It consists of nine chaps. Some of ya may recognise it:

Chapter 1 - The Meteor

*Prologue* Those who have heard of the Cetra, the Ancients would know that there are many stories that surround them. Some have been prove to exist, while others are just myths. The Cetra had written down all of their stories, so that they can live on forever. According to legend, these scripts are said to be located in the core of Cosmo Canyon, guarded by Seto, the powerful warrior, and Bugenhagen, the wise elder. They both knew ever legend, and waited for one of them to come true. The story of the Dark one - the warrior of all things dark and evil, and the Chosen one - the warrior of all things good and pure. Both of these warriors would be gifted with super human powers, like speed, strength, the ability to fly and power over the nine elements.

For many generations, the two fought to protect the planet. One of them used the White Materia, while the other used the Black Materia. When one of them dies, their power is re-born in another person, be it boy or girl, and are trained to use these powers. Because of his vast knowledge of these legends, Bugenhagen was chosen to train the Chosen one. But the two never meet before Bugenhagen passed away. And because Seto had died in battle, he was not able to train the Chosen one either. The only one left is Seto�s son - Nanaki.

Over the last century, the public has learned of this legend, but believed it to be a fairy tale, a myth. They told it as a bed time story for their children. The children grew up with the Chosen one as a role model, but never expected it to be true. But the legend is, and with Meteor heading towards the planet, the Chosen one is expected to appear soon to help protect and save the planet. But the question is when will he/she show up, and who will be gifted with this wonderful power. *End Prologue*

While AVALANCHE were fighting Sephiroth in the Northern Crater, the rest of the world stood waiting for Meteor to strike. Sources say there is only about 12 hours left until it hits the planet. People took this time to spent their last hours with their loved ones. All, but a mysteries teenage male. The teen was sitting down, in the town of Kalm, to the right of the inn door, near the entrance of the town. He was sitting at a slight angle, but most of his back was against a stone wall. He was wearing a black T-shirt and black jeans, as well as a long, black jacket, which he left open, treating it like it was a cloak. His hair was a light brown colour, and was in spikes. His eyes were a normal green colour, but those who looked into them said they had a mysterious aura in them. On his left hip, was a pair of nuncukas. They were about seven inches long, with about two inches of metal at the base of each one. The chain between each of the nuncuka was about one to two inches long. Although his "cloak" covered it, the teen had a small Katana blade strapped to his back. The teen looked like a fighter, except for the fact that he wore glasses. The glasses frames were thin and black. The lenses themselves were also thin. The way he looked and sat showed that he was both a strong silent type, and a thinker. But his facial expression showed that he was a kind and caring person.

To his right were a couple of wooden boxes. After shuffling over to one of them and rested his right elbow on it. He then rested his head on his right palm, and started to slip away into deep thought, while at the same time, looked up at Meteor, and whispered to himself:
"I wish there was a way someone, anyone could find a way to destroy Meteor. But like it's possible. A rocket didn't even scratch the bloody rock!"

Just then, a small girl ran past him, bringing him back to Earth. By the time he had worked out what had happened, the child was about 10 to 20 yards to his right, at the verge of leaving to own. Hearing footsteps, he looked over his left shoulder, and noticed a woman chasing after the child. It was obvious that the woman was the child's mother, and as she ran past him, the look she gave him seemed to say: "Why didn't you stop my child?". Feeling bad about himself, he slowly got up onto his feet, and started to chase after the mother and child, to both assist if possible, and apologise. By the time he had got up, the child was a good few feet outside of the town. Soon, the child's mother caught up with her child, and was punishing the child for running off. Watching what the mother was doing to the child, the teen came to a stop and decided it would be a good idea to leave the town before the woman came and yelled at him. Just as he was turning around, he could see a pack of eight wolves approaching the couple. During his time �on the road�, he had fought wolves like these. He was a highly trained martial artiest, in both armed and unarmed combat, so whenever he fought wolves, he was able to defeat them. But he had a feeling that neither the mother or the child were trained martial artists, and so started to run to their aid.

It didn�t take him long to leave the town, and not soon after, the child had looked round and saw the wolves and screamed. Increasing his pace, the teen cried out to them:
"Hang on. Don�t panic. I�m coming to help you!"
After about a minute or two of running, the teen had reached the couple, fortunately before the wolves had. He turned to the couple, and said:
�GO! I keep the wolves at bay.�
Before she left, the mother turned to him and asked:
�But what about you Mr��
�Strife. Ace Strife. Don�t worry. I�ve fought these wolves before, and I usually defeat them.�

As the couple turned to run away, Ace turned to the wolves, preparing to fight them. The expression on his face had changed from its normal warm and friendly expression, to the look of a fighter, a man who lives on the battlefield.

The eight wolves surrounded Ace, blocking off any escape route. But you could tell that Ace had no intention of running away. In a matter of seconds, Ace had drawn his Katana blade from its scabbard behind his jacket. The blade itself wasn�t very long, about 16 inches and was about two inches thick, but the way Ace held it showed that it was the perfect sword for him.

One of the wolves behind Ace jumped at him, hopping to attack Ace in the back. But in a matter of seconds, sliced the wolf in two, starting at the wolf�s head. But, because of the speed of his attack, Ace�s blade had little blood on it.

Another wolf ran at Ace, this time, from the front line. Out of the corner of his eye, Ace saw this, turned around, and jumped into the air, pointing the sword�s blade down towards the wolf. Ace was aiming for the wolf�s head, but because he had miss timed his jump, instead hit the wolf in its rib cage, piecing its heart. Ace himself landed on the wolf�s head, and forced both the wolf and his sword into the ground.

Ace had no time to pull out his sword, and instead dew his nuncukas, just as two wolves jumped him, one at either side. Swinging his nuncukas, Ace was able to deliver a fatal blow to one of the wolves head, but the other hit Ace in his left arm, not only throwing him onto the ground, but also make him drop his nuncukas. The other five wolves took the time to pile onto him, scratching, biting, attack him.

�Is this the end? I never thought I would be defeated by mere wolves. But when fate deals you the card death, what do you expect?�

Every trained fighter has what is called a �Limit Bar�. It is well know among fighters that this bar can be filled during battle. Once it is full, the fighter can perform a �Limit Break� - a method of attacking which can be physical or magical, and can hit once or many times. Ace himself has one of these, and with the wolves piling on him, attack him, they were filling up his Limit Bar.

The only sounds coming from the �pile� were the wolves as they were barking, growling, biting Ace, and Ace�s cries of pain. Then, suddenly, a strange force threw the wolves off Ace. It was obvious what had happened - the wolves had filled Ace�s Limit Bar, allowing him to fight back. Before he used his Limit Break, Ace ran over to the wolf he had �impaled� with his Katana blade, pulling it out from the wolf�s corpse. Then, turning to face the other wolves, it was obvious that Ace was preparing to use his Limit Break.
�Limit Break: Sushi!�
The red, orange and yellow �Limit Break Flames� appeared at Ace�s feet as he prepared to use Sushi. Holding his Katana blade with just his right hand, Ace launched himself at the closest wolf, and hit the beast with five separate slashes, killing it. As he was turning to face next wolf, Ace threw his Katana blade from his right hand to his left hand, and repeated the attack. Each time him killed a wolf, Ace would �give� his Katana blade to the other hand, then launch himself at the wolf, and hit it five times.

And in a matter of minutes, Ace had killed the remaining wolves. After killing the last wolf, Ace knelt down to pick up a small amount of gil, and to his luck, was able to pick up a tent, which he used. Meanwhile, in the Northern Crater, AVALANCHE was moving deeper and deeper into the core, exploring the caves for rare items on their quest to find and finish Sephiroth.

After spending a good five hours in the tent, Ace woke up, fully restored. Dismantling the tent, Ace disposed of it, then turned to look at the falling Meteor. It had been a good five and a half to six hours since he had last looked at it. The only hope for the world was if Holy was summoned. Ace just stood there - he had no idea what to do next. He could go to a local town, but did not see the point. He could fight monsters, but he didn�t feel like it. He just sat their, and burred his head in his arms.
�Confused aren�t you�
After hearing a smooth, sweet female voice, Ace sat up, and turned to see her, but she had gone.
�Huh? Am I hearing things?�
�No. It�s just that you can�t see me at the moment.�
�What are you? Who are you?�
�I�m your Spirit Guide Ace.�
�How do you know my name?�
�I know al lot more about you than you yourself know.�
�Who are you?�
�Aeris. Aeris Gainsborough.�
�Why can�t I see you Aeris?�
�Because I am dead.�
Puzzled by this, Ace got up and tried to see Aeris.
�Why are you talking to me Aeris?�
�Have you ever heard of the Chosen one?�
�Yeah. I�ve heard of that guy. But the Chosen one is just a myth, like the Certa.�
�Actually, the Cetra are not a myth - I am one, or was. I was also destined to be the Chosen one, but my rival - the Dark one, Sephiroth, killed me before I had the chance to obtain my full power.�
Ace just stood their, speech less. Then, before his eyes, he could see the air become wavy, as Aeris appeared before him. She stood there in a long, pink dress. On top of it, she wore a short, dark red jacket. Her hair was long and brown, and like Ace, had green eyes. Looking into Ace�s eyes, Aeris smiled.
�Did you know I was a member of AVALANCHE?�
��..�
�Let me tell you all about them.�
So, for the next hour or so, Aeris told Ace about her adventure with AVALANCHE. By the time Aeris was coming close to finishing her story, she was sitting down next to Ace.
��It ended for me when Sephiroth killed me. He knew that I was the only person who stood between him, and total victory.�
�Why?�
�Because I not only possessed the White Materia, but I was also going to become the Chosen one. He killed me about a minute before I was able to obtain my powers.�
�So, why are you telling me all of this? Am I the only person who can see you?�
�Yes - only you can see me. I am you spirit guide for crying out load.�
�But why you - no offence.�
�When a Chosen one is killed, before their successor can obtain the powers of the Chosen one, the spirit of the �current� Chosen one - i.e. me, meets the new one, then passes on the power. The spirit then stays with the new Chosen one to provide aid and assistance for them.
�Does that mean��
�Yes Ace - you are the Chosen one. Here, give me your hand.�
Ace hesitated at first. He was unsure what to make of this. After about a minute or two, Ace raised his hand towards Aeris. Aeris placed her hand over Ace�s, and out of it, came a white energy blast.
�Don�t be afraid of this Ace. It won�t hurt.�
It only took a few more seconds for the transaction to finish. Standing up, Ace looked at himself, and noticed a white aura around him.
�There. That wasn�t so bad was it?�
�Wh.. What�s happened to me?�
�Isn�t it obvious? You�ve inherited the powers of the Chosen one. Or most of it.�
�Most of it?�
�Even though I never got the chance to use it while I was alive, I still have one chance. I know that Holy will not harm Meteor much, but the Lifestream is different. It will assist Holy, and will basically destroy Meteor. Then, you will rise up with your new powers, and finish the job.�
�How do you know all of this?�
�Once you are dead, you know what will happen. Who will slip, or fall, or fight etc. We knew about your little skirmish with the wolves well before it happened. Now, listen carefully as I explain what your powers will allow you to do.�
It took Aeris a while for her to explain how Ace�s powers worked, and what he could do with them. She also took this opportunity to tell Ace what he must do during the �battle� with Meteor. Then, she told Ace to practice using his powers. This also took a while. When they had finished, Ace had lost his aura around his body.
�Hey - where did my aura go?�
�Didn�t you listen to anything? All of your powers, including that aura is �fuelled� by your bodies� energy. Keeping that just wastes it. You should only call for it when you are going to use it.�
�But wouldn�t I have control of it?�
�Normally. But you are still learning, and seeing as I still have some of the powers, I have some control over it. But you will soon gain full control. Now before I go��
�What!�
�I�m not allowed to stay with you Ace. I need to make sure that everything goes to plan. If I�m with you, then, well... do I even need to explain it?�
�No.�
�Now, as I was saying, I will need to go to start the battle with Meteor, so you can finish it off. After that, I will rejoin you. I will be with you for the rest of your life Ace��
The second he heard this, Ace�s facial expression change. He widened his eyes, and raised both of his eyebrows.
�WHAT!!�
�Don�t worry - I will grant you your privacy.�
�Thank God for that!�
�But at times, you will be tested. I will need to pull you into a strange world. I don�t even know what it is. And there, you will be forced to fight all three of the Jenova monsters - Jenova BIRTH, Jenova LIFE and Jenova DEATH. However, I will join you for these battles. Now, I must go. Meteor will be entering Earth�s atmosphere.�
And with that, Aeris left. People who lived near the Northern Crater were able to watch AVALANCHE leave it in the Highwind, meaning that Sephiroth had been defeated.

A few minutes later, Meteor neared Midgar. It was predicted this would happen, so the entire city was evacuated a few hours before Ace fought the wolves. Ace just stood there, and watched as Holy failed against Meteor. He then watched as the Lifestream flowed from the centre of the planet, and attacked Meteor. And, like AVALANCHE, he could see Aeris, smiling at him. And that was his que. As his aura re-appeared around him, Ace launched himself into the air, and headed strait for Meteor. In his mind, Ace heard Aeris say:
�Good. Now, fly towards Meteor, and position yourself with your back to the Highwind. Oh, and I would take off your glasses if I were you.�
Listening to Aeris orders, Ace removed his glasses, and positioned himself with his back to the Highwind, and stood in the air.
�Now, fire at that rock!�
Clasping both of his hands together, as if praying, Ace charged up his energy blast. When it was fully charged, Ace made a triangle with his hands, and fired the energy blast at Meteor. The only sound that passed his lips was a kiai - a yell that martial artists use to raise their Kai, and it worked. When he finished his kiai, the energy blast grew in size, hitting Meteor with more power. Ace kiaied again, and again, each time rasing his Kai, allowing him to damage Meteor more and more. And soon, he destroyed Meteor. In his mind, Aeris spoke to him:
�Ace, you did it! Oh, and watch out for the piece of Meteor.�
�WHAT!!!�
Ace looked around to see a piece of Meteor hit him in his stomach. The force of this send Ace back, towards the Highwind. And in a matter or moments, Ace had been thrown through the front window, and landed on the deck, forcing out the piece of Meteor. And all Ace could say, in a weak voice was:
�Help� me� please��

Chapter 2 - The Meeting

After sleeping for seven days, Ace�s eye snapped open. Looking around, Ace saw that he had been sleeping in a bed in the far corner of a room. To his right was an old piano and dead ahead was a desk. Confused, all he could say was:
�Where am I?�
And then, before his eyes, Aeris appeared. She smiled in her sweet way, then spoke.
�How you feeling Ace?�
�My stomach hurts. I thought that piece of Meteor killed me.�
�Well, it would have, if it wasn�t for my limit break �Great Gospel�. It is a powerful healing move.�
�But how could you perform a limit break when you�re dead?�
�The dead can bend a few of the limit break rules.�
�How long was I asleep for?�
�Seven days.�
�Seven days� No wonder I feel so refreshed. So where am I anyway?�
�You remember I told you I used to e member of AVALANCHE?�
�Yeah. So?�
�Well this house belongs to one of its first members - Tifa Lockheart.�
Before he spoke, a smirk grew on Ace�s face. �Really. Well, I guess she found my body, and decided she wanted a bit loving from Ace.�
�How old are you?�
�16.�
�Well, Tifa is 20, and I don�t think she�s interested in some teen.�
�Damn.�
�I got to go now Ace. See you later.�
Ace watched as Aeris vanished. It was like she was made from dust, and a wind was blowing her way, starting at her feet, until nothing was left. Ace threw the bedclothes to his right, and stumbled out of the bed, almost hitting the piano. He was wearing the same clothes he was before, with the exception of his jacket, which was draped over the chair near the desk. Looking down, Ace saw a hole in his T-Shirt.
�Crap. That was my favourite shirt. Now I�ll have to find something to wear until I can get another one.�
Walking over to his jacket, Ace put it on, and fastened it up, covering the hole in his shirt. Ace�s glasses were also one the desk. Ace picked these up, and put them on.
�Seams my glasses are OK. It�s a miracle they weren�t damaged. Now, where are my weapons.�
Ace searched the entire room, but couldn�t find them.
�Guess they are some where else.�

