring at the monster Hojo had created where it lay on the ground, draped with the boneless grace of a feline across the body of the girl she'd just killed. Slowly, he came forward, edging closer until he could poke with the tip of his gun.

He wasn't prepared for the retaliation he got.

Naomi surged up from the ground, claws out, and latched onto his face, a gleefully maniacal expression in her eyes. Lunging forward, she latched her fangs into his neck and tore as he flailed and screamed.


Rufus hated.

There were no bounds to his hate. There were no limits to his desire to rip to shreds those who had cursed him to this new body!

Wordlessly, he snarled with metal lips, his fury blazing in his replaced mechanical eyes, his motorized fingers flexed, and he stared down at Cosmo Canyon from the cliffs above. Oh yes, their defenses were obviously planned by Sephiroth. But they had one fatal flaw.

They were not defended against one enraged President of the World- newly appointed by Naomi- who had a score to settle with Sephiroth and his Cetra Slut, who was capable of simply flying in, who was armored and armed to the teeth with Heidegger and Scarlet's latest technology.

His gaze focused in closer, scanning over the ground and people who milled about, far below him.

THERE!

His heart gave a leap- just about the only thing left of him that wasn't mechanical anymore. Hojo had been unable to reattach any of his original body parts. Sephiroth had kindly incinerated them. Katy had laughed. He hated them both!

Rufus's eyes tracked them as Katy and Sephiroth, riding gold Chocobos came in through the front gate. There were two more black-clad riders behind them, but that hardly mattered, Rufus didn't care who they were, he had spotted his quarry, and that was all that mattered to him.

Hunching down, Rufus shifted his weight, bringing his new mechanical body into flight formation. From his back, his gliding-wings extended, straight upwards, then unfolded down, his rockets followed. His arms, he brought in close to his chest and checked the ammo in his arm-guns, and legs remained crouched down. He would need them to land shortly.

Ready at last, he stood, and launched himself over the edge of the cliff. On cue, his rockets fired, and Rufus angled his body downwards, adjusting his eyes back to normal distance range. Below, the shrieks of people panicking could be heard- delightful music! They ran like scattering sheep, looking for somewhere to hide as the mechanical monster came bearing down upon them.

Rufus pulled up, abruptly and cut off his rockets, falling like a stone the ten foot distance to the ground with a heavy clang and thump, and slowly stood. "Fancy meeting you here," he ground out, voice no longer that melodic purr he'd used to possess. It didn't have his flawless body to vibrate through anymore. Sure, he had what Sephiroth had left beneath the metal armor, but it wasn't the same, and never would be!

Sephiroth came to a stop, Katy beside him, and the two other black-clad riders fanned out on either side of them. "It'd be a surprise if I knew who you were," Sephiroth retorted blandly, not looking impressed in the least. "Are you Shinra's latest weapon?"

Fuming, Rufus raised his arm-guns, "I AM Shinra!" he shrieked, speakers squealing with feedback. "You don't even remember what you did to me, do you? Well- let me remind you!"

As one, the Chocobos scattered, tearing off into different directions, but that was fine, Rufus only had two targets, and two gun-arms to follow them with. Bullets sprayed dirt just behind the Chocobo's feet as Sephiroth and Katy ran in opposite directions, finally dodging out of sight behind stalls.

That, too, was fine with him, Rufus had already worked out his plan of action. He turned, blasted his rockets, and sailed over the carts and stalls, easily spotting Katy, her cheeks and nose and shoulders sunburnt. She turned to stare up at him in shock, having dismounted from her Chocobo in an attempt to hide. Her bird had taken off in another direction, but it was circling back even as Rufus landed. He would dispose of the thing if it got annoying, but his full attention rested on the Cetra Slut.

Snarling, Rufus lunged forward, his six-foot span gliding wings knocking over stalls as he chased Katy, metal fists raining abuse upon her body. She wasn't fast enough to avoid a sock in the face, and she toppled backwards, landing on her back. Lifting a foot, Rufus aimed a stomp at her leg, but she twisted, wiggling away as quickly as she could. Laughing maniacally, causing his speakers to squeal again, Rufus kicked, large square, hydraulic powered foot landing a corner right into the center of her stomach as she sat up to get to her feet.

Backwards, she sailed, landing in a cart, curling up in agony as he thumped and whooshed after her. Out of nowhere, black and silver streaked, Masamune clanging against the side of Rufus's helm with a dissent buzz that fuzzed out his optics briefly, but it was just long enough for one of the other black-clad riders- the man with black hair- to rescue the Cetra Slut, and haul her off in another direction.

Turning, Rufus launched into the air again, wasting his fuel, but these morons couldn't kill him. Crashing to a landing in front of the black haired man's Chocobo, he aimed his guns and began firing. The Chocobo screamed in pain, but kept moving, leaping over Rufus and continuing until it collapsed.

Katy fought free of the man's grasp and staggered away, like a mother bird playing at being wounded to lead the predator away from the nest. Little did she know that she was his target anyway, Rufus didn't care about those other two pests. The bird Katy had been riding dashed up beside its wounded fellow and lowered its head, as if that would save it.

