Challenge 8
If there was one thing Sephiroth hated about the Lifestream, -beyond the fact that it invariably tried to kill him whenever he gave it the chance- it was the sheer monotony of the place. After his latest attempt to leave the Lifestream had been cut short by Cloud-largely due to his own cockiness- he was heading back to the safer regions of it to the north when the flashes of colour caught his eye. Bemused by the discovery-normally, the only distractions on his journeys was the graffiti he'd left scratched into the floating rocks with the tip of his sword on previous journeys (normally along the lines of 'If you can read this, you're probably me, and haven't gotten out of the Lifestream yet. Please do so. If you are not me, the same sentiments apply.' So this unusual fact (as well as the belief that he'd killed everything the Lifestream could throw at him on his way to the revival) possibly resulted in him deviating from his usual route in order to investigate.
As it turned out, the flashes of colour were flowers. A massive, unending flower field, formed in the middle of the Lifestream. Since this was clearly impossible, he was about to move on when he spotted the girl in the pink dress standing in the centre. For second, he couldn't remember where he'd seen her before (so many killing sprees, so little time) but he eventually realised this and silently dropped down behind her. At this point, he realised that a) this was clearly a trap, and b), he couldn't kill her anyway.
"I know you know I'm here, Cetra girl." (her name still escaped him).
As he said this, telekinetic waves expanded outwards and flattened every flower in the field. Zack, diligently sneaking up behind him, somersaulted over his head to avoid them, landing with just enough time to block the strike he'd since sent towards Cetra girl in front of him.
"I'll leave you to it, shall I?" the Cetra asked, dissolving herself in Lifestream threads before either swordfighter could respond.
"Hello Zack."
"Sephiroth."
"Why bother blocking that? The worst I can do is inconvenience her."
"It's the principle. Allowing your girlfriend to be impaled is not conducive to a lasting relationship. Women remember little things like that."
"...true, true. So...you going to try kill me?"
"Yep."
"The traditional response to that is to say 'I'm not going to try. I'm going to succeed.'"
"Well, after you're dead for a few years, you start to get rusty with those kind of things."
"I know. Did you hear what I said to Cloud?"
"Well... 'I will never be a memory' wasn't that bad..."
"Well...now we have a good opportunity to practice, right?"
Zack laughed. And his sword came around in a vicious cross-slash that came close to disembowelling his target, who responded with a potentially hamstringing thrust, a near dangerous miss that forced Zack to step back, batting aside the follow up. Mutual backward somersaults then left them twenty feet apart, in the perfect position to practice some repartee. They exchanged embarrassed shrugs.
"Y'know, I really can't think of anything right now..."
"Well, it does seem a little...awkward. Anything happen since I last saw you?"
"Y'mean since I skewered you earlier on today? Tried to get out of the Lifestream-failed. Miserably. Through stupid cockiness, just like the last two times."
"Sounds familiar."
"Didn't stop me beating you in about five seconds in Nibel Reactor, though."
"There's your taunt instinct coming back."
"Mmm."
"It terrified generations of Shinra recruits."
"Good times."
"Yeah. Do you remember that soccer match in no-man's land with the Wutaiens?"
"Of course! There was no way I was offside, that was a ridiculous decision!"
"Heheheh."
Stop chatting! the planet screamed suddenly, cutting them off.
"You're the boss" Zack said, grinning, and unleashed a vicious flurry of attacks that drove Sephiroth halfway across the flower field, desperately batting aside the frenzied assault that sought to disperse him.
"New Limit Break?" Sephiroth asked, when he finally had time to speak. The question was accompanied by a counterattack that sent Zack retreating some of the distance he'd gained, but not all of it. Zack defended himself much more ably than Sephiroth remembered.
"Nope. That's just me, concentrating." Parry, sidestep, backstep, counter.
"Impossible. You were never anywhere near that fast." Duck, upthrust, advance.
"Lifestream enhancements, like what Cloud got. Good, huh?" An overhand slash suddenly became a horizontal swipe at the base of the rib cage with a twist of the wrists.
"You should be destroying me. Lifestream enhancements where the planet is most powerful, with the full power of the planet behind you, should be no match for me. The fact that you haven't skewered me yet highlights the insignificance of your own abilities." Backward leap, sidestep, spin, thrust.
"How does it feel to be upstaged by Cloud, my Puppet?" Advance, low slash, block, backstep.
"He's done a good job of cutting your strings. I'm happy for him." Backstep, spinslash, somersault, vertical slice. This last almost gave Sephiroth a kill, but Zack threw himself forward in time and escaped with only gashed armour. Rolling upright, his counterattack also came close to a kill, as Sephiroth almost walked into an unexpected reverse thrust.
"Happy for him? Not jealous? That Cetra girl seems to spend a lot of time looking after him, no?" Backstep, sidestep, backstep, block.
"He's the Planet's best Weapon. Much more effective than the massive monster versions." Step, feint, kick, slash.
"True. Those just prevented Shinra from creating any sort of coordinated response against me. Although he helped there, too. But why does your Cetra girl seem so intent on him joining her in the Lifestream. Appearing to him while he's riding a bike at 120kmph through dense forest while he's being shot at, for example." Block, parry, duck, backtep, backstep, backstep.
"How do you know when he's being appeared to?" Sidestep, jump, parry, backstep.
"I lived in his head all during the Meteorfall affair. I know how to get in." Zack's thrust slipped through his defence, but skated harmlessly off a shoulder guard. The counterattack left Zack with a shallow gash to the thigh that healed quickly as his Lifestream enhancements went to work.
"Does it bother you, Zack, that she gets to appear multiple times to him? You appeared corporeally once, and you didn't even get to speak." Backstep, backstep, backstep, backstep.
"Instead, Zack, you got to wave. Does that seem unfair to you? I think you have a fight on your hands when the Puppet finally does get down here. What you're doing is keeping her occupied while she waits."
By this stage, Sephiroth had been driven to the edge of the flower field, and they started leaping from rock to rock in the true Lifestream. Threads of Cetra knowledge were suddenly at their disposal, and Sephiroth got in a direct hit with an Ice3. Zack vanished. Leaping to the place he'd last seen him, Sephiroth was surprised by a hilt smash to the head from behind, staggering him. His elbow came back and snapped Zack's head back, breaking his nose. Trying to turn, the flat of the Zack's blade swept his feet out from under him, and before he could react he was slammed against a floating rock with a blade to his throat.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Zack proclaimed, smiling "I'd like to introduce the winner of the Mr. Overconfidence of the year award, Generalllll Sephirothhhh Crescennnt!"
Sephiroth smiled. "I'd like to thank the academy." Even Zack was forced to laugh as he continued. "I'd also like to remember my family, Jen, Jo, and the triplets, for making this possible and supporting me all the way, Heidegger and Scarlet for not being here, President Shinra for being dead, and Cloud for being so entertaining, like a good Puppet should be. Lastly, I'd like to say a special word of appreciation to you, Zack-" A telekinetic bolt with all the force Sephiroth could summon hit Zack in the chest, blasting him backwards into the side of another floating rock. Masamune, flung like a javelin, nailed him there. "-for giving me this excellent opportunity to practice my taunts and allowing me to make this speech instead of skewering me instantly."
Zack was still writhing on the blade as his Lifestream enhancements fought to keep his shell intact, trying vainly to heal the gaping wound. As Sephiroth stepped closer, Zack met his eyes, for an instant.
"...Nice...speech..." he managed, before dissolving into Lifestream threads. Sephiroth considered.
"I'm not losing my touch, it seems" he noted, before yanking out his sword and continuing on his way.
