Here it is,continuing the saga.
Final Fantasty;"Synergy",chapters 4,5 & 6.
(Written by Darren "The Edge" Shier)
Death proves to not be quite the big end Cloud thought it was...

Final Fantasy;Synergy


Chapter Four;
"Kane"

It started moving.
Slowly,but surely,it began to prowl the land.
It had won this world,but when the Cetra left,it became a hollow victory.
Now they were everywhere but here,seeded billions of worlds with their vile form.
Jenova could stand it no longer,and had left to destroy them.
She had taken their first-born,Sephiroth,and had laid waste to millions of Cetra worlds.
Kane would not go.
He would not allow the Cetra to re-take their own world.
Let them have their "colonies".
They'd be no threat.
Given time,the settled ones would de-volve into humans.
But Jenova had no intention to leave them alive...
Any of them.
Even in their precious LifeStream they would'nt be safe.
Not from Sephiroth.
Much as she despised it,Jenova had to birth Sephiroth in the vile Cetra shape.
They would have succeeded,were it not for the WEAPONS.
The planet-borne machines that defeated and imprisoned Jenova deep in that world.
For Millenia.
Then the pathetic humans of the world found her.
Foolishly,they sowed the seeds of their own annihilation.
They regenerated Sephiroth.
Who freed his Mother,and began a plot of revenge against every soul in existance.
They targeted the LifeStream,and would have triumphed.
Were it not for the human.
The One who had been bonded with the seed of Jenova herself.
He had slain Jenova,then Sephiroth.

...Cloud...

But now he,Kane,mate of Jenova,father of Sephiroth..
..was planning vengeance.
A glorious revenge.
He required a son to execute it,though.
He could not leave this world,or the Centra may return.
So Kane detached his genetic material,encased it,and sent it to one of the most out-lying worlds in the Universe.
A world that had been seeded by the Cetra,but now only populated by humans.
Foolish Humans,who would repeat the mistakes made by their cousins.
They would find the material,and re-generate his second-born.
Vega.

Already the edges of the Universe were beginning to collapse.
The LifeStream was contracting too,trying to save itself from The End.
It would fail.

Kane began to feel demonic pleasure.
Now was the time.
Vega was ready.

Soon they will ALL die,every last world...



Chapter Five;
"Dark Phoenix"

-Finally,he was dead...
"...Tifa..."

Bright Light.
Pain.
Was he being born?
Is this what happened when you died,you were born?
..no,that doesnt make any sense?
Should Death make sense?

...wait...
..whats that?..
My hands?
Yes,these are my hands.
And this is my body.

Cloud got to his feet.
And found himself immersed in blackness.
"Hello?"
No answer.
But he knew to expect that.
He'd been here before,when he'd been swallowed up by the planet.
Which meant She was here.
"Where are you Aeris?" he stated simply.
She emerged from the dark.
"Hello,Cloud"she said.
He seemed almost stunned.
"...Aeris,i..i..i never forgot how beautiful you were..."he said,barely.
"Where are we?Is this my afterlife?Where's Tifa??!?"he kept blurting out question after question before she stopped him.
"There's a problem,Cloud" she informed him.
"Jenova cannot become part of the LifeStream.
It is an evil and strange substance.It does'nt allow itself to be destroyed.
If there are many who possess Jenova,it is not a problem,and they can die.
But,when there are only two left alive in the whole Universe,it protects itself.
It bonds the body and soul of its bearer with that of the other Jenova-carrier.
Therefore,one cannot die without the other.
This is called "Synergy"'
"Why are you telling me this?" asked Cloud.
"You are in Synergy,Cloud." she answered.

"Sephiroth!" he growled.
"No",she injuncted.
"Sephiroth and his mother have been consigned to Oblivion.
There is another.
Sephiroth's brother;Vega."

Cloud let all of this sink in.
"Where is he?"
"On a world very far from here.
He is not fully aware of what he is yet.
But his father,and the father of Sephiroth,Kane, will begin to call him soon.
We need you,Cloud"said Aeris.
"Us?" he inquired.
"The souls of the LifeStream have asked me to be the one to ask your help.
The Universe is collapsing in all directions,Cloud.
Space is vanishing,and time is being contracted and eradicated.
The past and future are being devoured.
The LifeStream between worlds is being eaten away.
Kane is responsible."
 
