5- And the Heavens Shall Rain Forth a New Breed

A rush of energy washed over the gentle peacetime air. Order turned to chaos. Rationality, to fear. Confidence to cowardice.

Only the Heartless did not have enough sense to run for cover. Instead they stood outside, arms up as if embracing the madness that rained down on them all. Most of them died, and because of this the people of the Hallow Bastion prayed and prayed for the meteors to continue.

But that is not to say that the humans were safe. Whole districts of the city were wiped out, killing thousands of cowering men, women, and children. The army was halved, the civilian population quartered. The castle was rained down on as much as the rest of the city, but repairmen and mages within castle walls used all their efforts to keep the roof standing. Eventually the word got out. Everybody head to the castle.

Even more died en route. The number of people that managed to survive the meteor shower was a mere shadow of the once great city. But Ansem protected his people with every last ounce of his strength, ushering as many survivors into the walls of his castle as he could. The door had opened, and he would need survivors.

Cloud watched Squall's eyes move behind closed lids.

"I know, I'm sorry to have to wake you, but there's something we have to talk about."

"Ugh… fine," Squall grunted, leaning up in his bed. His duel with Seifer had left him nearly ruined, and he wore only bandages covering his abdomen. When he was finally awake enough for Cloud to continue, he uttered a nearly inaudible, "what?"

"Leonhart, listen," Cloud replied and closed his eyes, pointing at the ceiling with a bare hand.

"What are you talking abou-"

"Shh! Just. LISTEN."

In the overwhelming silence there was what sounded like small explosions rattling off in the distance. Squall had been unconscious for days and was only then beginning to come to.

"What's going on out there?" he asked quietly, yet intently.

"Meteors. Thousands of them." Cloud began to stare at the ceiling.

"… Meteors? Are we at war with Wutai?"

"No… they're just meteors."

The young men sat and thought, listening to the booms and muffled sounds of women screaming. Squall broke the silence.

"What did it?"

"… It has to be either Ansem or Sephiroth," Cloud whispered, now afraid of being overheard.

"… Sephiroth?"

"I'm going after him. Tonight. I… I want you to come, Squall." Cloud would not look his friend in the eyes. He had a bad feeling about his plan, but it was something he had to do, and something he could not do alone.

"… I won't leave Rinoa. Not with all this going on. You should know that."

"I do. I can't explain it, but I need you to come. I know you probably can't even fight… but something bad's gonna happen if Sephiroth can fully recover."

Squall had only heard second-hand stories of Sephiroth's exile, and was not sure he could so hastily accept the accusations against his general.

"What about Ansem, Strife?" Cloud looked at the ground.

"What if… what if Ansem hasn't done anything? What if it was all Beatrix and Sephiroth? You know there has to be something between them. They're close and distant at the same time, something is off. I can't trust Beatrix, Leonhart, I just can't."

"… I won't leave Rinoa."

"God DAMN it Sqaull! This is more important than puppy love!" Cloud, looking at his friend's waist, watched Squall's fists tense up, then relax. "… I'm sorry. We need someone to lead us. I can fight… but if we're taking on Sephiroth, we need someone to strategize."

Squall, still recovering from Cloud's outburst, took deep breaths before responding: "We?"

"Me, Freya, Lulu, and Rikku. We can't do this without you, Squall. But if we have to, we'll die trying."

"… And Rinoa?"

Cloud stood up and slowly walked towards the door that exited the infirmary. He never looked back towards his friend, but stopped in the doorway and quietly responded, "She'll be safe here. The castle is the only safe place to be now."

"… Come get me when you're ready."

Ansem looked out over his creation. The turn of events so far had been wonderful. Fate had been playing directly into his hand.

Thousands of Heartless, not only small ones but large monsters as well, stood awaiting his orders in the catacombs of the castle.

