Holy shit doodles! Over 4000 views! I'm glad you guys like this story! Keep reviewing they make me really happy! Hint hint! Ok super long chapter, sooooo much happens in this chapter! We even lose our g rating a bit! Please be mature about it, I don't wana see any retarded comments. Also this chapter was so long, because I won't be updating till later this week, maybe next weekend. So you guys kind of get three chapters in one. I also am adding author's notes, because I want you guys to totally picture what I am talking about.

Chapter 22

Zack woke up on Aerith's shoulder; he woke up in a panic. Zack looked around and took in his surroundings, he had to act cool. Zack leaned in between the two pilot seats. He thought it would be best to act cool and like he knew nothing about who he really was. "Hey where are we? Are we almost there? I really really have to pee, how long till we reach Gongaga?" Zack asked as calm as he could.

"Right now we're are just flying over Corel, we should be there in about an hour. Can you hold it until then?" Nero said still acting his role out.

Zack sat back into his seat, and looked out the side of the chopper. There was nothing but a sea of sand; this was not the ideal spot for a jump. Fuck this really wasn't good, they were going to have to jump. Zack turned and looked at Cloud who was sitting diagonally from him next to Tifa. Cloud was looking out the window totally unaware that Zack was looking at him. Cloud rubbed the back of his neck, the hairs had stood up, it finally hit him, and someone was watching him. He turned and smiled to see that it was Zack, who had a very grim look on his face. Cloud watched Zack as he motioned his head to the seat behind him. Cloud looked at his friend; he was confused what he was motioning to, the back of the seat that made no sense. Finally he got what Zack was motioning to. He was motioning to the pilot seat behind him. Cloud's facial expression quickly turned cold. There was something up with the pilot, but what could it be? All he knew was to be on his guard. Zack looked over at Nanaki who already knew what was going on, he read Zack's mind. He just gave Zack a nod of understanding. Zack looked over to Aerith who was looking with eyes of worry, she knew what was going on, she felt the man evil energy. The only person who didn't know was Tifa, she quickly realized what was going on when Cloud slid a parachute to her with his foot. Fear and nervousness had filled the helicopter. Cloud slid parachutes to everyone as unnoticeable he could, suddenly Zack stood up. Zack turned to the cockpit. "Hey can we land soon? I really have to go man! Please." Zack moaned.

"Sorry Zack, but I was ordered to not stop no matter what." Nero said.

Zack walked back to the passenger room, and turned suddenly turned to where he was just sitting, and drove his sword straight through the seat into the pilot's seat. He grinned, he had Nero by surprise, no man could have survived that. He looked in the cockpit, there was no one there, something was up, and this could not end well. Zack turned and ran back to his friends and ripped open the side door to helicopter. "It's time to go! We gotta move! GO GO GO!! Zack yelled as everyone jumped out of the helicopter. Zack was last to jump out of the descending chopper. He looked down at his friends who were below him; a few had already reached the ground safely. He let out a sigh of relief as the last of them landed on the ground. He looked at his surroundings to take in their location; all he saw was sand, and a fire from the other side of the mountains. At least they would not be too far in the desert, they could go in any direction and find a place to rest. Zack continued to slowly fall to the ground when his chute began to fluttered in the wind. He looked up and saw bullet holes in the chute. Nero was nearby; Zack looked everywhere, nothing anywhere. He turned forward and there he was, Nero flying through the air. Nero had his gun drawn and pointed it right at Zack's chest, he fired. The bullet tore straight through Zack who winced in pain. In a flash Zack grabbed his sword and slashed with blazing speed. Nero was gone before his blade even got close. Zack looked around to see if his foe was around, he was nowhere to be found. Zack continued to fall, he watched as his blood pour out into the air. Zack was getting closer to the ground, he was more than ready for the impact, it was nothing he couldn't handle. Nero reappeared behind Zack in a black fog. He kicked Zack with great force and fired two shots both missing him by inches. Zack fell faster and faster towards the ground. He hit with great force, making him dizzy and unaware of what was going on for a few minutes.

