sotw4

"The aura of the blade glowed a brilliant white until it was covered in the black gore of Jenova, it sang a song aeons old and a new song echoed through it as it sliced effortlessly through the skin of the unholy creature, its thirst quenched, if only for a while"
It was created in the core of the planet, the lives of a million Cetra generating the blade. The knowledge of countless millennia were in it and it had its own consciousness, which sang a song of revenge and despair.

The calamity was rife, its virus killing countless Cetra clans, until the remnants grouped at the Knowespole and staged one last defence. A human was chosen to wield the blade, called the Wielder, entwined to it by cosmic forces beyond comprehension.
Using its awesome power, the Wielder beat back Jenova, its awesome power shattering a mountain, which crashed down and buried Jenova, the sword and the Wielder.
Jenova realised this in its dormant state and created a blade, so long and unwieldy that only a descendant of it could use the weapon, called the Masamune, or the "Quick blood rain"

Over the millenias that followed, the Wielder returned to the lifestream, leaving the weapon behind. The planet and the conciousnesses entwined to it generated awesome creatures composed of pure spirit energy, they were called the WEAPONS, powered by mystical sources, drawing power directly from the lifestream.

Four were created from the materials born from the planet: Sapphire, Emerald, Ruby and Diamond. They were the planets last defence, but were never called, forever locked in the ice at the Knowespole. The last was unique - it was decided that the Wielder would be the person who could destroy this final WEAPON
A new one was created from the same metal as the sword, a million souls chose to join to it, knowing that when the Wielder returned, they would return back, their task completed.

The aura of the weapon was sealed away, hidden deep inside the creature, which was based on Bahamut Neo, who was banished forever, sealed in a materia and placed in the centre of the planet as it was he who summoned the first Meteor which created the crater at the Knowespole.
The creature roared into life as the mystical weapon was placed into it, its fate tied to the weapon encased in it. It was then buried at the Knowespole in an unchanging icefield where it waited its fate, waiting for the calamity from the skies to return

Another millenia went past and then Jenova was discovered by the descendants of the survivors, who mistook it for the Cetra, and from this mistake the Danger was born in a unholy union of science and the past, its name was Sephiroth, he who wields the Masamune.
Sephiroth was given it as they thought it was the weapon of choice for the Cetra. when he was given it, he felt like he knew it, and displayed the awesome power locked in it numerous times, earning him fame and glory reserved for the heroes and heroines of aeons ago
It came at a high price however, the Masamune�s song of control and influence crept over the Danger and he became part of the sword, an extension of itself. When the danger discovered his past, the sword took over him totally. Sephiroth became nothing but a vessel for the Masamune, and it soon lived up to it to its name.

A young man stopped the Danger for a while, but he soon returned, the Masamune soon making its way back to its owner. The man was used as an experiment, but eventually he escaped and was lost for a while until one fateful day......

Cloud Strife, the so-called failed experiment, battled the demons of his soul as he fought Jenova Synthesis, the sword in his blood-stained hands sang the song of its history as it sliced into the creature. As he fought he could hear a voice from the blade - a single female voice, its melodic sound rising above the song from aeons ago. Its lone voice was a song of hope and love and echoed through his mind as he tore apart the enormous creature before him. He understood now what he was, who he was, and what he had to do
Once he had defeated Jenova, he knew the final battle had come, as he fell he could see a single blinding light he was falling towards, the weapon still in his hands, told him it was Holy.

She was there, singing her song of hope and love as he fell further and further down, the aura of the blade not penetrating the encompassing darkness ahead.
As he looked down at the gore blackened blade of the Ultima weapon he could see the brilliant white emitted by the aura and in it he could see a single image, he understood finally what she meant by they�ll be together forever.

Cloud smiled at this as he started to slow down. He could see her, she was with him. The gallant force fought through the 2nd form of Sephiroth, the Masamune controlling this gigantic creature. Then came the final form of Sephiroth, Seraph Sephiroth
Cloud listened in awe as the sword sang of its history and the Masamunes. Cloud realised that Sephiroth was like him, a puppet, but the strongest SOLDIER ever couldn�t stop the influence of Jenova - in effect the puppeteer was himself a puppet.
Cloud realised the irony in that as he swung the blade, then he realised he was using the long range materia he was using was Aeris�s. The awesome shining blade was repelled by Sephiroths Wall.
Sephiroth, the one-winged angel, used Pale Horse, hitting Cloud. The voices in the sword fell silent, except for one - that sweet voice he had grown to love. Cloud wished he had only known what little time he had with her, how he had wished he had told her of his love for the flowergirl who had stolen his heart, just like he had stolen countless items from his enemies

"Cloud, please, think of the planet and the countless people who have died. You must save them or else my sacrifice was in vain!"
Aeris was there, a lone voice willing him on to fight, then the other voices joined in, their song sounding more triumphant as Cloud realised his true reasons to fight. Sephiroth was about to summon Supernova when Cloud got up and with the power locked in the blade, he drew on it and a single utterance escaped his dry lips

"Omnislash!" Cloud yelled as he ran at the one-winged angel, the column of wind blowing his hair out of the usual style

"This is end!" Cloud Strife yelled over the awesome sound of the slashes which cut deep into the creature before him, he was finally told of the history.
He understood what Aeris had meant as the song of aeons sang of the love of the human Wielder and a young Cetra girl, who were tied together by the same cosmic forces as the Ultima weapon, both of them part of the Ultimate weapon - it wasn�t the sword, it was the love that emanated from both of them that was the weapon.
Cloud kept slashing, finishing with the first limit break he had received, the Mighty Braver. As he landed with his sword poised to cleave into the angel, Cloud whispered " I forgive you" before finally killing Sephiroth, his guide, his idol, his puppeteer and his enemy.

