"We need to help him, he's not the same man you knew!" Cadet Cloud was calling frantically, desperate to get through to this man.

"How would you know…" Gaia's champion snorted inwardly, not moved at all by the words of his younger self.

"Please," the younger boy begged. "Don't. I know he had to have caused you so much grief and anguish but you can't just attack a man for crimes he hasn't committed yet!"

The older blonde snarled his whole inner mind tense and irate. "Just because he hasn't completely ruined this world yet, doesn't mean he won't!"

"Can't you see how scared he his? Sure it may not be completely apparent, but deep within his eyes there is this…fear. Fear of I don't know what, himself maybe. Or maybe something else…I don't know. But you have to see it…right?" Gaia's Champion sighed inwardly, eyes closed and head throbbing vengefully.

Glistening ocean orbs opened, peering at the still stunned General. That spiteful glint still clear in the Cadet's eyes. Emerald eyes narrowed into black slits as the General pushed himself to his feet, never averting his gaze from the teen before him.

As the hero of before watched the man, he noticed something. A strange lurching movement deep within the feline pupils. As if there was something there, trying to hide behind all of the hostility and power.

"I see…" Gaia's Champion sighed, disbelief laced through his tone. "I see something…I don't…This isn't a good idea. I can feel it."

The air seemed to relax much to the relief of the younger blonde. "Please just…trust me."

Cloud sighed, eyes clamped shut to the point where streaks of pain were coursing through his skull. In all honesty, Gaia's Champion wasn't sure what he had seen let alone whether or not he should trust the part of him that idolized the General. But as time ticked away with no movement from either man, the blonde couldn't help but feel as though something had…changed. The air was still thick with tension, the silver-haired man still stood several yards away curt and threatening, but there was some form of relief that had embraced the cadet. It was though time itself had distorted, morphing into something whole and hopeful.

Yet Cloud was no idiot. He knew he couldn't just walk away now. There was going to be a fight; but perhaps there was a way it could happen less like a brawl to the death.

"General," Cloud spit the word, cringing inwardly at the taste it left on his tongue. "A sparring session in one of the Virtual Training rooms sounds fair right now, doesn't it?" It was almost a peace offering, almost a declaration of war.

Sephiroth didn't respond, eyes flickering as mako flamed through his arteries. The boy's eyes had been glowing…

"Indeed."

Cloud held the sword in his hand, testing the weight of the metal before returning to his corner of the room. The walk had been brisk, the air humid, the conversation non-existent.

The blonde's eyes burned with subdued hatred, boring into the Silver Elite's emerald depths. In an instant the air buzzed with an electric current before the machines of the room gave way to none other than the Nibelheim Mountains. Cloud nearly gasped, how had Sephiroth known so early on in his... the blonde shook his head. Now was not the time to think about it. 'If Sephiroth wins…I'm going to be praying for death.' With that thought, the battle began.

Cloud knew better than to attack the General head on in the state he was in; a cadet's body would snap if the silver-haired man so much as sneezed on it. Breathing deeply, the blonde decided the only thing he could do was hope to wear down the older man's stamina to deliver a finishing blow.

Sephiroth struck hard and fast, his blade sweeping over the top of the youth's skull just before arcing downward. Cloud leapt to the side, sliding across the ground before aiming a blow to the General's shoulder. Sephiroth's blade connected with the blonde's, a shower of sparks and flames erupting from the two pieces of steel.

Grunting from the force behind the blow, Cloud exerted all of his strength into pushing the man a few inches away in order place several yards of distance between the two. Shallow breaths found their way through the cadet's gaping mouth as the youth tried to steady his trembling muscles. This wasn't going to work, Cloud had hardly blocked one attack and he was already nearing the point of utter exhaustion.

The blonde let out a shaking breath, calming himself to some extent before charging toward the man in front of him. Cloud raised his blade, steel glinting in the midday sun, before swinging it at the General. Sephiroth snorted, side-stepping the sword with graceful ease.

Exactly what Cloud wanted.

Using the momentum from his charge, Cloud swung toward a nearby holographic tree. The blade sliced through the wood easily enough as the youth rounded the base. Leaping forward the blonde delivered a double footed kick to the oak, causing it to snap off with a roaring crack.

As Cloud landed, albeit somewhat shakily, he rose to his feet and barreled into the General head first just as the silver-haired man's blade sliced through the log falling toward him.

Cloud had just enough momentum to force the man off his feet, leaving the youth kneeling on Sephiroth's chest. It didn't last long.

Sephiroth's hand connected with the center of the blonde's chest, sending him spiraling across the room and into the control panel. The sound of circuits frying assaulted Sephiroth's highly sensitive hearing before the virtual reality of Nibelheim Mountains gave way to something completely devastating.

The images were zapping in and out of focus like static on a television, but they were clear enough for Sephiroth.

Second Class Zack Fair carried the cadet across harsh terrain, through bitter fights of blood and war, out of mako induced comas, to the top of a hill. His last stand…

"Goodnight Zack…"

Sephiroth stood in the center of a blazing town, eyes burning brightly in disgust and murder.

Cloud groaned, his cadet body twitching uncontrollably from the electrocution.

As Zack sat in his office, shifting papers around without actually reading them, he felt something click. A cord tightened until it snapped, causing the Lieutenant to jolt to his feet. There was an ache in his chest, a painful throb that coursed through his entire body.

Zack ripped his office door from the hinges and as one foot passed the thresh hold into the hall he whispered the name of a boy he remembered from another life.

"Cloud."

Waking up, Cloud peered around the sterile white room in the infirmary. The date marked on the tablet beside his bed startled him. He had been unconscious for nearly two weeks.

Cloud's body was wracked with agony as he rolled onto his side, his blurred vision making out the lone figure sitting in the chair beside him.

Chapter 98: Zack runs a hand across Cloud's flustered skin, concern evident in his sapphire eyes.

Chapter 99: General Sephiroth's piercing glare seems to be burning a hole straight through is head.

Stats: Materia: 10

Intelligence: 62

Compassion: 95

Trustworthy: 86

Strength: 35

Sword skill: 20

Innocence: 90

Bravery: 30

Insight: 35

Relationships:

Zack: 65

Angeal: 20

Genesis: 5

Sephiroth: 15

Reno: 5

Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Sincerely, Kay.