Sephiroth

							by:Will Church



	"No!" he wanted to shout.  but he was no longer in control of himself.  

The evil that called itself Jenova was in control.  He summoned a comet 

and sent it hurtling into the sun.  As the young star went super nova, 

Sephiroth bathed himself in its light.  Its power, its force, energized 

him to levels beyond his wildest dreams.  He awaited the destruction of 

his foolish enemies that was eminent.  But it never came.  A power 

shielded them from the full force of his fury.

	And then they destroyed him.  Or so was thought.

	Deep within the Great Crater, Sephiroth hovered within the Lifestream, 

brooding over his final defeat.

	After his Jenova induced form had been beaten, he had been able to 

shrug off her traitorous control.  He had summoned Strife's spirit to 

him and prepared to defeat him once and for all.  As he readied for 

battle, he had once again underestimated his former student's abilities.  

Weakened from his battles before, Sephiroth was no match for Cloud's 

onslaught.  The pain had been unbelievable as Cloud struck him time 

after time.  The blows seemed to go on forever, and then ceased as 

swiftly as they'd begun.

	Bloody and beaten, Sephiroth's silent scream marked his passing from 

this world.  The Lifestream claimed him, and Cloud returned to his body, 

triumphant.

	He hated that memory.  He was to be God!  How was it that those puny 

humans could have beaten him?

	Oh, he knew.  Jenova's traitorous attempt to take over his mind, as he 

had done to so many.  He had resisted his "mother", though, and beaten 

her within his mind, eradicating her power forever.  The encounter had 

simply left him too weakened to deal with the determined heroes who 

opposed him.  And the mysterious power that had weakened his comet....

	Sephiroth angrily lashed out at his prison.  When Cloud had beaten him, 

he had not defused into the Lifestream as everyone thought.  He was 

merely trapped within it, unable to do anything but listen to his mind 

accuse him of his actions.

	That was to change.

	He reached within himself, drawing upon his last reserves of magical 

power.  The Planet cried out in incredible agony as it tried to hold 

him, but to no avail.  

	Sephiroth burst from the Lifestream, tumbling unceremoniously to the 

rocky ground below.  He shook his head trying to clear it.  His sword, 

the Masamune, glittered softly nearby.  He picked up the black blade, 

feeling its power run through his veins.

	What now?  If he exposed himself to the world now, it would mean his 

destruction.  His twin sons were dead, he had felt that much from within 

the Lifestream.  So was their mother; he could not rely on her help.

	Shinra Corporation lay in ruins, destroyed by Diamond Weapon.  It was 

no longer run by the Shinra family; there was no need to wreck more 

revenge upon them.

	Revenge.

	It had been sweet, watching the look on Shinra's face when Sephiroth 

had stepped into the room.  His sword had been dripping with the blood 

of the Shinra guards he'd slain on his trek up the stairs.  To his 

credit, Shinra had recovered his cool quickly, demanding answers as to 

Sephiroth's whereabouts for the last five years.  It was unfortunate 

that Sephiroth had not been in the mood for demands.  Even as President 

Shinra pulled the pistol from his desk drawer, Sephiroth had leaped into 

the air, avoiding the gunfire.  Then descending upon Shinra like a 

fallen angel, he plunged his sword through his back, pinning him to the 

desk.  Then he had left, mere minutes before Cloud and his friends had 

arrived.

	Sephiroth's mind snapped back to the present.  Cloud!  The very name 

brought hatred welling up into his heart.  The former student had beaten 

him twice now.  And, Sephiroth was forced to admit, would beat him 

again.  He was too weak now, a mere shadow of his former self.  True, he 

was strong, and skilled with his blade, but he no longer possessed 

materia or the direct connection with the Planet he had once held.  No, 

if he attempted to attack Cloud, he was sure of the outcome.  

	Sephiroth screamed in frustration.  His echoes reverberated throughout 

the cave.  Then he heard another sound. . . footsteps.  Heavy ones.  He 

crouched, waiting for whatever was hunting him.  

	Soon, the source of the footsteps came into sight.  An Iron Man.  Its 

eyes narrowed as it saw the man before it.  A puny human!  He would 

destroy it quickly.  As the Iron Man's blade descended, however, 

Sephiroth brought up his blade with a vicious parry.  The armor clad 

giant had a second to be amazed at the man's strength before Sephiroth's 

next blow cut him in half.  

	Scornfully kicking the body away from him, Sephiroth was reminded of 

another time an overrated monster attacked him.  

	The Midgar Zolem struck at him again.  The blow sent him sprawling in 

the mud.  Rage flashed in his eyes, and Sephiroth tore a dead tree from 

the earth.  He stabbed it viciously into the beast's head, killing it 

instantly.  He picked up his sword and continued his journey.

	Sephiroth sighed.  He had once been a hero, but no longer.  Under the 

influence of Jenova and his own twisted insanity, he had fallen from 

grace.  He had killed so many, and it had all been for nothing.  He did 

not regret the deaths, only the waste of his time.  If he had become 

God, he would not have had to worry about that.   All people would be 

reborn in him.  But he was not God, nor would he ever be.  He was a man.  

He had wasted those lives.  Tseng, a fine capable man in his own way.  

Joseph Lockheart, a fool who tried to stop him.  And Aeris Gainsborough.  

Aeris Gast.

	If only he had known who it was at first.  He had respected Professor 

Gast greatly, and would have never killed his only daughter.  If only 

she hadn't tried to stop him.  If only she hadn't meant so much to 

Cloud.  He still remembered.  Cloud breaking the mental commands to 

kill.  The Cetra completing her prayer for Holy, looking up with a 

smile.  The shouts of Cloud's two friends, warning him.  He remembered 

leaping from the ledge above her, falling toward her; and angel of 

death. 

	It was quick, the sword slid in cleanly, she felt no pain.  But her 

pain was not his intention.  Cloud's was.  The boy's scream of mental 

anguish was sweet music to Sephiroth.  It was Cloud's fault the girl had 

to die.  It was a fitting punishment for killing Sephiroth all those 

years ago.  A life for a life.  "You are a puppet," Sephiroth taunted as 

he flew off.

	Now, no such actions could be taken.  He no longer had the power.  It 

had been taken from him, never to return.

	As he looked around the cavern, Sephiroth made his decision.  He had no 

power.  Jenova was gone.  His materia had been discarded long ago.  He 

could not administer his revenge.  And the voices of the past would not 

let him be.  He would not wait to be humiliated again, to be humbled by 

those who had once been beneath him.  Grasping the Masamune with both 

hands, he set the point against his chest.  Without a moment's 

hesitation, he plunged the blade through his heart. 		The green glow in 

his eyes dimmed, and a slow smile spread over his features as his life 

faded.