Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The battle against the forces of the Anti-Monitor was going on in full force as Oliver, Barry, Sara, Clark, Kara, Ray, Mia and Kate battled with all their might.

Both Clark and Kara fired Heat Vision, as Oliver and Mia shot down their opponents with arrows, with Ray firing his beams as Barry sped and punched them, with Sara and Kate using their fighting skills.

Then the Monitor appeared as he told them. "You all cannot win this! So I have implemented a backup plan, one to use when all else fails!"

"And you didn't think to tell us about it until now?" Oliver asked incredulously, everyone sharing his incredulousness as well.

"It was a gamble if all else failed", Monitor defended himself with his usual bullshit talk, like always. "Now this gamble is the best chance that we against the Anti-Monitor and his Crisis."

The skies were completely red already, and soon a giant shape appeared in the sky- the Anti-Monitor!

He looked a lot like Mar-Novu, except his facial features were disfigured, he looked completely burnt, making his suit look like a life support suit due to that.

"He's here", Kara whispered in utter horror.

"What do we do now?" Barry wondered.

"Nothing", Mar-Novu simply shrugged. "Backup is here now."

Next moment, all of the Shadow Demons were killed by a sword so fast it seemed to be invisible completely.

"What was that?" Sara asked no one in particular.

"Even I could not make it out", Clark confessed to the rest.

"Me neither", Barry added, increasing their shock. What was so powerful and fast that even a speedster and Kryptonian couldn't make it out?

The Anti-Monitor was preparing a destructive blast to destroy everything. "To the end of the Multiverse!"

Then suddenly there was the sound of a slice sounding like a sonic boom behind the Anti-Monitor, with a thin line seen around him for a brief second.

The heroes all gasped in utter shock and disbelief as Anti-Monitor's evil grin turned into a frown.

One-Winged Angel plays

Next moment, the Anti-Monitor had been split into two halves, both of them plummeting towards the ground, giving off anti-matter everywhere. His two halves too faded into anti-matter, and then the anti-matter faded into nothingness.

In the air now hovered a tall, handsome man of 6 feet 7 inches with white hair, wearing a long black coat with silver pauldrons, black boots and black trousers.

The top of his coat was open to reveal some of his chest. His eyes were green and cat-like.

But his most distinguishing features were his ridiculously long 7 foot sword the Masamune, and the insanity in his smirk.

"Who the hell is that?" Mia now wondered.

"Sephiroth", The Monitor revealed to them. "A formerly great hero, but he was the last option I had so I brought him back, though he'd have come back anyway."

The cryptic talk was all they were getting from him, like usual.

"That's it?" Sara asked. "That's all you'll tell us again?"

Instead of responding, the Monitor flew to Sephiroth, while Kara said. "At least he solved our problem for us."

"He just killed Anti-Monitor….just like that!" Barry was in utter disbelief, and so were the rest.

"Why couldn't this stupid Cosmic Being find him earlier? Would have saved a lot of lives", Ray said to the rest, and no one disagreed.

"He's just really shady", Clark agreed.

"Sephiroth", Monitor greeted him, the silver-haired swordsman turning to look at him. "You have done great and saved the whole Multiverse. I knew you fell back then, but you doing this proves that I made the-"

SLASH!

The heroes all gasped as next moment, Monitor too was split into two halves, both the halves plummeting towards the ground before all of it just faded into pure energy.

"What the…?" Oliver said for all them, as they were too stunned to respond or even react to what had just happened.

Sephiroth raised his hand and, to their shock, the sky now darkened with black clouds, the silver-haired swordsman giving them all a challenging smirk.

He flew down, hovering in front of them, his Masamune held firmly in his left hand.

"What do you want?" Barry snarled.

"What I want, Barry", Sephiroth smirked, standing calmly, "is to sail the darkness of the Cosmos and the Multiverse, and kill all the Heroes in their different worlds, starting with this one, and then establish a new world of my own making."

"Not if we have anything to say about it", Clark was ready to fight, as were the rest of them. Whether he was more powerful than them or not (he was though) did not matter to them, as they needed to protect all worlds from a villain like this.

Sephiroth didn't seem concerned in the slightest. "Hmmm…..come and die."

Oliver and Mia both fired arrows quickly as Sara hurled a shuriken, but all of those were flicked away telekinetically, and Sephiroth flicked the three away too.

Barry charged him next at super speed. However, Sephiroth's power had grown and now he was even faster. Barry was about to punch, only for Sephiroth to catch his fist, horrifying the speedster.

Next moment, Sephiroth kicked Barry's leg, breaking it, the speedster falling down and screaming in pain.

Clark fired his Heat Vision that Sephiroth blocked with his Masamune, then flew up, Clark flying after him. Sephiroth suddenly charged and stabbed Superman through both shoulders and the side at high speed, drawing blood.

Then next moment, he stabbed Superman through the foot, the long sword protruding from the top and reaching up till Superman's face.

Clark gasped in pain, with Sephiroth hurling him down onto the ground, breaking it and making a huge crater.

Ray tried to fire some beams but next moment, his suit fell into clean pieces around him, while he was completely defenceless.

Kara then charged Sephiroth, only for the silver-haired swordsman to appear behind her, as barely a second later, she fell to her knees, a deep cut on her abdomen.

"On your knees, I want you all to beg for forgiveness", Sephiroth taunted all of his foes, clearly enjoying making them suffer so much.

"Retreat!" Oliver cried out, as it was clear this wasn't a battle they could win. "We have to go!"

Lyla, still having her Harbinger powers, appeared and aimed her hands, making Ray disappear, followed by Barry, and then Kara.

Kate, being the impulsive idiot she was, rushed at Sephiroth, but next moment, she was impaled right on his sword, as he used it to lift her up into the air.

The others all watched in horror, the hanging Kate only being able to helplessly stare back at them, blood pouring out of her mouth.

Sephiroth then flicked the Masamune as the top half of Kate was thrown right at Lyla, who staggered back, but managed to make Oliver, Sara, Clark, Ray and Mia disappear too.

She then exchanged a look with Sephiroth, a threat even greater than the Anti-Monitor. "I shall give this whole Multiverse…despair."

Lyla then disappeared too, Sephiroth raising his hand again and pressing it into a fist as the darkness covered the whole world.

Soon, he would use his new and grown powers to take over the whole Multiverse.

Chapter Text

The heroes were all in the Waverider that was going through the timestream, mostly as a way of protection as Lyla had a feeling Sephiroth wouldn't come after them here…for now at least.

All of them were in pure shock. They had thought with the defeat of Anti-Monitor, the whole Multiverse had been saved from its destruction.

Instead, they were now besieged by an even worse foe in the form of Sephiroth, who had taken out Mar-Novu as well.

Though the Monitor did have it coming, but between himself and beings like Sephiroth and Mobius, one could say Mar-Novu was the lesser evil.

So now they were mostly at a loss.

"Who is this man and what do we know about him?" Oliver finally asked no one in particular, getting back into business mode.

"Never heard of him till now", Cisco muttered.

"Yeah, me neither, today is the first time I saw him", Barry said while massaging his leg that had been healed using Waverider technology.

"Don't think he's from our Earth, is he?" Sara inquired and all shook their heads. "Had a feeling."

"So who is he and where is he from?" Ray wondered.

"I think you'd know, right?" Caitlin looked at Lyla, and got a nod.

"Yeah, tell us then", Mia requested.

"If we're gonna take on him, better to know what we're up against", Roy agreed.

"Don't think we can really fight him", Clark said, exchanging a look with Lois. "Considering how easy it was for him to beat all of us."

When even Superman was unsure, things were really bad.

"He killed Kate too", Kara muttered sadly.

"Sephiroth comes from a world where the Earth is known as Gaia or the Planet, we call it Earth-7", Lyla explained to the group of heroes, who now all gave her their undivided attention. "A race called the Cetra came to the Planet Earth to help cultivate life", Lyla showed them a projection of Cetra on the Planet, "but a powerful creature called 'Calamity from the Skies', or Jenova for short, came too, and started infecting and killing them." Something was shown crashing on the Earth. "Eventually, Jenova was sealed by Cetra but the Cetra's number had dwindled, and the remainder all dwindled and joined the growing human population."