"Children," he announced to his shadowed crowd, "the time of our supremacy will soon be at hand. Soon the research will be complete, and soon you will have complete rule of this world as repayment for your cooperation through this difficult time." He smiled as all the mindless creatures dutifully awaited his command. His speech was lost on them, but he could not help himself. "I, myself, will continue on to better things; more luxurious worlds. Soon I will pass through the door, as so many of you have. Soon I will become like you: without need of a weak human body. I will become corporeal, an ageless mass of wisdom and strength with the power to transfer myself between lost worlds with the slightest thought. I will become God Eternal, with the power of shadow to aide my cause. I will become Fate, to rule over every heart, and stamp out the light until only shadow extends endlessly over all worlds. I will rule the ultimate power of darkness. I will rule Kingdom Hearts." His face beamed as he took his coat from one of his subjects and turned to the elevator. Almost as an afterthought, he instructed his followers, "At dawn, consume them all."

"Laguna? I didn't know you were going to come with us," Cloud announced when he walked into his dorm room. Laguna sat at Cloud's desk while the rest of the strike team, Freya, Lulu, and Rikku, sat on the bed.

"Cloud, nice to see you," he said as he stood to give the soldier a salute. "Actually, I won't be able to join the assault. I just came to give you a last minute update on Sephiroth's most recent whereabouts." He extended a map to Cloud and pointed out the particular cave.

"How did you manage to find him?" Rikku asked, still seated.

"Well, Sephiroth hasn't really been seen since the incident, but based on the direction he headed after his short duel with Ansem and the seriousness of his wounds, he can't have gotten any further than that cave."

"But… he is Sephiroth, Laguna. I'm sure you've heard how he walked back to Hallow Bastion from Wutai even after being impaled on spears," Freya spoke up, obviously shaken.

"Just legends," Lulu offered coldly. "Sephiroth is strong, but he is still human."

"I heard no one has ever seen him bleed," Rikku mumbled.

"That's nonsense," Cloud took control of the situation. "If he's never bled, then how did he get impaled? Lulu's right, Sephiroth is legendary, but he's still just a man. Besides, I'll take care of Sephiroth, you guys just have the meteors and the heartless to worry about."

"Wait, Cloud, you're going to need everyone's help," Laguna corrected, "we have to go into this knowing we can win. This will end tonight. Sephiroth is weak, and as we speak Beatrix is out collecting information to use against Ansem. By the time you are back, Ansem will no longer be ruling Hallow Bastion. So Cloud, did you… uh… talk to—you know?"

"Yeah, he said he'd come with us. I'm not too sure about him, though. He was afraid to leave Rinoa and he's not in very good shape. I want him to come with us, but we don't have enough people to be able to keep a good eye on him."

"That's not exactly true," Laguna said. The team turned to look at him with interest. "Well, I couldn't just send a bunch of rookies with no real combat experience to fight the top general of Hallow Bastion, no matter how skilled you all may be. The last member should be here pretty soo—" There were three quick knocks at the door. "Well, there you go. C'mon in!"

The door opened to reveal the slowly aging team member, spear cocked at his side and cigarette hanging out of the corner of his mouth.

"Well, I've gotta say, you kids are a bunch of crazy bastards."

"Nice to see you again, too, Cid," Cloud replied sarcastically.

"I didn't know you could fight, old man," Rikku smiled.

"Hey, who you callin' 'old man'?"

"Okay, so everyone's all set?" Laguna searched the room for objections, and continued after he found none. "Captain Strife, go get Squall so you can head off. And good luck to all of you."

"Ah, Lord Ansem! I've been looking for you. Is there anything wrong under the castle?" Beatrix exclaimed as she chased down her ruler down the long corridor, crowded with huddling townspeople.

"No problem at all, General," Ansem replied without looking her way. "Is there any matter that requires my attention?"

"Yes, sir. I need your permission to open up the north wing for the citizens. We are running out of room in the other wings."

"Ah, of course, General," he answered, but then immediately stopped walking. Beatrix turned to face him, a look of slight confusion on her face. "But I want you to attend to them, yourself. I'm afraid we may have an unwelcome guest before the night ends."

