This fic is now (finally) available on fanfiction.net at the following link: Origins at Fanfiction.net. I will leave it here in the forum as well. There may be very slight differences between the two versions, and the fanfiction.net version should be regarded as the most current. Any differences are simply because I have been correcting minor spelling and grammatical errors all along, and I continue to do so.

Origins

Chapter One

A beginning is a very difficult time...
Frank Herbert, Dune

The Cetra were no more; their hold on the physical world had diminished over the centuries since Jenova had fallen from the stars, and now they had fallen completely into legend. All of their great deeds and all of their darkest secrets were lost to the mist of ages which lies at the end of every journey. As their influence faded into obscurity, one last task was left for them. In the ancient, forgotten capital, their last survivor called forth the power of the planet one final time.. and paid for it with her life. As long as one Ancient remained, hope remained that their influence would live on, but such was not to be.

Now the ancient city slept quietly, life had left this place long ago and not even the shadow of the Cetra remained. Once filled with laughter, love and life, it was now a cold, empty shell filled only with silence. Rays of light shimmered through icy crags so cold that few of even the hardiest of creatures dared to venture near. Silence pervaded the land like a blanket muffling all life...

A single rat, covered in thick white fur, scampered about, scrounging among the remains of an ancient, decrepit home. His whiskers twitched a moment and he stopped, his senses feeling a presence near... but a moment later he scurried about to another alcove. A sound echoed through the forgotten city as something stirred deep within. The rat froze, instinctive fear pervading it's senses and filling it's primitive mind with worry. Electric current seemed to reflect everywhere for a moment, lightning shimmering in all corners of the ancient structure. The rat dove into a bolt-hole and quivered in terror, his tiny red eyes shifting about in abject fear. Something moved within the ice, metal clashed against metal and groaned in protest as something opened for the first time in millenia.

The Dark Man stepped out from his prison, tasting the freezing air for the first time in ages. His breath condensed almost immediately, even as his body began to register the biting cold. Despite the icy emptiness about him, he seemed to to smile... his smile quickly became a laugh of the type that most would consider slightly less than sane... He felt the death in the world around him, and was pleased by it. The Dark Man reveled in the emptiness surrounding him... a moment later his hand found a piece of the metal which had bound him for so long and he eyed the creature quivering in the tiny bolt-hole. Soon after a high-pitched squeal echoed across the city.. followed by the sickly sounds of one animal feeding upon another....

****************

She was always there in his dreams, existing on the verge of consciousness that accompanies the most vivid of dreamscapes. Her vibrant green eyes were filled with with such loving intensity when she looked upon him. Cloud wanted these moments to stretch into eternity, but they were always over far too quickly. This time something was different... Aerith's hair fluttered in the breeze as she turned to him... this time as their lips met Cloud felt desperation in her kiss. As she pulled away from him, something was wrong.

Her lips formed a weak smile as her hand wrapped around his..

"I have to go for awhile..." Her voice, even in sadness, held such a divine quality. Cloud held onto her hand, refusing to let go of his love. He felt the cool breeze around him, drank in the scent of her... he could feel her soft skin against him. How could he go through his nights alone again?

"What is it? Why?" Even in the dream, Cloud remained cool, collected.. but there was no fooling her. She saw into the depths of his soul, and saw the hurt building up inside him again.

"Something is coming, something has awoken that should have remained buried... and I must fight it." A single tear fell across the lines of her angelic face.

"Then I will fight with you." Cloud brought her hand up to his face and kissed it gently.

"I can't ask you to, you've done so much for me... just hold me..." Cloud held her tightly in his arms and whispered...

"I can never do enough for you... I love you..."

The field of flowers faded to the familiar walls of Aerith's church and Cloud awoke with a jolt. He could still hear her in his thoughts, feel her in his heart... and he knew what he had to do.

*******************

Shera glided across the sky... her propellers whirring loudly and smoke belching from some ill-maintained component. Cid cursed loudly, expelling the cigarette butt from his mouth with a quick puff of air.

"You lousy idiots! I told you to fix the @#^(&# thing." He threw up his hands in frustration at some of the crew just as Shera... the real Shera... appeared from below.

"Sorry, I just need to do some work on the intake valves, too many particles are getting through the air filters." Shera said meekly.

"Well.. uh... okay." Cid scratched his unshaven chin a bit.

"Sir, we're almost at the designated coordinates." A nervous crew member reported.

"Ah, the forgotten city you spoke about, it sure seems pretty from up here." Shera observed.

"Ya, well it ain't much anymore. But if you want to look around a bit, go for it. We're here for the fuel though, remember." Cid absently commented before he ran off, barking orders at some of the crew.

Shera looked down upon the deep crevice and the ancient city held within. It seemed so peaceful from up above, so quiet. She feared that disturbing it's slumber might ruin the pristine beauty of the place. For a moment she thought she could see something, a shadow playing from the corner of her eye... but she dismissed it as imagination. With reluctance, she turned away from the railing and began collecting her equipment. She hoped that they would find the fuel deposits they needed for the new rocket. She would get it right this time and her husband would go back into space soon...

The Dark Man stood watch from below, scanning the horizon for the source of the sudden noise. A trail of thick black smoke followed the strange contraption which took up station almost directly above him. It was nearing sunset now, and the orange and purple tones cast the icy world into an almost mystical twilight. Shadows clambered about, casting ropes down to the structures nearby. As they slid down the ropes to anchor the strange machine, the Dark Man slipped into the shadows, his eyes searching every detail, committing every scrap of information to memory. A pair of figures slid down the ropes in near-unison. One seemed to struggle with the grip while the other slid with such natural skill and bravado that it was clear he was a leader of some sort.

"Ah hell, didn't I tell you? Don't get the damn ropes tangled up like that. She can't land here, so we gotta do this real careful, okay? CARE-FUL, got that?" Cid grabbed the offending crew member by the shoulder. "Now get the tents setup... no wait... on second thought bring the gear into one of those structures..."

As the leader was shouting orders rather ineffectively, the Dark Man observed the other one.... ah a female... a mate perhaps? He began to calculate his next actions. The female was apparently enamored with this rather pathetic place, he thought. Ah, well refuse always finds its home, no? Well no matter, he thought, I need a... sacrifice. As she began exploring nearby structures, the Dark Man slid from his hiding spot and lunged into action.

Shera looked down at the old bed-frame, wondering what people had once lived here, who had once called this ruin home... She saw a small statue, worn and broken and yet somehow still beautiful. The figure reminded her of someone Cloud had once described for her, and she decided it might make a good gift for Cid's friend once she fixed it up properly. She collected the pieces and put them into her bag. Just as she slung the bag back over her shoulder, fear crept into her mind. Someone was here with her. She flipped around, fear enhancing her senses... but there was nothing. Stupid stupid, she thought, what would Cid think of his wife being so jumpy. She turned back towards the door and had only enough time to scream before the shadow lunged at her.

***********************

I'm surprised no one's responded yet because so far I think this is quite good. It's constructed like a real story instead of a fanfic, which I always like. Your descriptions are vivid, but they're not quite purple prose either.

The part in the middle with Cloud in Aerith's church felt like it was pretty thrown in. Personally, I felt that it broke the flow of the chapter, like it would've been better to begin the second chapter or something like that.

Otherwise, this is thus far a promising start for a fanfic. I hope you continue it. ^_^

I love it, and hope you will continue?! I'm in the middle of reading it again. ~claps~ :luv:

Chapter 2

May you live in interesting times...
Old Chinese Curse

As Shera's scream echoed across the city like the cry of a wounded animal, Cid dropped the equipment he was holding and reached for his spear. The crewmen scrambled for whatever weapons were handy, and the whole group rushed in panic to the structure Shera had been exploring. As he approached the doorway, a shadow emerged from the darkness, dragging an unconscious Shera by her legs. Cid felt a pang of regret at allowing her to wander off... but monsters had never shown themselves within the city. He gripped the spear tightly and lunged forward. The Dark Man threw Shera up into his arm and raised a crudely fashioned sword to her throat; Cid slid to a halt, nearly tripping over his spear in the process.

"Let her go, and you'll get a quick death." Cid bellowed with barely contained rage.

"Ah, such threats are only useful when they are possible. Though you are a stronger specimen, perhaps, than most human filth, it is improbable that you could stop me. It would be best if you simply located another mate. I would imagine such inferior creatures are rather easy to find, no?" The Dark Man stepped into the light, the dying sunset glinting off of ancient, icy steel, and for the first time Cid got a close look at him. His body was covered entirely in shimmering armor, and a massive rectangular shield was slung to his left arm. His manner of speech was stilted; he had the strangest turn of phrase and talked more like an ancient book than an actual human being. He lazily tossed the unconscious Shera back into the structure and shifted his weight forward, bringing his crudely fashioned sword to the side of his immense shield.

"It has been eons since I've had actual amusement, and though I am sure you will be unable to provide me with much, perhaps this will be somewhat interesting, no?" The Dark Man's deep voice boomed across the city.

Without waiting for another word, Cid leaped into the air and held his spear out before him, throwing all his weight into dive which should have impaled the Dark Man with practiced ease. With startling speed for such an armored creature, the Dark Man shifted his shield around and rotated it above him, easily deflecting the blow. He flipped the hilt of the sword around and viciously backhanded Cid, sending his body pinwheeling across the ground. One of the crewmen opened fire with his machine gun, but the Dark Man shifted his shield around to deflect the shots. The sword lashed out and cut the crewman down with a swift stroke across the chest. Blood sprayed onto the walls of the ancient structure, staining them in deep scarlet. Cid struggled back to his feet and pulled out his radio.

"Shera, this is Cid. Give me a barrage!"

The airship roared overhead, scattering debris everywhere with the deafening winds kicked up by it's powerful engines. A massive gun shifted position under it's belly. The Dark Man's shield shifted again, but surely it could not take the entire blow. A massive shot rang out with a deafening roar and impacted the shield directly. Energy cascaded everywhere, blinding everyone for a moment as wind howled around them. Cid smiled to himself and held his spear up once again. But as the energy faded, he realized that the massive blast had only sent the man to one knee. A deranged howl ripped from the man's throat and he ran another crewman through, his sword tearing the man's flesh and emerging from his back. Cid's waved the rest of his men back as the dark man ripped the sword out of the dead crewman and kicked the corpse out of the way, flinging it toward the group.

"So you can provide a workout for me after all, I am very pleased. You will give me your flying machine now."

"And if I refuse?" Cid already knew the answer to that question though.

"Your mate will be destroyed, and your flying machine will likewise be dealt with. If I cannot have it, what use is it to me?" The Dark Man's voice was oddly formal and calm.

"Fine. Give her to me and you can take the *(#^*(^# thing."

"Insufficient. I will take both." The man replied. Strange, Cid thought, he almost sounds like a computer.

"What assurance do I have that you won't kill her." Cid felt his throat tighten up. He couldn't lose her....

"You have none. In my judgment you simply have no alternative. Now, choose." the Dark Man grabbed Shera again, and held the sword to her throat.

"Take it, monster. But see if you can fly it..." Cid smiled weakly as he spoke into the radio. "...bring the ship to the edge of this structure. Leave the drive levers in hover mode.... no don't argue with me, my wife's life is at stake just (*^*(^% do it!"

"You will land the flying machine." The Dark Man stated matter-of-factly.

"The ship cannot land here, there isn't enough room. The best I can do is level the deck with the roof. Heh, perhaps if you weren't so weak, you'd be able to handle a little climb, eh?" Cid taunted. But as the sword drew close to Shera's throat again, he grew somber.

"I am the Exile. Do not mock me, human." And with a single leap, the Dark Man jumped effortlessly a solid three stories onto the deck of the ship, carrying Shera with him. A moment later, one of the men was thrown overboard and another leaped off the deck in a hurry. Cid winced as he hear the sound of the first man's leg cracking on the unforgiving ground. The other crewman rolled as he had been taught and came out of it with only scrapes and bruises. The airship immediately began it's ascension into the clouds, and moments later disappeared entirely into the twilight.

Cid wanted to cry out for his love... but had to maintain his composure for his men. He clutched his radio and switched it to shortwave. He just hoped someone was listening...

