Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII. Nope. I don't.
Rated T for mild language and the "occasional" violence.
Sephiroth and Cloud, but no yaoi whatsoever. Hints of CloudxTifa
Summary: With the final blow at the Northern Crater, Sephiroth dragged Cloud with him to the Realms of Death. While travelling on the Lifestream, the Goddess herself and the Ancients offer them a second chance to life and bind their destinies together. If one dies, so will the other, so both enemies have to find a way to calm their hatred and learn with the errors of the past.
So Near, yet so Far
The Meeting
Cloud was very optimistic. By the first time in his life, he was sure that he could actually beat his enemy. Sephiroth had to pay – for Nibelheim and for Aerith. Deep inside of him, Cloud felt that the road had reached its end, and that a rough weight would be lifted from his shoulders as soon as his sword struck Sephiroth's chest. After all, love was paid in love, and blood was paid in blood. And Sephiroth's blade had shed too much blood to appeal for Cloud's forgiveness.
He advanced towards his nemesis. Looking at Sephiroth triggered that memory of five years ago, when the general walked into the fire – a fire being fed with the essence of Nibelheim.
The void surrounded them and Cloud felt a strange pressure in his ears, his head throbbing with pain – a spell casted by Sephiroth, he assumed. He advanced, dragging his feet forward, in an attempt to survive. Cloud raised his sword in the direction of his enemy and Sephiroth mimicked his gesture, grabbing the hilt of Masamune and lifting it above his shoulder. A smirk formed on the general's lips; Cloud trembled with anger, feeling a new power erupting from him and travelling through his body. A dangerous power, capable of great things – of creating and destroying.
"Are you ready, Cloud?" Sephiroth asked, tense. His tone was deep, wise, but with a little tingle of insanity that made his voice tremble slightly. Cloud had known the general before he was driven into madness. At least, he partially knew him. The sight of his enemy filled him with disgust. Sephiroth added: "Are you prepared to acknowledge the end of your journey?"
"I don't know about my end, but I'm sure you'll meet yours!"
The sound of swords clashing filled the silence around them. Both of them were tired, exhausted from their struggling before; Sephiroth's muscles were pained due to the transformations he suffered earlier and to the years and years of slumber within the crater. Cloud was just tired of his journey, of the problems of his heart and the problems of his consciousness. He never imagined that he would spend his last, glorious battle counting the seconds to its end.
However, the end was quicker than he thought.
A golden light emerged from Cloud's sword, and, between the intense rays of the light, he saw phantom replicas of his blade surround his enemy. He felt puzzled – that power came from him? Did he have such strength within his body? Sephiroth opened his mouth in shock, presuming what was coming next. One of the blades slashed quickly through the general's body and a long cut formed from his left hip to his shoulder – the man didn't have time to look at the wound before another sword hit his back, slashing his skin roughly. Cloud watched from afar, stepping back involuntarily from the scene, his tired eyes filled with the extreme light.
Then, when Sephiroth got down on his knees, letting the blades penetrate and slash his skin, Cloud thought briefly that the man would give in. However, for his surprise, Sephiroth's eyes turned abruptly to the blond, a new shine formed within its depths.
"I will not let you live, Cloud Strife!" he pronounced, lifting his hand towards his nemesis. Unwillingly, Cloud felt his body moving towards the general, his feet dragging beneath him. He wanted to back away, but the force pulling him towards the man was too powerful.
With the petty strength that still remained within Sephiroth, he was able to pull Cloud next to him and between the younger man's kicks and punches, he lifted Masamune and buried the blade in the blond's stomach.
Cloud cried in pain, his head aiming to explode, the blood trailing down his shirt and soaking his clothing. A brief image of Aerith's death surged in his mind and the anger grew even more powerful. Another image, of himself being stabbed in the Mako Reactor, paused before his eyes, as if trying to send him a message. So it would end the same way it begun? "How…How could you?" he stuttered nervously. Sephiroth dropped Masamune, and Cloud fell to the floor, the blade still piercing his stomach. Holding no strength to take the sword out, he curled into a ball, his hands gripping his skull, fighting the throbbing pain that penetrated his head. His mind reeling, he looked at the general's face, covered in blood, sweat and something worst – rage, perhaps. A man who wishes to be a God would think that death itself was the worst punishment for his crimes.