"… A guest, Lord Ansem?" An alarm went off inside Beatrix's chest, and she knew the answer before Ansem gave it.

"Sephiroth has recovered. Have a special team ready at the north wing. He will attack my quarters first."

The team set out at the first break in the meteor shower. Cloud took the head, followed by Cid and Freya, then Lulu, then Rikku, assigned with guarding the wounded Squall. They trekked slowly and steadily through the mud, snow, and slush, heading north towards the cave where Sephiroth was suspected of being. Tension was thick, and the group traveled in silence but for Squall's direction. They had been walking for three hours and had seen no signs of any Heartless.

"Around the ridge we should be able to see the cave, Captain. Assuming there is a concentration of Heartless in the area, we should assume Formation C," Squall announced.

"Thank you Leonhart," Cloud responded. "Assume Formation C, people." Cloud stood where he was, and Cid and Freya spread out to his sides. Rikku and Squall stood close together behind them, weapons out. Lulu stood in the back, ready to cast offensive spells.

"Okay everyone… forward!" They marched over the top of the ridge and gazed down on the valley below. Cloud's heart pounded in his chest like a drum. Small meteors and snow fell all around them as they crept around the ridge. Peering around, Cloud spotted the mouth of the cave, but no heartless.

"Incoming!" Rikku shouted over the meteors. The heartless came from above, dropping down off nearby cliffs as new breeds swept in on wings from above.

The party held formation tightly, effectively holding back the inhuman force. Cid and Freya wielded their spears effectively, keeping the heartless back from Lulu, who was using thunder and fire spells to knock the winged creatures out of the air. Rikku and Squall held the rear, and the occasional crack of the gunblade echoed off the mountains. Cloud batted away his foes effortlessly as he inched his force to the cave.

"Why the are there so many heartless around here!" Even while fighting and screaming, his cigarette never fell from Cid's lips.

'I knew it… it has to be Sephiroth,' Cloud thought. Then he saw him, a shadowy figure, deep black in a sea of white running from the cave in the direction of the castle.

"Leonhart, you're in charge! Get everyone back safe!" Cloud slashed two more heartless and ran off.

"Wait, Strife, you're not going alone!", but it was too late. Cloud wouldn't turn back, even if he had heard Squall. Besides, the heartless were going to be hard enough to fight off without Cloud, and Squall couldn't spare another soldier. 'Think, Squall, keep your head!' he thought to himself.

"Tighten up formation! NOW!" The group closed in, cutting off the gap in the rank left by Cloud. Squall scanned his surroundings. There were too many heartless, and they kept flowing in from the cliffs above. He couldn't just sit there and wait for Cloud to come back. Even if Sephiroth was gone, they must press on to the cave. They had to find out if Sephiroth was behind the attacks.

"Aaahh!" Rikku screamed and dropped her daggers. Squall spun around and slashed a jittery heartless in half as Rikku clutched her leg and rolled into the center of the formation.

"Are you alright!" Squall shouted over the clash and roar of battle.

"Its… so… so cold…" Rikku trailed off. Blood from her leg seeped onto and melted the snow around her. Melted the snow… melted the snow…

"Lulu! Give me a fire spell straight up! As big as you can, on those cliffs!" Lulu looked shocked.

"But with all the snow-"

"I know, Lu. Everyone move out. Fast! Freya, get Lulu out of here!" Squall put Rikku over his shoulder as the group sprinted toward the cave. Cid took the lead and cut down any heartless in their way.

The smell of sulfur and ash filled the air as the spell was released. A huge fireball rocketed upward towards the cliffs as Freya jumped with Lulu in her arms. The fire blast impacted the snow and rock and a sea of mud, water, rock, and the charred corpses of heartless rained down into the small valley where the party once stood, and then flowed out towards direction of the castle, taking every last of the heartless with it. The danger now passed, Squall laid out Rikku on the snow.

Cid felt her forehead and pulse. "She's doing okay, but we need to get her out of this cold."