***********************

Fenrir roared beneath him as Cloud drove himself faster and faster. The road was always a comfort to him, a second home away from his love. As the decaying freeway out of the remains of Midgar blurred past him, he could almost hear her in his thoughts. It was as if somehow, if he rode fast enough, he would catch up to her. To others it might seem as if the devil were on his heels, spurring him onward to some dark destination. He put on a new burst of speed and Fenrir leaped over a gap in the freeway's surface before he whipped the bike around, his knees nearly touching the ground as the freeway curved into a new alignment. The lines blurred together until they seemed to be unbroken, even as the stars seemed frozen in space... almost as if it were the ground beneath him that was moving, and not Fenrir.

It was the first night in a long time in which she had not come to him. Without her to guide his dreams, there was little point to sleep. His concentration was such that he almost didn't hear it... Suddenly he slammed on the brakes and whipped the bike around. He knew that sound... it was Cid's new airship, the Shera. What would Cid be doing in Midgar, Cloud wondered, maybe he's looking for me. But the airship was flying perfectly straight... too straight... Cid was a showoff... something was wrong. He flipped open his cell and called Tifa. The phone only rang once. Tifa was always so worried about him living in that old church that her cell was always within arm's reach.

"Tifa. Do you know why Cid would be in Midgar?"

"Hello to you to, Cloud." She commented dryly.

"I'm sorry, but the Shera just flew by overhead." Cloud continued.

"I don't know, but I'll find out. Hold on okay?" Tifa replied. Cloud listened as Tifa clambered about, trying to find the shortwave set Cid had given her. He caught fragments of a frantic conversation.

"Cloud..." Tifa's voice was frantic. "Someone has stolen the airship and taken Shera. Cid and his crew are stranded in the city of the ancients. Some armored man did it. Cid's hurt, some of his men are dead..." Tifa's voice changed from sadness to anger. "Cloud we have to do something!"

Cloud's mind raced as Aerith's words came back to him; something that was buried has returned she had told him. It couldn't be coincidence that this enemy had appeared in the Forgotten City, and if it was important enough to draw Aerith's presence from him, it must be strong indeed. Perhaps the old Cloud would have rushed into danger for glory, but he knew he needed the rest of the old team again...

"I'm coming to you, try and get as many assembled as you can. Get Reeve to pick up Cid... or maybe the Turks, those guys owe us." Cloud replied, quickly hanging up before Tifa could protest.

Cloud shifted Fenrir around again, taking one last look as the airship disappeared into the bowels of Midgar before speeding off into the darkness. As Fenrir picked up speed, Cloud could see Aerith smiling in his mind. You know I couldn't leave you to fight alone, he thought. To his surprise he heard her reply. You always come for me, her voice whispered in the wind, how could I not love you. Even as Cloud sped alone through the cold darkness, he felt her warmth wrapping around him, embracing his soul.

*********************

I love this. Keep going. This a great story and has much promise. Keeping everything flowing a bit better some parts don't seem to flow well, but all in all great job. :yes:

I wrote one too. Could you tell me what you think? Its not quite as dark but it could be. Here it is:

http://z8.invisionfree.com/Cloud_x_Aerith/...?showtopic=7513

Its about Cloud/Aerith's married life, but it has some real betrayal and action along with a little fluff.

Please note that this reply contains chapters 3 through 6

Chapter 3

This is not the end, nor is it the beginning of the end, rather... it is the end of the beginning.
-Anonymous

Skeletal wreckage lay strewn about the ruined city, throwing dark shadows across a lifeless empire of steel. Shadowy creatures scurried about the darkness, each on it's own errand of evil and death. As though he were the conductor in a symphony of darkness, the Exile strode through the remnants of Midgar with renewed purpose. Creatures scurried out of the way, making a path for the Dark Man as he marched among the fallen, twisted girders and supports of the lifeless metropolis. For a moment he stopped his advance, and a thousand beady eyes watched him fearfully from the shadows. Above him lay the remains of a great cannon, of such immensity as to dwarf the massive skyscraper to which it was connected. A smile worked it's way across his lips as he began to collect seemingly random pieces of wreckage nearby.

"It has been so long, can they have forgotten everything?" The Dark Man mused as his voice carried across the lifeless cityscape.

He recognized the design of the massive weapon and the remnants of the reactors to which it had once been connected. His eyes closed a moment and an ancient memory stirred, unbidden, from the depths of his mind. He could hear her again, the creature which had once called itself his mother.

"I don't understand, how can he be like this? Even normal humans have at least some connection to it..."

The voice echoed in his mind as something stirred from the wreckage nearby. The sound of shifting supports brought his mind to focus again as a great creature emerged from the darkness. All the smaller creatures darted away fearfully, clearing a path for the monstrosity which dwarfed the Dark Man. Soon he could see it, a great Dragon which had made it's home here in the artificial caves of steel. Nothing else emerged to fight it. He licked his lips and smiled... the battle was over far too quickly for his taste. He began to feed even as the Dragon let out it's last cries, bellowing into the darkness. When the Exile emerged, drenched in flesh, he roared into the night sky. The creatures of the night disappeared, stricken with terror...

*****************

Aerith simply was. She wandered in shimmering light, flowing across the lifestream, her consciousness shifting through the great waves of energy which cradled her. Love held her bound to the world, and yet still she was kept apart from it. Her consciousness touched Cloud's for a moment; she felt the love there, touched it for a moment and smiled to herself. But she could not linger, the darkness was still there, a nothingness which crept across the world of the living. He was an empty shell to which the Lifestream had no contact. Pity filled her heart for a moment; pity for the being which had never known contact with anyone or anything else among the living. Still, she could not let her resolve break. She delved deep into the Lifestream, far deeper than her mind had gone before. Memories flashed by, memories of those gone before her touched her with fleeting glimpses. For a moment she heard her mother cry in joy and touch her soul... back further... memories of others far older began to touch her awareness. Countless memories flew past her awareness until she felt the tenuous wisps of an ancient soul, still locked in the lifestream unbroken.

"Yes, my child, it is I whom you seek. I have waited long for you." The ancient soul thought. Soundless words formed in the light and touched Aerith's awareness.

"Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter. My name is forgotten, and it is well that it remain so." The soul replied.

"What is the darkness that I sense? What was buried in our ancient city?" Aerith wondered.

"My son." As he spoke those words, the soul took on the form of an old man. The image flickered in and out, as if it were so old it could not hold it's own form. Only his eyes remained distinct. It was a piercing emerald gaze which appeared familiar somehow... "Yes, my child, we are of the same line."

"I don't understand, he doesn't feel like a Cetra." Aerith replied

"And yet that is exactly what he is." The soul's energy fluttered for a moment, and returned.

"I don't understand." Aerith felt a wave of sadness touch her for a moment...

"He is esper-negative, something that was only legend even when our people took to the stars in ancient memory... he has no connection to the planet, no connection to anyone or anything." A wave of pity rippled through the old man's energy.

"What does that mean?" Aerith felt a wave of darkness overcome her for a moment.

"My son could not hear the planet, not even in the rudimentary way humankind hears it. He was cutoff and alone... he could not use materia, could not listen to the thoughts of the Lifestream, he could not even relate to other beings... he banished himself from us and began to build great machines to tap the power of the Lifestream in an unnatural, mechanical way." The ancient soul begin to drift apart again, flowing in the Lifestream's current.. flowing away from her.

"What did you do?" Aerith tried to hold the ancient soul near to her... but the image had already vanished. Yet formless words echoed to her as if from a great distance.

"I could not end his life knowing he would never rest in the Lifestream... he is my son... but he caused our extinction...and my everlasting shame" With that, the soul vanished across the shifting currents and was gone. Aerith felt the soul dissipate, finally finding rest.

*****************

Several Days Later:

Cloud leaned against the wall, watching, waiting for any sign of the others. The last rays of sunlight disappeared over the horizon, plunging the outside world into night as the electric street lights clicked on. Tifa sat nearby, watching Cloud with restless eyes. Her heart fluttered at the sight of him, but she knew his heart would never be hers. It was as if she were destined to always walk the Earth close to the one she loved, but never close enough. Still, she would walk with him forever even if it meant her perpetual sadness. Sometimes, in a dark corner of her heart, she felt jealousy and envy creeping up, but always she would laugh at the absurdity of it all... I am wishing I were a dead woman, she thought. She could never hold a grudge against Aerith, for Aerith was the only one who could return that smile to Cloud's face. It was something she would always be grateful for, even if she couldn't do it herself.

The door swung open, and a powerful man entered the room wearing a dark blue suit, tie and sunglasses. Without even bothering to get a closer look, Tifa laughed. Only one person would wear sunglasses in the middle of the night.

"Rude, how nice of you to join us." She mocked.

"Yeah." Was all the newcomer could say.

Reno walked in behind him, smiling in that bizarre manner of his.

"We found something you lost." Reno laughed. "Elena's on her way back with Cid now. This makes us even, right?"

"You'd like to think so." Cloud interjected.

"He speaks. You know Tifa, you really ought to do something about that one." Reno winked at her.

"Yeah." Rude added. Tifa shuddered for a moment. She knew that somewhere under those sunglasses, Rude was undressing her in his mind.

"Look, are you going to help us or not?" Cloud asked impatiently.

"Yeah." Rude replied as he smiled at Tifa.

Tifa had enough of the bodyguard's oogling, and her fist lashed out, catching the Turk in his gut. He fell backwards, nearly smashing against Reno. For his part, Reno laughed and shoved him back at Tifa.

"Come on, playtime's over Rude." Reno added.

"You say sumthin?" Barret added as he entered. "Hey I said, you say sumthin? Dontcha be messing with Tifa!"

"Easy big guy." Reno replied, before bursting out in laughter. Barret lashed out at the skinny Turk-boy, but his fist only caught air. Reno was over him, his rod extended for a blow to the back of the head.

"STOP!" A thunderous voice caught Reno by surprise. He turned to see Tseng standing in the doorway, Elena at his side and Cid chewing on an unlit cigarette. For a moment Elena's hand brushed against Tseng's, but it was fleeting.

"Ya, knock it off you morons, my wife's out there and that *(^@#(*^ thing has her." Cid added.

"We are not here for you." Tseng interrupted.

"Yeah, we've got to help the Boss get rid of all that..." Elena began as Tseng glared at her. She gulped and silenced herself.

"Turks never learn, do they?" A voice called from the shadows. Vincent suddenly appeared, as it from the very darkness itself.

"No, that's pretty much a requirement for joining up with them." Cloud added.

"Ah, and having a mind as screwed up as yours is a requirement for joining this group." Reno replied. "Ya, Spike-boy's mind is about as messed up as his hair."

"Silence Reno, and tuck your shirt in." Tseng admonished.

"Yeah." Rude agreed.

"We don't have time for this. The thing calling itself the Exile is loose in Midgar doing who-knows-what. Are you sure you want him checking out all of Shinra's old hobbies?" Cid asked.

"Fortunately for you, Rufus agrees." Tseng responded. But for a moment his hard exterior softened a bit as he caught Elena's gaze. "But if we find your wife, we will help you secure her release."

Cloud pushed himself up from the wall and motioned everyone closer. Even after all this time, the group still looked to him for leadership, and the Turks at least saw him as something of an equal. "I don't know what this Exile is planning, but if it involves digging around Shinra's old haunts, it can't be good. By all accounts, the thing is covered in near-impenetrable armor, but as Cid has mentioned, he doesn't seem to have much in the way of weaponry at the moment. That will probably change if we let him dig around Midgar long enough. We'll approach in two groups, one from air and one from ground, and hopefully that will surprise the creature. I'll leave the air to you Turks. I have it on good authority that this guy is a tough one, and it'll take some serious effort to bring him down, so don't be ashamed to bring along some restore materia... we'll probably need it. And Reno, I hope you brought some of your bombs, we'll need to place them along probable escape routes. Get some rest upstairs tonight, we leave at first-light." Cloud finished. Tseng, annoyed, seemed like he would challenge Cloud but then apparently thought better of it.