They listened, Lyla continuing. "Then in modern times a company called Shinra Electric Power Company was formed in a city called Midgar", The city of Midgar was shown, as well as the Shinra building there, "and they'd their scientists Hojo and Lucrecia. There was one more main scientist called Gast, who found Jenova's remains, but believed she's a Cetra, so Shinra decided to experiment and create humans with power of a Cetra."

"Great, so once more, people trying to mess with forces they don't understand", Barry commented dryly at what was going on.

"Shinra's main form of energy was Mako", Mako in a reactor was shown, "the liquid form of the Planet's own life energy called the Lifestream, the afterlife for the Planet's spirits that contained the summation of the cognition its inhabitants had accumulated", they saw the whole Lifestream flowing, "but the corporation was draining the Planet of its energy in their own interests", Lyla continued her tale.

"Like how industrialization damages nature", Caitlin pointed out to the rest.

"Crystallized Mako formed items known as the Materia, that can be used to manipulate nature and cast spells", a projection of glowing Materia appeared. "Back to the Sephiroth's tale, Lucrecia was pregnant from Hojo, but experiments were done on her unborn baby in a town called Nibelheim, and she consented to all of those in the name of science."

"What a lady", Diggle scoffed in disgust, the rest agreeing.

"Lucrecia during her pregnancy got nightmares that her son will grow up to be an evil monster, and eventually he's born and named Sephiroth but scientists take him away before Lucrecia even got a chance to hold him."

Now all felt bad for Lucrecia to some extent, since even she did not deserve that.

"Lucrecia now felt guilty and argued with Hojo to see Sephiroth but fell ill from the experiments", Lyla revealed to the group. "Shinra had a branch called the 'Turks' who're basically spies with various skills. One of them was called Vincent Valentine", a projection of Vincent in his Turk suit appeared, "and he loved Lucrecia, so her condition enraged him and he confronted Hojo, but Hojo shot him and experimented on him", they saw a projection of Hojo shooting Vincent, feeling their hearts go out to him, "making him more powerful, but Vincent died from the experiments."

"Poor guy", Kara said sadly, as he didn't deserve it.

"Lucrecia made Vincent's body a vessel for a being called Chaos. She revived him by infusing him with pure Mako and merged Chaos's spirit with Vincent's essence, putting a Materia Protomateria in his chest to keep Chaos under control. Lucrecia left Nibelheim, hiding away from the rest of the world in the Crystal Cave." A projection of Lucrecia in the Crystal Cave.

"Vincent awakened in the Shinra Mansion basement where he believed his new powers and condition as a punishment for his failure to stop Lucrecia and her unborn child from being experimented on. He shut himself away in a room full of coffins in the basement of Shinra Mansion. Because of Hojo's experiments, Vincent could sleep without aging or having to sustain himself, having become biologically immortal." They saw a projection of Vincent sleeping in a coffin. Now dressed in red including a cape.

"This guy….." Oliver, Sara, Barry and the rest all felt for what he'd gone through, and would go through forever due to being immortal.

"Sephiroth is eventually raised by Shinra to be the perfect warrior, and is only told his mom's name was Jenova. Sephiroth also feels different from others", Lyla then took a detour. "Gast during this fell in love with a woman called Ifalna, an actual Cetra woman, and they had a daughter called Aerith, only, Hojo tracked them down and had his men kill Gast while Aerith and Ifalna were experimented upon."

They saw a very short projection of both Aerith and Ifalna being experimented upon and felt their blood boil, Ray finally saying. "I think this Hojo is the biggest monster here."

Lyla nodded in agreement. "Eventually, they escaped Hojo one day but Ifalna died, and in her dying moments, asked a woman called Elmyra to take care of her daughter, so Elmyra adopted Aerith."

"Well, at least Aerith's safe now", Sara sighed in relief, though Lyla know it'd be short-lived.

"The Shinra company eventually engaged in war with a country called Wutai, since they wanted to make a Mako reactor there but Wutai didn't want to be dominated. By now they'd made a branch called SOLDIER, where they kept their superhumans experimented on with Jenova cells, and there were 3 classes- SOLDIER First Class, SOLDIER Second Class, and SOLDIER Third Class. Sephiroth was SOLDIER First Class and the most powerful SOLDIER, as well as the strongest person on the planet. He took part in the war and his exploits made him a war hero, with Shinra now using him for propaganda, so many young people were inspired to join SOLDIER in Shinra. Sephiroth was basically the world's greatest hero."

They saw a projection of Sephiroth this time, much younger than what he was now, holding the Masamune as he stood victorious in the battlefield.

"The husband of Elmyra was killed in the Wutai War as well", Lyla added sadly, surprising the heroes a little as they realized all that Lyla said would be connected. "Sephiroth was arrogant but overall a good man, and wasn't fond of his popularity much, and eventually becomes best friends with 2 other SOLDIER First Class called Genesis Rhapsodos and Angeal Hewley. Now Genesis and Angeal too were born from Jenova experiments but these were carried out by a different scientist than Hojo called Hollander, who was inferior, so eventually they'd degrade and die." They saw projections of both Genesis and Angeal. "Genesis envied Sephiroth and in a training session challenged him to a duel."

The heroes saw Sephiroth sparring with Genesis and Angeal, and were awed by the power all three showed. Then next moment Genesis was trying to fight Sephiroth alone and not being able to make a dent in spite of going all out. Even Clark and Kara were stunned by the power of the three, they paled next to it.

"Genesis then got an injury", Angeal came between Sephiroth and Genesis, trying to stop them, but Genesis broke Angeal's SOLDIER sword as the pointed end flew and scraped his shoulder, "but instead of healing, it gets worse, and the other scientist Hollander tells Genesis the truth of his birth, so Genesis now deserts Shinra and takes many other SOLDIERs with him, and alongside Hollander, turns them into his copies, to make an army that'd take out Shinra and they can make a cure too."

A projection of 3 dead copies having Genesis' face, with Kara sighing. "So Genesis leaves Shinra with this Hollander and goes evil, right."

"More like desperate and evil both but I get what you mean", Lyla confirmed, then continued. "During that time, an anti-Shinra organization called Avalanche also launches an assault against them, and Sephiroth at one point battles their leader, a woman called Elfe, who asks Sephiroth if he fights for a reason. This has a profound effect on Sephiroth." They saw a little scene of Sephiroth and Elfe facing off.

"Genesis later also tells Angeal about the experiments, so a conflicted Angeal leaves Shinra, while Angeal's mother commits suicide due to guilt in her part in these experiments." A projection of the corpse of Gillian Hewley.

"Poor woman", Cisco commented, speaking for the rest.

"During this time, Sephiroth meets a SOLDIER called Zack Fair who was Second Class but is now promoted to First Class, and Zack was Angeal's protégé, so he's just as shook up by Angeal's defection as Sephiroth is", a projection of Zack now appeared for the group to see. "Sephiroth befriends Zack, and they bond over the loss of their good friend. Sephiroth is torn up and refuses missions regarding Genesis or Angeal. Eventually, Zack is confronted by both in a mission. Genesis apparently commits suicide while Angeal forces Zack to kill him, and in his dying moments, he dies honorably, giving up his sword to Zack." A projection of Genesis seemingly falling to his death and Angeal dying, with Zack standing over him as Angeal bequeaths his sword to Zack, who breaks down.

"Guess he didn't like the monster he was becoming", Oliver realized about Angeal, which was why he wanted to die.

"Sephiroth and Zack are then to be sent to Nibelheim to investigate a Monster outbreak near the reactor, and Sephiroth tells Zack he's going to retire after this, so this will be their last mission together."

"I've a feeling it didn't turn out that way", Clark knew already, as did the rest.

"So the two go there, with 3 Shinra grunts. The grunts are neither superhuman like SOLDIER nor skilled spies like the Turks, just infantrymen with weapons. One of them is called Cloud Strife who is a very good friend of Zack as they'd met in the mission where Genesis and Angeal died, and bonded due to being originally from villages." A projection of Cloud was shown, he was young and blonde with spiky hair.

