~~~~~~~~ Cloud POV ~~~~~~~~~~
The next thing I know is that I ended up having to swat away attacking orange blobs of jelly that jumped in front of us as we followed Serah. It was as if they were trying to get in our way. While it wasn't difficult for me to keep up and escape from each battle unharmed, I could tell Noel was trying to keep up with me. For the most part I did not even have to remove individual blades from the Fusion Sword and when I did it was usually for defense but I did begin to breathe heavily to make Noel ease up. He did slightly but I noticed that something was on his mind too. Now that I think about it, he was mumbling something about Serah while we were running too. Is there something I don't know?
After a while I realized that someone else was fighting with us that was not Serah. How did I know that? Well the fact that it was a rough deep voice that kept yelling Serah was a big hint. Granted it was a good distance away, I could tell that they were fighting as well. When Noel and I finished our wave of jelly monsters, we ran up to the ledge that separated us from Serah and the strange new man just as he collapsed into Serah's arms.
"Snow! Is that really you?" I heard Serah ask over the noise of the monsters surrounding them. I swung the Fusion Sword at the ready as I ran forward with Noel towards the two. It was not until now that I realized the size of the huge monster nearby that loomed over us like the Shinra building did in Midgar. For some reason though my attention was more focused on Serah then it was on the monster. The man in her arms seemed to get up immediately only to be hit by a large wack of the blob's arm.
Next thing I know, Noel ran ahead of me with his swords out. I felt my face grimace as I watched Noel jump off the elevation we were on to blast the giant with a spell. A large explosion filled the air as the blob recoiled backwards from the attack. Being part of the group I was obligated to follow suit and jump down after him and Serah. The rush of falling didn't bother me all that much as admittedly I was used to it, but the gooey arm coming to attack me did force me to bring the Fusion Sword in front of me and take a slash at it. To my surprise I only managed to cut the monster a bit instead of cutting off the entire arm. I'm just used to dealing with everything in one fell swoop.
I landed on my feet and rushed past Serah and the man named Snow after Noel, only to have to jump back because of the blob's next attack. Noel dodged too and wasn't harmed at all but he looked ready to jump into battle. It seemed like a crazy notion to me. The monster didn't even seem fazed from when I sliced its other arm…. Wait. It doesn't look like that arm took any damage at all. Did it reform itself?
"I'll give you a hand!" I heard the large man say behind us as he jogged up to help. I glanced over my shoulder to see him only to see that Noel held up an arm holding a sword to stop him.
"No! I'll hold it off, you just get out of here!" Noel is beginning to sound like me a year ago as much as I hate to admit it. I understood where he was coming from, even if that stance now is stupid. There was no way that Noel could take on the monster itself, especially if it could just reform itself afterwards like I think it can. I don't deny that I probably would have said the same thing a year ago, but now I know that I shouldn't try to take on everything myself.
"Are you serious?" I questioned sternly as I looked to Noel. He seemed to ignore me though as the man named Snow brushed Noel off.
"Hey, are you kidding? With Serah watching? I don't think so." Seriously? He was worried about how he looked to Serah? Who exactly is this guy? His ego seems bigger than Reno's. Serah walked up behind Snow, standing between him and me with Mog floating over her shoulder. Noel scowled almost as much as when I first met him and Serah at the bar.
"Let's hurry then," I told them as my eyes refocused themselves on the monstrosity in front of me. Noel seemed reluctant but was clearly outnumbered, so he just turned and raised his swords for battle. Snow rose his fists, reminding me of Tifa when we used to fight together with everyone, and Serah grabbed mog who transformed into her bow. Yeah, it took me awhile to get used to that but I still don't understand it.
~~~~~~~~ Lightning POV ~~~~~~~~~~
"Each reunion is a twist of the knife. The joy is ephemeral; it leaves fear in its wake. A fear that all too soon the time will come when we must bid farewell again." I bit my bottom lip. This fact is something I've learned after becoming the Warrior for Etro. Every time I think about it now though, I worry about if I would actually be able to say goodbye to Cloud after I saw him. Saying goodbye to him face to face, knowing that I could no longer see him again. To not be able share any time together. About if I had enough willpower to do it instead of abandoning my duties in Valhalla and risking the fate of the world and the pollution of the timeline.