"What do you want me to do?" asked Cloud.
"Jenova cannot join with the LifeStream,but you can use it as conduits between worlds.
At least,the worlds that are still there..."
"You want me to go to this world and find Vega."said Cloud.
"Then What?"
"Stop him from joining with Kane.
Just remember,Vega is the one you are in Synergy with.
Neither of you can die without the other."stated Aeris.
"We're going to send you there now.
When you get there,you'll be a young man again.
We've restored you to your strongest point.
Here." she said,handing him a piece of Materia.
"Thats all the knowledge of the Ancients on Jenova,Sephiroth,Kane and Vega.
We hope its helpful"

Cloud looked at it.
"Nice family." he said,not meaning it.
"Is Tifa here?"

Aeris had an expression on her face that Cloud knew meant she was about to say something difficult.
"She wanted to see you,but...her soul was in a chain of the LifeStream that doesnt exist anymore.
I'm sorry."

Cloud swallowed his rage.
Even death could not protect the ones he loved from Sephiroth's legacy.
"Send me" he said flatly.

Aeris didnt try to answer,and opened the LifeStream conduit.
Cloud stepped back into the greenglow and vanished,already on his astral journey.
"Good luck"said Aeris,a tear rolling down her cheek.
"Please save us"



Chapter Six;
"Garden Of Eden"

Squall stepped up to the mirror and frowned.
He was'nt into looks and was never the type to fuss over his outside appearance.
Mainly because he did'nt give a damn what people thought of him.
At least,that was the impression he liked to give.
He grinned at the contradiction.
Thats what it was,a contradiction.
Rinoa had seen through it soon after they met,and was the only one to do so.
He still had that attitude,but there was not really that much point having it in front of her.

Right now he was in his quarters,standing in front of the mirror,gaugeing his wound.
How big a scar would THIS leave?
He was'nt wearing his shirt,so he could look at the wounds dressing in the mirror.
It was big.
It started at his right thigh and went up across his chest diagonally,like a bloody sash.
It was taped over his left shoulder and under his armpit.
That and the tape that circled his waist kept the dressing on.
On the good side,no-one would see it under his top.
Yeah,it would definatly leave a BIG scar.
He knew Rinoa thought the one between his eyes was cute,but she'd find this ridiculous.

There was a knock on the door.
Rinoa's voice.
"Are you decent?"
Squall threw on his white shirt before she could enter fully.
"Hi" she said,grinning.
"Hey" he replied.
"I can still see it,you know"said Rinoa.
"What?" replied Squall,pretending he did'nt know what she was talking about.
"The scar.
Give me some credit,Squall,i AM a sorceress"
"Dont suppose you can magic this away while you're here then" he said.
Rinoa gave him an embarrassed look.
She was shuffling her feet.
"Um,Edea thinks i'm not ready to do people.Not unless i WANT to reduce them to piles of smoking cosmic ash."
"Oh," said Squall,simply.
He knew when to tip-toe around eggshells.
"I'm sure you'll get the hang of your powers.
To tell a secret,i originally flunked Drawing.
Twice."
He also knew when to make her feel better.
"Oh,and that's-"
"Our secret."she finished.
"I know.
I'll put that with your first driving lesson where you wrapped the Cids car around the tree.
Oh,and that you were a bed-wetter."
She'd made that one up,but she still had to duck the pillow aimed at her head.
That did'nt stop her picking it up and advancing on him.
"How could you throw a pillow at me?!"she laughed.
"Very simple,let me demonstrate again."he joked,arming himself with the second pillow.
Rinoa ducked its swing and started to pelt her boyfriend with her own pillow.
"Defend yourself!Prepare to battle the Sorceress,SeeD!"
They exchanged blow after blow,running around the room,which eventually became filled with feathers.
Pretty soon,they collapsed on the bed,under a mountain of feathers.
Out of breath,but still laughing.

"We should probably get to The 'Matrix'" said Rinoa after a while.
"We could just stay here"Squall suggested.
"Hmm,tempting,yes.
But we're expected.
They might come looking for us,and we cant have them see you having a good time,can we?"
Rinoa watched Squall get up and pull on his white shirt over the dressing.
Followed by his Griever choke-chain.
Rinoa forced his hand in hers,so he could'nt back out.
Just as he left,he glanced out the window that offered a great view of the Garden at night,lit up like a spectacular christmas tree.
Curfew did'nt apply on Friday nights.
Thats when everyone gathered at The "Matrix"

The "Matrix" was just one of the new additions to the re-fitted Balamb Garden.
It was also 100% absolutely Selphie's idea.
Typically.

