Legal Disclaimer: Super Mario Bros. and Final Fantasy VII are copyright Nintendo and Square Enix respectively. I do not own them, Nintendo and Square Enix do. They and all of their characters are the property of Nintendo, Square Enix and Shigeru Miyamoto, Tetsuya Nomura, Hironobu Sakaguchi, Kazushige Nojima, Yoshinori Kitase, and their respective creators.
Super Mario Bros. The Final Fantasy
Chapter 1:
In the midst of an ancient Cetra city located on the planet Gaia's Northern Continent, inside a temple a young man with spiky blond hair battled a man with long, silver hair wielding a massive six-foot long ōdachi. The former SOLDIER with silver hair, Sephiroth, had put his opponent on the defensive for most of the battle as he repeatedly stabbed at him, only for the younger warrior to either parry or dodge his thrusts. Despite the sword being over six feet long, Sephiroth wielded it as if it were lighter than a feather. He smirked as he witnessed Cloud Strife dodge his attacks. This was different from the previous battle. He could tell that Cloud was stronger now than he had been two years before. But then again, so was he.
Cloud then went on his counteroffensive as he rushed towards Sephiroth, holding the Ultima Weapon high. Sephiroth took one look at the sword and noticed that this time, the sword had slots, which were filled with Materia, crystallized Mako, which was also the lifeblood of the planet and the mining of it proved harmful to the planet. As such, Cloud tended to restrict his Materia usage in recent times, though when he had learned of Sephiroth's survival and return, he knew that he would need every tool at his disposal if he were to finally vanquish his nemesis.
Cloud repeatedly slashed at Sephiroth, but as had happened with Cloud, Sephiroth either parried or dodged Cloud's strikes with ease. Also, just as with Sephiroth and his Masamune, Cloud wielded his Ultima Weapon, a large, heavy single-edged broadsword-like blade as if it were made of paper. Cloud then brought his sword down on Sephiroth, who casually raised his blade to intercept Cloud's, a loud ring sounding out throughout the city as the two swords clashed. Neither sword budged as they clashed, with neither blade chipping, either. Sephiroth smirked and with a single swing of his sword, sent Cloud sailing through the air. The younger warrior flipped and landed on two feet, skidding back a couple feet before coming to a stop, assuming a fighter's stance as he focused his gaze on Sephiroth. Cloud then launched another flurry of attacks, Sephiroth parrying aside most of the attacks, though one of them managed to get through and strike him on the shoulder. Still, Sephiroth's increased durability prevented the blade from drawing any blood, though it did manage to inflict a small cut on his trench coat.
"You've improved, Cloud," Sephiroth said appraisingly, though Cloud could not help but note that there was still a mocking tinge to his tone. "But you still won't beat me."
As if to prove his point, Sephiroth went back on the offensive. He repeatedly thrust his blade towards Cloud, forcing the younger warrior to back off and parry his attacks, Sephiroth putting his superior reach to good use, keeping Cloud at arm's reach as Cloud could not really make any headway against him. Still, despite his advantages, Sephiroth was having difficulty of his own making any real headway on Cloud, with the only solid hit being inflicted by Cloud.
The former SOLDIER backed off a bit and grimaced. Indeed, Cloud had improved. He was matching Sephiroth blow for blow and had not even begun using any magical spells that his Materia granted him. Of course, Sephiroth had not started using his magic either, of which he did not need Materia for him to use, but he was not eager to begin the magical battle. He wanted to push Cloud into having to start the magical portion of the fight, himself. Still, he did have a reach advantage over Cloud, which he was eager to use to his advantage. If anything would make Cloud resort to magic, it would be that.
As such, Sephiroth went on the offensive once more. Rushing towards Cloud at blinding speed, too fast for the normal human eye to track, Sephiroth thrust his sword towards Cloud's torso. As before, Cloud was able to parry the blade, knocking it aside. His riposte, however, was quickly countered by Sephiroth as the older warrior raised Masamune to block Cloud's blade, another loud clash ringing out and the two struggled for dominance. Eventually, though, the older former SOLDIER was able to overpower Cloud and turn his blade towards the ground. He then rushed towards Cloud, thrusting his blade forward too quickly for Cloud to intercept. All Cloud could do was retreat and hope that he could avoid the strike. As for the strike, Sephiroth's Masamune managed to reach him and bit into Cloud's jacket but did not draw any blood. Cloud grimaced as he looked at his jacket. He soon focused his gaze back on Sephiroth and scowled. He then held out his sword and the Materia inside his sword began to glow. Cloud had had enough of the sword fight and decided to start getting serious in battling Sephiroth.
