Author's Disclaimer: I do not own Super Smash Bros or any of the characters involved in it. I am earning no profit from this story, other than the enjoyment of writing it and sharing it with others! I hope you all enjoy reading it!

The next morning was all about the escape plan. Well, Cloud intended it to be. He got downstairs and waited at the table for Zelda to arrive, intending to discuss the matter of Sephiroth's loyalty with her. She and Link got to breakfast mere seconds before the food was served and their portions were stolen. Link's hand rested on his Sheikah Slate, and even he radiated contentment. He didn't dare smile, but his eyes were much less void.

"Spill it," Young Link demanded. "Just how much cuddling did you two do last night?"

Link's face burned red.

Zelda choked on her tea.

"None," Link eventually replied. "None, I assure you."

Young Link leaned back in his chair. "Really? Well, something happened."

"It's true love!" Pit exclaimed. "Did you kiss?"

The two shared a glance, neither daring to confirm nor deny that.

Palutena cocked her head. "You did, didn't you? You kissed."

"I no longer wish to discuss it," Link muttered.

Nobody cared. "I'm happy for you!" Toon Link decided, clapping his hands together.

Robin nodded.

"It was inevitable," Shulk admitted. "I've seen the way you both stare after each other."

Zelda sighed heavily. "Alright, alright. We did kiss." She curled her hand around Link's leaning her head on his shoulders. He couldn't bring himself to ignore the display of affection. He brushed a strand of hair out of her face, squeezing her hand back. "But it was wonderful."

"Link and Zelda kissed!" Young Link declared to the entire main room. And naturally, just as he opened his mouth, Sephiroth entered the room, allowing for complete and utter silence during his announcement.

Every conversation froze. All eyes were on the two Hylians. Link hunched his shoulders and pulled his hair into his eyes. Zelda pressed her face into his chest, both of them as red as one could possibly be.

"Stop torturing them," Cloud suggested. "Who cares? It's none of our business."

"Oh, but things like this never happen around here," Peach argued. She got up out of her chair and rested a hand on Zelda's shoulder. "Is that true, Zelda? Or is Young Link being a bother?"

"N-no, it's true," Zelda admitted.

Peach smiled. "Well, I approve." She looked to Link, pointing a finger at him sharply. "But you treat her well, understand me? She's a nice girl. Don't go hurting her."

Link nodded awkwardly. "You have my word."

Satisfied, Peach returned to her seat.

Sephiroth had watched the proceedings with mild interest on his face. He hadn't closed his book, but he no longer had his eyes on the words. Just like everyone else, he was fixated on Link and Zelda. Cloud kept an eye on him, but he didn't seem to want to bother anyone.

"Things like this don't happen everyday," Palutena said, loud enough that everyone could hear. "How about we commemorate the occasion? Three cheers for Link and Zelda!" She held up her glass.

Most of the other residents joined in. Even Cloud held his high and repeated the words "To Link and Zelda!" a couple of times. Ganondorf was seething. His jaw was clenched and his orange eyes burned with anger. But he couldn't do anything about it. Ridley probably had never heard of love and certainly didn't care about it. Wolf refused to join in something so petty. And Sephiroth of course remained silent. But everyone else joined their voices together in approval of the mansion's newest couple. The two Hylians in question both looked like they'd rather be anywhere else.

When all glasses were lowered, Pit and Toon Link pushed them into each other. "Now, kiss!" Toon Link commanded.

Link rolled his eyes.

"Don't be a spoilsport," Zelda chided him.

"...Fine."

They pressed their lips together, their fingers curled together, their eyes closed in contentment. Palutena cheered. Samus whistled. The others exchanged glances ranging from amused to endeared to bewildered. Cloud's smile dropped from his face. His fingers curled around a hand that wasn't there for him to hold.

Does it hurt? Sephiroth asked.

"Don't do this," Cloud whispered. "Get out of my head."

Young Link heard him talking to himself. "Cloud, you know Mewtwo can't-

Does it hurt, Cloud? Watching them? They have something you know you can never have.

"Because you took it from me," Cloud muttered. He kept his voice low, not wanting any attention on himself. He eyed Young Link and gestured for him to shut up. The kid, for once, did what was asked of him and kept quiet. But he watched Cloud with great interest.

She was in my way. Besides, your love for her wasn't even yours. You looked at her in the same way Zack Fair once did.

"I don't care," Cloud spat. "I felt the way I felt. And you took it from me."

Very good, Cloud. Hold onto that hatred. That anger. You'll be needing it soon.