Every Friday night the Cafeteria/Quad was converted into the Gardens own nightclub.
Selphie had said it would be a great way for the students to socialise and get to know each other better.
They were teenagers,after all.
Initially,Cid,Quistis and Squall did'nt exactly share her enthusiasm.
Then she'd said that this kind of socialising would help the future SeeDs develop bonds with each other.
(or had Irvine only told her to say that?
Squall would'nt have put it past him.)
Either way,Cid liked the idea,and was sold.

It was Friday night,and the club was packed with SeeDs and students.
Mostly in the 16-19 age group.
Curfew still applied to the junior classmen.
If you look through the crowd,you might find a table attended by a guy with a tattoo,one with a cowboy hat,and a few other SeeDs...

Irvine watched the game go on in front of him.
Any moment now,it would be his move.
He was an expert at Triple-Triad.
At least,in this style.
Four-way triple-triad worked like poker,you took it in turns.
If it was your turn,you had to beat the three opposing cards,with any of yours.
Right now it was Zell's turn,and he was on a winning streak.
We'll see,thought Irvine.
It all depended on who won this hand,Zell or Nida.
Another student,Irvine could'nt remember his name,had stormed off,convinced Zell was cheating.
He'd had no proof,just a bad loser.
Right now they were playing to determine who got the next round.
(Gambling for Gil was prohibited)
Irvine downed the last of his root-beer(Alchahol was prohited within Garden too) and waited for events to develop.
"Alright" said Nida,physching himself up.
"OWZAT!" he yelled,producing a GF card.
Yikes,thought Irvine,Diablos,tough to beat.
"Yup",said Zell,relaxed.
"Diablos card.
Definatly beats my Quezacotl"
"YES!" Nida punched the air in victory.
"But not my Eden"grinned Zell,cutting Nida's victory short.
Irvine watched on with glee.
He knew better than to challenge Zell.
He who had his Luck-Junction completely up to maximum.

Nida stormed off,leaving Zell and Irvine.
It had all worked as Irvine intended.
"Well now what?" said Zell
"I got the last round,so its your go,card-shark!"Irvine laughed.
No matter how much he protested,Zell still ended up in the line for drinks.
Irvine put his booted feet up on the table and eyed the crowd.
Or at least the female half of it.

Zell stood in the queue,hands in his pockets,hoping he'd enough Gil.
Well,if he did'nt he always had his tab..
...that he was using up on hot-dogs.
Then he saw her,the girl from the library,the one with the pony-tail.
Right in the queue next to him.
He started to look at her in a not-looking-at-her kind of way.
Their eyes met for a second,then nerves intervened and they went back to ordering drinks.

Zell returned to the table and made sure to kick Irvine's feet off it before setting the drinks down.
"Wow,she's really something"muttered Zell,looking at the girl at her table.
"Mm-hmm" hummed Irvine,his eyes locked on the rear end of a female student.
"I like her eyes,did you see how she looked at me!"
"mmm"
"I've seen her in the library loads of times,but i never knew if she was interested,y'know?"
"Hmmm?"
"And that ponytail is soooo sexy!!!"
"WHAT?!?!" panicked Irvine,sitting bolt-upright.
"On that girl."
"Oh."Irvine relaxed,his fears abolished.Maybe Sefie was right about getting
this thing cut.
Zell noticed her going back to the bar.
Her friend had spilt her drink.
"Uh-oh" better go get a re-fill.
"But i did'nt spill any-HEY!"yelled Irvine,as the drink tipped over,barely
missing his lap.
He watched Zell go.Poor dumbass.Thats what you get when you let girls in 
your head.
You'll never see me wind up like that.Where the hell is Selphie?
Oh great,here he comes.Now i'll have to listen to him go on and on about 
how he's got a date with the girl with the ponytail.Where's a Sorceress
or traitorous Seifer when you need one?

Squall and Rinoa entered.
Great.Not Seifer and wrong Sorceress.Anytime you wanna save me Sefie..

