Author's Beginning Note Thingy: Last song, for now, also unaltered... though for it to make total sense, one has to take a little liberty with the ending sequence of FF7.

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Measure of a Man

Steel on steel,

In a flash of black leather and silvery hair, Sephiroth spun in the air, swinging his elongated sword in a wide arc around him, severing the very air with a crack and sparks of light, as Cloud artfully dodged the attack.

A golden fire swept around the ex-Soldier, as the moments passed before his enemy regained his footing and began to set up for the next attack. He was wearing the man down, he could feel it… Sephiroth was never this low, never this careless… now he could, he must use it to his advantage…

break the blade that called him to his rest,

Cloud charged forward, the golden light resonating from his weapon as he flew past Sephiroth, slashing straight up the man's taller body. His gloved grip loosened, and multiple shards of Masamune were sent falling to the ground, clattering on the hard rock floor loudly.

Sephiroth fell, a limp body plummeting down… but Cloud was there to catch him. He looked at the broken form of the general in his arms, his eyes still open, their usual shine glazed over in death. His pale lips were parted slightly, midway through drawing his last breath of air. Dark blood ran down the fair skin, and stained the fair silver locks…

The cave was collapsing around them, but it was long before this fact reached Cloud's mind, and he realized that he had to get away. He ran, ran without knowing where he was running, hardly weighed down by the body at all… when next he was aware of himself, he was aboard the Highwind, Sephiroth still clasped tightly in his grip.

and cast it to the deep.

The AVLANCHE group gathered on the shores of the Northern Continent, where Highwind had first touched down after the general's defeat. They had arranged a little alter-like structure, upon which Cloud had placed his body. The mercenary now approached it silently, laying down the pieces of the longsword next to the man's cold hand. He watched his face, 'Sephiroth…'

Light the pyre,
name the one whose sword is on his chest,
and leave him to his sleep.

The man stepped back, his hands clasped around a small green orb. He concentrated on the dark form lying on the wooden alter, and cast a fire spell… the red light that flickered and crackled from within the depths of the rectangular wood stack was mirrored in the water almost as brightly as was the fire in the sky…

Meteor still remained, hurtling towards the earth from outer space… Sephiroth was dead, had been killed to stop it, and it refused to turn back, still…

Oh, the measure of a man
stands or falls with what he leaves behind.

'Quite the legacy, Sephiroth…' he turned his mako-blue eyes up to the stars, '…not many people can take full credit for destroying the world.'

Oh, gather on the sand,

Once done surveying the sky, Cloud looked upon the members of his little team… they had formed a small semi-circle around the growing flames, and all were gazing at the man who lay within them, various different emotions raging through each pair of eyes.

Let your voices carry to the sky,
rise in light,
let the gods look down on this and wonder…

Cloud hoped they were looking down… he hoped Aeris could see this. That she could see how he had avenged her. He prayed silently that maybe, even now, there was some way his poor soul could be redeemed from the evil it had done. Both he, and Sephiroth's…

He looked down at the body again. The fire was rising… it had not yet reached the man, arranged on top. Cloud had scrubbed the dried blood off his face, and neatly flattened the leather of his coat about him, doing his best to clean that as well in the little time that he had…

Raise the ring,
cast the broken circle to the waves
and give the sea her due.

The ex-Soldier glanced down at his hand, slowly removing the heavy glove, and letting it fall carelessly to the beach. He worked a thin silver band off his middle-finger, and, hesitating only a moment, as he surveyed it yet a little closer, he threw it into the blaze, watching the soft metal soon melt away… the little memento of Sephiroth's from back in their Soldier days…

True, he had many friends now, who all cared about him in their own way… but as he thought about it, when he was with ShinRa had really been the best days of his life. He'd trade in all of them, any number of the people who stood around him now, just to have Zack back… and Sephiroth. The old Sephiroth, the way he was before…

Push the prow,
let him lead the final charge again,
where all will follow soon.

