Final Fantasy VII: Scion of Chaos

“Rebirth”

Chapter: 1

Part - 2

Clouds mouth slowly twisted into a sinister kind of grin. "It seems…" he growled as he grabbed Tifa tightly by the wrist. "It seems that I'm not feeling a little under the weather today." His eyes, illuminated with that familiar green, were no longer the eyes of the man she once knew. All she could do is stare back at him in utter disbelief as he drew his Buster sword with inhuman speed and forced the blade down the length of Cait Siths body. Chunks of circuits and metal scattered in all directions across the ledge.

"What the hell!?" Barret yelled as himself and Red XIII simultaneously moved into battle position. No more than a second later Cid, Vincent and Yuffie quickly followed. Cloud quickly threw up his hand and they all felt a wave wash over them and to their surprise, they could no longer move. They looked like statues, frozen in disbelief.

Cloud spun Tifa around so he could lock her arms across her stomach. He clenched her wrists together tightly as he leered over her. “It's been a long time since I've felt a woman's touch…” She could feel his hot breath brushing against the side of her cheek. She wriggled in his arm. Chuckling, Cloud reached around her with is free hand and cupped it across her left breast. “You know, a woman just like you is responsible for putting me in that infernal prison.” He spoke softly into her ear as he slowly massaged his fingertips into her skin. “No! Please…!” She fought against him, but his strength far surpassed hers.

Delighted by her body, Cloud reveled in all the sensations of her body. “You have no Idea how long I've been waiting to do that again.” He opened his jaw and tasted her with his tongue.

Barret growled. “What the hell do you think your doin'?

“Cloud!” Yuffie called out. “What are you…?” Red XIII quickly interrupted her. "This is not Cloud! I sense something different from him now..." Vincent closed his eyes to concentrate on the hope that time would permit him to unlock the anger burning within. Cloud flashed Yuffie a menacing stare; she squeaked as she felt his eyes penetrate her body. Barret struggled frantically against his invisible restraints. “Damnit! Who the hell are you!?”

“Who am I? You do not know me, but I know all of you very well.” Cloud sniffed at Tifa's hair and rolled his eyes in satisfaction. “I can thank the one you know as Sephiroth for that.”

“Sephiroth?” Tifa choked as Cloud tightened his arms across her torso.

“Yes, he and I were one in the same because of your actions.”

“You twisted %#@$!” Barret fought harder as his anger grew. “Get your mitts off Tifa or I'm gonna come down there and kick your scrawny, spiky-headed @$$!”

“I find that highly unlikely, but I do so enjoy watching you writhe in pain and anguish…” He

snaped his arm around and rolled Tifa on the heels of her boots. The metal on her shoes sparked like fire as she was spun around off the ledge. She clenched onto Clouds arm for dear life as she dangled high above the pool of Lifestream; a high-pitched scream escaped from her lips. "This can't be happening!" The group of companions, frozen in their invisible prisons, could do nothing more than watch as Tifa desperately held on for her life. Vincent, still focusing on his pain and hatred, suddenly felt something quickly rising in his chest. It was a feeling reminiscent of the feelings he tried to suppress when leaving Lucretia back in her cave. Alone, with her loneliness and regret, feelings Vincent never knew he still possessed. He could do nothing with them for now except use them to help fuel his anger.

Cloud smiled his biggest grin as he became drunk on their anger and suspense. “What kind of man does it take to give the gift of life or taking it away? Should such a decision be left to a man?” He looked down at Tifa, studying her from head to toe. “What right would a I have to take this woman's life?”

Red XIII proudly raised his voice. “Only the fire that fuels the life of this planet can make that kind of decision.”

Cloud sighed softly and shook his head from side to side. “You're right…” The group all together let a slight sigh of relief in hopes that Cloud might be slowly coming back to them. “ I don't know what I was thinking…” Cloud helped Tifa back onto the ledge and gazed up into her soft, brown eyes.

As her eyes met his she saw a flicker of something familiar, but it was gone in an instant in the moment just before Cloud thrust his hands upon her sending her flying over the edge and into the pit below. “Fortunately, you are not in company of a human.” The group could not believe their eyes or their ears as Tifa's screams filled the cavern just before the end. Cloud marched over to Red XIII and kicked his legs out from under him. “I AM the fire that drives this pathetic world!” He turned away from them and removed several balls of material his side pocket then quickly tossed them over the edge. “You won't be needed these anymore, now will you?”

"You think you have beat us... but NOTHING can stop us AVALANCHE! We're gonna rip you apart!” Barret screamed at the top of his lungs.

