Side B: Calamity
The world is never fair.
They set out hours before they intended well Cloud, Sora and Vincent did anyway, with a serious glaring problem Sora took the lead they searched the outskirts the destroyed Shinra building even Aerith's church, nothing not a single trace and Vincent was getting aggravated
"We should just head back" Vincent voiced his aggravation only because he was away from Lucrecia for too long, which had only been about twenty minutes
"Are we going to be hearing this the whole time, because if that's the case I think its best we just split up and will keep searching you can go on back"
Vincent without a moments notice walked on back without a word and Sora deadpanned
"Are you really going to leave?" Sora asked actually shocked
"You have chaos, Jenova cells and mako energy; you could probably kill him yourself you're…just as strong as Lucrecia."
Sora was taken back by his praise; if it even was, praise maybe just common sense? Maybe, Vincent was never really someone to praise someone unless it was Lucrecia; he even sadly enough had the ability to compare anyone to her no matter who it was which…wasn't the best trait ever
"Are you obsessed or something do you need a-"Cloud put a hand over the teen
"Trust me, don't finish that sentence"
After an hour of searching the others came out into the frantic fray of searching for the red head little did they know he was already found?
"You…I finally found you!" metal met metal pushing for dominance Genesis looked into the teens eyes and smirked
"What did you undergo….for such strength" He grunted "You really are my Villain aren't you!"
"You idiot you're the villain not me!" Sora shouted and summoned another keyblade; it was enough to send him flying into the church support beams above the only place Sora knew he'd be close to.
Sora readied himself ready to strike but all Genesis did was eye him…it was something he was a little unnerved about but kept himself on guard
Yuffie started in the most obvious place well for her anyway Aerith's church; she felt safer there than anywhere as she arrived she saw the fighting.
"Sora!" A voice from below shouted a voice he knew ever so well
"Yuffie get out of here you can't take him!" Sora shouted as he lunged against the red headed maniac he parried everything but the strength of his blows kept him from recovering much to his aggravation after one misguided blow Sora had an opening
"Ragnarok!"
He succeeded in landing the rapid succession of attacks the charging energy exceeded its normal rate and came out in one huge wave of energy thanks to his mako infusion. Genesis went flying out into the open debris below, Sora not missing a beat rushed out and slammed his blades into the red head maniac. Taking him into the air and sending out a barrage of attacks.
Although before he even knew what happened he was sent back, directly into the church again, back to the exact spot where he awoke he was bewildered at the sudden attack, of course all of this…everything every single thing wrong was thrown out the window when he heard her scream.
"Did…did she try to fight him!
Deep within his heart the bleak endless black hole that is his heart rippled and distorted itself into a storm a storm of hatred for harming the only light within that void
I'll protect my light…my white rose!" Sora dashed out of the ruined church in a blur of speed, but…nothing and I repeat nothing could prepare him for the monstrosity that he saw, the tears didn't fall fast enough, the pain didn't kick in fast enough, his body…was nowhere near quick enough his mind was the slowest not accepting what just happened.
"No…no…no….no….no…no…no…NO NO NO NO NOOOO!" His anguish could be felt by the poor ground below as it crumbled beneath his feet in a crater of anger, blood lust and unfathomable heartache.
A few inches away genesis had weltered everything Sora had hoped for into one smoldering heap on the ground and debris below tears wouldn't stop falling, not that he even had the ability to stop them he fell to the ground looking at her pale skin and the light slowly dimming from her eyes.
I'll never be the same
I'm caught inside these memories
Attempt after heart wrenching attempt he tried healing magic potions, elixirs, hell even tried to summon all to no avail he was about to sink into the darkness when an angel called out.
"It…Its okay" It wasn't, it'd never be and he knew that he always knew something could go wrong…but to this…extent
Nothing compares to you,
I can't let you go
"H-How can you say that, I don't want you to leave me!" he could barely keep his eyes open, he wanted to shut them pretend this didn't happen that she wasn't close to the end, close to leaving him behind, alone.