"Guessing he's gonna be important in the future", Mia noted.

"Most important", Lyla confirmed. "Plus Nibelheim is Cloud's hometown, though Cloud hides his face with a helmet as he'd set out to be SOLDIER, but failed and is now just a grunt so he's embarrassed, but he does meet his mother in private to tell her about his life in Shinra."

"Yeah, that had to suck", Sara agreed with a nod.

"Sephiroth asks Cloud how it feels to be back in his hometown, and says he doesn't have one. Zack asks about his parents and Sephiroth only says his mom's name was Jenova. Zack now gets suspicious as he'd come across the name while going through research regarding Genesis and Angeal." Lyla looked to see if all were following or not. "At the Mako reactor, Sephiroth makes two disturbing discoveries: several pod-like chambers containing monstrous creatures who used to be human, mutated by exposure to Mako and a section labeled "JENOVA" containing a feminine-looking creature. When Zack suggests a connection between SOLDIER and the creatures in the tanks, Sephiroth flies into a rage, horrified that he is "different", perhaps because he was created similarly to the monsters in the pods." Projections of the monsters in pods and the chamber with 'JENOVA' on it. "A still-alive Genesis then returns, revealing Sephiroth was born from the Jenova Project, its goal to produce the "perfect monster". Genesis is still degrading and asks for Sephiroth's cells to be healed as he was a success. Sephiroth rejects Genesis's request for Jenova cells from him and walks off." A projection of a still-alive but degrading Genesis asking Sephiroth for his cells while Zack was on the ground.

"No more than he deserves I say", Dig shrugged.

"Disturbed by the creature in the reactor having the same name as his "mother", along with the once-human monsters in the pods and Genesis's words, Sephiroth made his way to the manor that had been occupied by Shinra researchers. He pored over the research notes in the basement library, wondering why he was never told the truth of his origins. He comes to believe Jenova is a Cetra, and therefore he, as Jenova's "son", is the last Cetra survivor. He believes the human race had betrayed the Cetra 2,000 years ago, leaving them alone to defend the planet from a calamity, eventually revealed to have been Jenova itself, and resolves to take vengeance for his "ancestors"."

A little projection of Sephiroth going through all notes in the basement like a man possessed.

"So this is how he goes bad", Oliver realized, summing it up for the rest. "He thinks he's a descendant of the Ancients and Jenova is his mother, a Cetra, resolving to take vengeance in her name."

"That's true", Lyla confirmed sadly. "A week later, Sephiroth burnt down Nibelheim, killing many townspeople", a projection of Sephiroth standing in the center of the burning town, having an insane smirk before he turns around and walks off. Every single one of them was disturbed by the scene. A once good man now a complete monster.

"And then he goes to the reactor to reclaim Jenova's remains. Cloud has a childhood lady friend here called Tifa Lockhart", a projection of Tifa was shown, "who was the group's guide to the mountain that had the reactor. Tifa's father, Tifa herself, Zack and Cloud go after Sephiroth. Plus Cloud's mom has been killed too in the fire, sadly."

The heroes could only feel their hearts go out to all victims of the situation.

"Sephiroth kills Tifa's father in the reactor and leaves his sword next to the corpse", a projection of Tifa's dead father with the sword next to him. "Tifa takes the sword and attacks but is disarmed and brutally injured." A projection of Tifa trying to attack only to be defeated easily. "Shortly after Sephiroth enters Jenova's chamber, Zack arrives to confront him. Sephiroth only keeps talking to his "mother", saying they will reclaim the planet and head to the promised land, which was a quasi-mythical land believed to house infinite Mako, and also believed to be where the remaining Cetra are supposed to be. Sephiroth and Zack engage in a long and brutal fight, but Zack is eventually beaten and ejected from the chamber, nearly fainting."

A projection was shown of Sephiroth and Zack having a long and brutal battle, but no matter how hard Zack tried, Sephiroth didn't budge. It was impossible to believe both were in the same SOLDIER class. Eventually, Zack is ejected from the chamber onto the stairs as his sword is planted on the ground.

"Cloud now arrives. Now remember, while Cloud never made it to SOLDIER, like all candidates, he'd been injected with Mako, he just wasn't mentally strong enough. Now seeing his hometown burnt, his mother murdered, and his 2 best friends Zack and Tifa wounded, Cloud gets a burst of strength and adrenaline. Taking Zack's sword, he stabs Sephiroth from behind, brutally wounding him, then goes to check up on Tifa."

A projection of Cloud stabbing Sephiroth deeply from behind, then going to check up on Tifa.

"Guess this is how he loses then", Barry commented.

"A wounded Sephiroth takes Jenova's head and staggers out of the chamber, as an enraged Cloud tries to attack him again, but is stabbed through the chest and lifted up via sword." A projection of an impaled Cloud being lifted by Sephiroth, all cringing at how painful it looked. "Only, Cloud's enraged state gives him more power and he grasps the sword, using it as a lever to lift up Sephiroth, and hurling him away into the Mako below." A projection of Cloud doing to Sephiroth just what Lyla described him do.

"Wow, so the world's greatest hero got beaten by a grunt at day's end", Clark realized. "A very determined grunt that is, with secret power."

All felt a lot of respect for Cloud here, Lyla nodding. "Shinra seals the records on Sephiroth, declaring him killed in action, and rebuilds Nibelheim to cover up the incident, populating it with Shinra employees paid to act as the villagers."

"That's just horrible", Caitlin said, realizing the whole incident was just erased. All felt their disgust at the company increase.

"Sephiroth falls into the Lifestream. Portions of the Lifestream are believed to be used to create new life on the planet, and the energy of a person returns to the planet when they die, bringing with it the emotions, memories, and knowledge they obtained during life. Sephiroth's willpower was too great to allow himself to be consumed. Over the next several years, Sephiroth traveled the Lifestream. Growing in power and knowledge, the fragments of his body congregate at the Northern Cave inside the North Crater, joining to recreate Sephiroth's physical form in a cocoon of mako. Sephiroth's new goal is to merge with the Lifestream and seize control of it to become a God." An image of Sephiroth in the North Crater. "Though his physical body is encased in mako, Sephiroth can control Jenova's cells as an extension of his body and thus act out his plans through the remains of Jenova's body. Hojo has injected Zack, Cloud and the other survivors of Nibelheim, save for Tifa who was rescued by her mentor Zangan before Shinra found her, with Sephiroth's cells, turning them into Sephiroth-clones: people whose wills have been over-ridden with Sephiroth's will. Hojo believes the Jenova cells within Sephiroth would call for a "reunion" of those who share its cells and wishes to see his theory put to the test."

"This guy is putting every evil scientist I know to shame", Barry said in disgust of Hojo.

"Yeah, he's probably the biggest monster in all of this", Oliver agreed there.

"Yep, only someone with no humanity can do all of this", Dig nodded.

"That's true, anyway, 4 years later Zack escapes with a comatose Cloud, and before Nibelheim, he was in a relationship with Aerith, yes, the same one", Lyla confirmed on seeing their shocked looks as a projection of an older Aerith appeared, near some flowers in a church. "She was encouraged by Zack to sell flowers, which was a success. Zack wanted to return to her, and evaded Shinra's forces, with the Turks, who were his friends, trying to help him. He even ended the conflict with Genesis here", a projection of Genesis being defeated by Zack, "and was close to Midgar, but here they were ambushed by the whole Shinra force." Lyla sighed sadly, a projection appearing of Zack facing an entire army on his own. "Zack fought bravely, but it wasn't enough", a projection of Zack being gunned down by the 3 remaining solders, meaning he had killed the rest of the entire army by himself. "In his dying moments, he bequeathed his sword to a finally awakened Cloud." An image of Zack passing on his sword to Cloud, like Angeal had done to him.

"He couldn't meet Aerith again", Sara muttered, all of them feeling sad again that Zack had died before he could reunite with the woman he loved.

