By a Fraction of a Degree

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

Please note: While not absolutely necessary, if you would like to enhance your reading experience, it is highly recommended that you have the Crisis Core track "The Price of Freedom" playing during the 5th segment starting at the 5th paragraph.

Part II: Reunion

Chapter 41, Battle of Wills

January 2nd [ ν ] – εуλ 0008

Tseng walked up the steps to the weather deck, only gingerly putting weight on his left ankle as he went, and found Liz looking out on the snow covered interior of the crater. He could see the line of multiple sets of footprints even from this high up, and they tracked all the way down to the large hole through which Cissnei had led the rest of the party. The area was silent as a grave. Fitting, considering how many of the people who had come here were supposed to be dead.

Liz noticed his arrival and peered out of the hood of her jacket at him. "Good to see you up and around," she said.

He nodded and leaned against the rail next to her. It had been several hours since everyone had left, and the doctor had only briefly put him under to re-break the injury before healing it properly with a full Cure, but she had warned him not to engage in too much activity for another day or so. He looked off to the west and saw what looked like a front on the approach. The chances were good it would be bringing more snow, unless he missed his guess.

"Has there been any word?" he asked.

"None," Liz answered as promptly as if she were still in uniform. "Last report from Freya, they had gone into the tunnels and then we lost the signal."

"I see," Tseng turned his attention back to scanning the terrain, reminding himself of details he'd seen on his last visit, and familiarizing himself with the differences between their last landing site with the helicopter and this one. They stood there in silence for a few more moments before he heard the main hatch open.

Turning to see who it was, he spotted the doctor approaching them. "You should really be resting," she said.

"My duties mandate that I keep an eye on the situation," he replied.

Rayleigh walked to the opposite side of where Liz was standing and joined them in looking out over the empty crater. In places, faint tendrils of Lifestream could be seen curling out of small crevices, some of them hundreds of yards away, even further than a couple of miles, in some cases.

At the same time, Liz's PHS rang and she answered. "Veld?... Yes, they've entered the crater, it's been quiet up here sir… Tseng? Yes, he's here. You want me to tell him?... I will sir. I'll report in again in a few hours." She hung up at that point and looked to her former director.

"What is it?" Tseng asked.

"Veld says he's glad to hear you're not dead sir."

Tseng nodded. His memory harkening back to how his hands had been shaking when, after the troopers had loaded Veld and his daughter into that truck, he'd reached for his Cure Materia and then put in a call to a Dr. Owen, so that, as Veld's personal physician, he could come to the Shinra building to 'write up the death certificate for records' as per the man's wishes. It had been the easiest deception he'd been able to come up with, the sloppiest too, and yet thanks to Rufus's influence, and the President being too focused on the return of his son, his indiscretion had been overlooked. After the doctor had left the building with the 'bodies' to take care of 'funeral arrangements' he had not set one foot near the Turk annex again until after the hearing with the board on the matter, nor had he seen or heard from Veld or Elfe again until now. "I appreciate the sentiment."

The three of them continued watching the weather in the uneasy silence, as snowflakes began to fall around them and he checked his watch. Midnight had passed five minutes ago, by Midgar Standard Time. A new day had arrived.

January 3rd [ ν ] – εуλ 0008

Something was pulling him. Cloud knew it wasn't his own thoughts. If he'd made the decision, he would have stayed to make sure Tifa and the others were safe, but at the same time it was still he himself who now walked up through the tunnel he now traversed. An odd thing to think, but it wasn't so much that he was being controlled as he was being reeled in. An eerie green light gleamed at the top of the incline he was climbing. There were no stairs, but the path was clear and empty of monsters. He felt strangely calm, even as his mind was torn by the fact that Tifa lay behind him. Perhaps it was the fact that somehow, he knew Zack was close by. He wasn't sure how he knew, but he did.

Rocks and mako crystals crunched under his boots but he was only distantly aware of them, his gaze focused on the light at the other end of the tunnel as he climbed towards it. His pulse was quickening along with his pace until he was running, coming to a stop only when he'd burst forth into the light.

The first thing he saw, was the prone figure of a man, curled up on the floor in a tattered red cloak, his clothes riddled in cuts stained with dried blood while his face was a mess of healing bruises and fading scars.

Vincent. He couldn't tell if the man was still alive, but he was definitely not conscious.

Then his eyes were drawn upward and his breath caught in his throat.