Cloud only understood that Sephiroth wasn't the only one who failed to win the battle, when he felt a strange white light breach his mind.
The world around him vanished.
When he woke up, Sephiroth tried to cry out, to scream in outrage as he clawed desperately to the emptiness, feeling no air enter his lungs. As he slowly started to breathe again, he became aware of a soft blanket beneath his body. He did not dare to open his eyes; the light penetrating through his lids was pale and timid and his last memories evaded his brain in torturing waves. Everything he remembered was the pain and the taste of blood in his mouth. The golden light had surrounded him and that power, a power almost palpable between his fingers had shrunk him into a much more embarrassing form of life. He found himself helpless and powerless in front of the boy – if he was to die, than he would take his enemy with him, and both would share the same punishment.
The general opened his eyes; after all, what he took for a blanket was a soft bed of very tiny flowers, the color of blue and yellow. Young trees surrounded him, forming a circle around the spot where he was laying. The sky above him was not blue, but a soft gold and there was no way to say if it was day or night. Bright stars shone down from the skies, casting a soft glow on the trees and flowers surrounding him. He travelled more around the world than anyone else on Gaia but was unable to recall that place.
"For this place does not belong in your world, Sephiroth." A voice answered his thoughts from behind. The general turned, finding a woman standing near a tree. She was dressed in white and golden and her fair hair framed her lovely face. However, the wisdom of her eyes denied the youth of her face. Sephiroth cringed before the new presence, finding Masamune nowhere in sight. Also, he didn't felt the power of materia in his blood. For the first moment in his life, the general felt completely off-guard.
"Here you will not fight" the woman stated "here you will not have to power to commit your crimes. Here you will be humble, and you will listen at the opportunities that are given to you."
Opportunities? He didn't have opportunities. He was a murderer, a sinner, a God. He had the power to create opportunities, not to take them gratefully. And where the hell was he?
"Where I am?" he demanded. His face, normally expressionless, started to fill with uneasiness.
The woman smiled softly and with a small step, shortened the distance between them. Sephiroth, alarmed, stepped back, and raised his arms in a fighting stance. It was only then, however, that he noticed the scars on his arms and chest, already white. His fingers traced along the length of the scars. It was if long years have passed since the fight – such wounds needed time to heal themselves to that state. Another question formed in his head: how much time had he been laying there?
"You're in the past, but however, you are in the future. Also, this is the present. What your world would be if it wasn't poisoned by the fire and drained out of the energy that the ancestors gave it. Right here where you are standing, Sephiroth, would be the center of the city that you once served, so faithfully.
Midgar, he thought. This is what the planet would be if humans hadn't take out all of its power. Sephiroth's fist clenched in anger.
"Do you have more questions?" she asked, tilting her head gently.
"Of course" he mumbled. "You didn't answer my question. Where exactly am I? And who are you? Where's my sword? And how much time have I been here? And… am I dead?"
She laughed smoothly and crossed her hands in her lap. "Consider this as an image of the Lifestream. Perhaps this is what you always imagined as the Promised Land – consequently, you have entered your Realm of Death. Your sword is still on the physical world, next to your body. I am the Goddess, Goddess of the Ancients and ancestors of Gaia. Some humans on Gaia happened to worship me, without even knowing my message, or my true place on the Scale of All Great Things. Long ago, you had a friend that devoted himself to me didn't you, Sephiroth?
"Genesis" he muttered. So the tales were true – the Goddess existed, and she was the one to decide on the fates of all men. Could a god like him, Sephiroth, rule besides a goddess that had been governing the universe since the beginning of things? He pondered about that question briefly.
"In the Lifestream there's no time, so I will never be able to inform you about how much time you've been here. Understand that after the battle, Sephiroth, you actually died in the physical world. But your soul, as well as all the souls of living beings, started its journey across the Lifestream. You could only wake up after your body was fully healed."
So he was dead. At least, in Gaia, he was dead. The stupid boy was actually able to defeat him. The stupid boy… yes, what about the puppet?
"And the puppet?" he asked bluntly. Seeing the puzzled expression on the Goddess' soft face, he added, with such poison in his tongue as if the name were the foulest of words: "Where's Cloud?"
"He's coming." She said looking at a corridor made of trees. "Look, there he is."