Nero appeared Aerith, Tifa and Nanaki. Cloud froze with fear, Nero was ready to strike. Cloud charged towards the group, but was topped by a black wall of darkness causing Cloud to fall on his ass. Nero opened his arms wide, in both of his hands dark spheres began to get larger, he fired them at the two girls and the beast. They feared it was all over, but right before the dark energy landed its blow, it went straight up into the air. The ball of darkness let out long streaks of energy that went into the ground around the trio. He wasn't trying to kill them, or at least not yet. He was creating a cage to keep them in one place. Nero wanted Zack and Cloud on his own. Zack slowly climbed out of the hole he made from his fall, it was all up to him and Cloud to take down this man. But how could they win against a man they could not hit. Zack stood next to Cloud and put his sword in the air towards Cloud. Cloud did the same, creating a x. "Buster brothers for life, and in…death!!!" Zack yelled as he and Cloud sprinting towards their foe. The blades created a spark as the separated; they both let out a battle cry. They both put their swords in the ground ripping it through the earth as they ran; the two were mirror opposites of each other. They were in perfect sync; they both ripped their swords out of the ground and created a beam of energy that went straight towards Nero. Nero vanished without even flinching. Nero reappeared from the ground behind them, coming out of a circle of dark energy. He smiled as he fired a shot at Cloud who deflected the bullet with his sword. Nero disappeared once again dodging Clouds counter. Nero reappeared in mid air, and was greeted with Zack in air waiting for him to appear. Zack swung with such force; he made Nero fly through the air even though he had missed his attack. Nero was falling though the air closely followed but Zack, he could sense Cloud who was just jumping from the ground. Nero moved his arms that were covered by a black smoke, his hands met in front of him as if he was praying. He pulled open his hands as wide as he could. The dark energy had solidified creating a black blade. Zack took a gulp at the sight of the sword. Nero had just become even more dangerous. Zack continued his charge at Nero and Cloud did the same from below. The two got closer and closer to Nero; both men pulled their buster swords bag to gain as much power possible. They finally closed in on Nero, in a flash he disappeared, both Cloud and Zack's buster swords clashed with great power, sending each flying. Nero appeared quickly above Zack, Zack was completely unprepared for Nero's speed. He quickly put his sword forward to stop the blow. Zack was sent flying towards the ground, before he ever got close to the ground, a huge black sphere of energy had hit him. The ball had driven Zack into the ground; he lay still, knocked out form the blow.

Nero reappeared next to Zack; he bent over and took a look at his fallen foe. He grinned as he moved Zack's head to the left and right studying him. "So you killed my brother huh? I've heard great things about you Zackary; you did not live up to your reputation. The people of Kalm truly exaggerated your strength, you were a joke. I'll be back shortly. Allow me to take those people you cared about like you did to me." Nero said as he walked towards Cloud.

Cloud staggered from Zack's blow, he truly had no clue how powerful Zack truly was. Zack looked across the battle field, searching for Zack; he was nowhere to be found. Cloud gripped his sword tightly, he felt Nero; he was nearby.

"You truly are pathetic, do you have no sense? I am behind you and have been. Zackary is far out of your league." Nero said as he stood behind Cloud. Before Cloud could turn to look at his attacker he was met with a bullet in the back that ripped out of his chest. Cloud's legs had become shaky, he had no confidence in battle without Zack by his side. Cloud was feeling fear, he was scared. He turned and slashed at his foe with all his might. Nero just simple moved to his left at an incredible speed. Nero just grinned at Cloud, he could smell the fear on him, Nero drew his sword, it was time to end this.

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Zack had regained consciousness, he climbed his way back to his feet, he was in serious need of a potion to even dream of continuing to fight. He was barely moving even by using his buster sword as a cane. Zack looked over on the battle field and looked in fear. Cloud had been disarmed by Nero and was facing the edge of Nero's sword. Zack gained strength from a fuel tank he did not know he had. He sprinted toward his friend, he had to hurry to save his friend, he had such little time. Each second was precious. Zack had gotten close to Nero, and looked in shock. Cloud was standing in what looked like black water, Cloud looked blankly at Nero. In one motion Nero drove his sword into Cloud's chest. Cloud had begun to lose his footing, before Cloud fell, Nero pulled out his huge gun, it was overkill. He shot 3 fast bullets into Cloud's chest. Zack starred helplessly as he watched his friend fall into the black water and disappear into nothingness.