Pinned to the wall by a steel rod, driven through the shoulder of his sword arm, and dried blood frozen in mid-drip down his arm, was his friend, his eyes closed and breathing hard. The man looked up, his expression oddly dazed and Cloud was almost certain his eyes were glowing a little more brightly than usual, but there was no way he could mistake him for anyone else.

"Zack!"

His friend looked up but even in his dazed state, he looked worried. "No… get out of here…"

Cloud ran over to him taking in the rod and moved to pull it loose, but Zack grabbed his hand with his uninjured one. "Behind you…"

He looked over his shoulder and his eyes widened. Out from behind a stalagmite, came the man who had been the focus of so many of his nightmares and terrors. He lowered his hand from the rod and instead went for the Yoshiyuki, taking a defensive stance in front of Zack and Vincent. "Sephiroth…"

"So good of you to join us, Cloud." Sephiroth padded towards him and Cloud's eyes narrowed.

"Don't come any closer!" he threatened, but judging from the smirk on the former general's face, he could smell his fear a mile away.

"You intend to kill me?" Sephiroth drawled. "You did so splendidly last time."

Cloud remained still, muscles tensed to block should his opponent come at him. "Doesn't matter," he returned.

"You think you've changed? That you can stand up on your own against me? Very well, let's test that theory, shall we?" The Masamune glittered in the light of the mako as Sephiroth readied his attack, and Cloud barely brought the Yoshiyuki up in time before steel met steel. The pure force of the blow knocked him back at least two feet, and he felt the gravel slide under his boots as he struggled to stay upright. But after a moment, he attempted to break the lock and drive his attacker back with several quick slashes, hoping the Yoshiyuki's much smaller and more manageable blade would give him an edge over the long and potentially unwieldy odachi. He quickly found this to be mind-bendingly untrue, as Sephiroth parried each one like he was bored, only lazily backing away with each strike.

"Your skill has improved," the Demon of Wutai purred, not missing a step. "But this is no place for amateurs." He parried the last swing before quickly stepping back to angle his blade and rushing forward in a brutal thrust that Cloud barely evaded.

Sephiroth didn't pause, but brought the Masamune around so fast for another swipe that Cloud was scrambling to keep himself from falling as he backed away before he ran out of room against one of the walls and only just brought his sword up to block again. He felt the Buster Sword digging into his back, the flat of the blade sandwiched between him and the wall Sephiroth was pushing him into.

Blue eyes locked with reptilian green over the two slender blades and Sephiroth's expression became hungry with anticipation. "I wonder, if you're having this much trouble, what's to keep me from defeating you right here and now?"

Cloud gritted his teeth, pushing back with the Yoshiyuki and finally succeeding in slipping around the other man to give himself some space. "I won't let you," he said.

Sephiroth simply smiled and came at him again, but to Cloud's surprise he stopped right in front of him, the Masamune at his throat, before speaking again "And how do you propose to do that, when there's nothing to keep me out?"

Almost immediately he became aware of that strange buzzing noise in his ears and a familiar ache between his eyes, making him want to shut them. His body shook as he suddenly found himself stiffening of his own accord, fear and terror running through him. Distantly he was aware of Zack calling his name, and that he'd dropped the Yoshiyuki, drawing the Buster Sword off his own back, and hefting it in his right hand. No… His hand froze as he struggled to reassert control. He wasn't going to let this happen again.

"Cloud!" Zack was calling him again. "Don't give up… Fight him…" He struggled for a moment, before fear took hold of him as he suddenly found himself standing in front of the dark-haired swordsman, the Buster Sword raised over his head…

Kunsel pulled Tifa away from the barrier. "We can't get distracted. We'll find him when this is over, all right?"

Tifa bit her lip but nodded, and resumed a fighting stance, casting Ramuh in the direction of their target. The form of Jenova let out a strange gurgling noise before unleashing Bio spell as soon as the old man and his lightning bolts had disappeared. The front line scattered for a bit to avoid the noxious fumes and slime, before Cid and Kunsel ran forward in tandem, both channeling limit breaks at the same time. Kunsel aimed a precision slash across the side of the creature, only just getting out of the way as Cid landed on top of the thing, plunging his spear deep into its innards and unleashing an explosion.

