Final Fantasy VII: The Battle for the Planet

_____Cloud's eyes gradually opened. He was in the Shinra Mansion. The bed was soft and warm, but when he removed the sheets he felt very cold. There was no form of heating in the empty mansion. The bed next to him - Sephiroth's bed - was empty.
_____Wondering where he had gone, Cloud moved across the high landing and into the room opposite. The Shinra guard that had accompanied them to the reactor was standing guard at the door.
_____"There's no sign of Sephiroth," he said to Cloud. "But I know I saw him go into this room..."
_____Cloud walked cautiously into the room. How could Sephiroth hide in such a small and empty room? The window was still intact, and firmly shut. There was no way that he could have got out that way. He rested his back against a round wall in the corner and gazed out of the window at Nibelheim, drenched in a cold morning mist. The village was still empty.
_____Suddenly, there was a crack and the wall behind him gave way. It opened slowly and revealed a hidden passage down into the basement. A narrow spiral staircase lined with rock walls lead down into the darkness. Cloud made his way down the staircase, step by step.
_____He eventually reached the bottom where a long tunnel had been dug out beneath the mansion. It looked more like a cave than a man-made tunnel. When Cloud reached the end he found two doors, both made of wood. He found that the door on the left was locked, but the door on the right was open. He went into the room, a library. The walls were lined with ancient books and bathed in a dim, green light. Near the door was a table and two tall glass tanks with various wires attached. A small passage went off to the left, leading to even more books and a study area. The main area of the library itself was very small.
_____Sephiroth stepped into view from the passage way, a book held open in his hand, his other hand behind his back. He slowly stepped backwards and forwards, reading from the brown pages.
_____"...an organism that was apparently dead, was found in a 2000 year old geological stratum." he whispered, then stopped walking. Slowly, his head raised to look at Cloud. "Professor Gast named that organism... Jenova."
_____He began to pace again, this time in circles around the tiny room.
_____"X Year, X Month, X Day. Jenova confirmed to be an Ancient..." he said. "X Year, X Month, X Day. Jenova Project approved. The use of Mako Reactor 1 approved for use..."
_____He made his way down the narrow passage way, Cloud's eyes following him. Then he stopped between the books, thinking to himself.
_____"My mother's name is Jenova." he murmured. "Jenova Project... Is this just a coincidence?"
_____He looked back down at the book, an angry expression forming on his face.
_____"Professor Gast..." he whispered. "Why didn't you tell me anything? Why did you die?!"
_____Cloud shook his head. Sephiroth was clearly too busy for him, so he headed back up to the mansion.

_____Sephiroth didn't come out of the Shinra Mansion...
_____He continued to read as if he were possessed by something, and not once,
_____did the light in the basement go out.

_____Cloud woke up in the mansion again. There was something strange about the air. Something different. It seemed much colder than usual, and there was an eerie sensation lurking somewhere.
_____He made his way back to the room with the hidden door.
_____"Sephiroth seems different..." the guard said nervously. Cloud nodded and ran down into the basement as fast as he could. As he tore down the underground tunnel, Sephiroth's manical laughs echoed off the rocky walls. He swung the door open and stepped into the library.
_____"Who is it?!" Sephiroth cried. Cloud found him at the end of the passage way, sitting at the large desk. There was piles of open books all around the library.
_____"Hmph... traitor..." Sephiroth sneered.
_____"Traitor?" Cloud asked, not sure what he meant.
_____"You ignorant traitor, I'll tell you." Sephiroth said. "This Planet originally belonged to the Cetra. Cetra was a itinerant race. They would migrate in, settle the Planet, then move on... At the end of their harsh, hard journey, they would find the Promised Land and supreme happiness. But, those that disliked the journey appeared. Those who stopped their migrations built shelters and elected to lead an easier life. They took that which the Cetra and the planet had made without giving one whit in return!" His head lowered. "Those are your ancestors..."
_____"Sephiroth..." Cloud whispered, trying to stop him, but the man carried on talking.
_____"Long ago, disaster struck this planet." he said. "Your ancestors escaped... They survived because they hid. The Planet was saved by sacrificing the Cetra. After that, your ancestors continued to increase. Now all that's left of the Cetra is in these reports."
_____"What does that have to do with you?" Cloud asked.
_____"Don't you get it?" Sephiroth cried. "An Ancient named Jenova was found in the geological stratum of 2000 years ago. The Jenova Project. The Jenova Project wanted to produce people with the powers of the Ancients... no, the Cetra... I am the one that was produced."
_____"Produced?!" Cloud cried.
_____"Yes." replied Sephiroth. "Professor Gast, leader of the Jenova Project and genius scientist, produced me."
_____He slowly walked to the end of the passage way, his back to Cloud.
_____"How?" Cloud asked. "How did he...? Sephiroth?"
_____"Out of my way." Sephiroth hissed, an ultimate evil in his voice. "I'm going to see my mother."