I'll never be the same
Not after loving you
"I'm always with you, I'll…I'll always love you, and even if my promise didn't come to fruition, you still kept yours…you came back to me…" His eyes widened as his heart swelled for just a moment as her smile grew bright, warm, loving…beautiful but at the same time ever so bleak hopeless and at the same time one of the most radiant things he'd ever seen.
I can't just walk away
'Cause after loving you…I can never be the same
"I hope you'll keep this last promise, and come back to me, I'll wait no matter how long it takes, without you…I'm not complete…without you…I'll never be whole…"
"Without you here…I have no light left no reason to keep going other than to wallow in misery"
"You…can keep going I know you can, you still have my love…all of it, if it's you who watches over the world I know you can change it for the better, so we can meet and be together again…"
"It's time to go…Yuffie" A radiant voice called out, he knew who...
"Don't, don't take her from me!"
"I…I don't want to go either…but I…Don't think it's my choice anymore…"
"C'mon, it's been awhile, and…we have time to catch up"
"Sister…" Yuffie whispered
You left me here then I watched you disappear
You left this emptiness inside
And I can't turn back time
They shared one last kiss; one last look in her radiant eyes before the light faded entirely her life stream was being taken but instead of going to the sky, it flew somewhere else, into Sora.
"This is my sky, where I belong, my consciousness may be with Aerith but…my life was always with you Sora"
No, stay
Nothing compares to you, nothing compares to you
I can't let you go, can't let you go, I can't let go
He held her prone form in his arms feeling the last of the warmth as her body completely faded into his he held himself for a moment hoping, to at least hopefully feel her warmth for just a second longer, but to no avail. The tears that slowly slid out weren't even clear but green his eyes when he finally opened them were stark yellow wings similar to Vincent's only filled with feathers some parts missing said feathers, other spots missing all together. In small doses his skin turning a sickly gray the keyblade he held was the once Yuffie created with her life force.
I belong to you,
I can't just walk away…
"Leviathan's rose…" He spoke softly before his power surged to new heights the cells in his body swirled around coming together his eyes glowed like a search light as time virtually stopped as he rushed and struck the red head with unimaginable power.
"You'll be dying, today you have my word!" Sora almost shouted his body was calm even if his heart was shattering second by second.
"I'd expect nothing less from my villain but, unlike you I have other things to attend to, but our battle will happen, will settle this dispute but not here, not today!" Genesis had a Sephiroth worthy smirk before vanishing in a burst of flames Sora stood there, denied his love and denied his revenge the only thing he could do was cry out shattering his vocal range and straining his vocal chords to the point he was close to collapsing. The whole way back his body felt hollow his mind hazy with images of her…and his heart heavy and hurting, he wondered why it was even there. As soon as he saw the Seventh Heaven his mind finally registered the horrible truth; he'd after relive it as he told them the horrible fate he already felt broken, if anything shattered or maybe even dust…maybe…nothing at all was left at all.
"That bastard ran like a coward…I'll kill him without a doubt I'll…I'll make him pay for taking my beloved away!"
When he walked in, his hair refused to return to its normal brown color it stayed black his eyes were fighting between blue and yellow finally staying their original color after a moment or two when he stood still with his head downcast The first to approach him was the waitress
"Hey Sora, how'd it go? Did Yuffie find you alright?" Tifa shot a him a warm smile that he didn't even so much as look at
"Why…Why didn't you send Cloud to my position?" He was losing his grip on his control
"Reno and Rude showed up, apparently they had something to discuss with him and wouldn't let him leave it involved Genesis so he wasn't quite inclined to leave as much as he wanted to. Why did something happen?" Tifa asked softly
He opened his mouth to speak but tears soon fell and he closed his mouth nothing he said would make it out nothing he saw was clear everything…blurry his mind was clouded
"She's…gone I…I couldn't save her it was all my fault I couldn't make it I couldn't stop that bastard!" his power started to surge again tears streamed down his face before it could take him over, Tifa grabbed a hold of him and held him close humming a soft song in his ear he finally calmed down. Although…his hair would never return to normal his eyes would never be full of life.
"Why…did it have to be you?" Sora kept thinking, the news spread fast and everyone offered their share of apologies and grief in their own way.
