Chapter 15: Beyond the Edge of the Planet

The silence that followed after Naruto struck was immense. The companions stood still, their eyes fixed on Naruto and Jenova. Everything was so quiet and so still it was as though Stop had been cast over the battlefield, keeping everything in place.

Naruto was standing on Odin's spear, which still pierced Jenova's torso. His sword was embedded deeply in the calamity's chest, just beneath her heart. Blood trickled thickly down the blade. It reached the hilt and spilled onto Naruto's fingers. A few drops fell and splashed onto the mako pool far below them, marring the gentle green surface with dots of ugly red.

Whatever magic had gripped the field then vanished, as Jenova shuddered and coughed. Droplets of blood splashed onto the blade, and Naruto raised his head. Jenova was glaring down at him, its face twisted in anger. Blood seeped out of the corners of its mouth. When it coughed droplets fell and landed on Naruto's face, trickling down his cheeks. The ninja ignored them, gazing up into the eyes of his enemy.

"You…" Jenova's voice was hoarse. "This… This is not over yet!"

"I know. We're not finished yet," Naruto growled as he pushed his sword deeper into Jenova's chest, until it was almost at the hilt. Jenova coughed again and more blood spilled onto the blade. Numerous drops fell onto the mako below, forming a reddish cloud. Jenova shuddered—Naruto could feel its body weakening. He altered his grip and withdrew his blade, and then jumped back off the spear to re-join his friends on the platforms below. They all gathered around him, looking up at Jenova.

Odin's spear disappeared and Jenova sagged heavily. Its head slumped onto its chest. It moved away from the wall, moving slowly towards them. Before it could reach the group a tremor shook its body and it began to fall. Jenova raised its wings, reaching for the companions, but they dropped back to its sides as the strength left it. It fell into the Lifestream, shattering its smooth surface. It sank, and the mako closed over it. It was gone.

One by one the companions lowered their weapons and began to breathe again. They could not believe it. It was over.

"Stay ready! This isn't done yet!" Naruto said loudly. They all blinked once before they readied themselves, knowing that Naruto knew something they didn't. The ninja raised his sword and held it ready, waiting.

The surface of the pool started to bubble. It swelled and then burst upwards, sending showers of mako flying into the air. The mako began to swirl around them, growing so hot that clouds of steam began to rise off of it. The clouds spread and surrounded the companions, growing so thick that they blotted everything from sight. Aeris turned and watched in alarm as one by one her friends vanished from her sight, swallowed up by the smoke. The ground beneath her feet disappeared, dispersing into the clouds, leaving her with the feeling that she was standing on the clouds themselves.

"Cloud!" she called, trying to find him through the smoke.

"What the hell's happening?" That was Cid's voice, coming from behind her.

"This is Jenova's doing," Nanaki's voice spoke from somewhere beside her.

"What!" exclaimed Yuffie. "You mean it's not dead yet?"

"That blow should have fucking killed it!" That, obviously, came from Barret.

"Hmph," grunted Vincent. He didn't seem too surprised.

"This is Jenova you're talkin' about," Cait said. "You didn't think it'd go down as easy as that, did you?"

"Jenova is indeed a tough adversary!" Gaara muttered, readying his gun.

"Why can't it just die!" cried out Tifa.

"We just need to persevere! We've almost won this!" Cloud called.

Naruto gripped his sword tightly. "Get your slimy ass out here, bitch!" he yelled to the clouds.

As you wish…

The clouds lifted, and the companions saw that once again the scenery around them had changed. When they could see each other again the eleven friends drew together and stood in a wide circle, facing outwards, examining their new surroundings.

They stood at the centre of the Twirling Heavens, a landscape of Jenova's own devising, chosen specially for this final confrontation. Dozens of white clouds swirled around them, stretching endlessly into the distance. When they looked down they saw that there was no ground beneath their feet; they stood on the air itself. An unknown source of light shone around them, filling the battlefield with light.

Above them the clouds parted. The companions looked up and their mouths opened wide in awe as Jenova emerged from the parting clouds, descending upon them.