Laughing again, Rufus thumped after Katy, ignoring the pattering of Masamune from behind. Sephiroth would be dealt with later, after he'd ripped that little slut limb from limb! Once more, he caught up with Katy. She'd collapsed to her knees, clutching her stomach, her face bloody, eye swelling shut. She was trying to cast a healing spell, and beginning to succeed, but Rufus wasn't going to allow that. Reaching down, he grabbed her hair and picked her up by it.

Screaming, she flailed, slipping from his grasp slightly as the end of her ponytail slithered free. Tightening his grip, Rufus shook her, "How do you like this little slut!" his speakers squalled with feedback and he could see several more black-clad figures rushing out of the door into the cliff.

Sephiroth swung around again, Masamune gleaming in the light, and Rufus laughed, hauling Katy up higher as a block to catch the blade. The silver haired man's eyes widened, then narrowed in fury, and mid-swing, he changed the angle.

Limply, Katy collapsed to the ground.

Locks of red fluttered to the dirt around her as she sat there, staring in shock. Overhead, Masamune clanged into Rufus's chest, firmly enough to make a dent in the armor and set his speakers and optics to buzzing. This was followed by a shout of "Lightning!" from a distance, Aerith's voice.

Shrieking in pain and fury, Rufus lashed out at Sephiroth as the general lunged in, aiming the point of his sword for the centrally mounted speaker on Rufus's chest. Masamune shredded the grill, tore into the wiring and box, leaving Rufus mute once again. Shrieking silently, Rufus swung his metal fists at the general, vision narrowed to that one target as the silver haired man darted left and right, slashing so quickly that it left the impression of there being two of him.

Masamune found another target, and Rufus's left eye sizzled and popped, sparking electricity as others began attacking. Lightning spells arced across his form, and he was abruptly brought back to reality as his right leg hydraulic failed, leaving him with a dragging limb, for the knee would not bend. Buster Sword, held by a blonde man in black, had gleefully destroyed the mechanism, and as Rufus turned his head to look, the blonde flashed a grin and swung again, hitting the same spot, accurately.

Abused metal screamed and shattered, spraying oil, and Rufus began to topple towards the ground, unbalanced. An alarm sounded, shrill and piercing, and as one, the nine defenders looked up. Taking his chance, Rufus pushed himself up, and blasted off, spinning and wheeling dizzily into the sky. He would be back. He would be back!


Sephiroth's hand automatically clipped Masamune behind his shoulder as he jogged towards her.

Katy was seated on the ground still, right where he'd left her, eyes hidden by her bangs. Scattered all around her were seven-inch long locks of fiery red hair, fluttering in the slight breeze that wafted past her. She looked the picture of Desolation. "Katy," he said, kneeling beside her.

"you..."

Leaning closer, Sephiroth strained his hearing, "Are you alright?" he asked, worried.

"You..."

Lifting a hand, he placed it on her shoulder, "Katy, what's wrong? Are you alright?"

"You!"

Slowly, she turned her head, gazing at him through the bent frames of her glasses, unimaginable fury gleaming in her eyes. Involuntarily, Sephiroth leaned back.

"YOU CUT MY HAIR!"

He stared at her, unable to comprehend the significance. "It was either that or your head," Sephiroth pointed out evenly.

Abruptly, Katy surged to her feet, aimed a kick for his stomach, and landed it. Not another word was said as she stalked away, heading inside. Aerith and Tifa took one look at Sephiroth, and Tifa turned, jogging to catch up with Katy, Aerith pausing long enough to say, "We'll take care of her. You wouldn't understand." Shaking her head, she dashed away.

Slowly, Sephiroth got to his feet, hand to his stomach. Maybe putting steel toes in their boots had been a bad idea? "I don't understand," he stated, looking at his male members of SCYTHE. "What's her hair got to do with anything?"

Shaking their heads, none of them replied immediately. Finally, Zack took a breath and bit the bullet, "Um, well, Aerith said something about a girl's hair being her pride and joy, or something like that. They don't like bad things happening to their hair."

Unable to comprehend, still, Sephiroth gave a dismissive gesture to the whole conversation, "There's an alarm going off, let's see what it is," he stated, turning his attention to other, bigger issues. "Cloud, go tell the women to take care of organizing the noncombatants in the cliffs and cover the cave entrances, you're in charge back there."

Giving a salute, the blonde turned and jogged off to get to work as more alarm calls went off, all up and down the canyon walls until it was one long blaring echo of sound. People started surging out of the caves, armed and ready to take on whatever was coming, looking to the SCYTHE members as their rallying points. Katy had been right about the uniforms, they would have been lost in this throng wearing anything else. Sighing, Sephiroth watched as the Canyon's Defenders sorted into their troops, each under the command of one of the SCYTHE members. This had all been planned in advance, and at least the women were already where they were supposed to be.

"Move out when your troop is formed up," he shouted over the din to his men. They saluted, and Curt's bird immediately came dashing out of the stables, armored and ready. That certainly spoke for its intelligence, perhaps they were as smart as Katy had said...? Eris trotted up to Sephiroth, also armored. "How did you get dressed out?" he asked rhetorically.

"I went into the stable and got the stableman to do it. Check my straps, I don't think they're tight enough."