Cloud emerged from the forest, his torso bared. Across his stomach was written a vicious line, provoked by Sephiroth's wound. The scar was colored white and had a healthy glow to it. Sephiroth looked at his enemy, bitterly. On the other side, Cloud instantly took a defensive position, raising his fists to the level of his chest, just as Sephiroth did when he first met the Goddess. The boy met his gaze with fierce eyes and then bowed before the Goddess. The general, however, held no respect for the unknown entity, so he didn't bother to look at the ground or bend over. After all, he was a god, a descendent from the mighty people of the Cetra.
"What's the point in having both of us here?" he asked, sighing deeply. Cloud's presence annoyed him so much that he wondered if his control would sustain much longer. He had a big desire to choke the boy to death. He thought why he was holding back. Because he's already dead, he reminded himself with slight disappointment.
"The point is" she started "You, Sephiroth, have walked swiftly your entire life. Swiftly, but without purpose. Your life was spent in the beliefs of others, and in the tales that others written in your head. You accepted all of them willingly, walking blindly to achieve your goals. The ultimate destruction was the last resource of your contentment – after all, you like great things, like destruction or creation. You opted for destruction to achieve creation. On the other hand, Cloud was raised under your image – he wanted to be like you, to have your strength, your discipline and your importance. After all, he never found himself, because your shadow always encumbered him. That made him follow you everywhere – because as you live, he will live, and when he dies, you will die."
The Goddess tried to find any sign of acknowledgment in their expressions, but finding none, she proceeded.
"Long ago, Sephiroth, you were a hero and you, Cloud, wished to be one. Now, in you struggle to defeat your arch-enemy, you lost that wish, and that desire to defeat him, turned you blind. You're blind, both of you. Struggling for your own goal, but never thinking about others. So what went wrong in your paths?"
Cloud was looking at the Goddess numbly, his wrist twitching. Sephiroth, Sephiroth, was right next to him, for God's Sake! He hated the man so much! How could a kindhearted Goddess be so condescending to a murderer? Why wasn't Sephiroth paying for his crimes already?
"The Council reunited" she informed "and a decision was made."
Sephiroth's mind was racing. A decision?
"The Council decided to give both of you a new opportunity."
Sephiroth's heart sank. An opportunity? A new life? For everything that Sephiroth most desired in life was to be rid of the pain, and to rule over a dead world as a dead god, and now, his ancestors willingly offered him life? If that was the punishment for his crimes, than it surely was cruel.
While Sephiroth looked depressed, Cloud looked shocked: "That means that we are going back to the Planet? It means we never died?"
The Goddess nodded. She watched the reactions of both men: In Cloud's face surged a flash of hope and new dreams formed inside his head. Maybe a change to redeem himself, to pay in hard work, blood, sweat and tears for Aerith's death – for being the culprit of her fall. And to take the chance to express his feelings for Tifa – something he never did, even when he went to the final battle, knowing that he probably would never come out alive. Ironic thinking about that. However, it was a different feeling that appeared in Sephiroth's expression – was it despair, mixed with the grief of coming back? Coming back to a world that wished to see him dead?
"You look desolated, Sephiroth" The Goddess commented, slightly concerned about the general's reaction. "Why don't you feel flattered by this new opportunity to make things right?"
Sephiroth looked at her angrily. "I would never want to come back to a world that doesn't want me in. I waited for death and you now offer me with open arms a life that many would have wished for. Why don't you let me die?"
The Goddess smiled gently. This irritated the general even more. "Don't you think that you have run enough in your life, Sephiroth? You ran away from your past, and you ran away from knowing the truth about yourself. Then you ran away, going into a deep slumber in the Northern Crater, knowing that your servants would make your job for you. All of the greatness you wish for yourself is just an excuse to run away again. Don't you want to set things right?"
The general compressed his lips into a thin line. The rage was pulsing inside of him.
"What about the revenge? The revenge on Shin-Ra and the man who hid your true past?" the Goddess added.
Sephiroth's heart skipped a beat. Hojo. He almost forgot about him. That stupid bastard who claimed to do everything for science. The desire in Sephiroth's heart to see him dead and suffering was so big that he thought momentarily that a second chance wasn't that bad at all. And Shin-Ra. Shin-Ra would also pay for the damage done to him. Shin-Ra would pay for the secrets, and for the lies. And Cloud – Cloud would pay for the humiliation. The general's face lightened up with anticipation. A new fire burned in his eyes.