Once again Jenova's form had changed. From the waist up it looked like Sephiroth—mostly—with his chest bare and muscled, his arms spread out. His left arm was normal with the palm facing upwards, but his right arm had been replaced by a long purple-black wing with feathers that were as sharp and deadly as blades. Jenova's face, as Sephiroth, was cold and impassive, betraying no emotion. His long silver hair trailed above him, shimmering as the bright light of the heavens passed over it. Behind his shoulders and head were two large golden halos that shone brightly with untold energy, twirling slowly.

From the waist down all semblance of humanity disappeared, as his legs were replaced with six great white wings. These wings, with their purple-tipped feathers, beat slowly as Jenova floated down and hovered before the companions. The companions stood together, unwavering, their weapons ready in their hands. Jenova's eyes passed over them, unblinking.

"Naru-kun! You need to jab the needle into his human part," Kyuubi relayed her instructions for using the drug.

'Got it Kyuu-chan. Wish me luck!' Naruto replied in his head. He immediately received a warm feeling within him and the feeling that he just received a kiss. He smiled softly before his eyes hardened as he looked up at Jenova.

"Let's do this!" he cried out.

Cloud was the first to try his luck. He charged in as Jenova raised her winged arm and brought it down in front of her. The wing blade cut right through the air—they could hear it being ripped apart—and sent a powerful gust of wind and energy hurtling towards Cloud. Cloud swung his sword and cut through the energy, splitting it in two. He swung his sword again, and the blade clashed against Jenova's wing. There was a flash as the two connected, and tendrils of white energy tapered off around them.

Cloud drew his sword and struck again. Jenova, too, swung her arm. The two weapons clashed and more white sparks danced around them. Jenova's wing blade was harder than steel, and the strength put into each strike was immense. Cloud returned each of Jenova's blows with a strike of his own, fighting back with equal strength and determination. Gradually he began to push Jenova back.

The Buster Sword clanged against the wing blade. Jenova grunted and pulled back away from Cloud, her face dark. She raised her hand and a ball of dark energy formed around it. When Cloud saw it he jumped back out of the way. Jenova grinned and threw the ball down at Cloud's feet. The ball expanded, tripling in size. It pulled Cloud in, and the he cried out as the shock of Demi tried to tear his body apart.

Aeris quickly summoned up a cure spell for Cloud as Tifa and the others charged, while Naruto hung back, waiting for his chance to strike. Jenova looked up; saw the companions heading towards her. With a wave of his hand she cast Cloud away and turned to face them. She gestured with her hand, daring them to come. Still she mocked them and made light of their strength.

Gaara, Barret and Vincent stopped and stood side by side as they fired a stream of bullets through the air. Seeing the volley approach, Jenova held out her hand, palm open, in front of her. A wall of energy rose up in front of her and blocked the bullets, which bounced off with a clang.

While the three gunmen fired their weapons Ifrit came thundering past them, charging on all fours towards Jenova. The beast then stopped and leaped into the air. Flames swept over his fist like a glove, making his already powerful arm much more deadly. The beast roared loudly and then brought his fist crashing down on Jenova's barrier, intending to smash it to pieces. The barrier gave a jolt and a long crack formed in its translucent surface, but it remained in place, protecting Jenova from harm. Ifrit landed in front of the calamity and raised his fist once more, this time preparing to smash the barrier completely.

Moving so fast the eye could barely see it, Jenova lowered her barrier and swung her wing blade. Ifrit scrabbled as he was swept up off the floor, and with another wave of her arm Jenova sent him flying through the air. He sailed over Gaara, Barret and Vincent, and Barret paused in his volley long enough to watch Ifrit fly overhead.

"Barret!" called Vincent.

Barret turned back. His eyes widened as he saw Jenova surging towards him, moving at astonishing speed. Before Barret could even think about moving away Jenova was upon him, her wing blade raised and ready to strike. The wing came down and Barret closed his eyes tight. There was a loud clash followed by a flash of light. Barret slowly opened his eyes. Naruto was standing in front of him, his sword raised level over his head. The wing blade rested heavily against the sword, blocked by the blade.