The voice was partially cold, but definitely female, and not coming from anywhere other than in his head- it had that 'close' quality that Jenova had had. Sephiroth frowned, but did indeed turn his attention to his Chocobo's straps, synching the breast plate on tighter, then mounted.

"Beltoren says Katy will be alright. She's just upset." This too was delivered unemotionally, Eris simply playing messenger. "He suggests that you get her flowers later and apologize."

Snorting, Sephiroth muttered, "She can cut my hair if she wants, I really don't care."

Eris tossed her head, bridle jingling, "That's hardly a fitting revenge. You don't care about it the way she does. She wouldn't do it anyway. She likes your hair too much."

Giving a shake of his own head, Sephiroth settled his hair behind his shoulders, "Whatever," he muttered, feeling stupid for a: talking to a Chocobo in his head, and b: having a conversation about unwanted haircuts. Eris dipped her head, then came back up, turning to hold out a lock of hair and Katy's Ribbon. Sighing, Sephiroth took the items and tied the hair with the Ribbon and stuck both into his pocket.


This hall was empty-

And empty for a reason.

Vincent stood silently in front of the heavy iron door that was too heavy for a man to move by himself. There was a switch somewhere that opened that door, but the gunman did not know where it was. He didn't care either.

He had been locked in a back room all day, one of the SCYTHE members keeping an eye on him the whole time while Katy- not Lucrecia- worked on fixing the gate between the worlds. He hadn't seen her yet today.

The haunted man doubted he would.

It had been a little after noon, or so his body told him, when something had made the SCYTHE man standing guard at the door suddenly take off. Vincent had waited near the door, listening for any sign of someone in the hall for several minutes before the door was abruptly opened. The young woman that stood there was not one he recognized, but she spoke in some foreign language and called him by name. He supposed she had played 'Final Fantasy VII' as well, though her words were nothing like 'English'.

"Thank you," he'd told her and stepped out, looking up and down the deserted hall.

Still, the girl was babbling at him, gesturing for him to follow, and so he did, having no better way to find out what was going on. Through the halls they went, heading towards the front entrance of the cavern system, but Vincent stopped, having heard a wailing siren echoing faintly in the distance. It sounded like it was coming from outside; it sounded like an alarm. Lengthening his stride, Vincent rounded a corner, just in time to hear a native shouting down the hall, "Arm up! We're under attack! Arm up!" The man went down the halls shouting his simple message over and over, and like a stirred up ants' nest, the Cosmonians emerged from their rooms or shops and bustled about cleaning up and putting things away, preparing for siege.

Vincent lost the foreign girl in the throng, and retreated down a hall that everyone seemed to be avoiding. It was deep in the cliffs, and even his sensitive hearing could not pick out the sound of the alarm or the people of Cosmo Canyon working in controlled panic.

Voices reached his ears then, and he quickly ducked into an alcove, listening as a pair of footsteps approached. "Don't worry, Aerith, I'll be fine. You guys are the ones doing the hard part. I doubt Jenova will get past you." Katy was saying, as they came into view. Her hair was cut short and slightly damp, he noticed.

Aerith sighed and gave a nod, "That whole room just makes me itch," she complained.

"I know," Katy agreed, "It's probably just a reaction to it. I don't know, some kinda Cetra Allergy to evil?" They had passed beyond his line of sight, and he was left listening to their voices and the sounds they made.

Laughing, Aerith fiddled with something beside the door, and slowly, it ground open. "Still, just be careful."

"I will." The door began grinding closed again, and Vincent watched silently as Aerith passed once more, without seeing him. He waited until the door had boomed shut; waited until he couldn't hear Aerith's footsteps anymore... and finally, the gunman stepped out of his hiding place. So, Katy was to be the last line of defense? Vincent shook his head slightly, and took up a position in front of the door. One couldn't be too careful... it wasn't just because she looked like Lucrecia.

Faintly, through the door, he could hear her. Her footsteps echoed on the floor as she paced around, talking to herself. Lucrecia had used to do that too; talk to herself when she was alone, mutter about things she couldn't change but found irritating. Vincent sighed softly and turned away to look down the hall.

So here he was, guarding the door.

Looking down at himself, Vincent sighed again, if anyone came, he figured it would be Jenova, and as such, he would need a more powerful weapon than his puny handgun. Closing his eyes, Vincent reached within himself, slowing his breathing, and finally stopping. He searched within his soul, and found his demons, and pulled forth the strongest he could find. Judging by what his... fans... had told him, Vincent would likely need all the help he could get in defeating Jenova, should she get this far.

Pain lanced through him as he felt the change take hold, and the demon within surged to the fore. Arching back, he gave a soundless cry, and clawed at the air, wings sprouting from his back as he became...

Chaos.

Landing on his knees on the floor, Vincent panted, eyes glazed for a moment, then he stood, tail lashing behind and wings lifting high in a stretch before settling down on his back again. Pushing himself up, the demon Chaos stood at its full height, burning eyes sharp and eager for the battle to come.