"The cave," Squall commanded his troops.

"I'm worried about them. They've been gone too long."

Aerith sat with her friend Rinoa, and her superiors Zack and Laguna, in Cloud's dorm room, safe in the warmth of the castle.

"It's okay, they were in for a rough trek. They shouldn't be gone much longer," Zack offered. A meager comfort, but they were all worried.

"I don't like this at all," Rinoa offered. "I don't like how they just all ran off to capture the most powerful man in the world, and you helped them. I don't care how good a fighter Cloud is, this isn't right."

"Calm down, Rin. You know the boys: they would've ran off to do this no matter what. At least they have Cid with them." Aerith put a friendly arm around Rinoa.

"… I don't like this at all." A silent stream of tears fell from Rinoa's face. The rest listened to the crash of meteors dissipate.

"Maybe there's something we can do," Aerith muttered to herself.

"Wait!"

His cries did nothing. Sephiroth just kept running, entirely ignorant of his pursuer.

"I will not be ignored!" Cloud shouted, furious at the man he used to admire. He jumped, launched himself into the air over Sephiroth, landing five feet in front of him. Sephiroth stopped, and stood up straight, staring straight into Cloud's eyes.

"You are a fool, boy." Sephiroth's rasp had grown more prominent after his rare loss in his brief duel with Ansem. His cape, now dirty and ragged, once again surrounded him entirely, his sword hidden.

"I can't let you go back to the castle, General. I have too much there."

"You are ignorant. Blindly devoted to your lord. Ansem is the cause of Hallow Bastion's destruction. My death," with these words, he laughed softly, "will not save this world. So leave me, leave me and go delude in your false sense of grandeur somewhere else. I have business to take care of."

Cloud said no words, but drew his sword slowly and elegantly. Cloud readied himself.

Sephiroth flashed forward, the Masamune clashing with the Cloud's Buster Sword before he even knew it was unsheathed. Sephiroth was stronger, and pushed Cloud to the ground, then lifted his blade for the killing blow. Could rolled out of the way of the downward thrust and sprang to his feet. Twirling his sword around his head, he charged toward Sephiroth's side. In one swift movement, Sephiroth brought the Masamune over and blocked Cloud's strike, then, with a twist of his blade, sent the Buster Sword hurtling through the air. A flick of Sephiroth's wrist and a spurt of blood coated the Masamune and the quick summoning of a pillar of fire sent Cloud's body rocketing backward, landing in a smoking heap in the snow.

"You are talented, boy, and it would be a shame to kill you."

He wiped the blood off of his blade with his cape and continued running toward the castle.

The cave was empty, except for a primitive bed of moss. The cave was larger than it seemed from the outside; the entrance was about ten feet high, but on the inside the ceiling of the cave reached to 30 or 40 feet. Rikku was set in the bed while Freya inspected the cave further.

"This wound is strange," Lulu told Squall. "Its physical, but… magical at the same time. I can't purify it. She needs a white mage."

"Okay, thanks." Squall inspected it for himself. Everyone agreed that they couldn't mend the wound. Either Aerith or Rinoa could do it, or any talented mage in the castle, but the castle was too far away. Rikku might not be able to make it the whole trek back. Whatever was to be done, it needed to be done quickly. Squall got to his feet and paced. He needed to think.

"Arrrgh!" Freya's body shot from the depths of the cavern and skittered to the ground next to Rikku.

"Arms, everyone!" Squall shouted. Lulu summoned a shield around Squall and Cid as Rikku and Freya lay on the ground.

"in' behemoths! Two of them!" The beasts lumbered up from the shadows, their horns lit like beacons on a sea shore, emanating an ironically humble yellow glow.

"Remember, everyone, hit the horns. Lu, no thunder spells, it might heal them." He cast a look back as Freya began to stumble to her feet. Rikku was shivering. "Okay, everyone concentrate on the left one, Lu, try to keep that other one as far away from us as possible. Watch out for lightning bolts!"

