Over the weeks that followed, Zack, Strato and Elena continued to gather any information relating to Sephiroth and AVALANCHE. Occasionaly, Zack would stay behind with his parents to catch up. Strato and Zack would usually spar whenever they could, since Zack felt he was a little out of shape. One day, Zack was practicing his magic, when he spotted a Shin-Ra helicopter approaching. Zack immediately hid, thinking Shin-Ra might be there for him. However, he was surprised when Strato, Elena and Cissnei stepped. Zack figured that he'd be all right, seeing as Strato wouldn't get captured easily. He left his cover and approached the chopper.
"Hey Strato, what's going on?" Zack asked. Cissnei shook her head.
"Zack, there's no time for that, we need to move! Strato'll fill you in on the way." she told him, sternly. Zack nodded, then they all climbed onboard and took off. Strato then turned to Zack.
"Zack, here's the deal. Elena just heard that Tseng had found what he believed Sephiroth was after. It's called Black Materia, and it has the power to summon Meteor, which has the potential to wipe out the planet. The Ancients knew this, so they hid it, inside the Temple of the Ancients." he told Zack. "Tseng was sent to get it, but Sephiroth almost killed him. Cloud and his group tried to get their hands on the Black Materia as well, but Sephiroth managed to get it and escape."
"Damn you Sephiroth!" Zack exclaimed. "What now?"
"Apparently, there is a materia that can stop Meteor, called White Materia, which Aerith possesses." Strato explained. "She's gone to the Forgotten Capital, the lost Ancient city, to try and use it to summon Holy, which will stop Meteor is Sephiroth summons it. We're heading there because Sephiroth almost certainly knows about this and Aerith is in grave danger if he finds her." Zack nodded, his fists clenching.
"Sephiroth...you won't take Aerith." he thought. After a few hours, the helicopter touched down outside the ruins. Strato and Zack got off, while the helicopter moved out of sight.. Strato lead the way through the ruins to a ledge where they could see both the entrance and an altar. Strato then turned to Zack.
"Here's what we'll do. Zack, you protect Aerith, got it?" Strato asked. Zack nodded. "Good. As for me, I'll take Sephiroth if he shows up. Now we just have to wait." After a few minutes, Aerith entered the ruins, and knelt in front of the altar, the White Materia in her hands. Strato signalled to Zack to wait and be quiet. Shortly after, Cloud and a few others, who Zack presumed were the members of AVALANCHE, entered as well. Cloud started to approach the altar.
"Aerith, I-" Cloud began, but suddenly clutched his head, groaning. "No..stay out of my head!" he yelled. Then, he stopped, a blank look on his face. "Yes..kill her...for mother." Cloud mumbled, raising his sword, walking towards Aerith, despite his groups protests. Zack wasted no time. Just as Cloud was about to attack, he jumped down, landing in front of Cloud, the Buster Sword easily blocking Cloud's blade. Zack then kicked Cloud in the stomach, knocking on his back a few metres away.
"Cloud, what the hell is wrong with you?!" he shouted. Then someone called out to him.
"Zack? What are you doing here?" they shouted. Looking at the group, Zack saw a familiar face.
"Hey, Tifa!" he replied, waving. Then Tifa pointed above Zack.
"Look out!" she cried. Zack turned to see Sephiroth descending on Aerith, his Masamune ready. Before Sephiroth could act, Strato landed and blocked the Masamune with his Excalibur.
"What?" Sephiroth exclaimed, surprised.
"Sorry, but you're not killing anyone here!" Strato shouted. Pushing Sephiroth back, he then charged at the former SOLDIER. The two exchanged a series of rapid blows of such force, they produced shockwaves of energy. "Now, it's time to go, Sephiroth!" Strato shouted, knocking Sephiroth into the air, where he was caught by a horizontal slash from Strato, which left Sephiroth bound to a glowing white bar of energy. "Crucifixion!" shouted Strato, as he brought his blade down from above Sephiroth all the way to the ground, leaving the former hero on a glowing white cross, which exploded, throwing him against the far wall.
"What...power." Sephiroth said, clearly in pain. The others, including Aerith, were speechless.
"Damn, he's tough." announced a big man with a metallic right arm.
"No way!" exclaimed Zack. Sephiroth then began laughing menacingly.
"Hahahaha! Well done, Strato. However, this battle is far from over." he told them. Then Sephiroth's body morphed into the form of Jenova, before dissolving into the Lifestream.
"Was that...Jenova?" asked Zack.
"I'm not surprised. I knew it wasn't Sephiroth." Strato replied, as the rest of Cloud's group joined them, Tifa kneeling beside Cloud. Aerith stood up, turning to towards Zack.
"Zack? Is it really you?" she asked, choking slightly. Zack turned to face his love, who promptley tackled him, wrapping her arms around him. "You reaaly did come back." Aerith, sobbed, crying into Zack's chest. Zack held Aerith close, stroking her hair as she continued to cry. The man with the metal arm addressed Strato and Zack.
"Who the hell are you two?" he asked.
"Name's Strato and that's Zack. We're SOLDIER 1st Classes." Strato replied. The man's eyes widened, then his arm turned into a gun, aimed at Strato. A man in red drew a three-barrelled shotgun as well.
"You're with Shin-Ra?! Then you're a dead man!" he yelled. Before he could attack, Tifa spoke up.
"Barret, stop! They're not our enemy." she told him. "Zack left Shin-Ra, and I guess this guy did as well." Barret and the other man put their guns away, then turned to Strato again.
"Well, if you're against Shin-Ra then that's all right with me. So, how did you know that wasn't Serphiroth?" Barret asked.
"When I went through the surgery to become a SOLDIER, I was given a special ability that was being experimented with. It allows me to 'see' mako and mako energy. I could tell it wasn't Sephiroth because the kind of mako energy he has wasn't there." Strato explained.
"That makes sense. Shin-Ra only cares about mako. It's not surprising they would try and develop a race that could easily find any." stated the man in red. After that, introductions were made. The man in red introduced himself as Vincent Valentine, a former Turk. Also present was Yuffie, who Zack remembered from his mission in Wutai. Finally, Zack introduced himself, and Tifa introduced herself to Strato.
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