The Origins of J. M. Darkly (Part 1)

Note From Author: ("This story is a fan fiction of my favorite anime and videogames. Also, if anyone hasn't heard of the games or anime I put in here, or you don't understand something, please feel free to ask me about it.")

What would you do if you had ultimate power? Would you help others, or help yourself? Would you protect, or destroy? This is a story about the very question. It's about the origins of Jack Mist Darkly and his ultimate enemy. So lets begin...

(Chapter One: With everyone's favorite ninja, a.k.a. Naruto.)

Five miles North of the 'Village Hidden in the Leaves', there lay an abandoned town. However, there wasn't much left to actually be called a town. All that remained of this village was burned ruins. No plants could grow here. Try as they might, the sorrow left behind in these ruins would choke anything that took root. Yes, not even Mother Nature could cover the disaster that destroyed this town and its people.

Four people coming from "The Village Hidden in the Leaves" walked up to the burned ruins. One was tall, there was no way to tell how old he was, with one black eye, white hair and a mask over his mouth and nose. His left eye was completely covered by his black headband, on which was a leaf symbol, the symbol of his home village. The other three were children around the age of 13 each, wearing blue headbands that also had the leaf village symbol on them. One was a boy with black hair and black eyes. He wore a blue t-shirt with a red and white fan painted on the back, and white shorts. The second person was a girl with pink hair and green eyes; she wore a red sleeveless shirt and black shorts. The last of the four was a young boy about 13 years old. He had blonde hair with blue eyes and wore orange pants and a sweater. The party of four walked up to the sad ruins with both a feel of sorrow and dread.

The party walked into what use to be the town square and studied the area. "Wow," the blonde boy said, "this place is a wreck." The black haired boy looked around with mild interest. He turned to the white haired man and said, "Hey, Kakashi. Didn't you say the ninjas in this village were some of the best? How did their village fall so badly?"

The white-haired man, named Kakashi, turned to face the black haired boy with mild sadness in his uncovered right eye. "Well, it’s a long story, Sasuke. About ten years ago this was a great village full of the best ninja of our time. They could use any ninja art they learned of, but their true skill was vanishing." Kakashi looked round to the pink haired girl and blond boy who had started digging in the rubble.

"Sakura, Naruto. The Leaf Village protects this place. If you keep digging, I'll have to act on my orders and stop you." After hearing Kakashi's words, Naruto and Sakura jumped a way from the rubble. Naruto turned to Kakashi, "Kakashi-sensi, what did you mean by their true skill was "vanishing"?" "Well, let me explain."

Kakashi walked over to a stump and sat down. "This village was known as the Shrinking Mist Village. Like I said before, the ninja of this village were some of the best of their time. They had amazing powers that could only be used by members of the Mist Clan. These powers were activated when they used their 'Secrets of the Mist' technique. One of their known skills was their ability to shrink themselves or anything they wanted to 1in in height."

All three of the young ninja turned to Kakashi with open mouths. Kakashi smiled under his mask at his students' dumbfounded faces. "Yes, they could shrink themselves. I told you they were a unique group of ninja, and powerful as well. I battled one of their best once. He beat me big time."

Naruto was shocked. Kakashi was one of the strongest ninja in the Leaf Village. He found it hard to believe a ninja clan he had never heard of could house a ninja whose skills could defeat Kakashi so badly. Sasuke showed mild surprise, while Sakura was wide-eyed.

"Kakashi!" All three of the young ninja in training jumped at the loud voice that came, seemingly, out of nowhere. Kakashi looked to the roof of a half burned building. Naruto and the others followed their master's gaze. They jumped to the ready upon seeing a man standing on the roof. Then, fast as lighting, the man appeared behind the young ninja.

"Put those knives away. If I had wanted to attack you, all three of you would have been dead long before now," the man said as he walked over to Kakashi. "Kakashi, why are you here with these kids?" Kakashi looked up at the clearly angry man. "Well, its good to see you again too, Jack," Kakashi replied back showing no sign that he really cared about Jack's anger.

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke gazed at Jack with equal amazement. He was clearly a ninja. He wore a headband similar to the ones that Naruto and company were wearing that rested under his short brown hair, except that Jack's had a white feather on it instead of a leaf. He was dressed in a pair of blue pants and had a skintight black shirt on under a blue jacket. He also had on a pair of black fingerless gloves. On his back was a samurai sword with a red clothed handle.

However, the most striking thing about Jack, as Naruto could see, was his green eyes. Jack's eyes had a strong look, the look of someone who could take on an army and win. However, under that look of strength and bravery was something that reminded Naruto of...sadness. Yes, that was it. Naruto saw it in his eyes, an incredible, empty sadness.