Naruto glanced over his shoulder. "Move it you dumbass!"

The former resistance leader did as he was told and jumped back. He raised his gun-arm and fired. Jenova instantly raised her barrier, blocking the bullets just in time. Jenova ignored Barret and looked down at Naruto still standing in front of him, blocking Jenova's wing with his sword.

"You," Jenova said in that heavily feminine demonic overtone over Sephiroth's own, "are becoming a nuisance."

Naruto eye smiled pleasantly, despite the weight of the wing blade on his sword. "Then it seems I'm doing my job," he said, and pushed on his sword. Little by little, the wing blade was pushed back, succumbing to Naruto's greater will.

Jenova's eyes narrowed. She raised his hand. Sparks of energy formed around it and were drawn into the centre of her palm. Her hand glowed, and a beam of blue energy came shooting out. Naruto lowered his sword and dived out of the way, feeling the heat of the beam as it sailed narrowly passed him. The ninja swordsman hit the floor and rolled back onto his feet. He held his sword out in front of him, ready to attack.

Jenova moved after him, obviously ticked off. There was a flash of light and something suddenly zipped past her face. Jenova halted. Something trickled down her cheek. Jenova reached up and touched her face; stared at the blood that was on her fingertips. The calamity's brow creased in almost uncontrollable anger.

There was a second flash of movement, but this time Jenova was ready for it as she reached out and snatched the object out of the air. She looked down at the object. It was a shuriken. Jenova looked behind her and saw Yuffie standing at a safe distance with a surprised look on her face, startled that she had caught her weapon so easily. Jenova waved her hand and hurled the shuriken right back at her. Yuffie nimbly leaped out of the way and, while she was in mid-flip, Jenova fired another beam of pale blue light. The ninja saw the beam coming but was unable to dodge it in time. She braced herself for the end.

Out of nowhere, a mass of scales and muscle landed in front of Yuffie, causing her to look up. There stood Neo-Bahamut in all his red glory. The dragon quickly charged up a Giga Flare and fired it at the incoming beam. The two energy beams struck each other and exploded into a shower of light. Neo-Bahamut held firm, continuing to fire his Giga Flare in defence. Behind the massive red dragon Yuffie stared in wonder as she looked at her defender. A shadow fell behind her and she turned, smiling in relief as she saw Naruto touch down next to her.

"Looks like you could use a helping hand," he grinned.

Jenova closed her palm and the beam ceased. Catching movement in the corner of her eye she swerved easily to the side, missing a recovered Cloud's attempt to catch her off guard. Behind Cloud, Cid threw his spear, and with a wave of his wing blade Jenova sent the weapon flying back, along with Cloud and Cid.

Jenova smiled in sadistic pleasure as the two men crashed and rolled along the floor. Then something large and heavy slammed into her back, knocking the wind out of her. The calamity stumbled forward. Her wings crumpled beneath her and she fell down onto the floor.

Titan stood over her. Nanaki stood on the titan's broad shoulder, with Cait Sith sitting safely on his back.

"Hold him there!" Naruto ordered as he fished the vial from his pocket and used chakra to jump over Neo-Bahamut's shoulder towards Jenova. But Jenova was far from finished. With a beat of her wings she twisted out of Titan's grasp. Nanaki ordered Titan to follow her, but Jenova was already up off the ground and rising high up into the air. The calamity stopped and hovered in the air above them. She crossed her arms over her chest and closed her eyes.

"Oh shit!" Naruto swore as he quickly flipped through several handseals.

Light swept throughout the Twirling Heavens, burning so brightly that it blotted out the clouds and the sky. The companions looked around in alarm as everything around them vanished, swallowed up by the white light. Dark shadows fell over their bodies, in contrast to the light.

"Ninjutsu: Chakra Shield!" Naruto called out. A bright blue sphere grew out of his chest and expanded to encompass everyone.