Leaving the room, Ace heard talking coming from the room below. He wasn�t sure what to make with this, so decided to use stealth. That way, if the people below wished him harm, Ace could sneak up on them, and get the advantage. Just as he came to the top of the stairs, he heard one of the people shout something.
�Why the hell are we keeping that little twerp. Why the hell don�t we kick him out?�
�Barret - that kid was injured. He needed medical help.�
�Then why didn�t we take him to the same hospital you went to?�
�Idiot - it got destroyed when Ultimate Weapon attacked Mideel.�
�� Oh yeah. Well a lot has happened between now and then.�
�Yeah, what ever� Quite I hear noises.�
�Do you think that kid is up?�
�Don�t know. Red, Tifa, Cid - I think that kid has got up.�
�Damn. My cover�s been blown.�
Ace slowly walked down the stairs, turned right and entered the kitchen and saw five members of AVALANCHE. Cloud, Barret and Cid were sitting at the table in the middle of the room. Tifa was resting by the sink and Red XIII was curled up by the oven. After entering the room, Ace leant on the door frame, and folded his arms.
�Question: Where the hell are my weapons?�
Leaning back on his chair, Cloud picked up Ace�s sword and nuncukas.
�You mean these? They look interesting. Why does a kid like you have weapons like these?�
�You want to know?�
�Yeah, why not.�
�OK, but it�s a long and boring story You sure you all wana here it?�
Cloud looked at his other team mates, paused and said.
�Sure.�
�OK. My name is Ace Strife�.�
�Hang on a minute - did you say Strife?�
�Yeah. That�s my last name.�
�I don�t remember having any brothers.�
�You Cloud Strife?�
�Yeah.�
�I thought you died with that Zack guy. That�s what the documents at Shinra say.�
As soon as Ace said Shinra, Barret got up, and walked over to Ace.
�You used to work for Shinra?�
�Yeah. But that wasn�t till the later part of my life. I don�t know who my real parents are, or what my real name is. When I was young, I was placed into a basket, and thrown into a river. I then drifted into the ocean. I don�t know how long I was drifting for, but by the time someone found me, I was nearly dead. A fisherman from Wutai found me, and decided to adopt me. They even gave me a name, but I can�t remember what it was. I grew up there like I was their own flesh and blood, until I was about four or five. Some of the other boys didn�t really take to outsiders, and ganged up on me. I don�t know how or why, but I was able to defeat them. Lord Godo heard of my skills, and decided to train me in martial arts, along with his own daughter Yuffie Kisaragi.�
During Ace�s story, Barret had taken the time to sit down, and listen to Ace�s story. After mentioning his time in Wutai, Ace stopped talking for a bit. Cloud then spoke.
�Is that it? You trained with Yuffie for the rest of your life? I thought you said you worked for Shinra?�
�You know Yuffie?�
At the mention of Yuffie�s name, Barret jumped up and started waving his arms in the air, shouting and screaming.
�OF COURSE WE KNOW THAT LITTLE BITCH! SHE NICKED OUR MATERIA FROM USE!�
A smile grew on Ace�s face.
�You mean she finally stole Materia from someone! I mastered that skill with in my first year. I was able to take Materia from the most smartest people, who have the tightest security know to man. Yuffie couldn�t even take Materia from a blind man. And you�re telling me she stole Materia from you. That�s rich.�
In a low, almost faint voice, Barret spoke.
�� Yes.�

When Ace finally stopped laughing, he carried on his story.
�Wutai had lost a war to Shinra a long time before I was born. I don�t know the exact date, but Wutai has always hated Shinra for this. When I was about 10, they sent Yuffie and myself to attack Shinra. The idea was to attack and destroy it�s heart so that Shinra will crumble. The plan almost worked, but we were caught. If we both got caught, the plan was for Yuffie to throw a smoke grenade, so we could both make our escape. Yuffie carried out almost all of this with the exception of one thing - she didn�t help me escape. She ran off into the distance, while I was left with Shinra. I don�t know what happened to Yuffie, but I�m guessing that she joined you lot. Anyway, The Turks took me to see President Shinra, and put me in interrogation to tell them who I was working for etc. Part of my training was how to resist physical torture, so they were unable to get any information from me. President Shinra was impressed by my skills, and decided to continue my training. For a short while, I was sent to SOLDIER, but the other members didn�t really take to a 10 year old, so I was taken away, and received solitary training from Shinra�s finest martial artists. They even gave this a code name - Project Ace.�
Again, Ace took another break from speaking, allowing AVALANCHE to digest what Ace had told them. Cloud took this opportunity to speak.
�I see. So that is where you got your first name. But I still want to know why you use the surname Strife.�
�Don�t worry I�m almost that far. I was trained by Shinra for a while. But they also wanted me to do some of their dirty work. Shinra wanted the people of Midgar to think that Shinra was good, and wanted to protect them, so they sent me into the streets of Midgar to capture criminals to be sent to the desert prison. I didn�t really mind, as it allowed me to test out my martial art skills. Shinra also had some bad feelings about Cosmo Canyon, and felt that knew too much. Shinra knew about the intelligent Bugenhagen, and all he knew. They and were worried that Cosmo Canyon would create a group who would attack and possibly even over power them. So, they had me increase my training so that I could defend Shinra if the worst happened. Hojo also had another plan. He came up with an idea he called �Project Cloning�. The idea was if anyone in Shinra was killed, they would revive them by creating a clone. Hojo took DNA from all of the members with the exception of President Shinra, Reeve and myself.
�Why didn�t they take DNA samples from them? And when are you going to get to the part where you say why you stole my name?�
�President Shinra wasn�t very keen on the Cloning idea, and asked Hojo to scrap it. Although Hojo agreed, Vice President Rufus was interested, and told Hojo that when he when into power, he would allow Project Cloning.� As for Reeve, know one knows. And myself - they never got the chance. I started digging into Shinra�s documents and learned the truth about Shinra, which completely shattered my image of them. I decided to leave, and hopefully build up a group to stop Shinra. While I was looking through the files, I came across the one about Cloud and Zack. The soldiers shot Zack, and thought that Cloud was basically dead, so they left him to die. I thought you were dead, so I took your last name. Ace Strife is the only name I can remember, even if it is a lie.�
�Did Shinra give you a name during your time with them?�
�Don�t think so. All they called me was �Boy�, or �Project Ace�. Anyway, after I left Shinra, I ran around the world, until I ended up with you guys.�
After Ace stopped talking, he lent back against the door frame with his arms folded. Interested by the story, Red XIII walked over to Ace and started to ask him some questions.
�Did Shinra ever attack Cosmo Canyon?�
�No. They never really could be bothered.�
�Why did you have a piece of Meteor in your body?�
�It was just a piece that stabbed me after I blew it up. You could say, it was it�s final attack.�
�Blew it up! You destroyed Meteor?�
�Yep. It was easy.�
�How?�
�I used the powers of the Chosen One.�
�The Chosen One�.�
Red walked off, speaking to himself and deep in thought. Ace started to rub the sides of his face, and felt a beard growing.
�Hmm. Hey Cloud - you get a razor I can borrow?�
�What? Oh, sure.�
After taking Cloud�s razor, Ace turned to walk off, but stopped and stood blot up right. Cloud got up, and walked over to Ace. Looking into Ace�s eyes, Cloud saw nothing. They looked soul less, empty.
�You OK Ace? Ace, speak to me. ACE!�
And then, Ace collapsed on the floor.

It seemed like hours before he woke up again.
�Man. What happened to me?�
In front of him was his sword.
�At least that is with me. As long as I have my sword, nothing will harm me. Well, I�d better get up now.�
Looking around, all he could see was a dark area.
�Where am I?�
And then, before his eyes, Aeris appeared.
�Did I ever tell you that you will need to fight the three Jenova monsters inside your own brain?�
�Don�t think so?�
�Well guess what - your about to. However - if you lose, your spirit will be destroyed, and you would become a vegetable for the rest of your life.�
�Oh� OK. So where is it?�
Aeris responded by pointing into the darkest area. Ace drew his sword, and started walking in that direction. He didn�t know what would happen to him, or what to expect. All that was going through his brain was Aeris� warning:
�However - if you lose, your spirit will be destroyed, and you would become a vegetable for the rest of you life.�

Chapter 3 - Melmusa

Placing his hand into his pocket, Ace pulled out a silver glasses case. The case wasn�t made of pure silver, that would cost too much. The case was painted silver to give it that fancy look. Holding it in his right hand, Ace opened it and pulled the glasses off his face with his left, placed them into the case and closed it. While looking in the direction Jenova was, Ace placed his glasses in his left jacket pocket. Without his glasses on, Ace�s vision was slightly blurry. Anything about 50 meters away was slightly blurry, but Ace didn�t use this as a reason to stop and turn back. He continued to move forward. When Ace was getting closer to Jenova, he stopped, and took a few deep breaths. Raising his right eyebrow, he turned around and spoke.
�Aeris - you still there?�
Before his eyes, Aeris appeared as if Ace had just summoned her.
�Yes. What is it?�
�Why is the air stale�
�I�m not sure. Why are you asking me? This is your mind. Look, Jenova isn�t far. Why don�t you go and get this over with?�
And with that, Aeris vanished. Taking a deep breath, Ace turned around and continued to walk in Jenova�s direction. Ace took this time to look around. The entire place was almost pure black. All that lit up the place were a few torches attached to the right hand wall. Ace noticed that the closer he got to Jenova, that there were fewer torches.

Soon, he reached his destination. Jenova had its back to Ace. It was like Jenova hadn�t acknowledged Ace�s existence. When Ace spoke, his voice was slightly shaky, showing he was nervous.
�Umm, excuse me Jenova. I believe we are meant to fight.�
Jenova turned around, allowing Ace to take a good look at the monster. It was hard to describe the beast, other than it was identical to the Jenova Birth that Cloud and his friends fought on the Shinra Boat. The beats also towered over Ace. Looking down, the beast spoke.
�So, you are the new chosen one. You�re younger than the last one.�
With a bit more confidence in his voice, Ace replied.
�I may be younger, but I assure you, I will not disappoint you.�
�When I fought the last one, it fought with four other people, and a strange beast, and they were just able to defeat me. How do you know that you can defeat me all by yourself?�
�I have been trained by Lord Godo of Wutai and by various members of Shinra. I am the best martial artist in the world.�
When he finished speaking, Ace entered his fighting position. Holding his sword in his right hand, Ace pointed the blade towards the ground. He raised his left hand, and extended it slightly to make a guard, and slightly raised his right hand and placed it just behind his left. Ace�s right hand was tilted slightly so that the blade was at an angle. He then spoke with full confidence in his voice.
�Enough talk. Let�s fight.�
And with that the battle started.

Jenova attacked first with Tail Laser, throwing Ace off balance. Jenova then rushed over to Ace with the intention to crush him while he is on the floor. However, Ace moved to fast for this to happen, and slashed Jenova. Reeling back from this attack, Jenova started to summon up energy to attack Ace with Tail Laser. Again, this hit Ace, but wasn�t able to throw him off balance. Ace countered this by running up to Jenova and slashed it three times.
�Chosen one. If that is all you can do, then there is no hope for you at all.�
After speaking, Jenova focused its next Tail Laser attack at Ace�s right hand, making him drop his sword.
�Now you have no weapons, you will not defeat me Chosen one. This battle is over!�
�It�s ain�t over till the fat lady signs, and she ain�t on stage yet.�
Using his powers, Ace raised himself off the ground, until he was above Jenova. He placed his hands together and started to summon up some of energy. Soon, a white ball of energy appeared in his hands. Ace closed his eyes, as if he was meditating, focusing all of his energy into this one attack. Sweat ran down his face, dripping from the base of his chin. As he charged up his energy, Ace spoke to Jenova, but still kept his eyes closed to allow him to focus his energy.
�Jenova - I am different from my predecessors. They all specialised in Magic, but I am a fighter. My speciality is physical combat. This means that my fighting power is the higher than my magic power. And to show you I am not bluffing, I have a little gift for you.�
During his speech, the ball of energy had tripled in its size. When he finished, Ace opened his eyes and fired his attack right at Jenova�s head. The force of the attack caused Jenova�s head to explode, killing it. Still in the air, Ace started to pant. His last attack used up most of his body�s energy, weakening him. He had barely enough energy to keep him in the air. To save the rest of his energy, Ace lowered him self-back to the ground, before collapsing on the floor.
�That was one mean SoB. (pant pant) Aeris - you (pant pant) there?�
Once again, Aeris appeared before his eyes.
�Congratulations Ace, you beat Jenova Birth. Unfortunately, there are still two left, both of which are stronger than Jenova Life. Here, let me cast Great Gospel on you. This should help you recover all of your energy.�
�OK, (pant pant) but leave out the invincibility part.�
�OK.�

It wasn�t long before Ace was back on his feet. Aeris had move to where Jenova once was. Ace walked over to her, wanting to know what to do next. Just before he spoke, Ace noticed a metal object glint. The object was lying right where Jenova was. Walking over to it, Ace picked it up. All it was, was the handle of a broad sword. It had about one inch of blade, and it looked like the rest had been broken off. The handle was a dark blue colour, while the blade was a light blue colour with a little silver tint in it. Before Ace spoke to Aeris, he walked over to where his sword was, picked it up and put it away.
�Aeris - what is this, and where is the rest of it?�
�I�m not sure. I don�t remember seeing this when we defeated Jenova last time. I wouldn�t be surprised if defeating the other two Jenova monsters would give you the other two pieces. Anyway, I�m sure you want to return to the real world, don�t you?�
�Yeah. How do I do so?�
�Just close your eyes. When you next open them, you�ll wake up where ever your body is. However I must tell you that the time you�ve spent here is equal to the amount of time that has passed in the real world. Anyway, close your eyes.�
Before he did so, Ace made sure he had everything he wanted. After placing the sword handle in one of his jacket pockets, he closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, he was lying in the same bed he woke up in earlier that day. He was still wearing his jacket and his sword was strapped to his back. Placing his hand in his jacket pockets, Ace pulled out his glasses case. However, the sword handle had vanished. Sitting up in the bed, Ace stretched his back and arms, got up and headed for the door out of the room and down the stairs.

�Anyway, I didn�t think AVALANCHE is needed any more Barret. We destroyed Shinra, Sephiroth is dead. What more do we need to do?�
�Cloud you never know what crap will raise its head. I say we need AVALANCHE, just in case all hell breaks loose.�
�Aren�t you two forgetting something - what about Ace.�
�What�s that meant to mean Tifa?�
�I think he got the impression he was joining. If there is no AVALANCHE, what are we going say to him?�
�Come on, the kids a teen, he can handle it.�
While Cloud, Barret and Tifa discussed the future of AVALANCHE in Tifa�s kitchen, Cid and Red just sat there and watched. During the time Ace was out, Vincent had started to spend time with them. After Ace destroyed Meteor, Vincent started to live in the mansion Cloud and co. found him in. He spent most of his time in his coffin, sleeping, thinking about what happened during his time with AVALANCHE.
�I guys. What you talking about?�
Most of the conversation about AVALANCHE�s future happened just before Ace got up. By the time Tifa pointed out about Ace hoping to join, Ace was about to enter the room.
�Ace, your up. You still wana borrow my razor?�
�Yeah, thanks Cloud. I could do with a shave.�
�OK.� Reaching into his pocket, Cloud pulled out an electric razor and handed it to Ace.
�Thanks. Won�t take me more than five minutes. Um� which way is the bathroom?�
�Up the stairs and to your left.�
�Thanks Tifa.�

A few minutes later, Ace returned to the kitchen. The AVALANCHE were hanging around a TV. Barret, Tifa and Cloud blocked out most of the view. The others were standing behind them, blocking out the rest.
�What�s going on guys? What you watching?�
�The news. There are some rumours about Shinra.�
�Shinra. Turn it up - I wana hear about this.�
Cloud turned up the volume, and everyone took a few steps back. The adverts had just finished, and the program - Latest News was about to restart. A female news reader appeared on the screen.
�Welcome back. Just before the break, we were talking about Shinra. Earlier today, Shinra Online, Shinra�s web site re-opened after being closed for about two weeks. Shinra Online (address: www.shinraonline.com) is the company�s web site, talking about the Shinra organisation. The site�s main creator, a sixteen year old by left Shinra suddenly last month for reasons unknown. The boy was said to be Shinra�s best fighter, and according to rumours, Shinra planed for him to be the next Sephiroth. Anti-Shinra protesters claimed that unlike Sephiroth, the boy learned about Shinra. They hope that he would join them in there fight against Shinra.� Placing her right hand on a receiver in her right ear, the news reader paused for a few seconds before continuing to speak.
�We have just been able to get a picture of this boy. We were able to obtain it from a wanted poster, found on the Centre Content. After leaving Shinra, the boy became a wanted man. Shinra wanted back both the boy and a weapon that he carried��
Cloud stretched over to the TV and turned it off.
�Why would Shinra Online go back online when Shinra were defeated?�
�Melmusa��
�What? What did you just say Ace?�
�Melmusa. It�s some I need to collect. I�ll be back in a few minutes.�
Ace started to charge up his power. A white glow papered around Ace, seconds before he flew off out the door.
�Ace - hang on a second. What is Mel� musa. Great! Well, I hope he comes back soon.�

�I remember leaving it some where near Costa Del Sol.�
After about ten minutes of flying, Ace was just over the mountains near Costa Del Sol. He buried his weapon about just before he hitched a ride from Costa Del Sol to Junon Harbour. This happened a few weeks before Ace obtained his powers and fought Meteor. After leaving Shinra, Ace became a wanted man. Shinra felt unsecure about Ace running around the world, knowing all of Shinra�s deepest and darkest secrets. Wanted posts for Ace were put up all over the Centre Content. To escape, Ace went to Costa Del Sol to sail to the Eastern Content. Ace could carry his sword and nunchukas under his jacket without anyone knowing. However, his other weapon was to big and bulky. It would have given him away. Ace planned to collect Melmusa after Shinra had been destroyed. And seeing as Midgar is now a total wreak, Ace knew Shinra couldn�t be active.
�I remember now. It�s hidden under the beach to the left of Costa Del Sol.�
Landing on the beach, Ace started to dig around. After about ten minutes of digging, Ace dug up a long, thin item, covered in paper and tied with string.
�I don�t have time to open this up. I�d better head back to Nibelheim.�

It took Ace a few more minutes to fly back to Tifa�s house in Nibelheim. When he returned, he opened the door, to find the group sitting in the kitchen, waiting for him.
�Why do you guys spend all your time in the kitchen?�
�Because there is no lounge. What�s that in your hand?�
�Melmusa. Do you mind if I place it on the table?�
�Is it clean?�
�Not really. It�s been buried under sand for a few weeks.� Ace struggled to unwrap the paper. �Guessed I wrapped it a bit to tight.� Blushing, Ace held the sword at one end with his right hand, and at about the centre with his left. He then pulled hard with his right hand, ripping the paper. Within a few seconds, AVALANCHE saw Melmusa for the first time, with a shocked expression on there faces.
�That is Melmusa? It�s basically identical to Masamune!�
Ace grinned. Now that he held Melmusa again, he felt complete.
�I know. That news lady said I would become the next Sephiroth for a reason - Melmusa. It�s basically identical to Masamune, but with two differences. One, it�s shorter and two, it�s lighter. I�m able to hold, and attack just holding on with one hand.�
�Anyway, we need to get back onto the topic. How can Shinra be alive? First of all, we killed all of the members and second, Midgar�s in ruins. Any theories?�
�I have one. Remember I told you lot - with the exception of Vincent about �Project Cloning?� It was a back up plan where they cloned each other. You did kill the real members of Shinra, but I believe their clones are now running the show. As for there location, I think it�s in the reactor at North Corel. It looks basically identical to the Shinra Tower at Midgar for a reason - it�s classified as the second Shinra Tower.�
�WHAT! THOSE SHINRA ******! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON THEM�!�
�I think we all want to take them out Barret. Looks like AVALANCHE is needed after all.
�Agreed. I think we should mosey on down, and take them out. Everyone with me?�
�You bet Cloud. Melmusa and I want to take them out.�

Meanwhile, in a secret underground laboratory, two figures were standing next to a capsule. There was little light in the room. There was only enough to make out the shape of the capsule and the people in the room. One of them spoke.
�How is it today?�
The other man walked over to the first, and replied.
�It�s doing well. All of it�s readings are normal.�
�Then why haven�t you released it?�
�Doing so will kill it. It needs to absorb a certain power, which sadly isn�t available any more. One of them must die so the specimen can absorb the power.�
�But suppose we die before that happens?�
�I have already thought about this, and I have an answer. We need to make a backup system. Don�t worry, we can easily do this.�
�Excellent. Keep me informed about the specimen.�
�I will.�
The first man left the laboratory. The other stayed, and continued to examine the capsule.
�Soon my perfect specimen, you will be free, and able to kill all those who oppose us.�
And like a mad scientist, the second man laughed long into the night.

good stuff. so are you supposed to be ace? :D

i have to give props to everyone who posts their stuff. i don't think i could deal with the criticisms.

but no criticism here, man. good reading...