Focusing in on Sephiroth, Cloud slashed his sword towards the former SOLDIER, a ball of electricity being emitted from his blade as he fired a ball of Thundaga at Sephiroth. Sephiroth smirked as he saw the ball of electricity coming and promptly batted it back towards Cloud with a single swipe of his sword, the ball striking Cloud and forcing him backwards a bit, forcing Cloud to use Curaga on himself. Once he healed, Cloud then fired off an entire barrage of Thundaga electric balls at Sephiroth, one right after the other, as he ran around the older fighter, hoping that one of them would hit Sephiroth. Unfortunately, Sephiroth was too fast and he was able to bat all of the electrical balls back at Cloud, forcing him to try to volley them back towards Sephiroth. He was only partially successful as he managed to volley a few back at the former SOLDIER but in the middle of the volley, one of the balls struck Cloud, knocking him back and stunning him for a split second, allowing the other reflected balls to strike him as well. The impacts of the balls knocked him into the air and onto his back, though he was quick to rise. Still, the marks of the impacts showed as burn marks marred his body and clothing. However, it was nothing that another use of Curaga would not heal. All the while, though, Sephiroth continued to smirk.
"I must say that your lack of magical use is showing," Sephiroth commented nonchalantly. "I would have expected your magical attacks to be stronger and more difficult to avoid since our last battle." He then grinned. "My magical skills, on the other hand, have not atrophied. Allow me to demonstrate."
With that, Sephiroth proceeded to fire large ball of flame at Cloud called Shadow Flare. It was the most powerful non-Limit Break magic attack known to Gaia, even more powerful than Ultima. That was when Cloud smirked. Sephiroth had just made the same mistake that Cloud had a moment ago. Waiting for the ball of flame to come, he held out his Ultima Weapon and stood ready. Once the ball of flame arrived, he swung his sword and batted the ball of flame back at Sephiroth, forcing Sephiroth to go evasive to avoid his reflected attack. That was when Cloud revealed more of his magical arsenal.
Instead of fire-based magic like Flare or Firaga, he decided to try to use indirect attacks on Sephiroth. He immediately cast Quaga on Sephiroth, causing the ground to begin to shake as seismic waves assaulted the silver-haired fighter. Sephiroth grimaced and even grunted as the seismic waves washed over him. Cloud used that opportunity to attack with a blast of Flare, the fireball striking Sephiroth and forcing him backwards a bit, the former SOLDIER grimacing from the hit. He did not like being driven to this point, but he was far from finished.
"Enough games, Cloud," Sephiroth seethed. "It ends here."
With that, Sephiroth cried, "Wall!"
Almost immediately, an iridescent barrier formed over the former SOLDIER's body, prompting Cloud to back away and consider his options. Fortunately, his Ultima Weapon had many Materia slots and he had come prepared for just such an occurrence, having outfitted his sword with numerous types of Materia.
"DeSpell!" Cloud cried as he pointed his sword at Sephiroth.
Sephiroth grimaced as Cloud's sword glowed for a bit and then his barrier promptly fell. Still, he was in no real trouble. He quickly rushed towards Cloud and thrust his sword towards the younger warrior. Cloud parried the blow, but was close as Sephiroth cast another Shadow Flare on Cloud, too close for Cloud to avoid. The large ball of flame struck Cloud and sent him reeling backwards. Sephiroth followed that up with another sword thrust. This one managed to catch Cloud in the shoulder and draw blood. Cloud grimaced as Sephiroth's blade bit into his clothing and flesh. This forced Cloud to back off and consider his options, though Sephiroth was not about to give him the chance to use Curaga to heal.
The former SOLDIER was about to charge in and finish Cloud off when a shuriken seemingly coming out of nowhere flew right towards his head, forcing him to back off. Next came the sound of gunfire as he felt bullets thump into his skin, his superhuman durability being the only reason he was not being ventilated by the gunfire. He soon saw his attackers standing a distance, a twenty year-old Asian-looking woman with short black hair wearing a black and blue tank top with orange shorts named Yuffie Kisaragi; an older muscular black man with a gun arm replacing the lower portion of his right arm named Barret Wallace.