When the dust cleared, their Jenova looked significantly damaged, and Tifa spared a moment to glance over in the Turks' direction. Fires had broken out in several places from the other Jenova's attacks, but Reno, Rude, and Elena seemed to be holding their own, with the two male Turks double teaming their target with shocks and fireblasts while Elena was supplementing with grenades. They were benefitting greatly from Barret, and Freya's covering fire.

She turned her attention back to their own monster and prepared to summon Ramuh again, but that was when something else entered the equation. She felt a wave of energy from the Turks' Jenova, and then suddenly, the figure of a huge man appeared lifting up an illusory piece of earth and sending a quake around the surrounding environs. Everyone stopped to hang on, hoping that the attack would end soon.

Well, now they knew what had happened to Yuffie's materia… "How dare you!" The ninja shrieked from the back, running forward to where the Turks were and channeling a limit break of her own that was clearly earth-based. "I'll teach you to take my materia you… monster!" Another tremor rumbled through the cavern and Tifa began to be a little concerned about the cavern's integrity. That was when another terrible idea entered her thoughts. Oh Gaia, Zack and Tseng's materia! She looked up at the great beast they were fighting just in time to see a huge fireball emit from the beast, right in front of one of its eye sockets. But that wasn't the only thing. She'd only ducked in time to dodge the conflagration when in front of the other socket, an armored horseman appeared, riding an antlered steed with four front legs. It was aimed directly at Aerith.

"Take cover!" she cried out.

Aerith, Cissnei, and Freya saw Odin coming their way and Freya immediately channeled her Protection limit, shielding Aerith temporarily in a glowing orb of impregnable energy before diving out of the way. Cissnei meanwhile, fired off a Thundaga spell at Jenova once she was clear. Aerith summoned Ifrit in front of her to block the charge, and her own summon grabbed the horse by its antlers.

The two titans slid across the ground before Ifrit was bowled over the shield and Odin clattered over top of it, unable to correct his charge before dissipating into nothing. Freya looked angrily in the direction of the tentacle monster and fired off two shotgun blasts before Kunsel dived in for several more quick slashes. The angelic Jenova the Turks were fighting produced another red light before casting what looked an awful lot like Petrify.

Tifa let out a battle cry, channeling a limit break of her own and rushing forward, beating hard into the abomination with her fists. In motions most experienced fighters could hardly see, she went at it in a somersault before kicking the thing into the ground. After a strong uppercut, she let out another yell, using the force she had accumulated to pound Jenova once again into the floor of the cave.

"Whoo! All right, Tifa! Kick their motha-&%$^#* asses!" Barret called from the rear, unloading his gunarm at Jenova one more time. Tifa backed away to catch her breath and wait for the next opening, only just evading as their target cast a spell from Zack's Thundara materia. She was vaguely aware of Aerith using another limit break behind her to remove the status effects they'd accumulated, but she knew they still had a long battle ahead of them. "It'll be okay guys," she thought hoping Zack, Cloud, and Vincent were okay, wherever they had gone. "Just hang on a little longer until we're done."

Mao looked out from his position on the roof of the lodge at the woods surrounding it. He hoped Cissnei was all right. The kid had insisted on going, and as much as he'd wanted to accompany her, saving Zack was her fight. It was just as important to play support while they were gone. His PHS rang and he answered. "I just finished my patrol around the spring. All clear in this quadrant," Tanjuu reported.

"All clear from the crow's nest too. Stay sharp," he hung up and checked the sky with his binoculars.

"Mao!" Alice Fair called him from below and he lowered the instrument before climbing down to the part of the roof that covered the porch.

"What is it?" he asked. Apparently, Zack's mother had been unable to sleep.

"I just wanted to know if you'd like some tea? I can bring it up the ladder to you if you'd like!"

The Turk smiled at the woman, and nodded. "I'd love that, thank you."

Alice nodded and walked back into the house. Even as Mao turned his attention back to watching the sky, he couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic. He was actually from Gongaga, and in his youth, he had known her and her husband. They had been the ones to recognize him and it had been a bit of a surprise when, on waking up the morning after returning from Rocket Town, Alice had looked up at him in surprise and cried out "Oh Gaia, is that Yu Jin's boy? Mao, it's been forever, how are you?"