Lulu wasted no time, launching an ice spell onto the floor, causing the second behemoth to fall to its four knees. Cid charged and jumped off the wall, going straight for the horn of the first behemoth. It reared up on its hind legs and batted Cid out of the air like a fly. Cid hit the ground hard, but recollected his thought to keeps strategizing.

"The legs first!" Freya shouted over the battle, and she ran under the behemoth and hack on of its legs. For her bravery she was hit with a thunder spell which stunned her long enough to be kicked away, into Cid who was just managing to get up.

Lulu was effectively managing to keep the second monster at bay until she was hit by a thunder spell herself. Though her immunity to magic was high, her concentration on the behemoth was broken and it charged full force and knocked her to the wall. Squall stood, gunblade drawn, staring down twin behemoths. He quietly and calmly assessed the situation. Even together, they didn't have enough strength to kill both creatures. They didn't have time to be fighting, Rikku was shivering more and more uncontrollably. And even if they did have the time, it seemed like only Squall's gunblade would be powerful enough to break through the horn. Squall chanted and touched his blade, which began to glow in the same white light. He stood with his sword propped over his head. He intended to get his team out of this cave, and he intended to do it soon.

"Cid! Get Rikku! And go behind me, I want them both to focus on me!" The behemoths crept toward Squall, like lions stalking their prey. "Then I want you and the others to get out!"

"Got it, Chief." Cid ran to get Rikku as Lulu ran for the exit. Freya shouldered her weapon and walked to Squall's side.

"I'm helping."

"Fine, stay close to me and wait for my signal." Freya nodded. She closed her eyes and concentrated as an immense energy grew up from inside her. Leaves and grass began to spiral around the two in a gentle updraft. Squall waited and watched.

They worked in unison, as Squall thought they would. He could see their slight concentration and sense the energy gathering around their horns. Squall looked up and saw scattered concentrations of energy appear over their heads. Four bolts cracked down on top of them and Squall reflected them all, angled them up and forward to the cave's ceiling above the behemoths.

"Now, Freya!" Freya released her spell and the random debris caught in her wake rose up and formed the shape of a giant serpent-like dragon. The dragon rushed the behemoths, then turned and rushed straight up into the ceiling at the exact spot the lightning bolts struck. The force of the blows caused the ceiling to crumble and quake. The monsters charged forward towards the exit as quickly as Squall and Freya. A flurry of thunder spells surrounded them as they ran, and Squally managed to effectively dodge or block them all. He could see the mouth of the cave crashing down and jumped and dove through the falling rocks, rolled on the snow, then turned around ready to face the monsters, should they have survived the cave-in. There was only silence.

"You did it… impressive." Lulu's voice was the first he heard.

"While wounded, that's nice work, kid. But we gotta run, the kid's not gonna last much longer… wait, where's-"

Squall wouldn't move. He stood and stared at the rubble waiting for it to move, but no movement came. He picked up a halberd out of the rocks.

"Freya… I'm sorry Freya, but we need to leave." He jabbed the dull end of the weapon into the rocks, a meager memorial at best. "Rest in peace, friend."

Many guards refused to fight him, either because they knew he was too strong or because they had lasting allegiance to him. The ones that did fight did not last long. Sephiroth stormed through the castle looking for the one man he had to kill to bring peace back to his world. He knew Ansem would not hide from him, he was probably the only person alive who did not fear Sephiroth. So Sephiroth hacked his way to the tower, to Ansem's personal chambers.

A tall staircase, a long hallway, and 13 casualties later, Sephiroth had made his way to his former lord's room. He kicked in the door without hesitation.

"Now now, General. There is no need to become violent." Ansem was standing in his room quite casually, reading one of his many books.

"My Liege, I apologize for inconveniencing you," Sephiroth sneered in a mock bow. "But I'm afraid I come with a matter of some import."