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Angeal and Genesis watched in the lake as the events unfolded. Angeal's face went blank. He starred in shock, this wasn't supposed to happen. Genesis was in total shock; he fell to his knees and almost began to weep. "He was supposed to save the planet. Now what's going to happen?" Genesis said as he put his hands though his hair.

"No it wasn't. Fuck, Zack is going to snap. We can't stop him. Sephiroth is no longer the planet's biggest threat. Zack needs to be stopped. If not he has the potential to destroy the planet." Angeal said in fear for the planet.

"What about Cloud? We can't bring him back can we?" Genesis asked.

"No we can't, but she can. Let's pray she uses her powers. She may not know how to use them, let's just pray." Angeal said as he looked down at the lake to see the events unfold.

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Zack fell to his knees and began to weep. The dirt on the ground faded to a dark brown from his tears. Zack began to punch the ground. Harder and harder he hit. Nero watch in awe in the damage Zack had done to the ground around him; it was beaten to a pulp.

"Fuck the planet! Fuck Sephiroth! Fuck Angeal! YOU'RE GOING TO DIE FUCKER!!!!" Zack yelled as he sprinted towards Nero. Nero disappeared instantly, he feared Zack's rage. He reappeared in the air looking down. He saw nothing, Zack was nowhere.

"Pay attention asshole!" Zack said as the kicked Nero towards the ground. Nero had been launched at the ground faster than he could react; he disappeared seconds before he hit the ground. That was the first time Zack had hit him, with such power. It was time to turn it up a notch. Nero grabbed his sword of darkness and sprinted towards Zack who did the same. As the two got closer to one another Zack slid to the ground and Nero jumped over him. Nero had turned around to not let Zack have the upper hand. He turned and saw nothing but the dirt moving in the wind. He looked above him and there was Zack performing a braver. Nero put his sword up to block the blow, but Zack had too much power. The buster sword cut through the dark sword like it was butter. Nero took a step back; he had his hand on his face. Zack had hit him. Nero removed his hand which was covered in blood. Zack had cut him from his left eyebrow all the way down to his right cheek. Blood ran down Nero's face. He quickly used cure to heal the wound. It did not heal.

"So it bleeds. That won't be the last blood you will lose today. You will beg for death soon I promise. Hahaaha your magic won't save you, I am flowing with mako! Those wounds do not heal. Are you feeling it yet? The fear?" Zack said with a dark voice. Nero quickly disappeared to run form Zack; he knew this battle was no longer in his favor. Nero reappeared just to be greeted by a waiting Zack. "This trick is getting old, do you have anything else?" Zack said as he slashed Nero across the chest. Nero went flying straight into the ground, there was a loud thud. Nero lay on the ground starring up at Zack who was slowly falling down to greet Nero. Nero moved his arms and grew a huge dark energy sphere. He launched it at Zack who only grinned with his bright glowing mako eyes. Ball grew larger and larger as it got closer to Zack. Zack opened his arms to welcome the ball of energy. "You think I fear death!? Death cannot take me! Nero I'm coming for you!" Zack yelled. The ball had hit Zack at full force. The ball seemed to stop for a second only to erupt in a violent explosion. The air had been filled with dirt form the ground nothing was visible. After a few minutes the dust had finally cleared, Nero looked up to see if Zack still stood. He grinned there was nothing in the air, nobody could have survived that blow. Nero's joy was short lived, he was soo focused to see if Zack had been defeated, he failed to look below him. Zack was on one knee with his hand around Nero's neck. His shirt had been slightly destroyed. His entire left shoulder and chest were bare. Zack tighten his grip on Nero's neck. Nero tried to disappear, but he could not due to Zack was holding him in his physical form. Zack turned and threw Nero across the field; Nero had flown far, real far. Nero finally came to a halting stop as he crashed into the base of a mountain near the path to Gongaga. Zack hurried to get to Nero before he had a chance to recover, Zack had gotten there a little too slow. Nero had regained his feet and summon his darkness hole. Zack had hurried to fast and let his guard down. The darkness had gotten a hold of Zack's legs. Nero grinned he had Zack, Zack had been defeated. "Hahahaha you put up a great fight but you still are not my equal." Nero said as Zack sunk into the darkness. The last thing Nero saw was a huge grin from Zack. The darkness had engulfed Zack into the darkness. Nero had begun to sweat as he struggled to seal the darkness. Zack must have been fighting it; Nero struggled further and further still unable to close it. In a blink of an eye there was a great light bursting from the inside of the darkness. All that could be heard was a loud yell. Zack was screaming at the top of his lungs, creating a bluish green aura around him. The darkness faded as Zack tore through it, Nero starred in awe, Zack was so powerful, too powerful. In a flash Zack had completely ripped through the darkness, Zack made one slash. Nero starred, he missed was he messing with him? A second later Nero's hands fell to the ground. "Let's see you use your powers without your hands." Zack said mockingly.

