Final Fantasy VII: Scion of Chaos

"Rebirth”

Chapter: 1

Part - 1

The hollowed metaphysical realm of the Life stream is ever stretched into the infinites well beyond the reaches of human comprehension. It is this places that entombs and embodies the never-ending cycle of life. It's arcane expanse echoes with the murmurs and desperate pleas of all those who came before and all who have yet to come. The voices all speak out at once with one single objective, the restoration and salvation of a dying world.

Deep within this omniscient presence a battle is being waged for control of the worlds ultimate destiny. Should the victor of this war be the latter of the two, men and beast alike would no longer be subjected to the whims of fate. The innumerable paths of life in this world would become one, unavoidable path leading straight into the gullet of things far worse than death. Both combatants fight valiantly for their cause while another lays patiently in wait.

The Protagonist, even through all his plight and constant tests of faith in others, fights for the chance to start life anew. He dreams for a world fresh from the corruption of the Shinra and their bastard abomination known as Sephiroth. To him, winning is the only way to make “her” death less meaningless.

The Antagonist, he is a perfect duplicate of one of the greatest warriors to ever wield a sword. Driven mad by the discovery of his origins, he seeks revenge on all those connected to his death and his rebirth. Both combatants wield their swords with an almost equal quality of skill and precision, it was clear that only the smarter of the two would become the victor.

Mako particles stream free flowing from the darkness below Clouds feet. They gently float around his body wrapping in a warm, green, glow. The pulsing balls of energy shimmer across the tempered steel of Clouds “Buster sword” as he stands in wait of his opponents attack. Rushing forward, Sephiroth meets his steel with the steel of his opponent. Rearing back they both strike again and counter each other's attacks. Swinging wide then parrying, then parrying again thrust after thrust.

Cloud lashed out at Sephiroths right shoulder, but to his disappointment, was quickly dodged. Taking his hand and balling it into a fist, Sephiroth caught Cloud in the corner of his gut, expelling all the air from his lungs. Cloud allowed himself to lower to one knee as he gasped for air, but even through the pain, he remained wise of the Masamune's arching direction. Leaning off to the side, Cloud threw his arm down and forced the weight of the Buster sword onto the hilt of the Masamune ripping it from Sephiroths hands. Realizing his disadvantage, Sephiroth quickly countered by kicking the Buster sword away from Clouds grasp.

Both warriors leapt away from each other and as they did, Cloud launched a fireball towards his opponent. Sephiroth, standing directly in the path of the ball, held up his hand and smiled. Cloud watched in amazement as the fireball stopped at Sephiroths fingertips and hovered as if suspended in mid-air. The fireball instinctively followed Sephiroth fingers as he twisted his wrist around then drew his arm back into a fighting stance. Staring at his sword, then back towards the fireball, Cloud could do nothing more than wait.

Cloud tried to think of a way that would allow him to get to his sword before Sephiroth could launch the fireball, but his thought came to an abrupt conclusion as Sephiroth launched his counterattack. Cloud charged the ball at full speed. At the moment he could smell the tips of his hair singing against the hot fire, he ducked over to the side, snatched up his sword. Seeing what Cloud had done, Sephiroth used one of the metal rings attached to his wrist to deflect Clouds blade. The force of the blow knocked Cloud to the side and allowed Sephiroth to tumble over to the Murasame.

Now with both blades in hands once again, they charged once more. As he charged Cloud thought about his friends waiting for him on the other side. This was not only a fight for “her” but a fight for all of them as well. If were to fail, he would let them all down, which was something he could not allow himself to do.

The meeting of the blades echoed throughout the lifestream then was immediately followed by the sound of superheated steel cracking under the force of a mighty blow. Shards of steel pierced the air and the flesh of Clouds left shoulder as the Masamune fell to the floor in several pieces. Shocked by the event, Sephiroth staggered backwards into the void. Feeling a sense of accomplishment wash over him, Cloud realized that for the moment, he had a complete advantage. He quickly regained his balance and thrust the bustersword deep into Sephiroths chest. He heard the sounds of bones cracking around the blade and a sickening gasp escaped from Sephiroths lips as he tried to breath through his pierced lungs. Sephiroth looked down into Clouds gently glowing eyes as the blade broke in half, leaving the tip buried inside.

Sephiroth slowly drifted off into the lifestream and Cloud watched as the form of his enemy dissipated into nothingness. Cloud dropped the hilt of the Buster sword as he felt himself slowly rising from the lifestream. He closed his eyes as streams of energy wash over his entire body. “It's over.” He thought and began to wonder if he would be able to see his friends again. Realized that he honestly missed them, but he took comfort in the sacrifice he had to make. Clouds eyes snapped open again as a hand pushed through the void, reaching out in his direction. Baffled, he recognized the face of Tifa as she reached out to him from several feet up. What he did not recognize was the fact that he is standing in the bottom of the Northern Crater and the ground below was rapidly disappearing.

**********

Tifa hung tightly from Clouds waist as they both dangle high above the massive crater burrowing into the heart of the Lifestream. A moment earlier the ground on which they stood had shattered and broken, allowing gravity to take hold. Fortunately, Cloud moved quickly enough that he was able to secure a hold on a nearby ledge, saving them from a steep fall. Tifa was shocked by his speed and precision in which Cloud had rescued his rescuer. Frozen by this amazement, she stared in silence as Cloud's mind reveled over the recently transpired events paying no attention to the situation at hand; All at once he felt a loosening all across his body as the details began to flood back into his mind. "I think I'm beginning to understand." He spoke without realizing someone was within earshot.