Kakashi got up off the stump and walked up to meet Jack. He turned to his students. "Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, this is Jack Mist, the last remaining member of the Mist Clan." The three ninja trainees stared with shock. Jack looked madder than ever. "Kakashi, I asked you what you're doing here. I want an answer now!" Jack was on the verge of yelling at Kakashi. However, Kakashi just smiled.

"Don't get all mad, Jack. We just came to deliver a gift from the Third." Upon hearing Kakashi mention the Third Hokage Jack's anger vanished into thin air. He had a look of mild interest and surprise on his face. "What kind of gift?” Jack asked with caution. Kakashi smiled and pulled a black string from his pocket. On the end of the string was a blood red jewel. Naruto noticed that jewel gave off a strange golden glow.

Jack stared at the jewel with complete shock and amazement. "Kakashi," he stammered, "is that what I think it is?" "Yes, Jack. This is the 'Jewel of Darkly'. The Third found out that you were trying to find a way to go after 'her'. He thought this should help." Kakashi handed the strange jewel over to Jack who held it in his cupped hands as if it was a newborn baby. After a few seconds, Naruto thought he saw what looked like a tear fall from Jack's face but he didn't know for sure.

Jack then looked up. He smiled brighter than anyone had ever seen him smile. Jack then put the jewel around his neck and tucked it under his shirt. "Kakashi, please give the Third my thanks." Jack looked away and Naruto saw his smile turn into a wicked grin. He thought Jack said something under his breath but thought nothing of it. Jack turned back to the four Leaf Ninja, "I would like you to protect this place while I'm gone. Is that ok with you, Kakashi?" Kakashi nodded his head, "No problem. You have my word." Jack nodded back then he disappeared again.

Naruto looked around trying to find Jack. He turned back to Kakashi, "Kakashi-sensi, why did Jack's eyes have that sad look? He seemed to be just like me." Kakashi looked at Naruto for a few seconds then replied. "Well, Jack is a lot like you and Sasuke. He lost his family and is now almost completely alone in this world. All because of a mad man." Kakashi looked up thoughtfully at the sky while he paused. "But, there are differences between you and him. He was forced to watch his entire clan die one by one." The look of shock returned to Naruto's face. Kakashi turned back to the path to the Leaf Village, "Well, our job's done, lets go home." As the four travelers walked back home Naruto took one more look at the ruined village and felt a sense of sorrow stronger than ever.

Somewhere close to the ruins of the Mist Clan's village was a small house hidden in the woods. An old man was standing in front of the house looking up toward the sky, deep in thought. The man was dressed in light blue robes and was completely bald. He looked to be about in his late 50's. His old gray eyes had a look of kindness and wisdom. The man turned his attention to the woods behind him as a figure in blue came out of the thick trees. He smiled.

The man looked at the figure, "Welcome back, Jack Mist." Jack walked up to the old man and kneeled before him, "Thank you, master. It is good to be home." The old man shook his head. "Jack, I've told you before. You have mastered everything I could teach you. You are no longer my student but you are now my equal, so just call me by my name. Now rise."

Jack stood up and smiled brightly at the old man. "Master Ovan. I just meet with Kakashi of the Leaf Village. They have returned my clan's most prized treasure," Jack pulled the red jewel out of the pouch that hung from his left hip, "the Jewel of Darkly." The old man, Ovan, gazed wide-eyed at the blood red jewel. A kind smile formed on Ovan's face. "Well, it looks like you can finally go on your mission. But first touch the jewel and run your energy through it."

Jack did as he was told, he held the red jewel in his left hand and focused as his energy flowed into the jewel. A second late the jewel started to glow bright with a golden aura. The aura was so strong Jack and Ovan had to shield their eyes. Jack let go of the jewel and the aura disappeared entirely. "Wow, what was that?" Jack cried. Ovan looked a little worried as he stared at the jewel. The old man bent down to pick it up and said, "Jack, this jewel is the Jewel of Darkly. As you know from the stories, Darkly was the first of the Mist Clan. He came to this land looking to start a ninja clan that would project an who needed it." Ovan paused as Jack nodded. He continued, "However, there is another story that only a select few knew. Not even the Third Hokage knows. The ones who knew were the elders and myself, but they're dead now so I'm the only one who knows. Come, it is time for you to hear." Ovan walked to the wooden house and Jack fallowed.

Inside the house, Ovan and Jack sat on their knees facing each other. Jack watched Ovan carefully waiting to hear the story. Ovan had lit a pipe and was smoking it as he thought of how best to tell Jack. Finally he pulled the pipe from his mouth, exhaled some smoke then continued, "Jack, your clan's founder, Darkly, was not from this world." Jack's eyes widened upon hearing this new information. "What do you mean, Ovan?" 'Here, Let me explain."

"Many years ago, Darkly traveled through dimensions one after the other, searching for someone. This someone, as Darkly well knew, had the ability to destroy the entire universe. No one aside from Darkly has ever seen this person. However, that all changed ten years ago when he appeared, killed your clan, and sent Yuna into that vortex." Jack's mouth was wide open now. The enemy of his ancestor, Darkly, had attacked the Mist Clan and left him, Jack, as the last member alive. But that made a question for Jack. Why did that man let Jack live?