"Cloud's mind took all of this really hard, with all the trauma and Mako poisoning he had, his mind shattered, and he adapted Zack's memories and persona into his own. His mind basically erased Zack, and he believed he was the SOLDIER First Class who'd gone to Nibelheim, but his memories were all fuzzy", Lyla said, the shock and sympathy of the group only increasing due to what Cloud had to go through.

"Cloud's trauma must have been too much", Oliver sighed, wondering if he could have had a psychotic break of that sort.

"Eventually, Cloud joined another incarnation of AVALANCHE, and Tifa was part of it too", Lyla revealed to all of them. "Sephiroth now enacts his plan and puts out the call for the reunion to summon the Sephiroth-clones to the North Cave. Jenova's remains, which had been moved to the Shinra HQ in Midgar, shapeshift into Sephiroth's form and break out of containment. Jenova/Sephiroth releases Cloud and the members of AVALANCHE, who were being held prisoner, along with Aerith who Cloud had met and befriended. Sephiroth kills President Shinra after declaring Shinra should never acquire the Cetra's fabled promised land. Cloud, seeing Sephiroth's Masamune left at President Shinra's murder site, surmises Sephiroth is alive, and sets out with Avalanche to find him and settle the score for what happened to Nibelheim. However, what Cloud doesn't know is that his drive for pursuing Sephiroth is compounded by the Jenova cells calling him toward Sephiroth to reunite with the main body as per Hojo's "Reunion Theory". The party finds Sephiroth on the cargo ship headed to a place Costa del Sol, where he alludes to the reunion and leaves Jenova's arm behind that transforms into Jenova∙BIRTH, and they battle it. He appears sometime later in the Nibelheim Shinra Manor basement, where he mentions the reunion and calls for Cloud to follow him. In this crisis, Vincent finally awakens and joins the rest", a shot was shown of Cloud and his whole group, and it included Aerith, Tifa and Vincent. "At the Temple of the Ancients, Sephiroth reveals the full extent of his plans—the planet relies on the Lifestream to heal itself when wounded, and the North Crater, where the Lifestream is abundant, is where Jenova fell two thousand years ago."

"All part of his plan to be a God", Kara noted.

"Using the Black Materia, Sephiroth plans to call the Ultimate Destructive Magic—Meteor—to injure the planet and place himself at the center of its impact zone as the lifestream emerges to heal the planet's wound. Sephiroth plans to merge with the lifestream, becoming a God", Lyla explained his plan in detail. "Cloud acquires the Black Materia first, but Sephiroth exerts his influence over the Jenova cells within Cloud's body and takes control of him, forcing Cloud to hand the Materia over. Aerith uses the White Materia to summon Holy, the only power able to counter Meteor. During her prayer, Sephiroth, or rather, Jenova transformed into his image, impales her with his sword, killing her." A shot of Aerith praying as Sephiroth/Jenova descended, stabbing and killing her, then later Cloud gently put her body in a lake.

"That monster", Clark snarled as he clutched his fists, the rest feeling their rage at him increase.

"He may have had a tragic backstory, but he's an irredeemable monster", Oliver finally said, no one disagreeing.

"Though Aerith had successfully called Holy, Sephiroth holds it back within the planet. Cloud and his allies continue tracking Jenova's remains in Sephiroth's form to the North Crater. Cloud and his party kill Jenova in Sephiroth's form and reclaim the Black Materia. Cloud entrusts it to a party member for safekeeping while he and Tifa continue deeper into the crater and find themselves in an illusion of Nibelheim's destruction that Sephiroth conjured. Sephiroth wants to break Cloud by making him believe he is but a simulacrum created by Professor Hojo with false memories. Sephiroth deceives Cloud into thinking he is a mere cluster of Jenova cells that assumed the identity of a boy named "Cloud" from Tifa's childhood. Tifa tries to tell Cloud that Sephiroth is lying but cannot deny that she never saw Cloud at Nibelheim during its destruction."

"Have a feeling that didn't work so well", Roy realized, Lyla nodding.

"Tifa's words, along with Sephiroth's manipulations, take their toll and shatter Cloud's fragile mind. Sephiroth projects an illusion of Tifa before the party members left behind to bring the Black Materia to Cloud. Once Cloud takes back the Black Materia, he hands it over to Sephiroth's true body residing within a mako cocoon. Sephiroth summons the Meteor, which awakens the planet's defense mechanism, the Weapons. The area's walls crumble as the Weapons, colossal monsters, arise from their slumber, and Sephiroth's mako cocoon falls into the crater. Cloud's allies flee with Rufus Shinra, the new president of the Shinra Company, on the airship Highwind. Sephiroth erects an energy barrier over the crater to keep the Weapons from detecting him. Cloud falls into the Lifestream but resurfaces at Mideel, subjected to intense Mako poisoning, his state similar to when he and Zack had escaped Shinra. Eventually, Tifa helped repair Cloud's psyche as he finally remembered Zack again, as well as the fact that he was an infantryman, and so Cloud returned. Hojo is taken down during this mess too", a shot of Hojo's corpse, with everyone looking satisfied, "and then they go through the Northern Cave to confront Sephiroth."

There was a projection of Cloud and his whole group battling Sephiroth who'd transformed into different forms. "They eventually beat him as Holy and Meteor clashed, and Aerith commanded the Lifestream itself to push Meteor back, allowing Holy to destroy it."

First a projection of Cloud defeating a shirtless Sephiroth and then the Lifestream pushing Meteor back for Holy to destroy it.

"Is that the end of it?" Kara asked.

"Unfortunately, no, there's some more", Lyla revealed to their horror. "Sephiroth's consciousness corrupts part of the Lifestream, spreading a fatal disease called Geostigma. Children are a major target, and Cloud gets infected too. During this time he lives with Tifa and an orphan called Denzel they adopted, who also has it, and a girl called Marlene who is the foster daughter of their friend Barret Wallace. The former vice-president of Shinra, Rufus Shinra, gets it too, while residing with his former Turks Tseng, Reno, Rude and Elena", a projection of people dying from Geostigma, then Cloud and Denzel both having symptoms on their arms, followed by a projection of Rufus, Reno, Rude, Tseng and Elena together, Rufus covered in a blanket and on a wheelchair, his hand showing symptoms. "Rufus was repentant, one can say, as were the Turks."

"They've a lot to make up for though", Oliver noted, no one disagreeing. "And looks like Rufus is hit pretty badly too."

"Sephiroth's will gets 3 physical manifestations in the form of Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo, who want Jenova cells to be reunited with her, not knowing Sephiroth is using them and Jenova's remnants to resurrect himself", a projection was shown of the 3 Remnants, followed by Loz and Yazoo and an army of what looked like shadow dog Demons trying to fight Cloud in a wasteland, then the 3 torturing Tseng and Elena, followed by Kadaj confronting Rufus as Reno and Rude lay wounded. "The Geostigma-afflicted children were abducted for the Reunion, as the Remnants threw everything they had at the heroes."

A projection was shown of Kadaj summoning a Dragon-like creature. Cloud, Tifa, Vincent, Barret Wallace and their other friends Yuffie Kisaragi, Nanaki, Cait Sith and Cid Highwind battled it, with the rest eventually giving Cloud a leg-up, as Aerith's spirit did the same, and Cloud defeated the Dragon while at the same time Reno and Rude battled Yazoo and Loz.

"Rufus finally revealed that he wasn't as sick as they thought", a projection was shown of Rufus rising from his wheelchair in front of Kadaj, throwing off the blanket to reveal he had the box holding Jenova's head hidden under it the whole time, while the Remnants were looking everywhere else for it.

"Damn! Now that was smart, making them look everywhere else while he had it under his blanket the whole time", Barry said, everyone impressed.

"Manipulative too, but he was right to hide it from them, considering their plans", Oliver agreed. Rufus was like a nicer Amanda Waller here.

"The Remnants are defeated", Cloud was shown cutting off the weapons of Loz and Yazoo, who are then caught in an explosion set by Reno and Rude, before he is shown beating Kadaj too. "Aerith's flowerbed in the church is destroyed but Lifestream-infused water rises, summoned by Aerith, and cures him." The Lifestream-infused water was shown rising and curing Cloud's Geostigma. "However, Kadaj managed to merge with Jenova's remains, and Sephiroth was reborn."

