Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy FFVII: Crisis Core or Dissidia or Dissidia 012.
Everybody celebrate! I finally updated this fanfiction! Yeah, I kinda got side tracked with "After Saving the World" and then HxH and Fullmetal Alchemist kidnapped me (Brotherhood still has a hold on me, and it'll probably be that way for a long time). I'm so SORRY for not updating sooner. I had this written up and then scrapped it since it moved too fast. The chapter below is the rewrite that, for months, I didn't realize I had mostly finished. Some of you clicked that awesome "follow" button, and that alerted me to the fact that I've got people waiting on me.
Thanks to everyone who has read and everything. I'm sorry for the long wait. (I can't promise to be better in the future, sorry!) As a reminder, the italicized in this story means Dissidia and the normal text means Gaia. As another reminder, I have not played Dissidia or Dissidia 012 so if that part of the story is somewhat AU, forgive me and enjoy my oblivious spin on the world anyway. Now for the long awaited "Warrior in Heart" chapter three:
Cloud panted as he crossed the Bahamut Isles. The weight on his back pressed down uncomfortably. This sword wasn't his. Of all the little things he had recalled, Cloud knew for sure that the sword he carried had never been meant for his use. A memory like a distant dream pounded through his skull, giving him a headache. All he had to do was find a soldier from Cosmos's army and the memory would unlock.
When he had left the Land of Discord, Garland had given him the only instruction Cloud had: "Warriors of Cosmos are our enemies and must be destroyed to end this war." Cloud had nothing to go on other than that and his instinctual observations. On his way out of Chaos's home territory, Cloud had met a few of the said warriors, one weakling here or there, all of them driven with a mindless will to fight. At every opportunity, Cloud attempted to get some answers, but either blank stares or a speech avoiding the question faced him in response. That was telling in itself. Cloud almost pitied those on the opposing side. The way they slaved for their goddess without knowing exactly why…it made Cloud wonder.
Cloud discovered one thing out of the silence of unanswered questions. Every time he battled, a new memory – one lost from his life before – would surface. So although fighting Cosmos's followers bothered him, he justified it by telling himself he needed the memories so he could be free from this veil keeping all summoned warriors captive.
That's why he was wandering the Bahamut Isles. He needed answers. He could feel the memories lurking just under the surface, but like a window, every time he reached for them, something thin and translucent blocked him.
Hunting people. That's what he was doing. Searching for someone to fight – someone to kill – all for the sake of understanding. Cloud supposed that was the reason his memories had vanished, to get him to fight. In a sick, twisted way it made sense; but if Chaos's cause was the right one, why the added incentive to fight? But as with everything else, it seemed that those questions could not be answered without battling his "foes", if that's what they were.
There was one other way to get answers, but Cloud refused to even consider it.
Sephiroth.
Once Cloud had remembered his own name, the silver-haired man's didn't take long in returning to his empty memory. The man had spent effort trying to get near Cloud in a way that set off every alarm in his system. So Cloud had decided to explore the strange world on his own in favor of asking someone to be his guide. It wasn't that he wanted to be alone so much as every other warrior of Chaos was either too ridiculous, creepy, or, like him, just wanted to be left alone.
But Sephiroth wasn't thrown off the trail that easily.
Cloud glanced at the sky, as the dark presence grew steadily closer behind him. The sky glowed a dazzling, rosy hue, but something in the color made Cloud uneasy. Not the way Sephiroth made him feel, but more like something was very wrong and he didn't know what. The presence caught up with him. Cloud dropped his gaze to the horizon and kept it fixed there to avoid looking at the man shadowing him.
"Hello, Cloud." The voice snaked behind Cloud, formally announcing his presence. Cloud kept his pace steady, almost businesslike. If Sephiroth stepped in front of him, Cloud would have merely run him over. He was in no mood to chat.
Sephiroth made an amused noise and increased the length of his stride to keep even with the irked blond. "Have you considered my offer?" He smirked. "I can give you the knowledge you lack."