Tifa looked up in wonderment. "What?" She asked.

The questions that plagued Clouds mind quickly began to answer themselves. He now understood what it was that he needed to do in order to write a new, happier chapter that he could use to end this story. "An answer from the planet... the promised land.” Cloud lifted them both up to the ledge as he spoke. “I think I can meet her... there.”

"Yeah, let's go meet her." Tifa replied as she grabbed the ledge and helped herself the rest of the way up. Safely on the ledge, Tifa took Clouds hand in hers then examined his worn and tired face. "What happened? I got so scared. When I called, you just stood there looking back up at me.” She clicked her tongue as she curved her neck to get a better look at him. “I was worried that you were just going to let yourself fall."

Cloud stared up at the mouth of the crater thinking about his defeated nemesis. "Sephiroth, he…he's gone now.”

Tifa nodded, then took a torn piece of her shirt and wiped a trail of blood from his face. “Debris from the cavern must have hit when you saved me…” Her eyes flickered to life as she felt a deepening admiration she never thought possible. “Meteor will now dissipate and the planet will be saved." She grinned and helped herself to her feet. “We did it…” For some reason she couldn't explain, she felt something different about Cloud; something far different than the giddy nervousness she felt a moment ago. This new feeling set the butterflies in her stomach on fire causing her hands to shake and her knees transform into rubber. "Something's wrong, what is it?"

"Nothing, I'm fine."

Tifa, completely unconvinced, continued. "Are you sure? I just got this funny feeling…"

"Yes, I'm fine.” He interrupter her she could finish. ”Where is everyone?"

The coldness of his reaction bit hard against her lips, so she shut them tightly and helped him scan the rock face.

"Heeeey!" Barret waved down to them from up above with an abnormally large grin across his lips. "You're both still alive…you made me worry for a minuet or two."

"I'm glad you're all safe!" Tifa called up to him.

A look of concern returned to Barrets face as he looked around the crater then back to Tifa. “They all seem to be safe, too. But, now what're we going to do?”

Tifa turned around to face Cloud and leaned on her hip. "Shall we?"

"Yeah." He took her into his arms and began climbing up the ridges in the crater wall. After a few moments they reached the ledge where the rest of the crew waited with smiles. Cloud began to feel more and more distant even after rejoining the group. It was if the world was placed far too close to a bass speaker turned up on max. It reminded him of what he felt back in the Mako reactor when he first joined Avalanche. "Bout damn time.” Barret called over to them as he slowly raised himself from the ground.

Red XIII stepped forward from the background; flicking his tail in a concerning fashion. "Holy should be moving soon. And that means this place will..." His voice trailed off for he felt a overwhelming sense of dread wash over the group.

Cid lit up another cigarette as he contemplated the necessary means required to reach the Highwind, it didn't take him long rule out their options. “Oh, Lady Luck don't fail me now...”

Yufie piped up from the back. “Come on you guys, this is a piece of cake for us! All we have to do is simply climb back out.”

“The paths above us all closed up and there's no sense in trying to downplay the scenario.” Vincent rubbed his metallic claws together as he attempted to conceal himself more deeply into the neck of his coat. Similar sentiments continued throughout the group.

Yuffie snubbed her nose then threw herself down onto the floor, crossed her legs and pouted silently. Cait Sith, feeling the need to raise the group's spirits, hopped his way down from a higher ledge. Landing behind Cloud, he scratched his ear and extracted his microphone. Holding the device a considerable amount of distance from his mouth, he then began to speak loudly into it. “Come on group! This is no time to give up or feel down. We still have a job to do and that job is to save the Planet!” Cait thrust a large, balled up fist into the air then waited for the group to respond. “Can I get some enthusiasm here?” To his disappointment, he only received moans of exasperation.

Cloud staggered as he tried to focus on the situation at hand, but he couldn't keep track of his body. He tried to focus his mind, but no matter what he tried he continued to feel as if he was slipping away. He staggered again for a moment and this is when Tifa discovered that something was definitely wrong. Staring at him, she noticed that his mako green eyes were pulsating under his long, golden spikes. “Cloud?”

Cloud looked down at the palm of his hand, he could see the individual threads sewn throughout the entire length of his darkly colored glove. His eyes tensed and he could even see the individual fibers that bound the strands together. It was if his vision had suddenly shifted to an illuminated “x-ray” like those you could see on an examination room wall. He jerked back as he watched the strands suddenly detached from one another on his index finger. Several more quickly followed. “What…” They danced on the wind like some kind of creature had suddenly come alive from his hand. Suddenly, they curved upwards and rushed through the air in the direction of his face. He tried to push them back with his other hand, but soon the strands were too many for him to hold back. At that moment, to everyone in the outside world, Cloud seemed to simply be staring blankly off into the distance. Which match the dismal mood of all his friends perfectly. Tifa turned to watch Clouds expression suddenly morph from a calm disposition to that of shock and horror, then to one completely blank and expressionless.

“Cloud?” She walked up to him and touched his arm. “Ah!” Just the touch of his arm felt like thousands of small needles pricked up her fingers.