Author's Note: In advance, sorry. Sorry sorry sorry. I promise there's one more chapter after this. Hope you like it.
Suggested listening: 30 Seconds to Mars. "Attack"
Suggested beverage: dry mouth
The usual morning gathering at the breakfast table was fraught with tension. Sephiroth ate his scrambled eggs in silence, not really tasting anything. He glanced at his companions, but their heads were bowed over their food in quiet contemplation. Even Sora was chewing mechanically and staring off into space.
"Don't get too excited, people," Leon mumbled sarcastically, draining his coffee cup.
"Sorry," Yuffie squeaked. "Just feels like we're, you know….?"
"Marching to our doom?" Vincent supplied.
"That's the phrase I was searching for." The ninja nodded emphatically. "I mean, there aren't even a dozen of us against the world!"
"So what?" Cid grumbled, pushing his fried potatoes around his plate. "We've gone up against odds like that before."
"Really?" Sora asked, his fork frozen in his hand.
Everyone fastened their eyes on Cid as the mechanic's face turned red. "Okay," he conceded, "I guess not." He added as an afterthought, "Fuck."
The doorbell chimed, and Sephiroth rose with a sigh. "Maybe that's the Darkness," he laughed dryly. "Who knew they would come so early?"
"Don't even joke," Riku muttered. He sighed and let his fork clatter to his plate, apparently giving up on eating.
Sephiroth shrugged and opened the door, blinking in the bright morning sun. A small crowd seemed to be gathered outside the front door: the town butcher, Mrs. Wedge the seamstress, Scrooge and his duckling nephews, and a few other townspeople Sephiroth didn't recognize. They all held small daggers, staffs, or short swords.
"May I…help you?" he asked uncertainly, shifting his weight to his other foot.
"We know there's going to be a battle," Scrooge squawked, stomping his webbed feet and waving his dagger. "We dannae want to sit idly in our cozy houses. We're here to help!"
"Uh…" Sephiroth turned and shouted, "Leon! I think you should come here."
The crew leader appeared beside him in the doorway, looking over the ragtag group of villagers. "You all want to fight?" he asked incredulously.
"Absolutely," the seamstress nodded. "We heard they're coming for Zack, and we owe him for what he did with those wretched thieves."
Leon raised an eyebrow at Sephiroth. "Zack?"
"I, um," Sephiroth shifted uncomfortably and faced the crowd again. "I apologize to you all. I didn't mean to deceive anyone, but my name isn't Zack. I'm really—"
"Oh shush," Mrs. Wedge said, waving her hand to silence him. "We're not stupid. We know what you were but we also know what you are." She turned to Leon's general direction. "Now, Mr. Leon, are you going to let us help or not?"
Sephiroth watched Leon give them one last scrutinizing glance. "Here are your orders," he said, hands on his belted hips. "My team will try their best to hold back the enemy at the western wall, but some may slip by. You will stay behind the wall. You will be responsible for dispatching any Heartless that make it over the wall. You cannot allow any monsters, no matter how small, to run rampant in the city. Is that clear?"
A high, cheerful voice called out from the back of the crowd, "Gee, fella, that sounds just great!"
Leon frowned, craning his neck to try and see. "Who's that?" he asked gruffly.
The townspeople parted to let the tiny speaker come forward. Two round black ears appeared first, then the rest of the short mouse. "Hiya," he said with a wave.
"Your majesty!" Sora called, pushing past Leon and Sephiroth to embrace the mouse. Riku was close on his heels, laughing more heartily than Sephiroth had ever imagined the stoic boy could.
"King Mickey, what are you doing here?" Riku asked, going down on one knee so he could be eye to eye with his liege.
Sephiroth watched in fascination as the small crowd began murmuring, then knelt as well before the short newcomer. He was about to turn to Leon to ask what all the fuss was about, but the other man was also down on one knee.
"He's the king," Leon whispered, tugging on Sephiroth's shirt to force him down as well. "Show some respect."
"Gosh, everyone, that's really not necessary," Mickey laughed, motioning with one gloved hand for everyone to rise. Sephiroth did so, bewildered. "I'm just here to lend a hand, too," he continued, speaking to Riku but raising his voice for everyone to hear. "And I've brought some friends."
Another duck and a sort of walking-upright dog pushed through the crowd then, and Sora rushed forward to embrace them. "Donald! Goofy! You all came."
"Of course we did!" the duck squawked.
"Gawrsh, we just heard ya might need the help," the one called Goofy said with a smile.
Sephiroth watched the reunion unfold; apparently, most of the townspeople knew of these warriors. He was glad to have more people on his side. It gave him hope.
