I've taken liberties with what happened after FFVII, mostly ignoring what happens in Advent Children and Dirge of Cerberus.

Final Fantasy VII and Mass Effect 2 are owned by their respective companies, not yours truly.

Chapter Two

Through the Lifestream

It was finally over. Despite all the trial and challenges, Cloud Strife had finally defeated Sephiroth. After battling him in his angelic form, Cloud faced him one-on-one in the flow of the Lifestream, and had finally seen him destroyed.

Yet, even now, six months after the victory, Cloud couldn't shake the feeling that it was not as over as it seemed.

Shaking his head, he put the beam up to the ceiling and hammered it in. Wiping his brow, he looked around at the nearly completed bar.

As he descended the ladder, a pair of hand covered his eyes. "Guess who?"

"Hmmm. Barret?"

"Hmph. That was just rude." After a punch in the ribs, Tifa walked past him in a huff.

Laughing, Cloud grabbed her around the middle, and spun her around. "Can you forgive me?"

Tifa considered for a second, then pecked him on the lips. "I guess so."

"Good." Cloud wiped his brow again. "I need to get out in the air for a bit."

"Okay. I've got some shopping to do, then we can get some dinner."

"Sounds wonderful. Til then." Cloud turned and walked out the door, and sat down on the step, leaned his head back as a cool breeze drifted past, and fell asleep.

When he came to again, a shadow seemed to be over him, and the sight of Barret's huge bearded face filled his vision. "Gah!" Cloud kicked out, and leapt to his feet.

Barret rubbed his stomach where Cloud had kicked him. "What was that for, Spikey?"

"Cause the last thing I want to see when I get up is your ugly mug." Cloud and Barret laughed together, and Cloud clapped him on the shoulder. "So what brings you by?"

"Marlene wanted to come visit you and Tifa." Barret's face lit up as he talked about his adoptive daughter. "You know me. I can't deny my girl anything."

Cloud looked around Barret, but didn't see little Marlene anywhere. "So where is she?"

Barret pointed over his shoulder with his new robotic arm. "She went to the church, to visit you-know-who."

Cloud nodded at the thought of Aeris, their friend who had sacrificed herself to help release the powerful white magic, Holy, to help combat Sephiroth. One of the first things he'd done after the battle was ensure that the church was still standing. But to his surprise, the church was still fully intact.

"So how are things going in Corel?"

"Couldn't be better. We finally got the mine up and running again. Soon we can start shipping coal all over West Continent."

Barret looked over what was once Midgar's Sector 5, but was now known as Fairview. "How's reconstruction?"

Cloud wiped his hands on his pants. "We've cleared out most of the rubble from the plate collapse, and Wall Market has started up again."

"Daddy!"

Barret turned around and bent down to pick up Marlene as she ran into his arms and hugged him around the neck. Then she looked over his shoulder, and saw Cloud standing behind him. "Uncle Cloud!"

Marlene climbed out of Barret's arms and jumped off his shoulder, and into Cloud's arms. Cloud laughed and ruffled her brown hair. "You've gotten so big. Soon you'll be taller than daddy."

Marlene shook her head. "No one's taller than daddy." She looked around, then frowned. "Where's Aunt Tifa?"

"She went shopping, but she'll be back for dinner."

"Yay!"

As Cloud handed Marlene back to Barret, her saw something odd in her hand. "Marlene, what's that?"

Marlene held up the object, a long pink ribbon. "I found it in the church. Is it yours?"

Cloud just shook his head numbly. "Can I see it?" Marlene handed it to him, and he ran it through his hand.

"What is it, Cloud?"

Cloud looked up at Barret with wide eyes. "This ribbon, it belonged to Aeris."

Barret's eyebrows shot up. "Are you sure?" Cloud just nodded.

"I'll be back. Just wait here for Tifa." Before Barret could say anything, Cloud took off running, heading for Aeris' church.

As he pushed the doors open, he stumbled, out of breath, to the flowers growing at the base of the altar. Collapsing to his knees, he breathed in the smell of the flowers, then fell forward, passing out.

The world that appeared around Cloud was so peaceful. He was standing on a flat black surface, surrounded by the swirling colors of the Lifestream.

"Cloud."

The familiar feminine voice came out of the colors, and a swirl of pink emerged from the Lifestream, and solidified into the image of Aeris.

"You look well, Cloud." The smile on her face was peaceful, but troubled.

"Aeris, is something wrong?"

Aeris looked away and shuffled her feet. "I didn't want to tell you this. You deserve some peace after what's happened."

"Aeris, just tell me. What is it?"

Aeris said one word, and Cloud knew that his fear was true. He knew what she would say, before she even said it.

"Sephiroth."

"So wait. Aeris appeared to you in this vision, and told you that Sephiroth was still alive?"

Cloud nodded to Reeve as they sat around a table with Tifa and Barret. The others were already being picked up by Cid in the Highwind.

"But you killed Sephiroth, didn't you? Eliminated him from the Lifestream?"

"I thought I did. But from what Aeris told me, it might not have been that simple." Cloud ran his hand through his hair, wishing he didn't have to explain this. "What Aeris said is that part of Sephiroth is not of our world. While I fought him in the Lifestream, this other part of him somehow allowed him to pass through it and into another world

"Even now he could be wreaking havoc in this other world. It's up to us to stop him. Can I count on all of you?"

Barret leaned back in his chair, rubbing his chin. "This is something else, Spikey. To leave our world behind and go after Sephiroth, that's pretty big."

"Well you can count on us, or course."