Next to them was a woman who looked like a mix of Asian and Caucasian named Tifa Lockhart. She had long, dark brown hair was wearing a black sleeveless dress with a miniskirt with a short duster at the back that extended to her heels. She also wore two golden gloves that were collectively called Premium Heart. Standing next to her was a man with long black hair that looked to be in his late twenties but was over sixty years old named Vincent Valentine. He was armed with a handgun with three barrels named Cerberus. This gun was also equipped with a Materia slot. Over his shoulder, he also had a rifle dubbed Death Penalty. Finally, the last newcomer was a man with blond hair in his early to mid thirties named Cid Highwind. He was armed with a long, ornate spear. Just as with the weapons of the other fighters, his weapon was also equipped with Materia.
Cloud looked over at his friends and smiled. "What took you so long?" he asked facetiously.
"Had to get through a few #*^ing Bahamuts," Cid answered.
Cloud knew that Cid was joking, for he had not seen any Bahamuts on his trip to city. Still, he would not have minded having a few of them appear at the moment, for Sephiroth appeared to be stronger now than he had ever been before.
"So, what's Sephiroth like this time?" Tifa asked, remembering the group's previous encounters with the former SOLDIER turned, seeming monster.
"He's a lot stronger than the last time I fought him," Cloud answered. "He also seems to be stronger than he was when he tried to take over the Lifestream four years ago."
"So what's the strategy?" Vincent asked.
"Hit him with everything we've got," came Barret's answer. "And more," he added quietly.
The party quickly went about initiating Barret's plan by unleashing their most powerful attacks on Sephiroth. Cloud started the offensive with Ultima as he fired off a massive ball of energy at the former SOLDIER, the ball exploding and engulfing Sephiroth in a massive sphere of blue energy. Tifa add to the weight of magic as she fired off a series of Blizzaga attacks on the former SOLDIER, massive icicles erupting from her hands as she fired them at Sephiroth. Barret fired a Break spell from his arm cannon, hoping to inflict a great deal of Earth elemental damage on Sephiroth. Vincent added his own firepower by casting Freeze on Sephiroth, with Yuffie casting Tornado while Cid cast Wall on the party to raise a barrier and magical barrier over them, hoping to limit the damage Sephiroth would be able to inflict on them.
As for Sephiroth, he was not idle as his enemies initiated their attack on him. Knowing that he would not be able to dodge all of them, he cast Wall on himself just before Cloud's Ultima attack hit him and engulfed him in its blue energy sphere. He grimaced as he did his best to resist the attack, still taking damage but not dying from the massively powerful Ultima attack. He also saw the other attacks launched by the party and knew that he had to go evasive, putting his entire focus into moving so that he would become an evasive target. He was unable to avoid Tifa's Blizzaga attack, several spears of ice skewering him, but despite being impaled by the icicle spears, he was able to move and avoid Barret's Break spell and Vincent's Freeze. Only Yuffie's Tornado spell managed to hit and only because she could track his movements and was able to lead her attack. Despite the barrage of attacks that Sephiroth had endured, he was still more than able to fight and quickly launched his counterattack.
He began his counterattack by quickly casting DeBarrier, almost immediately collapsing the barriers around the party. He then began to glow as he used Super Nova on the group, a rain of meteorites appearing around him. He then spun them around for a second before pushing them forward. The meteors then exploded, engulfing the party in waves of energy and fire. Even the barriers and magical barriers struggled to keep the energy from incinerating them, the bleed through was so great. Still, despite the massive power of the attack, they were still able to fight. Sephiroth grimaced at the sight of this and decided that it was time to end their threat once and for all.
"Descend…Heartless Angel!" the former SOLDIER cried as he began to rise into the air and a series of halos began to form over him.
This was the party's cue to attack him with everything they had, for they remembered from their last battle with him what this technique was capable of. While it would not kill them, it would put them in critical condition, taking away all but a sliver of their health, making it so that any other technique would be able to kill them effortlessly. To counter his attack, they immediately charged him, Cloud slashing at him while Tifa went to punch him as Cid attempted to stab him. Barret, Yuffie, and Vincent stayed at range, with Yuffie tossing her oversized shuriken at Sephiroth while Barret and Vincent opened fire on him with their guns.