They paled, seeing Kadaj turn into Sephiroth. "So Cloud and Sephiroth engaged in battle again, with Zack giving Cloud a little push-up." A projection of Zack's spirit encouraging Cloud. "And Sephiroth was beaten." A projection was shown of Cloud defeating Sephiroth who faded away. "But he promised he'd never be a memory. Aerith called down healing rain as her waters healed all of Geostigma." The healing rain was shown healing Rufus, as later children including Denzel too were healed. "And that was the end of it."

"Until now", Clark said. "Now that Sephiroth is no longer a memory."

The entire group felt helpless, seeing the power possessed by Sephiroth, Cloud, Zack, Vincent, Aerith, Genesis, Angeal, the Remnants and even the more human residents of this world like Tifa, Yuffie and the Turks. They paled in comparison.

And now the most powerful of all, Sephiroth, was against them. What could they do?

"From what I know, he was gaining a lot more power in the corrupted part of Lifestream, which is bigger than any of them knew at the time, and Mar-Novu decided to bring him of all people back as a last resort to take out Mobius. It worked a little too well", Lyla winced.

"Great job, bringing in an even worse and more uncontrollable monster to defeat the current one", Oliver scoffed.

"Why didn't you ever tell us before?" Dig asked again, feeling hurt.

Lyla sighed. "Now that he is dead, I remember. He messed with my mind to make me forget every time I tried to bring it up to you two", Lyla looked at Oliver and Diggle directly. "And when he made me Harbinger, he made me think I hid it all on purpose."

"That rat bastard", Diggle snarled angrily, walking to Lyla and hugging her as she hugged back. "I am so sorry, Lyla. I never should have doubted you."

She nodded, looking at Oliver who looked back in sympathy.

"I guess its settled then", Barry realized. "We need Cloud and the rest to beat Sephiroth."

"True", Lyla nodded. "We'll have to go to their world and ask for their help."

There was a huge quake as Sara asked. "What was that?"

"The timestream is shaking from Sephiroth's power."

All paled as Lyla said. "Let's do it fast."

Meanwhile, many Earths had been ravaged by Sephiroth's powers already, with everlasting darkness on them. He'd taken out Earth-3, Earth-9, Earth-19 and Earth-X already, the heroes and villains of those worlds having stood no chance against him.

He gave an insane smirk, as now he was in the Dominators' world in Universe-1. As they faced him, Sephiroth flew, grabbing a bigger Dominator and flying it through various buildings, shattering all and killing everyone within while the Dominator's body also got broken.

By the end, only its head remained that Sephiroth crushed into a pulp. With that, he flew at high speed, destroying all buildings in the area as they exploded into nothingness, also destroying all Dominator satellites.

A majority of the whole Dominator planet was now gone. Sephiroth called down Meteor, using it to wipe the planet out. He decided he could go to Earth-167, as that Earth had a really powerful Superman, one who would be a worthy opponent, or he could go to Earth-21 to fight Dante the half-Demon or his twin brother Vergil, those would be worthy opponents too.

However, his focus was on his archenemy, whom he'd first kill before moving onto others.

"Time for us to meet again, Cloud."

Chapter Text

Earth-7

A portal opened as the Waverider flew out, and then docked onto the ground too.

It was near what looked like a cabin, the Healen Lodge. Lyla had brought them here on purpose, as it'd make things easier.

They walked out of the timeship, with Lyla and Oliver in the lead.

"So, this is where the ex-Shinra people live?" Barry inquired just to be sure.

"Yes, and even though Shinra is gone, they have their resources, and are now allies with Cloud's group, in spite of previous grievances", Lyla told them all as the door opened and out walked Reno and Rude.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, its like we got a whole rabble here, yo", Reno said to his partner while holding his Electro-Mag rod in his left hand.

"What are your intentions?" Rude simply demanded as Tseng and Elena walked out too, pointing guns.

Lyla gave a nod to Barry and he ran, taking both of their guns from them and throwing them down, surprising the group.

"Whoa, does this guy run with lightning behind him?" Reno wondered, then looked at Barry up and down. "I do that too, yo."

"We are here to meet Rufus Shinra", Lyla immediately got down to business.

"And why do you all want to meet him?" Tseng asked, looking at the big and strange group.

"Its about Sephiroth", Oliver finally revealed, noting the shock on all 4 of their faces at the mention of his name. "Yes, that same Sephiroth."

Tseng shared a look with the other three, then gave a nod. Elena gestured to the door. "In that case, come in here."

A while later, the entire group was in, speaking to Rufus Shinra, who was quite the mysterious man. Oliver was reminded of Waller, though Rufus was nicer than her.

Sure he had his share of sins, but he was repentant of those.

"Sephiroth, I had a feeling a person like that could never be put down permanently", Rufus said grimly, holding up his gun as he paced around. "Really good son, isn't he?"

"Well, it's a mess then boss, we got this Multiverse thingy with so many other Universes, which is mind-blowing, and now Sephiroth is back, eh?" Reno wondered and groaned. "Its just messed up, yo."

"I am sure our allies would be of help in this scenario", Tseng said firmly, knowing they were the only ones who could defeat Sephiroth, having done it last time.

"Yes, that is true", Rufus nodded, and turned to Reno. "Reno, call Cloud, have him bring the whole group."

"On it boss, yo", Reno walked off to do as asked.

"Sephiroth's power has grown though", Barry pointed out to no one in particular. "Are we sure Cloud and the rest can stop him this time?"

"Well, it did seem impossible for them before too", Sara reminded Barry.

"I know something that will help Cloud", Lyla assured all of them. "Just let him and the rest come first."

"Whatever it is, let's hope it works, don't want Sephiroth to bring about the darkness again, do we?" Rufus asked no one in particular in a rhetorical tone.

A while later, the door opened and Cloud appeared. Ray commented without thinking. "He's shorter than I thought our savior would be."

Suddenly, Cloud was next to him, holding the massive Fusion Sword at his throat with a smirk. "You were saying?"

"Sorry, it was a joke", Ray assured as Cloud lowered it.

Oliver looked Cloud up and down. While not exactly tall, he was very well-built, and he and the rest had seen his battles with Sephiroth. Hopefully, he could save them.

"The swords here are so big", Mia commented, looking at the size of Cloud's sword.

Cloud shrugged as Sara asked naughtily. "Compensation?"

The blonde warrior groaned as Tifa now stepped in. "More like representation."

The girls all had funny faces at that, while Vincent, Yuffie, Barret, Cid and Nanaki with Cait Sith on top of him walked in. Denzel and Marlene were being babysat by another worker at Tifa's bar.

"So you are the lot from this other Universe, eh?" Barret asked as he took in the group of heroes.

"Other Universe, sounds like bullshit", Cid shrugged.

"Well, its not", Kara told him. "I was just as shocked as you all are now."

"I think we're more shocked", Yuffie said, then looked at Rufus. "So, got any plan?'

"Yeah, Sephiroth's back, and we're supposed to fight him", Cloud muttered, shaking a little, as Sephiroth always had the effect of trauma on him. Tifa held his hand for support, Cloud squeezing back gratefully.

"I believe with the power he has now gained, we may not be enough to really stop him", Vincent gave his verdict to them.

"Doesn't me don't have to try", Clark tried to raise their hopes.

"That optimism is gonna kill someone here, yo", Reno joked as Clark gave him a look but he didn't care.

"He could come here anytime, considering his power", Rude brought them to the matter-at-hand.

"What do we do?" Cait Sith wondered.

"Is there any way we can reduce his power?" Nanaki inquired, the heroes all looking at him strangely, since talking animals even they'd never seen. "What?"

"I'm done, man, I'm done", Diggle said and backed off, the rest all chuckling at him.

"Ignore them", Lyla said, then spoke to all of them. "The Lifestream is much bigger than any of you realize."

"By how much?" Tseng inquired.

"The Lifestream is in truth the combination of the elemental forces of the Universe- the Green, the Red, the Clear. It is connected to the life of the Multiverse", Lyla explained to them all, even Rufus surprised for once at this new knowledge. "And Sephiroth managed to get his power from the corrupted portions of it."