Ovan picked up the red jewel and continued, "Now, this jewel belonged to Darkly as you well know. However, what you don't know is that this jewel is what allowed Darkly to travel through the dimensions. He just focused his energy into the jewel and call out the name of a light caretaker of a certain dimension. The jewel would then transport him to that place." Ovan handed the jewel back to Jack.

Ovan stood up and walked to the window. As he looked out at the birds he spoke again, "Jack, the fact that the jewel reacted to your power like that means that you have inherited some Darkly's powers. You will soon become a great warrior. You have to go after that man and save Yuna." Ovan turned back to Jack and looked him directly in the eye. "Jack, if you fail, we all die."

Jack was speechless. He just strained blankly at the floor. Ovan smiled and started to laugh wildly. Ovan struggled to speak, "You should have seen the look on your face. HA HA HA. Don't worry, Jack. The only thing you have to worry about is going after that guy and getting Yuna back. Ok?" Jack glared at Ovan, "That wasn't funny!" "Ok ok. If you say so."

Ovan sat down, "Ok. So are you ready to begin the journey?" Jack answered sternly, "Yes, I am." Ovan took a deep breath. The old man looked at Jack with a sad smile. "Well, It seems its time for me to say goodbye." Ovan bowed to Jack much to the young ninja's surprise. Ovan continued, "It was an honor to teach such an amazing student. Now that you have inherited Darkly's powers and duty, you are from this day forward, Jack Mist Darkly, the highest ranking in your clan. Not ever the elders were given this title." Jack was over whelmed. "Th-Thank you master. I will honor this title and try my best to be worthy of this honor." Jack bowed to Ovan.

Ovan stood up and turned to the door of his bedroom, "J. M. Darkly, that will be your new title. Now, go. Find Yuna and keep her safe, " Ovan walked into his room and took one last look his student, J. M. Darkly, "This will be my last order to you as your master. Use the jewel to find a man called Cloud Strife. He should be able to help." Ovan closed the door. Jack held the jewel in his hand and pooled his power into it. When it glowed bright gold he called out, “Cloud Strife!" The golden light shinned brighter than ever as it blinded everything around. Then, as quickly as it came, the light vanished, along with Jack.

Ovan sat on his bed looking down at his open hands. He held a set of prayer beads that had snapped apart for no apparent reason. This dark act of fate happened while Ovan was praying for Jack's success. The old man feared it was an omen of dark events in Jack's future. Ovan squeezed the beads with his left hand as he gazed out the window of his room. "Please, mighty Darkly greatest of all ninja, protect Jack, the last of your children. Help him through his travels as he now caries your name with him. I pray that you will save him from this dark omen and your age old enemy..." Ovan paused as he looked out his window at the ruins of the Mist Clan's great village, "...Darren."


Note from the author: (This chapter is for the greatest Final Fantasy game of all time, Final Fantasy 7. HELL YEAH. Oh yeah, also most of the things in this story are not mine. Only J. M. Darkly and things relating to him are mine.)

(Chapter 2: Return of the One-winged Angel.)

Many planets in the universe have seen the horror of great battles. The planet of Gaia is no exception. Many years ago there was a small weapons development company named Shinra. They studied and experimented with many things, trying to find a way to hit it big. Then, they found a strange energy that flowed inside the planet, it was called Mako. This energy came from the planet's 'Life Stream', where all life comes from. Shinra found a way to turn this energy into power that could be use as fuel for cars, or to power weapons and to heat homes. After such a discovery in was natural that Shinra became the strongest power company on the planet. However, the energy was being taken from the planet's life, which meant that Shinra was slowly killing the planet, thus a few people tried to stop Shinra by any means. In defense, Shinra made super warriors known as SOLDIERs to fight the rebels. One group of rebels, lead by a man named Cloud Strife, proved to be the only ones who had a chance of stopping Shinra. But then, a dark enemy appeared. He was more dangerous than even Shinra and was ready to kill the planet and everyone on it as soon as he could. Cloud and his friends battled hard to kill this enemy and lost a good friend doing so. In the end, Cloud killed the enemy and saved the planet. But, this great enemy had left a heavy mark on the planet and in Cloud's heart. Can such a terrifying enemy ever truly be killed?

Tifa Lockhart stood behind the counter of her bar, 7th Heaven, looking at the new customers with distaste. Her usual customers were nice, friendly, and over all joy to be around. The three new guys were loud, rude, messy, and selfish. It was bad enough that the weird guy in the black cape and hood had come in and scared a few people out of the bar. However, he was nothing compared to the other three men.