The initial volley of fire managed to interrupt Sephiroth's casting of Heartless Angel and the halos promptly disappeared. Still, the fire did little to hurt Sephiroth as he was still under the effects of Wall. With a single slice of his sword, he deflected Yuffie's shuriken so that it flew into the wall of a ruined building, where it stuck, forcing Yuffie to retrieve it if she were to be of any help to the party for the rest of the fight. Next, ignoring the volley of gunfire from Barret and Vincent, he charged towards Cloud and Tifa, intercepting Cloud's slash while evading a barrage of punches and kicks from Tifa. He attempted to cut Tifa in half with his next swing but she was able to duck under it and rush towards him, scoring a solid hit with a punch that could shatter concrete pillars. For Sephiroth, it was little more than a love tap and only served to annoy him. Even had Barrier not been up, though, it would have not hit him all that hard. He countered with a kick of his own that sent Tifa flying through the air, and into a wall several yards away. As Cloud attempted to attack him once more, he rushed towards him and thrust his sword at the younger warrior several times. Cloud was able to avoid several of the thrusts but one of them managed to bite into his right shoulder and draw blood, prompting Sephiroth to grin. Still, Cloud was not out of the fight and he quickly countered with a thrust of his own, managing to score a hit on Sephiroth, even through his barrier, biting into the coat and arm of the former SOLDIER, but it was unclear if he managed to draw any blood. Still, Sephiroth backed away a few steps, studying his opposition, giving Cloud some breathing room as he cast Curaga on the party to restore their health. Once the party had healed, Cloud led the next charge on Sephiroth as Barret and Vincent laid down covering fire as Cid cast DeBarrier to lower Sephiroth's barriers.
Cloud rushed forward, prompting Sephiroth to grin. "You really haven't learned anything, have you?" the former SOLDIER mocked as he thrust his blade towards Cloud.
Cloud caught the blade with his own and attempted to parry the blow. That was when Tifa and Yuffie charged in and attacked, Tifa throwing a flurry of punches aided by Fire and Ice magic while Yuffie slashed at Sephiroth with her giant shuriken. Sephiroth managed to either dodge or parry all of the blows, riposting with a punch that connected with Yuffie's head, sending her flying through the air. A spinning back heel kick caught Tifa in the torso and sent her reeling backwards as he then performed a series of thrusts on Cloud, managing to impale him multiple times. Only the Jenova cells, training, and Materia enhancements to Cloud's physique allowed him to survive what would otherwise be a series of fatal strikes. With his last thrust, Sephiroth's sword pierced Cloud through the shoulder, barely missing his lung. Cloud, however, grabbed the sword and used his strength to hurl Sephiroth to the side as Tifa and Yuffie, both of who had recovered from Sephiroth's offensive fired off a series of Firaga and Tornado spells on the former SOLDIER, inflicting even more damage to him. Still, Sephiroth looked to have gotten the better part of the exchange as Cloud had to use Curaga on himself, Tifa, and Yuffie once again to restore them to full health. Sephiroth still smirked. Cloud and the others were going through their magical energy alarmingly fast, and he was not only still standing, but not really winded, something that the group was noticing.
"How'd he get so strong?" Tifa blurted to no one in particular.
"Yeah, we're not even close to the Lifestream and he's a lot stronger than he was in the last battle," Yuffie agreed.
"We'll just have to hit him harder," Barret called.
"With what?" Cid retorted. "We're hitting him with everything we've got and he's takin' it like a champ!"
"Not everything," Cloud stated in an almost ominous tone.
"Then you'd better hit me with your best shot now, Cloud," Sephiroth almost mocked. "For if this continues, I'll slaughter you all."
Cloud could not disagree with Sephiroth's assessment of the situation. So far, the former SOLDIER was giving far better than he was receiving, but that was about to change. Unlike his last battle against the former SOLDIER, Cloud and his allies were fully equipped with Materia. And he had been certain to bring along his Summon Materia, as had the others and while he did not want to use Summons unless absolutely necessary, things were beginning to look grim, and the group had not yet reached their Limits to allow them to perform their Limit Breaks. The Summons were the only thing they had left that might work on Sephiroth.
"Okay everyone, it's time," he stated.
The others turned to face him and nodded. They had gone over the plan should Sephiroth prove to be more difficult than they had anticipated. They had brought along the red Huge Materia that granted them the Maser Summon command, with which they could summon sixteen powerful monsters to aid them in battle should Sephiroth seem to be too much for them to defeat in normal combat. And so far, Sephiroth looked as if he would be incredibly difficult to defeat without extra help. At the very least, some of them would not likely leave this battle alive. Cloud had already lost Aerith Gainsborough to Sephiroth, he would not lose any more of his friends. He would end it here and now.
"Master Summon!" Cloud cried in a loud voice, holding up his blade.