As everyone headed to the rooms upstairs, Cloud swore he saw Tseng take Elena's hand. Reno disappeared quickly, but Rude stayed behind, lingering next to Tifa. Barret and Cid didn't waste any time and vanished to their respective rooms.

"Good plan." Rude added, and then turned to Tifa. "Hey, uh... you want to practice a bit?"

"Not with you." Tifa replied, but she couldn't help but smile a bit anyway. Cloud laughed despite himself.

"What's so funny? At least you don't have an oogling idiot like Rude here drooling over you." Tifa huffed. She turned away, flashing Cloud a brief smile before disappearing up the stairs.

"Rude, I've got to hand it to you. You really aim high, don't you?" Cloud laughed again.

"She said my name..." Was Rude's only reply. Cloud scratched his head for a moment before the smile returned. He headed upstairs, knowing he needed sleep, but pretty sure he wouldn't get much anyway.

Rude skulked over to his room, but before he opened the door he turned back to Cloud. "You think she likes me?"

"She punched you. What do you think?" Cloud shook his head and closed the door behind him.

"But it was such a beautiful punch." Rude said to the empty hallway.

*****************

Chapter 4

History...is, indeed, little more than the register of the crimes, follies, and misfortune of mankind.
Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

Rays of light pierced the darkness, casting the ruinous city in a radiant morning glow. The Dark Man stood near the top of the old Shinra Tower, gazing out across the polluted remnants of the deserted metropolis as if he were it's ruler. His cape billowed in the morning breeze that blew through the ruined skyscraper as the sunlight glinted off of the newly polished armor. Shadows retreated across the surface of the the steel floor as Shera awoke behind him, bound with thick steel cable which had been tied off to a support beam. Dried blood surrounded the edges of her the cable, where the frayed steel had cut her flesh. She watched as the Dark Man turned away from the broken windows and continued assembling the odd device which had preoccupied him throughout the past few days. The scientist in Shera had taken in everything, constructing in her mind a picture of what the object must do. A materia.. gun? Such a concept had been tried before with raw Mako energy, but never with the compressed energies of materia. It seemed such a terrible waste to her, as the device would surely destroy the materia in order to function. Only a fraction of the overall power contained in the materia could be harnessed in such a fashion. Oh sure, she thought, the power emitted by the weapon would be far greater than any mere magic cast from the materia in an ordinary fashion, but the materia would be useless afterward. Even the energy output would be... different somehow. A detached part of her asked the morbid question, what would happen if summon materia restorative materia were used in the device?

"You like this weapon of mine? No?" The Dark Man asked, clicking the loading mechanism into place. "It is an elegant machine." He continued admiringly.

"Where did you learn how to construct such a device?" Shera asked. She knew she shouldn't speak to the Exile, but her curiosity got the better of her.

"Ah, but the correct question is, why have your people forgotten how to build them? Your people have only the merest glimpse of the true energy which surges through the Planet. Such unlimited power..." The Dark Man's face contorted in an expression of momentary sadness before returning to an emotionless gaze.

"Devices such as that are responsible for damaging the Planet, damaging the Lifestream which flows through everyone.. even you." Shera replied, certain he would strike her.

"It isn't my problem, there is no Lifestream within me. You can go be one with the planet if you like, I may even decide to send you there myself. Ah.. enough talk for now." The Exile backhanded Shera viciously, knocking her unconscious. "They are so much better whan they don't make noise." With that comment echoing the halls of the ruinous skyscraper, the Dark Man snapped his helmet into place, leaving no flesh exposed or unarmored.

Click. A cylinder fell into place, arming the weapon for the first time. Snap. A large piece of metal fastened into place on his forearm's armor blade, attaching the back of the weapon firmly to his right arm near the elbow. His hand gripped a control stick with a pair of triggers that also served as a second support for carrying the heavy weapon. Whirr. Gears within the device fed the shimmering materia into the reaction chamber. The Exile rotated his shield around with blinding speed, clicking the massive barrel of the weapon into place on the side of the shield, providing him with maximum protection from the effects of his own weapon. A small rectangular viewport had been carved into the massive shield and covered with thick, transparent crystal-plaz. As he leaned close to the edge of the almost 70 story drop to ground level, he pressed the first trigger....

Deep within the shimmering materia, energy twisted and contorted in unnatural patterns. Electrical energy played across the tiny ball, releasing it from it's round prison. For a moment the energy held it's spherical form as if it contained an awareness of it's own and didn't desire the death that awaited it below. Hot plasma life-energy radiated out of the weapon's reaction chamber, threatening to melt the device before it could be released. Outside, the Dark Man pressed the second trigger and a wave of icy liquid nitrogen entered the chamber, cooling it instantly and allowing the weapon to withstand the immense energies threatening to tear it apart. Finally, the materia's energy broke free and cast the weapon in an eerie orange glow as it blasted out from the barrel.

Concentrated plasma-fire blew out from the weapon, condensing into a massive ball of energy that shot forth, burned through one of the remaining plates above Midgar's remains and annihilated several buildings in the ruins below. Fires spread everywhere as the energy from the destroyed materia dissipated over a wide area. Standing tall in the remains of the Shinra Tower, the Exile laughed with the glee of a child receiving his very first new toy. Behind him, Shera groaned in excruciating pain as her mind snapped back into focus and she awoke. She could not see the destruction below, but she heard the explosions and blood-curdling laughter that echoed throughout the Shinra Building...

*************************

A plume of smoke twisted into the sky above Midgar's remnants even as smoldering flames continued to burn below. A single helicopter flew by overhead, wafting smoke around in swirling fashion, flying safely away from the destruction. Reno banked the helicopter around the conflagration to get a better look as the other Turks scrambled about, readying their weapons. Surprisingly to the other three, Rude was the first to speak.

"Oh man. You think it's our guy, Boss?" He asked Tseng.

For his part, Tseng merely nodded, debating on whether or not to give his fellow Turk a lesson in the obvious. Tseng squeezed Elena's hand tightly, holding her close to him. As she leaned into him, Tseng felt his heart flutter a moment before the feeling was replaced with worry for her. But she was a Turk, and despite her loose tongue, she was a very strong and powerful combatant. She could handle herself every bit as well as he could, and someday he'd just have to stop worrying for her all of the time. Still, if the destruction below was any indication, this would not be an easy fight. The chopper bounced violently, tossing everyone about, as if to punctuate his thoughts.

"We're getting some pretty bad turbulence up here, the heat down below must be really intense to be causing this much updraft. We'll have to set down pretty soon." Reno reported, seriously for once.

"Contact Cloud's group and let them know what's going on. Keep away from the Shinra building, but keep us in the air for now, they'll need the air support. Fly outside of the city if you have to." Tseng ordered.

"I wonder what this guy is doing in Midgar?" Elena wondered out loud.

"Rufus seems to think he's here for the reactor designs, but I'm not so sure. There are plenty of other decommissioned reactors he could have gone to instead." Tseng stroked his chin a moment before something caught the corner of his eye.

"Reno, bank left, NOW!" Tseng screamed.

Without a moment's hesitation, Reno threw the helicopter into a violent turn. Turks and equipment bounced around together, resulting in plenty of bruises and scrapes. A blast of something shot by the space the helicopter had just vacated and continued on up into the sky.

"That was close." Rude commented unnecessarily.

"The blast was strange, it wasn't any type of weapon or magic I'm familiar with." Reno added.

"Still think he's after reactor designs?" Tseng asked.

***************************

Ruined steel structures reflected the heat and light of the midday sun, nearly blinding the group as they trudged forward through the wreckage. Metal groaned in protest as Cloud shoved the large metal sheet aside. Barret stood behind him, pushing another girder out of the way. Behind them Tifa gunned the engine of the truck carrying the rest of the gang.

"That'll do it Spiky. Now lets get a move on." Barret commented before jumping back into the bed of the truck with the others. Cloud clambered in up front and seated himself next to Tifa.

Barret hooted and hollered behind them. "Hey Spiky, dontcha get too cozy with your little baby now." Cloud quickly closed the rear window and flashed Barret an angry look. Barret responded with something rather colorful, but Cloud couldn't quite make it out through the glass.

Tifa fidgeted uncomfortably and began driving again. "Cloud.. I..." She began, her voice nearly a whisper.

"It's okay Tifa, I know." Cloud answered. But this time Tifa didn't stop.

"I... wish we could have been more... than... friends." Tifa continued, a thin tear working its way down her cheek as her words caught in her throat. She didn't look at Cloud, afraid the others might catch a glimpse of her weakness through the window. "But I know... how much she means to you... I could never... replace her in your heart..."

Cloud started to reply, but Tifa held a finger to his lips and continued. "It's okay... I want you with me as my friend, my ally, and my family... rather than go on without you. But I had to tell you how I felt.. so that I can let my heart go free again." Tifa let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding and felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She would always love him, but now, maybe, she could learn to love another.

Cloud wrapped an arm around her for a moment, comforting her silently. He knew nothing he could say would help. Sometimes he almost wished he could love Tifa in the way she loved him... it would be easier to move on and just be with her, but somehow he just could never bring himself to do it. His heart belonged to Aerith so strongly that he could feel her with him even after her death; in many ways it felt as if she were still alive and with him even now. Trying to be with Tifa just because he could was a very bad reason indeed. That sort of thing would just hurt Tifa more in the long run. He did love Tifa, but more in the manner of a sister than a soulmate; she was family to him, and always would be. All of these thoughts echoed in his mind as the truck continued on it's way through the ruins of Midgar.

"I think we'll have to have a talk with Barret after all this, he probably thinks he's doing us a favor acting like that. Sometimes he reminds me of that creep Don Corneo. I think as punishment we ought to make him wear one of those honeybee outfits, though he might actually enjoy that." Cloud finally spoke up, trying to get her to smile. Tifa laughed for a moment despite herself, and wiped her tears away...

"That's pretty disturbing to think about." Tifa replied, a weak smile working it's way across her features.

Cid knocked on the rear window, holding up his cell phone up and gesturing at it. Cloud slid the window open quickly.

"Hey, Tseng's in position. Says that smoke over there is from some kind of explosion. The guy has taken a few pot-shots at them for good measure." Cid yelled above the wind and road noise.

"Let him know we're almost there. We have the explosives in position too, maybe we'll get lucky." Cloud replied. Cid nodded and cupped the phone as he replied. Cloud slid the window shut again.

"I can't imagine what he's going through right now." Tifa said sadly. "I hope she's still alive and okay...but if not, there will be hell to pay."

"Yeah, Cid's got a temper, that's for sure. Still, there's something strange about this guy... I feel as if this won't be as easy as we think..." Cloud added. They continued driving for several minutes without another word between them, but Cloud had grown used to the uncomfortable silence between them. He wanted to comfort Tifa, to tell her that there were thousands of guys out there that would drive themselves mad wanting her... but she already knew that. His thoughts wandered to Aerith again, as they often did. He smiled as he thought back his dreams.. the only place he could hold her, touch her and feel her. He could see her soft brown hair, her deep emerald eyes that held so much wisdom and love... that smile that made him want to forget everything else in the world. Aerith... my love, my angel... he thought. The loud thrumming of a helicopter suddenly broke Cloud from his daydream.

The Turks' helicopter suddenly flew over the truck at incredibly high speed, smoke trailing from the rotor. Suddenly the entire thing burst into a massive fireball that destroyed a nearby building. Tifa screeched the truck to a halt, nearly tossing everyone out of the bed. Shock covered her face, slowly being replaced by fear. Everyone jumped out of the truck and ran towards the burning wreckage. Barret was there first, almost immediately digging through the wreckage, looking for survivors. Vincent merely stood there and calmly and pointed up. Cloud looked up and saw four parachutes. The first was down on the ground a few moments later. Reno cut the lines to the parachute and walked over to Barret, who was still rummaging through the remains of the helicopter.

"That's just so sweet. Are you looking for someone, big guy?" Reno asked sarcastically.

"You little *(@^#*(^" Barret replied, and punched the Turk in the chest. This time he didn't miss.

Barret then turned to Cloud, "why didn't you say sumthin?"