A guttural growl of warning vibrated up Cloud's throat. This was the fourth of Sephiroth's attempts to be civil. Every time Sephiroth appeared, Cloud felt the acutest sense of anger and betrayal and it made his blood cold. His nerves jumped on high alert, and rather than slap the man's words in his face, Cloud itched to use his sword to drive the point home. Simply stated, the man put Cloud on edge and Cloud didn't know why, but the instinctual feeling was strong enough that he wasn't about to argue with it.
"Why do you want so badly to 'help' me?" Cloud demanded, not pausing a second in his walk toward the eternal sunset.
"We could be of such use to each other, Cloud," the man's voice spoke of malicious machinations. "I can give you answers to your 'why's and you can pay for what you did to me."
Cloud stopped. Warily he brought his eyes slowly over to meet the green-slit gaze. "What do you mean 'what you did to me'?"
Sephiroth regarded him coolly for a moment. Slowly he assessed, "You don't remember the reactor yet. Pity." He paused. "The offer remains, however. And know this, Cloud, though you may not like it, it would be wise to accept my help. You will never be rid of me, and the more you resist, the stronger the bond between us is. But it's your choice, puppet."
"I don't want anything from you," Cloud snapped. "Some distance might be nice, but anything else: no." Cloud's eyes burned with rigid ferocity. "And I am not a puppet."
Sephiroth smirked and drew his sword, the blade singing with energy. "I know you too well, Cloud. This will be my retribution then."
Cloud only realized he had drawn his own oversized sword when it blocked Masamune's slice at his middle. Sephiroth slashed casually a few more times, every movement blocked by Cloud's weapon. They bantered, steel on steel, for a bit, Cloud perpetually locked in defense and Sephiroth toying with him almost lazily, but the longer they went, the more frustration spilled into Sephiroth's attacks. He pushed harder and harder at Cloud, eager to see when Cloud would be forced to act offensively rather than passively defending, but Cloud wouldn't break his stance.
"It will be my great pleasure to kill you. Don't worry. I cannot be too cruel to you if you are to resurface in the next cycle after Purification. But at least put up a fight before you go."
Cloud demanded, "What are you talking about?"
"After you so rudely declined my offer for enlightenment, why should I answer you?"
Then Cloud caught the green eyes twitching to look over his shoulder. Before Cloud could turn to see what had caught Sephiroth's momentary attention, Sephiroth's stance dropped into seriousness.
"Come now," Sephiroth taunted. "You must be dying to take revenge for what I did to your home village and to your friends…" His eyes narrowed. "And what I am helping Mother do to you now." He attacked Cloud from the side, provoking him.
"Since you're so eager to die…" Cloud leaped forward, but despite what Sephiroth thought, it was not the threats or oblique revelations causing him to finally take action but rather a pleasing revelation: by merely fending off Sephiroth's attacks, the memory that had nagged at Cloud's mind earlier had broken free.
Sephiroth looked pleased when Cloud thrust his sword at Sephiroth's middle, and the pleasure on his face grew when Cloud continued to attack. But slowly, the triumph began to fade and a disapproving frown took its place. Silver eyebrows locked together in concentration, and the twisted glint in Sephiroth's eyes disappeared altogether. The expression did not change until Sephiroth collapsed with one knee on the ground and his sword out of reach.
He looked up at Cloud even as the darkness began to envelope him. "So you have become stronger. Interesting. I look forward to the future. I will not be so easily defeated next time."
For one whose pride rode on an unbroken winning streak, Sephiroth seemed to handle his defeat rather smoothly, almost as if he had let Cloud win, just to allow the memories to unlock. Cloud shook his head. No, Sephiroth was not the type to be altruistic or even kind in the minutest sense. Cynicism built in Cloud's mind. Sephiroth had a deeper plan. That or he didn't want Cloud to see his surprise at having lost so easily.