Cloud raised his eyes, glancing at Sephiroth. The one-winged angel was leaning against the wall, staring down at his book. Nobody would ever know he wasn't reading. "Leave me alone."

I'm simply sharing facts that you refuse to admit. Watching them is painful, isn't it? You still haven't answered the question.

"I'm not going to."

Sephiroth increased the pressure on Cloud's mind. Cloud stiffened as a wave of pain crashed through his brain and his vision flickered static-blue. "F-fine. It does."

Then why did you help them? They owe their relationship to you. You knew it would hurt you and yet you did it anyway.

"Maybe they can be happy," Cloud mumbled. He never would be, so maybe somebody else could.

And there it is. You've just admitted it to yourself. You'll never be happy. That's because puppets aren't meant to be happy, Cloud.

"Every time we talk it goes back to that, doesn't it?"

You refuse to see the truth. I will make you.

"You got what you wanted," Cloud grumbled, trying to calm himself before his Limit broke. "I'm upset. Now get out."

Just upset won't do, Cloud. I need you broken. I need you vying for revenge in a way that would make your visionary look petty.

This was clearly going to be a long conversation. Cloud got up from his chair and crossed the room. "Well, I won't keep you waiting," he said, coming to stand before Sephiroth. "I needed to ask you something anyway."

"Good," Sephiroth replied, out loud, backing out of Cloud's head. "Then let's both see if we can get what we need." He turned around and started walking up the stairs. Cloud followed him. Young Link watched with confusion. He glanced at everyone else. They were still busy bothering Link and Zelda. Clearly nobody else cared about escaping. He got out of his seat and followed Cloud and Sephiroth as quietly as he could.

"So. What is it you needed to ask me?"

Cloud glanced around for any robots. Not finding any, he answered, "We're going to attempt an escape plan in a few weeks. We have something that will make it much easier. But before I tell you any more, I need to know that you'll fight with us."

"I can take whatever information you have straight from you if it comes to that," Sephiroth reminded him.

Cloud clenched his fists. "Whatever. All I'm asking is that when we attack Master Hand-and I mean, everyone here, not just my close friends-will you stand with us or against us?"

They got to Sephiroth's room and Sephiroth opened the door. He gestured for Cloud to step inside. The ex-mercenary entered, knowing that Sephiroth was not bringing him here to hurt him. Not physically anyway. They both took a seat, Sephiroth in the desk chair and Cloud on the end of the bed. Their swords both remained sheathed as Sephiroth considered the question. "I'm afraid I cannot stand with you."

Cloud sighed heavily. "You have to see reason, Sephiroth. You can't get out of here alone."

"Don't take me for a fool, Cloud. What do you intend to do the second Master Hand is dead?"

"Go home," Cloud answered easily.

"You're skipping a step. I know what you'll do. You and that goddess and her angel and the heroes of Hyrule."

"We're all going home," Cloud repeated.

"Where does that leave me? You'll just allow me to come back with you? I don't think so. You're going to kill me. And I don't doubt that you'll be able to. Right now, the only reason I'm alive is because Master Hand is protecting me. By enforcing his rules so harshly and by limiting the power of Palutena and Pit and Shulk, I'm allowed to live. But when he's gone and that power returns, you've told them all that I must die."

Cloud simply couldn't deny that. "What do you expect? I can't just let you come back so you can try and destroy my world again."

Sephiroth shrugged. "And yet, I can't just let you kill me. We've reached a stalemate."

They had indeed. Hopefully Sephiroth saw that he wasn't getting out of here alone. But maybe whatever he was planning indicated that he thought he had a chance. Well, he would make the attempt and he would fail. But Cloud was stuck too. They weren't going to win without Sephiroth. Shulk had seen that. They needed Sephiroth on their side if they even wanted a chance.

"Is that all you needed from me?" Sephiroth asked. "Maybe we can get back to more important things."

"We need you on our side," Cloud said.

"A truly unfortunate requirement," Sephiroth shrugged. "But it isn't my concern. What is, Cloud, is making sure that you're ready."

"For what?"

"You might need me. But I don't need you or your companions."

"You're an idiot if you're going to attempt an escape alone."

"I know everything I need to, thanks to you."

Cloud huffed.

"The iron door in the hallway, the endless robot reinforcements, the existence of those power orbs. Your mind has been most useful."

"And what are you going to do with that information?" Cloud demanded, trying to keep calm. He couldn't let Sephiroth win.