The moment he did so, a large cloud appeared in the sky and the sound of footsteps could be heard. Almost instantly, a large, bipedal yellow bird called a Chocobo charged onto the scene. This particular Chocobo, however, was ridden by Moogle a small, white, seemingly cat-like creature with bat-like wings. But it was not alone. Soon, fourteen other summons appeared, with thirteen more appearing behind them, all of them forming ranks in front of Cloud Strife and his party. The summons in the front rank were of all shapes, sizes, and even species, but some of the more recognizable summons were Shiva, a blue-skinned humanoid female with long, green hair whose scant clothing barely maintained her modesty, Ifrit, a humanoid giant with two long horns on his head, and three dragons of the Bahamut species: Bahamut, Neo Bahamut, and Bahamut ZERO. Behind the first rank of summons, though, were the thirteen Knights of the Round, thirteen large knights that were the most powerful known summon in the world and had been called upon to fight against Sephiroth four years ago.
Sephiroth grinned as he focused on the monsters arrayed before him. "I'm disappointed," Sephiroth mocked, trying to get underneath Cloud's skin, as well as the skin of some of the Summons who had less than even tempers. "I would have thought you'd have more pride than to call in a group of servants."
"We won't let you take over the Lifestream," Cloud proclaimed defiantly.
"You won't have a choice," Sephiroth retorted. "You can't beat me, Cloud. I'm stronger than I've ever been. Even these Summons won't be sufficient to stop me."
The silver-haired fighter then raised his sword as the Summons prepared to launch their offensive on him. The charge soon began as the large, serpentine Leviathan unleashed a massive Tidal Wave on Sephiroth, prompting him to use Firaga to raise pillars of flame around himself to intercept the tsunami and blunt its impact. Next, Choco/Mog rushed towards him, followed by Odin, a large man riding an equally large horse. Sephiroth grinned as he rushed towards them, casting Shadow Flare at Choco/Mog, unleashing a massive ball of flame towards them, which scored a direct hit on Choco and sent him flying, the force of the impact also knocking off Mog, though neither Summon suffered fatal injury.
Shiva then appeared just above Sephiroth and snapped her fingers, using the Diamond Dust ice spell to attack the silver-haired fighter. While it was not the strongest attack usable by the summoned monsters, it did hit Sephiroth while he was down, which stunned him for a moment. That moment was all that was needed as the rest of the Summons launched all of their attacks on him, forcing him to use Firaga to create more pillars of flame to protect him as the other Summons unleashed their full might on him.
Odin thrust his lance at Sephiroth, but the silver-haired fighter dodged the thrust and thrust his Masamune forward, catching Odin in the chest, impaling him and knocking him off his horse. However, just as with Cloud the blow was not fatal, though Odin was in no condition to continue the battle. However, this left Sephiroth open to attack by Ifrit and Alexander, a giant machine-like creature who towered over Sephiroth. Ifrit rushed towards him and used Hellfire to attack while Alexander used Judgment. Sephiroth took the hits and was knocked off his feet, though Sephiroth was not finished. As he lay, he cast Thundaga on Ifrit, sending a volley of lightning bolts towards the giant, the bolts striking the giant in the chest, electricity arcing across the giant's body as the bolt sent him flying through the air and crashing to the ground on his back. He then turned towards Alexander and used Shadow Flare against Alexander, scoring significant damage to the mechanical being. Still, despite the damage, Alexander was not dead.
While Sephiroth was dealing with Ifrit and Alexander, though, Kujata came charging towards him. Sephiroth smirked and rose as he fired off a volley of Thundaga at the charging beast. The balls of electricity scored direct hits on Kujata and rendered the bull-like beast unconscious.
Sephiroth was about to finish off the beast when a bolt of lightning came from the human-like Summon, Ramuh. The bolt struck Sephiroth squarely in the chest and electricity arced across his body as he grimaced from the bolt, the bolt managing to inflict some damage. Still, it would take more than that to finish off the former SOLDIER. Sephiroth countered by firing off a Supernova blast at the Ramuh, along with Hades, a humanoid summon that resembled the Greek god, Hades, and Typhon, a pink monster with a large mouth with a second face on his rear end. The meteors were projected towards the onrushing Summons, the meteors exploding among them, killing Typhon and Hades, with Ramuh being rendered unconscious and near death before they could get off their attacks.
As Sephiroth went to deal with the rest of the Summons, Cloud, Tifa, and Yuffie charged in and attacked, only for Sephiroth to turn and intercept their attacks, dodging Cloud's swing. He then thrust his sword at Tifa, managing to impale her through the chest, right through her heart.