"Yes, I'm sure you do." Ansem looked gravely into the eyes of his old friend. "You must realize, General, that the time for peace has passed. The world has lived out its usefulness, and nothing can save it now. The meteors were the final sign. This world has been connected, and soon it will be liberated."

"I will stop you. I will make you pay for your crimes."

"But stopping me will stop nothing. Haven't you realized that yet? This cannot be reversed, and the coming of the heartless would have happened with or without my presence. There is no altering fate, Sephiroth. You must only accept it, for fate favors those who worship it." There was a glint in Ansem's amber eyes.

"You truly have gone mad, lord," Sephiroth said as he cast his cape aside and readied his sword. "I wish I could regret cutting you down."

"Hahaha… perhaps you will, Sephiroth. Perhaps you will. But for now, I'm afraid I will have to leave you in the hands of someone else. A very capable someone, of course."

"There is only you and me Ansem!" Sephiroth shouted as he charged forward, only to find his attack blocked my a beautiful silver sword. "Beatrix…" Sephiroth clenched, "you do not have the strength to kill me!" Sephiroth used all his strength and sent her flying to the other side of the room. She calmly kicked off the wall and landed on her feet and began to charge her fellow general. Sephiroth turned and slashed at Ansem, who teleported to the other side of the room.

"Haha! One fight at a time, Friend!" Ansem gleefully shouted.

Beatrix was as fast as Sephiroth with her sword. Her overhead slash was blocked and countered, and she ducked the Masamune's fatal blade. Her thrusts were side stroked with some effort on Sephiroth's part. His first challenging sword fight in ages.

"You are as good as I was expecting, Lady," Sephiroth offered, "but this contest ends." He jumped at her, swinging his huge blade from the side. She used all her strength to block the blow, then Sephiroth disappeared. By the time Beatrix knew he was gone it was too late; he had appeared directly behind her, gashed her thigh and relieved her sword from her hand. He held her up by the neck and threw her to the wall, then faced Ansem. "One fight at a time," Sephiroth said.

"Well done, General," Ansem congratulated. "I knew you would win, of course. But I'd known of your little pairing and couldn't have both of you around to rise against me. Soon, however, it will be of no matter. If you'll excuse me…" And with that the king disappeared in a magical light.

"Lady, where did he go?" Sephiroth turned to his former ally.

She picked herself up from the ground and regained her dignity. She had already wrapped her wound in a discarded piece of cloth. "The catacombs, to release the heartless. Go."

"Get the citizens out of the castle," Sephiroth commanded, and flew out the door.

"Are you ready, Rinoa?" Aerith asked. Their plan was far from a simple task, but Aerith believed they could do it. If they could find their friends with magic, Aerith believed that she could open a portal to bring them back. It was tricky, but dimension magic was her specialty. "Just concentrate on Squall…"

The girls closed their eyes, seated on the ground around candles and some magical runes. Laguna and Zack watched silently. In their minds the girls could see white. Snow. Yes, snow. There were some figures, shapes they couldn't make out. Three shapes. They gradually came into focus. They were sad, but determined. Tired, but relentless. The identified Squall by the heavy weight they could sense from his shoulders.

"Keep concentrating…" Aerith said quietly as she started chanting. A void was produced between the girls, and Zack and Laguna could see into it. On the other side was a small group trekking through the snow. One of the figures seemed to notice them…

"Look. Over there," Lulu announced. "There's some sort of light… I can't tell what it is."

Squall stopped and closed his eyes. Without turning around he said, "Its Rinoa. Lets go."

They walked over and investigated the portal. One by one they walked through.

"Oh my God, Squall, I'm so happy you're alright…" Rinoa said as she embraced him. He hugged her back unemphatically. Appreciative of her concern, but with too much weight on his shoulders to be overcome with relief.

"Where are the others?" Zack asked nervously. There was silence. They all stood there in the small room, silently grieving. Squall broke the silence.

"Aerith, you need to look at Rikku, she's injured."

"She's not injured, kid," Cid responded quietly. "She's gone."