He'd been taken aback at first, much to the laughter of everyone else, and then it came back to him. It had been nearly eighteen years after all. He hadn't really had a lot of interaction with the Fairs beyond his early childhood, and Zack hadn't even been born then. With a Wutaian father who had trained him in the ways of the katana, he'd been much busier perfecting his skills to the point where he was almost legendary, and then, around the time he was sixteen, he and his friend had been out in the fields practicing when a group of ruffians had kidnapped his friend claiming he owed them a debt. Being the stubborn individual he was, he'd gone after them and defeated every single one. Unfortunately, it had resulted in a prison sentence because of how brutal his retribution had been, and because the thugs had been sending Shinra information about Wutai spies. Heritage hadn't helped there.

He didn't regret it though. It had put him in contact with the Turks, and after that… If he'd had a sister, he would have wanted Cissnei to be like her. They'd been partners from the time she'd joined. Even then she didn't use her real name, and had only told it to him after two years working together.

"Be careful…" his lips moved as he enunciated his partner's real name into the early morning air… "I'll be the rear guard for you, so come home safe for me, all right?" He looked over the edge as Mrs. Fair climbed up the ladder with his tea, which he accepted gratefully before scaling the roof back to his perch.

Zack watched from the wall as Cloud tried to fend off Sephiroth's attacks, feeling totally helpless and hating it. He tried shouting encouragement every now and then, but any fool could see Cloud was afraid, and he wasn't at top form right now. This wasn't good. He tried again to pull himself loose and instead, felt something burning in a gush through his wound and something wet and sticky flowed across it. A familiar smell caught in his nostrils. Oh Gaia, had Sephiroth done to him what he thought, and pinned him to a wall that had a reservoir of Lifestream behind it? That certainly wouldn't do him any favors. He could already feel himself getting a little woozy again. He forced himself to keep his eyes open. And that was when Sephiroth had started controlling Cloud.

"Cloud! Don't give up… Fight him…" It was getting harder and harder to focus, even as Cloud approached him, a razor's edge away from ending his life. This wasn't good… He looked up at his friend's face. The torment there… There had to be something he could do… That was when his vision became foggedfor a moment. He wasn't quite sure why he remembered this now, but he found himself thinking of something the doctor had said.

"These… 'S-cells' as Hollander called them were much less concentrated in your sample. I think because they were so similar to the initial Jenova cells, your body didn't alter itself very much upon the introduction of the new cells."

That was true… his body was also pretty saturated with Jenova cells. Sephiroth was using his own S-cells to do this but… He had at least a few of those too, right…? He looked up at his friend, struggling on the line in front of him and tried to think… that was when he remembered that odd hum he'd felt whenever Sephiroth's influence was taking effect… could he do that too?

After a moment, he reached out with his good hand, placing it on his friend's shoulder and looking him in the eye, trying to focus in on the familiar, distant hum, listening for it, trying to find its source and searching for Cloud within its grasp. At first he was a little unsure of what he was looking for, but then suddenly, there he was, impossible to miss, fighting desperately to make this stop, and losing his resolve with every attempt Sephiroth made to dominate him.

"Cloud?"

At first, he wasn't sure his friend had heard him, and he tried again. "Cloud, can you hear me?"

In reality, he saw his friend's mouth open in shock and his eyes widened, even as his arm continued to raise. "Z-zack?"

He grinned and focused in again. "Listen man, I know this is hard, and by rights, you probably should have been let off the hook a long time ago… but with everything we've come up against so far, Hojo, mako poisoning, Sephiroth, Genesis, Jade WEAPON, every time we've been called on to do something, you've stepped up and you've done great."

He felt his eyes fill with tears as he continued, even though it was incredibly hard to stay focused like this. The reception, if it could be called that, felt like it was getting weaker with every moment. "You're stronger than you think you are, I know it. I've seen it. When we sparred that last time, I was having trouble even keeping up with you! It's not fair that I have to ask this of you. This should have ended at Nibelheim when you killed him, but it's the only way. So I ask you, one more time, like I did back then, Cloud, take my sword and end this. Finish Sephiroth off before he destroys everything we have left, for our pride… our dreams… our honor… our freedom… for all that we have to live for… I know you can do it. After all… I taught you everything I know… didn't I?"

It was getting nearly impossible to focus, now. He could barely sense him through the static, but he hoped that would be enough as he allowed his hand to drop, and focused on breathing… and that was when he heard steel meet steel a short distance away… It might have been his imagination, or maybe he was just hallucinating, but he could have sworn he felt a presence nearby in the Lifestream that he'd not noticed since his escape from Nibelheim… Angeal… Are you watching…?