"Well we wanted to see how long you'd search for your little baby." Cloud smiled and replied. Barret looked like he would throw up from disgust. Reno, already wheezing and trying to catch his breath, suddenly realized he was now the butt of a joke and looked as it he wanted to kill someone.

"Good, that attitude is healthy, but please direct it at our enemies." Tseng added as he removed his chute's harness.

"For once, wise words come out of the mouth of a Turk." Vincent added, pointing towards the road ahead of them.

Through the dying flames surrounding the wrecked helicopter came the Dark Man, his armor glinting in the fire-light and his massive shield reflecting the maelstrom surrounding him. Behind him, the remnants of a cape billowed in the breeze, it's smoldering flames licking the air on the burnt edges of the fabric, providing the illusion that a trail of fire followed behind him as if he were the ruler of Hell himself, returned to the flesh. An immense cannon of strange design clicked into place in a notch cut for it in the massive rectangular shield.

"Greetings." The Dark Man said simply, his voice emanating from a speaker on his helmet.

"Well, so much for our plans." Rude observed.

**************************

Chapter 5

It is not only the living who are killed in war.
Issac Asimov

He watched the warriors array themselves against him, all of the strongest specimens this modern race of humans could offer him. He felt alive again for the first time since his reawakening, reveling in the flames that surrounded him. In his mind, he could feel the hyper-focus return to him, that perfect state of awareness that accompanies the most frenzied of battles. It was if a symphony suddenly evened out into a beautiful chord that resonated within him. Perfection. He breathed in and out slowly, the air filters inside his mask not entirely eliminating the odor of inferno.

Clang. The shield impacted the ground and he tilted it slightly; now he was ready to do battle. Without the Cetra to guide them, these humans were lost and ignorant. They were weak and didn't even truly understand what it was they wished to defend. Ah, but in numbers they are a threat to me, he thought. Even simple humans could do enough damage if enough of them banded together in common cause. Click. The weapon was armed, the materia inside disintegrating into pure energy, available at his command. It was truly unfortunate that he could not use materia in the traditional manner, but necessity is the mother of invention, and his machines were far more powerful than any mere spell cast from the tiny sphere. Beep. The computer display activated in his helmet, giving him readouts on the probable strength, talents and weaknesses of his opponents. Reports flickered by rapidly, giving him a readout of his armor's integrity. I wonder, he thought, if they have ever seen such a thing, or has their technology devolved to such degree that they would see this as bizarre?

"Give Shera back to me. Give my airship back to me. Or I swear I will rip out your skull and use it as a drinking cup." Cid was livid with anger, his face covered in an expression of pure rage.

"Ah. You again. Perhaps it is in your best interests that you learn to defeat your enemy before promising to do terrible things to them. It would save on embarrassment later." The Dark Man said.

"Who are you, and what do you want with Shera?" Cloud asked simply.

"There we are, an intelligent question. I was beginning to worry that there was no hope for your little group. I am Exile, or at least that is how I would prefer to be known. The woman's location will remain undisclosed until I am assured that your group cannot threaten me. Then she will die, or perhaps she will amuse me. Whichever I prefer." The Exile responded. The Dark Man was smiling underneath his mask, although he was somewhat disappointed with his enemies. Then the strange warrior with the blond, spiky hair said something that shattered his world.

"The Cetra imprisoned you before. I know what you are. We fight for the Planet, for the Lifestream, and we will win." Cloud didn't really understand what he was saying, but when he combined with the desperation of Aerith in his dream with what the others had told him and what this man was babbling on about, he figured this bluff might put the Dark Man off balance.

For a moment, the Exile simply gaped at the warrior. Something flickered on the display in his helmet as the strength readouts analyzed the target. Cells from another creature inhabited the body of the warrior, cells that were hauntingly familiar. He knew too much, and for a moment he wondered if the warrior might be a Cetra himself. But the readouts confirmed he was not... still, he was connected with them somehow. Overall this was a disturbingly strong human, and the Dark Man tasted a hint of fear for the first time.

"Enough talk. You will die now."

Before he even finished, the gang was upon him. Cid leaped into the air as Vincent pulled out his gun and began to pummel the Dark Man's armor with bullets. Barret's gun began building up for a massive single shot of energy and Cloud whipped his sword into the air above the Dark Man, using all his weight to bring the sword down...

The Dark Man rapidly shifted his weight to the side and lashed out at Cid with his armored foot. The metal cracked through Cid's breastplate and the Exile felt the satisfying crunch of a rib breaking. Still, Cid held his spear out and jammed it into a seam in the armor, looking for a weakness, but it did not penetrate the joint far enough. The Dark Man kicked the spear away just in time to see Cloud leaping down upon him. Cloud's sword met up against the Dark Man's shield, jarring him intensely as the energy of the blow vibrated through him. The Exile shifted all his weight back to his left and threw Cloud off. He then bashed Cloud hard with the side of the shield and kicked him out of the way. Tseng opened fire with a submachine gun, pelting the Dark Man with a barrage that would have penetrated most armor, but only dented the Exile's. As Cloud brought his sword around again, Tifa and Rude both leaped into the fray, smashing against the Dark Man's armor, jarring him terribly but doing no real damage. Elena produced a large hand grenade from her jacket and lobbed it at the Dark Man just as soon as Tifa and Rude were clear. As the smoke from the blast wafted away, she could see the barrel of the Dark Man's massive gun charged for attack.

"Everybody DOWN!" Elena screamed. Everyone scrambled for whatever cover they could find. Vincent leaped up into the steel structure nearby. Barret dragged Cid and threw him behind a concrete divider. Rude pushed Tifa down on the ground and covered her with his body. Tseng and Elena dashed behind a steel plate as Reno cast a protective barrier around himself. Cloud stood tall, ready to sacrifice himself to cast a barrier spell powerful enough to help protect everyone else... but he felt something else within him. He felt her spirit reinforcing him, strengthening him. He heard her voice all around him "you came for me, you always come for me, and I will always be with you." For a moment, Cloud felt Aerith's hand in his, loaning him her strength. The Barrier grew far stronger and covered the gang almost completely. "I love you.. Cloud..."

The Exile leaped into the air, jumping far higher than any normal man. The barrel of his gun pointed directly on the ground underneath him. As he reached the apex of his jump, he fired a blast from the destroyed fire materia he had loaded into the gun. Energy cascaded around everywhere, it seemed as if the gates to hell had opened and spewed molten lava from the depths of Hades. Flames licked up into the air everywhere; metal melted and flowed freely around them. The pavement near them began to melt, and Cloud felt the intense heat even through the hastily cast barrier. The Dark Man had been propelled upwards by the force of the blast like a rocket, and he landed far away from the blast area. The barrier receded, and fire wafted into the area he had tried to protect. Someone screamed in intense pain as skin was seared and clothing burned. Cloud didn't wait to find out who it was, he leaped up into the air towards the Dark Man, landing directly in front of him. Rather than waste his energy on another fruitless attack against that armor, he called upon Bahamut. Lets fight fire with... something worse, he thought. The Dark Man appeared shocked that anyone was still standing after the blast.

The Dragon appeared overhead, materializing into the air with a mirror of the intense anger Cloud felt. Power built up within the dragon's body, building up to a crescendo of energy. A bolt of pure energy shot out from the dragon's mouth, and impacted the Dark Man's shield directly. The explosion was so bright, it nearly blinded Cloud. He could still hear the Dragon roaring, coming around for another pass at the Dark Man. The Exile aimed his weapon upwards and lashed out at the creature. The energy from his weapon burnt a hole through Bahamut, and the Dragon crashed to the ground, his life-force dissipating rapidly. Someone behind Cloud cast an electrical spell and lightning crashed from the skies, slamming into the Dark Man. Electrical bursts seemed to shimmer all over the armor, now deprived of it's once-perfect sheen. Tifa was there, working up for another electrical burst as Reno leaped into the air, his electro-rod held out before him. Shots rang out from the structure nearby as Vincent opened fire again, the bullets pinging off of the armor but leaving several new dents and scorch marks.

The Dark Man dropped his gun and two massive blades emerged from his forearm armor plate. He knocked the rod from Reno's hand and cut him deeply, then viciously backhanded him across the steaming pavement. He turned to where Vincent was firing and shot tiny poisonous darts from another compartment in the armor. Vincent jumped from his perch, most of the darts flying over him, but one landing in his leg. Cloud leaped into action again with his Omnislash technique. To Cloud, it was as if he were fighting an impenetrable tin can. Each blow rattled the Dark Man greatly in his armor, each blow left dents and scratches in his once pristine armor, but nothing could get through. With a final burst of strength, Cloud whipped his sword around with one hand and knocked the shield from the Dark Man's grip with one deft move. Vincent landed somewhere behind them, still conscious but fighting the effects of the poison. Barret emerged, his gun arm damaged and non-functional, and ran for the dark man, using his gun arm as a metal fist. One punch caught the Exile in the midsection, and practically lifted him off the ground. The Dark Man grunted in pain, which was the first sound he had made since the fight began. The Exile rolled with the next punch and grabbed for his gun again, wielding it like a club against Barret, knocking him unconscious and sending his body pinwheeling across the pavement. Cloud suddenly realized that they were not going to win this fight without finding a weakness in that armor. Tifa cast another bolt of lightning at the Exile, and it covered him in waves of electrical energy which seemed to slow him down a bit.

The materia gun charged for another blast and Cloud caught the look on Tseng's face as the Turk leader forced himself to his feet, dragging an unconscious Elena. I have to do something, he thought. Defiantly standing against the Exile as he charged his weapon, Cloud cast Ultima. Energy sparked everywhere as the spell built up to maximum power. Cloud could feel the winds shift direction in response to the incredible energy bearing down upon the Dark Man. He heard a scream of pain and a sudden impact. As the Dark Man emerged from the area affected by the powerful spell, Cloud could see that whole sections of the armor were charred black and the materia gun appeared to be disabled. As Tseng turned about and pelted the Dark Man with a rain of bullets, Cloud could tell that most of the damage was only on the surface of the armor. Even Ultima didn't penetrate it, he thought, what is that stuff made out of anyway? But without a word or a gesture, the Dark Man grabbed his fallen shield, turned and casually walked away; apparently he had enough.

Cloud watched the area for several minutes before satisfying himself that the enemy had left the area. When he turned to his friends, he was shocked by what he found. Tifa was tearful, trying to heal a badly burned Rude, who had apparently tried to protect her. Tseng was tending to Elena, trying to wake her up while Reno was nearby, struggling to his feet with the help of the still-poisoned Vincent. Cloud ran over to Cid and propped him up as the injured pilot started cursing wildly.

"&*(^@ bastard. That armor is *^(*& tough. I tried to pry it open, but he just kicked me off him like a *&@#*^ toy." Cid winced as Cloud cast a cure spell on him. "Alright, enough for me, I can handle it from here." Cid continued, motioning Cloud to go help Tifa.

"You stupid Turk," Tifa began, "why did you do that?"

Cloud saw that Rude was very badly burned. In some places the clothing seemed to have almost melted into his skin. Despite the pain he must have felt, Rude looked up at Tifa.

"You're too pretty... can't let anyone mess you up." Rude replied. Cloud cast cure on him several times, but it was obvious that the bodyguard would carry several new scars with him. He fell into a deep sleep as the curative spells did their work. Tifa held his head in her lap... a position Rude might have enjoyed more if he were awake to experience it, Cloud thought wryly.

"You know, if that Barrier hadn't held up for as long as it did, Rude would be dead... he was actually willing to sacrifice himself... how un-Turk-like." Cloud commented.

"You mean how stupid, don't you? I can handle myself." Tifa huffed.

"Well it could have been you there, and not him." Cloud added dryly as Tseng walked up with Reno limping behind.

"Elena seems to be okay, just got knocked out by some of the debris. How are the rest of your people?" Tseng asked, oddly respectful.

"Everyone seems good, though I'll probably need some help waking Barret up or dragging him back to the truck." Cloud responded.

"What truck? I think it was melted along with everything else." Tseng laughed. "Looks like we're walking back."

"Heh, figures." Cid chimed in, still clutching his sore chest.

"Hey.. uh... thanks for the help back there... I don't know how many of us would still be alive without that barrier spell you cast." Tseng added, nodding to Cloud.