In this form, Vincent could hear even better, the sound of battle drumming above, and outside, and in the back caves, the alarms were no longer sounding, those who had been calling them gone to join the fight. Behind him, Katy had settled down somewhere near the center of the room and was talking softly under her breath. Chaos flexed his claws, stretched his lips back from unimaginably sharp teeth and waited impatiently, seething in Vincent's mind like a rabid beast. He had been several other demons up to this point, but none were as untamable as Chaos, and he hoped he would be able to control the beast until their enemy appeared. If she appeared.

They didn't have much longer to wait.

The air darkened at the end of the hall, turning into black liquid that burned and spread, a gaping maw of Void that let out a blast of air so cold it burned. Naomi stepped out of it gracefully, leaving a bloody footprint on the floor as she continued forward another step. Chaos's nostrils flared, the demon excited by the smell of fresh blood the woman wore. His tail lashed sharply, the blade on the tip cracking against the wall.

Naomi came to a stop and the portal behind her sucked closed with a clap of air that turned the blood she wore into ice crystals. "So," she murmured, smirking, "You've turned against me too? Don't worry. I intended to kill you anyway."

Chaos wasted no time on words and launched forward, a streak of living night that flowed low across the ground until he leapt upwards to aim his back claws at her face, his wings flapping a blast of dust into her eyes.

She hadn't been expecting that, but Naomi was just as swift as he, dodging beneath his claws and turning to face him once more, smirking. Chaos landed and turned, hunched over with his wings mantled above him. They faced off again.

In a low crouch, Naomi raised her clawed hands up to face level, eyes blazing with hatred and bloodlust- in that retrospect, she and Chaos were alike, perhaps far too alike for Vincent's tastes. At least they were fighting for opposite reasons, and the gunman took what blessings he could get, considering how cursed he was.

Again, they joined. Naomi lurched forward and into a head-on run, Chaos flowing forward to meet her even as she dodged to the left in an attempt to take him from the side. He twisted away, wings spreading to keep his balance, but proving to be a liability in the confines of the cavern tunnel, the tip of his right wing scraped the wall and he involuntarily pulled it back with a jerk. Naomi struck, sinking her claws into his shoulder. With an enraged hiss, Chaos twisted around, tail lashing at the backs of her knees.

Naomi moved, the blade catching diagonally across the backs of her thighs instead. She staggered, and with a jerk, Chaos pulled his shoulder from her grip, leaving long gouges in his flesh. Snarling, he slithered away, taking to the wall and scaled it as Naomi perused him. She was limited to the floor, however, due to her current form, and Chaos rumbled a sadistic laugh as he launched off the wall, wings flapping and battering the dust and rock-chips he'd scraped off the wall at her.

Staggering back, Naomi lifted an arm to protect her eyes and Chaos struck again, slinking behind her while she couldn't see to lash out at her unprotected back. Naomi fell forward and rolled away, on her feet again and facing him even as he chased after her. Her hands snapped down, latching onto his face, claws sinking into his eyes. Snarling in pain and fury, Chaos lunged into her grasp, unhooking her claws and sank his teeth into her right shoulder.

Shrieking in rage, Naomi tried to break free as his jaws tightened and snapped through flesh and bone, crushing her collar and shoulder blade before she used her other hand to begin tearing at his throat. Chaos, though blind, could still hear, and held on even as Naomi struggled in his grasp, his own claws shredding her stomach and thighs until her flesh hung in bloody ribbons.

At last, he let go as her fingers pierced his windpipe, and with a ferocious shake of his head, he sent her smaller form flying across the hall to hit the wall with a solid crack. She fell to the floor dazed, still clutching a large chunk of Chaos's throat. Breath was getting harder to come by.

Climbing to her feet, Naomi smirked at him as fresh blood was tracked across the floor. "You're dying, Vincent," she taunted. He couldn't see her, but thanks to her speaking, he knew exactly where she was.

Chaos burbled in hatred.

"Does it hurt...? To know that you failed?"

Vincent ground his teeth.

"Does it just tear your heart out to know that you sacrificed yourself for nothing?"

No! It wasn't true!

Vincent took possession of Chaos's body, and where the demon would have retreated, the gunman surged forward in a mad rush.

His clawed hand plunged through her stomach, emerging on the other side. Naomi laughed, her hand coming up. The crack of bone sounded like thunder in his ears, a flash of pain down his body- the pain of transformation, and Vincent, still blind found he could not feel his body.

Naomi shoved him back, watching as the corpse- unaware that it was dead, staggered backwards, crumbling to his knees as the gaping hole in his chest poured blood. His twitching heart pulsed hot in her hand, but quickly drained as the body it had come from fell forward.

Vincent landed face down, stretched across the cold stone floor, and hoped for rest eternal... hoped that he'd weakened Jenova enough for Katy to kill her.

He hoped... for forgiveness.


They were surrounded.

In the air, on the ground, on the cliffs, in the cliffs. There were monsters everywhere, and all of them part of Jenova's army. Brugenhagen even had to abandon his observatory and go below for cover, attended diligently by Nanaki. Aerith, Cloud, and Tifa were troop leaders, guarding the back-caves entrance, the front door, and the top, respectively. Katy had another job.

Katy was to guard the Black Materia.