Click here to start music

_____Cloud emerged from the Shinra Mansion, the only building in the town that wasn't consumed with towering orange flames. They flickered and swept across the sky, a massive cloud of smoke appearing in the sky. Cloud watched in horror as his home burned down, Tifa's home, the inn, the hardware store, everything.
_____In the middle of town was Zangan. He was knelt beside the body of a man, his skin burned until it was black.
_____"Hey it's you!" he cried. "You're still sane right? Come over here and help me!!"
_____Zangan ran into the inn and Cloud headed for his own home, braving the deadly fire. A mere seconds later, they both emerged shaking their heads.
_____"Terrible..." Cloud said sadly. "Sephiroth... This is too terrible..."
_____His head turned suddenly as he saw Sephiroth in front of the mansion. Two men ran towards his with flaming wooden sticks, chunks of debris from the wreckage. The first swung his makeshift weapon, but Masamune flashed at him and his arm fell to the ground. The man screamed, and the mighty sword was plunged through his chest. He fell to his knees, then collapsed on the floor. The second man approached Sephiroth from behind, but he spun around and cut his head from his shoulders in one fell swoop.
_____Sephiroth stood erect, staring at Cloud. He turned slowly and walked away through the flames as if the heat did not affect him at all. He disappeared behind the orange screen of fire.

_____The guts of an old Mako reactor. Cogs spun and churned, processing the planet's energy. On the walkway was a long, thin sword, a dead middle-aged man... and Tifa. She knelt over the dead body.
_____"Papa..." she sobbed. "Sephiroth?! He did this to you, didn't he?!"
_____She stood up and shook her fists.
_____"Sephiroth... SOLDIER... Mako reactors... Shinra... everything!" she cried as tears ran down her cheeks. "I hate them all!"
_____She grabbed the gigantic sword from the floor - it must have been at least ten feet long - and ran through the door to the core of the ancient reactor. Cloud hopped down to the walkway and followed her into the pod room. Tifa was at the bottom of the steps, holding Masamune in one hand. Sephiroth stood at the top, his hands placed lightly on the door.
_____"Mother, I'm here to see you." he whispered. "Please, open this door."
_____"How could you do that to papa and all the townspeople?!" she cried and ran up the stairs. Sephiroth turned to face her as she swung the blade at him. His hand caught it by the handle and he wrenched it free of her grasp. He brought it down through the air, cutting across her body. Cloud watched as Tifa fell, as if in slow motion, to the bottom of the steps, bouncing and tumbling. She landed in a crumpled heap at the bottom and he ran over to he, kneeling by her side.
_____"...You promised..." she spluttered. "You promised that you'd come... when I was in trouble..."
_____Cloud smiled and picked her up in his arms. He placed her next to one of the pods where she would be safe, then looked up to the top of the stairs. Sephiroth was gone and the door to the Jenova room was open. He ran through and found the man in a strange chamber. There were thick pipes leading up to a metallic angel figure with large wings. Behind it was a glass capsule with something inside it.
_____"Mother, let's take this planet back together." Sephiroth cried. "I've thought of a great idea. Let's go to the Promised Land."
_____"Sephiroth..." Cloud hissed. "My family! My hometown! How could you do this to them?!"
_____Sephiroth turned slowly, his shoulders shaking.
_____"Ha ha ha!" he laughed. "They've come again, mother. With her superior power, knowledge, and magic, Mother was destined to become the ruler of this Planet."
_____He turned to face the steel angel.
_____"But they..." he said softly, slowly raising his arms. "Those worthless creatures are stealing the planet from Mother. But now I'm here with you, so don't worry."
_____Electricity flashed as Sephiroth gripped the angel and tore it away. Oil spewed from its mouth and joints, and he revealed Jenova. An alien trapped inside the capsule, her skin blue and scarred, a device placed on her head. Cloud drew his sword.
_____"What about MY sadness!?" he yelled. "My family... friends... The sadness of having my hometown taken away from me!? It's the same as your sadness!"
_____"Ha, ha, ha... my sadness?" Sephiroth asked, turning back towards Cloud. "What do I have to be sad about? I am the chosen one. I have been chosen to be the leader of this Planet. I have orders to take this planet back from you stupid people for the Cetra. What am I supposed to be sad about?"
_____"Sephiroth... I trusted you..." Cloud growled. He looked up and raised his sword above his head. "No! You're not the Sephiroth I used to know!!"

Please stop the music here.

_____"...And that's the end of my story." Cloud said.
_____"Wait a damn minute!" Barret cried, jumping out of the rocking chair. "Ain't there more?!"
_____"I don't remember..." Cloud said softly.
_____"What happened to Sephiroth?" Aeris asked.
_____"In terms of skill, I couldn't have killed him." Cloud replied.
_____"Official records state Sephiroth is dead." Tifa said. "I read it in the newspaper. But Shinra Inc. owns the newspaper, so you can't rely on that information."
_____Cloud turned away from the group, staring at one of the walls.
_____"I want to know what happened..." he said. "I challenged Sephiroth and lived. Why didn't he kill me?"
_____"...I'm alive too." Tifa pointed out.
_____"Seems like a lot of this doesn't make sense." Aeris said, shaking her head. "What about Jenova? It was in the Shinra building, right?"
_____"Shinra shipped it from Nibelheim to Midgar." Cloud replied.
_____"Did someone else carry it out after that?" she asked. "It was missing from the Shinra building."
_____"Sephiroth...?" Tifa said suggestively.
_____"Damn! Don't none of this make sense!" Barret roared, swinging his arms around. "I'm going, going, going, gone! And I'm leavin' the thinkin' to you!"
_____He ran off downstairs and out of sight.
_____"Cloud..." Tifa said softly. "How bad was I when Sephiroth cut me?"
_____"I thought you were a goner..." Cloud replied. "I was really sad."
_____Tifa nodded and said "Let's go. Barret's waiting." Cloud, Aeris and Tifa went downstairs, leaving Red lying calmly in the corner of the room, his firey tail gently swinging.
_____"What a fascinating story..." he whispered.