"We need to find a weakness in that armor before we fight him again." Vincent stated matter-of-factly, as he administered an antidote.

"He seemed really shocked when I mentioned that bit about the Cetra and the Lifestream. I think we need to pay a visit to Nanaki, maybe his people can help us figure this guy out." Cloud replied. I'll also need to talk to Aerith again, he thought. Even the mere thought of her brought that feeling of warmth back to him, something he desperately needed now.

"We will also need to get the rest of our materia back from Yuffie. We'll need everything we've got to take this guy down." Vincent continued.

"We'll see what backup Rufus can provide as well." Tseng added. "Shinra may not be what it used to be, but we've still got some resources."

**********************

Chapter 6

Death is not the worst that can happen to men.
Plato

Storm clouds gathered high above the ruins of Midgar as the sun began to set, staining the world in crimson. Rain began to pour as the sun dropped beneath the horizon and darkness enveloped the remnants of the old metropolis. Lightning flashed as the clouds blocked out the stars and the wind howled through wreckage, screaming as if possessed by a thousand tormented souls. Cloud wandered underneath it all, his once-spiky hair drenched and laying about his face. He finally found his destination, still intact and somehow spared from the flames that had enveloped much of the rest of the deserted city during the battle. Aerith's church stood before him, his home for so long, the only place his heart felt at peace. He heard an inhuman roar echo from the distance, which sounded more like the cry of a wounded animal than that of a man.

As Cloud entered the church, he could feel her presence, that embrace that warmed him even in the biting cold brought on by the storm. Raindrops fell from the damaged roof, pooling together where Aerith's flowers had bloomed and where the cure to Geostigma had finally been discovered. He had finally let go of his guilt, she had seen to that, assuring him that everything would be alright now. But he could not be without her, he could not contemplate his nights spent alone. Cloud felt as if his heart would burst from the simultaneous love and pain which he felt.

When his pain became unbearable, she would often appear to comfort him, it was one of the things that told Cloud... yes she loves me as much as I love her. As he glanced around the remains of the church, he saw her moving through the pews towards him. He could almost believe she was real, that she was here in flesh and blood as well as spirit... but the rain drops fell through her, splashing around and within her as she walked. He ran to her, embracing her, even though her form was as ephemeral as the morning mists.

"I'm so sorry..." Was all he could say, even though he wanted to pour his heart out to her. But words were not necessary, Aerith could feel his heart and his thoughts within herself. She knew how he felt without words.

"There's nothing to be sorry about, except your messy hair." Aerith teased, stroking his cheek. She always knew exactly what to say to bring a smile to his face. Behind her sometimes childish flirtations was a wisdom from beyond the ages.

"I failed today, I couldn't beat him." But before Cloud turned to self-pity, he looked up into her eyes, those beautiful green eyes that were filled with so much love. "But I will." He continued, defiantly.

"You didn't fail. Your hurt him pretty badly, more than you know." Aerith replied, her voice sounding as if it were far away and yet so near. "But let's not talk of that tonight, for that we have tomorrow." Cloud seemed about to protest, but her ghostly hand brushed against him and he just melted into her. "I missed our dreams together... I wish there was more I could do to be with you..." she continued, an edge of sadness filling her features. "I feel so near to you and yet so far away. I feel like I should... let you go free. It's cruel to keep you tied to one who can never touch you, never feel you."

"It would be more cruel to live a day without you. I couldn't bear it. I will always love you, only you, forever." Cloud replied, laying down on a pew with Aerith's ephemeral form curling up next to him, as if she could sleep next to him... it was an illusion that brought a smile and a tear to Cloud's face. He closed his eyes and imagined that they were together in the flower fields, falling quickly into their shared dream... As he fell asleep, a single tear fell from his face, mingling with the pooling rainwater. Outside the storm continued to rage, thunder and lightning crashing across the ruinous cityscape, rain pouring through the abandoned streets.

***********************

The Dark Man howled in intense agony as he pried the final armor blade loose from his burnt skin. The roar carried across the ruined cityscape below, frightening the creatures of the night, each scurrying to their individual bolt-holes to escape that madness which had been unleashed in their world. Lightning flashed in the roiling storm overhead as a torrent of rain fell from the angry skies, cleansing his wounds and refreshing him. Two thousand years of hate burned inside him, and he quivered with barely contained rage. Frail humans, he thought, how can I let them beat me down like this. But it had always been this way, always it was him against the world, and now it seemed like impossible odds again.. just like before.

Winds howled all around the decrepit structure, creating a ghostly melody that echoed through the abandoned tower. The Dark Man stood finally, exposing his face to the growing storm. Weakness, he thought, I must not show weakness again. Ignoring the terrible pain that lanced through him, he heaved the materia gun and his massive shield and turned back into the Tower. The female was still tied to the support pillar, but a new expression had wormed it's way across her face. The Dark Man recognized that look. It was one of triumph.

"They messed you up pretty good. Were they too much for you to handle?" Shera taunted weakly.

"You're very foolish. Your mate was injured, along with most of your little group. My injuries are superficial." The Dark Man replied.

"But what about your injured ego eh? Not as strong as you thought?" Shera continued, coughing for a moment then smiling sadistically.

"This is only a fraction of what I am capable of. Soon your friends will see what power is. But whether you live to see that day, I'm not sure." The Dark Man appeared frazzled, and his response was not as formal and rigid as his normal pattern of speech. Ignoring her further taunts, he began tinkering with the damaged materia gun, replacing parts inside and attempting to power up the weapon. After a few hours at trying to repair the device, he threw several pieces against a wall in frustration. He began gathering a considerable pile of equipment he had scrounged from the Shinra Tower over the past several days. He packed away computers, materia, wires, steel tubes and other pieces of damaged equipment, loading them on a palette jack and hauling them out onto the observation deck of the tower.

Shera watched the Dark Man leave, knowing he would soon be back for her. She tried desperately to wiggle her way out of the steel cable which bound her, but she only succeeded in cutting herself more deeply. Her heart longed to see Cid again, she had so much she wanted to say to him. Eventually, she realized, the Dark Man would kill her or torture her. This was not a man who kept anyone alive out of sentiment. He had some dark purpose intended for her. If it were just her, she could die and be content with her life. But she realized how much she loved Cid, and despite how rarely he said anything kind to her, she knew that he loved her in return... it would tear him apart if she died, and she had to spare him that pain somehow. Her mind drifted in and out of consciousness; the Dark Man had given her precious little water and no food and her body was weak. As consciousness returned to her, she could see the airship hovering off the observation deck, and for a moment her heart fluttered, thinking that perhaps Cid had come for her. Then she remembered everything that had happened. The Dark Man loaded his supplies onto the airship and turned to come for her. He snapped her binds with brute strength, grabbed her by the waist and quite literally tossed her onto the flight deck of the waiting airship before jumping in himself. The Dark Man took one last look at the ruined city about him, wondering just how old it was and what had transpired here. But it didn't matter, he had what he needed. Lightning flashed nearby, almost striking the airship as it angled away from the tower and flew off into the stormy sky.

*************************

Several Days After the Battle:
Cosmo Canyon

The everlasting flame continued to burn into night sky, scattering flickering shadows of the group all around the immense rock face nearby. Stars glinted in seeming reply to the crackling fire, tiny pinpoints of light in a cloudless sky. For many long moments, no one in the mysterious group could find anything to say. They all knew why they were here, what manner of man had brought them in common cause to this place. Even the Turks had lost their air of invincible bravado which had followed them throughout their many encounters with the group. Finally, Nanaki and a pair of Cosmo Canyon scholars approached the flame.

Nanaki was the first to speak. "Bugenhagen, my grandfather, had started the research at the City of the Ancients before he passed on, and since then we have learned a great deal about Cetra history... but not enough, I'm afraid, to give you a real answer."

The man next to Nanaki seated himself and opened a notebook. "We did compile some old legends and myths surrounding the Cetra, however, and we may have something... it's more a guess than anything else though."

Cloud leaned forward, eager to learn what he could about the Dark Man they had fought. "Anything might help, tell us what you've found."

Nanaki turned to Cloud and began. "Long ago the Cetra learned that they could suspend their... souls in the Lifestream indefinitely. It was like a form of immortality, it was their Promised Land. But such a process required that the being have a very strong mind, and a very strong connection with the Planet."

Cloud couldn't help but think of Aerith, wishing he could be with her there... she was his Promised Land. Nanaki continued. "Over time, many Cetra began to display an even better proficiency and understanding of this concept than the others. Eventually, two great Cetra families were united with the hope of passing on a legacy of a stronger connection with the Planet. The child that was born was expected to have great abilities. Instead the child was very different. Instead of having a great connection with the planet, he had none. He was utterly alone and had no magical abilities whatsoever. The Cetra were always a kindly race, and they tried to take care of the child as best they could, but eventually, feeling himself to be an outcast, he left the City of the Ancients. Decades later he returned and fought against them with technology built using their sacred knowledge, killing many of them and causing widespread mayhem before he was finally caught and imprisoned....and this is where the stories end. However I remember Hojo once speaking about the man who single-handedly tried to conquer the Cetra in ancient history. He mumbled on about how Shinra's reactor designs were based on ancient schematics for extremely advanced technology left behind by that outcast."

Tseng turned to Nanaki and began to speak. "Hojo was probably right. Much of Shinra's technology was gleaned from Ancient sources, it's one of the reasons that we pursued Aerith. Maybe Rufus was on to something when he suggested that the Dark Man was after Reactor designs."

The man with the notebook turned to Nanaki. "All of this is legend, even in the records of the Cetra... there is no telling if this is true, or if it even pertains to the Exile, but the story does seem to fit."

Nanaki continued gravely. "The Ancients seemed to have little use for high technology, however, so I'm not sure how it relates to the Outcast. And all of this occurred near the time Jenova fell from the heavens, so the records are scattered and are more like legends than truths. So much was lost during the battle between the Cetra and Jenova. But it seems to me like it's no coincidence that both events occured at nearly the same time."

Cloud spoke up finally. "I didn't sense Jenova's presence in him, and I'm pretty sure I would know if he had Jenova cells or was somehow connected to Jenova."

"Still, we can't ignore the timeframe. It seems to me that that two attempts at wiping out the Cetra at more or less the same time would probably be related somehow." Elena added as she slid a little bit closer to Tseng. Next to them, Tifa fidgeted uncomfortably as Rude glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

"Yeah." Rude replied simply. Rude's hand lightly brushed against Tifa's arm, and when he didn't receive a punch in the gut, his hand brushed along down her arm and lightly touched her hand. A momentary silence hovered over the group as they took everything in. As the firelight glistened in the night, Tifa inched a little closer to Rude. Cloud smiled a little, catching the movement out of the corner of his eye, though he made a point not to look too closely. Nanaki chatted a bit with the other Canyon tribesmen, exchanging more notes and ideas on the Dark Man. Elena rested comfortably with her head on Tseng's shoulder, not bothering to hide her affection. Reno just sat dejected in a corner ignoring everyone while Cid snored lightly, his head resting on the back of a log. Vincent just sat silently watching everyone in that disturbing way of his, but then Cloud caught the hint of a smile on his face, partially hidden by his cloak, as he watched everyone, apparently satisfied at how everything was turning out. Catching Cloud watching him, Vincent just nodded in respect and mutual understanding. Like Cloud, Vincent was separated from his love, and no one could relate to him better... except Aerith.

Barret was the one to break the silence finally. "Well Red, what's say you join up with us? We gotta beat this guy down."

Nanaki turned from the other tribesmen and replied. "Yes, I will be coming with you. I think Grandfather would have wanted it. However, we'll need to find this Outcast first."

With silent, mutual agreement, everyone left to get some rest. But Cloud stayed behind, alone next to the flame. He remembered sitting here next to Aerith.. it seemed so long ago. But it was the same flame, the place... and she wasn't here. Cloud knew it wasn't healthy to think this way all the time, he knew how strange it must appear to everyone else to always pine away for her, but it was not a thing he could help. He closed his eyes for a moment, remembering her sitting here with him so long ago; he could almost feel her again. A thin smile worked it's way across his features. Letting go of the moment finally, he walked away. If he had turned back to see where he sat, he might have noticed the second imprint in the ground next to his...