Sniffling, she touched the back of her head, blinking back tears as her hand encountered short-cropped strands no longer than two inches. That was the best Aerith could do with it, as Sephiroth's swipe had severed the top at about two and a half inches long, leaving the sides and bottom somewhere near four inches. It had looked terrible, and Katy was glad Aerith had been able to even it out, but she still didn't like the fact that for a while there, she'd had something that resembled a mullet. At least thinking about her hair kept her from barfing with nervousness over what was going on around her. This was it, this was the final battle, and she couldn't fail.

Now it was all layered at two inches, except for near the front, where Aerith had kept her bangs, leaving them at chin-length. The back of her head felt cold, and Katy desperately tried to find something else to turn her attention to and firmly placed her hands on the butts of her guns. Her glasses had been replaced at last. Though the old pair could have been bent back into shape, they had seen enough battles and needed to be retired. Thankfully the new pair she'd asked for before leaving to go back to Earth had been finished just that morning while she was out, and they now sat snugly on her nose. The frames were black and lenses nearly half the size of her original pair, and half as thick. The Cosmonians knew of some blend of plastic and something else that made the lenses thinner and lighter, and scratch resistant, which was certainly a blessing to Katy, except that now she had to get used to the floor wavering beneath her feet. She'd gotten a look at herself in a mirror before heading off to her post. She hadn't recognized herself at all.

In here, she couldn't hear a thing of what was going on outside. The room was about fifteen by twenty, roughly circular. At the front was the door, a large portal, sealed with a heavy door of iron, at the back was a locked metal box, full of padding and the Black Materia. Just being in the same room with it gave her the creeps, but at least when it was locked up, it couldn't give her a headache.

Once more, Katy's hand stole upwards and touched the back of her neck. She whimpered. Biting her lips, Katy snatched her hand back down, fingers catching on the tie of the black Ribbon choker Aerith had requested that she keep hold of. The White Materia bounced against her flesh, a reassuring pulse of life in a room that felt claustrophobic and air that tasted stale.

"Bel," she called, needing a distraction, "What's going on out there?"

It took a second, but her mount finally replied, "Just troop formup, everything's going exactly as planned. Curt has moved off, as have Perrie and Morda. Sephiroth's troop isn't complete yet. Wait, he's just started off."

Sighing, Katy sank down to the floor, feeling shaky, "I shouldn't have kicked him like that... I feel bad now."

"Don't worry about it, he still loves you. He's carrying a lock of your hair for good luck too," Beltoren soothed.

Snorting a laugh, Katy shook her head, "Don't tell me white lies, Bel."

She got the impression of him shaking his head at her, feathers ruffled and crest raised, "I'm not! I saw Eris pick it up for him. He tied your Ribbon on it and stuck it in his pocket." This was accompanied with an image of the action, and Katy smiled slightly, "As you see, he doesn't hold it against you- he even offered to let you cut his hair off if you wished to have proper revenge."

Katy squeaked in shock, "No!" her voice echoed back at her, and she closed her mouth, "No, his hair's so pretty!"

"We figured that would be your answer, but he offered."

Looking up at the ceiling, Katy sighed and shifted, "Hey, Bel? ...do you miss hands?"

Softly, his light, musical tenor mind-voice chuckled, "I miss my guitar, if that's what you mean. Don't worry about it though, this is an interesting change, and there's a lot less risk involved if I die. I don't think I'd have liked being a demon."

Nodding, Katy looked down at the floor, "Yeah, you're not a god anymore. But I'm still a bit sad, you're a master bard, God of Music, and I don't get to hear you play."

"I can Wark in tune for you?" Beltoren offered, though only half joking.

Katy had to laugh anyway, "Or just teach me some of your songs and whistle while I sing? I'm not that bad a singer, at least I don't think so... anyway. ...Bel?"

"Fighting's started," he said as she got the feeling of his being distracted, "I'm staying out of the way, healing, I followed Sephiroth. Dante is alright, by the way. The bullets didn't go in very far and Zack pulled them out, I healed him before he took off."

Smiling faintly, Katy twisted her hands in her lap, "I'm glad."

The air shifted, becoming denser somehow, like the feeling before a thunderstorm, and Katy climbed to her feet, "I've got company," she shot off to her Chocobo so that he wouldn't distract her while she was busy. She felt his affirmative, and he sank into the back of her mind, observing, but an unobtrusive presence. It was soothing, like hearing a calming lullaby in the background while you worked on something else after a hard frustrating day. That was Beltoren, though, she'd made him that way- a half-elf half-god bastard with a gift for music and the curse of receiving empathy and telepathy that he couldn't turn off.

Only now did she feel regretful for making his life so difficult in her stories, but he was resilient, it was one of his personality features, along with endlessly giving and boundless kindness. He did lose his temper from time to time, but he could still smile through all the tough times. He smiled because he had to, otherwise, what was the point of living? Katy decided that she admired him. He was a good person to be like.

Steadily, the air grew thicker, and finally ripped in a miasma of blackness near the door. Katy flexed her gloved fingers on her guns and drew them as a familiar figure stepped out of the darkness.

