A.N: Hey everyone its been a while! So I completely understand if you need to go back and re-read the last chapter before you continue :) To be honest i had to go back and re-read my entire story when I decided enough was enough and I should continue writing again. Anyway enough of my blabbering and enjoys the chapter and please guys review. I decided to pick up the story again because i got a review a couple weeks ago from a reader asking me if I was going to finish the story and was it worth putting the story on an alert. So see I can very easily be guilt ridden into doing something lol.

For the second time in less than four hours Cloud found himself racing down Highwind's halls. His speed and agility being the only things that kept him moving though the maze of people crowding the corridors. Many who were abandoning their destroyed posts in search of new ones.

The attack had come from nowhere!

Cloud had been on the bridge when the first wave of the attack started. They had held their own for the first ten minutes of the battle, but it soon became obvious they were out manned and outgunned and Cid had taken the ship into the clouds for cover.

How had they known where they were?

Rain! The thought had flashed instantly into his head; Sephiroth must have placed a tracker before he released her. How stupid of him not to think of checking for that when she first came aboard!

Cloud gritted his teeth and abandoned dodging people and simply started pushing them out of his way, with a lot more force than necessary, but he didn't care. Keeping his strength in check did not matter right now, getting to Rain did.

This attack was on orders from Sephiroth, Cloud was sure of it. That meant he wanted her back! Sephiroth had given her up too easy; Cloud should have realized what that meant. Sephiroth never gave up! He had always been a requiring nightmare for Cloud in his past life; Cloud was stupid to think that had changed in this one.

A sudden awareness seemed to tug at his senses. Sephiroth was here! Cloud could feel him, that ever nagging pull whenever the man came near, due to the cells they both shared, forever connecting them to each other. Tilting his head up suddenly, Cloud made for the first ladder and starting moving towards the top of the ship.

Angeal dropped down and landed on the roof of the aircraft, catching his balance on the moving ship. He glanced back; Zack was maneuvering the chopper through the heavy crossfire with surprising expertise. However it would take another half a minute to get here. Angeal thought he saw a figure drop from the aircraft and knew Sephiroth would be here in a matter of seconds.

"Angeal!"

Angeal turned at the familiar voice. At the other side of the ship stood Rain with Genesis slung limply over one of her shoulders.

She had to shout to be heard over the wind, but Angeal's superior hearing heard the words clearly. "Help me please! Genesis is hurt!"

Angeal was at her side in an instant.

"What happened?" He demanded as he gently eased his friend from the girl's shoulder and drew in a breath when he saw the gaping wound.

Rain sounded close to hysterics, "I…I don't know. I can't seem to stop the bleeding."

"Alright Rain, don't panic. Do you have any materia…"

Pain! It ripped though him, cutting him off in mid sentence. Looking down at his side he saw Rain's hand resting there. Angeal blinked at the four fingers of Rains left hand which were buried completely in his side.

How? Then he looked into her eyes and saw the green cat eyes staring back at him, and the malicious smile that was spreading across her face.

"You're lucky; I was planning to stick my entire hand through you. Oh, well this will have to do. As soon as I have your cells my little host will no longer be able to resist."

Angeal screamed as the fingers twisted and a new kind of pain coursed through his every cell.

Cloud tore through the top hatch of Highwind and onto the roof, his eyes locking onto the one winged man, who landed lightly on the ship in front of him.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud growled drawing his blade from his back and forming a stance ready for an attack. However Sephiroth appeared not to notice him except at a mere glance, his eyes riveted on something behind Cloud.

Slowly Cloud took a step back and to the side so he could look without taking his gaze completely off Sephiroth. However what he saw soon held him riveted along with Sephiroth.

Rain knelt on one knee a dozen yards off, Angeal and Genesis lying limply around her. At first Cloud thought she was checking Angeal's injuries, but then he saw her slowly draw her fingers from where she had them piercing his side.

Bringing the blood covered fingers to her lips, Cloud watched in horror as Rain seemed to taste them with the tip of her tongue.

Rain smiled and lifted her head and their gazes met.