Zack stepped forward towards Nero who took a step back. "You killed my best friend; he was like a brother to me! DIE!!!" Zack screamed as he slashed at Nero. He continued to yell as he slashed and slashed. Nero's body had become more dismembered with each swipe. Nero had been killed but Zack continued to slash, blood covering his face and chest. He continued to scream, his sword hitting the ground harder and harder. He began to send beams of energy at the mountain; the mountain had begun to crumble. Zack let out one final scream and let out a huge mako power wave. The energy grew larger and larger, the blue aura continued to expand.

(What Genesis did at the end of crisis core before he transformed, just larger ect.)

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Aerith looked at the power Zack was outputting. She put her hands to her chest; she could feel his broken heart. Tears began to run down her face, her baby was lost in pain and hate. She looked up at the sky and pleaded to the heavens' "Please help my Zack! Please I beg you! He is gone, I can no longer feel his heart, and he is not the man I loved. Help me bring him back to me! Please! Angeal! I know you're up there!" Aerith said as she collapsed to her knees. Nanaki looked at the two girls, he felt helpless, and his heart ached for both of them. Tifa had lost the young man she loved, and Aerith could only watch as her love was tearing himself apart. Nanaki did the only thing he could, watch Zack's true power. His power was far too great for his body to handle, it was only a matter of time until Zack's body was either ripped apart, or began to transform. Nanaki just sat there and looked in awe. He turned to see how the girls were doing, Aerith was gone! Nanaki looked for her everywhere; he looked in shock as he saw Aerith walking into Zack's great aura.

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The wave created a huge crater, and the mountain had begun to break apart. Piece by piece began to fall into one another. The small bit of snow at the mountains top vanished into the dark brown cascade of falling rock. Zack's eyes went completely blue, he continued to scream, and he began to hover a few inches from the ground. The mountain began to pulse, it was about to blow. In one last burst, the mountain burst, sending large chunks of the mountain everywhere. Chucks flew towards Zack at incredible speed. Each piece was turned to dust by the power of Zack's aura. Zack continued to gain power growing stronger by the second, he had lost total control. If Zack could destroy a mountain, he could easily destroy the planet.

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Sephiroth eyes quickly turned to the north; he felt something, something great. He took a few steps toward the great energy. It was coming from the mountain next to The Golden Saucer. Sephiroth's eyes tightened, he put his hand on his sword. The leather from his gloves made a creaky noise; he was gripping it very tight. He could feel it, it was Zack. That bastard Hojo was right; Fair was going to be a real threat. In this body, his puppet, there was no way it would survive. It was time to accurate his plan for his revival. It was time for his pawn to be used, he needed him to slow Zack and his friends.

Sephiroth's thoughts were quickly interrupted when he saw a huge blast in the distance. He looked intensely at the eruption, his power has exceeded this puppets strength, it was time to get moving now! Sephiroth turned to Weiss who was looking at the ground with a rather grim look on his face. Sephiroth did not care; he simply began to walk away. Weiss stood up and said "My brother is dead, I could feel his presence ever since we were little, I can't feel him anymore. I last felt him near Zack's energy."