Tifa disliked the three men for another reason, they were once Shinra SOLDIERS. They were super human, but not enough to think they were better than everyone else. However, that was exactly how they were treating everyone. Pushing people around, yelling and laughing at them. Tifa's anger at them was growing fast, but she didn't want to fight if she didn't have to. That was about to change.

"Hey you, waiter girl. Get over here and pore us some more drink." one of the men called at Tifa's bar helper. The young girl came up to the three with as much bravery as she could; it wasn't enough to hide her fear. "I'm sorry sirs, but you still haven't paid for the first round. If you want more you have to pay first." One of the men stood up with an angry look on his face, "What did you just say? Girl, you know who we are? We're ex-Shinra SOLDIERs, we can eat and drink as much as we want with having to pay a gill." The girl backed away slowly with her drink tray shielding her face. It was clear to all that these guys were completely drunk. Tifa sighed and walked out from behind the counter and made her way over the three men and the scared waitress.

"Pardon me gentlemen, I'm the owner of this bar. Did you say you won't pay?" Tifa asked with a fake smile. A few people smiled to themselves when the saw Tifa walk up. They knew that the SOLDIER better watch his words from now on. The man looked Tifa in the eyes and yelled, "I will not pay if I don't get more drinks! “All the regulars in the bar watched with wide smiles, all knowing what was about to happen. Tifa's smile was brighter than ever but was still fake, too bad the Shinra SOLDIERs where too drunk to see it coming.

CRASH! The man went flying into the street outside the bar window. His two friends soon followed. They were suddenly wide-awake and alert. The three men stood up as Tifa walked through the door to meet them. They now knew what everyone else in the bar had known, don't mess with Tifa Lockhart. Tifa walked up to face them as she put on a pair of black gloves and was wearing her black sleeveless shirt with short black shorts, her favorite fighting cloths. As pushed her black hair out of her brown eyes, she spoke to the three men in a horrible sweet voice, "So, are you ready to pay now?" The leader of the three, a big guy with red hair wearing a blue uniform like his followers, glared at Tifa with pure anger.

The leader of the three yelled at Tifa, "You damned witch! How dare you strike my trooper." The black haired man Tifa had pouched rubbed his jaw in pain as he pulled his silver knife from its holder. The red headed leader pulled out a gun blade and took aim. The third man pushed his white hair from his face as he pulled out his sword. As Tifa stared at the white haired man, she saw something familiar about the man that she couldn't put her finger on, something that made her very uneasy.

Tifa stood ready with her fists up in her best fighting stance. Her face showed no sign of fear as the three charged at her. The black haired man thrust forward with his knife aiming at Tifa's heart, but she side stepped him and kicked him in the back sending him to the ground. The red haired man shot at her but Tifa jumped out of the way as the bullets pasted her left ear. She ran at the gunner with amazing speed, he couldn't even fire a shot as Tifa stopped just inches from his face. The man was so shocked by Tifa's speed and skill; he could do nothing to stop her from slamming her fist into his stomach. The man dropped his gun blade and fell to the ground passed out. Tifa stood up straight and glared at the last of the three SOLDIERs. Even though his two friends had been beaten so fast, the white haired swordsman showed no sign of worry. A smile grew on his face as he watched Tifa.

The second Tifa saw that wicked smile her heart nearly froze, the hair on the back of her neck stood on end, her blood raced, and her whole body shook with a fear she could not explain. Tifa's eyes grew wide and she began to sweat. What was it about that smile that scared her so much? She couldn't put her finger on it, she just wished the Cloud was with her at that moment. It was clear to everyone watching Tifa that something was clearly scaring her. They stood ready to help if Tifa needed them.

A little black haired girl watched Tifa with worry. Her name was Marlene and she had been living with Tifa for so long that she almost thought of Tifa as a mother. Marlene watched with fear as she gripped the doorframe she stood in. As she looked on shaking she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. Marlene looked behind her to see a man dressed in a black cape and a hood covering his face. It was the same guy Tifa had complained about for scaring the customers. He leaned down and Marlene could see one green eye staring at her. It was full of a strange and yet comforting energy and Marlene felt she could trust this man with her life.

The white haired man rested his sword on his left shoulder as her smiled at Tifa, who put up her guard, ready to attack at any moment. He then spoke for the first time, "My name is Yuki, and it’s a pleasure to finally meet you Ms. Lockhart." He bent forward in mocked respect to Tifa, but his eyes never looked away from her. Yuki stood straight and continued, "To tell you the truth, I've been looking forward to fighting you," Yuki's smile suddenly became colder than ice, "I'm sure killing you would bring Cloud much sorrow. Don't you agree?" Tifa readied herself for an attack as Yuki lowered his sword to his side.