Lifting a bloody clawed hand, Michelle tucked her hair back behind one of her cute puppy ears, her slit-chocolate brown eyes flicked around the room to settle on the box, then on Katy. She smiled. The apparition that stood there was a sorry wreck, flesh hanging in tatters from bone, but no fresh blood flowed from those wounds and certainly, she didn't seem to feel any pain.

Katy's heart ached, "Michelle- I'm sorry... I'm so sorry- I failed you. I have no excuse, I flat out failed you." Tears blurred her vision, and Katy blinked, sending them coursing down her cheeks to catch in the corners of her mouth.

Naomi snorted, the black miasma closing behind her. "Pitiful Cetra," she stated, it was Michelle's voice, but definitely not her words. "Stupid slut," she shifted, pacing closer. She was splattered with dried blood, her hair matted with it, face smeared with it, clothes caked with it, Katy could taste the metallic tang in the air that Naomi had brought with her and it added to the battery-taste that already clung to Katy's mouth- the taste of the Black Materia's poison. "Bitch- that's all you ever did. Just bitched about everything. Nothing was ever perfect for you. No one was ever as perfect as you. No one could ever BE as perfect as you, and you just had to let the world know. I never liked you."

Breath caught in her throat, Katy stepped back, hands trembling, "Michelle- I- that's not how it was at all! I talked because you wouldn't!"

"What if I just didn't want to? You're so negative! Anything I'd have said would have been twisted into something black, or disgusting and perverted. I never liked hanging out with you. You're a self-centered bitch." Naomi continued closer, fingers flexing as Katy backed up another step, coming against the box the Black Materia was locked in. Not that a bit of metal would stop Naomi from getting what she wanted. The Cetra was the biggest problem, and even she wasn't a challenge. How easily she was manipulated with this body- this voice!

Katy shook her head, tears now streaming from her eyes in a steady river, "No- Michelle!" she begged, "You were my best friend! I would have listened to anything you said! All you had to do was tell me to shut up and I would have! I tried! I tried my hardest to be there for you! I tried to be the best friend I could for you!"

Tipping her chin back, Naomi spat, "Well, you weren't there for me when I needed you," she pointed out. "I don't need you now. I will never need you again. I never wanted you in the first place. Stupid bitch. You just showed up and ever since then, my life was a living hell."

Sobbing, Katy shook her head, "No- don't say that!" she begged, trembling. "Please! You were the first real friend I'd ever had! Michow, don't you understand?" She was still blocking the way to the Black Materia, and Naomi grew frustrated.

Launching forward, Naomi slashed at Katy's throat, her claws contacting flesh, raking downwards to catch the ribbon. Howling with pain as the White Materia contacted her palm, she reeled back, clutching her smoking hand.

Katy staggered, dropping one of her guns to grab her throat. The scratches stung, but weren't any deeper than that. "Michelle! Stop it! Destroying the world won't do you any good."

Laughing, Naomi focused her eyes on the Cetra, "Stupid Cetra Bitch," she stated, "You still think I'm your goody-two-shoes friend?" she spat, "I disposed of her first thing. I killed her first, then I killed Hojo, and Vincent, and some stupid bitch named Jessie, I killed Johnston, I killed Don, I killed your mom, and dad, and Samantha, and Matt. I killed that stupid cat of yours too. I killed everyone that lived on that street. I killed Michelle's parents, and little sister, and little brother, and I killed Chris, and I killed and Perrie, I killed Morda, I killed half the people in Hawaii, I killed half the people in Midgar, I killed everyone in Costa Del Sol, I killed everyone in Nibelheim, and now I'm going to kill you. And after you, I'll kill that traitorous little bastard Sephiroth, and from there, I'll kill the Planet and you made it so easy to just drag Earth right down the hole with it!"

Eyes widening behind her glasses, Katy sank down, sitting on the box. "Oh god... no."

Maniacally, Naomi laughed even louder, "Oh god yes!" she hissed, suddenly cutting off her cackling, "I killed them all, because I hate them, because they're of better use to me dead." Throwing her hand out, blackness flashed from her palm.

Gasping, Katy threw her arms up to defend her head, but the darkness engulfed her.

No, Katy, don't listen to her!


Sephiroth sat upon Eris's back, completely confident in the position he was currently in- which was at the head of a mob of half-trained farmers holding multitudes of guns and swords and anything else they could make into a devastating weapon. In front of him was the enemy, and that was all that mattered.

Eris had dispassionately informed him that Hojo's pet Naomi had appeared and had killed off Morda and his troop in seconds, the Jenova monsters surging over the fallen men and women to attack Perrie from behind. Curt and Wren's groups converged on the hoard in a pincer movement and joined forces amidst a sea of monsters. Perrie fell with a scream of righteous anger that Sephiroth heard even from his post on the north end of the trail.

He swung Masamune in an arc, decapitating monsters that may have once been men in quick swipes, heart leaping to his throat as Eris broke his concentration with the horrifying news.

"Jenova has teleported into the Black Materia room. Vincent tried to stop her at the door. He fell, but gave her a good fight. She's weakened."

But that didn't mean that she was weak enough that Katy could take her on alone. Oh god.