"Are you trying to say someone can get the power of the uncorrupted part then?" Rufus asked her and got a nod. "And I think I know who that'd be", Rufus turned to look at Cloud, as did the rest of them.

"Huh?" Cloud realized, sharing looks with all of them. "Guess it has to be me then."

"Where will we get it though?" Tifa then asked.

"Think its obvious where we have to go", Rufus smirked, Cloud's eyes widening in realization.

"The Northern Cave."

Soon after, all of them had been brought to the Northern Cave via a portal from Lyla, right near the Planet's core, where the final battle against Sephiroth had been waged years ago.

"So, he's just supposed to jump in? Wouldn't that kill him?" Yuffie asked, the concern in her voice clear.

"It won't", Lyla assured, looking at Cloud. "Someone who cares about you is in there."

Cloud nodded, knowing who was being referred to, as Tifa gave him a look. "Good luck, Cloud."

"I'll be back", Cloud assured, sharing a kiss on the lips with her before sharing a look with the rest of them.

"If you don't return, I'll kick your ass", Barret joked.

"Yeah, and I'll join him", Yuffie added.

"We know only you can get your ass out of such situations", Cid caused them all to chuckle.

"You will gain the power, Cloud", Nanaki agreed.

"Just come quick", Cait Sith said.

"Fly", Vincent simply urged.

"Cloud", Cloud turned to look at Oliver. "We're counting on you."

Cloud looked down, then back at Oliver. "I won't disappoint."

With that, he took a deep breath and jumped, taking a leap of faith.

Rufus watched with a neutral gaze. "You better not."

Cloud found himself in what looked like Aerith's church. "Where am I?"

"This is the Lifestream, Cloud."

Cloud turned to see Aerith walking to him with a smile, and both embraced. "Aerith, its so good to see you."

"Its good to see you too Cloud, though I wish the circumstances were better", Aerith replied as they kissed each other's cheeks.

"Yeah, Sephiroth, he never does stop coming", Cloud sighed with clutched fists, Aerith walking off while Cloud followed her.

"You're better than him though", Aerith assured Cloud. "You have triumphed over him 3 times now."

"And you believe this time will be the same?" Cloud asked her.

"Like your new friend Lyla told you, the Lifestream is energy that flows throughout the whole Multiverse, connecting to the Green, the Red, the Clear, basically all life, its powered by all living things, not just humans", Aerith explained to him. "Sephiroth never gained the vastness of the Lifestream's true power because he was not welcomed to it", she turned to Cloud with a smile, "but you are."

At that moment, she stepped aside and Cloud's eyes widened on seeing Zack standing there.

"Hey Spikey, how you doing?" Zack asked.

In the Northern Cave, the others were waiting when Lyla sensed something and her eyes widened.

"What is it, Lyla?" Sara asked immediately.

"He's…..here!" Lyla gasped, horrifying all of them.

"I think he's coming this way too", Clark said as next moment, Sephiroth hovered in the air above them all.

One-Winged Angel plays

"Sephiroth", Rufus snarled, his gun out.

"I wondered where you all were, yet, it seems your party is incomplete. Where is Cloud?" As Sephiroth finished asking, a black wing sprouted from his right shoulder.

"If you're so powerful, why don't you think about it yourself?" Mia taunted him.

"Yeah, you think you and him are connected, don't ya fucker?" Cid asked too as Sephiroth smirked.

"So smug", he shrugged, seeing all were prepared to fight. "Come and try."

Shadow Demons in the form of four-legged creatures appeared, roaring at them as they charged.

"Take them out!" Oliver ordered, firing an arrow as he managed to shoot one down, with Mia, Roy, Thea and Sara taking down one each.

Barry sped around, building up lightning and hitting one hard enough to take it out, as Clark punched one away and Kara did a thunderclap, sending one more off.

Lyla used her powers to reduce two of them to nothingness, as Diggle fired his gun, and Ray flew around in his rebuilt suit, firing beams too.

Reno ran, lightning coming off of him as he leapt and struck one with his Electro-Mag rod, taking it down. "There ya go fodder, yo."

Rude dodged the strike of one before kicking it, while Tseng and Elena shot them down too, and Barret shot many of them with his gun-arm.

Rufus was expertly dodging and one-shotting any ones coming at him with his gun. One wouldn't expect Shinra's former Vice-President to be this skilled but the man had fought even Cloud once alongside Darkstar, so he was full of surprises. At one point, he threw up 2 coins, and fired at those, causing lasers to be shot out as they killed 2 of the creatures.

Tifa managed to kick one away, then leapt and threw one down as Yuffie killed 3 of them with her thrown Shuriken, Cid battling two on his own as Nanaki ripped one apart, Cait Sith on top of him.

Vincent held up the best, taking down a lot of them on his own. Ray then tried to fire at Sephiroth but his suit was cut up again as he fell down, Barry catching him in time. "Thanks."

"No problem."

Clark roared and fired his Heat Vision, Sephiroth blocking it, then hitting him with lightning as he groaned, falling to his knees.

Kara tried to blow him away but he wasn't affected and closing his fist, thrust it outwards while opening it, Kara being sent back and feeling her chest getting a deep cut as she too went down on her knees, weakened.

Sephiroth pointed his sword at Tifa who jumped back. "Cloud is now in a place you can't reach."

"Is that right?" Sephiroth asked mockingly as he tried to slice at Tifa who dodged, then jumped at him with a punch that he dodged effortlessly as she reached his other side.

Tifa charged again, trying to punch or kick, using all her skills, but Sephiroth easily dodged before a punch from him sent her sliding back.

He tried to strike with his sword but she dodged his strikes, though unlike him, she was putting effort into dodging.

Vincent then transformed into Chaos Vincent before firing at Sephiroth, who blocked but this shot managed to send him back a little.

He then swung at Chaos Vincent who flipped up in the air and got behind him, firing again but Sephiroth dodged in time.

Both flew at each other, clashing too fast for the eye to see. They clashed again, then jumped back, ready to fight more.

Chaos Vincent dodged a strike from Sephiroth and shot him, sending him back, before Sephiroth dodged his next shot and flew at him, sending him down. Rufus once more threw up two coins and shot at them, sending lasers at Sephiroth, but he managed to send it away telekinetically.

"You are nothing", he sneered at the former President of Shinra as he charged down towards Rufus, about to stab him.

CLANG!

All fighting stopped for a bit, as everyone looked at the newcomer, and all of them recognized his face, the heroes because they'd seen him in Lyla's projection.

But no one's reaction was as strong as Sephiroth's.

"Genesis", Sephiroth growled in anger, his Masamune now in a draw against the Rapier of Genesis Rhapsodos, who'd saved Rufus Shinra from his demise by flying in the way and blocking Sephiroth.

"Hello, old friend", Genesis smirked, he and Sephiroth circling each other.

"Figured you were dead", Sephiroth commented, the other heroes having the same feelings, considering what they knew.

"No, the Goddess sent me back to actually fulfill my duty- as SOLDIER!" Genesis declared, Sephiroth tilting his head with a smirk of his own.

"Come and try, old friend", Sephiroth shrugged as he and Genesis clashed blades, sending out shockwaves, with both of them now clashing against each other in the air, with stuff breaking apart.

Genesis fired some magic fireballs like in their duel all those years ago, though Sephiroth managed to block all, then charged Genesis, about to stab him, but Genesis blocked in time, though he was punched away.

Chaos Vincent fired at him again, sending him back, and both he and Genesis charged Sephiroth, with Sephiroth blocking both their blows while they did their best to dodge his before Genesis did an 'Apocalypse', casting a red magic sigil under Sephiroth before gathering energy in his hand and casting lightning all over Sephiroth, then detonating sigil, managing to damage Sephiroth with the all of the power while Chaos Vincent shot at him with the Death Penalty, creating explosions with each shot.

Both stood side by side, looking ahead. To their dismay, Sephiroth rose from the smoke, still ready for more. "Is that it?"\

"I'm sorry I forgot", Cloud apologized to Zack.