Then it hit them. A hundred balls of bursting black energy burst out of the light and swamped the battlefield. The balls surrounded the shield, contracted and then exploded in a shower of dark light. But at the centre was Naruto, blazing with golden energy and blue bio-lightning as he fed the shield with his Level Three Kikangan. After the bombardment finished a minute later, the shield went down. Jenova swung her wing blade down on top of Naruto but he simply flashed out of the way. The wing crashed into the 'ground' and Naruto saw his chance. Pulling out the vial once again he flashed up Jenova's wing blade and got straight into her face.

"Goodbye Jenova," he whispered before he jabbed the vial into Jenova's neck. The calamity froze and Naruto removed the vial and flashed back, reverting back to his normal self.

"What's going on?" Barret asked.

"The drug that I just administered to Jenova should now be purging the Jenova cells and replicating its own cells to save Sephiroth. Hopefully," Naruto said as he continued to watch their frozen adversary. The clouds behind her came close together and lightning flashed, followed by a deep roll of thunder. A strong breeze began to blow. The companions raised their arms to shield their eyes as more lightning flashed, blinding them.

Sparks of light began to dance over Jenova's frozen body, covering her from her head down to her wingtips. The two halos behind her head grew dark, their light gone, and as the companions watched they crumbled and dissolved into dust. The wind caught them and pulled them back into the clouds.

Then Jenova's wings began to dissolve themselves from her lower body, showing that Sephiroth's lower body did exist. However he was stark naked down there. All the females of the group turned away in embarrassment and some of the blokes did too. Naruto simply shook his head. 'I wish he had some clothes on him.'

The wing blade was the last thing to dissolve off of Sephiroth. And as soon as that was done, Sephiroth's body drifted to the ground and he remained as still as if he were dead. Naruto walked over to him and checked his pulse.

"He's still alive. I guess the new DNA is taking some time to rebuild his body," Naruto reported. He pulled back one of his eyelids to see if he was aware, and watched in fascination as he saw Sephiroth's green cat-like eyes disappear to be replaced with chocolate brown irises and round pupils.

Naruto then picked up Sephiroth's form and hefted him over his shoulder. "Ok, now how do we get outta here?" he asked, before a fierce storm began to blow through the Twirling Heavens. The high winds lifted the companions off their feet and carried them through the clouds, until a bright light appeared and snatched them away. The Twirling Heavens vanished from their sight, and when the light finally faded they found themselves back at the edge of the Mako pit. Back at the point where the party had split up.

Naruto knelt down at the edge of the mako pit. He looked down the walls at the calmly glowing mako pit far below them. He watched as the platforms they had used to get down to the bottom crumble and fall into the pool, along with the scattered remains of the podium where they had fought the Jenova balloon. There was no trace of the calamity.

Naruto collapsed backwards and let out a long sigh. His sword poofed into a cloud of smoke before Kyuubi embraced him.

"Well, I guess this is all we could do. The rest is up to the planet herself," Naruto said as he got to his feet and the two walked over to the rest of the group.

"Wait!" Barret interrupted. Naruto looked at him over his shoulder. "What about Holy?" Barret asked him. "What's gonna happen to the Planet?"

"Like I said, it's the Planet's call now," he repeated. "We might as well go back to the Highwind." He would of started to do so, but the ground suddenly started to shake, making Naruto stumble to the ground. Around him the mako pit was shaking violently, as a powerful quake rumbled from deep within the Planet.

"What the fuck is going on now?" Barret roared in alarm as parts of the Mako pool's edge began to crumble away into the mako. The team backed away from the edge.

"Is everyone ok?" Naruto asked. Confirmation calls from all eleven members plus Kyuubi answered him.

"That felt like something giving in," Gaara said. A loud rumble sounded from deep beneath the earth, as if to answer the sand ninja. Somewhere at the bottom of the pit, something was beginning to give way. Yuffie leaned over the edge of the path and looked down into the mako. It was impossible to see anything beneath its shifting surface. The ninja turned and looked up at Gaara, who shrugged.

"Holy should be moving soon," said Nanaki, "and that means this place will…" He let the sentence hang. Everyone knew what would happen if Holy began to move while they were still in the crater.

Cid turned his gaze to the sky. "Oh, Lady Luck don't fail me now…" he prayed.