Cloud staggered backwards, a small cry of despair escaping his lips.

"Rain, oh Gaia no! Please no!"

"Hello Cloud," the voice seemed to carry on the wind, "It's been a while. You and your brother have been refusing to talk to me, so I had only my daughter to turn to. It took a while, but she has finally come to see that mother was right all along. I hope you will too."

"Jenova," Cloud spat, "Release Rain or I will…"

"You'll do what my son? Rain and I are one now. As it was always meant to be, and with each Reunion I am getting stronger, I can already feel my old body returning."

There was the sound of ripping flesh and two black wings suddenly appeared out of Rain/Jenova's back.

"Ahh, much better," Jenova crooned then spread her arms wide, "I can see by your faces that you will still need convincing. Very well my sons, your mother is generous and unlike this planet I shall give you time to decide your own fate."

She then lowered her arms, her voice dropping and it seemed as if the very sky around them seemed to darken, "But remember Cloud, remember what happens from now on and decide. Do you want to watch the planet burn around you again or this time will you join me? I will not spare this planet, but I will spare you the agony of having to watch it fade away."

Cloud felt his blade drop from his hands and all the energy seemed to leave his body in a wave and he dropped to his knees numb. This couldn't be happening! Not again, not after everything he had done to prevent it.

A figure suddenly stepped up beside him, Cloud starred at the leather boots and the tip of Masume that rested just in front of him. Yet it not seem to be meant as a threatening gesture aimed at Cloud, but rather almost…protective, as if to shield him.

"Aww, my eldest son, don't think I have forgotten about you. You too must decide what you want. Will you remain a puppet of that company Shinra or will you and your brother take your rightful places at my side? Your little brother will know where to find me when you both have decided. However to make sure you do come, I will be taking someone to keep me company. It's been such a long time since I last spoke with one of her kind. It will amuse me greatly."

Arieth was suddenly pulled out from a hatch below Rain and thrown down to the floor. Her hands were bound behind her so she was not able to catch herself and she landed hard on the side of her face.

Cloud rose to one knee and made as if to go to her but, but froze as Rain's blade suddenly appeared to rest on the ground in front of Arieth threateningly. Jenova/Rain then seemed to see the SOLIDERS are her feet for the first time and looked at them with mock confusion on her face.

"Hmm, I seem to have too many hostages, how over enthusiastic of me. Oh, well easily dealt with."

Grabbing each SOLIDER by the throat she lifted them until they were eye level with her. The cat eyes then looked past them to lock with Sephiroth, who Cloud noticed had tightened his hand on Masume to the point where his hand was turning white.

A leer appeared on Rain's face, "Here my son. They are all yours."

With a causal toss of her wrists the two SOLIDERS were flung over the side of the ship.

Everything at that moment seemed to happen at once. Cloud was aware of Sephiroth diving over the side of the ship, wing extended. However at the same time a shot rang out and blood suddenly started to grow in a circle on Rain's shoulder causing her to drop her sword.

Growling Jenova looked up, with all the noise around them, they had failed to notice a copper hovered nearby. Cloud saw Zack handing out the side with a sniper rifle aimed and ready to take another shot.

Cloud was on his feet sword in hand, his first instinct to protect Rain, but then his mind caught up to him, and he saw what Zack was doing. He wasn't trying to kill Rain or that first shot would not have missed, instead he was trying to incapacitate her, trying to remove the threat to Arieth.

Cloud used the momentary distraction to lunge toward Arieth, if he could just get her out of Jenova's reach…

Another shot rang out again, but this time a Barrier appeared around Rain and Arieth, stopping both Cloud and the bullet at the same time.

Jenova glared at him and Cloud shuddered seeing that familiar look coming from Rain's body.

"You want to play? Alright, here why don't you play with this!" Raising her hand above her, Cloud recognized the glow of a summon materia an instant before the clouds overhead suddenly started to swirl in a dangerous funnel and hug swings started to appear in the middle diving down.

Cloud swore, Bahamut! Why had he ever allowed Rain to keep that summon. The great creature came roaring downwards, its target the chopper that would clearly not be able to get away in time.