Thanx mate, but I hadn't finished it yet. There a 9 Chapters to post. I ran outa time to post them last night.

Chapter 4 - Preparations

�Anyway, we need to get back onto the topic. How can Shinra be alive? First of all, we killed all of the members and second, Midgar�s in ruins. Any theories?�
�I have one. Remember I told you lot - with the exception of Vincent about �Project Cloning?� It was a back up plan where they cloned each other. You did kill the real members of Shinra, but I believe their clones are now running the show. As for there location, I think it�s in the reactor at North Corel. It looks basically identical to the Shinra Tower at Midgar for a reason - it�s classified as the second Shinra Tower.�
�WHAT! THOSE SHINRA ******! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON THEM�!�
�I think we all want to take them out Barret. Looks like AVALANCHE is needed after all.
�Agreed. I think we should mosey on down, and take them out. Everyone with me?�
�You bet Cloud. Melmusa and I want to take them out.�
�OK, so it�s settled. Lets go take out Shinra.�
�Hang on a minute Cloud. Your planning to take on Shinra this very second.�
�Sure. Why, what�s wrong?�
�I know Shinra. I used to work for them. I have a feeling they are waiting for us. They�ll probably have some traps waiting for us.�
�So?�
�How are you feeling Cloud?�
�What�s that meant to mean Ace?�
�What I said. Do you feel strong, or weak?�
�I admit all of us haven�t fought for a while.�
Impatient, Barret spoke up.
�What the hell are you on about Ace?�
�Shinra are probably going to have a few traps waiting for you guys. If I know them, they would have recorded the data from your previous battles with them, then use these to improve Shinra. I doubt you guys have increased by more than� ten levels since you last fought them. I would say that their defences are at five levels higher than you are. I suggest we take a few day to train. Now, how many of use are there?�
�Whoa, slow down Ace. We haven�t decided weather or not we�re gona go through with this��
�What, so your saying your not gona go through with my idea? SCREW YOU GUYS! I try and give you some help, and you say no! I�m outa here!�
Before the team had a chance to stop him, Ace had flown out of the door.
�Good riddance.�
�How can you say that Barret?�
�Tifa - the kid was annoying, like a certain ninja I know.�
�I don�t think so. He seamed a lot nicer, kinder than Yuffie. You could even say he was a male version of Aeris.�
��.. I don�t know what to say Tifa.�

High in the sky, Ace flew. He had no idea where to go, or what to do.
�Ace��
�What? Oh, hi Aeris.�
�Why did you yell at AVALANCHE?�
�To be honest, I didn�t know. I suppose it was my warrior�s instinct.�
�?�
�I have been trained as a fighter for longer than I can remember. I guess that fighting is like a drug to me. It has been over seven days since I last fought something. I guess I needed to fight something.�
�Are you ever going to return to them?�
�Don�t know. Maybe tomorrow. I want to first go and fight something. Say, when am I gona fight Jenova Life?�
�Not for a few more days.�
�Damn.�

After Ace broke the front window of the Highwind, the team had to make an emergency landing. They decided to take him to a house, and seeing as Tifa was the only member who still had her home, they decided to take Ace there. After dropping Ace off, Cid, Barret and Cait Sith decided to head take the Highwind to Rocket Town to get it fixed. While there, Cait Sith had started to malfunction, and then just stopped moving. Examining the creature, the mechanics saw nothing wrong with him, so it was concluded that either Reeve�s controls had broken down, or Reeve was dead. Leaving the Highwind and Cait Sith in the care of the people at Rocket Town. It had now been seven days since this happened, and the team decided to go check on everything. Cid had gone off to where he left the Highwind, while the rest of the team talked with the locals. Cloud was standing where the rocket once stood. Cloud just stood there, deep in thought. When he spoke, his voice was so quite, Cloud himself found it hard to hear it.
�I can remember my journey into space well. It was a great experience. I only wish Aeris could have seen it.�
The door to the item shop opened, and Tifa stepped out. She noticed Cloud, and went over to talk to him. Tifa walked over to the gate near the rocket launch pad, right next to Cloud�s left hand side. Tifa turned her back towards the gate, rested her back next to it, and turned her head to look at Cloud.
�What you thinking about Cloud?�
�Not much. Looking at the rocket�s launch pad, thinking about our adventure.�
�Your thinking of Aeris aren�t you Cloud.�
��..�
�You miss her don�t you. Don�t worry, your not alone. We all do.�
�At times, I�m not sure if she was meant to die. But then again, when Lifestream attacked Meteor, call me crazy, but I could have sworn that I felt her presence, almost as if she was controlling the life stream.
�Yeah, I felt that to.�
�Really. But I gues this proves that she should have died, to allow her to control the Lifestream. But I really should stop thinking about her. Even though I did care for her, I don�t think it would have worked out.�
�Why not?�
�Aeris used to date Zack, didn�t she. I used to act more like Zack, and less like Cloud. I think that�s what see saw in me. I doubt she would have been interested in the real me. I guess I should move on, take a fresh start in life, and stop moaning about her death.�
Tifa just looked at Cloud, and nodded.
�Cloud, can I ask why your telling me all of this?�
�I� don�t know� Hey looks, it�s Cid.�

As Cloud walked over to talk to Cid about the Highwind, Tifa stayed next to the rocket launch pad. Her talk with Cloud made her happy, as it proved to her than Cloud was starting to get over Aeris, allowing her the chance to start a serious relationship, and she would make sure it happened. Smiling, Tifa continued to relax next to the rocket launch pad.
�So Cid, how�s the Highwind?�
�Good. It�s good to go. But that kid owes me 50,000 gil for the replacement window.�
�You mean Ace?�
�Yeah. Who else would I be talking about?�
�True. Anyway, how do we know we�ll se him again?�
�I�m not sure. Do you know why he took off like that?�
�No. I guess it�ll be hard to understand him.� Noticing that Tifa was still standing by the rocket�s launch pad, Cloud walked over to her.
�Cid just told me that the Highwind is good to go.�
�That�s good. I can�t wait to take off again. By the way, do you think we�ll see Ace?�
�I�m not sure if we want to see him after what happened last time.�
�I�m not sure. I think there is more to Ace than we know. I think we should find him.�
�You think?�
�Yeah. If we want to take down Shinra, I know we�ll need his help.�
�I guess your right Tifa. Come on, let�s go get the others.�
�Did Cid mention anything about Cait?�
��..�
�Oh��

Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet in the forests surrounding Mideel, Ace was battling a group of four Head Hunters. Focusing only on beating the monsters, Ace used a mixture of magic, physical at sword attacks, making short work of the monsters. Aeris was sitting on a fallen log watching Ace fight, almost as if she was studying him to be able to fully understand him. Within a few short moves, Ace had killed all of the Head Hunters.
�Not bad Ace. That�s a total of ten monsters killed within five minutes. Now I can see why you like fighting monsters so much.�
Ace walked over to Aeris, and sat down on the log beside her, sweat running down his face. He didn�t reply to Aeris, as he was gasping for breath. It took Ace a few more minutes to fully catch his breath. Just as he was preparing to continue fighting, Aeris spoke to him.
�Why did you leave AVALANCHE?�
Ace paused and kept quite for a few minutes before replying.
�� To tell you the truth, I�m not fully sure why I left them. I guess I wanted to be alone for a while. This sort of thing happened when I was with Shinra, which reminds me. Aeris - I need to head for Midgar.�
�Why?�
�There is something I need to do.�
As Ace got up, the white flame appeared, seconds before he took off. Aeris followed a few seconds later.

�So Cloud, what happens next?�
�Ace told use everything about Shinra. Even though he isn�t with us, I think we should head over to the Mako reactor in North Corel.�
�Understood. Right you lot, you heard the man. Set the destination for North Corel.�
�Yes caption!�
Cloud looked around the group, planning who he would take with him.
�Barret, Tifa, your coming with me. Cid - you lead Vincent and Red XIII. OK, Cid�s team will attack Shinra from the base near the train track. My team will parachute from above. Our plan is to defeat Rufus and Shinra. How long will it before we reach North Corel?�
�About thirty minutes Cloud.�
�OK, you heard the man. We have about thirty minutes, so I want all of you to prepare.�
�What about our materia Cloud? Yuffie stole it not long after we beat Sephiroth.�
�I had already planed this Tifa. I kept a small amount of Materia with me without Yuffie knowing. I want all of you to select some, apart from you Barret - you�re fighting skills need to be at there best.�
�� OK.�

Meanwhile, Ace landed at the base of Shinra HQ, in the centre of Midgar.
�Ace, hold on. Why are we here?�
�When I was with Shinra, I had a supply of stuff which I left behind. This place is now abandoned, so it is safe for me to collect it. By quarters were on the 36th floor.�
�Ace took off, counting the floors until he stopped in the middle of the air. Placing his hands in a cupped position on his left hand side, Ace charged up an energy blast. Within a few seconds, Ace fired the bast, clearing most of the windows in front of him. Ace glided over to the hole in the wall, placing his right foot on the edge of the hole. As Ace breathed in, he could tell the air was stale. All of the windows had been closed for over a week. Looking in front of him, Ace could see a long hall. There were stairs to his left, leading to the floor below. As he started to walk forward, Ace could see that the place had been abandoned for quite some time. These quarters used to belong to the Shinra Army, which AVALANCHE completely whipped out over their battle with Shinra.
�My quarters are on the side of the hall. You coming or what Aeris?�
�I�m coming.�
Every time Ace stepped forward, echoes could be heard, bouncing off the walls in that floor and the ones above and below. Within a few minutes, Ace had reached the door of his quarters. Placing his right hand on the door handle, Ace turned it. Nothing happened.
�Damn. Shinra locked it.�
Placing his right hand inches away from the door handle, Ace charged up some of his energy, trying to get enough to blow the handle off. In the next few seconds, Ace and Aeris had entered the room. The room wasn�t very tidy, like that of a typical teenage male�s.
�How could you live in a room like this Ace?�
�I didn�t. Shinra must have raided it after I left. I never locked the door, because I had a lot of respect. When I first joined, people were entering my room every time I closed the door. One day, I caught some one in there. By the time I had finished with him, he was drinking his food through a straw for six weeks. After that, people never entered my room without permission.�
�If Shinra did raid your room, the question is why?�
�They were probably looking for Melmusa. When they learned I didn�t carry it any more, the probably assumed I kept it here. Of course, little did they know that I buried it under the sand out side Costa Del Sol.�
�What are you looking for?�
�My fighting mitts, a spare shirt and my guitar.�
�Why your guitar?�
�Why not?�
Shuffling through the rubble of his old room, Ace searched for the three items he wanted. Because Aeris couldn�t touch objects, she levitated to the top of the room, and looked around from there. When every one of them found an item, they told the other. It didn�t take them long to find everything.
�OK, just give me a minute to change my shirt.�
�OK.�
Ace walked off down the hall and entered one of the abandoned rooms. Aeris stayed in his old room, for no particular reason.
�Leave��
�W... W... Who�s there.�
�Leave at once spirit.�
�How do you know I am here?�
�Leave while you still have a chance.�
�ACE!�
�Aeris? What�s going on?�
Ace ran back into the room. Aeris had called him just as he had finished putting his shirt back on, so he had left his jacket behind. Melmusa was out of its sheath, and was being held in Ace�s right hand. When Ace re-entered the room, he saw a strange monster crawling towards Aeris. Ace raised his sword, ran over and slashed the monster.
�I you want Aeris, you�re gona have to get through me first.�
�That will not be hard.�
The monster turned around to face Ace, allowing him to see it for the first time. It monster looked like a regular Unknown 2, with a few changes. On it�s back was a pair of bat like winds. It�s entire body was a black colour. It had also grown two arms.
�What are you?�
�A creature that a scientist once made. I have the intelligence of a human, and this are is my hole. Leave, or face the conciseness.�
�I remember you. Your Soul Sucker aren�t you. You were created out of Mako, and absorb Lifestream or spirits to survive. I also know that you are weak against Holy, which is my speciality.�
Ace charged up an energy blast and fired it at the creature. The creature winced, from the attack, before countering it by ambushing Ace, forcing him to the floor and making him drop his sword. Raising it�s claws, the creature repeatedly slashed Ace.
�Get off. I just changed this shirt.�
Ace kicked the monster off, then ran over to it and repeatedly punched and kicked the monster. Ace then grabbed it�s head, and smashed it onto it�s knee, forcing the creature�s nose into it�s brain, killing it. During the battle, Aeris had fallen to the floor. Ace ran over to help her.
�Are you OK Aeris? Did it hurt you in any way?�
�No. I�m fine thanks. Have we got what we came for?�
�Yeah. Just let me go and pick it up.�

Meanwhile, back on the Highwind.
�Caption. Were right over North Corel�s reactor.�
�Good. OK people, lets move out.�

Chapter 5 - The Attack

Meanwhile, back on the Highwind.
�Captain. Were right over North Corel�s reactor.�
�Good. OK people, lets move out.�
AVALANCHE where huddled near the door leading out of the bridge, preparing to carry out the mission.
�Captain, there�s one problem.�
Cid turned around, and walked over to the pilot. Cid gripped the bridge of his nose with his right hand, took a deep breath, lowered his head and spoke in a rather annoyed voice.
�What is it?�
�There is no place for us to land around the reactor. We can drop off Cloud�s group, but we will need to land the Highwind on the other side of the mountain. The other group will have to walk and will probably get attacked by monsters.�
Cid turned around to look at Cloud.
�You�re an idiot Cloud. It was obvious there wasn�t any place for us to land. You�re a @�$%@&� idiot!�
�� Shut up Cid. OK, it looks like everyone will have to jump out with parachutes. But, we�ll still break up into the two groups. After we land, I want Cid�s team to enter through the train tracks. As for my team, we�ll take the stairs.�
�S� s� stairs. Oh no, where not taking the bloody stairs again Cloud. Didn�t you hear what I said last time - I don�t want to see stairs again in my life!�
�What about when we reached the Inn in Kalm. That had stairs Barret, and you climbed them.�
��..�
�OK, everyone out side. The parachutes should be found next the stairs. Once you�ve entered the building, I want all of you to make it to the 59th floor, which is where we should find Rufus and his group. Lets move people.�

Meanwhile, back at the old Shinra HQ, Ace and Aeris were still exploring it, to see what they could salvage. Ace was digging through some rubble on the western side of the room with his right hand, holding his guitar in the other. Aeris was looking around on the eastern side, but being a ghost, she wasn�t able to move anything. They had been attacked by more monsters as they explored the Old Shinra HQ. Fortunately, Ace was able to kill them in a few seconds.
�Doesn�t look like there is anything here we can take Aeris. It looks like someone else came before us.�
�Your right Ace. We�d better leave� Ace? Are you OK?�
Aeris turned around to see why Ace hadn�t responded to her. There was a good reason. Ace had frozen on the spot.
�Oh no, not this again.�
And with that she vanished.