"You're going to need all the help you can get," the King in a suddenly grave tone, his eyes fastened to Sephiroth. The silver-haired man gave him a grateful nod.
"Hate to cut this short," Leon said with a sigh, watching the old friends exchange hugs, "but it's time to go into battle."
Sephiroth stood on the wind-swept plain outside the western wall, gripping his katana like it was his lifeline. Besides the occasional breeze, there was no movement; the horizon stood far off, a thin line cutting the red dirt from the blue sky.
"The calm before the storm," Vincent commented. At his other side, Aerith nodded in agreement.
Leon had placed them behind the first battle line. It gave Sephiroth a defensive position and Aerith could heal just as well from there. Vincent's revolvers would also prove more useful at a greater distance. Ahead of them, the rest of the crew as well as the King and his guardians were preparing for the first wave. Leon stalked about, giving a quiet reminder or word of advice to them every so often. Cloud ran a hand down Leon's arm as he walked by, but otherwise the two men were engrossed in checking their equipment. Sephiroth saw Sora twist around and give him a thumbs-up. He waved back with a less than sure feeling in the pit of his stomach.
The ground under his boots began to tremor faintly. Sephiroth squinted at the horizon: a crest of blackness marring the red and blue.
"They're here," Aerith whispered, putting a hand on Sephiroth's shoulder.
"Everyone, brace yourselves!" Leon shouted above the growing roar of the Dark Forces marching towards them.
Sephiroth raised his katana. This was it: the fight for his heart.
The first group of Heartless came like a train barreling towards the city. They slammed against the crew, perishing on Keyblades and Buster sword alike. A few small Heartless made it past Vincent's barrage of bullets, and Sephiroth dispatched them easily.
"Keep your guard up," Aerith warned as she cast another round of protection spells on the crew. "They'll get more powerful."
The Heartless seemed to retreat, but, like a wave retreats from the shore, they returned with even more force. Larger and more powerful monsters joined the fray, and soon the entire plain was crawling with black bodies. It was all Sephiroth could do to swipe blindly into the festering crowd and kill as many as he could reach.
"They won't stop coming!" Sephiroth shouted to Vincent.
"Just keep attacking!" the caped man called back, reloading his guns with practiced speed. "Don't let up!"
Sephiroth raised his eyes to check the progress of his allies, and his sword nearly fell from his numb fingers. "Cloud!" he screamed. A black portal was growing underneath the blonde's feet, tendrils of Darkness snaking up his legs. Cloud stabbed his sword into the blackness beneath him, but that only caused more Dark vines to shoot up. One wrapped tightly around his neck, causing him to drop his weapon to claw at the strangling Heartless with his gloved hands.
Sephiroth rushed forward, heedless of Vincent's cry of warning.
"Seph, wait!" Aerith was right behind him, glowing white light appearing in her hands. She slammed the Holy spells into the advancing Heartless, clearing a path for Sephiroth.
He was only a few feet from the blonde when a searing pain ripped through his head. Sephiroth cried out and fell to the ground, dropping his sword. Aerith's protective magic was the only thing keeping the Heartless at bay.
Would you do it to save him? The Dark voice hissed in his mind. If you don't give in to me, they'll tear his sweet head off his shoulders before your very eyes.
"Stop it!" Sephiroth screamed. "Leave him alone!"
You'll never stop giving orders, will you? So what will it be?
"Don't listen to the Darkness, Seph," Aerith said, her voice quiet and calm at his side, a stark contrast to the chaos around them. "Don't let them take you."
Sephiroth looked up to see Cloud completely restrained in the Dark mass, his hands and feet lashed together, the black tendrils creeping up his face. Leon gave a roar and lunged forward to aid his lover, but two large Dark soldiers grabbed his arms and held him back. He knocked one of them away, but five more soldiers were there in its place, keeping him pinned.
"Cloud!" the leader screamed, his Gunblade clattering to the ground. "Damn it, somebody help him!"
Time's running out for your friends.
Through dull green eyes, Sephiroth watched as, one by one, his allies were overcome by the Dark Forces. Sora and Riku were boxed in a thick group of bloodthirsty Heartless. Cid, Yuffie and Tifa were buried under the swirling black bodies. Even the King and his two companions were indisposed, dealing with a fire-breathing Dark beast off in the distance.
All you have to do is give your heart to me, the General purred, and their suffering will end.
"Cloud…" Sephiroth let his eyes slide shut. "What can I do?"
"Let your conscience be your guide, Seph," a familiar voice whispered into Sephiroth's ear.
Green eyes flew open, taking in the form of the young man standing on the battlefield. Heartless attacked, but flew through him as if he was made of air.
