It's not much, but I was having a horrible day, week actually, and got to thinking that maybe Sephiroth had the right idea after all.

Let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, but I wish I did.


Pity the man

Used, abused, chewed up, spat out.

Completely. Fucked. Over.

What did they honestly think would happen after pushing so hard, after expecting so much?

He was not an immovable force, nor an unbreakable man. Not even an all forgiving god, as it turned out.

They wanted to test him, to see how far he could be stretched, then wondered why he broke.

They had wanted to poke and prod and prick at him, pulling back the layers of who he was until there was nothing left.

Then, when the time came and he broke as they had wanted, they wondered why he shattered completely.

Couldn't understand why he hadn't just cracked a little like so many others, but had instead tried to take the whole Gaia damned world with him.

He did it because the voice told him to, because it was the only thing now which kept him sane. And that said a lot in itself.

She offered him refuge from the nightmares, promised him freedom from the pain, whispered sweet words of comfort to sooth his wounds and wash away his sorrows.

All it took was a little blood to be spilt on his part, a little bit of fire and destruction here and there. And maybe the end of the planet and all life upon it.

Nothing more. Nothing less.

He listened because she was the first to ask him nicely, the first to offer him something in return.

Nothing was expected of him, nothing demanded.

Instead it was freely presented to him like a precious light, a shinning beacon of hope and salvation.

It made all the darkness … go away.

Made all the lies he'd been told mean nothing, made all the cruelty towards him seem insignificant, made all the hurt … go away too.

It was a shame the other soldier had tried to stop him.

The commander's pupil. The puppy.

In a way he'd liked the boy, tolerated him for reasons unknown.

Foolish child thought that it would be possible to make him go back to that life, had tried to stop him from achieving something so much more. Something so much better.

The raven haired youth had even called upon his humanity, as if that would help. He tried to make him see reason by some moral compass that so many others had never followed in their own lives.

Why should he follow their rules any more? What good had it ever done him?

It was all so foolish really, when you thought about it.

Soldier Elite, they had called him in the beginning.

Mighty General, they had titled him as he grew.

Demon, they had screamed at him when blood was spilt by his hand.

Monster, they had named him when life was taken by his sword.

God, she had promised him. Eternity as ruler over them all.

Such a shame the little one had interrupted their reunion after the other had fallen. The young cadet's bright blonde hair and ethereal blue eyes had been so distinctively vivid even amongst the glowing green which filled his vision.

Such a pity his own blood had ended up being spilt by the boy, to mix with theirs upon the cold metal flooring.

Such an annoyance that he'd been defeated by a mere child and thrown into the very life blood of Gaia itself.

Such an inconvenience that time would be needed to heal, to grow strong once more, until he was ready to rise again.

Poetic words swam through his head as he drifted, ones taken from a story as old as time itself. The traitorous one who had spoken them long gone, a man he'd once called brother even when rivalry was strong between them. Yet, even now, their meaning was still so clear, their purpose still so evident.

Silver hair floated freely to frame an almost angelic face, the poisonous green eyes closing as a small cruel smile formed on pale pink lips. The words echoing loudly through the lifestream for all to hear, though not a single sound had been made.

"Nothing shall fallstall my return."