"Something wrong?" I scowled at the sound of the voice. I turned around to see the sight of the long haired man with an unusual look on his face. It was a look resembling sincerity or some sort. It surprised me and I raised an eyebrow at it though I kept the scowl. The man stopped a few feet away from me before taking on a questioning look himself upon seeing mine. "What are you even doing out here near the gate?"
"I… " Etro, why couldn't I think of an excuse. Now I really can't go. I couldn't let Sephiroth know I left and I certainly can't leave Valhalla alone in the hands of Sephiroth. What was he even doing out here anyway?
"Were you going to see someone?" He asked with a hint of slyness. My eyes narrowed but my heart still gave a wavering flutter from my thoughts from before. I gave a heavy sigh to try to settle my nerves, trying to figure out what to do or say now.
"My sister. She needs my help," I blurted out. I cared about her too but taking care of Cloud was more important at the moment.
"I thought you trusted her with fixing the timeline." Sephiroth's voice seemed more serious now which earned him a halfhearted glance from me. I folded my arms across my chest as I tried to retort, but found that I couldn't. There was this awkward silence between us as I tried to think of something, but eventually Sephiroth spoke first. "You know, she'll be okay but if you need to see her then you should go. I can stay here and protect Valhalla until you return."
I froze for a minute as I tried to process this, glancing away into the empty distance as I did. I knew there was no way I could leave Valhalla now. Sephiroth could be up to something. That and… I don't think I'm ready. "I should… yet you cannot help but long for the next encounter." I sighed heavily and took a few steps away from Sephiroth around the gate. "Humanity's great frailty… We prefer past happiness to future uncertainty." Though I was supposed to be thinking about Serah, in my heart I knew I was referring to Cloud. I have no idea what would happen if I did confront Cloud and some small part of me was scared to face it. "I can't do it… not now."
There was another moment of silence before I heard the tapping of heavy shoes on the ground. Sephiroth walked over to my side and placed his arm around my shoulder. I didn't have the energy to shrug him off or even give him my usual glare. He guided me away from the time gate back towards the road back to Etro's throne room. And for some reason, I was able to take comfort in his words for once. "I understand."
~~~~~~~~ Cloud POV ~~~~~~~~~~
"This Jelly Bean is ticking me off!" I heard Noel yell in frustration as he jumped back after his last attack. I have to admit that I was starting to get a bit tired myself. Luckily it seemed that this… jelly bean is getting weaker too. I took a second to catch my breath which was when Snow ran up and yelled out to rally us.
"Come on, all together!" He said earnestly to us all. This still reminded me of Tifa as she would always talk about togetherness as a family and such. Plus the way he fought with his fists reminded me of Tifa too. If I didn't know better then – "Now!"
"With ya!" Noel ran forward towards Snow, jumping up only to have Snow punch the bottom of his shoe to give him momentum to soar upward to go face to face with the giant monster. He sent a barrage of fira blasts into the monster's mouth as Snow charged forward to punch the base of the monster to send it skyward as well. Serah took a few step backwards to let them do their thing but I knew I couldn't stand back and let them show me up.
As Noel was flipping backwards back down to the ground I jumped up with my Fusion Blade in hand, swirling the handle in my hand before gripping it tightly and activating the switch on the guard. The six blades of the sword separated out around me, allowing me to perform a series of swift motion slashes with each of the six bladed parts of the fusion sword, making the monster stay in the air for a longer period of time. As I did the final slash of what I called Omnislash I felt some form of relief. Admittedly I haven't done this move since my battle with-
"I will… never be a memory."
I felt my eyes widen at those words, my grip on the hilt weakening as I watched each of the blades around me fall to the ground. I probably would have landed face first into the ground if not for Serah's Arrow soaring past me into the gooey body of the beast snapping me out of it. I dove down and flipped my body forward so I could land on my feet, catching the last and largest of my swords in midair. I heard a large explosion from behind me in which I assumed to be the arrow from before, causing me to turn around and stare at the bright fiery wonder in the air. But I still couldn't get my mind away from before.
Sephiroth. He's alive. I knew it. But why? Why now of all times would I hear him tormenting me again? I have to pull myself back together. Can't let Noel or Serah see me like this. Then again, I think they were all paying more attention to Snow and the monster then me as I went to grab the rest of my swords to reassemble back into the fusion blade.
What was going on?