Aerith began to cry. She was the only one. Everyone else in the room was a soldier. Even Rinoa had faced losses before in the Great War, and even more recently. They were all saddened, their friends' lives had been tragically cut short. They had all seen Seifer cut down. There were already thousands of casualties. Death was a part of this war with the heartless. With Sephiroth, or Ansem, or Beatrix. Whoever was orchestrating the attacks. Through her sobs, Aerith began to shout.

"Where's Cloud! Why isn't he with you! Where did he go!"

Squall's response was simple: "I don't know." He left the room. Rinoa began to chase after him, but stopped short of the door.

"Wait, Aerith, lets look for Cloud. He could still be out there wandering in the snow."

They cast their spell again and were thrust into a familiar world of white. There was snow, there was red… blood. They followed the bloodstains to his body, lying still in the snow. Zack brought him back.

Aerith's tears wouldn't stop. "His arm… his arm… I can't fix this… his arm…"

Laguna placed a fatherly hand on Aerith's shoulder. "Calm down," he said quietly, to her only, "he's alive. We have that much."

Sephiroth sprinted down the stairs into the catacombs below. He found Ansem standing next to a mysterious door.

"I won't let you sacrifice all these people to your sick experiments, Ansem."

"General, I believe I am beyond doing only what you allow me to do. I don't think you understand the power I have in my heart. All these heartless are subject to me, and only to me. I have limitless power."

"You think power is the manipulation of mindless drones? Ha! You will never achieve true power, Ansem. That right is reserved for the brave, not the cowardly." Sephiroth paced back and forth as he spoke, keeping a distance between himself and the king. Ansem stood still.

"It takes great courage to lose yourself in the darkness, General. Great courage indeed. Here," he said, placing his hand on the elaborate wooded door, "allow me to show you!"

As he opened the door, a flood of heartless washed out, flowing around Ansem like a river around a boulder. Sephiroth drew his sword and began to cut down the endless stream of them, but there were too many. The force of their numbers pushed him back, and he fled up the stairs toward the courtyard, surrounded by them.

There were citizens in the courtyard, having taken shelter from the meteor shower, and they gasped as they saw their once impeccable general in a tattered uniform leaping from the catacombs of the castle. They screamed as they saw the army of heartless follow him.

"Sephiroth!" Ansem screamed from the castle wall above. All action stopped as the heartless remained immobile, and Sephiroth watched Ansem. The people in the crowd were rooted to their places, unable to take their eyes off the conflict. "Your violation of your exile will not be tolerated."

Sephiroth was raging within. He remembered back to the cave. He had been able to control them, then. He focused, concentrated his heart on the rage within and commanded them all from the depths of his soul… Kill Ansem… Kill Ansem…

The heartless all turned around and faced their former master. Ansem was shocked to see that Sephiroth had gained the same power he had… no… Sephiroth may be able to command them, but Ansem was their only master here.

"How dare you bring this army of heartless into my kingdom!" With a snap of his fingers, all the heartless in Hallow Bastion fell to dust. The crowd cheered for their king. "And as for you, my former General… I will defeat you myself!"

Sephiroth leapt onto the castle wall and smiled. "You finally regain your sanity, my Lord."

Guess what? I'm not dead! Though I'm sure everyone who ever liked my story is a senior citizen by now, perhaps a fresh update will breathe new life to this old piece of work. Hope you liked it. It was actually written in two parts, one part this afternoon, the other part in the middle of the night, probably about a year ago. Considering, I think its surprisingly coherent! Alright, so next time…

Cloud's arm is repaired, and he walks a thin line between man and metal. His friendship with Squall is strained after their losses in the mountains, and Cloud's desire to settle the score with Sephiroth becomes obsessive. The people mourn the losses of even more soldiers and civilians. Plus, finally an uninterrupted showdown between a very healthy and fully healed Sephiroth and Ansem. Who will the people rally behind? Where do Cloud and Squall's loyalties lie? All in chapter six: Duel. Oh yes, its all winding down. Two more chapters, people.