I had to find him. I just had to! The darkness in my heart. The cause for my misery and pain. I had to find him. Sephiroth. I had to find Sephiroth.

The thoughts ran through my mind as I walked through the city of Hallow Bastion. It was rather quiet for some odd reason. No matter. That was not of importance to me as I walked toward the Borough. Entering that part of town, I slowly walked down and through the winding path, finding myself at Merlin's house rather quickly.

Sighing from frustration, I pushed open the door and moved to sit down in the nearest chair to me. All eyes turned toward me and the girl that mattered most in my life got a rather confused look in her eyes. Aerith. The one that cared for me. I could do nothing but care back.

"Cloud…what's the matter?" The brunette asked in her soft velvet like voice.

My eyes only slightly shifted toward the women. Of course I couldn't tell her that I would be leaving soon and more then likely not coming back. Searching for Sephiroth was the only thing that ran through my mind right now and I had to find him soon. My life depended on it.

"Earth to Cloud!"

The voice of the girl that was a sister to me pulled me from my thoughts as I glanced up at her. Tifa. Her hands were on her hips and she seemed to be getting agitated. Not a good sign for me if I wasn't careful.

"What the heck is the matter with you?" She asked.

I slowly stood from my spot and walked over to the cabinet near the back of the room where The Book Of Pooh laid. Opening it, I pulled out a few of the potions that were stored in the wooden shelves and put it into my pocket.

Aerith slowly walked toward me and set a hand on my shoulder. I glanced back at her and blinked, watching with only a slight glint in my eyes from concern. I didn't show my emotions well. It wasn't a key point in my life.

"Where are you going?" Aerith asked softly, concern flooding her voice.

Her eyes were what made me want to tell her everything but my mind stopped me. I leaned back against the wall, one of my legs propped against it as well as I crossed my arms over my chest.

"I can't say really. I'm looking for him." I muttered.

Aerith seemed to understand me perfectly. She nodded her head. "Come back soon…"

I grunted and pushed off the wall. Walking over to Tifa, I slightly ruffled her hair. She growled and went to tackle me but I moved quickly out of the way.

"…Take care of yourself." I muttered. Turning to Cid, I watched as he looked over toward me. He nodded his head as I did mine before walking out.

My mind made up, I would have to go and find Sephiroth whether I died in the process or not. Sephiroth didn't deserve to live. He needed to die soon. The darkness in my heart was only growing as Sephiroth lived.

Walking a few miles wasn't bad. I had to in order to get to the motorcycle I had grown accustomed to the past few years. Of course it was the closest thing to a transportation I had. I could have asked Cid to help me out on this but I didn't want any help. This was my fight and no one was going to come along for the ride.

Swinging one leg over the bike seat, I sat down and started up the engine. Hearing the nice hum that came from the bike, I put my foot on the petal and started out to…well…nowhere. I was following what was in my heart. And somehow it led me into the deserts.

The desert I was in…I had no clue. It was vast though. The sun was beating down on me and black was not a good color to wear at the moment. Though only half my body was fully covered, it felt like the sun was scorching me into flames.

Hours past of endless sand. It seemed to me that it would never end. Suddenly I saw a patch of green. 'What the…?' My mind suddenly sparked a fuse. An Oasis! I had completely forgot they existed. And it didn't look too far away.

Thank the gods it was only an hour away. It was getting dark out by now and I parked the motorbike and locked it up so no one could get to my prized possessions. I walked over to the crystal clear water and cupped my hands together, dipping them in before drinking down the water. Damn did it feel good running down my dry throat.

My eyes seemed dry as well. And I felt like I had just taken a mud bath. The sweat that had formed over my skin made it to where the sand stuck as well. My clothes were looking like they were brown instead of black now. I would need to wash up. And seeing as it was getting dark here was a good place to camp.

Stripping of my clothes, I washed them quickly and then hung them on the tree's to dry. The water was slightly warm so it felt good around my skin when I stepped into it. Of course I would have never guessed that I should have brought soup. Sighing with relaxation, I leaned back against the edge of the Oasis and let my arms rest on the sides to hold me up. Damn did this water feel good.

A few minutes was spent just relaxing until I dived under and ruffled my hair to get the sand out. Coming back up to breath, my hair fell into my face some. It would dry and be back it's spiky self later. Getting all the sand off my body, I laid there and relaxed, trying to think of something to do until morning. I wasn't very tired.

A few hours past and then I lay down in the soft sand. It wasn't as bad and didn't stick to my form very much. I didn't mind sleeping nude in the open. No one was in the desert and I knew that. Not when Hallow Bastion wasn't but a few hundred miles away.

Shutting my eyes, I allowed my body to slowly fall into slumber. And I needed it. Endless search didn't do the body any good and I should have known that a long time ago when I first started the hunt for Sephiroth. I just didn't pay much in mind to that.

Rustle…

I shifted from the noise but didn't wake. There was nothing there. It was more then likely the wind. No one would be in the desert at this time of night but someone on a mission. A.K.A me.

Rustle…rustle…

I shifted again, rolling onto my side to escape the noises I was hearing. I had to be out of it or having a hallucination because no one was there. I just know no one was there.

Rustle… Rustle… Rustle…

CRACK!

Jolting up, I looked toward the sound of a tree branch braking. Someone was here. Growling lowly, I watched around, my eyes looking for the person that was watching me. A glint of silver caught my eye and I looked over instantly. Nothing was there. Another glint, nothing.

Growling in aggravation, I stood up and walked toward the first glint. I kneeled down, examining the sand. There were footprints that seemed to have been slightly dragged. My eyes looked over them before I lightly ran my fingertips over and followed them.

The prints stopped at the edge of a tree. I looked up. Nothing was there. This was really getting aggravating. I shifted to backtrack and was pinned to the tree by a strong grip on my shoulder. Yelping, I looked up.

"It is good to see you again Cloud."

"Sephiroth!"