Zack put both hands on Cloud's shoulder. "You don't have anything to apologize for, buddy. Stuff like that can mess anyone up."

"Yeah", Cloud sighed, then looked up at Zack. "Thanks Zack…..for everything."

"Like I said", Zack reminded Cloud. "You're my living legacy….and also a lot more. You beat him before, you can do it again. Good luck."

Cloud nodded as Zack and Aerith held hands, with Cloud suddenly floating away. Aerith smiled at him. "Good luck, Cloud."

Sephiroth had gained the upper hand, and Chaos Vincent had been sliced all over, with Sephiroth then blasting his face as he fell down, transforming back into normal, groaning in pain.

Genesis's Rapier glowed as he clashed against Sephiroth again, but Sephiroth was still stronger and faster, as he managed to slice Genesis in the gut and shoulder, sending him falling down as well.

Most of the others were down too, having been defeated easily. But Sephiroth would kill them all after humiliating Cloud to show him how he couldn't protect any of his loved ones.

Tifa was still up and tried to sucker punch Sephiroth, only for him to catch her fist. Sephiroth gave her a smirk, and Tifa was chilled to the spine as she remembered the last time he'd looked at her like this.

Just before he could slash her, there was a bright light. Sephiroth turned to look at it and was blown away, Tifa falling down.

All of them then looked up to see Cloud descending, a glowing golden aura around him and a white wing sprouting from his left shoulder.

Sephiroth chuckled, a purple aura around him now, both archenemies facing each other.

"I told you Cloud, I will never be a memory."

"And I told you to stay there."

The rest staggered up, knowing it was about to begin now.

Chapter Text

One-Winged Angel plays

Cloud rushed Sephiroth, then leaping up with sword raised, brought it down as Sephiroth blocked his swing.

The shockwave released from the clash made the whole world shake with its great power.

They jumped back, with Cloud charging to strike again. Sephiroth blocked his swing, then blocked the next 2 as well. Cloud jumped to strike but Sephiroth hit his sword and he jumped back, flipping before landing on the ground.

Cloud then leapt and flipped to strike Sephiroth again, only for the One-Winged Angel to block and push him off. Cloud landed, sticking his sword into the ground before flipping to avoid a swing of Sephiroth, then picking it up, struck at Sephiroth who dodged.

Cloud once more tried to strike Sephiroth with a leap but was blocked and sent back. The blonde swordsman didn't give up, charging Sephiroth from behind, appearing to be blurring due to his speed even to Barry, Clark and Kara.

He was about to strike Sephiroth who blocked even without looking. He then tried to slice who avoided, then he avoided another swing from Cloud while Cloud's sword destroyed the ground.

Cloud thrust his sword forwards, Sephiroth raising his own to deflect its angle away from his face. He continued blocking Cloud's swings, then as Cloud charged again, their swords clashed, both of them in a temporary deadlock.

Sephiroth then drew his sword against Cloud's, the force sending Cloud flying back. As Cloud landed, Sephiroth charged and struck but Cloud managed to dodge.

Both faced each other now, Barry telling the rest. "They're so fast, even I can't keep up."

"No can do", Kara sighed.

Cloud and Sephiroth charged each other, clashing again. Then backing off, they charged as Cloud tried to strike but Sephiroth got on his other side. They flipped and clashed, then flew into the air, clashing their swords again at speeds faster than light.

Flying back, both charged once more, the clashing continuing and getting even faster. The clashes were sending out shockwaves as well. Cloud did a flip and tried to strike Sephiroth but he teleported above.

Cloud flew up at him, both clashing really hard as a huge portion of the cave shattered with Barry, Clark and Kara getting the rest out of harm's way.

They faced each other once more, Sephiroth taunting. "Cloud, you'll never let go of me."

"Shut up."

"You'll never let go of your past."

"Shut up!"

They flew into the air, clashing swords multiple times again, sending shockwaves everywhere. Cloud leapt onto a wall, then flipped high, flying up, and Sephiroth flew after him.

Cloud to strike, Sephiroth blocking as they clashed once more and sent out shockwaves. Sephiroth flew down, then flew up, striking Cloud's sword thrice hard enough to send him up, then hit his sword from above as Cloud went down, landing on the ground.

Cloud managed to avoid Sephiroth's next strike and running up the wall, flew at Sephiroth again, and they clashed their blades before landing on opposite sides of each other.

Sephiroth flew at Cloud first, then Cloud flew at him, the two once more clashing and now in a deadlock against each other.

"Absurd", Sephiroth taunted. "Defeating me is meaningless, you know that, Cloud. No matter how many times you defeat me, I always return, and you are very well aware of that."

"This time will be different", Cloud said with gritted teeth, both backing off and facing each other once more.

Sephiroth charged and swung as Cloud leapt and landed, avoiding the swing. Both then flew high into the air, their clash causing a blinding flash of light for a second.

Cloud tried to do a cross-slash that Sephiroth blocked, then Sephiroth charged down with a Hell's Gate. Cloud dodged but the shockwave got him, managing to send him back.

Cloud at that point did a finishing touch, spinning fast like a tornado, and this managed to hit Sephiroth as Cloud's sword struck him at various points, drawing blood from him.

Sephiroth glared, Cloud slamming his sword on the ground as a powerful blast of light at Sephiroth, only for him to leap and dodge it.

Sephiroth tried to do a Hell's Gate once more but Cloud blocked in time, the shockwave again shattering a huge portion of the cave, causing the speedster and Kryptonians to work overtime.

The One-Winged Angel then did an Octaslash, managing to slice Cloud with it before sending him up into the air, then ramming into him as Cloud fell down, the impact shaking the ground, with Cloud having been hit a total of 8 times.

Cloud then stood up, doing a braver as he flew at Sephiroth at high speed, ramming into him and sending him back too.

They clashed their swords again, then Sephiroth summoned orbs of darkness that coalesced around Cloud and exploded, damaging him.

Sephiroth was about to do a Hell's Gate again but Cloud countered with Cross-Slash in time, now their attacks destroying the remainder of the cave and even sending the clouds in the sky parting.

Fortunately, the speedster and Kryptonians managed to get everyone out in time, though all were absorbed into this duel, awed by the power, skill and ferocity of both the powerful swordsmen, one good and one evil.

Cloud did a Braver, ramming into Sephiroth, and immediately followed with a Cross Slash, slicing him a few times as Sephiroth was sent back again.

Sephiroth did a Heartless Angel, making Cloud fall to his knees in pain, with Sephiroth taking the opportunity to charge him, but Vincent turned into Chaos Vincent again and fired, making Sephiroth stop and block as the attack staggered him back while Genesis clashed with him before Sephiroth blasted him away.

Cloud used the opportunity to heal himself with a potion, as the weakened Chaos Vincent turned back into Vincent.

A rejuvenated Cloud then clashed with Sephiroth 5 times, sending shockwaves all over. He then hovered high in the air and pointing his sword at Sephiroth, did a Meteorain.

Moderate sized meteors came down at Sephiroth at high speed, and he dodged, while slicing one, but one of them managed to hit Sephiroth and send him falling to the ground as he gritted his teeth.

Cloud tried to do a Braver but this time Sephiroth dodged, then did an Octaslash, wounding Cloud once more.

Sephiroth then sent out a shockwave from his hand that hit Cloud, sending him flying back. As Sephiroth tried to do an Octaslash, Cloud summoned a Wall of Protection in time, making Sephiroth fly back.

Cloud used the opportunity and slammed his sword down, hitting Sephiroth with the flash of light sliding at him, and Sephiroth was sent back from it.

Sephiroth recovered and struck Cloud twice, before Cloud hit him with a green beam from his sword that sent him back. Sephiroth recovered, striking Cloud with a ball of Hellfire that sent him down, wounding him.

Cloud raised his sword in time to block Sephiroth's, then drew against it as he rolled away and stood up, both of them clashing again.

The two spun like tornadoes as well, the clashing of their swords breaking apart some of the sky too at this point, as well as a lot of the ground.

Sephiroth fired his ball of Hellfire while Cloud fired the green beam from his sword, both clashing and causing a giant explosion.