Just as he finished his prayer, the crater began to tremble. Cid's jaw fell open, and his cigarette dropped down onto the floor. It rolled to the end of the path and slipped over the edge. It landed on top of the mako pool, gave a slight hiss as it went out, and then sank out of sight.

Everyone looked up to the top of the crater. A violent tremor began to shake the Northern Crater down to its very foundations. The tremors grew so strong that they began to tear the crater apart. Chunks of rock broke away from the walls and smashed onto the path, cutting off any hopes of retreat. More rock tumbled from above, followed by a thick, smothering cloud of dirt and rock that descended rapidly down the crater towards them. The twelve companions rose to their feet, bracing themselves for the end.

"Well I'm not giving up!" Naruto cried out as he stood up and focused. Kyuubi popped back into the sword and three summon materia pieces glowed in their spots on the blade. There was a roar and the entire party looked up to see the Bahamut trio weaving and dodging around the falling rocks before they slowed and came to a stop before the party, clinging onto the edge of the cliff.

"Get on everyone!" Naruto ordered and they all bounded onto a respective dragon.

"Everyone on?" Naruto called as he gripped Sephiroth's limp form tightly and again everyone replied with a loud 'YES!'. "Ok Bahamut brothers! Take us to the Highwind!"

"Hang on tight everyone!" Bahamut roared as he and his brothers detached from the ledge and began to spiral their way up the crater. They past all the areas they had previously traversed and after several minutes of this upward climb they blasted out of the crater and levelled out, only to swoop down to the Highwind which was now hovering a bit higher then where they parked due to the whole crater sinking into the ground slowly.

Each dragon levitated next to the deck of the Highwind to drop off their passengers before they nodded and disappeared back into the materia on Naruto's sword. They dashed up the stairs and onto the bridge.

"Get us high enough before pulling the emergency lever! We need to hightail ourselves outta her fast!" Cid yelled, making the pilot and engineers jump into action. The Highwind began to drift away from the top of the crater.

A bright glow began to fill the Northern Crater. The air surrounding the crater began to ripple and waver, growing so hot that the ice on the trees and mountains began to melt. The light grew brighter and brighter and then suddenly burst forth in a wave of intense blue-white energy. It was Holy, released at last from its prison at the heart of the Planet and bursting to the surface in a powerful wave, sending a shockwave ripping through the forests around the crater.

As Holy burst out of the earth, the Highwind was thrown off course by the shockwave. Inside the companions were being thrown out by the buffeting of the airship. The airship lurched and leaned heavily to one side. Cloud clung onto the main console with one hand, with Tifa holding onto the other, trying to keep them both from falling off their feet. Barret came sliding past them, narrowly missing Nanaki, whose claws were dug into the grated ground. Aeris hung tightly to Nanaki's back. Yuffie tumbled past Cait as he staggered about on his Mog. Gaara released his sand and sent some to catch Yuffie before she crashed. Vincent hung by one hand next to Naruto, who had used chakra to make himself stick to the floor which was almost vertical, still hanging onto a stark naked Sephiroth.

Cid was on his belly, clinging onto a handle attached to the floor. He heard the pained roar of the engines as they fought to steady the airship. He heard the sirens whirring loudly; saw the red flash of the lights.

"Shit!" the pilot cursed fervently. Naruto hefted Sephiroth again and crawled like a spider up to Cid's position, using chakra in his hands and feet to do so.

"Where's this Emergency lever you were talking about?" he yelled over the roaring sound from outside as Holy continued to burst its way out of the planet.

"Up there!" Cid yelled back as he looked up. Naruto also looked up and spotted the lever in question. He quickly scaled the remaining feet and, balancing Sephiroth's body on his shoulder, he reached out and pulled the lever.

The airship shuddered and exploded in a large ball of flame just moments before it would have smashed into the outer perimeter of the Northern Crater. The Highwind burst out of the flames. Its shape had changed once again, with two large, flat wings at the sides and a single, powerful jet-powered engine at the back. The newly emerged airship spiralled out of the flames and moved away from the crater, following Holy as it turned in the sky, heading south.