"Tifa!" Cloud cried as he saw a look of shock and pain cross her face as the sword pierced her body just before she went limp. Sephiroth swept his sword to the side, flinging her off the blade and into a wall as he drew his blade across Yuffie, cutting her across the chest. He then thrust his blade forward and stabbed Yuffie in the heart as well, killing her, too. Once he had killed the two women, he turned to Cloud, who had a look of shock and rage on his face.
"Is this how you imagined this fight turning out?" the silver-haired fighter mocked. "They died just like Aerith."
"You'll pay for that!" Cloud declared.
"Then make me pay," Sephiroth retorted cockily.
Cloud then charged in and attempted to attack, only to be impaled by Sephiroth, just as Tifa and Yuffie had been. However, unlike them, this strike was not fatal. Using all of his strength, Cloud grabbed Sephiroth's sword and with a tremendous heave, sent hurled Sephiroth towards a wall, where he hit, creating an indent in it, and slid down as Cloud pulled the blade out of his body and tossed it away from the former SOLDIER.
Not too far away from Cloud, Sephiroth rose only to be confronted by the thirteen Knights of Round each of the knights glaring at him. Sephiroth, however, merely smirked. Even without his sword, he could still handle anything they threw at him. The Knights of Round either did not notice his smirk, or did not care, and merely charged in to take down Sephiroth.
The knights charged the silver-haired fighter, doing their best to attack him, but Sephiroth dodged all of the physical attacks of the sword wielders and lance wielders. Only the magicians of the knights managed to score a hit, firing off a stream of fire magic and a barrage of Comet. The two magical attacks struck Sephiroth just as he cast Wall to limit the damage inflicted by the two magical attacks. He then went to work on dealing with the Knights.
Since the knights were close to him, he began by casting Firaga once more, pillars of flame erupting around him, several of the knights being caught in the sudden eruption and practically incinerated. However, the pillars were not enough to take them down and they continued to attack. Sephiroth soon fired off another Supernova on the knights, managing to render six of them unconscious as the flames from the explosions washed over them, the rest of the knights suffering severe damage in the process. Another knight attempted to attack with his sword, only for Sephiroth to catch it and perform a side kick to knock down the knight. He then thrust the sword through the knight, the sword biting into the knight's armor, and piercing his heart, killing him. Another slash managed to cut the throat of a second knight, felling him, leaving him on the ground, bleeding, gurgling, gasping, and eventually, dying. Another slash took down two more knights, the armored Summons falling to the ground before the might of the silver-haired fighter, with the most magnificent of the knights managing to catch Sephiroth's next slash. The clang of clashing swords rang out over the landscape as the final knight, assisted by the two remaining conscious knights, launched a vicious barrage of slashes and strikes on Sephiroth. Still, they were no match for Sephiroth who, despite taking volleys of gunfire from Barret and Vincent, easily evaded their blows and finished them off with a Shadow Flare, the spell killing the two Knights next to their leader, who was merely rendered unconscious.
"Pathetic," Sephiroth quipped. "I can't believe I had so much trouble dealing with you last time."
With that, he then turned his attention to Barret and Vincent, who were still firing on him, Cid casting Wall over the surviving party members and preparing for the worst since Tifa and Yuffie were dead and Cloud was still struggling to stand, having previously been impaled by Sephiroth's Masamune, which now lay on the ground next to Cloud. Sephiroth gave another arrogant smirk as he faced the three men, knowing that they were no match for him. However, he had lost sight of the fact that there were still four Summons that had not yet attacked him. And they were about to let their presence be known, as well as turn the tide of the whole battle.
A roar echoed over the landscape as the three Bahamut dragons attacked from above using Mega Flare, Giga Flare, and Tera Flare, respectively, to assault Sephiroth from the sky, the silver-haired fighter taking massive damage as he was caught off guard by the energy attacks. While the Bahamuts were attacking, Phoenix took the opportunity to add its own fire to the assault, unleashing a massive fire magic attack on Sephiroth. In addition, all of the dead and unconscious party members, human and Summon, were instantly revived and rose from where they lay. The game had changed once more, though the Summons that had been called in by Cloud's Master Summon command promptly vanished, the magic having called them to the battle having run out. Still, the damage had been done. The surprise attack from the Bahamuts opened Sephiroth to attack by the rest of the party, and they proceeded to unleash their Limit Break attacks on the silver-haired fighter.
