Author's Notes: This is my second Final Fantasy fic and my first Final Fantasy VII fic. I figured that, since I've written a Final Fantasy VIII fic, I should also write a fic for Final Fantasy VII, which I'm much more familiar with. Plus, I had this (I think) great idea. At the end of the game, when Cloud defeats Sephiroth, Sephiroth does not die in the normal sense, but his body dissolves into the Lifestream. I thought, what if Sephiroth had lay dying at Cloud's feet after the fight? What would the final interaction between him and Cloud be? After all, Sephiroth was mortally wounded, but not enough to make him die instantly (from what I could tell). Be warned, this fic is SxC, so Sephiroth and Cloud are paired as a couple. For those of you who don't like that, turn back now. I've warned you fairly, so don't read this and then flame me for putting them together. All that will tell me is that you're too stupid to heed warnings.

Final Fantasy VII, Cloud, Sephiroth, and any other characters I include in here, belong to Squaresoft, not me. I so wish they did belong to me, though…

Final Farewells

By Annie-chan

My feet hit the ground hard, my back bent so I am almost double, the cutting edge of my sword digging into the rock floor of this shimmering void in the center of the Planet. Something had possessed me moments before. I don't know what it was. All I can remember is a hot energy filling me, making my body move seemingly of its own accord, executing a move of the like I had never seen before in even the most difficult and complicated styles of swordsmanship, much less pulled off myself. I am breathing hard, my skin is slick and glistening with both sweat and blood. I feel as if my body is becoming my own again, that I am regaining control of it. In the back of my mind, I can only explain my recent frenzy with the fact that I am literally inside the Lifestream, and that the energy and power of many, many souls surrounds and penetrates me.

My opponent falls back, a hoarse cry exiting his throat. His sword clatters to the ground as he stumbles backwards, and before I look up, I can hear the splatter of blood as it hits the ground. He falls just as I look up, and before he loses his balance entirely, our eyes meet. His glittering green pools show shock, disbelief, and something that I think is anger. I am sure my eyes are just as expression-filled. My heart is quickly being overrun by a myriad of conflicting thoughts.

The dull thud of his body hitting the floor echoes in my mind. He tries to curl into a protective position, his arms wrapping around himself over the worse of his injuries, situated in his torso, but he is too weak to do barely more than lie as he fell. He groans, faint, pain-filled…helpless.

Finally, the enormity of the situations hits home. Sephiroth is defeated. I had bested the great Sephiroth! No…no, not just me. My companions helped me. Tifa, Barret, Cid, Red XIII, Vincent, Yuffie, Cait Sith—well, Reeve, actually—even Aerith, though she no longer walks this mortal plane. They all had a part in it, just like me. Still, the fact remains the same. Sephiroth is defeated. Holy is free. Meteor will be destroyed. The Planet is saved.

I lift my hand up to my face, my eyes stinging suddenly. Then, why am I not happy? I think. In fact, I am far from happy, as the tears now making their way down my face attest to.

He groans again, and I lock my eyes on his prone form. "It's your fault!" I yell at him. "It's all your fault! You were already defeated! You're the one who dragged me back down here! You're the one who insisted we fight to the death, not me! I didn't want to—" I cut myself off, my eyes wide, as I realize what I am about to say. I didn't want to kill him? Of course I did! He destroyed my life! He took away everything and almost everyone who mattered to me! Of course I wanted to kill him! But, wait…no…yes, yes, I did…aaaaugh! I'm so confused! I shake my head, as if doing so will clear it.

"Cloud," he whispers, turning his eyes up to me. "Cloud…come…here…please…" His voice is so soft, I can barely hear it, even in the stark silence of the normally noisy Lifestream. I look at him again. The pool of blood around him is big…he couldn't have bled that much and still be alive, could he? Then again, those infused with mako energy are extremely hard to kill, and he is infused with more than any other single human had been. As if in a trance, I find that my feet are taking me over to his almost lifeless form.

When I get to him, I kneel down, heedless of the blood soaking into the fabric of my pants.

"Cloud…" he murmurs again, his eyes fixed on mine. "You've gotten…better…lately…"

I nod, my tears intensifying. Why am I crying? My bitterest enemy is dying! I should be happy!

He reaches up to my face, brushing my tears away, leaving thin trails of his blood on my cheeks. "So much better…than…then…"

I know of the time he is talking about. Before Nibelheim was destroyed. When we were still friends.