When Ace came back to his senses, he was back in his mind.
�Huh? What�s going on. Not this again. Why now?�
Ace looked around to see if Aeris had appeared yet. She hadn�t. Ace sighed, and walked off into the darkest reigns of his mind, drawing Melmusa in the process. It didn�t take him long to reach Jenova LIFE.
�Your Jenova LIFE aren�t you?�
Jenova turned around to look at Ace. It starred at him for a few seconds then spoke.
�So you are the new Chosen One. Why am I picking up a familiar energy wave from you?�
�I have no idea what you�re talking about.�
�Could you be related to him? But even if you are, you are the Chosen One. You must now prepare to die.�
And so, the battle begun. Jenova started the battle by casting Reflect on itself.
�You think Reflect will help you defeat me Jenova?�
�The other Chosen Ones were magic uses. Reflect will stop your magic attacks.�
Ace ran over to Jenova, jumped high into the air, raised Melmusa above his head and slashed down as he fell back down to earth.
�AAAHHH. What was that? Your attack was strong. This doesn�t make sense. Why was your attack strong?�
�I have been trained as a fighter, not as a magic user. When I obtained my Chosen One powers, my fighting skills were improved.�
Ace ran over to Jenova and assaulted Jenova with powerful sword attacks.
�You are strong, but I bet you magic attacks would weaken you. Aqua Lung.�
Jenova�s Aqua Lung made a direct hit on Ace, causing him to fall back.
�Ha. My Aqua Lung is powerful. Nothing can with stand it. I will still defeat you boy.�
As Jenova prepared another Aqua Lung, Ace throw himself up into the air, placed his hands together and charged up an energy blast.
�While I prefer fighting with my sword, I also fight with energy or Chi attacks. If you have a God Jenova, I suggest you start praying to it.�
And with that, Ace released the energy attack. Which was aimed at Jenova torso. The attack caused it to explode on contact, killing Jenova. Once it was dead, Ace landed. He walked over to where the body was, to find another metallic object. This one looked like the tip of a sword.
�I doubt this attaches to the handle I found last time. I assume the final Jenova monster will drop the middle part.�
�Well done Ace.�
Ace turned around sharply, to see Aeris standing there, clapping her hands.
�All that fighting you did pay off. You were to powerful for it.�
�Thanks. Hopefully I should be able to kill the next one with ease.�
�Actually, I never fought the last one. I don�t even know its name.�
�What!�
�AVALANCHE never fought the last Jenova monster until after I was dead.�
�Oh. By the way, where is the handle which goes with this tip?�
�I don�t know. It must have vanished. I don�t have it.�
�Oh. So, how am I going to get back to the real world?�
�Same as before. Close your eyes.�

While all of this had happened, AVALANCHE had already infiltrated the New Shinra HQ, and they weren�t doing to bad. Cloud�s group had managed to climb the stars to the 59th floor (much to Barret�s objection) with out encountering any guards or surveillance cameras, which was quite surprising seeing as this was how Cloud, Tifa and Barret infiltrated the Old Shinra HQ. They were expecting Shinra to learn from there mistake. But it looks like the didn�t. Meanwhile, Cid�s group weren�t having as much luck. By entering via the train tracks, they had set off alarms, and ended up fighting there way through. They had to use the elevator to reach the 59th floor, and getting attacked on there way there. But they did reach it in the end.

�Cid. You took your time.�
�What do you expect Cloud. We went in through the front entrance, leaving ourselves venerable to attacks.�
�But your alive, aren�t you.�
�Yeah, but we used up most of our MP using cure spells. You don�t happen to have a few Turbo Ethers Cloud?�
�Yeah. I always carry a few.�
�Will you to stop talking about c**p, and get your asses into gear. Shinra are right above us. I thought our mission was to stop them!�
�Your right Barret. Lets go.�
Surprisingly, the elevators to the 60th floor weren�t guarded. There was only one set, which could only hold five people. Cloud ordered Cid�s team, Barret and Tifa to take the life first. He would then follow when it returns. Once Cid, Red, Vincent and Barret were on, cloud noticed that Tifa was no where near. Looking around, Cloud finally found her looking out the window, oblivious to what was happening. He ran over to her, while to elevator closed.
�Tifa, what you doing?�
�What? Oh, sorry Cloud. I was just looking outside. It just looks so beautiful outside.�
�Yeah, but if we don�t stop Shinra, there is a chance they will ruin this. Come on, lets go. The elevator should be returning soon.�
�OK.�

Ace had finally returned from his mind. He felt rather groggy from the experience, and felt like calling it a night. He looked around for some where to sleep. Just as he found a suitable bed, Ace walked over to it. Suddenly, before him Aeris appeared.
�Where are you going Ace?�
�Sleep� need sleep��
�It�s probably because you�ve used up so much of your body�s energy. Maybe you should rest for a wh��
�Why did you just stop spe��
�Shhh. Can�t you hear it? The planet is talking to us.�
�No.�
�I guess I haven�t passed on that part yet.�
�Oh yeah. You still need to give me the rest of my powers.�
�It�s� telling me� that� Shinra are active again. And they plan to start creating Mako again. This is bad. We need to stop them Ace.�
�I forgot all about them. AVALANCHE went off to attack them. I�d better go after them. They don�t know what there dealing with. But first, I need to put my guitar somewhere safe. I think I�ll put it on the Highwind.�
�I doubt AVALANCHE would be happy with you braking in the Highwind.�
�Well, I have to go and help them, but I can�t take me guitar with me. It might get damaged.�
�Whatever Ace. Just do it fast.�
Ace charged up his energy, and blew a hole in the wall. He then flew out of it and towards the North Corel reactor. Aeris followed closely behind him. As Ace flew over the Sea, he lowered himself towards it, and watched as the water was throw to either side of him as he flew over it. Looking down, he could see Emerald Weapon swimming looking for it�s next victim.
�One day I will kill you Emerald. Mark my words.�
The Highwind had landed on the grass outside of the mountain entrance. When Ace approached it, he lowered himself towards the ground, and started to land. He told Aeris to wait there while he boarded the Highwind. Once aboard, he carefully walked towards the Operation room. Ace had never been on the Highwind before, so wasn�t expecting to find someone there. As he approached the door, it started to open. The man inside noticed the door was opening, but didn�t see Ace. But Ace saw him.
�John, is that you?�
The man turned around and started to walk towards the door and headed for the bridge. Just as the man started to turn around, Ace levitated himself just above the door frame, out of sight range. When the man had gone, he slipped in, hid his guitar and left as fast as he could.
�You took your time Ace.�
�I was almost caught Aeris. Now, onto the Shinra HQ.�
�I�m afraid I have to leave you Ace.�
�What!�
�For some reason, I can�t move any where near it.�
�Great.�
�Your going to had to do this yourself.�
�OK. It�s nothing I can�t handle. I�ll see you later Aeris.�
Ace watched as Aeris vanished into thin air, then started to levitate. When he was high enough, he headed straight for New Shinra HQ.

It didn�t take him long to reach it. He randomly selected a floor and blasted a hole in the wall, allowing him to go through. In the room, were lots of Shinra Soldiers in Uniform, practising with there gun. When Ace flew in, they all turned there attention to Ace. Ace went to the nearest one, and grabbed him by the neck.
�Which floor is this?�
�Fl� Fl� Floor number 56.�
�Which floor is Rufus on?�
�N� N� Number 65, I think.�
�Thanks.�
Ace dropped the Soldier on the floor, and headed straight for the ceiling, blasting a big enough hole for him to fit through. After a while, he reached the 65th floor. He looked around, but there was no one there.
�Damn. That Soldier gave me the wrong information. I haven�t seen Rufus on my way up here, so I�ll continue to go up.�
Ace flew over to the stairs, and continued to go up. Eventually, about four floors later, he heard Rufus� voice.
�So, you thought you could sneak up on me? Your dumber than I thought.�
Ace had his back flat against the wall, far away from the door. He continued to listen.
�You honestly thought you could sneak up on me AVALANCHE? I have been watching your every movement since you got here.�
Then, a buzzing sound started to go off.
Excuse me a minute.�
A few seconds later, Rufus started to speak again.
�What! Someone else has broken in? How? He flew up to the 56th floor and blasted a hole! No human can ever do that. What do you mean Project Ace. That boy is dead.�
Ace had heard enough. Shinra had captured AVALANCHE, so it was up to him to free them. He ran over to the door, and started to ram into it with his shoulder. Nothing.
�Damn. I though my strength would have allowed me to break it down. Guess I�m going to have to blast it down.�
Ace took a few steps back, raised his hands and blew the door right off it�s hinges. He then walked through. Rufus had turned his attention to Ace. AVALANCHE were tied up with seven Shinra Soldiers guarding them, preventing them from escaping.
�Who are you?�
�I am Ace Strife. Powerful swords man, martial artist and all round good guy. If I were you, I�d release AVALANCHE before I hurt you.�
�Hurt me! Don�t make me laugh.�
Rufus brushed his hair back, then ordered two Soldiers to attack Ace. Ace blasted the first one, who was also the one closest to him. The other one was a few places behind. Ace drew Melmusa, ran up to him and slashed him in to.
�Th� that sword. You must be Project Ace.�
�Took you a while to work it out.�
�That changes everything. I take it then that you are good friends with AVALANCHE?�
�Yes. And if you hurt them, I�ll kill you slowly and painfully.�
�I won�t hurt them, if you make a deal with me.�
�Go on.�
�We were very unhappy that you ran away. If you re-join Shinra as a member of our Turks, and I won�t hurt your friends.�
�Screw you.�
�Are you sure�
Rufus turned his attention to the Soldier nearest Cloud. Rufus ordered the Soldier to threaten Cloud. The Soldier did so by placing the end of his gun on Cloud�s temple.
�Last chance to change you�re mind� what was your name again?�
�Ace.�
Ace paused for a bit, looked at his team mates while he thought about the offer. After a few seconds of thinking, Ace spoke.
�� OK, you win. I will join the Turks.�

Chapter 6 - The New Turk

Ace paused for a bit, looked at his team mates while he thought about the offer. After a few seconds of thinking, Ace spoke.
�� OK, you win. I will join the Turks.�
Rufus looked at Ace, grinned then turned to guards.
�Take them away to the cells.�
Ace looked at AVALANCHE as they were taken off. The look some of them gave him caused him to feel bad about himself. Rufus turned and looked at Ace.
�The Turks should be here soon. They�ll give you your uniform. You�ll start on their next mission.�
�When�s that?�
�Tomorrow morning.�
A few minutes later, the door opened, and the Turks walked in. Like everyone else at Shinra they were clones. Tseng spoke first.
�You called me President Rufus?�
�Yes. I want you all to take a look at this boy.�
�Project Ace. You recovered him.�
�Yes. I have assigned him as a new Turk.�
Rude scratched his head, puzzled then spoke.
�But wasn�t that boy working with AVALANCHE?�
�He was, but he now works for us. I want you to get him a uniform so he can start tomorrow.�
As the Turks started to walk out, Rufus spoke one last time.
�Oh and Ace, please wash the gel out of your hair.�
�� Yes sir.�

In the cells on the 67th floor, AVALANCHE stood in their cell. Although they were all put in the same cell, all of their weapons had been taken away from them so they couldn�t escape. Barret was passing the room, angered by what had just happened.
�I can�t believe that little git betrayed us. I would have never suspected it.�
Cloud was leaning by a wall, lost in thought.
�I don�t think Ace has betrayed us. Didn�t you notice the time it took for him to reply to Rufus? You could tell he wasn�t happy by this. I�m sure he�ll find a way to free us. All is not lost.�
The cell was quite large, big enough to hold at least ten people. The farthest left-hand corner was blacked due to bad lighting and shadows. Then, from the corner came a voice.
�Are you referring to project Ace?�
�Huh? Who�s there?�
�Cloud? Cloud from AVALANCHE?�
�Yeah. Who are you?�
�It�s been a while hasn�t it.�
�Who are you?�
�Reeve.�
�Don�t know you.�
�How about Cait Sith?�
�You controlled Cait Sith?�
Reeve walked out from the shadows with a limp. From the way he walked, you could tell his right leg was badly injured, almost broken. Cid walked over to Reeve, and helped bring him to the seat near the door.
�What are you doing here Reeve?�
�Just before you guys came and attacked Shinra for the last time, Shinra worked out that I had been helping you, and ordered for me to be sent to prison. But when they realised that you were about to attack, they shipped me and the rest of Shinra here, leaving their clones behind.�
�You mean we killed their clones and not the real ones. That means Ace was miss informed.�
Cloud just stood there, thinking about the current situation. Barret however, took this as an opportunity to insult Ace.
�It proves that he is a Shinra spy for giving us the wrong information.�
Reeve shook his head, and laughed at Barret�s feeble attempt to insult the boy.
�Actually, Ace hates Shinra. When he first left he took a bag of grenades and threw them around Shinra as he was escaping. He killed a good amount of Shinra Soldiers, and came close to killing some of the Turks, Scarlet and even President Shinra. He also destroyed some of Hojo�s experiments. I think he hates Shinra more then you do Barret.�
Reeve got up and tried to walk, but feel over. Tifa rushed to his aid and helped him up.
�I wish there was a way we could help your leg Reeve.�
�Don�t worry Tifa. I�m sure Ace will help you escape. He�ll probably bring supplies for you lot. Hopefully he�ll bring something to help me.
As AVALANCHE spoke, the surveillance camera above watched there every move. In the guard room, Ace stood there, listening to their conversation.
�Don�t worry guys. I�ll help you escape.�
He switched off the camera to that cell and walked off to his quarters.

Ace woke up early the next day. He walked over to his battle clothes, but remembered he was a Turk. He put on his Turk uniform and walked over to his Katana Blade. Rufus had confiscated Melmusa in the hopes of preventing Ace from escaping again. Rufus knew that Ace wouldn�t leave without his precious Melmusa. Ace left his quarters and walked off. He was on the 62nd floor and was meant to meet in Rufus� office above the 68th floor. On his way there, he stopped by AVALANCHE�s cell. He was about to talk to them, but noticed they were all sleeping. He pushed a note under the door, looked up to make sure that the camera was still off (which it was) and walked off. It only took a few minutes for him to reach the Rufus� office, where he found the other Turks.
�You�re late!�
�Sorry sir. It won�t happen again sir.�
�It had better not or else their will be a public execution.�
��..�
�Anyway, I called you all here because I want you to go and recover the four Huge Materia pieces. AVALANCHE stole them from us first time when we wanted to use them against Meteor. Although Meteor is now gone, I feel that we can still use them as a source of Mako. I want you to find them.�
The Turks gave Rufus a look that showed him that they understood his orders, then went off to board a small Plane. During the flight, Ace sat in the furthest, darkest corner and listened to the Turks conversation.
�What I don�t get is how were meant to find the Huge Materia. They could be anywhere. AVALANCHE could have also split them up.�
�Yeah, I agree with Reno. We don�t know where they are. When we were chasing that Ancient, we knew where she was. But we don�t know where the Huge Materia is. What do mean by splitting them up?�
Elena just shrugged. She didn�t bother replying verbally.
�Rude, Reno is trying to say that AVALANCHE could have put them in four different place, but I�m sure that they are all in the same place. Huge Materia is large and fragile. Splitting them up would have taken to long, so they would have kept them together. It�s just a shame Reeve prevented us from tracking Cait Sith after AVALANCHE had the Huge Materia. Perhaps Ace knows.�
The Turks all turned to Ace. Ace kept quite for a few minutes before replying.
�I don�t know where it is. I have never seen them before.�
�Are you lying or telling the truth?�
�I�m telling the truth. I�ve never seen them.�
The Turks took their attention away from Ace and continued to plan where they would find the Huge Materia. During all that, Ace just kept quite.

It took the Turks all day to try and find the Huge Materia, but failed. They investigated the Nibelheim and the mountain and reactor behind it, but walked away empty handed. They then moved onto Gongaga, but again walked away empty handed. As the day drew to a close, they entered Cosmo Canyon, but were showed out within seconds of entering, saying they didn�t know anything about AVALANCHE or a creature named Red XIII. The Turks boarded their plane and prepared to fly home empty handed.
�Well that was a waste of time.�
�Yeah. Rufus ain�t gona be happy to learn we weren�t able to find the Huge Materia.�
�I�m sure Rufus would give us more time Rude. If he wants the Huge Materia, then he is going to have to wait.�
As the plane headed towards North Corel, Tseng�s phone started to ring. He answered it.
�Hello? Yes, this is Tseng. No, we weren�t able to find the Huge Materia. Oh, I see. You think it could be in Kalm. You spoke to AVALANCHE and they told you that. Understood.�
Tseng turned off his phone, then told everyone that Rufus believes the Huge Materia can be found in Kalm. He then gave the orders to pilot who then turned the Plane around, and flew off towards Kalm. Once again, the Turks spent the time talking about stuff that didn�t interest Ace. Ace just sat there with his eyes, shut, deep in mediation. There, he met Aeris, and spoke to her.
�I feel bad Aeris. I joined Shinra once again.�
�You had no choice Ace. It was that, or have AVALANCHE killed.�
�I wish I never left them. At least then I could have fought with them, and not had to join.�
�But I think you look smart in that Turk uniform.�
�Really. Yeah, it does look good.�
A few hours ago, AVALANCHE woke up, and found Ace�s note under the door. It had been sitting there for a few hours, unnoticed by anyone. Although Cloud wasn�t the first one to wake, he was the first one to notice the note. He read it:

�Guys

I know you may be pissed off about me joining Shinra again, but I had no choice, and I plan to destroy them once and for all. I�ll be bringing you guys supplies, because I�m going to need your help. When I�m back from my mission, I�ll bring you some good food, supplies and some of your weapons. If you notice, I�ve switched off the surveillance camera. You guys need your privacy. They haven�t noticed yet, but I don�t know how long this�ll last. Don�t worry, I�ll be breaking you guys out soon when the moment is right.