"Another sin to bare" Cloud stated softly
"This…isn't your sin its mine, and I'm going to cleanse it with the life of that bastard!" Sora shouted
"I…Can't let you go I'll never let you go, because after loving you…I can never be the same" Sora sulked into his room and looked towards the ceiling
"Laugh" A voice called out; he soon heard footsteps and the young brunette maiden came to a stop next to the teenage chosen one
"When…you want nothing more to do than cry, laugh…" She paused "Would you want to try it?" Sora looked to her with his dead eyes and she finally noticed the weight of what happened to him.
"Your life…you've…given up haven't you?" She asked rhetorically
"I only have two purposes; Kill Genesis and keep living…for her I can't let her death wish go unfulfilled" He said dully
"You can still find happiness; you shouldn't give up on love-"His glare stopped her
"I will NEVER try and find someone else she was too important" His glare wouldn't leave but all she did was smile
"I'll stay close to you and help you no matter what…I care about you and I value your friendship so…don't forget me?" Yuna asked softly confusing the teen
She left soon afterwards leaving the teen to slowly attempt sleep which didn't come he had to live with his mistake and it wouldn't be leaving any time soon.
"History…all it does is repeat…"
"Who are you…who are you now?" Yuna asked herself
You are the only voice my heart can recognize
Sora laid there thinking over the promises the yesterdays…caught inside his memories of her all of her, he curled in on himself and cried
How can I pretend I never knew you?
Like it was all a dream, No I know I'll never forget
The way I always felt with you beside me
And how you loved me then,
"Why…did it have to be her?"
"Why…"
"Why couldn't I have gone…in her place?"
"I couldn't forget you…even if I wanted to,"
Somewhere along his road to sleep and being awake something warm held him, keeping him from falling even deeper into his black pit he made for himself
"Yuffie…" He whispered it ever so slightly but it was loud enough for the person to hear
"Is she the only one on your mind?"
Yuna left her cousin after she entered the room everyone else had mixed feelings about the death of the young ninja, Tifa seemed more depressed than anything after losing another friend, Cloud had his stoic poker face Marlene succumbed to tears, Cid had a show of grief Vincent had a look of shock and what seemed to be regret
"He's going to go after him again, if he manages to win…what do you think he'll do?"
"The chance of us wining has dropped so slightly," Cloud said softly breaking the silence
"Genesis made a deal with Shinra, they'll be working together to capture or kill us as in Sora and myself. The rest of you will be forced to work for Shinra or be killed if we somehow manage to be taken in and or killed, and with the broken Shinra helping that mad man his chances have gone up a bit"
"Why would they bother doing that?" Tifa shouted
"Genesis have some upper hand it makes sense he's practically invincible from what Reno said anyway as to if it's true, I have no clue"
"Didn't they learn anything last time?" Barrett shouted
"Obviously not, he must've offered them a solid deal, but with Genesis they can ensure the towns safety by demonstrating it...by ether killing myself or even Sora to prove his power...and-"
"That's why..." Cid spoke his voice thick with grief
"That's why he took her life to further his own goals"
"It's best we don't tell Sora, if we do he'd likely fly off the handle" Tidus said with a yawn
"Don't worry, will take care of Shinra tomorrow and leave Genesis to Sora" Cloud stated
Tifa looked at him worriedly her gaze bore into him
"We can't-"
"We have to, we can't risk anyone else I'm not letting someone else go and get killed"
"Aren't you? You're sending a revenge driven boy into the fire!"
"He'd go…even if we told him not to, he's the one who wants to soil his hands in that mans blood more than anyone and truthfully, we have no right to stop him…you know that"
"This is…just like before…isn't it exactly…like before" Tifa whispered
Cloud looked up towards the ceiling, the nostalgia a bit hard to shake off she was right it was like before…but this time they had more hands to hold everyone together, more people to hope for tomorrow, more hearts to love the broken hearted
"Yeah…it is, but will make it through this, we did before didn't we? We can do it again one last push, Tifa" Cloud said softly as he wrapped his arms around the martial artist in a comforting yet intimate hug
"Will make it through, you have my word…Tifa"