This caught the man in black attention, "How powerful was your brother?" Sephiroth asked to gauge Zack's strength. "Probably stronger than me. He has nowhere near my skill with a blade, but he has powers." Weiss said.

"What do you mean powers?" Sephiroth asked as Weiss gained his curiosity.

"He could manipulate dark energy. He moved so quickly with it, no one could keep up with him, not even you. He had unlimited potential." Weiss said.

Sephiroth looked away to the burning village of Gongaga, perhaps it was a bad idea, and this would only fuel him. Had he only been fueling Fair's rage, had he been the reason to Zack's hidden power? Sephiroth's fists, he began to get angry. He had been careless and did not think of all possible outcomes, he became hot with anger. "Finish burning the village! And put up the crucifixes, I want Zack to see, no to feel my wrath." Sephiroth said as Weiss ran over and began lifting the crosses with Zack's parents on them. Sephiroth turned and walked through the burning village. The huts had begun to collapse under the fury of the flames. The flames had spread to the forest surrounding the village, everything was a blaze. Ash filled the air, Sephiroth faded into the flames, Weiss followed closely behind.

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(Gather yourselves…be mature from this point on, and see that this was done for deeper meanings)

Aerith walk straight thought the aura, each step she took became harder and harder to make. The power created by Zack had gotten stronger since she first walked in; she needed to hurry before Zack unleashed his rage and heart break. She took another step; suddenly a large burst of energy knocked her back. She had been cut on the cheek, and on the shoulder, a wound she was more than willing to take for Zack. She continued to walk forward, the power grew stronger, she could barely move, she grunted at the opposing force. She began to feel tired, and worn: she began to think about giving up. She heard a voice in her head and her heart. "Keep moving… Don't give in…he is the savior…you are the only one with the power to save them." The voice said. Them? That was more than one she had to save? Who? She thought as she continued to fight through the aura. She was deep in thought; she didn't realize the force against her. She took another step forward. Once her foot hit the ground Zack turned and looked straight at her.

Zack looked at her with his blue almost white eyes. His face looked like he was in deep pain. He had green tears of mako pouring out of his eyes. Aerith looked at him with her eyes filling with tears. She looked at Zack's wounds; the holes in his chest for Nero's gun, the blood had a hue of bluish green. He was truly flowing with mako. Aerith began to tear, "Zack! Stop this! I'm here baby! It's going to be ok! Cloud is going to watch over you! He will never leave you… he will never leave your heart. Don't destroy what's left Zack!" Aerith pleaded. Zack just let out a yell and sent a huge burst of energy sending Aerith flying. She stood up and began to walk toward Zack once more. She did not realize that her dress had been torn from the blast. Her shoulder was bare, and her bra was now visible. She had several small cuts on her arms and shoulders, but she still persisted. She got closer to Zack than she did before. He was pouring tears down his face, he did not want to hurt Aerith, but he knew he had lost total control, just as Angeal warned. He wanted to stop, but his body was no longer listening to his mind.

Aerith took 3 more steps forward; she was almost close enough to touch Zack. She reached her hand out to touch him, but she was knocked back by a wave of energy. She stood up, she looked down and her dress was completely torn off, her bra was in pieces. She just shrugged it off as nothing and step forward. She took another step, and she could tell the energy was different this time. She looked up and saw Zack had maxed out his power; it was beginning to tear him away. What was left of his shirt had begun to disintegrate. His boots were slowly falling into pieces, she had to hurry or Zack would be gone for good. She took two more steps; she was nearly able to touch him. Just two more steps and she would be there, she could hold her Zack. Zack's shirt was totally dissolved, his boots were gone, and his chest had small rips from the energy. His skin was beginning to tear away. Aerith walked up and grabbed him. She was completely naked, and put her body against Zack's. She held on to him tight, and held him close. Zack began to descend from his slight levitation. His feet landed, and he put his arms around Aerith's bare back. The two held each other, Zack poured tears onto Aerith's bare shoulders. The tow embraced in the aura, then suddenly…BOOM! The aura erupted creating a crater that stretched a few miles away from the Gold Saucer.