***********************

Chapter 7

The die is cast.
Julius Caesar

The Dark Man entered the ancient cave just before dawn, as the barest hints of sunlight began to fight their way into the darkness, clearing the debris and spider webs which had taken over the once-pristine facility. In his own frame of reference, he had been here only a year before... but in reality it had been nearly two thousand years. The Cetra had sealed this place off long ago and it had disappeared into the pages of history, and finally even from there. The Exile thought back to the great broken down reactors in the ruined city. The ruinous passage of time consumed everything eventually, he thought, but my time has come anyway. He wondered briefly what calamity had fallen upon man to make them forget everything that had transpired before. A cruel smile made it's way across his features as he remembered the strange cells inhabiting the blond warrior. It all clicked into place finally... so his revenge had accomplished something terrible. Too bad he hadn't been there to see it all happen. Snapping himself out of his reverie, he dragged the equipment into the ancient chamber and began to work. Behind him, the woman stirred again, but he was too focused to notice...

Shera eyed the Dark Man with hatred burning within her. Enraptured with whatever dark plan he was hatching, he had not done a good job of securing her. She had played quiet and meek over the past several days, acting as if she had been broken. But in reality, she had been waiting for this moment. As that Dark Man began hammering something together in the chamber nearby, she smashed her hand against a rock, dislocating her thumb and allowing her to pull her hand free finally. With her free hand, she began loosening the cables that tied her other hand and before long she was free. Shera wasted little time and bolted for the cave entrance. Behind her, the Dark Man suddenly realized what was happening and grabbed a knife, chasing after her and gaining rapidly. The Dark Man picked up a small rock and threw it with deadly aim, hitting her in the side of the head with an audible crack. Blood flowed freely into her hair, but she kept running anyway. Shera leaped over the railing of the airship that bore her name and slammed her fist down on the emergency button. The airship's engines fired up rapidly, and a pair of rockets underneath shot the airship into the air, pushing the ship upwards as the engines began to whirr. Before long the rocket engines ran out of fuel and the main engines began to take over. Far below, the Dark Man cursed maniacally.

Before long, she began to pass out, the blood loss and concussion bringing her to a state of near-madness. She searched the charts desperately for a place to set down, far enough away from the Dark Man to be safe, but near enough to make it before she passed out. Cosmo Canyon was the nearest destination that meant anything to her, and she pushed the drive levers to maximum. She prayed that she would make it, and made a mental note to thank her husband for all of those piloting lessons he'd given her. Cid... her mind grasped at his image, fighting to stay conscious as the airship passed rapidly through the clouds. I must come home to you, she thought desperately as she gripped the wheel.

As her consciousness slipped in and out of a dream-like trance. Shera as if she were part of the ship itself, flying through the clouds, guided by the sun high in the cerulean sky. Sometimes she heard voices guiding her, and then she'd awake to full consciousness for a moment, correcting her course before slipping again into the dream-like state. She didn't know how long she had been flying, but finally a computer beeped nearby, informing her that she was coming upon her destination. Just a few moments longer, she thought, her mind trying to push aside the pain and the headache that threatened to ruin her. But she had nothing left, and the blackness came for her. One thing remained for her as her vision narrowed and the aircraft spiraled out of control. She pulled herself up into the ejection seat, clicked the straps together as her vision failed completely and pulled the lever... then the blackness swallowed her.

*********************

Cid knew that sound all too well. It was her... it was Shera, she was coming back to him. As he awoke with a start, he heard the airship in the distance, he could see the plume of smoke from the still unrepaired intake valves, and he knew his wife was on board. He ran down from the village carved into the rocks and screamed for the others. They all came running, some of them very disheveled and half-dressed. Cid pointed in the distance, and they could all see it, the Shera, spiraling down from the clouds, out of control. Cid cried out, tears stinging his eyes, angry at his helplessness. As everyone watched the airship bounced once, barely touching the ground, then slammed into it in full force, exploding in a massive fireball that rocked the canyon like an earthquake. Cid screamed with rage... But Cloud pointed to the sky, and they all saw it, a single parachute, descending lazily from the morning sky. Ignoring everyone else, he sprinted forward, even though the distance was great. By the time he reached the area, the parachute had already touched down and revealed a badly wounded Shera in the ejection seat. Cid was moved almost to tears as he realized he'd installed that little contingency plan on her suggestion. He quickly unfastened the straps securing her to the chair and cradled her softly, stroking her bloodied hair. It was then that he realized in his haste he'd forgotten to bring any kind of potion or curative materia with him. Fortunately as Cloud and the others caught up to him, Cloud revealed a flask of high-potion.

Cid poured the curative liquid down her throat, and she coughed softly, some of the blue liquid spilling out of her mouth. It began to do it's work almost immediately, speeding up the natural healing process tenfold and most likely saving her life. Her eyes opened for a moment and she smiled weakly.

"I'm sorry for wandering off..." She whispered.

"Shhhh, I'm the one who's sorry..." Cid replied softly. Then he suddenly realized everyone was surrounding him and watching him act soft. As if suddenly possessed by a demon he began shouting and cursing wildly.

"What the *@#*(^@ do you think this is, an opera or something? Get out of here and let me have a moment with my wife." Cid yelled.

Some of the others laughed a bit as they began walking back toward the village. Cloud was the first to say it. "Well, I'm not sure what I expected, actually. At least we can say Cid's back."

Barret laughed and responded loudly. "Always knew that one was a softie, ya know?"

"I *(@^# heard that." Cid yelled from a distance, still cradling his wife.

*********************

After Shera had recovered enough strength, everyone gathered at the observatory. Twilight was seeping into the canyon now, and the world seemed to glow in orange and purple tones as the sun vanished from the horizon. It was a beautiful sight for the battle-hardened defenders of the planet. The first stars had already begun to show themselves, twinkling softly in the fading light. Vincent remained for a time after the others had left; it was in moments like these that thoughts of Lucrecia came unbidden to him again. He knew now that he didn't deserve the punishment that he had once cursed himself with, but his pain never ended. He could see the marks of similar pain on Cloud from time to time, but he was glad that he did not have to see them on Cid. Still, he thought, that man is still out there somewhere, a man with an even darker past than my own. He turned away from the fading light, his cape billowing in the wind as he turned away.

Vincent entered silently; the others had grown used to him coming and going without being seen. As usual, they had begun anyway, and he could heard Cloud discussing the situation with the others.

"....I'm not sure if we can take him down yet. We need to find away to defeat that armor, or we'll just have a repeat of last time. I'm all for taking him down, but we've got to figure this out first." Cloud continued, oddly enough to Vincent, he seemed like the voice of reason for once.

"Well we know where he is, and we don't know how long he'll be there." Cid pounded his fist on the table. "I want this guy dead."

"I'm afraid I must agree with Cloud." Tseng added. "If we just rush in there without a plan for taking down that armor, we're not going to do very well."

"Yeah." Rude replied.

"Shuttup, you stupid Turk." Tifa responded, but the edges of a smile creeped up on her face, and it was clear she was having a bit of fun at the bodyguard's expense.

"There may be a way to defeat the armor." Vincent said simply, and all eyes turned to him. "Cid was on to something when he tried to jam his spear into the armor joint. Obviously that didn't work, but I noticed that our enemy seemed really anxious to get Cid out of the fight quickly. Armor that heavy has to be powered by something, or else he couldn't move as fast as he did. Hit the right joint hard enough, and you might destroy the motor powering it. That probably wouldn't do much damage to him, but it would slow him down a lot."

"Maybe I can get a claw in the joints." Nanaki added.

"Well, that's good enough for me." Cloud replied. "Let's go."

"Hold on Spiky, we haven't seen Yuffie yet, not that I really want to, but what about all that materia?" Barret pointed out.

"I'm not sure we have the time, Barret. As Cid pointed out, we know where he is now... he could leave at any time, and we'd have a cold trail again." Cloud replied and turned to Tseng. The Turk leader simply nodded in mutual agreement.

"Then it's settled." Cloud said simply.

***********************

Chapter 8

I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me.
Abraham Lincoln

Aerith floated about the currents of the Lifestream, disturbed by what she had learned from the ancient spirit, the old man who had claimed to be the father of the Dark Man. She dived deeper into the most ancient parts of the Lifestream, the oldest memories the planet could offer her. She searched in vain for the remnants of the old man, but he was gone, finally able to merge and find peace. The Dark Man was like a hole in the planet's life, a place where her mind could not reach. The Lifestream could not reach him, the will of the planet could never find him and he was forever alone. Aerith could hardly contemplate how lonely such an existence must be, but she stopped herself before pity seeped into her consciousness. Regardless of what had happened to him, he had a dark purpose and had to be stopped. She thought about the term the old man had used... "esper-negative." As she thought about it, another ancient spirit flowed away from the main current of the Lifestream and answered.

"Esper-negative?" The spirit asked. "I know that term."

The spirit was very weak, and it's most of it's memories had fallen away over the eons it had been floating in the Lifestream. Aerith could tell that it has once been a woman, and if the very faint outline of her form was any indication, she had once been hauntingly beautiful. The spirit seemed vaguely familiar, much like the old man she had encountered.

"Your son?" Aerith asked simply, hoping her hunch was right.

"Yes! He was my son." The spirit began to coalesce, the form becoming more distinct.

"What happened to him?" Aerith asked. She felt a sudden wave of intense sadness.

"He... hated us. He left when he was very young. I loved him so much, but we could never find him after he ran away." The spirit seemed to sob.

"I'm sorry... I don't mean to cause you pain." Aerith wanted to cry with the intensity of emotion that surged from the other soul. She had lingered in the Lifestream for almost two thousand years, wallowing in sadness.

"I know why you are here. He's come back." The troubled soul replied.

"Yes, and though I can feel the darkness that surrounds him, I do not know what to do, or even what he wants." Aerith responded as the soul flickered and suddenly became almost perfectly clear.

"You... have to end this. We weren't strong enough, we thought if we buried him in the sleep chamber we could avoid having to..." The spirit's words wavered. "...kill him. I couldn't do it. It's my guilt to carry for eternity."

Aerith tried to comfort her, tried to free her of her guilt, but her burden was too heavy and only she could release it. The spirit spoke again.

"He tried to destroy everything we stood for, he used all of our knowledge to build a machine to control Lifestream energy. He intended to use it to create his own monsters, his own army of dark creatures to command and conquer with. His machine was completed, and we sensed the distrubance in the Lifestream as he siphoned off it's energy to create his demons. His monsters nearly won, but in the end he was finally defeated. We imprisoned him, and so long as a Cetra was alive.. the prison would hold. It must be the end of the Cetra if he is free." The spirit grew sad again. "But we didn't know what else he did at the time. He called something from the stars, a nameless evil that descended upon us, mimicked our form and.... it killed me."

"I was the last Cetra, the last Ancient as they are called in this day and age." Aerith replied. "I wish I had known more about our past, maybe I could have prevented this."

"No child, this my burden to bear." The spirit drew in closer, nearly touching Aerith's ephemeral form. For a moment, the woman smiled. "Yes, I know that feeling. How I wish I could feel that again... Love, it is so pure. There is only one secret I can tell you. Call my son by his name... Irix. It may surprise him, he'll know where it came from, and if there is anything of my little boy left in there..." The spirit began to fade away.

"...tell him that I still love him." was the distant reply. The soul began to splinter apart again, but the guilt it carried seemed a little lighter now. Aerith hoped that someday the guilt would leave her, and she could let herself go. But for now, Cloud had to know what to say... she could always feel him near, even when he was far away, and this time was no different...

**********************

Power shimmered through the forgotten cave as something deep within sputtered to life for the first time in centuries. Raw mako energy surged everywhere, mingling with great electrical discharges as the ancient device powered up. The Dark Man stood in front of the control panel, his cape billowing as winds howled, driven by the great turbines churning raw energy from the Lifestream. He felt alive again, he felt the power of his machine surging through him, and he knew the time had come to take his place as the real master of the planet once again. This time the Cetra were gone, so ancient that they had been all but forgotten, their foolishness had passed off into history. Had they known about the second reactor? The Dark Man wasn't sure, but he figured that they would have destroyed it if they had. Lifestream energy coursed through the Core, building up to a crescendo of energy that would allow him to manipulate it at will.