Tifa Lockhart and Yuffie led the charge against Sephiroth, attacking simultaneously. While Yuffie unleashed a flurry of slashes on Sephiroth with her oversized shuriken, performing her Doom of the Living Limit Break on Sephiroth. Despite his agility, Yuffie was able to score solid hits on Sephiroth since Sephiroth was concerned about having to dodge Tifa's Limit Break attack as well, which consisted of a massive volley of enhanced physical attacks. Starting with Beat Rush, Tifa unleashed a flurry of punches that caught Sephiroth in the chest and on the head. Next came the Somersault, where she flipped forward and kicked Sephiroth before flipping backwards to avoid his counterblow, which missed her completely. Next came her Waterkick, a spinning back heel kick that created a splash of water upon striking the silver-haired fighter. She then grabbed Sephiroth and lifted him into the air, slamming him to the ground using Meteodrive. She followed that up with an uppercut aptly named Dolphin Blow, for it created a splash of water and produced a dolphin as she connected with Sephiroth, the blow sending Sephiroth flying into the air. She then followed that up by grabbing Sephiroth and leaping high into the air before slamming him into the ground. This was followed by the final part of her Limit Break, Final Heaven. Tifa's fist began to glow as she drew it back as Sephiroth stood before her, stunned from her and Yuffie's previous attacks. Once Final Heaven was charged, she rushed forward and thrust her fist forward, connecting with Sephiroth's head, the impact sending him flying through the air and towards a stone wall almost twenty meters away.
Next came Vincent's Limit Break: Chaos. The moment Vincent performed his Limit Break, he transformed into a large, muscular bipedal monster with bat-like wings. Once he transformed, he took to the air and lashed out at Sephiroth using Chaos Saber, slashing the former SOLDIER in the chest. The cut drew blood, but the wound was not fatal. Next came Satan Slam, which saw energy blasts shaped like heads lash out at Sephiroth as an outline formed on the ground shaped like a monster's head. Each of the blasts hit Sephiroth, inflicting more damage, but the former SOLDIER was far from finished. Still, Cloud's party was not done yet.
After Tifa, Yuffie, and close ranged Vincent's Limit Breaks came Barret and Cid's ranged Limit Break attacks. Barret began the ranged assault by firing off his Limit Break, Catastrophe, which consisted of an orange energy blast launched straight at the former SOLDIER. The attack scored a direct hit and inflicted tremendous damage to Sephiroth. Next came Cid, who called in an airstrike from his airship, which was stationed outside the city. A volley of missiles rained down upon Sephiroth, detonating all around him, with several of them scoring direct hits on the former SOLDIER. Despite all the damage he had taken, though, Sephiroth was not dead yet. Still, his clothing was in tatters and numerous cuts and bruises marred his once pristine body. This left him open to Cloud Strife, who stepped forward, holding out his Ultima Weapon.
"This ends here, Sephiroth," he declared.
The moment he made that statement, he charged forward and performed his Omnislash, Version Five on Sephiroth, rushing forward and slashing at him many times. His attack was the straw that broke the camel's back, for it was Omnislash that finally finished off the former SOLDIER. Cloud practically cut Sephiroth to pieces. Once the initial volley was finished, Cloud drew back his sword, its tip now glowing, and with one final slash, he finished off Sephiroth once and for all.
Sephiroth slumped forward, falling to his knees before going onto all fours. He struggled to raise his head and look Cloud in the eyes. As he did so, he coughed, a few specks of blood issuing forth. He then grinned and gave one last ominous statement. "Congratulations Cloud, you've beaten me. But know this, as I've told you before, I will never be a memory."
With that final statement, Sephiroth's body disintegrated, all traces of the former SOLDIER vanishing from the face of Gaia, leaving only the sword he had stolen earlier from one of the Knights of the Round. It was finally over. Sephiroth had finally been defeated once and for all. Still, his last words lingered in Cloud's memories. He had believed Sephiroth to have finally been defeated four years ago, and later, two years ago, only for the villain to return. This time, though, it was different. He felt even more at peace than he had after his last battle with the silver-haired fighter two years before. He felt as if it had truly ended, that the legacy of Sephiroth was finally finished. He looked over at where Sephiroth's Masamune had laid. The sword had disappeared, likely vanishing when Sephiroth had finally died. He let out a sigh.
"It's finally over," he said. He then looked up and smiled.
"Are you sure?" Vincent asked more cautiously.
"I can feel it," Cloud answered. "But even if it isn't and he does make a return someday, we'll be ready. And we'll stop him again."