Eris slashed with claw and beak, raking a monster, then tossing it off amidst the hoard to trip up its fellows at it writhed in the throes of death. Swallowing, Sephiroth shoved his emotions aside. Abandoning the battle now would mean defeat. He had to trust her. He had to!

Swinging his sword around again, Sephiroth picked off monsters on his left side, then switched back to take out a few on the right while Eris kicked at a monster lunging at her tail. Savagely, she bit the face off another monster- those same orangutan-gnome looking things that had attacked Gongaga what seemed forever ago.

Off to the side, Sephiroth could see Katy's mount, Beltoren doing his best to defend the canyon. It was shocking to see a Chocobo casting magic, but he did it, and did it well. Scores of monsters fell beneath his super-charged fire spells, Chain lightning rained down across the field, leaving the acrid stench of burnt hair and flesh in the air. Pillars of ice as tall as three men stood here and there, containing at least four or five monsters locked in chilly death.

"Sephiroth!"

Sparing a moment to look, the general spotted Zack as he plowed through the monsters and troops on Dante. The bird's feathers were bloody and he had a long gash in his wing and was missing one eye, but otherwise, he was itching for more enemies to take revenge upon. And Dante did so, throwing monsters aside with a strength Sephiroth hadn't realized Chocobos could possess.

"We lost the south end," Zack reported, "Curt, Wren, and Lloyd are retreating," he shouted over the din of battle.

Nodding, Sephiroth decapitated more monsters as Eris wheeled around, "Retreat!" he shouted and started off, Zack close at hand, "Jenova's made it to the Black Materia," he told the black haired young man in return as the troops surged together and retreated, backing down the path towards Cosmo Canyon's front arch. They were abandoning the gate to Earth, but there wasn't much they could do about that.

Zack didn't answer, just swung his Butterfly Edge sword, taking to protecting his right side, leaving Sephiroth to the left, and a dead-space between them. Their birds crashed over corpses- monsters and humans alike- leaving more in their wake. Beltoren surged through the throng to join them, taking up rear guard and sending out spells to cover the retreat.


It was raining.

A steady pour that soaked her to the skin and made her leather chafe. Katy shivered and peered through the wet. All she could see were raindrops, running down her glasses in an endless stream. Lifting her hands, she shaded her eyes from the rain, and winced as light flashed, and the beat up old red Pontiac emerged from thin air and thumped axel-deep into the mud. The windshield wipers were on high, swishing water off as fast as they could and still losing the fight. The car sat there.

Slowly, the driver-side door began to open, and a low, dark streak zipped through the night, slamming against the door with a hard thud. The Night Dog, wearing a black spiked collar barked and snarled at the window as the doors locked with an audible click. Giving up on the door, the dog jumped to the hood of the car, trying to attack the windshield wipers as movement within the car showed the two terrified girls inside, retreating to the back seat.

The owner of the dog appeared, slogging through the rain, leveling his gun at the vague figures inside.

Katy was crying again. Or maybe she hadn't stopped. Either way, her tears were mixing with the rain and washing away, but that didn't mean she hadn't shed them at all. Water seeped in through the hole in the windshield and the wipers repeatedly got stuck on the broken glass, the cracks from the bullet hole were spread some distance away from the entry point. "Please- stop! We weren't doing anything!" Katy found herself shouting, "We weren't! We were just lost! God damn it! Leave us alone!"

She went into motion, slipping through the mud as fast as she could as a tank drove up, called by the man with the gun. Two more men climbed out of the tank, eyeing the car, and hooked a chain under the front bumper, cranking it up and all of them climbed back into the tank, the original man restraining the wild dog. Desperately, Katy stumbled after them, sobbing, "Stop, please stop!" but they couldn't hear her, couldn't see her.

They hauled their find through the mud at a snails' pace, reaching the edge of a soggy military camp where a short man with buzzed hair hidden beneath a cap stood beneath an umbrella. Three men stood by, carrying standard issue Shinra machine guns, a fourth, much larger man stood next to the short important-looking one, and the one who held the dog's leash came to make his report. "We found this vehicle about a quarter mile from camp, sir. There are two people inside, and the car appears to be a civilian model, the dog didn't detect any bombs, though."

Giving a nod, the short, important man looked back towards the car "Open it," he ordered and one of the men came forward, using the butt of his gun to break open the back driver's side window. Reaching in, he pulled Katy's book bag out and handed it over to one of the other men standing nearby. The back door slowly began to open. Katy's heart fluttered in her throat as the dog lunged, but was restrained, and herself tumbled out and into the mud.

"Please- please don't hurt me!" Katy heard herself whimper, and watched helplessly as the man who had broken the back window grabbed her and hauled her away from the car.

"Who are you? What're you doing here?" he demanded and Katy sobbed, wanting to end this torment, but it wouldn't stop. Jenova- as Katy had come to realize- had locked her in this nightmare and she wasn't likely to be released until Jenova, now inhabiting Michelle's body under the name of Naomi, released her.

The final Shinra Blue leveled a gun at the open door of the car and Katy watched herself lunge to try and put herself in the way, "No! Please! Don't hurt her!" she shouted and got backhanded. Landing heavily in the mud, she didn't get up for a moment, it was the first time someone had deliberately hit her in the face like that. It wouldn't be the last, certainly. Katy watched herself curl up into a fetal position, sobbing softly- she didn't remember crying at this point, but she supposed that she had been.

