Hello guys and welcome back to the story, co-authored by my good friend Riku Kingdom Hearts. This is chapter 2 and it seeks to deal with that cliffhanger we left you at last time. XD Now, let's get to the story.

Ch. 2

Sephiroth and Zack stared at one another for what seemed like an eternity. Without hesitation, their blades collided. The weight of the Masamune began to encroach upon Zack's rugged, dull blade. He slightly bent his knee as he pushed upward against the longsword enough to escape its swing. Sephiroth then began swinging the sword at a distance towards Zack, alternating diagonal swipes downward with each swing. Trying to keep up with Sephiroth, as he teleported from one location to the next, Zack barely had time to evade the last swing as the wind pressure from it made him slightly wince. Seeing the opportunity, Sephiroth launched his Firaga Wall to try and pull Zack to him.

As he began to be sucked forward, Zack raised his sword high and planted it firmly in the ground to prevent from being dragged in. Zack struggled to maintain his balance as Sephiroth began to gloat. "It's useless to fight against it Zack. Just allow yourself to be taken in and let the darkness into your heart. You've been here so long. Just give up, knowing that you failed Cloud and yourself."

Zack tensed up at the sound of Cloud's name emanating from Sephiroth's cruel grinning face. He threw a glance towards Sephiroth that was cold as ice as, he began to stand his ground amidst the intense gravity.

"Don't you dare...say his name. I will get back to my friend again. I won't let you keep us apart anymore!" Zack muttered through gritted teeth. With that, Zack broke free of the grip of Sephiroth's attack and began to charge at him at full sprint.

He charged his foe with intensity. Sephiroth effortlessly dodged the swipes from his sword as he taunted Zack's efforts. "Is that all you have. Didn't you want to be a hero? Surely you haven't forgotten what I taught you in all this time. You're letting your emotions control you and dull your blade. You'll never reach me with that level of skill. And you'll never save Cloud."

"You're wrong. I did save Cloud. I sent myself here instead of him when you tried to attack us. So, he's alright. I just know it." Zack retorted.

They clashed swords again, as Zack hopped backwards in retreat to avoid a powerful slash from the Masamune, that sliced right through a boulder behind him. Zack lowered his sword and looked down in thought as he spoke. "I'm not sure what happened to you. You changed, and tried to hurt me. Tried to hurt Cloud. You were the hero I looked up to! I want you to change, hope you can change. But right now, Cloud is still waiting on me. So I have to defeat you here and now, whatever the cost!" Zack glared at Sephiroth as streams of dark aura formed around his body. He dashed off towards Sephiroth with a look in his tear-filled eyes that yelled anger.

Sephiroth smirked at the sight of this, taunting his opponent. "Yes, that's the look I want to see. Hate me. Let darkness come into your heart. It's the only way you can ever defeat me. After all, your darkness...is me."

Zack stopped abruptly in his tracks at what Sephiroth had just said. The darkened aura around him beginning to fade. Zack lowered his head in thought, trying to make sense of what Sephiroth had just said. Zack quickly raised his head say something, but as soon as he looked up, Sephiroth look transparent. Within a second the image of Sephiroth faded away into nothingness and Zack was soon staring at nothing but the dark landscape in front of him.

"Was is all just an illusion? That...wasn't the real Sephiroth?" Zack shook his head, 'Nah...Sephiroth can't really be here surely.' But even if it wasn't the real Sephiroth...what did he mean? My darkness is him? I don't understand… but, did feel something. Something strange came over me. The darkness here must be really messing with me now… Can't let that happen anymore.' Zack then began to laugh to himself half-heartedly as he pondered the thought as his mind drifted towards his friend. 'Well, just wait for me a while longer Cloud. I'll be back soon.'

Zack started to walk forward but his head started to hurt as he felt dizzy. Everything started to blur around him. His legs felt weak as he staggered forward. After a few steps he collapsed to his knees, exhausted mentally and physically from the recent battle. "Maybe...a quick rest wouldn't be so bad…" Zack muttered between deep breaths. He laid down where he was and drifted off into a slumber for the first time in what seemed like ages.

Zack found himself to be falling through darkness. He was falling and there didn't seem to be any sign of stopping. Through the darkness though blurs of images and sounds flew past him. It was hard to see or hear what it was though. Everything was just a blur and he could only hear bits and pieces of everything.

"Zack!"

"Cloud get out of here! Run!"

"How amusing…"

"What have you done?"

"The darkness will make you stronger."

"Darkness is not the way!"

"Then perish."

Zack woke up with a sudden jolt. He was breathing heavily as he looked around him, making sure there were no Heartless in the area. Zack pushed himself up into a sitting position. His body still ached, but he felt much better than before. As he sat there, he thought about what he had just dreamt. He ran a hand through his hair as he sighed. He thought back to that event; the event that had lead him to getting trapped in the Realm of Darkness. It felt so long ago, but he still had no idea how much time actually had passed. So much had happened since then. Countless battles with Heartless and wandering for what felt like days.

Zack then stretched his back as he let out a groan. He knew his back was going to be feeling sore for a while. "Wish I had a potion right now…" Zack muttered before finally decided to stand back up. He needed to continue on his way to finding a way out. He wasn't going to give up yet.