"I'm going to escape. Without you. And without you, Edge will burn under my jurisdiction. Tifa and the children you care for will watch helplessly as the sky bleeds red, wondering where their precious savior went to. And, just like I promised, I will use your Planet as a vessel to sail the cosmos, just as my mother once did."

Cloud shook his head slowly. "It won't work, Sephiroth. Master Hand and Crazy Hand are too powerful."

"Who said I'm doing it alone?"

"What? You've got Ganondorf's support?"

Sephiroth sneered. "Even he insisted my plan was madness. No, I haven't got him. I've got someone even more powerful."

Cloud leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I've got you, my empty puppet. We've never fought on the same side. But soon, we will. And our captors will fall before us."

"You don't get it all," Cloud muttered. "Master Hand will beat the crap out of us. It takes me an entire Limit Break to so much as damage those robots. I can't keep breaking my Limit over and over. You know that."

Sephiroth grinned. "I do. Which is why I need you broken. I need you seething with anger and quivering with a desire for revenge." He pressed into Cloud's mind again. "I need you to be mine." His words resonated both out loud and inside Cloud's head.

Cloud raised a hand and pressed it against his temples. "Good luck with that. I've endured more in the past two years than you'll ever know."

"Worse than the girl's death? Worse than losing the only love you'll ever have?"

Cloud closed his hands into fists. "I'm leaving. You can't stop me from leaving." He stood up and walked towards the door, which he hadn't noticed that Sephiroth had closed until right now. He wrapped his hand around the door knob and cried out when it burned his hand. It was also locked, the lock sizzling now that Cloud was paying attention. "Open the door," he commanded.

"I will," Sephiroth promised. "When we're finished."

"You can't keep me in here!"

"I can. What rule says I can't?"

"The doorknob is your spell. You're hurting me."

"I am not. You're hurting yourself by touching it. You don't have to touch it. Just come back and sit down."

Something slamming into the door interrupted their conversation. Sephiroth paused. "Ah. You have a visitor. The child hero has been listening this entire time, it seems."

Cloud rested a hand on the door. Young Link was on the other side. Cloud wasn't alone. He suddenly felt much better. "The kid will break your door down," Cloud said, turning around. "Let me out."

"He lacks the strength required."

"I do not!" Young Link screamed through the door. He slammed into the door again, and the door frame shuddered. Cloud figured he could help him out. He raised a fist to slam it into the wood.

"Punch that door and I'll make the entire thing burn," Sephiroth threatened, his voice low enough that Young Link likely couldn't hear it. "You'll hurt yourself and him."

Cloud lowered his hand. Young Link crashed into the door again. It was going to take him a while to break through. He was a powerful hero for sure, but his childish body made feats of brute strength rather difficult.

"You could help, Cloud!" Young Link panted.

Cloud didn't reply. Cloud's silence obviously made Young Link more worried. Cloud listened to him running down the hall to go get help or something.

"Good. Now. The girl, Cloud. You say I took her from you."

Cloud plugged his ears. "I'm not listening to another word. That door is coming down and I'm leaving."

Sephiroth pulled his fingers out of his ears, forcefully enough that Cloud couldn't resist, but not in any way that hurt him. "You are a fool, Cloud. Stop lying to yourself. It's pitiful. You haven't got control."

Cloud lowered his hands and clenched his jaw. He would not get angry. Young Link would get help. The door would come down. And he would be fine. All he had to do was wait.

"Aerith. That was her name," Sephiroth went on, smiling when Cloud shivered. "What a lovely name. And she was a beautiful girl too. With a wonderful personality. Warm enough to melt the ice of a cold ex-SOLDIER like you."

Cloud focused on breathing in and out, trying to tune out Sephiroth's words.

"You do realize that you took her boyfriend from her, don't you?"

Cloud kept his mouth shut.

"Zack Fair. She made him happier than you could ever imagine. But when you both were taken, he took it upon himself to save you both. He dragged you around for four years. And he gave his life to save yours. He gave everything so that you might live. And then you forgot about him."

"That wasn't my fault," Cloud protested. "It was your stupid mother's."

Sephiroth sneered. "Blame whoever you wish. You're twisting the truth, Cloud. His living legacy, that's what he said, wasn't it?"

"Don't go talking like you knew him!"

"But I did," Sephiroth replied easily. "I did. I knew him before you did."

"Oh, that's right. Because you two were both SOLDIERs. You two were both so much better than I was. He told me that SOLDIER was a den of monsters the night before you burned Nibelheim. I didn't believe him. Wish I had."