Ace�
When he finished, Cloud raised his head from the note. A small grin grew on his face. He turned around and showed it to the rest. After they�d finished, Cloud spoke:
�I knew we should never had lost trust in the guy. Now all we need to do is wait.�

It took the Plane a while to find Kalm. For some reason, he wasn�t sure of its location. Reno and Tseng spent most of their time shouting in the pilot�s ear, Rude and Elena just sat there and listened to it while Ace will still deep in meditation.
�What do you mean you don�t know where Kalm is! What kind of a pilot are you?�
�I� I� I�m sorry Mr Tseng, sir. I�ve never been over this continent?�
�Why not?�
�I�ve just passed my pilot tests Mr Reno. I spent most of my time in Rocket Town and the areas around it.�
�We should cut the guy some slack Reno. He can�t help it if his instructor never took him this far. I�ll help you.�
�Thank you Mr Tseng, sir.�
Tseng spent most of the journey helping the pilot. Reno walked back to Elena and Rude.
�Can you believe that? Why would Shinra hire a new pilot? It�s insane!�
�Standards drop Reno, and it has affected Shinra as well.�
�Suppose your right their Elena.�
Nothing special happened on the rest of their journey to Kalm. Tseng assisted the pilot, Elena, Rude and Reno sat in total silence and Ace was still meditating. After a few minutes of this, Ace came back to the real world.
�Hey, what�s going on?�
�What? Were you like sleeping?�
�Y... yeah I was.�
�Tseng is giving the pilot directions to reach Kalm.�
�Really? Should that pilot know where Kalm is Reno?�
�He should but he doesn�t.�
�This is going to take forever. I might as well fly myself there.�
�Fly yourself! Ha ha haa! Don�t make me laugh. You think you�re one of the Dragon Ball Z characters?�
�Dragon Ball Z, that has Vegeta in it. He�s so sexy.�
Reno and Rude looked at Elena as she entered a trance like status, thinking about Vegeta.
�Rude. What is it with Vegeta that makes chicks like him?�
�Beats me.�
All of a sudden, Ace pulled the Plane door open and was preparing to jump out.
�Kid, don�t do it.�
�Why not? It would be faster.�
The Turks watched as Ace prepared himself to jump.
�Don�t do it.�
�To late.�
And with that, Ace threw himself out of the Plane. Elena, Rude and Reno ran over to the door, and watched as Ace called upon his powers, causing a white Aura to appear around him as he took flight.
�Wahoo! That kid can actually fly!�
Tseng walked away from the pilot to investigate why the Plane door was open.
�What�s going on here? Where�s Ace?�
�He just threw himself out the Plane sir.�
�Very funny. Now where is he?�
�Take a look for yourself sir.�
Tseng looked out the Plane door, and saw Ace flying towards Kalm.
�Ace, get back in here this second, or else.�
�� Yes sir.�
Ace flew back to the plane door, and sat back down.
�I don�t want any more incidents like that, understand?�
�Yes sir.�
Ace just sat there for the journey to Kalm, bored out of his mind. It took them another ten minutes to reach Kalm. When they finally arrived, Tseng ordered the Turks to explore the town. The Turks spent quite a while talking to everyone there, as it was a big town, but came back with nothing.
�This is hopeless. Were never going to find the Huge Materia. We might as well head back.�
�I agree with you Elena. Lets head back to the Plane.�
�Leaving so soon?�
The Turks turned around to see who said that, but there was no one in the streets.
�Are you looking for me?�
�Yes. Who are you?�
�I am the rival one of you five down there. I have come here to fight him.�
�Well, that cancels out Elena.�
�The Dark One.�
�What did you say Ace?�
�What, oh nothing.�
�My patients is running short. I want the Chosen One now, or else.�
Ace didn�t step forward, but instead stayed with the group.
�Very well.�
The Turks watched as the ground started to shake, throwing garbage cans, signs and anything else on the ground over.
�Given up yet? Or do you want me to start killing people.�
�Dark One, it is who you are looking for.�
Ace stepped forward, drew his sword and entered a fighting stance.
�Finally I have found you. Now let the fight begin.�
Movement could be heard down the alleyway nearest to them. They watched as the Dark One stepped out into daylight, to reveal his identity�

Chapter 7 - The Dark One

�Dark One, it is who you are looking for.�
Ace stepped forward, drew his sword and entered a fighting stance.
�Finally I have found you. Now let the fight begin.�
Movement could be heard down the alleyway nearest to them. They watched as the Dark One stepped out into daylight, to reveal his identity, Sephiroth.
�Sephiroth, I thought you were dead.�
�Really Tseng? Being the Dark One gives me the power to revive myself. After all, these powers make me near immortal. Now Chosen One, the end of your life has begun!�
�My God! Why do you talk like that Sephiroth?�
�Grr.�
Sephiroth lunged himself at Ace.
�You expect me to stand still?�
As Sephiroth drew closer, Ace begun to crouch, then when Sephiroth was close enough, Ace jumped up and performed a crescent kick. Both feet crashed onto Sephiroth�s jaw, throwing him backwards. Sephiroth regained his balance, whipped blood from his mouth then drew Masamune.
�It looks like I will have to use stronger methods.�
�Ha! With Melmusa in my power, I will stop you.�
Ace threw his right hand to his left hip, but found there was nothing there.
�Damn it! Rufus still has it.�
Ace looked up to see Sephiroth charging towards him with Masamune aimed at Ace�s head. Ace ducked at the last minute, and felt the sword go through his hair. Ace lost his balance, fell and landed on his Katana Blade. He drew it and entered a battle stance.
�So, the boy has toys to play with, but that poor excuse for a sword will not save you from me!�
�There is no harm in trying Sephiroth.�
The Turks took a few steps back from the two fighters, and started to head towards the plane. As they left the village, Reno tripped over a rock. Tseng turned around to see what had happened, while guiding the other Turks onto the plane. Tseng told Reno hurry up, but there was no point. Sephiroth saw what was happening, raised one of his hands and fired an energy attack at the plane. The attack was much like Ace�s, but was black, symbolising his dark powers. The plane exploded, killing the Turks and the pilot. Only Reno survived the attack. Villagers came out to see what the explosion was, saw Sephiroth and ran back in to safety.
�I thought I killed Tseng before. What was he doing alive?�
�He was a clone. They all were.�
�No matter. I shall kill all the Turks and Shinra.�
Sephiroth raised his hand, aiming it towards Reno. He started to summon up the energy to kill him.
�Over my dead body.�
Ace leapt forward, swinging a hook punch at Sephiroth�s chin, causing him to lose his aim. Ace shouted at Reno to run away while he continued to fight Sephiroth. To give Reno enough escapes time. Ace threw himself at Sephiroth, throwing punches and kicks at him, preventing him from attacking Reno. When Reno was out of his sight, Sephiroth turned his attention back at Ace, and engaged him in hand to hand combat.

�Hey, AVALANCHE!�
�Huh?�
�Rufus wants to speak to you.�
A Shinra Soldier stood at the door to AVALANCHE�s cell door. He called for backup, and opened the door after they had arrived. The Soldiers entered, chained AVALANCHE and lead them to meet Rufus.
�It seems that your young friend has drown some attention.�
Cloud was pushed towards Rufus� desk.
�What do you mean?�
�He is involved in a fight with Sephiroth.�
�Sephiroth? You�ve got to be kidding me! I killed him with my team mates.�
�Well you didn�t do a very good job of it. Look.�
Cloud�s head was thrown towards a TV on Rufus� desk. There, Ace and Sephiroth were engaged in a long fight.
�What? That�s impossible! I fought Safer Sephiroth with Barret and Tifa. They saw him brake into pieces.�
Rufus turned up the volume on the TV, allowing the group to here the TV Announcer. The camera wasn�t focused on his face, but his voice was loud and clear.
�For those of you who have just tuned in, Cell and a mysteries, Golden haired hippie have been fighting out side of the Cell Game�s ring, which was just destroyed by Cell��
�Damn. I must have changed the TV channel. I don�t want Dragon Ball Z, I want the news!�
Rufus changed the channel back to the news, and increased the volume. Once again, the camera wasn�t focused on the TV announcer, but on the fight between Ace and Sephiroth.
�Just moments ago, the man with the long, black cloak and long, silver hair destroyed the Turk�s plane, killing Tseng, Elena, Rude and the pilot. It is unclear if Reno was involved in this. Now, the sliver haired man is fighting a teenage boy in a Turks uniform. The teen is about 17 years old from the looks of him, and fights very well. It is unclear if he is the same boy seen in Kalm ten days ago. There are rumours flying around that he destroyed Meteor, is a powerful martial artist and has joined AVALANCHE.�
�I Want Sephiroth dead for what he did to the Turks. I have decided to give you Melmusa, which he can use in his fight with Sephiroth. But don�t you think you�re going un-escorted. I will have ten of my Shinra Soldiers accompany you as you deliver this blade. I can only hope that you will reach them on time.�
The Shinra Solider escorted them out, and to one of the Shinra planes, to fly the group to Kalm.

Ace and Sephiroth were still fighting strong, each one swinging there sword in a vain attempt to hit the other, only to watch as the other blocked the attack with there sword. A few attacks got in, but not strong enough to kill.
�I can see that our sword skills are equal. But I can do more than fight.�
Sephiroth returned Masamune to it�s sheath, causing Ace to do the same.
�I am sure you know that we can use our energy to attack each other.�
�Yep. My spirit guide told me that.�
�Spirit� Guide?� Her! I thought I disposed of her. I thought I could sense another with powers similar to yours. So, she is still part of this planet.�
Sephiroth throw himself into the air, hovering. He raised his hands, place them together like he was praying, then while keeping his thumbs and little fingers together, Sephiroth stretched his other fingers out as far as they would go. He focused his energy into his hands, causing a ball of dark energy to appear in his hands.
�I can do that.�
Ace throw himself into the air, flattened his right hand and fired a small energy attack, about as big as his palm at Sephiroth, who was still charging up energy. The attack hit him in his chest, causing him to drop the energy.
�What? How dare you attack me� You are only level one. You should be weaker than me!�
�Level one? What does that mean?�
�You do not know the levels of the Chosen and Dark ones? My, you haven�t been studying have you!�
�What?�
�To obtain our full strength, we must study ancient texts. With this, we can learn new attacks and skills, which increase our fighting or magic power. When we have learned enough, our level increase. Four is the maximum, and I am level three while you are level one.�
�Why are you telling me this?�
�It is simple. You are level one, while I am level three. I would expect more of a challenge from you. To finish you now will not satisfy me.�
�I will not let you walk away from this fight!�
�If you wish.�
Ace aimed himself towards Sephiroth, and prepared to fly over to his opponent. But, before his eyes, Sephiroth vanished, and appeared in front on Ace. Sephiroth raised his fist, and began to attack Ace with all his strength. Villagers had come out to see the fight. The camera captured all of this on film, with the TV announcer commentating the fight. Soon, Ace�s face was covered with browses.
�So, you have appeared to help the boy? It is too late. I have won.�
Aeris appeared at Ace�s side, hoping to use Great Gospel to heal him, but Sephiroth throw Ace towards the ground. Ace landed flat on his back, coming close to braking his spine. He landed near the local inn. It didn�t take Ace long to find his feet, and when he did, he saw a small girl staring at him.
�Are you the same boy who saved me an my mom from those wolves?�
�I am.�
Suddenly, Ace felt a strange snap inside his head. He turned around to see that Sephiroth had fired an attack Ace and the girl, hoping to wound or even kill them. With seconds left, Ace rapped his left arm around the girl, and flew away from the building, tilting his body to shield the girl. Seconds later, Sephiroth�s attack hit the ground. Ace breathed a sigh of relief, as he had managed to dodge Sephiroth�s attack. Sephiroth charged up again and fired. Ace managed to protect the girl and his torso from Sephiroth�s attack, but his right arm, which had been hanging behind his body was hit. The attack was strong, enough to kill a weaker man, but instead cuased Ace�s bone�s to vibrate and brake. Ace stopped, landed, placed the girl down safely and started to scream out in pain. Sephiroth just hovered there, laughing at Ace.
�Until we meet again boy.�
He flew off. The village surgeon came and took a look at Ace�s arm and placed it in a cast. Some time later, AVALANCHE arrived in Shinra plane. Cloud ran over to Ace, and handed him the sword. When the Soldier saw that Sephiroth had gone he ordered Cloud to return it. Ace walked over to the Soldier, and punched him with his left arm. The other Soldiers aimed there guns at Ace, ready to shoot, but ended up dropping the guns. Ace had used fire magic to increase the guns temperature, making them to hot to handle. AVALANCHE ran over and knocked out the remaining guns. Ace freed his comrades and flew off.
�Were are you going?�
�To finish off Shinra once and for all.�

Within minutes, Ace had reached his goal. Increasing his speed, Ace entered the building, took his regular clothes, AVALANCHE�s weapons and exited the building before Rufus or Shinra knew what happened. Using his powers, Ace created an energy field over the times, causing them to hover in the air beside him. He raised his left hand, summoned a huge amount of energy and blew up the reactor, destroying Shinra.
�Now, they are finished. Only Sephiroth is left to threaten the planet.�
Ace flew down to the Highwind, and asked the pilot to fly it to Kalm to pick up AVALANCHE.

Meanwhile, in the underground laboratory, the two men were standing by a pod.
�Is it ready to be released yet?�
�It has finished being created, but the power is still being taken up. One of them must die before it can be released.�
�Damn it. Call me if there are any more developments.�
One of them walked off, while the other stayed to monitor the pod.

Chapter 8 - Training

It had been three days since Ace fought Sephiroth and destroyed Shinra. AVALANCHE had been sitting on the Highwind all this time, wondering what move they should make next. Ace was wearing his normal civilian cloths instead f his Turk uniform.
�So, what does Sephiroth plan to do with the world?�
�Why you asking me Cloud? Just because I fought him doesn�t mean I know his plans.�
�The Dark One always brings total destruction where ever he goes. That�s what he does.�
�How do you know all this Red?�
�My father and grand father were destined to assist the Chosen One. They thought me everything they know when I was a cub. Now with them both dead, I suppose it is my duty to assist Ace.�
�Sephiroth said something about me being level one. What did he mean by that?�
�Your power level. Both the Chosen One and Dark One gain strength by learning new abilities. What he means by level one is that you know the basics and nothing else. I propose you spend a few days learning all the skills you will nee to kill Sephiroth.�
�And how do I do that?�
�Cosmo Canyon.�
�Excuse me?�
�Deep in Cosmo Canyon are texts which talk about the battles between the Chosen One and Dark One. I will take Ace there to train.�
�What about the rest of us?�
�I don�t know. Perhaps you should go and battle to increase your levels. I have a feeling all of us will be battling.�

Cid ordered the pilot to fly the Highwind towards Cosmo Canyon. As always, the Highwind was only able to land at the base of the mountain leading to Cosmo Canyon, forcing Red and Ace to climb it.
�I will call you on the PHS when we are done Cloud.�
�OK Red. See you later.�
The Highwind flew off into the distance, leaving Ace and Red behind. The two turned and started to climb the mountain. As always, they fought a few monsters on the way, but they were nothing the two of them couldn�t handle. It didn�t take them long to reach the summit and enter Cosmo Canyon. As they started to walk up the stairs, the Guard came down to greet them.
�Greetings Nanaki. Who is your companion?�
�The Chosen One.�
�The Chosen One! The warrior of light and all things good? I always thought Bugenhagen or Seto were meant to guide him.�
�True, but they are both dead. Seeing as I descended from them, I should guide him.�
�Do you know where the texts are?�
�Yes. Grandfather always showed me their location when I was a cub.�
The Guard stepped out of the way, allowing Ace and Red to enter Cosmo Canyon. Red lead Ace up the stairs leading to the shop and past it until they reached a metal door.
�Grandfather allowed Cloud, myself and one other member of AVALANCHE to enter.�
�Why was the other member?�
�I can�t remember.�
Red stood upright on his hind legs and activated the camera in the barrel. It scanned Red�s face, and opened the door.
�Before I wasn�t able to open this door, but before he died, Grandfather re-programmed the machine to allow me to enter. When he passed me Cosmo Memory, he also passed me a note which told me I could open this door.�
The two entered, and climbed down the ladders and ropes until they reached the bottom. Afterwards, Red took Ace down a hidden path which lead to a room filled with books and scrolls.
�Wow! Look at this place. This place must contain so much knowledge.�
Red pointed Ace towards a pile of books, and an empty space in the centre of the room.
�You need to read those books Ace. Practise the skills they contain in that space over there.�
�Gotcha.�
Ace picked up a book and began to read. After a few minutes of reading, Ace put the book down, knelt down and began to meditate.
�Talk to me. Tell me everything.�
�Ace.�
Red broke Ace�s concentration, bringing him back to the real world.
�You don�t expect to be able to talk to the planet after spending a few minutes reading? The skills here will take a long time for you to master.�
�Oh.�

AVALANCHE walked out of Midgar and headed towards the Highwind.
�Well, that was pointless.�
�Yeah, Barret�s right. Cloud, why did you tell us to go to Midgar. There isn�t anything there.�
�You shouldn�t be so hard on cloud all the time Cid, Barret. He must have though going to Sector 6 was a good idea.�
�There you are, always defending him Tifa.�
�Come on. Lets board the Highwind and leave this place. It was pointless coming here.�
A day had passed since Red took Ace to train him. Cloud decided to take Red�s tip to heart and began to train the group. Once everyone was on board the Highwind, it took off and flew towards Mideel.
�Mideel. Now that is a good decision Cloud. Mideel�s monsters are good for training.�
�You think so Barret?�
�Yeah. It�s the best decision you�ve made these past few days.�
�I�ll pretend I didn�t hear you say that.�

During the past day, Ace had only been able to master a few moves.
�I don�t understand. Why aren�t you learning much? A Chosen One should be able to use all sort of Magic based moves.�
�Well, that�s the problem. I�m not a Magic user.�
�What?�
�I�m a fighter.�
�Oh. Well, that changes things. I suggest you spend some more time on the fighting moves rather than the magic moves. Show me your energy weapons.�
One of the moves Ace had been able to master was Energy Weapons. Ace converted his energy into a solid weapon, like a sword or axe. It has all the strengths of the weapon, and the added power of Holy.
�OK.�
Ace placed his right hand as if he was holding a sword�s handle, then moved his left hand below it. Ace charged up his energy, and made a two handled broadsword appear in his hands. He then started to swing it around like a Knight.
�Good. Job well done Ace.�
�So, what level am I at?�
�I�d say level two.�
�Level two! That means I�m still weaker than Sephiroth.�
�I am sure there are more fighting moves you can learn Ace.�
Ace just stood there, his eyes wide open, his whole body not moving.
�Ace? Are you OK?�
Once again, Ace entered his mind to battle Jenova.

