I am posting this chapter instead of the next one for War to Remember, because I want to wait a little longer before I go further into that story. There are a few things that I need to work out, but just as a reassurance to my fans, I am still doing the stories for my Kingdom War Saga. I already have the next 4 stories started and quite a few chapters written, but due to this fact; I had to make some changes to future chapters in War to Remember. And I do want to wait to finish certain things until Kingdom Hearts 2.8 comes out. So, without further adieu, here is chapter 6 of Path to Dawn!

Chapter 6: Two Warriors Show Their Colors

Rosso looked at the brunette with glee. Finally. She is finally experiencing her power for the first time. My master will be so pleased, when I bring her unconscious body back to him. Tifa then spoke in that ominous voice she seemed to have gained.

"So you are a Tsviet. I had half expected Sephiroth to annihilate you, but I can think of only two reasons that he would have lost. One, the child was holding back like he did with Cloud. Two, you are as powerful as all the reports say. Especially when it seems you all managed to come back from the dead. Impressive," Tifa spoke, or rather...the one who was controlling her. She held Masamune in her right hand, and her dark wing sprouted from her left side.

"If the all powerful Sephiroth was holding back, then perhaps I should teach him a lesson," Rosso said condescendingly.

"Haha, what makes you think you will walk away from here alive to teach it to him," Tifa teased the crimson woman. She then took flight, her wing flapping with such great force it launched her at least 100 feet into the air. She then quickly descended toward Rosso, swinging Masamune right toward Rosso's jugular. Had Rosso not reacted in time, she would have just been decapitated.

She brought her weapon up to her left to block the 6 foot sword. She tried to push it away, but Tifa was just hovering while Masamune still putting a lot of pressure on her. If Rosso were still human, Tifa's current grin would make her want to piss herself. Rosso got the feeling that even Sephiroth would be unsettled by such a grin, and THAT was saying something!

She finally conjured up the energy to repel the attack and send the now twisted Tifa flying back. Rosso regained her composure quickly. This isn't exactly how she had imagined the battle would start, but she does know how it will end: Tifa unconscious and Rosso advancing the Master's plans. Rosso then unwittingly had provoked the girl even further.

"What's the matter? Is that all you are capable of? Surely even the great martial artist Tifa Lockhart can do better than that," Rosso teased condescendingly. Tifa's grin vanished and turned into a malevolent stare that could melt steel. "So, you want to see what Martial skills I have? I don't want this to be over too quickly, you know," Tifa spoke, her smile reemerging. Tifa then dropped Masamune and held her fists up. Perfect, Rosso thought. That should give me just the advantage I need.

Rosso then advanced toward the now dark angel, but didn't realize until it was too late that when she started to swing her blade; Tifa's black and red leather gloves began to glow with a Jenova-colored green, and Tifa grabbed the blade like it was nothing more than a damned branch. Rosso had a look of total surprise on her face; while Tifa had continued to grin. Tifa then used Rosso's momentum against her to twist the blade, which Rosso didn't let go of, to slam her and the double-edged sword on the ground.

Tifa didn't hesitate after that to kick the crimson woman right into one of the white trees that dominated the landscape of the Forgotten City. The tree split in half from the force of the impact, and now Rosso had a broken back. In some ways; she was damn lucky right now not to have a concussion. That would have made this fight quite fatal for her. Rosso then decided that this was starting to get out of hand. She had to end this quick. Just then, someone she hoped wouldn't return to the fray had appeared.

Meanwhile...

Sephiroth had racked his brain trying to figure out what the hell just happened. He knows that voice that emanated from Tifa. He had heard it when he was just a child. It can't be.., he thought to himself. Just then; he heard the sound of a tree literally exploding from where he left the battlefield. He thought about what to do for a second: He knows that protecting Tifa is the only thing that will get him into paradise, but he really shouldn't care. However, that voice is troubling him, and he has a gut feeling that even his own existence is at stake right now. He sighed in disbelief.

"I can't believe that I am about to go save some girl who had tried to use my own sword against me once upon a time," he said to himself. That's another thing! How is she able to use my Masamune?! I thought that I was the only one who could use it? That memory flashed back in his head. The night he had killed her father and burned Nibelheim down to the ground. Had he not heard her coming; he would have been impaled, and that could have possibly been fatal. That's another thing about Tifa that is gnawing at the back of his mind, but he knew all of this would have to wait. He will need to repossess his sword and not hold back this time. He needs to destroy Rosso and get Tifa to Cloud. Huh. The thought of having to work with Strife...that will take some getting use to.

Sephiroth took off using his dark wing, going as fast as he could. He really wanted to just get this done and over with. He honestly shouldn't have to care about what happens to any of these people, but he knows that if he wants an eternity of happiness with his true mother; then he will have to do what he has to in order to procure that kind of future. He was in flight, and it wasn't long before he reached his destination.

When Sephiroth landed, what he saw had actually surprised him. Rosso was laying by a broken tree, her blade looking like it might have been cracked, Tifa staring at her with a grin that was starting to unsettle even him, and his Masamune laying on the ground! Looks like I have missed quite the show.

"What took you so long? And didn't I actually tell you to get away from here," the now possessed Tifa asked. Sephiroth only gave his trademark grin, then walked over to his sword and picked it up. "Got a little lost in my own head. Was wondering how you, of all people, could house such darkness," he said in his usual overconfident tone.

Rosso realized that if she didn't get her backup now; she was dead, and for good this time. She had little choice: either flee and hope that her backup can at least stall them, or hope that Azul shows up. She decided it would be best if she lives to fight another day. There was no way she could stand up against Sephiroth AND Tifa, whom is now possessed by someone who once stood against her own sister Jenova; Alicen. Just then, she heard a huge cannon being fired, and then saw Sephiroth grab his left shoulder in pain. She looked over to where the cannon blast had originated from to see none other than Azul the Cerulean. Her backup had arrived.

"Sorry to make you wait so long, Rosso," said the blue-haired man. He was dressed the exact same as when he fought Vincent the first time. He was carrying a new cannon that looked to be more powerful than 2 flux cannons. Hell, the barrel length was 5 feet long, and it's diameter had to be at least 3 feet. Azul then fired his cannon again; this time at Tifa.

Direct hit. Tifa gripped the left side of her stomach, which was the point of impact. Tifa then lost her evil look and wing. She went back to plain old Tifa, and fell onto the ground. She was in pretty bad shape. Sephiroth looked at the now injured Tifa and just knew what was about to happen. He sighs.

Here we go again.