Anyone and everyone who saw Yuki's expression at that moment felt a horrible chill run down their backs, Yuki saw clearly more than he appeared. Without warning Yuki charged forward at Tifa with alarming speed and his sword pointing at his enemies heart. Tifa jumped away as fast as she could, which wasn't fast enough. As she landed she felt a sharp pain shoot through her arm. Tifa looked at her arm to see a bloody slash across her upper arm. She looked up in horror at Yuki who was smiling evilly at her, "I hope you know next time it'll be your head I strike, so I'll give you five minutes to take me out before then, "Yuki dropped his sword and stood ready for Tifa's attack. Tifa realized quick that this guy was a true master and while being an amazing fighter herself, she didn't stand a chance against him with his sword. So, she charged forward at Yuki with the full intention of at least knocking him out.

Tifa shot at Yuki like a bullet out of a gun. When, she was just inches away from his face she swung with a left hook to the face, it would connect for sure. However, just before she hit, Yuki leaned to the side causing Tifa's attack to miss. Recovering as quick as she could, Tifa planted her left foot into the ground and kicked at Yuki's face with her right, but Yuki stopped her kick by grabbing Tifa's foot. He smiled mockingly and threw her foot away. Tifa jumped away to prepare for another attack.

Marlene watched her adoptive mother ready herself for an attack with a feeling of dread. She looked over to the caped man, "Mister, may I ask you something?" The man looked down at her and replied with kindness, "Yes, how may I help?" "Do you think Tifa will...live through this?" The man looked into the Marlene's eyes for a few seconds, then pulled off his hood and lifted his head returning his gaze to the battle, "If she gets in trouble, I'll save her. Ok?" He looked back down at Marlene with a wide smile. Marlene smiled back to the face of this strange hero.

Tifa ran at Yuki again and swung her fist at his face. Yuki readied himself for the hit. Before Tifa hit her fist stopped dead before it touched Yuki's face. Yuki was surprised for just a moment but it was long enough for Tifa to deliver a good kick to his nose. The kick sent Yuki flying ten feet away. Everyone Cheered at Tifa's victory.
It was short lived however as Yuki stood up and brushed off his blue uniform, laughing as he did so. "Well, I have to hand it to you Tifa. I didn't think you'd be able to hit me. However, your 5 minute are up." Yuki raised his left hand and his sword flew into it. Tifa stared shocked at this act.

Yuki's evil smile returned to his lips as he readied for what would be his last attack. That's when Tifa felt it. The horrifying cold feeling, the hairs on her neck standing on end, her hands started to shake, and the feeling on something pushing on her from all sides. Tifa was paralyzed with a fear she could not explain. She stood there helpless as Yuki jumped at her, sword raised. Tifa watched Yuki approach in slow motion as he came to kill her. So many thing came to Tifa's mind as she stood there, like "Why did I let Cloud leave?" or "IS this really the end?" but the last thing the came to her mind was the image of a burning town, bodies lay dead everywhere, and a tall silver haired green cat eyed man holding a 9 foot blade and showing off an insane smile as he walked through the fire.

Tifa was brought back to reality as that memory hit her. She looked into the eyes of her attacker. She saw it, the evil insane smile, and worst of all the green cat like eyes. Tifa remembered his name as he brought his sword down on her head. She was about to be killed by the man she hated more than anything on the planet.

The sword came down and hit metal. Everyone, including Tifa, stared in shock at what had happened. The man in the cape had somehow jumped between Tifa and Yuki, drawn his own sword and blocked Yuki's sword. Yuki stood over the man sword pushing sword. The man glared into Yuki's face through his emerald eyes. Yuki backed off a few feet and studied the man before him. "Who are you? Why do you intrude upon our battle?" Yuki asked the man.

The man stood up straight and pulled his hood off as well as the rest of the cape and dropped it to the ground. He turned to Yuki with a serious face and said, "My name is J. M. Darkly. I've interrupted because I believe if you're going to battle to the death it should be against and enemy of equal strength to yourself." Darkly lifted his sword in front of his body and readied himself for an attack, "Now. Prepare yourself!"

Yuki studied his new enemy with little interest. He looked to be about 16 years. Darkly had on a blue jacket over a skin-tight black shirt and a pair of blue pants. The metal plate on his headband reflected the afternoon sunlight off its white feather simple. His black-gloved hands held the red clothed handle of his sword ready for attack. Darkly's brown hair flowed in the wind as his green eyes shot razors at Yuki. Yuki noticed something strange about Darkly's eyes. They were almost as powerful and freighting as his older brother's.

Darkly charged at Yuki, sword aimed at Yuki's heart. Yuki moved to the side easily dodging the attack. He smiled. If he could keep dodging he could easily kill this fool. Yuki lifted his sword into the air, ready to strike Darkly. Before he could, however, a black shoed foot came up and kicked Yuki square in the face sending him flying back 10 feet. Yuki hit the ground and rolled a few inches. As he jumped back to his feet he saw Darkly lower his right foot back to the ground.