"Zack? What are you doing here?"
"You see him too?" Aerith cried, casting another spell while staring open-mouthed at the vision before them.
"You were always a smart guy, Seph. You can figure this out, I know you can," Zack said, shimmering in and out of view like a computer screen on the fritz.
"I can't let Cloud die," Sephiroth said, glancing over at the blonde. He was fighting for air, and every second brought him more pain.
Time seemed to slow, and Zack leaned forward to whisper, "He won't die. But you need to use the power within your heart to save him."
"Are you just another trick?" Sephiroth let his head fall forward in despair. "You know I can't use that horrible power. The Darkness lurks there."
"Like I said," Zack laughed, "you're a smart guy. You can do it, Seph. I know it."
He gave a small smile before disappearing in the wind. Time seemed to return to normal, and Sephiroth could feel the heat of the battle like a hot breath on the back of his neck. And suddenly, he knew what had to be done.
He got to his feet, not bothering to pick up his katana. A small dark portal appeared in the air in front of him, and Sephiroth reached a gloved hand inside, hissing at the biting cold.
"Seph, what are you doing?" Aerith cried, her eyes going wide. Sephiroth didn't answer; he concentrated on pulling the Masamune from its place in the Dark World.
He sliced the long blade through the air, killing a band of Heartless blocking Cloud from Sephiroth. With a growl, the silver-haired man raised his hand, bolts of lightning forming at his fingertips.
"Let him go!" he ordered. He struck at the Dark tendrils with a powerful magic that made it whither away like a dying plant. Cloud fell to his knees, gasping for breath, before looking up at his rescuer. Sephiroth had no pupils or whites left in his eyes, just a field of glowing green.
"Sephiroth," Cloud said, fear creeping into his face, "what have you done?"
The tall swordsman bent to retrieve Cloud's Buster sword, handing it to him reverently. "Please believe me," he said. "I won't fail you."
"Seph, no!" Aerith screamed, clutching her hands against her chest. "Please don't do this!"
Sephiroth stood, carrying Masamune at his side.
"Don't be afraid," he told her, smiling faintly. Then his alien eyes flared bright and he fell to his knees. He screamed in pain, his back arching at an impossible angle. The Heartless troops seemed to sense their impending victory and stopped their attacks to give a chattering cry. The rest of the crew could only watch Sephiroth twist and bend, rising into the air by some unseen hand.
Then there was a flash of light and a white wing unfurled from Sephiroth's left shoulder. Pure feathers floated down onto the battlefield, and Sephiroth rose higher in the sky, Masamune in his left hand.
"What's happening?" Leon whispered, hanging in the arms of the frozen soldiers. No one answered, just kept their gazes on the man floating in the air.
Sephiroth opened his bright green eyes, power crackling in the air around him. He lifted his right hand and a white light began to form around him.
"Everyone get down!" Sora screamed, dragging Riku to the dirt with him. "I think I've seen this spell before!"
The silver-haired man spoke in a rumbling voice: "Ascend, heavenly angels."
Yellow halos appeared above the heads of the Heartless, and a blinding light encompassed the battlefield. The wind howled, tearing at everyone's hair and clothes. Dust assaulted their eyes, rising in columns in the unnatural wind. There was a blood-curdling screech as millions of Dark Ones evaporated into thin air. And then, with a sonic boom that ripped through the plains, it was all over.
Aerith and Cloud chanced a look around the suddenly-quiet plains. Sora and Riku lifted their faces from the ground, looking up at the angelic Sephiroth still suspended in the air. His eyes closed and his long white wing flapped once, twice, and then he tumbled to the ground below.
"What the hell was just happened?" Cid barked, spinning around to try and see where the Dark Forces had gone.
"He used his powers," Cloud said, looking at the unconscious man lying in the dirt, white wing stretched out beside him. "But that spell was different from what I've seen before."
"Is anyone hurt?" Leon called out. "Everyone accounted for?"
His questions were answered when everyone gathered in a small ring around the fallen man. Aerith bent down to try and awaken him.
"I was kinda hopin' somethin' like this would happen," King Mickey said. "He's become an angel of the Light now, one of the most powerful beings in the kingdom. His heart's safe."
"So we won?" Tifa gasped. "We beat back all the Darkness?"
"Well, he did," Leon said, nodding at Sephiroth. "For now."
A ragged cheer went up then, everyone crying in relief. The battle was over. The Darkness couldn't win.
"You guys?" Aerith said softly. The crew stopped their impromptu celebration, looking down at the girl kneeling beside the one-winged angel. Her face tilted up, large tears running down her cheeks. "His heart's stopped beating," she said.