�Ace, it�s been a while.�
�Aeris.�
�I can see you�re having problems with your training.�
�Yeah. There are just to few moves for a fighter.�
�Don�t worry, you will become level three by the end of the day.�
�Really? Great.�
�Anyway, you know why I called you, don�t you?�
�Yep. To fight the last Jenova monster.�
Ace let his arms hang next to his legs. He curled his right hand into a cup shape, and created a Katana blade with his energy.
�Hang on a minute, I just realised something. Why isn�t my right arm broken?�
�Here it has been healed back to it�s old self. If you wish, I can heal it for you so you can use it again in the real world.�
�Please.�
Aeris used her Great Gospel Limit Break to heal Ace. Although there was no change to him here, he know his body had been restored to it�s old self.
�Thanks Aeris. Now, where is Jenova?�
�Where they all are.�
�Gotcha.�
Ace ran off into the darkest area of his mind and prepared to fight the last Jenova monster - Jenova DEATH. The energy sword was still in his hand, strong as ever. Soon, Ace was faced with Jenova.
�Chosen One, prepare to die.�
�Not today.�
Jenova started the fight by using Red Light, throwing Ace back.
�You�re stronger than the other ones, but still not strong enough to beat me.�
Ace ran towards Jenova, raised his energy sword in his right hand and slashed Jenova. When he had finished his attack, the sword vanished.
�Is that you�re best move?�
�No. This is.�
Ace jumped high into the air, placed his hands together and fired hundreds of energy blasts towards Jenova. He then flew in, drew Melmusa and slashed the monster. Jenova raised its right wing like arm and hit Ace, throwing him towards the wall. Melmusa fell out of Ace�s hand as he slid down to the ground. Jenova moved towards Ace and prepared to hit him with it�s win like arms. Before this could happen, Ace threw Melmusa into Jenova�s skull, piercing it�s brain. He then fired hundreds of energy blasts into Jenova�s torso before slashing it across the chest with an energy sword, killing it.
�You have become strong, haven�t you Ace.�
�Those energy weapons are great.�
HE walked over to Jenova�s body and pulled his sword out of it�s skull. Once again, the body vanished leaving behind a metal object. Ace walked over and picked it up. It looked like the middle of a blue sword.
�Aeris, where are the other parts?�
�You should have them in your jacket pocket.�
Ace put his hand in it, and pulled out the other two parts, He placed the three pieces on the floor, and arranged them. When the three pieces touched each other, a blinding light filled the room. After the light had gone, the three pieces had fused together, leaving a blue broadsword.
�Unless I am mistaken, that is the Holy blade Excalibur.�
�Really?�
�Yes. Now, no evil can stop you. Anyway, you should now return to the real world, and continue your training.�
�One thing. Why is it that I could never find the pieces of Excalibur in my pocket in the real world?�
�You can only use Excalibur in the real world once you have summoned it.�
�Oh. Gotcha.�
Ace closed his eyes, and was taken back to the real world. When he woke up, Red was standing over his body.
�Ace, what just happened?�
�Oh. Nothing special.�
� Really?�
�Yes.�
�OK. Now, lets continue with our training.�

By the end of the day, Ace had reached the third level like Aeris for told. Ace had learned how to track the Dark One and how to make double edged energy weapons. As the day drew to an end, Red called AVALANCHE on the PHS.
�How was your training Ace?�
�Great Cloud. I feel so much stronger. I feel ready to take on Sephiroth.�
�But how are we going to find him?�
�Simple. I can track him.�
Ace used his newly obtained powers. Within a few minutes, he had located Sephiroth.
�He is in the Northern Crater.�
�OK, lets go there and finish this.�

Chapter 9 - The Final Battle

�OK, lets go there and finish this.�
�Gotcha Cloud. OK, fly us towards the Northern Crater.�
�Yes sir.�
As the Highwind began to fly to Sephiroth�s location, Ace headed towards the door.
�Where you going?�
�I want to go and meditate for a bit. This battle�s gona be huge. I need to be fully ready for it.�
�OK. I�ll let you know when we get there.�
�Thanks Cloud.�
Ace walked out of the bridge, threw his jacket over some railings and headed for the stairs leading outside. As he stepped out, he felt the wind brush past his face as it rushed past the Highwind.
�Planet, I will make sure Sephiroth does not destroy you. You can count on it.�
He sat cross-legged on the cold metal, closed his eyes and begun.
�Aeris. Can you hear me? � Aeris, are you there? � Hello?�
�Ace. I have to leave you now.�
�What?�
�I have almost taught you everything you need to know. You no longer need me.�
�Wait a minute. What do you mean almost?�
�There is one more skill you need to posses - Great Gospel.�
�Your Limit Break?�
�Yes. Every Chosen One needs to know it. For many, it has been passed down, but I learned it through a Limit Break manual.�
As Ace meditated, he felt the power flow into his body.
�That is all I need to teach you. Good bye Ace.�
�Wait a minute. You know the future. What will happen with my battle with Sephiroth?�
�� I can not say.�
�Is it really that bad?�
�No.�
And for the last time, Aeris left Ace alone.
�Good bye Aeris. I�ll miss you.�
Ace awoke from his meditation, stood up and began to practise his fighting, weapon and Chosen One skills.
�I need to be in excellent fighting condition to be able to beat Sephiroth.�
Ace placed his palms together, placed them next to his stomach and began to charge energy for an energy blast. He then fired it at a downward angle off the edge of the Highwind. For a split second, he could see a hole in the water, but the Highwind moved to fast for him to fully absorb the sight.
�ACE! KNOCK THAT OFF WILL YA! YOU ALMOST HIT THE F*****G HIGHWIND!�
�Sorry Cid�

Ace was in the middle of practising his fighting skills when he heard a knock on the door.
�Ace, Cid says we are about ten minutes from reaching the Northern Crater.�
�Thanks Tifa. I�ll be down in a minute.�
Ace wiped the sweat off his forehead, picked up his weapons and headed back into the Highwind. On his way back to the bridge, he picked his jacket off the railings and threw it back on, then strapped Melmusa onto his back with the handle to the right hand side of his head. He carried his other sword and nunchuks in his hand.
�Kid, we haven�t got far to go till we reach Sephiroth. I hope your ready.�
�As ever.�
�Why are you carrying those weapons Ace? Isn�t that heavy?�
�Yeah, but I like to carry weights. Then, wen I remove them, I�m stronger. One thing people. I�m meant to be fighting Sephiroth, not you. I stand the only chance of killing him. You guys can come if you want, BUT if I give the signal, you get your asses out of the crater, OK?�
�Whatever you say Ace. You�re the expert here.�
�You�re really gona listen to me Cloud?�
�Sure. Like I said, you�re the expert.�
�Cool. Then, lets mosey!�
�Hey, I say that!�

As before, the Highwind landed near the slope leading down to the crater�s centre. After landing, everyone got out of the Highwind. When they were all out, Cloud spoke.
�OK, the idea is to get Ace down to the centre to fight Sephiroth. If possible, Ace should be at full strength so he stands a decent chance of winning. OK, lets mosey.�
While AVALANCHE began sliding down the slope, Ace took to the sky and flew ahead of them.
�It will be faster if I fly to the centre. I go ahead, so I�ll meet you all at the centre.�
�Wait a minute Ace. You don�t know where you�re meant to go.�
�I think I can figure it out. Besides, I can sense Sephiroth. The closer I get the stronger his energy will be.�
Before anyone else could speak, Ace flew off.

As he flew down the crater, Ace took this opportunity to look around the crater. Everything was dark. Ace could sense evil in the areas around the crater, and it felt strong to him. It didn�t take him long to work out what had happened. Sephiroth had used his dark powers to alter the crater. As he flew in closer, he could sense more darkness.
�Why has Sephiroth done this? Is this his evil plan? Does he plan to use his dark energy to corrupt the whole world?�
Ace stopped to take a better look at what Sephiroth had done. Suddenly, a Dark Dragon appeared in front of him. The dragon looked at Ace for a few seconds, before releasing a black flame from its mouth. Ace worked out that the dragon had been changed by Sephiroth�s dark powers into something darker. The dragon could sense Ace�s holy powers and decided to destroy him.
�So, you want to fight me? Bring it on!�
Ace drew Melmusa from its scabbard on his back, and holding the sword in his right hand, slashed the dragon across the face. The dragon backed off, roaring before countering with laser. Like the flame thrower attack, the laser attack had been effected by the evil around it. Although the beam wasn�t pure black like the flame thrower attack, it was definitely darker than usual. The laser threw Ace across the room into the wall on the other side.
�You�re stronger than I expected. That�s good. I love a challenge.�
Melmusa had also been thrown into the wall. Ace drew it and placed it in its scabbard. He then placed his right hand on top of his left, as if he was holding a spear. A twin bladed staff appeared in his hands. Ace rushed over to the dragon then slashed it with both sides repeatedly before lunging the blade into its head, killing it.
�IS THAT THE BEST YOU CAN DO SEPHIROTH? BECAUSE IF SO, YOU HAVE NO HOPE OF WINNING!�
�Ace? Are you down there?�
�Huh?�
Ace flew back up to see AVALANCHE about fifty meters above him.
�What took you guys so long?�
�Not all of us are as fast or powerful as you are Ace! Anyway, what were you doing down there? And what is with this area? It looks so dark.�
�I think Sephiroth has used his dark powers to change the area around us. It also seems to have affected the monsters. I just fought a Dark Dragon who was a lot stronger than usually. Admittedly, I don�t know what a Dark Dragon is normally like, but the bloody thing was tough. If any of you guys fought one of these monsters, I doubt you�ll win. I think I�ll stick with you guys for a bit.
The journey to the centre took longer than Ace wanted, but he knows it was his duty to assist AVALANCHE. He knew they wouldn�t stand a chance against these new monsters. As they went on, the group faced darker versions of monsters AVALANCHE fought when they battled Sephiroth to stop Meteor. Eventually, they reached the bottom. Past here were groups of rocks, which would lead them to Sephiroth.
�Sephiroth is down this path. I can sense him.�
�We already know he�s down there.�
�Huh? Why do you say that Cloud?�
�When we fought him for the first time, he was down this path. I can remember it well. If what you believe is true Ace, that Sephiroth plans to use his dark powers to chance the planet, we haven�t got a moment to lose. We need to get down there fast.�
�Right. Lets go.�
�Wait��
�There ain�t time Cloud.�
Ace threw himself down towards the centre, head first with his arms at his side for maximum speed. As he fell Iron Giants and Dragon Zombies attacked him. Like the other monsters, they had been changed with the Dark power, but they were no match for Ace. His blasts killed them in seconds. Ace saw rocky platforms as he fell. A few led down to a large platform. Ace spun in the air until he was up right, then used his powers to slowly fall onto the platform. When he landed, he drew Melmusa and entered a guard stance.
�I know you�re here Sephiroth. Show yourself.�
Out of the shadows, Sephiroth crept out, ready to slash Ace from behind. As he raised his sword, Ace jumped up, spun round and kicked Sephiroth across the face.
�You think you can creep up on me? You�re dumber than I thought!�
�I see you are stronger boy. Perhaps now you shall be more of a challenge.�
Sephiroth raised his sword, ran forward and attempted to slash Ace. Seconds before Sephiroth lower his sword, Ace back flipped out of the way. The sword just skimmed passed him. He then ran back over to counter Sephiroth�s attack, only to watch as Sephiroth jumped into the air. Ace followed. When he caught up with him, Ace tried to slash Sephiroth, who blocked Ace�s attack with his sword then tried to counter. Ace copied Sephiroth�s attack by blocking with his sword. The two fought like this for a while. They were so evenly matched that neither struck the other, but still continued to exchange sword slashes.

As Sephiroth went to slash him, Ace blocked with his sword as usual, but then raised his feet and shot them into Sephiroth�s gut, throwing him back. Ace then held his sword in his right hand, raised his left and fired an energy blast at Sephiroth. Sephiroth hadn�t recovered from Ace�s kick, so the blast hit him, causing him to fall down towards the large platform. When he landed, he created a huge crater. Ace flew down towards him, firing hundreds of blasts at Sephiroth, each one connecting. Ace landed not far from Sephiroth, and walked over to his foe. Sephiroth hadn�t moved and inch since he plummeted towards the ground.
�Get up Sephiroth. I know your facking it.�
Suddenly, Sephiroth grabbed one of Ace�s legs and pulled it towards him, causing Ace to fall backwards. Ace banged his head on the ground, but shot up before Sephiroth could move.
�Wh� wh... WHAT! Why didn�t you stay down?�
�I�m stronger than you think Sephiroth. I the last few days training so I can stop you.�
Sephiroth stood up, picked up Masamune, held it in his right hand and went to slash Ace.
�You really think you can beat me by repeating the same moves?�
Ace evaded Sephiroth�s move, then punched him in the stomach. Sephiroth froze from the attack, stunned by its strength. Ace Masamune from Sephiroth�s hand and threw it down. He then raised both of his arms, and slammed them both onto either side of Sephiroth�s arm, in two places, braking it.
�MY ARM! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO IT?�
�Broken it. Like I said, I�ve become real strong.�
Sephiroth just stood there then began to laugh.
�What are you laughing about?�
�Do you honestly think you are as strong, or even stronger than me?�
�What?�
�I didn�t spend the last few days sitting on my ass! I trained. Now my magic skills are stronger than yours.�
�That�s not hard.�
�What?�
�I�m weak with magic.� He then grinned. �My strength is fighting. I�m a master of Martial Arts.�
�Strength can�t beat Magic.�
�What to put it to the test?�
�OK.�
Sephiroth raised his left hand over his right wrist. In his hand grew a black light. He fired it at his arm, healing it. He then placed his hands together, and fired hundreds of energy blasts at Ace. Ace easily dodged these attacks, giving Sephiroth enough time to retrieve his sword. After Ace dodged all the attacks, he saw Sephiroth slash him across the chest. Ace fell to his knees in pain, as the blood fell from the wound onto the ground.
�You are no match for me.�
�I was hit in the chest by part of your Meteor. I should have died, but I survived. I can survive this. GREAT GOSPEL!�
White energy flowed from Ace, and covered the wound. When it vanished, all was left was a hole on his shirt.
�You may have given yourself more time boy, but I can still beat you.�

AVALANCHE slowly jumped from rock to rock. They didn�t want to disturb Ace or draw Sephiroth�s attention to them. They watched as Ace got back onto his feet, pick up Melmusa and run at Sephiroth. Just before he reached him, Ace vanished. Seconds later he appeared above Sephiroth, and fired a huge energy attack at his head. Sephiroth dodged this. AVALANCHE had moved on a few rocks, keeping a close eye on this. Then, Ace stopped, and removed his jacket and threw it towards Cloud.
�Huh?�
�Take it away to safety for me, and I want you all to get the hell out of here. Keep the Highwind above the crater. Things may turn nasty.�
�OK Ace.�
AVALANCHE ran back up the rocks to return to the Highwind. Surprisingly, the monsters didn�t attack them on their long journey back.
�Just because you handed your jacket to your friends doesn�t mean you can beat me.�
�Perhaps. But I didn�t want it to get damaged.�
They both raised their swords and continued to fight.