Darkly's face was truly freighting to look at with his glaring green eyes and emotionless face as he stared at Yuki. He spoke in a chilling voice, "If you plan on killing me you better use stronger attacks. Those cheap trick won't win this battle!" Darkly charge at Yuki again with inhuman speed. Yuki realized quickly that he was in over his head with this guy.

Darkly jumped into the air over Yuki's head. As he came down he swung his sword down at Yuki who barely moved out of the way in time. Yuki recovered and shot at Darkly, sword raised. Darkly simply moved to the side, causing the blade to miss completely. With Yuki unbalanced, Darkly kicked into Yuki's ribs then punched Yuki in the mouth sending him flying back once again. Yuki stood up and saw Darkly coming at him. When Darkly was close enough Yuki swung sideways at Darkly. Darkly flipped forward completely avoiding the blade and brought his right heel down on Yuki, hitting him between the neck and shoulder. Yuki buckled under the hit and was then slammed into the ground by Darkly pushing his foot down further. Yuki's face smacked the hard ground from. Darkly stepped back a few feet.

Tifa stared wide-eyed. Who was this boy, this Darkly person? Who was he that he could easily beat a clone of THAT man? Tifa just watched with worry. Was Yuki really who she thought he was?

Yuki got up slowly. He was dazed, bleeding from the mouth and nose. His left eye was black and swelling. He could barely stand after the attack. Yuki glared at Darkly with pure anger. Even with all his power he couldn't fight this fool without help. As much as he hated to say so, Yuki realized that if he was going to beat Darkly or even Cloud he would need his older brother.

Yuki smiled an evil smile at Darkly and said, "We'll continue this later. See you next time Darkly." Yuki turned and ran to his motorcycle. He started it up and fled. Darkly ran to his own bike jumped on and went after Yuki. Tifa stood there watching the two fighters leave. Her head was whirling with questions, Was that who she thought he was?, Who was that Darkly kid?. Tifa walked over to Marlene as everyone else came up to her.

Marlene looked into Tifa's worried face. She knew what was wrong almost before Tifa could talk. "Tifa, that was a clone of HIM wasn't it?" Tifa looked at Marlene with an empty face, and then replied, "Yes. That was a clone. It was Sephiroth." After the name left Tifa's lips everyone within earshot froze. Months of going to Tifa's bar had given these people tons of info about the Sephiroth Incident 4 years ago and thus they knew that a Sephiroth clone would mean big trouble. One man spoke up, "Hey Tifa, if that was a Sephiroth clone shouldn't someone help that Darkly kid?" "Yes and know just the group." Tifa and Marlene walked back into the bar, picked up the phone and called a few old friends...



Author's note: (Well like always this is a fan fiction about one of my favorite games, Final Fantasy 7. Most of what is in this fan fiction is not mine, only J. M. Darkly and those directly linked to him are mine. So let’s begin...)

(Chapter 3: Return of the One Winged Angel.)

J. M. Darkly raced after Yuki down the highway, both on motorcycles. Yuki had made quite a bit of distance between himself and Darkly making it nearly impossible for Darkly to catch up. However, Darkly was not going to give up until he beat Yuki. The two continued to race along the highway that lead out of the city of Edge and into the ruins of Midgar. Darkly had no idea he was heading into a trap.

The two fighters entered what was once the great city of Midgar, riding through
the ruins of skyscrapers. Yuki suddenly stopped in front of large building in the center of the fallen city. On the side of the ruined building was a large red sign shaped like a square on its tip and white characters in the center along with a white diamond shape at the top. Darkly parked his bike and pulled out his sword as he got off the bike. With his sword drawn Jack Mist Darkly began making his way to Yuki. However, he stopped as Yuki held up his right hand.

Yuki stood there with a weird smile as he looked at Darkly. Yuki dropped his hand as he began to talk. "You know something? About 4 years these sorry looking ruins were the greatest city on this planet." Yuki looked to the ruins as he talked while Darkly stood by waiting for the right time to attack. Yuki seemed different at that moment. Like a dark aura had covered him.

Yuki continued, "The building you see behind me was the great Shinra Inc. head building. Shinra was the most powerful power company on the planet. However, they had their enemies. To protect themselves, Shinra created the SOLDIERs, human warriors strengthened by the life of the planet itself. The greatest was a SOLDIER named Sephiroth." Yuki paused as a huge smile, seemingly more insane than ever, crossed his face.

Yuki continued, "Sephiroth learned that he was the son of the being Jenova, a woman of greatest power. Sephiroth went on to carry out his mother's wishes by killing the fools of this planet and slowly turning it into his new ship that would carry him across the galaxy and kill the fools on other planets and make the promised lands." Yuki lost his smile after this statement and continued, "However, Cloud and his friends stopped Sephiroth and killed him. Cloud was the only person to ever defeat Sephiroth, my big brother." Yuki's insane smile returned to his face as he stared at Darkly. "That is the real reason you will lose here. You can't kill Sephiroth. So, let me introduce you."