"Zack!"

Cloud saw a figure leap out of the aircraft an instant before it was caught in Bahamut's teeth, metal grinding and snapping as easily as paper in the giant mouth.

Zack was now falling, he had aiming to land on the Highwind, but Cloud could see he was going to miss it. Running to the edge Cloud flung himself at the raven haired man as he fell passed.

Feeling his hand grasp the other's wrist, Cloud flung Tsurugi, grasping the ornamental knob at the end of the handle as it flew out of his hand. The sword stuck fast into the side of Highwind, metal giving under its sharpness before it caught on a steel beam in the ship's haul and held fast.

Their fall suddenly came to a jarring halt as the wire in Cloud's hand became tight. Cloud grunted at the suddenly weight of both himself and Zack. They swung wildly, but at least they were not falling anymore and Cloud was suddenly glad he had added that little extra feature to Tsurugi's blade. Since most of his fighting had been centered in Wutie, Cloud had quickly grown tired of having to go search for all the pieces of his blade in the dense jungle and all its undergrowth.

Looking down at Zack who was staring up at him, with shock written all over his face, Cloud shouted, "Climb!"

Zack hesitated for only a second. Then the grip on Cloud's hand tightened and Zack's other arm came up to grasp just below Cloud's elbow as he began to hoist himself up using Cloud's body as a rope.

Cloud grunted once when Zack kneed him in the eye while climbing past his face.

"Sorry, buddy."For a brief instant Cloud's heart lightened at the familiar phrase.

Cloud waited until Zack was a good way up the wire before he started climbing up himself. It was only then that Cloud noticed the crossfire between the Highwind and the Shinra ships had ceased. Instead they all now seemed to be focused on one common enemy, Bahamut.

Cloud could just make out a red figure on the back of the creature's head shooting round after round into its thick skull, and Yuffie's Star weapon struck its neck though the ninja was nowhere to be seen.

There were all here! All his friends just like last time, but this time Cloud would not join in. They did not need it, it might take them longer, but the creature's defeat was inevitable. Cloud's focus was on getting back on the ship and rescuing Arieth. He would not let her die again!

It took a couple more minutes for Cloud and Zack to climb back onto Highwind's roof, when Behamut gave a terrifying roar and was falling to the earth in a spray of disintegrating mako.

Cloud felt the hair on the back of his neck rise as he saw Sephiroth in the mid-air watching the creature fall Masume dripping with the creature's blood. However Cloud quickly forgot him once he climbed onto the roof.

"Rain! Arieth!"

Zack added his own shouts, however their cries were met with empty air. Both girls were gone.

Sephiroth starred at Bahamut as it fell; glad he had left Angeal and Genesis a short distance away so they would be safe from any falling debris. Genesis had started to regain conscious and Sephiroth had left a cure material, but that had been all he had been able to do. By then Bahamut had appeared in the sky.

However they had all been too late. Jenova had played her escape move well. Anyone who might have been able to stop her had been kept busy protecting those around them.

Landing lightly on the ship Sephiroth approached the blond haired swordsman.

Sephiroth was taken aback by the look of utter despair that was present on the man's face. Sephiroth then remembered the words that had brought the harden warrior to his knees.

Watch the planet burn around you again

Something else was going on beyond what was obvious and Sephiroth decided he had been kept in the dark by these blond siblings long enough. His emotions toward Rain he now realized had prevented him from pushing her for answers like he normally would have. However he had no such feelings of restraint towards the brother.

"Hello Cloud." Sephiroth's voice was quite and as of yet held no threat. However Cloud still flinched violently, and that for some reason that made Sephiroth soften toward the younger man and he tried again.

"Due to recent circumstances, we now appear to be on the same side, don't you agree?" Sephiroth was giving him a chance, before he would start pushing.

Despite his earlier reaction Cloud starred at him defiantly and Sephiroth was just beginning to think they would have to do this the hard way, when the smaller man's shoulders suddenly slumped as if he had the weight of the planet on his shoulders and it was crushing him.

"Call your ships off and we will land. We will then…talk."