Like earlier in the battle, they spent most of there time exchanging sword swipes, and blocking them.
�Is that the only move you can do Sephiroth?�
�What?�
�In my training, I learned some new moves.�
Ace placed Melmusa in his scabbard, then cupped his right hand, creating a Katana blade.
�What is that?�
�An energy weapon. Cool isn�t it?�
�I don�t understand. I can�t perform this move.�
�Really? Looks like I have an advantage over you.�
Ace ran over to Sephiroth and slashed him. The second Ace connected, Sephiroth bellowed out in pain. The Katana blade was created with holy energy. Because Sephiroth used dark powers, he was weak against holy. By compressing the energy into a weapon, it damage to Sephiroth, its strength had increased. Ace continued to slash Sephiroth with the sword, and watched as he winced in pain, trying to dodge each slash. After Ace had slashed Sephiroth a good number of times, Sephiroth fell to his knees. The Katana blade vanished from Ace�s hand. He then placed on hand under each other, and created a twin bladed sword, with a long handle. One blade was at the top of the handle, while the other was at the base. The handle itself was about four times the size of Ace�s hand. Ace then proceeded to slash Sephiroth. He started by slashing Sephiroth�s jaw, throwing him back and making blood fly from his mouth. Ace then slashed him with both ends, like a man using a canoe paddle.
�Please�. Stop it� now� I beg of you.�
�Why? You almost killed a child and broke my arm. You tried to destroy this planet and killed my predecessor in cold blood. Why should I stop?�
Ace let the double edged sword vanish into the air.
�I have saved a special treat for you Sephiroth.�
Ace placed his right hand high into the air, and began to chant.
�Holy sword Excaliber, I summon your. Come to me and help me destroy the darkness that I am fighting!�

�Any change to the readings? Can we finally release it from its pod?�
�Soon Mr Rufus. Soon.�
In the underground laboratory, Rufus and Hojo stood near the pod. Light was coming in through the windows, but shade covered the condense of the pod making it hard to see inside the glass. The laboratory�s location was however unknown.
�Excellent Hojo. Creating clones of ourselves to have encase Project Ace tried to destroy Shinra was a wise move. He completely destroyed the reactor at North Corel, and everyone inside. HE destroyed our clones, and thought he killed us.�
�The two are fighting as we speak. One of them is about to win. Our subject in the pod can then absorb his powers when he dies. Project Ace won�t know what hit him when the two meet. The final victory will be ours.�

Ace stood there with Excaliber in his hand. He ran over to Sephiroth, and slashed him with it. As Excaliber cut the flesh, smoke was emitted as the flesh was burnt by Excaliber�s holiness. Ace repeatedly slashed Sephiroth, showing his advantage to his weakened foe. Sephiroth had been thrown to the floor from Ace�s repeated attacks. The best way to describe him is that he was sitting up. Blood was running down from his face and all the wounds on his torso. He feared what Ace�s next move would be.
�And now, I shall finish you once and for all. In your current state, I doubt you can survive Excaliber embedded into your chest.�
Ace ran over to Sephiroth and rammed the sword into his chest, narrowly missing his heart. Sephiroth barely survived the attack. He was heavily breathing.
�So, you survived it. But the victory is still mine. I shall blast it with holy, supercharging the sword and kill you.�
Ace prepared to fire an energy attack at the sword, but nothing happened.
�I must have used up all my energy creating those energy weapons and Excaliber. I suppose there is only one option available to me��

�One of them is about to die. We can finally release it. Open the pod now.�
�But with out the powers, won�t it die?�
�No. It would take a few minutes before it is ready to receive the powers. If we time it right, it should receive the powers before this time is over.�
Rufus pressed a switch which opened the pod. A human fell out onto the floor.

Ace had begun to turn pure white. His eyes were closed as he summoned all of his energy. Electricity was flowing to and from his body.
�What are you doing?�
�The only option available to myself to supercharge Excaliber - killing myself and releasing all of my holy energy.�
Seconds later his eyes opened, and with a white flash exploded. For Sephiroth, time seemed to have slowed down. The white energy from Ace was slowly being drawn to the sword in his body. When it touched it, he could feel it flow through his body, killing him. Within seconds, he was dead.

AVALANCHE was unaware of what was happening in the fight between Sephiroth and Ace. Suddenly, the sky lit up with white energy.
�Isn�t that Ace�s power Red?�
�Yes, but it can�t be true. No. It can�t have happened.�
�What? What can�t have happened?�
�Ace killing himself to release all of his energy.�
�WHAT! Why would Ace do that?�
�It must have been the only way he could kill Sephiroth.�

Epilogue: Ace�s death

It had been some time since Ace fought Sephiroth. AVALANCHE waited for hours after the white energy rose into the sky. Slowly, the crater caved in because of the energy destroying some of its foundations. After a while, Melmusa and Masamune flew out of the crater and landed on separate islands. AVALANCHE went a collected them, in the hope of Ace�s return. After three weeks of waiting, they knew one thing - Ace Strife was dead.

The End

An intriguing plot, one that wasn't too tricky to follow and kept me reading until the end. Ace was well developed as a character and easy to associate with as a hero, especially as a self-sacrificing kind of hero at the end of the story. I enjoyed reading it. Good work!

Cheers. :D
I had a guy give it 5/10, just 'coz it was short :mad:
I do plan to re-write it sometime, but I wana finsih the sequal first.

the ending was a little disappointing, but other than that it was good. though really now that i think about it, there wasn't really any other option, i guess.

well done though. i liked it.

What do you mean it's disappointing? What aspects did you find disappointing (let me know, 'coz I plan to re-write it)? I have heard people say the first fight between Ace and Sephiroth is good, though I'm not to sure if the final fight is as good....

well i didn't like the fact that ace died. everything else was fine.

the first fight is good, yeah. the final fight is not bad either, except for the outcome.

that's about the only thing i didn't like, so i can live with it as it is. it's a good story. :)

Ok. Well, I might as well post the sequal:

Story 2 - The Black Ninja
(The first story was called Ace)
Chapter 1 - Reilly

*Prologue* It had been three months since Ace Strife sacrificed his life in an attempt to defeat his mortal enemy. During those three months AVALANCHE often drifted the world in the hopes of finding the young worrier or even his enemy Sephiroth. Sadly, there attempts were pointless - Ace never appeared. One day a huge Earthquake cracked the northern content. Out of it drifted Ace�s shirt and jeans, covered in rips and holes. AVALANCHE went to the scene and for the first time appeared in the pubic eye. After being interviewed by reporters AVALANCHE�s story was posted through out the world. They achieved world fame when all they attempted to do was see if a friend still lived. Upon hearing about the recent events, Yuffie Kisaragi, a one time AVALANCHE member and friend of Ace approached the group, rejoining them. *End Prologue*

On the northern crater, twenty four hours after the earthquake stood AVALANCHE. Cloud Strife was talking on his PHS with Tifa Lockheart slowly walking towards him. Barret Wallace, Red XIII, Reeve, Cid Highwind and Vincent Valentine were examining the crater and the clothes.
�Right� We�ll meet you here.�
�Who was that Cloud?�
�Yuffie.�
Upon hearing that name, Barret turned around.
�Not her! Please!�
�She wants to talk to us. She wants to know more about Ace.�
�She ain�t the only one.�
�Fascinating��
�What do you mean Red?�
Cloud began walking towards Red XIII as he examined the items of clothing.
�It appears that Ace turned his whole body into energy. The only damage the clothes received were from his battle with Sephiroth. I am more interested in learning how he learnt this.�
�Red, wouldn�t some one else have inherited the power by now?�
�No Tifa. The power does not go to the next person within seconds. It takes time. The new Chosen One may receive his or her power in a few days, weeks maybe even months.�
�But is there any need for the powers? Sephiroth is dead.�
�There is still a new Dark One out there. Someone will inherit the dark powers some time soon.�
Cloud walked over and picked up Ace�s clothes. The group then stood there for a few hours until Yuffie arrived.

Since Shinra crumbled, Midgar had slowly begun to change. Not long after Meteor was destroyed, some of the old buildings were turned into homes and schools. In sector five stood a ware house now turned into a collage. A group of four students began walking towards the door, two boys and two girls. One of the males had brownish blond hair and dark green eyes. He was wearing a white shirt and blue jeans. Over the top of the shirt he wore a black jacket with white stripes. He was continually trying to chat up one f the two girls he was walking with.
�Give it up Geg! I see you as a friend, not a potential boyfriend.�
�Awww.�
The other boy turned to laugh at him. He had black hair with brown eyes. He was wearing a black T-shirt and jeans.
�Better luck next time Geg!�
�Shut up Arthur. So, which dorm are we in?�
�All I know is that I�m your room mate Geg, and Janine and Felicia are in the room opposite.� The

Janine was the girl Geg tried to chat up. She had short blonde hair, a blue top and jeans. Felicia had long black hair and was dressed in a similar way. As the group walked towards the main doors, another teenager tripped and feel head first into a wall, knocking him unconscious. He lay there for a good ten minutes. The boy had shirt blonde hair, a white shirt and red trousers. On the ground next to him lay a pair of glasses. The glass in the right frame had cracked. When he awoke, Geg, Arthur Janine and Felicia helped him to his feet.
�Are you alright?�
Janine picked up the boys glasses and handed them to him.
�Yeah, thanks� uh..�
�Janine. That guy over there is Geg, next to him is Felicia and finally Arthur. What�s your name?�
�Reilly.�
Reilly�s eyes were a dark brown colour. Janine and Geg helped him to his feet, then began walking with him.
�Do you need to see a nurse about hitting your head?�
�Uh, no thanks Geg. I should be OK.�
�Do you have a dorm?�
�No. it was in my room mate�s name, but he suddenly left and for some reason they won�t give it to me.�
�You can share our dorm if you want, right Geg?�
Geg just stood there in silence, not saying a word.
�Are you sure?�
�Yeah.�
�OK. Thanks. I just need to go off for a minute to get a new set of glasses.�
Reilly ran off down the hall, turned a corner and was out of sight towards the reception.
�I don�t know about you Felicia, but I think he was kinda cute.�
Again, Geg just stood there in silence.
�What�s wrong Geg? Jealous?�
��..No!�

�So, your telling me that Tameto used to call himself Ace Strife?�
�Tameto?�
�That was the name he had when he lived in Wutai.�
��.�
Barret turned to Cid and spoke in a quite voice:
�I can now see why he called himself Ace!�
�So what happened to Tameto?�
Cloud began to tell Yuffie the end of Ace�s story and AVALANCHE�s recent the adventure.
�I should really tell my father about this. He would be pleased to hear that Tameto turned into a powerful warrior.�
�OK. Cid.�
�Yeah Cloud?�
�Take Yuffie back to Wutai.�
��� OK.�

It had been a few hours since Reilly split off to get a new pair of glasses. He made his way to Geg�s dorm, asking a few people for directions. Reilly was carrying two heavy looking suitcases, even though he had a slightly skinny build. He eventually came up to a door with 357b on it. He knocked.
�Hello?�
�Just a second.�
Geg opened the door, allowing Reilly in. Arthur, Janine and Felicia were all in the dorm, sitting on a large yet tatty coach. Reilly walked in with his suitcases and placed them on the floor, and rested himself against the kitchen table. The dorm was pretty basic. It was designed for three students. It had three rooms, two of which had beds. The third contained a small kitchen, two chairs and couch, which pulled out into a bed.
�So Reilly, tell us a bit about yourself.�
�Well, I was raised in Rocket Town. My dad used to work for Cid Highwind on the rocket project. He made enough gil to send me to collage. What about you guys?�
�I knew Arthur since I was in kindergarden. We met Janine and Felicia in High school, and stayed friend since.�
�Oh right. Do you all live locally?�
�Sort of. Arthur and I come from Kalm. There was no High School in Kalm, so we both had to walk to Midgar every day to go to school. Say, you a Martial Artist?�
�I like watching it, but I don�t train.�
�I used to train.�
�You did Arthur?�
�Yeah. But I last trained when I was a child. I forgot what I trained in.�
�Any way, there�s this Martial Arts tournament in a few weeks. We all have tickets, and two extra.�
�Why do you have extra one�s Geg?�
�Two of our friends almost came to Collage but changed their mind last minute.�
�Oh.�
�You can come if you want Reilly.�
�Thanks Janine. I think I will.�

It had been a while since the pod had been open at Hojo�s secret laboratory. Rufus returned once again to see if there was anything for Hojo to report.
�Hojo. Have you heard from it yet?�
�I�m afraid not Rufus. That is the problem with a human clone. They can be hard to keep track of.�
�Has it received any of the powers yet?�
�The Dark One�s.�
�Excellent. If you hear any more, let me know.�
Like many times before, Rufus climbed the stairs leading out of the laboratory.

�Yes father, Tameto became a great warrior.�
�What happened to him?�
�He sacrificed his life to stop a man of pure evil.�
�Just like Tameto. It is a shame he is dead. I would like to have met him.�
�I hear he still used the Katana Blade and Nuncukas you gave him right up to death.�
�I have a feeling that Tameto is still with us. I can feel a great amount of energy from somewhere on this planet. I want you to help your team mates find him. If he is returned to us, he can help us steal more materia.�
�At once father.�
Yuffie left the tower of the five Gods and returned to the Highwind.

�Yo, Reilly. The Tournament is in a few hours. Are you up yet?�
Arthur was standing there, knocked on Reilly�s door. Both he and Geg were ready to head off to the Tournament.
�Hello? Are you OK in there?�
�I� think�. I�m sick.�
�Oh. Do you think you can make the tournament?�
�I doubt it.�
�Damn. I guess we�ll have to go. Come on Geg.�
The two left the dorm, walked across the hall and picked up their friends. They then drove off to the Tournament.

At the tournament, they showed their tickets.
�By the way, we have tickets for our friends, but they couldn�t make it. Can we have out money back for them?�
�Sure, at half the price.�
�Oh��
Geg handed over the extra tickets while his friends went to find their seats. Within about half an hour, the Tournament started.
�Are you all ready to watch some Martial Arts?�

Chapter 2 - Enter the Black Ninja

*Prologue* The Chosen One legend is well known in the pubic. A person given super-human powers who uses them to protect the planet and all the life on it. However, the true potential of the power is rarely known. Ace Strife, the last Chosen One was able to learn the true potential and trained to reach it. The Chosen One power is split into four levels. While Mages only use the first level, fighters train in hopes of reaching the fourth level. Only one ever has. The first level is the one known by everyone. There are no changes to the person�s looks. At level two, their hair spikes up and turns white. The stronger they become, the spikier it becomes. At level three the hair stays white and grows in length down to the base of the person�s spine. This stage uses a lot of the person�s energy so chosen Ones often use the false third level, which has them look like there normal selves, and have half the power of someone at the third level. The fourth level is unknown. There are no documents talking about it.

Take from the �The notes of the Chosen One�, written by AVALANCHE member Nanaki during the days he monitored Ace Strife�s training.
*End Prologue*

At the tournament, they showed their tickets.
�By the way, we have tickets for our friends, but they couldn�t make it. Can we have out money back for them?�
�Sure, at half the price.�
�Oh��
Geg handed over the tickets then, with his friends went to find their seats. Within about half an hour, the Tournament started.
�Are you all ready to watch some Martial Arts?�
The crowd cheered when they heard these words.
�OK then, lets bring out former champion, Yuno Imzadi!�
A nineteen year old boy walked onto the stage. He had black hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a black and white Tae Kwon Do suit and a black karate belt.
�Hello loyal fans. I hope you all enjoy your day.�
Before anyone had a chance to talk to him Yuno walked off the stage. Yuno had been training in martial arts since a young age. He walked to his quarters and sat down. He had recently heard of Ace Strife�s death.
�I remember the day we fought Tameto. You were just ten years old but showed great potential. I was twelve and big headed. I thought you wouldn�t beat me, but you did. Then you and Yuffie left to attack Shinra. I was pleased that you didn�t return at first. It allowed Lord Godo to train me. But as I trained I learned more about you and how you trained. I am now a changed man thanks to the way you trained. But you are now dead.�
Yuno sat there, deep in thought, remaining silent.

Meanwhile, Geg, Arthur, Janine and Felicia sat in their seats waiting for the tournament to start. Unfortunately they were not good seats. They were still able to see the tournament quite well but were a high up above the ring. Geg turned to Felicia who was sitting two seats away from him.
�Hey, don�t lean on my Geg!�
�Sorry Arthur. Anyway, don�t you think it�s a shame Reilly was unable to turn up?�
�Yeah.� She paused for a few seconds before replying. �He seems like a nice guy. If he came we might be able to find out more about him.�
Janine just starred into the sky while the rest talked. She then turned around and spoke.
�What do you think Reilly came down with?�
Geg thought for a few seconds then spoke.
�There was this person in one of our classes, can�t remember which though who went down with a bad cold a few days ago. Maybe Reilly caught it from her. She was coughing in his direction.�
They sat there, talking while the tournament was being prepared.

Meanwhile in the waiting room, each candidate sat, waiting to find out when they will start. Most of them were wearing Karate Gi�s, apart from one person who was dressed in a black Ninja uniform. All that could be seen was his brown eyes looking out through a small slit on his mask. One of the fighters walked over to him.
�Why are you wearing that?�
The Ninja turned to him and replied.
�Why not?�
The Ninja look like he was in his late teens. After replying, he turned away again.
�Hey! I haven�t finished talking to you kid!�
�Leave the boy alone!�
�Sorry Yuno�..�
The fighter talking to the Ninja backed away slowly from Yuno and the Ninja.
�I apologise for him. In the last tournament he reached the finals and lost to me. He became big head just because he was able to fight in the finals.�
�Martial Artists shouldn�t be like that.�
�Agreed. I hope to see you in the tournament�. Uh, what is your name?�
�My name is no one�s business. But here I call myself the Black Ninja.�
�Understood.�
Yuno walked away from the Ninja. As he did so, he slightly turned his head over his right shoulder and looked at him. Quietly under his breath he spoke.
�Where have I seen him before?�

About an hour later the tournament had begun. There were a total of fifty candidates entering this tournament. If Yuno able to beat one opponent, he would progress straight to the finals. His was the first match, against the man who spoke the to the Ninja. Before the fight started, the announcer explained the rules.
�You win a match if you are able to knock out your enemy for ten seconds, knock them out of the ring or if your opponent surrendered. Remember that attacks to the eyes and grin are forbidden. Let the tournament begin.�
Not long into his match, Yuno was able to easily beat his opponent. The crowd cheered when he emerged victorious. Soon, the other battles took place, though none were as spectacular as Yuno�s until after the first hour when the Black Ninja entered the ring. His opponent was a tall white man with blond hair. Like the others he wore a Karate Gi with a black belt around it. The announcer started the match. Neither the Ninja or his opponent moved. They just stood there staring each other down. After the first few minutes the crowd began to talk.