Cloud fell to his knees, and as he staggered up, Sephiroth flew at him, striking at his sword swiftly thrice, making Cloud stagger and fly back by a few feet, then recover in time to try to strike at Sephiroth, who managed to dodge all of him.

Cloud formed a barrier to block Sephiroth's next few swings, then Sephiroth summoned orbs of darkness but Cloud reacted in time, using his sword to destroy them all before Sephiroth hit him with a Hell's Gate, sending him falling down again.

The blonde swordsman stood back up, hurling his powered up sword at Sephiroth. Sephiroth managed to deflect it, then charged at Cloud but the sword returned to him in time as he blocked it, both gritting their teeth, trying to overpower the other and make them give in.

"Give up, Cloud", Sephiroth taunted him.

"Never", Cloud refused, and they started clashing once more, as Sephiroth then raised both hands and to Cloud's horror, did a Supernova.

The Dimension around all of them warped, with them now on a different Earth of a different Dimension.

A powerful beam of light entered the Milky Way galaxy, shattering Pluto upon impact, followed by Saturn, and then it passed into Jupiter, making a giant whole as the largest planet too exploded into nothingness.

The beam of light passed the other planets, entering the Sun which turned into a giant ball of energy and started expanding, first consuming Mercury, and then Venus.

"What the….?" Oliver voiced for all of them.

"Is he just….?" Barry trailed off. "…..Destroying the Solar System?"

"Damn!" Sara muttered, again speaking for all of them.

As the ball expanded towards Earth, Clark, Kara, Genesis and Vincent covered the rest, being the only ones who could withstand it, with Lyla then forming a barrier to protect them all.

Cloud and Sephiroth glared at each other, managing to take power of the expanding mass of energy that was the sun due to their durability, as next moment the Dimension warped and they were back on the Planet, but the aftereffects of the Supernova had done its job, sadly. Everyone had been killed, even Clark and Kara! Because while they could absorb the Sun's power, this was a corrupted Sun so it didn't have the same effect.

All of them were dead!

The Earth in that Dimension had been destroyed as well with the rest of the Solar System.

"No!" Cloud gasped in utter horror as he fell to his knees, feeling like a failure, Sephiroth smirking at him from behind, satisfied.

"You fail, Cloud, every time, you fail to protect those you love", Sephiroth taunted his foe.

"You have the power, Cloud, don't give up", Aerith's voice suddenly urged him.

"Cloud…..finish him off!" Zack's voice urged just as Sephiroth tried to strike but Cloud turned around, blocking in time, the clash breaking Dimensions and sending them into a different one.

"Oh! You still want to fight back, huh?" The One-Winged Angel asked with a taunt.

"You don't know anything, Sephiroth", Cloud responded as he then did another Meteorain, this time a faster one as Sephiroth dodged or blocked the first two but the next all hit him and sent him down, damaging the ground too.

Sephiroth stood up, doing an Octaslash that damaged Cloud, and then he did a Hell's Gate, sending Cloud down once more.

Cloud got up and with a roar, charged, both clashing their blades against each other. Cloud spun his sword and thrust it forwards at Sephiroth, who barely deflected but the force managed to disarm him.

Reacting quick, Sephiroth caught his sword and hit Cloud with the hilt, sending him back, then drew the Masamune against the Fusion Sword, the force making Cloud fall down once more.

The One-Winged Angel rushed down at the blonde swordsman, about to strike him, when Cloud glowed with the Lifestream's energy, now blocking the blow.

He stood up and pushed Sephiroth back. "You don't get it, do you? You never will. Those who fight for themselves will never understand those who fight for others."

"Amusing sentiments", Sephiroth smirked, then asked. "Where did you find this strength?"

"The Lifestream", Cloud told him.

"So did I, from the Black, which is Death, and that's why I too AM Death, Cloud", Sephiroth revealed to him.

"I got mine from the Green and the Red, forces of life, so I AM Life", Cloud snarled, both of them having another high speed clash, the last one, as Cloud then did his Omnislash Version 5, charging at Sephiroth from all sides at high speed and striking him everywhere, Sephiroth not being fast enough to block this time, due to Cloud's added power.

Cloud then rammed into Sephiroth from above, then raising his sword, hit Sephiroth hard as the blast struck him and sent him away, damaging him badly too.

Sephiroth staggered, clearly weakened from his as the energy of the Lifestream expanded from Cloud. "I want to…fix all that you've destroyed."

"This is...not the end!" Sephiroth tried to resist.

"No, Sephiroth, its YOUR end!" Cloud responded to his arch-nemesis.

The Lifestream expanded outwards, consuming Sephiroth who was this time gone permanently with a scream of pain and anguish. The power of the Lifestream continued expanding from Cloud who flapped his wing, glowing and suddenly exploding, then, like the anti-matter wave, Cloud spread the life energy of the Multiverse throughout all Universes to heal the harm caused by Anti-Monitor and then the vastly more powerful Sephiroth.

Hikari Kingdom Orchestra Kingdom Hearts Music plays

Cloud took flight in that moment, flying from this Universe to Universe-1, where the power expanding from him healed planets while bringing people back to life. His presence itself brought hope and joy, people pointing at him.

"Is that an Angel, dad?" Zoe asked Rene as both looked up to see Cloud fly, a golden light around him and his one white wing clearly visible.

"I think he is, Zo", Rene responded to his daughter with a smile.

"Whoa!" Joe said on seeing Cloud's flying form. "Wow!"

Cloud reached Universe-2, flying over it as it too was restored to its original state.

Harry saw his flying form and smiled. "Guess miracles do happen." He and Jesse exchanged a happy look.

Cloud came to Universe-3, flying through and once more healing planets and all life.

Jay Garrick sped up on to the top of a building to get a better view of the flying Cloud. "Thank you."

Cloud flew over Earth-9, that world being restored as well to its original state.

"What's that?" Jason Todd asked no one in particular.

"I think that was our salvation", Dick Grayson told him.

"His power is great...and pure", Rachel Roth said in awe and joy.

Cloud flew over Earth-19, his power healing that whole Universe too.

Swamp Thing saw him and for once in his life, felt a lot of hope.

Cloud flew through Universe-38, restoring all life.

Alura on Argo City saw Cloud flying and smiled. "This is...so pure."

Cloud was now flying across Earth-96, restoring life, and then the Superman of that Earth flew alongside him, both sharing a look and smile as they nodded at each other, happy to bring hope and peace.

And then Cloud flew off, leaving this Universe behind too.

Cloud himself saw the restoration, and positivity, the feeling of life all around, from the elemental forces uniting him with the Green, Red, and Clear, to the people themselves, it caused him to close his eyes in utter bliss as he feels it all, then he opened his eyes again, and saw Aerith, Zack, his mother, Angeal, and every past loved one also flying with him, glowing gold like him, in a beautiful picture as they flew across the infinite Multiverse.

So strong was his connection to life that he shed a tear, never having felt anything like this before, and it was all so beautiful.

Finally, Cloud was back to Earth-7, where his power brought everyone back to life as well, with him and the sky glowing in a holy light, as if the Heavens had opened. As Cloud's feet touched the ground, the light faded, as did the Angel wing in a flurry of feathers.

"Well done, Cloud", Aerith's voice said.

"You did it, buddy", Zack's voice praised too, as Cloud smiled in pride.

The rest all staggered up, having missed the end due to being dead, but now were back to life.

"What happened? Where is he?" Oliver inquired.

"He's gone", Cloud assured with a smile.

"And your power, yo?" Reno then asked.

"Gave it up to bring the Multiverse back", Cloud told them, putting the sword on his back as Tifa ran to him, both hugging and kissing, then smiling at each other.

"Commendable attitude", Rufus muttered, clearly impressed.

"You had so much power, you were the most powerful being in creation now", Kara noted, surprised for sure. "Why would you give it up?"

Cloud simply shook his head with a calm expression.

"Sephiroth wanted power. I don't."

With that, Sephiroth was gone forever, and the Multiverse was saved from its greatest threat, now healed back to prime condition.

The Crisis had come….and had been beaten!