No, not just friends…

"You were…still so green back…then…" he continues haltingly. "So good…but…only scratching the…surface of the…potential I saw within you…" A ghost of a smile comes to his pale lips. "It was…so intriguing…it's what attracted me…to you…"

I catch his hand as it begins to slip from my face and press it against my cheek. Those days…I had been so happy. Yes, I had washed out of Soldier, but I had found someone who loved me, who cared about me, even though I was just a mere Shinra guard. "I…I still love you, Sephiroth," I whisper, my voice grainy. I know it to be true, though I have been beating down the thought so much for the past five years that I had all but forgotten it.

Something like astonishment glimmers in his eyes.

"I still love you!" I say again, more forcefully. "I don't know why! I feel I should hate you! But…but, I don't! I can't hate you! Why…why can't I!" My teeth clench. "You killed my mother…you killed my childhood friends…you almost killed Tifa…you burned my hometown to the ground right before my eyes…you left me and Zack for the Shinras to experiment on like mice…you controlled me like a puppet on strings…you made me do things I'll never forgive myself for…you almost made me kill Aerith as she prayed…and then, you forced me to watch as you did it yourself! And, you did all this with a smile on your face, you son of a bitch!" My eyes are squeezed shut, and my tears have turned from sad to furious. "You took almost everything I ever cared about from me! And everything else, you made damned sure I thought I was going to lose them! You thought it was fun to tease me like that!" My fingers itch. I want to wrap them around his neck and squeeze the remaining life out of him, slowly and painfully. Something stops me, though. "But…I still love you…"

"Soulmates…" Sephiroth whispers, followed by a cough.

"What?" I ask, not knowing if I heard what I think I just heard.

"Soulmates…" he says again, looking me straight in my eyes. "Meant for each…other from birth. Everyone…has one, but…less than half ever meet…theirs. I learned that…much…about it in the Lifestream." The look in his eyes is intensifying, the glow in them getting brighter.

"Y-you mean…a person you're destined to love, no matter what adversity…?" I murmur. Of course, I have heard of soulmates before now…I just haven't given the idea much credit. It seems so implausible, so I brushed it off as another thing that love-struck, air-headed girls squeal about.

"Yes…" he answers. "You…feel you should…hate me for what I've done…to you. And, you…should. But, you don't. I feel I should…hate you because you…are a part…of the people…who…hid…who let the Cetra die out for their sake…but gave no…thanks in return. And, I should. But…I don't. I feel it…can only be…one thing…"

"We loved each other freely before…before the Nibelheim…disaster," say. I nearly choke from mentioning that terrible, terrible day. My fingers entwine with those on the hand I have clutched in my own. "You saved me…I thought I was a failure, a nothing, a nobody…you pulled me out of that…taught me to be happy where I ended up. You taught me the value of my life…you taught me to love…to truly love. B-but, you…!" I take a deep breath. "You changed so much! You became a killer! A monster!"

"I don't deny…that I made a drastic…change…" he says.

"I don't want you to die!" I suddenly burst out. "I want the old you back! I want us to be happy together again! I want to spend the rest of my life with you!" I bow my head. "Oh, why…? Why did you do it?"

He doesn't answer. I know perfectly well why he did it, and he knows it.

I suddenly realize he is in my arms. I am cradling his dying body in my arms and lap, his head resting against my shoulder. He turns his face up to me. He opens his mouth to say something, but before he can, and before I have time to realize what I'm doing, I cover his lips with mine in a wholly unexpected kiss. Oh, I haven't kissed him in so long…it feels so good…

He seems startled, but soon returns my kiss. My lips linger on his for several minutes, and I can taste his blood in my mouth, but I don't mind. It's all him…all him…

He sighs as we separate. "I'm sorry, Cloud…" he whispers.

"W-what?" I ask, incredulous.

"I do not take back anything I did, Cloud…" he says. "But, I'm sorry…for any grief I've caused you…my love…"

I can't find words to say. "Oh…" I almost moan, searching for an answer.

He smiles faintly at me again, then closes his eyes and sighs. I almost say his name to get his attention when I realize the significance of that sigh. That was his last breath exiting his body.

"He's dead…" I whisper, almost not believing. "He's…dead. Oh, he's dead!" The last word is drawn out very long as I try my hardest to keep from bursting out in tears. My deepest enemy, my strongest love, has died in my arms.

I am sitting on the floor in a corner on the newly transformed (again) Highwind's flight deck. My love's dead body, motionless and severely cut up from that final attack on him, is still held tightly in my arms. I won't let him go. I won't leave him in the Crater to rot. He needs a proper burial.

The others keep their distance from me. I have been in a half-trance since I got here. I remember the Lifestream wrapping around me, transporting me and Sephiroth's body up toward where my friends were waiting. They had all been dumbstruck at the way I wept over the death of our sworn enemy. I don't think they realize how important he is to me.