Michelle slid her coat and bag off into the backseat and got up, climbing out with a dignity Katy was astonished to see in her friend. She'd always had an inherent grace, the redhead supposed, but this gravity of maturity was astonishing, "Katy, are you alright?" she asked, worried, but steady as she kneeled beside her terrified friend, then looked up, straight into the muzzle of a machinegun. She didn't flinch.

Sniffling, Katy's younger self sat up, "I'm fine," she whispered.

"I'm not," her older, other self added, sobbing, "Michelle..."

The car was turned off, but the headlights remained on, giving light to this Panoply of Horrors. The beginning of the end for Michelle, and she looked as if she knew it was coming, knew her end was near and was facing it boldly.

"Deal with them," the Important Man ordered and turned, starting off, his hulking umbrella-holding companion following. The man standing over Katy and Michelle didn't move, but the one holding Katy's bag tossed it back into the car and shut the door, the third one came up behind Katy while the one in front aimed the butt of his gun at her head. The resulting crack made Katy's older self wince, feeling the nausea of that concussion all over again.

Laughing, his friend aimed and stated, "That the best you can do?" he challenged, "Lt. Kresh said to DEAL with them!"

Michelle dived forward with a shout, "No!" the shot went off.

Katy staggered closer, reaching out, as if she could stop the scene. She was helpless now, just as she'd been then, watching in horror as the spray of bullets hit the brunet girl in the back. Michelle landed heavily on top of her best friend, shielding her friend from further abuse, but blood sprayed like a fountain from her wounds. She smiled slightly, the expression remaining even after she closed her eyes and went still.

Slowly, Katy sank to her knees in the mud, a moan of agony spilling from her lips, "no..."


Pinned against the canyon wall with nowhere but into the caverns to run, but even there wasn't safe, as Eris dispassionately reported that Cloud had gone back to join Aerith on defending the back caves entrance when Seph and his group showed up at the door.

Flying creatures dived from the sky, or threw heavy or sharp objects in a constant rain upon the people, and Sephiroth was forced to admit that they'd lost the battle outside. Lloyd, the commander closest to the door, pulled his troop in first, and they headed up to back Tifa and Nanaki. Wren and Curt went to help Aerith and Cloud, which left Zack and Sephiroth beating back the enemies at the front door. At least it was a bottleneck and the two of them with magical aid from Beltoren, could hold off the armies.

The other Chocobos were packed into the caverns with the troops. The noncombatants were moving among the wounded, healing and bandaging with whatever supplies they had available, those who could still fight were resting, on standby until SCYTHE needed them again.

"It's hopeless," Zack panted, his sword swings getting wild, his guard falling as fatigue set in. He was drenched with sweat, ready to give up, and Sephiroth stepped in front of him.

"Fall back, rest for a moment, I can hold them," Sephiroth stated, wishing to Katy's god and the Planet and Holy and anything else that might listen to him that he could believe his own words. He was tiring as well, and thoroughly distracted. Still, there was no word from Katy's battle. Eris having reported that Beltoren said he couldn't hear her anymore, but that she was alive. That was all he knew. That was all any of them knew.

Zack stumbled back and fell to one knee, a bold woman hustling up to him and giving water and healing. He said nothing to her, not having much breath when he wasn't gulping down the liquid. In front of him, what he could see around Sephiroth's whirling blade, was a mass of spraying blood, flailing arms, and sharp teeth. It was as if the whole army had turned into one many legged, many armed monster slug that was trying to squeeze into the cavern and make Cosmo its new snail shell. He squeezed his eyes, trying to force away his hallucinations; they weren't helping keep his moral up.


"No-!" Katy sobbed, gun falling to the floor with a crack and clatter as she put her face in her hands. "She's dead- she died- she died protecting me!"

Drawing a shaky breath, Katy abruptly stood, tears streaming down her red-splotched face, "How dare you! How dare you use her body like this! You scum! You vile piece of shit- you mother fucking planet eating parasite from the pits of HELL!" she shrieked, "How dare you use her mouth and tell me lies! She did love me, she did care for me!"

Sweeping down, Katy grabbed her guns, half-blinded by insane tears, she grabbed them up and aimed.

Naomi snarled and launched forward, claws at the ready.

Panicked fury drove her, and Katy pulled the triggers of her guns, again and again, one after the other as Naomi continued, completely unhindered by the bullets slamming into her face and chest. Sobbing, Katy reached down- and into the Planet, feeling a pulsing warmth flare at her throat where the White Materia rested, slightly askew. The pounding of the guns deafened her, even as the light from the Holy Materia twining down her arms and encasing the bullets she fired blinded her.

Closing her eyes, Katy felt Naomi hit her- claws tearing through the leather and armor of her corset and jacket, gouging into her ribs. Still, she kept firing as she overbalanced and fell backwards over the box.

She kept firing until her guns were empty, and even then, she kept pulling the triggers.

"Mom, Dad, Samantha, Matt...

"Forgive me, Michelle!"