"Monster. What defines a monster, Cloud? Because biologically, you and I aren't so different. If I'm a monster, does that make you one? What are we anyway? Because you know you aren't human."

Cloud shook his head slowly. That didn't bother him anymore. Everyone important to him didn't care about that.

"And the night I burned Nibelheim. That was the first night I ever felt free, Cloud. Nobody told me to do that. No president of Shinra or director of SOLDIER or professor of research. I did that because I wanted to." Sephiroth's eyes almost glowed with disgusting ecstasy. "I remember that night vividly."

"So do I," Cloud muttered. "So move on."

"The fire that consumed your little hometown. The windmill that you and Tifa made a promise on. The house where your mother lived. The inn where you and I and Zack stayed. Fire everywhere. Blood coating my precious blade as human after human yielded to my superiority. Your mother, Cloud, screamed as she fell. Can you still hear it? Her flesh coming undone at my command was most satisfying. The deaths of your other childhood friends was just the finishing act. It's a shame I lacked the time to kill all of them. Though, those that survived didn't really live, now did they?"

Cloud shuddered, not wanting to think about the black-cloaked clones of Sephiroth that had once been the residents of Nibelheim. Hollow shells of their former selves, almost incapable of human speech, save for uttering the word 'Reunion' over and over, as though that was the only thing that mattered anymore.

"But if only I'd killed Tifa," Sephiroth continued. "I almost did, don't you forget. Slashed her right across her stomach. You found her lying in a pool of her own blood, just waiting for her imaginary hero to come save her. And I could've finished her off. I simply had more important things to attend to. But in the end, it was her combat instructor that truly rescued her. Not you, despite your precious promise. Sure, you came. But did you actually do anything?"

"You lost that night, Sephiroth," Cloud said, gritting his teeth. "You lost that night! I-I threw you into the Lifestream from that reactor! Using your own sword after you stabbed me! You lost that night!"

Sephiroth grinned. "On the contrary, I got everything I wanted that night. By falling into the Lifestream, I was given access to power beyond your wildest imaginings; the entire Planet's life energy and all the spirits of the deceased were at my disposal. Really, I ought to thank you for throwing me off that bridge. And, of course, you and Zack both became mere clones of me, extensions of my body to be used whenever I desired. As did a majority of your pitiful town's survivors." The one-winged angel got up from his chair and approached Cloud. Cloud stayed seated, staring straight ahead, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. How long did it take to get down those stairs?

"And then Aerith. When I killed her...I don't think I've ever been so pleased. Because I had finally done it. You, the only one who could oppose me...I'd taken away the thing you cherished most. The thing you still cherish most, even though it's gone. You hang onto the past tightly, refusing to let go. It hurts your present. It hurts Tifa. It hurts you. But you still cannot move on."

Cloud stood up, pushing him away. "You have no right to say those things! Shut up! You can only wish to have what I did with her!"

Sephiroth backed up. "And just what are you going to do about it, Cloud?"

"Once we're out of here, I'm going to kill you. Me and Shulk and Palutena and everyone else. Maybe this time I'll stick my sword through your stomach, just so you can see how it feels! All the suffering I've ever endured, I owe it all to you! But I've never paid it back. Not enough. I haven't got anyone to take from you. Nobody would ever love a monster like you. But I can hurt you. I can stick my sword through your body and leave it there, twisting it around and tearing you apart from the inside out until blood covers my blade and your body has bled itself dry. Yes, that's what I'm going to do about it. And in three weeks' time, it's going to happen."

Sephiroth smiled now, leaning against the wall and resting a hand on his blade's hilt. "I look forward to the day we can next earnestly combat each other. But maybe it won't end the way you think. Shulk and Palutena and everyone else...I'll kill them all first. I'll take them from you, just as I took Zack and Aerith."

Cloud shook his head slowly, reminding himself that he needed to be calm.

Finally, somebody banged on the door. "Hold on, Cloud!" Young Link's voice called. "I've got help!" Something slammed into the door. It sounded like an explosion. The wooden frame of the door bowed inwards. It couldn't take much more of whatever that was.

"Don't ever forget what I've taken from you," Sephiroth commanded. "Let that anger fester within you. Let it burn and smolder and consume you. Because you're right, Cloud, I took everything you ever cared for. I took your best friend. I took your love. And I'll do it again. In two days, I'll do it again. I'll use you to get out. And before I leave, I'll slaughter every one of your little friends. Masamune hasn't felt the sweet taste of blood in too long. I'm only sorry I can't satiate it with yours."