Darkly watched carefully as Yuki closed his now glowing green eyes and lifted his left arm, sword in hand. Darkly felt it before he saw it. The dark aura that had come over Yuki when they had entered the ruins was getting stronger. It grew stronger and stronger until it was almost choking. The area around Yuki seemed to be shaking violently. Darkly looked around him trying to find the cause of the aura. Seeing nothing he turned back to face Yuki. At least that was who he thought he would see.

The person that now stood where Yuki had been just seconds ago was completely different. This man looked to be about 6 feet tall, a whole foot taller than Yuki at least. Also, the man's hair was silver and grown long enough to reach his lower back. His black coat had metal plates on the shoulder areas and was open in the front to show his chest. His sword had also changed. It was still the same style, but before it was only about 3 or 4 feet. Now the sword reached 9 feet at the least.

Darkly was completely shocked. Not only had Yuki done some kind of transformation, but his aura had become so strong it was actually killing the plants around him. Darkly watched as the beautiful flowers he had first seen when they had entered the ruins turned brown and wilted into death. Clearly, this man that now stood in the place of Yuki was not to be under estimated. Darkly stood ready with his sword raised, thinking he could handle anything. He was proven wrong by what the man did next.

The man opened his eyes to show two glowing green eyes with pupils like that of a cat's. The moment he saw those eyes, Darkly felt a horrible cold feeling shoot through his body. Every hair on his neck stood on end. Also, the dark aura grew in strength and intensity. Is there any limit to his power? This thought hit Darkly hard. Could he really fight this person?

The man's face opened into an evil smile as he looked at Darkly. He bowed to Darkly almost like he was mocking him. Without breaking eye contact the man
said, "So you are the one who gave younger brother Yuki such a hard time. I must say that surprised me. I thought the only one who would be hard for him to fight would be Cloud. I take my hat off to you, young Darkly." The man then stood up straight and grabbed his sword with both hands and continued. "Well, anyway let’s continue where Yuki left off."

Darkly's face looked unaffected but in truth he was scared. This man inspired more fear with just his aura than Darren ever had. Darkly already understood. This man was Sephiroth. The one that once brought this world to its knees. He readied his sword for the attack. He could do this. There's no way Sepiroth was as strong as he seemed, right?

Sephiroth charged forward, sword raised, at Darkly. Darkly stood ready, or so he thought. One second Sephiroth was ten feet in front of him the next his face was two inch away from Darkly's. Darkly was completely taken off guard. He just barely had time to block. The hit was so great it sent him flying back into a wall 20 feet away. The wall smashed into pieces after Darkly hit, luckily thought the wall stopped his momentum. Darkly stood up and raised his sword ready to attack. However, when he looked up Sepiroth was no where to be seen. Darkly looked all around him but couldn't find the horrifying fighter. "What are you looking at?" Darkly looked up to where the voice came from. He was completely horrified by what he saw.

There was Sepiroth floating 50 feet over Darkly's head. As soon as Darkly looked up Sepiroth swung his sword through part of the building right over Darkly's head causing huge pieces of ruble to fall to the ground. Darkly jumped forward to escape the falling rocks, but the black gloved fist of Sepiroth connected with his face sending him flying back to the ground under the falling ruble. Darkly did not have enough time to get out of the way and was buried under almost a ton of rock. After the hit Darkly blacked out.

Darkly felt strange. It was as if he was floating, but he was too tired to open his eyes. The feeling continued for a few more seconds until he finally landed on something soft. After another few seconds his head had cleared enough for him to sit up and open his eyes. He was glad he did.

The sight before him was amazing. Darkly looked to the ground to see the most beautiful flowers he'd ever seen. Although everything else was just a white nothingness the flowers themselves made Darkly feel relaxed and safe. It was a strange yet familiar feeling, like a feeling he had a long time ago and was just now remembering it. It took him a bit but the memory finally awoke. This feeling of safety and content, it was the same feeling he'd had when he was a child. The feeling his mother gave him when she hugged him, the feeling that only his mother could give.

"Where am I?" Darkly asked out loud. A voice came from seemingly no where spoke to him, "Jack, you must not lose control." Darkly's head shot around looking for the one who spoke, "Who are you? Where are you?" No one replied back.

Darkly looked around again but saw nothing but flowers. Just then, a beam of white light came from the sky. It grew in strength to the point that Darkly could no longer see clearly. The light also caused him to feel tired. Darkly tried to fight back the sleep, but it slowly won over him. As he fell into sleep Darkly saw the blurred outline of someone looking over him. He couldn't tell who it was and closed his eyes as the person whispered something to him, words he wouldn't remember until months later.