Holy, with the help of the Lifestream at Aerith's behest, has destroyed Meteor. Midgar has been totally obliterated, save for unsalvageable ruins, but almost no humans had still been left in the city by the time Meteor got close enough to do any damage. Most had either fled across the planes to Kalm Town, or gone over the mountains toward Junon. Most of the casualties of the vortex created from the gigantic static forces generated between Midgar and the approaching Meteor were mako monsters.

My fingers are gently stroking his scalp as my hand cradles his head against my shoulder. His face is peaceful, yet paper-white. He has bled out almost completely. There was almost no blood to speak of in his veins when he breathed his last. My clothes are still soaked in his blood, though they are drying and getting stiff and flaky.

I am murmuring softly to him as if he is only sleeping, as if he'll wake up and ask me why I am so sad. I know it not to be, though. My body is shaking from the enormous energy I have recently exerted in my fight against him, accompanied with lack of sleep and adequate nutrition since I entered the Northern Crater. I suspect that part of it is the cold that has seemed to settle over my spirit since my love's death.

Our swords, my Ultima Weapon and his Masamune, lay next to us. They are still bloodied, still stained with the evidence of our battle. Dirt and grime, attracted by the sticky blood, also cling to the smooth surfaces. The Masamune will be buried with him. My own sword will never be used again. Not that one. Not the one I used to kill my love. It will probably be put away, and I will go back to using my Buster Sword. It served me well in the past. There is no reason to believe it will not serve me just as well in the future.

I almost jump when I feel two strong but gentle hands on my shoulders, squeezing reassuringly. "It's all over, Cloud," Tifa says, trying to pull me out of my despair. She has such a good heart.

"I know," I reply. "It's…all…over…" I squeeze Sephiroth's body. They have to know. I can't hide it from them. In a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, even Vincent, who is standing almost as far away from me as possible in the corner he has long since all but claimed as his own, I tell them. "I love him."

Dead silence, the only sound the smooth hum from the Highwind's engines. Tifa is deathly still behind me. "I…I don't know why. Don't ask me to explain. But…I love him…I've always loved him." I don't mention the soulmates thing Sephiroth did. They all already know I'm partially mentally unstable. If they heard me talking about something like soulmates and other such intangible concepts, they might think me downright loony. Even in my distraught state, I don't want that. I can only hope and pray they aren't disgusted with me for loving our enemy.

"Oh, Cloud," Tifa whispers, squeezing my shoulders again. She sounds sorry. Sorry for what? That I harbor tender feelings for the man who killed her father and almost killed her? Or, that I have lost someone I care deeply about, regardless of who it is?

I sense someone else kneel down beside me. I look up into the normally deadpan visage of Vincent Valentine. He has a look of sorrow on his face, his red eyes shining sympathy. He places his human hand gently on Sephiroth's head. "Lucrecia's son…" he murmurs. He shakes his head minutely. "I'm sorry, Cloud. I know what it's like to lose someone you love. I'll be here for you, to help you through this. I promise."

My eyes tear up again. I squeeze them shut and nod. Of all people, I expected him least of all to sympathize with me. My heart is touched.

"We're all here for you," Tifa suddenly declares. "We can't leave you to suffer alone. Can we, guys?" She looks around at the others. Her peppiness has seemingly returned, but I can tell that it is at least partially forced. Inside, she is hurting as much as me, though I'm not exactly sure why she is hurting.

Murmurs of agreement come from the others, who are scattered around the flight deck. Right now, I don't care if some are reluctant agreements, or even if they all are. All I want right now is for them to not blame me for loving the enemy. The last thing I need right now is for my friends to abandon me.

"You should sleep now, Cloud," Tifa tells me. "You haven't slept properly for nearly two days." I tense up and clutch Sephiroth's body to me even tighter, but she continues. "It's all right. We'll only clean his body up, and you too. We won't do any harm to his body while you're asleep, I promise."

I nod, and she fishes a small packet out of the small bag she has tied to her belt. It's a packet of Dream Powder. I take the powder as she holds it out for me and swallow it dry, not bothering to dissolve it in water. I immediately feel like I'm falling, falling, into blackness as I slip into much-needed slumber. My last thoughts…so faint even I have trouble hearing them…

We'll meet again, Sephiroth…no matter how long it takes or how far I have to go, we'll meet again someday.

Owari

Author's Notes: So, did I do well? I hope so! This fic was hard to write in spots—I'm not entirely sure why—and I hope it doesn't seem choppy in those parts. Please tell me! Let me know how you like this in a review or an email, onegai shimasu!