Cloud could hear Aeris, he finally understood her sacrifice, for the planet and for him as he climbed back up into the Northern Crater, or as the Ancients called it, the Knowespole. Tifa helped Cloud up, and saw the image in the sword but she didn�t say anything as she knew some things when she fell into the lifestream at Mideel.
Aeris had came to her and asked her to look after Cloud, and help him recover his mind. Aeris smiled and told Tifa the story Cloud was learning and how she fitted into it, telling her not to tell anyone else what she told her, especially not Cloud.
Cloud walked up to Tifa and fell down, clutching his head, feeling his mind and body being torn apart as his mind went back into the lifestream. He flew down shimmering gossamer-like threads, music snippets, playing over and over, driving him to the brink of insanity, but still that one voice was the loudest he heard, his angel, Aeris Gainsborough

As he flew down the tubes he could see parts of his life, his first meeting with Aeris, his mother and the Neibleheim fire. All of these combined into one outstanding image in his mind - a picture of him, laying Aeris to rest in the Ancient cityHe emerged from the tubes and saw Sephiroth standing there, Masamune in hand, waiting for him. His sword was silent, Aeris was silent but, Cloud Strife, a survivor of Neibleheim, ex-SOLDIER, the Wielder, knew what he had to do

"Omnislash!" Cloud said, launching into it, the first slash showed him a picture of the swordss genesis, the second of the WEAPON it was placed in, the third of the first Wielder and the Cetra girl being joined together in an ancient ceremony in the ancient temple where they found the Black materia
Clouds slashes sped up, getting faster and faster - the fourth and fifth were of his Nielbleheim and his friends and family, who were killed by Sephiroth, the sixth and seventh were of Zack and his first fight with Sephiroth, the eighth and ninth were an image of Zack and Cloud�s escape and Tifa finding him at Midgar station in sector 7
Cloud yelled at the top of his lungs as he was brought screaming to the present, the screams and wails he heard in the lifestream ringing in his ears as he tore into this figure who had tormented him and his companions for so long

The images kept coming - Tenth and eleventh were of his friends and of Jesse, Biggs and Wedge and the rest were of the Jenova encounters and the cowardly way Sephiroth killed Aeris. Cloud repeatedly slashed at him, the fury rising in him building, before he jumped up twice as high than usual and bombed down, ignoring what was happening as all he could see in his mind was a single shimmering image of Aeris on the altar, shortly before Sephiroth ended her life. He realised that she did not bleed, which meant that she knew it was a sacrifice as he had read in the Shin-ra library that Cetra do not bleed if they die for the planet
He then came to his senses as he saw the invincible Sephiroth with large slashes on him where the Ultima weapon had cut him. Cloud looked at him with sympathy as the Jenova gave up control of him and let him see what happened before he vaporised, beams of Holy cutting through him
He looked on as Holy crept around him. He saw a hand in the column and he reached out for it, slamming him back into his physical body. Cloud was helped up just as the rocks in the crater started to fall, Cloud considered dropping down back into the lifestream and to Aeris but he heard Aeris in the sword, asking him not to do that

Tifa fell down and with amazing agility, Cloud grabbed her and they climbed back up, finding the rest of the group on the opposite side. Red commented that as Sephiroth had been vanquished, Holy would soon be on the move. Cid rubbed his good luck charm, a bolt from the first machine he had invented and hoped that Lady Luck was on their side, which it was as the Highwind dropped through the roof and everyone piled in
The planet�s screams were replaced by a triumphant shout of victory from the lifestream as it surged upward and hit the Highwind. Cloud held Tifa in his arms as they were flung upwards and out of the crater. As it fell back down Cid grabbed a lever and out of the gargantuan airship a tiny craft emerged, which zipped away over to Midgar

Meteor was there already, forming tornadoes which were tearing up the plates. Holy came and formed a barrier, destroying the tornadoes but it still wasn�t stopping it.

Cloud and Tifa felt Aeris�s presence as they saw her in the sword, saying "No matter who you are, where you are, we will meet again, I swear it!" smiling at them, they felt her leave the weapon and join the lifestream, which had sprung up across the planet and was heading to Midgar. It melded with the Holy and started to destroy it slowly.

Cloud looked at his sword and listened as the lifestream in his sword told him that when there is no danger, the two will be able to live their lives together in harmony, that was the deal in with the very first Wielder and the Cetra girl
Aeris left them forever with "Cloud, Tifa, get on with your lives and forget me, just call the first girl Aeris!" smiling and grinning, the image remaining ingrained deeply on the conscious of all who saw it

Cloud looked at the battle Holy was losing and realised what he must do. Picking up the Ultima weapon, he dashed up the stairs onto the deck and with all his might threw the weapon into Meteor, the awesome power of the weapon, first used to bury the calamity, crackled as it lodged itself into Meteor and then a brilliant white flash brought daylight all over the planet as the weapon battled the Black materia, eventually winning.

The Holy crackled as it absorbed the falling debris which was Meteor.

Tifa walked up the deck, and stood next to Cloud, lost in the view as they flew into the pages of history. As they stood there Cloud realised Tifa and Aeris had given him a gift he couldn�t repay - they made him whole again