Squall found a table and ushered Rinoa over.She would'nt sit down until he
made a promise to dance.
"You better" she said,sitting down."Your skills have improved since we
first met."
"Its not like i've had a lot of practice."
She noticed him wince as he sat."Still hurting?"
"Yeah,that damn Vega.He's almost as bad as Seifer was."
"There is something about that guy thats not quite there,i agree"said Rinoa.
"But we're not here to talk about that,okay?"
"What are we here to talk about then?"asked Squall.It was an honest question.
Rinoa was a little surprised by her own silence.
"...huh,Now that i think about,this is the first time we've been able to
have a conversation that did'nt revolve around future Sorceresses or Time
Compression or Galbadians or your parents or-" 
She stopped when she saw his look.
His head was turned to the side,away from her.His trademark expression.
"Look,i'm sorry,i wasent thinking.I just blurted it out.Oh man,i'm sorry.
I know you dont like to talk about Laguna or Raine and you dont like us to-"
"..Rinoa?" he injuncted.
"Yes?"
"Shut up."
He was'nt being rude to her,he'd never do that to her.This was the subject 
he'd still had the most trouble talking about.And he was'nt going to let
anyone else do it for him.He'd speak of it when he was ready.

Squall had not even gone to see Laguna since the whole capade a few months
ago.Once,he'd taken the Ragnarok to Winhill,alone.
There'd been a massive search for him,everyone suspected a Sorceress cult
had nabbed him.
The group had split up in all directions to find him.It was Rinoa who went to
Winhill.She'd asked questions,and found that Squall had come to Winhill,alone.
No Laguna with him or nothing.She searched the town,until she came to the 
graveyard.
Squall wasent there either.All she found was flowers,recently lain at a tombstone
that was simply marked "LeonHart".He'd been there,but he never told a soul.
She didnt want him to know she knew,and she never told the others.
Another of their secrets.

"Nesis." she said suddenly.
"What?"
"Nesis"she repeated."My first kiss was with a boy called Nesis.His dad was the
guy who sold weapons at the shop in Deling City.He had a tooth that was kinda
bent out a bit and he used to pull my hair in front of the other boys.He made
me swear never to tell his friends that he kissed me.If i'd been a Sorceress
then,i would have turned him into a frog for sure!"she laughed.
"So come on mister stone-cold-SeeD,your first kiss,out with it."
Squall felt another of THOSE looks coming on.
"Tell me.Edea showed me how to do 'Truth-Talker'.So tell me or i'll have to
make you do it"laughed Rinoa.
Squall sighed,and resigned himself to the inevitable...
"Melora Vaxe.She was in my class when i was 12.She had a crush on Seifer but
never went for it.So one day she kisses me in front of the whole class to
make him jealous.To tell the truth i was happy to think a girl liked me.
Then i found out i was simply second-best..."
"Hey," said Rinoa,holding his hand."You'll never be MY second best.You're
my number one all the time."
She knew she'd gotten to him when he began to look in her eyes and smile.
In public too!People would have recorded this as an historical moment were
it not for the fact that they were getting up to dance...
DANCE?!

There was a huge shuffling of chairs as the music slowed down and anyone
not single rushed to find their partner.Anyone who WAS single found 
themselves partnered up pretty quick.
Rinoa grabbed Squall and pulled him up onto the dancefloor,much like
she had done when they first met.
They both knew the tune;"Eyes On Me" by Julia Heartilly.It was THEIR
song,other couples just danced to it...
She scanned the dancefloor.
She caught a glimpse of Irvine and Selphie.
And there was Zell with the girl with the ponytail.
Even Nida was dancing with Quistis.But there was'nt going to be much 
happening there, she thought.

They danced to their song,lost in a sea of people.
As the song ended,the DJ flicked on the mike to talk to the crowd.
"ALRIGHT!Say,how many people here from Trabia?"
There was a huge roar only Selphie could start.
"Everybody watch your coats,they got the place surrounded."
There followed a murmour of laughter from the crowd.
"OKAY!How many Balambese here?"
This inspired an even loader roar,Zell was at the forefront of it.
"ANY GALBADIANS?!?"-this was put in as a joke.
"YYYYYYEEEEE-HHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" came only
one voice from the crowd.
Irvine.
The whole crowd began to laugh,then applaud.
Even Squall.

And they danced on into the night,all those people.
All having fun,all having a good time...

Nobody could have thought that within days,
Every last one of them would be dead...