Cloud motioned to replace the sword on his back when he remembered that during the fight, Sephiroth had looked at something behind him. Cautiously, Cloud turned.
A man, a warrior, stood guardedly watching him. His whole aura emanated authority; and the full body armor confirmed his commitment to the war or whatever petty cause drove him. Standing straight, he measured a head taller than Cloud, and that without the ludicrous horns on his helmet reaching for the sky.
They exchanged glances – Cloud wary; the stranger, reservedly curious. Cloud's fingers clasped the hilt of his sword tightly, legs tensed and ready to spring forward should the warrior so much as breathe unexpectedly. The man, sensing Cloud's tension, held his stiff posture till Cloud relaxed his guard enough to stand straighter.
Cloud's voice betrayed how much Sephiroth's presence had affected him. Cloud snapped at the stranger, "You here to die too?"
The man shook his helmeted head but kept his eyes fixed on the blond. "I would rather not engage in battle with one so skilled."
Cloud grunted in raw approval of his answer.
"But I am curious to know how many cycles you have endured."
A fire flashed through Cloud's eyes. More meaningless words that brought more unanswered questions. The more he learned, the less he seemed to know about this world and his part in it. But Cloud didn't want to fight this man, so he humored him, panning for answers without truly asking. "I've only been here a little while."
The man dropped his defensiveness in stunned silence. Strategically, Cloud thought, if he wanted to kill this man, that moment would have been long enough to run him through. Walking forward undauntedly, Cloud ignored the opportunity and skirted around the warrior.
"Stop," the man ordered. Cloud's booted foot had stepped past him. "You are travelling toward Cosmos's territory. I demand to know your allegiance."
"Would it matter if I told you?" Cloud deadpanned. "You're concerned about Cosmos which means you are one of her warriors. I assume you have a ceremony that welcomes in the summoned soldiers, so if you don't recognize me, why ask? It's most likely I'm with Chaos; but then I just killed someone from that side. Either way, you have reason to suspect me. So does it really matter what I say?"
The warrior's gaze hardened. "You're wrong. I do recognize you. Whether you are aware of it or not, you have gained fame on both sides as a passive soldier who remains in the shadows…unless provoked."
"Hm," Cloud assented. "It happens quite often, like you just saw. It seems no one here believes in neutrality."
Cagy eyes assessed Cloud's intentions. The stranger spoke again. "I'll say it one more time: declare your allegiance."
Cloud frowned and his voice dropped into complete seriousness. "I'm not allied to anyone. I fight my own battles, and that's all." He started to walk again, but the warrior's sword flashed through the air behind him. Cloud could feel the tip against his back. It took total self restraint not to reflexively attack.
"If you refuse to answer, I must defeat you rather than risk the safety of my goddess."
"Do you really want to fight me on your own?" Cloud almost growled. He felt on edge and trapped in the interrogation. Cloud didn't normally resort to such violent, absolute methods to escape a problem, but Sephiroth's voice still played in his memory like a broken, scratched record. If the warrior didn't step aside, Cloud might snap and kill the obstinate warrior. Cloud wanted some time to reflect on the memories that had been restored to him. The warrior was preventing him from doing so.
The sword wavered at Cloud's animalistic tone.
"I'm not looking for a fight, just answers," Cloud spoke gruffly, his youth masked in the undertones of a dangerous, desperate truth. He walked on, noting that the stranger's presence didn't shadow him.
Cloud continued on the path, sword still drawn, until he no longer felt the watchful eyes on his back. With a sigh that released the remaining tension from his slight frame, Cloud replaced the sword on his back and looked toward the rosy skyline.
Something about the color bothered him. The whole world seemed washed over with the gentle hue, and it emitted a constant glow that was easy on his eyes. In a word, the sky was beautiful; in another, it was wrong. So wrong. It took a moment for Cloud to connect the regained memory with his sense of unease. Once the memories clicked into place, however, Cloud knew why the sky bothered him so much.
It wasn't blue.
-Dante