Cloud spun in his chair to see Yuffie coming through the door, followed by Nanaki, Vincent, and Cid.

Cloud raised an eyebrow to Cid. "That was fast, even for you."

Cid smirked. "I've been upgrading my baby, you know. She's faster than ever now."

Nanaki's somber voice spoke up. "Was Aeris able to tell you anything about this other world?"

"Only that it's a great deal more advanced than ours. Other than that she didn't know."

"So where do we need to go?" Vincent asked from the back of the room.

"The Forgotten City. From there, we'll be able to pass through the Lifestream and into the other world." He looked over at Tifa. "I need you to stay here, Tifa, and watch over the..."

Tifa shot up, slamming her fist onto, and through, the table. "I'm not staying behind, Cloud, so don't bother asking."

"But what about..."

"I said no." Tifa's face showed her determination, and Cloud relented.

"Well," Barret said, standing up, "if Tifa's gong, then I'm going. I can find someone to watch Marlene"

"And I'm certainly not staying behind," Reeve added.

"Alright then. We leave tomorrow."

Cloud walked out to the Highwind, securing the Ultima Weapon to his back. As he walked onto the ramp, he caught his attention to his reflection. He saw himself back in his old SOLDIER uniform. Even though he was never truly a SOLDIER, it still felt right to fight in it.

Shaking his head, he walked the rest of the way in. He nodded to Yuffie, who had already taken her regular position in the cargo hold, due to her motion sickness, and continued to the bridge.

Cid was already at the helm, preparing for takeoff. With a nod from Cloud, Cid pulled the lever to activate the engines. "All hands, prepare for takeoff."

With a smooth lift, the Highwind rose from the ground, and pointing north, headed for the Forgotten City of the Ancients.

The flight was quick, as Cid had promised, and they quickly found themselves walking through the old forest. A few beasts attempted to attack them, but they were all quickly dealt with.

Finally, they arrived at the city. Cloud led them through the familiar hallway, and down the crystal stairs, leading to the central altar where Aeris had been struck down by Sephiroth, only to become more powerful than ever(A/N:A little too Star Wars, I know).

"Aeris, we're here."

A light shined, revealing the ghostly form of Aeris, looking the same as the day she died. "Are you all prepared?" They all nodded.

Then Aeris turned her back on them, and raised her hands. Lights began to swirl around them, as if the Lifestream was manifesting around them.

Then a great green hole appeared before them, and Aeris turned back around. "You must go, now, or it will be too late."

With a nod, Cloud ran for the hole, and jumped into it, followed by the others. Finally, Aeris stepped through, and the hole closed behind her.

The world around them was a chaotic whirling of colors. "Where are we?"

"The Crosstides. The place where the Lifestream meets what is known as the Mass Relays. I will now open the door to the center of their government. This will be rough, so be ready."

Aeris again raised her hands, and another hole opened. Without hesitation, Cloud jumped through. But as Aeris warned, this one was different. Cloud felt like his insides were being ripped up, and his brain was burning.

Then, the pain stopped, and he found himself lying on a cold metal floor, surrounded by feet. He heard several more thumps that were the others coming through, and rose slowly to his feet.

But what he saw was not a welcome sight. He was staring down the barrel of a gun. "You are under arrest by order of C-Sec."

The man walking in front of Cloud, who was called Captain Bailey, kept asking him questions he couldn't answer.

"Look. People just don't appear out of nowhere, even here on the Citadel. You didn't come in through the docks, so how did the nine of you get in here?"

"I keep telling you..." Then Cloud did the mental math. The captain had said nine of them, but there were only eight of them there. Unless...

"Was one of them wearing a pink dress with long brown hair?"

Bailey eyed him suspiciously. "You don't even know who you're traveling with?" He pulled up some kind of electronic chart. "You arrived with four human males, three human females, and one species we haven't identified. Now are you going to answer me, or do we have to get serious?"

Then the door to the interrogation room opened, and in walked a human wearing clothes that indicated a high position, with a weathered face and stern complexion.

Bailey immediately straightened up. "Councilor Anderson. What can I do for you?"

The man, Anderson, looked from Bailey to Cloud, his face impassive. "I was curious about our mysterious intruders. Perhaps they're related to our other problem."

"You mean, Horizon?"

"Yes. The man with the silver hair and green eyes."

Cloud bolted upright at the description. "This man, did he have an enormous sword, as long as himself?"

Anderson moved to stand in front of Cloud. "Do you know this man?"

"I do. He is my great enemy, and my friends and I came here to stop him." Cloud's fist tightened in anger. "What did he do here?"

"He attacked Horizon, one of our colonies, and injured Commander John Shepard when he went to stop him."

"Destruction always follows in his wake." He looked up at Anderson. "Can you take me to the Commander?"

"Do I have your full cooperation in dealing with this enemy?"

"Of course."

Anderson looked to Bailey. "Captain. Release his friends and return their weapons."

When Cloud reattached the Ultima Weapon to his back, he followed after Anderson, who was leading him to what looked like a hospital.

When they arrived at a door, Anderson held his hand out, and told him to wait outside. Then he went in.

Cloud heard a bit of conversation, then what he took to be a woman wearing a full body suit and helmet came out of the room, and ran past him.

"You can come in now," Anderson called out to him.

Cloud walked in the room, and saw a man lying in the bed, whom he took to be the commander. The man's eyes widened as he took Cloud in.

"The man you encountered, the one with the black coat and giant sword, is named Sephiroth, and he is far deadlier than anything you've ever encountered."

Now that we've caught up, we can go forward with the story

Next time:Heroes Meet and Greet

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