Lifting from the ground Cloud hovered around them laughing at Barrets vain threats. "You fool... you were able to stop Sephiroth. But in doing so you allowed me the edge I needed to find my way back into the physical world." Spinning around in circles he stretched out his hand to reveal a small, red, orb stuck between his fingers. The orb circled around the length of his fingers as if the sides were magnetically attracted to his skin. "With this materia, I will bring a new ideal to this world. One wrought with chaos and destruction!” He laughed for a moment then floated down to where the group stood, still unable to move. “Such is needed to clean up this wasted effort of a world.” Cloud stared hard down at Barret, his eyes overflowed with green and white fire. "After all the fighting and struggle, the one you know as Sephiroth still lives.” He reached out and touched him across the forehead. Barret could feel the madman standing before him simultaneously crawling around in the deepest depths of his soul.

“You all deluded yourselves into thinking you were really saving your fellow man from ultimate demise.” Cloud backed off and paced around them. “How sad. Your very mission was doomed from the very begining!” Cloud threw up his arms and as he did the entire crater shook violently. “All your pain, suffering and loss have been all for nothing!"

"DAMN YOU!" Barret continued to fight his restraints in vain.

"How amus..." Before he could complete his sentence the crater began to shake violently. "Now gentlemen, it begins." Stopping for a moment he glanced skyward just in time to see the nose of the Highwind barreling down upon him. Even with his abilities, Cloud could not dodge the hulking mass quickly enough. The airship struck his body square in the chest, sending him hurtling into the pool of Lifestream. To the group's surprise, they quickly found that their mobility had been restored.

It was a race against time as the cavern continued to shake more violently. Popping open the emergency escape hatch, Cid signaled for everyone to go ahead of him. He wanted to ensure that no man would be left behind. Vincent stopped just passed the rail and flashed a glance at Cid under the cuff of his headband, then he glanced back over at Barret who was still standing near the edge of the crater. . Cid nodded. “You go get him and I'll fire up the Engines!”

In a flash Vincent's cloak whipped around behind him as he leapt over the rail, his claws left deep indentions in the bar. As he approached his friend, he noticed that he was staring down at the Lifestream not paying any attention to what was going on around him. "Barret, it is time for us to leave." He spoke in a calm voice as he stepped up beside Barret.

"But, Tifa... n' Cloud..." He spoke quietly as he glared into the churning waters of the Lifestream.

Vincent looked down as well; the Lifestream below them had begun to boil furiously. It had already rasied several feet in only a few short minuets and at this rate it would not be long until the entire Highwind would be engulfed. "Never mind that, we have done all we can for now.” As he stared he felt waves of something resembling grief, not for his own personal tragedy, but for that of a friend experiencing something similar to it. “We will save them if we can, but now is the time to go!" Barret hesitantly agreed and they both took off running towards the ship.

Cid, already inside of the ship, hopped over several unconscious crewmates and frantically grabbed for the control. Flipping switch after switch from his left all the way to his right, he slammed both fists against the console then pulled a few more levers. “Wait… something's wrong…” He frantically searched all his pockets, and then breathed a sigh of relief as he found the soft packet inside his coat. Sticking a cigarette between his lips he lit it then tightened his gloves around his hands. “Alright, time to get to work.” He spun around and tore open a console near the floor, reaching inside he pulled out multiple wires then reattached them to other wires in another compartment. His arms flew frantically from panel to panel as he tried to re-route power to the engines.

"What is it? Yuffie whined as she huddled in a far corner. “Why isn't the ship taking off?” Tears began to stream down her face.

Red XIII rubbed his tail against her back in attempt to reassure her. "Cid has everything under control, these tears do not belong to a warrior such as yourself.”

Yuffie snuffed, then nodded in agreement as her modesty knocked down a few more notches.

Vincent entered through the doorway as he was wrapping his cloak tightly around his shoulders. Barret stepped around him. “Why the hell ain't this rust bucket off the ground?”

Cid glanced over his shoulder then flipped the ignition switch a second time. “I'm hot-wiring this thing!” The engines shook and roared to life as electricity surged through their energy cores.

"That's it kiddies." Cid called as he lit up another cigarette. "This is it." The ship slowly began to reverse away from the pit of the crater, but the Lifestream was already racing up the crater walls. The group of heroes stared out the main window, as the green glow of the Lifestream grew brighter and illuminated the control room.

"It's happening." Vincent and Red XIII both realized at the same time. They knew that now the Lifestream was going to strike at the source of the planets pain. Sephiroth may have been stopped for the moment, but the Meteor over Midgar still remained. All they could do is hope and pray that this planet still had enough strength to make all their efforts worthwhile. None of them could bear the thought of all their efforts really having been for nothing. The Highwind was quickly engulfed as the Northern Crater erupted with a massive amount of force. Lifestream poured out vertically from the crater like an erupting volcano. It spewing forth with the planets steaming bile and the Highwind was swept up along with it. As it surfed on the currents of energy, the Highwind was ripped apart into many smaller pieces. Thankfully, Cid's efforts were not in vain for as he pulled an emergency lever, the lower section of the Highwind broke apart and transformed into a separate ship on its own. Masses of twisted metal rode against the waves of the Lifestream as the smaller craft spiraled out of control over the horizon.