�Hey Geg, what�s going on?�
�You should know Arthur! You used to do Martial Arts!�
�That was when I was just a kid Geg.�
�Well, I guess they are staring each other down. Damn! I missed the first move trying to explain it to you!�

While Geg was talking to Arthur the man attacked the Ninja. With a flying kick aimed at his head, the Ninja just stood there, not moving an inch. At the last minute, he side stepped just as his opponent skimmed past his head.
�You seem like a good fighter boy. I have a feeling this will be a good match.�
The Ninja just stood there, not replying. The man went to attack the Ninja again, but this time his move was blocked. The Ninja then grabbed his opponent�s fist and twisted his arm, kicked him in the chest and threw him onto the floor. The announcer began his count down as the Ninja stood there watching his opponents ever move. After the announcer reached ten, the man was carried off and the Black Ninja was declared winner.

�Some fight wasn�t it Geg?�
�How would I know Janine? I missed the first move talking to Arthur!�
�Ha ha haa, poor Geg.� Janine turned to look at the Ninja again. �But you know something, I have a feeling that I know that Ninja from somewhere.�

The Black Ninja walked out of the ring, and entered the Fighter�s Waiting room. He walked into a quite room, pulled down the curtain, closed the door then took his mask off and rested. He rubbed his face for a few minutes then putt his mask back on. His mask was damp with sweat. It was a warm day and black was not the best thing to wear on a day like this. While the fight didn�t cause him to become to warm, it still made him sweat slightly. That combined with the warm weather and his black costume cuased him to sweat a lot of water. In the room was a small water dispenser. He stood up and walked towards it, poored himself a drink and returned to his seat. When he finished his drink he rung his mask, placed it back on and walked out the room. Another candidate stood by the door.
�Have you finished with that room?�
�Yes.�
�OK, thanks. By the way, nice fight you had. The man you beat was one of the best fighters I know. You must be something to beat him.�
�Thanks for the compliment.�
The Ninja walked towards the entrance of the waiting room. From there was able to look out over the crowd. He looked up, squinted and faintly made out the shape of Geg.
�I forgot that they would be here! Looks like I�ll have to make it back as quickly as I can when I have finished.�

The other matches were over in a few hours. The Black Ninja had made it through to the finals against Yuno Imzadi. During the ten minute break before the fight, Yuno turned to him.
�I am glad I am fighting you. You seem like a worthwhile opponent. Tell me, have we met before?�
�Not that I know of.�
�OK, fair enough.�

�And now, let us bring out Yuno Imzadi and the Black Ninja for the final battle!�
Yuno and Ninja entered the ring, and waited for the match to begin. A few seconds after they were both ready the match started. Yuno made the first move, punching the Ninja in the face. The punch landed on his cheek. The Ninja stepped back slightly from this attack, then stood there. Yuno went to punch him again, but was this time blocked. The Ninja held Yuno�s arm with this right hand then countered the attack with a punch to the ribs with his left. He the attempted a back hand strike which involved swinging his hand at the side of Yuno�s face. Yuno moved his head at the last second then kicked the Ninja, forcing him to lose his grip on Yuno�s arm. Yuno then ran forward and unleashed a fury of attacks at the Ninja, mainly composing of punches. The Ninja was being pushed back towards the edge of the ring, but at the last second punched Yuno. He went to punch him again, but Yuno dodged his attack, grabbed the punching hand and swung the Ninja out of the ring. The Ninja struck his head on the wall outside, and feel unconscious.
�Yuno wins! Now, lets carry the Ninja off to the rest area. Say fans, should we take his mask off?�
The crowd cheered when they heard this. The announcer had the Ninja brought back onto the, and moved towards him.
�Stop right there!�
�What is it Yuno?�
�This boy wares a mask for a reason. We should not betray his wished by taking it off. I will carry him to the rest area myself.�
Yuno picked up the Ninja and carried him off.

As he was being carried away unconscious, he heard an old man speak to him. He entered his mind, much like Ace did to battle Jenova and spoke with the old man.
�Greetings Ninja�
�Who are you?�
�At the moment this does not matter. But I must speak with you now. You are different to other people you know.�
The two spoke. When the conversation had finished the Ninja woke up and saw Yuno.
�I suggest you leave soon. The tournament ended and people are leaving.�
�Oh my God! I have to go. I am sorry!�
�I understand. Perhaps I will see you again.�
�Perhaps.�

The Ninja ran out the back door and along the rooftops. The tournament was being held in Midgar, and the Ninja ran in the direction of the Collage. He entered through a window into Geg, Arthur and Reilly�s dorm. There he removed his mask again, to revealed that all along Reilly was the Black Ninja. He quickly changed, returned to his room and jumped back into bed. He then put his head over a bucket and put his fingers down his through, forcing him to be sick into the bucket. Not long afterwards, Geg and the rest returned.
�You OK still Reilly?�
�I�. think�.. I�m a little better.�
�Do you want me to come in Reilly?�
�I think I can actually stand Geg. Give me a few minutes to come out.�
While still in bed, Reilly reached for his costume and hid it under the mattress. He then walked out the door. Janine rushed over to him, and placed her hand on his forehead.
�He�s sweating like crazy, and it�s cold. Yet his forehead is hot.�
�Anything we can do Reilly?�
�I just need to rest Geg.�

A few days later, Reilly finished facing his illness. Meanwhile a teenage boy washed onto the shores of Mideel. A news team rushed over, and made a special report the second they found him.
�I am standing in the ruined village of Mideel to bring you this shocking news. Earlier yesterday, a teenage boy washed onto the shore. He appears to have no memory of who he is, but he looks just like the boy AVALANCHE described as Ace Strife.�

Chapter 3 - The Return of Ace

As soon as they heard the news, AVALANCHE rushed to the Highwind and headed for Mideel. After the tournament, Yuno Imzadi had returned to Wutai to train. When he heard that Ace was alive, he contacted AVALANCHE, knowing they would go to find the young fighter. He asked them to let him go with them, so he could once again see the fighter. AVALANCHE started at Rocket Town, where Cid kept the Highwind and took a detour to pick Yuno from Wutai. From there they flew to Mideel to meet Ace. During the first part of the flight, Yuno spent his time talking to Cloud, asking him questions about Ace and his battle with Sephiroth.
�How long have you known Tameto?�
�Ever since the day Meteor entered Earth�s atmosphere Yuno. What about you?�
�Tameto and I once fought when he was only ten. He beat me in combat and took my place as disciple of Lord Godo. It wasn�t �till he was captured by Shinra that I learnt of his way and views of life.�
�I see.�
Cloud turned to Red, rubbed his hand on his chin then spoke.
�I�ve been wondering Red. You said Ace sacrificed himself to defeat Sephiroth, yet he�s now been found alive almost four months after the battle. How has he been revived, and why has it taken him so long to be revived?�
�I�m afraid I have no idea. I have only read the texts about the Chosen One, and they have never gone into the Chosen One in great detail. I once heard that the Chosen One possessed the ability to heal and revive him or herself, but it was usually the Mages.�
�Mages?�
�Magic users. Ace is more of a fighter, which is rare among Chosen Ones.�
�Excuse me, Mr Red. Would these Chosen One powers affect Tameto�s fighting skills?�
�Yes Yuno. The power of the Chosen One would increase Ace�s speed, strength and agility. He also poses the ability to turn his dormant energy into a fiery attack, use his dormant energy to fly and turn his dormant energy into any kind of short range weapon. More powerful incarnations of the Chosen One have learnt to separate their Chosen One powers from there body, allowing them to have fair fights.�
�Does Tameto posses this skill?�
�No. Ace never learnt it. It is said that only those who master the power of the Chosen One can perform this.�
�How would Tameto go about mastering his power?�
�There are legends of a fourth level of the Chosen One. There are no documents that say what it looks like or if it even exists. If the fourth level does not exist, then Ace would just need to train harder in the third level to master it.�

Red spent the rest of the journey to Mideel explaining the Chosen One to Yuno. Meanwhile, down a dark alley in Midgar.
�All right nerd, put your hands up and give us your money, unless you wanna bleed.�
�H�. H� Here�.�
Down a dark alleyway, a tall, dark well built man, holding a knife was threatening a smaller person. Then from the shadows, a person dressed in black appeared behind him.
�Why are you picking on the weak?�
�Huh? Who�s there?�
�Me - The Black Ninja.�
�Oh Sh��
Reilly had used his Black Ninja alias to fight petty crime in Midgar at night, as long as it didn�t affect his studying. He walked up to the mugger, kicked the knife out of his hand and threw him against a wall, knocking him unconscious. He dragged the mugger out of the alleyway, with the victim behind him. As soon as the public saw the Ninja dragging the unconscious body, some of them called the police. The Ninja throw the body into the centre, then ran off back to collage. He had heard about Ace�s revival. Smelling something bad, he decided to use his up coming holiday to find out about Ace�s sudden return. Because of the way the collage time table was written, on certain days Reilly had a free space where Geg and Arthur had a lecture. Reilly occasionally used these times to fight crime. As always, he opened the window to his bedroom, crept in and pulled off his mask. Suddenly, he heard the door open and voices came in from the main room.
�So Arthur, have any work to do from class?�
�No, but I know you do. You can use this cancelled lesson as a chance to catch up Geg.�

Hearing the voices through the closed door, Reilly jumped back into bed and hid his mask under his pillows.

�Arthur. You head for the library. I�ll pick up my notes and meet you there.�
�OK Geg.�
Geg began walking towards Reilly�s door, and reached to open it.
�What am I doing? The notes are on the table.�
He walked over, picked them up then left the dorm.
�That was close.�
Reilly quickly changed, then hid his costume under his regular clothes.
�After I�ve found out about Ace, I�m gonna have to stop being the Black Ninja. It�s starting to interfere with my collage work.�
Reilly picked up his class notes, then decided to join Geg and Arthur in the library.

�Ace. Ace. Do you recognise me? It�s me Cloud.�
�Cloud?�
About an hour ago, AVALANCHE landed at Mideel and entered the house where Ace was being kept. One of the people looking after him walked over to Cloud.
�I�m sorry Mr Cloud. Young Ace has no memory of who he was. He has no idea about his fighting skills or the powers he posses. He has even started to think of me and my wife as his parents.�
�Oh.�
Cloud turned to AVALANCHE, and began discussing what they should do with him.
�I feel we should take him with us, and help him remember who he once was.�
�That�s easier said then done Cloud.�
�Why do you say that Barret?�
�That guy over there said Ace started to see the couple as his parents. I�m not sure if Ace will come willingly.�
�Damn. Well, we should at least try.�
Cloud walked away from the group and turned to Ace.
�Ace, we want you to come with us. We want to help you.�
�No. I don�t want to leave.�
�Please Ace. It�s for your own good.�
�No.�
Cloud stood up, scratched his head then shrugged.
�I don�t know what to do with him.�
�Let me try Cloud. Ace.�
�Yes dad?�
�Ace, I�m not your real father. I�m sorry I had to tell you that, but it�s true. You belong with AVALANCHE. You�re a member of their team, and they want to help you become the man you once were. Please Ace, go with them.�
Ace sat there in silence for a while as he thought about this.
�If you say it�s the right thing I should do, I�ll go.�

�Hey Reilly, did you hear on the news that Ace Strife is alive.�
�Well, yeah Geg! They did bloody news specials about the kid.�
�They say he�s the Chosen One. To think the legend of the Chosen One lives.�
�You�re forgetting one thing Arthur. Ace hasn�t used his powers yet has he Reilly?�
�Well, they say he has amnesia. He can�t remember a thing.�
Ace washing up on the shore of Mideel had been one of the biggest news topics of the year. Most people didn�t understand why, or didn�t care but there was a few who did.
�Anyway, I gotta get on with my work. I need to have it in next week.�
�Nerd.�
�What did you call me Geg?�
�You are such a nerd Reilly!�
�Hey Reilly, what time does our next class start?�
�God Arthur, it�s twelve thirty.�
�And what time is it?�
�Oh sh�. Class starts in a few minutes!�
The three of them scrambled to collect their notes and run off.

During the whole flight back to Nibelheim, Ace spent his whole time alone. He didn�t want to be disturbed, and just sat trying to remember his past. However, he remembered nothing. AVALANCHE and Yuno spent their time in the cockpit.
�How can he not remember a thing? It doesn�t make any sense.�
�I may be intelligent and have a vast knowledge of the Chosen One Cloud, but even I have no idea why he can�t remember anything.�
�We can�t really help him either. When we first met Ace, he told us he had no memory of his birth parents, his birth name. We don�t really know much about his training at Wutai or with Shinra. Yuno and Yuffie can help him with his past in Wutai but otherwise we can�t really help him.�
When Vincent finished his comment, everyone just stood in silence. After landing in Nibelheim AVALANCHE tried to help Ace recover his memories. Because they knew nothing of his past, AVALANCHE were unable to really help the boy. Yuno was only able to stay with AVALANCHE for the first week, but then went to return to Wutai. He didn�t return for another three weeks. Even then, AVALANCHE hadn�t made much progress. Ace had recovered basically nothing of his past before he meet AVALANCHE, had vague memories of his fighting skills. His Chosen One powers didn�t develop either. Red assumed that the next Chosen One had been chosen and received Ace�s old powers.

Meanwhile, the Midgar collage had closed for a three week holiday. The students all left to enjoy themselves. Janine�s father owned one of the biggest hotels in Midgar, and would allow Janine and her friends to stay there for half the price.
�So what do you think?�
�Sure, I�ll take it up.�
�Might as well.�
�Should be nice.�
�OK, what about you Reilly?�
�I�m sorry, but my parents had already made plans. He wanted to go some place special with me and my mom. I�m sorry.�
�No, it�s OK. Your family comes first. You have a nice time Reilly.�
�Thanks. I hope you guys do to.�
Reilly walked his separate way from the group, down a dark alleyway. He was able to leave all his clothes at collage so had no suitcases to carry.
�God, do I hate lying to them, but I have a strange feeling about Ace Strife. I want to look into this more.�
Reilly changed into his costume, put his clothes in a bag and strapped it to his back. He then used the fire escape on one of the buildings to reach the roof, and began jumping along. He had heard rumours of a secret underground, laboratory which, according to his sources were involved in a cloning project. Reilly wasn�t sure of its exact location, and spend the next few days looking for it. When Reilly fell unconscious during the martial arts tournament, he learnt he had no parents. He didn�t tell his friends this though.

�Hey guys, I think we�re starting to get somewhere.�
�What is it Cloud?�
�Tifa, I think Ace is starting to remember more of his past.�
�Really? Hey everyone, Ace is starting to remember more.�
Yuno had returned from Wutai for a few days to help Ace. Like the rest of the group, he came running to Ace. Cloud had been helping Ace in Tifa�s kitchen, just like they had been for the past few days. AVALANCHE used Tifa�s house because it was the only place they knew they could use.
�Ace, tell us more about yourself?�
�I am Ace Strife. That isn�t my real name. I took it from Shinra�s name for my training - project Ace, and documents I found about Cloud at Shinra. I was once trained by Shinra and Wutai, but am now a member of AVALANCHE.�
When he finished speaking, he smiled for a few seconds, but then began blinking repeatedly, then shook his head. When he stopped, he look at Cloud and punched him in the face.
�HEY? What was that for?�
The look in Ace�s eye�s had changed. They had gone from the innocent look that was in them a few seconds ago to the look of someone evil and insane. He then began laughing like a mad man.
�I must revive Shinra.�
He ran towards the door, clasped his hands together and charged an energy blast. However, these was different. The energy wasn�t white, but black.
�It�. it can�t be. Ace is the new Dark One. I never heard of a Chosen One becoming a Dark One. He�s putting a lot of energy into that attack. Quickly, someone hit him!�
Yuno ran towards Ace, and at the last second before Ace fired his attack, punched him in the jaw. Barret then grabbed him and threw him out of the door, which had been opened by Cloud. They then watched as a black aura covered Ace as he charged up the energy to fly off.

While all this was happening Reilly had managed to break into the laboratory to find both Hojo and Rufus dead. He looked around the room, and found some notes on a table as well as a video diary. He examined the notes by the pod, then walked over to the videos. He picked up the one marked �Ace vs Sephiroth�. He watched it, and learnt that Hojo had managed to take a cell sample from Ace once when he was sleeping. When Ace left Shinra, Hojo began making clones from the cell samples. He learnt everything there was to know by watching each video, then ran off out of the open door. From what he read and saw, he learnt that the clone had been released from the pod during the battle, and absorbed the powers of the Dark One. This was written in both the latest set of notes and mentioned in the last video, marked the day before Ace washed up at Mideel. Another video was being filmed the day Ace washed ashore. In it, Reilly saw Ace mercilessly kill Hojo and Rufus. The Dark One powers had turned the clone insane. He also learnt that the clone had been programmed to revive Shinra. Reilly ran out of the laboratory, out into the day light. He looked out towards the Gold Saucer, then ran towards Costa Del Sol. He knew what he had to do - go to Midgar, and fight Ace.

The End. (Well, for now. This is as far as I've written).

so far I read part of the story and it locks good

Cool. Glad you like it.

Excpect the last few chapters to be posted as soon as they are ready.