The Outcast worked the old computers, surprised that some of them still functioned, setting them up to render an image of the lifestream as a sequence of great waves, each representing some spirit or soul. He could feel the high from the raw power he felt, the power over life and death, the power over the evolution of life itself... it would all be his to control. Something flashed on the screen and caught his attention. One of the waves was different somehow, it didn't behave like normal lifestream energy. Some kinks and eddies were natural in the Lifestream, but this was different, it was traveling against the current. Such a thing was possible, but only if...

"So they aren't entirely gone after all." The Dark Man spoke aloud.

The pattern coalesced nearby and took root within the Lifestream flowing through the reactor; it was probably watching him even now. Well let it watch me all it likes, he thought, it cannot harm me. As he watched the display he half expected to see more such patterns building up, coming to fight against him, but there was only the one... the last one. I suppose if I were a good little Cetra, he thought, it would be talking to me now. So the Last Cetra has come do battle against me... and he laughed out loud at the absurdity of it all. A rat sprinted out of an alcove under the console, trying to escape the evil presence it sensed above him, but the Dark Man was faster. His armored foot smashed the creature, it's squeal of pain cut short by the sickly sounds of crunching bone. The Dark Man laughed again. Another soul for you little Cetra, he thought as he tapped the computer display, if I can't speak to you more directly then maybe this is a message you'll understand.

The Exile began building new creatures in the computer, designs of the flesh that he could create and animate with the Lifestream's energy. Most of them were designed for war, but some had more.. entertaining uses, flesh was so versatile he mused. Well, he thought, I will need new sacrifices, raw flesh for the chamber to work with. The Dark Man donned his helmet, armed his newly-repaired materia gun and stepped outside the cavern. He knew they would arrive soon, and perhaps he could use one of them in the chamber. The thought filled him with sadistic glee.

***********************

Chapter 9

A military man can scarcely pride himself on having 'smitten a sleeping enemy'; it is more a matter of shame, simply, for the one smitten.
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto

Fenrir roared beneath him as Cloud surged ahead of the others, leading them on towards the Dark Man. The ground flashed beneath him, merging into lines that seemed to stretch out into infinity. Faster. Dirt swirled behind him as he drove the machine to it's limits. The Dark Man must be stopped, he thought, and if he is the one who called upon Jenova, then I owe him a slow, painful death. Jenova... without that evil, none of this would ever have happened. Sephiroth would never have become the powerful evil he had become, perhaps even the Ancients would still be alive to watch over the world. Cloud didn't know, but he knew the Outcast was a threat to the planet as long as he remained alive.

Suddenly the sound of wind rushing by him stopped, the sounds of the dirt and rocks flying behind him, the roaring of the motor... it all stopped. He could still feel the machine thrumming beneath him, he could still see the ground flying by, but he could hear nothing. In his mind a voice came to him, and he smiled.

"Hello Cloud." Aerith's voice echoed in his mind. Cloud felt that tingling in his heart that always happened when she was near. "I don't have much time." Aerith continued.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Cloud asked within his mind.

"I have a message for you to give to... him." She replied. The statement piqued Cloud's curiousity. "Call him 'Irix,' it's the name his mother gave him." Aerith continued.

"I doubt a man like that cares much for his mother." Cloud replied.

"Probably not, but it still may help you. He'll probably wonder what else you know and that may throw him off balance." Aerith responded simply.

"Alright," Cloud replied in his mind, trusting her judgment completely.

"I also know what he wants. Long ago he left the ancient city and built terrible machines using our knowledge, machines that could control and direct the Lifestream at will. He would lock away people, creatures and monsters, and use the Lifestream with his machines to mold their bodies, their essence into whatever he desired. He created an army and attempted to conquer the Cetra, but he was defeated and imprisoned. Before his end, he called upon Jenova, calling.. it.. to this planet so that he could have his revenge. And now he wants to do it all over again, create his army of dark creatures, and take over. I'm going to fight him as long as I can, try and keep him from controlling the Lifestream... but he is using the knowledge of our people against me. I can't do much, the rest is up to you."

Cloud was about to reply, but Aerith's presence had already left. Sound returned to his world, and he pushed Fenrir even faster, determined to put an end to the Dark Man.

*************************

Irix stood at the entrance to the ancient machine, his mind connected to the helmet-computer, searching the land for more flesh to mold in the device. Monsters existed everywhere in these lands, a plentiful supply of living matter to process within the Core. Already he could hear his machine working, creating a new army of powerful warriors for him to lead and control. Each was constructed with absolute loyalty to him and him alone. Each was supremely powerful, possessing traits and powers he could never wield himself. Where he could never cast magic, never use materia or use magical items, his warriors could wield powerful magic. The first group of many marched from the bowels of the ancient cavern, and the Dark Man turned to inspect them. He was pleased with what he saw before him. Twelve of the creatures stood before him, arms held at perfect attention. Their appearance reminded the Dark Man of the undead, each was covered in a dark, bony exoskeleton, each pulsated with a different powerful magic which played across their bodies. Some seemed perpetually on fire, others were covered with electrical sparks or icy crags. All of them were fearsome, horns protruding from their skulls, eyes glowing even in the daylight and hands covered with fearsome claws. Yes, he thought, these are truly my warriors, the beginning of my horde. The Dark Man turned back to the endless plains that stretched out before him, searching for more monsters, more creatures to feed into his machine. But all he could see was a pair of ground vehicles rapidly approaching. The strange warrior and his lackeys, the Dark Man thought, well this should be an interesting experiment.

"Defend." Irix ordered simply. His creatures spread out, acting in perfect unison, ready to die defending their master. Irix shifted his shield to the ready position, locked it in place and charged the materia gun. What could I do with the bodies of my enemies? He pondered, smiling sadistically at the endless possibilities.

Cloud saw the phalanx of creatures ahead of him, fearsome monsters arrayed against them. So it has begun, Cloud thought grimly. Opening up Fenrir, Cloud selected a sword and held it as he drove the machine forward. Behind him, the vehicle carrying the others ground to a halt and the battle was soon joined. Cloud pushed the cycle forward, holding his sword against the wind and charging for the Dark Man. The fight quickly degenerated into an all out melee with spells, bullets and energy flying about everywhere around him as he pushed Fenrir harder, lifting the front and charging at the Dark Man. One of the monsters leaped into the air nearby, flinging a ball of searing flames at him. Cloud wheeled Fenrir aside, dodging the blow and lashing out at the monster. His sword hit the creature at incredible speed, pushed forward by all the momentum Fenrir could deliver, and it sliced cleanly through an arm as an unholy scream ripped from the monster's throat. Amazingly, the monster did not fall, instead it cauterized the stump with it's own searing flame, then built itself up for another fireball attack. Vincent was there, his cloak trailing behind him as he leaped into the air, Cerebrus held out before him. Bullets slammed into the creature, tearing through flesh and bone. Still the creature stood weakly, building a sphere of flame in his remaining hand. Cloud wheeled about, Fenrir roaring beneath him, and charged the creature, impaling it with his sword and lifting it into the air. The monster roared and thrashed on the end of his sword before Cloud flung it away. The dying creature thrashed in the dirt, expending it's energy as it's lifeblood flowed out of it's unnatural body. Vincent flipped around and began firing at another monster.

A massive blast from the materia gun sent electrical energy arcing everywhere, crackling through the air, and Cloud saw Tifa fall to one knee as energy cascaded over her. One of the ice-creatures leaped forward, slashing at her with his claws, but in a surprising feat of strength, Tifa punched the creature in the head, then somersaulted, her foot cutting through the air and impacting on what passed for the creatures chin. Even over the din of battle, Cloud could hear the sharp crack as it's jawbone shattered and it's neck broke. Electrical energy still crackled through the air, and Cloud could smell the sick scent of ozone and burnt flesh. Cloud gunned Fenrir and charged for her, his sword held out to the side, but the Dark Man suddenly appeared next to him and slammed his shield against the cycle. Cloud fell, tumbling to the ground as Fenrir slid across the dirt and slammed into the body of the creature Tifa had been fighting.

Before the Dark Man could fire his weapon again, Tseng was behind him with his gun, pelting the Outcast with a rain of metal. Somewhere behind the Turk, a creature attacked with an Ice spell, crags of icy matter flung against Tseng and knocked him to the ground. The Creature leaped up, claws extended outward to finish him. Elena screamed desperately and cast a massive lightning bolt that cast the creature to the ground, then she ran forward, screaming Tseng's name and smashing her fist against the creature's back. Satisfied that the Turks could take care of themselves, Cloud turned back to the Dark Man.

"Irix." Cloud said simply as the Dark Man suddenly stopped.

"Where... did... you hear that name?" The Dark Man replied weakly.

"Does it matter?" Cloud continued.

"How can you know these things?" Irix responded as he began to feel fear creep up his spine.

"Well, in a way you created me." Cloud replied. "Yes, Jenova is what we call it. You brought this evil into our world, and now you'll pay for it." Cloud swung his sword around and charged the Dark Man.

The Dark Man shifted his gun onto his back and extended his wrist blades, leaping forward and parrying Cloud's attack. The two battled through the melee that surrounded them, sword smashing against shield, blades cutting through the air in search of Cloud's lifeblood. Irix somersaulted backwards and tore a boulder loose from the rockface near the cavern. He threw the massive boulder at Cloud with incredible speed, but Cloud's sword was faster and his anger stronger. He ducked underneath the rock, his sword held above him, cutting straight through the boulder. Shocked, the Dark Man flipped his shield back and leaped high into the air, his blades held out before him as he twisted down at Cloud. Before Cloud could parry the attack, a massive pulse of energy shot out from the melee and slammed into the Dark Man, knocking him to the ground. Barret was smiling, his newly repaired gun-arm wafting smoke from the massive shot. Cloud took advantage of the momentary weakness and slammed his sword down. Irix barely brought his shield up in time, the sword hitting it with such strength that it knocked him back down to the ground. The Dark Man's foot lashed out and kicked Cloud viciously backwards, and he staggered to his feet. Before Cloud could get up, the Dark Man leaped away and viciously backhanded Tifa.

Another creature leaped in front of Cloud, it's claws flying everywhere, charged with pure electrical energy. The creature leaped over Cloud's sword as it whirled through the air. Lightning lanced from it's fingertip, catching Cloud in the chest and flinging him backwards with incredible force. As Cloud struggled to his feet, he could see the Dark Man kick Tifa to the ground and grab her by the neck, dragging her back to his cavern. Anger seethed in him and he reached deep within himself, casting Ultima on the unfortunate creature that had attacked him. By the time the spell had finished, only the charred exoskeleton of the creature remained, smoke wafting from it's corpse. Rude screamed with unholy rage and leaped at the Dark Man, shoving the barrel of a gun into an armor joint and firing rapidly. Irix howled in surprise and spun around, kicking the Turk violently away from him. Reno leaped to his colleague's defense, his electro-rod smashing against the armor and sending bolts of electrical energy into it. Before the Dark Man could counter-attack, Reno grabbed Rude by the collar and threw him backward, then leaped out of the way himself. Nanaki leaped over Reno, his claws flying everywhere, probing for a weakness in the armor seams. Cid was there behind him, and he jammed his spear into a joint in the armor. With his rage burning inside, needing vengeance for what the Dark Man had done to Shera, he grunted and pried, twisting the spear point around in the seam. Cloud heard something clank as Cid worked the spear in deeper.