The others nodded as they turned to Cloud and smiled, Tifa giving him a sensuous grin. As Cloud turned around to see his friends, he could have sworn that he saw Aerith standing in the background, along with his friend, the black-haired Zack Fair, a SOLDIER who had died saving Cloud from Shinra's forces before Sephiroth had attempted to merge with and take over the Lifestream. They smiled at him, Cloud returning the smile, before he saw them depart and vanish back into the Lifestream. Indeed, it was finally over and all was right with the world. Once they were finished, the group then departed the scene, Cid calling in his newest airship to pick them up and return them to Edge.
A few months passed since the defeat of Sephiroth and Cloud and his friends were settling back into their usual routines once more. Cloud began working again for his Strife Delivery Service, with Tifa assisting him out of her 7th Heaven bar. Cid was working in an airship division as well as finishing up a new rocket that would take a probe into outer space and hopefully allow the people to get a better idea of what was beyond the planet. The probe's mission was to head out of the solar system and towards the nearest star, which was approximately three light-years away. It would take centuries for the probe, which was powered by some of the remaining Mako that the Planet had seemed to give the builders freely, as if it, too, wanted this program to work, to reach the next star, and hopefully the next star system. While Cid had had misgivings initially, he eventually accepted the Planet's gift and allowed a small Mako reactor to power the probe once it reached space.
Meanwhile, Vincent was exploring the world along with a friend he had made during a previous adventure, Shelke, trying to find his place in it. Her presence was a comfort and kept him grounded while he went on his search. As for Yuffie, she was back in Wutai serving as its protector, should it need protecting, though she kept in constant contact with the members of AVALANCHE on the off chance that they hear anything about a potential return by Sephiroth, or the presence of any more monsters near the ruins of Midgar.
Inside the 7th Heaven bar, Cloud and Tifa were watching a television during some downtime as the news was showing the launch of Cid's rocket into space. This one was equipped with a probe that would send back data on what it found in space. The building and launch of the rocket had been sponsored by the World Regenesis Organization, with additional funding by Rufus Shinra, the former head of the Shinra Electric Power Company. Cloud and Tifa could only smile as the timer counted down. This was Cid's life work and his dream of launching a rocket into space was finally becoming a reality. The rocket's engines lit up, smoke and flame ejected from the rocket's bottom and spread out as the rocket lifted off from the landing pad. The duo watched with baited breath as they rocket ascended into the sky, hoping and praying that nothing went wrong. After a couple minutes, it appeared as if everything would be fine, for there were no malfunctions or catastrophic failures and the program shifted to other news, as well as discussions about the newly reenergized space program.
As the news shifted, Cloud turned to Tifa and gave a warm smile. It would soon be time for the bar to open and for her shift to begin. He had not received any calls for his delivery company so he would help her with the bar for the evening. She returned his smile and he could only think that it was finally finished. The two of them had their entire lives ahead of them, lives that would no longer have to worry about Sephiroth, his remnants, or any of the former SODLIER's legacy.
Meanwhile, in the upper atmosphere, heading to outer space, the rocket continued to ascend. Once it had exited the atmosphere, the probe, a medium-sized satellite dish-like device disengaged from the main rocket and the Mako-fuelled engines came to life, pushing the rocket at hypersonic speeds out of the atmosphere and away from Gaia.
Onboard the probe, near the few drops of Mako, the liquid form of the Lifestream, what was little more than a single cell sat, covered in the Mako, its only lifeline. What no one could have guessed was that the small cell was nothing less than the final remains of Sephiroth in the form of a single Jenova cell, a Jenova cell that resembled a fertilized egg. It took all of his will to remain alive and not give up and simply die. Though he was being taken away from Cloud Strife, he used his hatred of Cloud to keep himself going. Still, he pondered how he could have lost to Cloud. He had been stronger than he had ever been before. He used all of his power that he had at his disposal. He used spell after spell and had even proven to be Cloud's superior in single combat. He then gave a grimace. It had been the Summons. They had been the deciding factor. Without them, he would have defeated Cloud and all of his friends. But as it was, Cloud and his friends had managed to destroy his body once more. However, they had failed to destroy him. He was still alive. He would get the last laugh, for his true goal was finally being accomplished and they were none the wiser. He was being taken out of the solar system and would go to another star. If this star had a planet with life on it, he could infect it with himself and take it over; and then use that planet to spread himself to other worlds like a virus. He and his mother's legacy, at least as he knew it, for he viewed Jenova as his mother, would continue. And this time, there would be no Cloud Strife to stop him.