"I see that both of you have acknowledged the opportunities that this new life may grant you." She looked at them with cautious eyes. "However, there are rules, and I'll establish them right now. And I ask you both to listen to me with attention, because a misstep may put your opportunity in risk."
Sephiroth curled his toes, feeling the grass beneath them. Every muscle of his legs, torso and arms was in pain; the full recovery of his wounds was yet to come. However, it's hard to pay attention to anyone when our limbs are twisting in pain and our lungs can barely keep the air within our body.
The Goddess continued:
"You'll come back to life together. When a resurrection is done, it transports one soul at a time to Gaia. However, this time the Council and I are breaking the rules and sending two souls back on earth. That means that inevitably you'll be bound to each other."
Cloud swallowed dryly – be connected to Sephiroth? Be connected to Sephiroth in any way? He knew something bad was about to come.
"Take the ideas of revenge out of your mind, Sephiroth. If you kill Cloud, you'll die. If Cloud kills you, he dies. And then both of you will atone for your crimes as if this second chance were never given to you. You, Sephiroth, will possess the duty to protect Cloud at all costs – if you fail, your chance will be over. You, Cloud, will possess the duty to protect Sephiroth. Also, if you fail, your chance will be over."
Sephiroth heart sank again – that meant travelling with one of the men that he most hated on that bloody world! That meant that he almost had to care about him, and protect him! How sickening could that be? He couldn't look at Cloud twice without fighting the urge to kill him with a quick stab. His mind raced with confusion, denial and pure shock. Then, he felt the fragments of his lost sanity shouting to be heard. He mused temporarily if there was any chance that that conversation was only part of a surreal and mad dream. His good sense – if he possessed any – said no.
"That means that… we'll have to act together" Cloud concluded, also shocked. "I can't. I can't stand next to him; I can't stand his presence."
The Goddess tilted her head again, her fingers playing distractedly with a golden ring. "There's nothing I can do. Rules are rules, and you must obey them. Accept this as a new life, and a new chance to start all over again – although you already have roots on Gaia, and must follow them to shape a completely different story. I know you are able to do that – you've achieved so many great things – good and bad – and your pride, stubbornness and discipline obliges you to take this chance and follow it until the end. I have faith on you both."
Sephiroth stepped forward "But what's the goal of all this - giving life back to a man who killed everyone in his path, and to a man blinded with a desire to make everything right. What do you think we will find throughout this new journey?"
"I don't know what you will find" the Goddess answered, a bit surprised by the question. She sensed the dark mood of the men in front of her. "But you will find something. And what you'll find will be vital for the balance of the world. So in the name of the Council of Ancients, and in my name, I ask of you to accept our offer. Please, make things right."
"Everything will fall into place." Cloud muttered, turning down into one thoughtful frown. But the price of that freedom was incredibly high – to be with the man he most despised on the planet, and to control the need to end his life. Cloud's biggest desire was to make Sephiroth pay for Aerith's death, for Nibelheim's destruction and for everyone he killed on his way. And now the Goddess, the Cetra and the Lifestream itself had denied that chance. Cloud asked himself if there was anything to fight for, now that his enemy was bound to him in such way. He wished to have Red XIII by his side right now – his friend always offered insightful advice in times of need. But Aerith – Aerith always defended a path of righteousness and defended the truth no matter what. The flower girl would forgive Sephiroth, throw the hatred over her shoulders and forget the general's sins, fighting to shape her world in a whole new better place. In the memory of his long lost friend, Cloud would put his feelings towards the general aside, and take that chance to settle things with himself and with the world.
"Alright." Cloud said, stepping forward. Sephiroth jerked his head in the direction of the younger man, shocked. He didn't reply, because he believed that if he did so, something foul and crude would escape his lips – and Sephiroth hated to lose his control in front of others. Also, if a new life meant ending Hojo's, he would do whatever it took to see the man suffer in his hands. He would have to banish his disgust and outrage for the boy.
The general nodded.
The Goddess smiled and opened her arms. "May the end of your journey award you the gifts you seek for, and may your path be righteous and truthful."
The last thing both men saw before waking up on Gaia was a flaming meteor in the sky being washed away and ultimately destroyed by the soft waves of a green stream.