Irix shifted his shield around and smashed it against Cid, but the pilot hung on anyway. Nanaki made another pass at the Dark Man just as a fire creature leaped on top of him. Nanaki shifted his attention to the monster, and a furious battle of claws ensued. Cloud sprinted towards the Dark Man, but Irix was finally able to knock Cid free and he grabbed for his materia gun, pointed it at Cloud, and fired. A part of Cloud's mind registered that the Dark Man's movements were noticeably slower now. Cloud flung himself into the air as a defeaning explosion ripped into the ground underneath him, creating a massive crater filled with molten rock. Cloud landed on the edge of the crater and stared back up at Irix as a conflagration of flames burned behind him. A creature leaped for Cloud, and he angrily cut the monster in half with one swift stroke, the creature's halves falling into the molten pit behind him. The Dark Man took one look at the expression of hatred on Cloud's face... and dropped his gun, grabbed Tifa's unconscious form and sprinted toward the cavern. Cloud sprinted after him, completely oblivious to the battle still raging around him. Behind him, Rude shook free of Reno and followed even as Tseng screamed for him to return.

"Rude, Cloud can handle himself, you are ordered to secure the perimeter!" Tseng ordered as he cast a fire spell against one of the creatures. Rude ignored him and followed Cloud into the cavern.

***********************

Chapter 10

Everything is Dust in the Wind
Kansas

As Cloud entered the ancient cavern, he could feel something changing within him, the raw energy of the Lifestream pulsed here. Her spirit was here too, he could always feel when she was near. Aerith... she was here trying to restrain the Lifestream, trying to keep it from the Dark Man's control. He felt stronger with her near, he was ready to face the Dark Man. As he entered the outer control room, he could see the Dark Man placing Tifa inside the first of two chambers as he laughed maniacally. The annoying laughter reminded Cloud briefly of a few dead Shinra executives. Irix turned to face Cloud, his wrist blades extended and his shield held close to his armored body.

Cloud didn't waste any time, he sprinted forward and used his Omnislash technique on the Dark Man. This time, with the damage Cid and Rude had done to the armor joints, Irix couldn't move fast enough to divert the blows away from sensitive areas. Slash. Cloud's sword whipped through the air and cut deep into a shoulder joint, starting a trickle of blood. Crash. His massive sword slammed against the shield, nearly knocking it away. Smash. A blow landed so hard it dented the Dark Man's chest plate. In a last desperate attempt to stop the onslaught, Irix brought his shield again.. only to have Cloud cut right through it. The Dark Man dropped the now useless remnant of the shield and brought a second pair of wrist blades to bear, cutting Cloud's shoulder deeply.

Cloud didn't even feel it; he pressed forward and slashed again, cutting through the damaged chest plate and scraping against flesh. Blood dripped from the long red gash cut into the armor plate, and the plate peeled off, exposing raw flesh for the first time. The Dark Man howled in pain and somersaulted back over a control panel, quickly tapping a control and starting the process in motion.

"Too late. Your warrior will become one of my creatures now. I've designed something very special for her flesh." But Cloud wasn't listening to the Dark Man's words, he vaulted over the control panel and used his Braver technique, angling his sword down with incredible power, smashing it directly into the dark man's helmet. Behind the combatants, a screen flashed, showing a very strong waveform in the Lifestream blocking the machine's flow from reaching Tifa. Alarms sounded everywhere as the machine began to build up energy too quickly.

Irix felt the computer in his helmet shutdown and fail, and he tore the damaged helmet off his head and tossed it aside. The stream of thoughts and energy into his mind shutdown and he was alone again, but his hate and anger were still with him. He was once again the outcast, fearful child fleeing from the ancient capital in the hopes of one day returning to control them, defeat them and rule the Lifestream. The blond haired warrior who had done it all to him angled down for a final blow.. only to be met by cold wrist blades. Behind him the machine neared critical mass, energy angling from the mako reactor into the raw lifestream from whence it came. Only a little longer, and the Little Cetra would lose it's battle, the Dark Man thought, as he desperately parried another blow from the warrior.

Irix brought the blades around in a swift move, angling towards Cloud and twisting through the air, one of the few moves that still remained to him in his weakened form, trying to bluff the warrior into thinking he was unaffected by the loss of the helmet. Cloud threw all his weight into a counter-attack, breaking through the wrist blades, snapping them in two and drawing another thin line of blood across the Dark Man's chest. Irix's armored fist lashed out and impacted against Cloud’s face in reply, but as Cloud fell backward across the room, propelled by the force of the blow, he knew his enemy was close to defeat. Something had happened to the Dark Man and his strength had left him. In one last gambit to survive long enough for the machine to activate, the Dark Man produced a bomb from somewhere in his remaining armor blades. With a final defiant scream at Cloud, he threw it across the room and dived underneath a control panel.

The explosion was deafening, and even the control panel Irix had dived under offered little protection from the blast. He felt shrapnel from the console enter his chest, and the trickle of blood falling from the wound. As he stood weakly he realized the wound was mortal, and he didn't have long to live. But at least the warrior had been knocked unconscious; or perhaps he had been killed, Irix didn't have the time to check. My death doesn't matter though, he thought as he shoved the blast door open and entered the core, when the woman's body is torn apart by the Core and remade by the Lifestream, I will live again. He stumbled, slipping on his own blood, but continuing to crawl toward the device. As he watched a monitor, he saw the waveform of the last Cetra trying to stop his machine, but he knew that the spirit's efforts were in vain, she had no power compared to his glorious machine. He finally made it to the second chamber, where his life essence, the image of his body, would be remade by the Lifestream, controlled by his ancient machine. He closed his eyes and waited for the moment to come, wondering what the sensation would feel like.

Instead he felt two powerful arms grab him and toss him into the other chamber. His eyes opened to find the warrior with the sunglasses standing over him, livid with rage, screaming the woman's name.

"Tifa.. Tifa... wake up!" Rude screamed shaking her intensely, his eyes alive with worry and pain. Slowly she stirred as consciousness returned and Rude breathed easier. The Dark Man will pay for this, he thought as he stood over the control panel. He couldn’t read the strange language on the screen, but by throwing Irix into the receiving chamber, Rude knew that the man would get his due. Instead of transferring the Dark Man’s essence into a new body, the machine would now transfer something else into him and remake his form accordingly. Rude didn’t know who or what would possess the Dark Man, but he didn’t really care so long as the Dark Man was destroyed in the process. The computer, devoid of any input or any creature in the first chamber, locked on to the strongest signal nearby and began its work.

Rude dragged a barely conscious Tifa away from the chamber and sealed Irix inside. Irix wanted to scream, but his lungs wouldn't work right. Rude smiled sadistically at him as the chamber activated. Irix could feel himself being lifted from his body, swirling around the glass cylinder with dizzying speed. The last thing the Dark Man saw was the waveform of the last Cetra flashing on the status monitor and Rude's smiling face hovering over the control panel. One final thought remained to him, and it struck him with a sense of completeness that he knew he could never explain. It was as if the words formed in the blackness of oblivion, and he heard them in a dark, distant corner of his soul. Empires rise and fall like chaff in the summer breeze. Men are the wheat, born to the reaper, born to be sown. Only the planet beneath them all is forever. Silence.

Green energy surged into the chamber with the Dark Man locked inside. The entire cylinder was tinged with bright green as the Lifestream obeyed the machine's command and tore apart, then began to rebuild the body inside. For a moment energy of another color, a deep crimson red appeared to flow viciously around the cylinder, trying to fight the Lifestream's energy, trying to survive. But the crimson was overwhelmed by the green energy, and it dissipated rapidly. The entire chamber flashed with bright light, and Rude turned his head away to protect his eyes. Even through the sunglasses, the energy was far too bright to stare at.

As the light finally subsided and sparks flew from the console, shorting out much of the jury-rigged equipment, Rude saw the form of a woman lying within the chamber. There was no clothing, just an adult female curled up into a ball as if she were still a fetus in the womb. Pieces of armor from the Dark Man were scattered about the chamber in tiny, half-melted droplets, ravaged by the immense energies of the machine and the Lifestream. The figure twitched, then began to stand up. Rude turned away as he recognized the woman's face, suddenly realizing what he had done. He removed his suit jacket and held it out as the chamber opened.

"I'm sorry, I didn't look. Really. Here, take this." Rude said, handing her the jacket while still turned away from her.

The woman covered herself quickly with the jacket, unsure of the truth of Rude's statement, holding it close to her body. Thankfully the coat was much longer on her, and it covered her modestly. She stopped for a moment and moved her fingers as if inspecting them for the very first time. Soft laughter came as she realized what had just transpired, and she smiled, overwhelmed with happiness...

*************************

Cloud awoke slowly, his entire body aching. As consciousness returned to him he realized that the Dark Man had won. By now he would be creating all sorts of new monsters in his machine, monsters that would bring darkness across the planet and enslave the Lifestream to the whims of a madman. He would still fight anyway. He tried to sit up, but something was wrong, his right arm wasn't working like it should be. Pain lanced through him, and he realized that it must be broken. It didn't matter... he would fight anyway.

He saw Aerith's face lean over him, and he knew that this must be the end. She had come to him one last time... Her hand touched his cheek, and he nuzzled it gently, a tear falling from his face. She felt so real this time, so soft; with his good arm, he felt her hand, pulled it close to him and kissed it gently.

"My Angel... I love you." He whispered softly. She leaned in close, and her lips pressed against his, sealing a kiss that seemed to go on forever. It's so cruel, he thought... she feels so real this time. Then he noticed that her outfit had changed. She wasn't wearing the long pink dress and red jacket that he had become so used to seeing. It looked like she was wearing a Turk uniform that was much too large for her... without the pants. It seemed so strange to be worrying over clothing at a time like this, but the question burned in his mind anyway.

"Why are you wearing.. that?" Cloud asked, puzzled.

"Oh, Rude gave it to me. I wouldn't want to run around this crowd without any clothes on. Really though, I come back and that's all you can ask me?" Aerith replied mockingly, with a flirtatious smile on her face.

That's when Cloud suddenly noticed Rude behind her... without his jacket. And Rude was looking straight at Aerith, he could see her! Suddenly Cloud's broken arm meant nothing to him. The battle with the Dark Man was forgotten, and his entire world narrowed to the woman standing in front of him. All the pain from his injuries was forgotten and his eyes widened in shock.

"Aerith... you're..." Cloud couldn't even find the words, his throat tightened up in shock.. He tried to get up, but Aerith gently held him down, her loving eyes staring into his soul.

"I'm here, and I'm not leaving you... not ever." She said lovingly, "but first we've got to get you fixed up." Cloud was still in shock as she borrowed a restore materia from Rude. Cloud could feel his injuries healing rapidly with the effects of the curative magic. Then it was over, the pain was gone, his arm worked again... and she was in his arms at last. He held her as if he would never let go, his tears mingling with his joy as Aerith's soul filled with a completeness she had never known before. No one could say a word as they kissed. Neither of them were aware of the others, watching silently, awed by the lovers' embrace.

As the others looked on, Vincent adjusted his cloak, covering more of his face. A single tear fell unbidden from his eye as he watched Cloud reunite with his love. Vincent closed his eyes and thought of Lucrecia... then his crimson cloak whipped about behind him. His whisper followed behind him, too faint for anyone to hear... "Never let go of her... you've found your love at last. It is a beautiful thing." Then he was gone, leaving Cloud and his beautiful flower girl to their reunion, disappearing into the shadows that were his home.

Fini.
:cleris:

Author's Notes

This is the first fan fic I've written in a long time (maybe 7 years?)... I used to be a more prolific writer, but in more recent times I seem to have lost myself somehow. I had forgotten my origins, and actually forgot about my old favorites. Final Fantasy VII is a game which influenced me in so many ways... though that may sound somewhat cheesy. In any case, the title of this fic is most appropriate, as I feel this is a return to my origins, as much as it is a story about the origins of some of the events in FF7. I will insert the obligatory disclaimer, to quell the outrage before it begins... I have a blatant preference for the Cloud & Aerith pairing. Of course I wouldn't be on this forum if that weren't the case, but it's worth mentioning anyhow in case anyone thinks I overdid it on the romantic scenes between them.

It goes without saying that for the most part I have a lot of difficulty writing up romantic scenes... except when it comes to Cloud and Aerith... somehow I don't have a problem envisioning that. Go figure. I can't even envision myself in any situations like those I have just written about.

Anyway, as I mentioned I used to be a very prolific and skilled writer, or at least I would like to think I was. This really isn't up to my old standards, but