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Nanaki and Tifa looked in horror, they were gone. Nothing could have saved them from that explosion. They ran into the crater to look for their friends. There was nothing but smoke in the crater, their friends were gone. Tifa and Nanaki fell into tears.

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Cloud had awoken in a field, everything felt blissful, he knew as soon as he opened his eyes, he was dead, and this was heaven. Cloud sat up and began to cry, Tifa, he loved her so much; he would never get that chance to be hers. His heart sank instantly, Zack… His friend was already in such a fragile state, this would only break him into pieces.

Before he had a chance to finish his thoughts a hand hit his shoulder.

"Come on, we don't have too much time. I need to show you something." A tall man resembling Zack said. Cloud's stomach turned, Zack was dead too.

"Come on Cloud, we need to move!" A man in red leather.

Cloud realized what was going on, it was Angeal and Genesis. He got to his feet and followed the men to a tree. Angeal reached up and grabbed an apple. The man starred at it and handed it to Genesis.

"Cloud this is an apple that holds the key to unlocking ones greatest power. Here take it, it's important, don't eat it yet. We need to show you more before you go. Once you eat it you will be filled with power and return to the planet." Genesis said as he handed Cloud the apple.

"Cloud look here, we don't have the time to do this, but you and Zack are destined to save the planet, without one another, you will fail and the planet will be destroyed before the New Year starts. Come over here look into the lake with me." Angeal said as he hurried Cloud over to the lake.

Cloud looked into the lake and saw Tifa and Nanaki who were in Corel safe, but looking like they had no will to go on. He had to get back to them. Fast, it was up to him to save the planet and Zack, where ever he may be. Cloud looked farther and saw Zack and Aerith lying tightly together, they were both practically nude lying in grass seemingly asleep or knocked out. Cloud smiled lightly and looked up at Angeal.

Angeal put his arm around him "It's time for you to go, hurry and get to Corel and take care of your friends. Tell them Zack and Aerith are ok, we will guide them to you. Now eat your apple, unlock your inner strength and return." Angeal said.

Cloud waved goodbye to Genesis, and took a bite. Everything began to spin, Cloud felt all his wounds coming back, and he felt the pain in his chest from the bullet. He hit the ground with a thud. He opened his eyes and winced at the sun, he felt like it was the first time he used his eyes. Like he was reborn. Cloud quickly gathered himself and sprinted towards Corel.

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"An apple really? 'This apple will unlock your true power'"Angeal said mocking his friend.

"Hahaha yes I know. He doesn't know that it was just an apple; all he needs is to think it will unlock his true power. Now he won't freeze in battle again, he will be able to fight on his own." Genesis said as he looked at his friend with sad eyes.

"Was it worth it? You know bring Cloud back was against the rules. Was it really that important to you to bring him back, in exchange for your spirit to disappear into nothingness?" Angeal asked.

"Yes. I'd do it again too. I have done many sinful things Angeal. I will give my eternal slumber away to give life to Cloud. I know you would have done the same if it were Zack." He said to Angeal.

Angeal nodded, "I would give Zack my life any day at any moment. What you did was very honorable. I will miss you Genesis."

"I will miss you to friend… I think it's my time to go, goodbye Angeal." Genesis said as hugged his friend. Genesis turned and walked across the field. Angeal watched as he saw his friend slowly disappear. Before he did he let out his final loveless quote.

"Even if the morrow is barren of promises
Nothing shall forestall my return
To become the dew that quenches the land
To spare the sands, the seas, the skies
I offer thee this silent sacrifice" Genesis said as he disappeared into nothingness.

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Ok last thing I swear, I just wanted my readers opinion a bit, who would you rather see duel Sephiroth at the end of this story? It's very far away so don't worry, probably over 20 more chapters. You guys aren't really picking the end battle but it wouldn't hurt to hear my fans opinion. That's for reading!! Review!!! They make my happy!