As Zack walked he thought back to the fight he just had with Sephiroth...or really the fake Sephiroth. 'I can't believe I let the darkness here mess with my head. I know Sephiroth isn't actually here. It has to be because I've been here too long. I really gotta find a way out of here soon. But how…'

Zack knew that wasn't the real Sephiroth that he had battled, but his self doubt had been swept away in the flurry of blade clashes from the battle. It was like a tremendous weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He felt a little more confident again as he turned around and began to wandering through the darkness again. He continued walking for a bit until suddenly he saw a young boy. A few feet in front of him there was a boy sitting on the ground, with his knees to his chest and his arms wrapped around them. Zack got a little be closer to try to see who it was. The boy looked about to be in his early teenage years and the closer Zack got he could hear that the boy was crying.

As soon as Zack stood right next to the boy, his eyes widened. There was no way he could forget that blond spiky hair. "Cloud?! Wha...why are you here? How are you here? I'm so glad to see you thought." Zack leaned forward to hug the Cloud, when the Cloud abruptly pushed him away.

"Leave me alone," Cloud muttered as he refused to look at Zack.

"What?" Zack asked in confusion. How long had it been since Cloud had seen him? Had something happened since he was thrown into the Realm of Darkness? "Is… something wrong?"

"Zack...why did you leave me all alone? I thought we were friends," Cloud said as he sniffed.

"What? What do you-" Zack started, but Cloud cut him off.

"I thought you cared about me. I didn't know what to do when you left. You weren't there for me when I needed help."

Dumbfounded by the words he had heard, Zack tried to reason with him. Zack then sat down next to Cloud, "I'm sorry buddy, I didn't want to get trapped here. But Sephiroth...he did something...something with the darkness and next thing I knew, here I was. But, I saved you from him. You ran away from him, so it's okay now." Zack said, hoping to reassure his friend. Though he still wondered how Cloud had ended up here.

Cloud finally looked up at Zack, his eyes red and his face stained with tears, "You saved me!? I may have run away as you fought Sephiroth, but what about after that?! What happened to me after you were trapped here?"

Zack gasped in surprise. He opened his mouth to say something, but couldn't find the words. He lowered his head as his heart ached. He didn't want to believe what Cloud was saying, but he knew he was right. Ever since ending up in the Realm of Darkness Zack kept hoping that Cloud was safe. That he had ran away and was safe from Sephiroth. But deep down inside Zack secretly kept worrying what had happened afterwards. What had Sephiroth done after their battle? Where did Cloud go? There were far too many questions that were left unanswered for Zack.

"You failed…" Cloud muttered in a cold voice. "You failed to protect me."

Zack turned to look at Cloud, shaking his head, "No...no… I did protect you. I know I did."

Cloud glared at Zack, though his eyes were still full of hurt and sadness, "Then why am I here? It's all your fault that I am here. I feel so alone because you're not with me. I thought I was your friend..."

"I'm here now Cloud, so it's alright. I don't know how you got here, but we'll get out of this together. We'll stick together, like we always have." Zack said as he tried to place a hand on Cloud's shoulder.

Cloud angrly swatted Zack's hand away, "No! You left me. You failed! I've been through so much because of you. I hate you!"

Zack felt his heart sting from those words. Those hurtful words from his best friend. The doubt and thoughts that had really hadn't saved Cloud resurfaced in his head. He lowered his head in thought. All of the self doubt, the fear, and the anger at himself, began to slowly creep in again. He wanted to believe that Cloud was actually safe, that he had protected Cloud, but now he didn't believe that anymore. Zack knew though that he had to help Cloud no matter what he had said. Even if he failed to protect Cloud the first time, he wouldn't fail this time. He reached out his hand and looked up, only to see a fading light where Cloud was sitting.

Zack still reached out, but there was nothing for him to grab onto. There was just darkness which meant he was alone again. 'Was he just another illusion? Does that mean that wasn't really Cloud?" Zack thought to himself. "It wasn't real but, I felt those words. Those words felt real enough. They were from the heart. I...can't believe what I've done. Cloud must hate me… It really is all my fault.'

A few tears streamed down Zack's face as he thought about what could have happened to Cloud. Zack placed his face into his hands and cried. He hated himself so much right now. Everything just felt awful. Several minutes passed as Zack worried and agonized over the possible fate of his friend, but he was finally able to calm himself down. Now that he had settled his emotions down, he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, knowing now what he had to do.

'I have to get out of here. I need to so I can make sure Cloud is alright. I need to know that he is safe. I have to make things right. Sephiroth will pay for what he has done to us. I can't let the darkness win,' Zack thought to himself as he stood up and started back on the path he was on. Now determined more than ever to find a way out of the Realm of Darkness. He had to, for Cloud's sake and his own.

And that is the end of Chapter 2. I hope you all enjoyed it thoroughly. We are currently working on Chapter 3 and some other material for the story, but we will have it up asap. Don't forget to follow the story if you want to know as soon as the next chapter drops. Also, your feedback is appreciated. :) Until next time!