Always a leader, always in charge, and always protecting them all… he'd never send his comrades during a mission out somewhere that he himself hadn't been first… even in death he did the same…

And even in death, it seemed, Cloud would follow, as the Soldier's eyes were now back on the stars, the pulsing red one in particular, too close for comfort… it wouldn't be long now.

He would meet him again, he supposed… even as the leather melted away, and the long silvery hair curled into nothing, the sickly stench of it all permeating the cool night air. Cloud would see Sephiroth again, but… it seemed they would all gladly follow. Not one of them stirred from eachother's sides as the makeshift ceremony carried on into the night.

Oh, the measure of a man,
stands or falls with what he leaves behind.
Oh, gather on the sand,
let your voices carry to the sky.

Tifa was crying, the memory of her good friend resurfacing as she watched the woman's killer be eaten away by the merciless flames… the same way that he, after having murdered her father so many years ago, had disappeared among the smoke and ashes of Nibelheim. Still, even after all that, and now, this didn't seem like a fitting end for him… should he not have been given some mercy?

Cid was quiet as well. This man he'd barely heard a thing about had taken Aeris away… and Aeris had been like a daughter to him. But how well did he really know them?

Cait Sith and Nanaki were quiet… they had both had fond feelings for the Ancient as well, yet once again, neither had ever felt an exceptional hate for Sephiroth… still, the spectacle silenced them both.

Barret, too, had no words to say, and no tears to shed. But he stood in silent salute. He'd never been a part of a military, but the ex-general, of course, had… he felt the dead man deserved the gesture.

Yuffie's head was bowed, and her hands were folded together in front of her. She made no noise, not even the tiniest breath, but her lips moved nonstop in prayer…

Vincent watched with a guarded gaze as the body of Lucrecia's son was devoured by the fire. The child of his only love was disappearing into nothingness right before his eyes… He couldn't seem to decide if they'd done the right thing after all… if they'd put the miserable puppet to rest, or if he'd forsaken him as well… if he'd finally achieved atonement, or if yet one more sin had now been added to his large repertoire.

Rise in light,

The lifestream was gathering, and through smoke and tears, each one of them in turned moved their eyes to the blanket of night that had long since settled in overhead. It was now being overcome by a vivid green, all moving rapidly toward Midgar.

Within that swirling miasma of green, Sephiroth's essence formed right alongside Aeris'. The flowergirl smiled her gentle smile, and reached out to the ex-general… only a moment's hesitation passed before he understood, and reached back out to her, taking the offered hand… Together, the two directed the lifestream as one, as it exerted all of it's force to fending off meteor.

Their combined attempt had succeeded. Any and all survivors down on earth heaved one large sigh of relief, it had been a true miracle, for sure. Neither one could either preserve or destroy the planet entirely on their own… Sephiroth had the help of Jenova, but now Aeris had the help of Sephiroth.

On the beach, still, the fire had died. Even the glow of its orange embers had faded. They did not know what happened to meteor, they only knew it was gone, and all of them seemed equally content at that as they had been to all die together only moments before. One by one, they had returned to the deck of the Highwind.

The cold of night settled, and Cloud was the only one left standing there. He tentatively approached the mound of ashes, the first tear only now sliding down his cheek. The wind blew, playing with the grey dust, washing a great deal of it into the water, to be eaten up by the waves. He bent, falling to his knees amidst it all, dirtying his clothes, but he didn't care. He plunged a hand deep down into it, and pulled it up full of the man's remains.

He bit his lip to keep it from quivering, before he bowed his head and said, "Rest in peace, Sephiroth."

Let the gods look down on this, and wonder.

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Author's Ending Note Thingy: So it's a little slashy… it happens. I hope you all liked these preliminary songfics of mine. Perhaps more will come out of it! In case you haven't already realized, they take place in all different universes and times… but that's all. Review, and goodbye!