A group of three people dug through the pile of freshly fallen rubble. One of the diggers stood up and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She had long black hair and light brown eyes. She wiped the dust off her black shirt and short skirt. As she stood there she looked at the huge pile then turned her attention to the red handled katana sword sitting on the ground next her. The girl and her two helpers had found the sword minutes after they started digging.

As looked over the sword, she thought about it's master, how he had saved her life with that sword, how he must have raised it to battle an enemy he couldn't beat, and finally how he must be trapped under the rubble of the battle. The ninja named J. M. Darkly. The girl had promised herself she would repay this young man. "Tifa! I think I found him!" The voice brought Tifa back to reality.

Tifa ran over to the girl who called her. "Yuffie, is he ok?" Yuffie walked up to Tifa dressed in black shorts, shirt and white boots. Her short black hair was held back by a black and white head band. Yuffie ran up to Tifa with her hands in front of her, holding something as still as she could. As Tifa ran up to Yuffie, a pale faced man with black hair held back by a red headband, wearing a red cape, black shirt and pants also walked up to see the thing Yuffie had found.

Tifa looked into Yuffie's hands and saw a most amazing sight. There in the middle of Yuffie's palms lay a 1 inch tall version of J. M. Darkly, the boy how saved her life. He was out cold but appeared to have no serious injuries. Yuffie passed him into Tifa's hands. "It's amazing. He's so small but he's almost completely intact," Yuffie said as she handed Darkly over. "He also seems to belong to a ninja family," she finished. Tifa looked up, "So have you seen this before, Yuffie?" "No, I've heard of something like this, but I've never seen it."

Tifa turned to the man in red, "How about you, Vincent?" Vincent looked at Darkly with an unreadable look. "Sorry, this is the first time I've seen anything like it." The three stared at Darkly for another few seconds before a small groan came from Darkly's mouth. Tifa straightened up and held Darkly close, "We better treat his injuries." Both Yuffie and Vincent nodded in agreement and the three left. Yuffie picked up Darkly's sword as they went.

Darkly slowly awoke from his deep sleep. His head throbbed as he sat up. He opened his eyes to see that he was in a completely different place. Sephiroth, the flowers, the white realm, and the voice had all vanished. Darkly stood up to take a good look at this new location.

Darkly saw he was standing on a huge white area that was soft to the touch. He looked up to see the sky covered by what looked like wooden boards. Darkly then looked to his left to see a gigantic window of amazing size. Slowly the pieces came together and a smile crossed Darkly's face. He was still alive, all thanks to that old Mist family "safeguard". A voice from behind him brought Darkly back to Earth.

"So, you're finally awake. You've been sleeping for three days." Darkly looked up to see three people looking down at him. One was Tifa, the woman he saved from Yuki's attack. The other two Darkly didn't know. One was a huge (even at normal size) black man with a metal right hand and was dressed in dark green pants, white vest and a tattoo on his left shoulder. The third person caught Darkly's full attention. This person was a pale skinned male, had blond spiky hair, and was dressed in a black sleeveless shirt, black pants, and black boots. He had on black gloves, and a wolf's head shaped amulet held a black shoulder pad to his left shoulder. He was kind of skinny and short.

However, once Darkly looked into the man's eyes, he felt a huge amount of power behind the eyes. The man's eyes were ocean blue, and had a strange glow to them. It reminded Darkly of Sephiroth's eyes. Darkly looked over the other two men as Tifa walked closer. "These two are my friends. This one is Barret," She pointed to the metal armed man who bowed upon being addressed. "And this one is-" "Cloud." Darkly interrupted her.

Tifa stared at Darkly for a moment. How much did Sepiroth tell him? She thought. "So, how are you feeling?" she asked. Darkly stretched his arms out above his head. "I feel better now. Thanks for taking care of me." Darkly looked up to see Tifa still looking down on him with concern.

Darkly put on a smile and said, "Don't worry, Tifa. Sepiroth didn't do this to me. The shrinking is a safeguard in my blood. Whenever someone from my family is knocked out in battle our bodies shrink themselves for protection." Darkly swung his arms around to get the feeling back in them. "You see, while shrunk our bodies are almost unbreakable and any fatal injuries are healed. Now then. Let’s get back to normal."

Darkly jumped down to the floor and stood up straight. He closed his eyes and began forming hand signs as he focused. After ten hand signs Darkly's eyes shot open and he cried out, "Secrets of the Mist, Restore!" After calling out the spell, Darkly began to grow back to his original size. After the spell Darkly turned to Tifa, "Thanks for helping me. I'll see you around." Darkly walked to the window.

"Hey, wait. I need to ask you-" Darkly jumped out the window and vanished before Tifa could finish her sentence. She turned back to Cloud, "What do you think? Was he affected by Sephiroth?" Cloud looked up at Tifa without making an expression, "No. He's fine, Sephiroth hasn't tainted him. However, he does seems to be haunted by something." Tifa turned back to the window, "Yeah, I thought so too."