Kunsel raced at their Jenova one final time, driving his sword deep into its innards and it let out an unearthly shriek before eroding away into the Lifestream. A little to his right, he spotted Reno and Rude go in with a deadly punch followed by a zap from the EMR rod against their own target and it ended almost at the same time. An eerie hush fell across the cavern as everyone looked around at each other, checking themselves and their comrades for injuries. "Does anyone need a cure?" Aerith asked.

"Miraculously, I think we're mostly okay," Kunsel said. "Me and Tifa just got scratched up a little when it attacked us near the barrier, but…" Suddenly it occurred to him that something was different. There was a sound that was missing here… After listening for a moment or two, it finally hit him. The barrier! It was gone!

Tifa had apparently noticed it too because she walked to where it had been and looked up the exit through which he assumed Cloud had vanished. "Cloud?" she called. "Cloud!" She hurriedly began scaling the incline up the tunnel.

Kunsel glanced at Freya and Cissnei and then at Cait and Aerith and the others. "Let's go." He said. Without another word, everyone followed Tifa up the tunnel towards the light that lay at the end.

It didn't get any easier to resist Sephiroth, but at Zack's words, Cloud hardened his will and tried harder to focus. He didn't know if what Zack said was true or not, but one thing was for sure, he wasn't about to let him down if he could help it. With a monumental effort, he forced the sword lower to the ground, and then, shakily, he turned his attention back to his true opponent. This was the man who had started the whole thing. And this was it. For all the marbles. For everything he had… and everything he stood to lose.

Sephiroth didn't seem the least bit impressed but simply smirked at him, and he found himself longing to wipe that confidence off the man's face. He, who had once been Zack's friend, his own idol, that which he had aspired to for so long… Suddenly, his mind felt much clearer, the scene in this cavern so much sharper, and he lifted the Buster Sword into the air between them in challenge. "Let's end this," he said.

"If you insist," Sephiroth drew the Masamune and they ran at each other, the two blade's meeting in a metallic clash that sent echoes across the cavern. They glared at each other across steel, daring each other to make the next move, and Sephiroth obliged, pushing with his sword and throwing the younger man across the room, but unlike the time in the reactor, Cloud was ready now. He caught himself on the wall, and running along it, he pulled the Buster Sword down in a cleaving strike which Sephiroth only barely avoided. His opponent brought the Masamune around in an elegant slash aimed across Cloud's heart. Cloud blocked, countered, and struck, and then blocked again.

Over and over metal hit against metal as both opponents fought for an opening. Cloud felt like he was barely keeping up and then suddenly he felt the white hot kiss of Masamune on his arm and he backed away before coming back with a powerful strike, knocking the silver haired man back a single half step. He tried to press his advantage with the Buster Sword, but at that moment, Sephiroth came at him one more time, channeling his signature Octaslash. Cloud was only barely able to evade the eight slashes in time. But that was when he felt inspiration soar within him and he lifted the Buster Sword in the air. A light glittered at the tip before, out of nowhere, a swirling vortex entered the room, surrounding his opponent.

Sephiroth was caught by surprise but not enough that he couldn't react. If he hadn't speared Masamune into the ground when he did the cyclone would definitely have blown him clear into the ceiling. As it was, his body and clothing were sporting several severe cuts from swirling debris when the twister vanished.

"Cloud!" Their attention was momentarily distracted by the appearance of Tifa and the others running up into the chamber and taking defensive positions around Sephiroth, weapons at the ready.

When Aerith appeared, her eyes immediately fell on her boyfriend. "Zack!" She ran to him, putting a hand under his chin to lift his face and see if he was awake and then Cloud heard her say to him "Don't worry, we'll get you down soon and then we can all go home." As Cissnei moved to check on Vincent, Aerith's eyes landed on Sephiroth, ablaze with an anger Cloud had never seen. "Sephiroth, the planet can never forgive you for what you've done, and neither can I." She took a defensive stance in front of Zack while the others came closer to stand behind Cloud.

They may not all have been in agreement over everything they stood for, but for once, they stood united in front of an enemy of all that lived. One more time, Cloud lifted the Buster Sword at Sephiroth.

"It's over," he said.

Sephiroth, straightened, pulling his sword out of the ground and sheathing it while he leered at the assembled party. "Actually, I think it's time we made things a little more… interesting… shall we?"

Cloud was on his guard, not entirely sure what was going to happen next, but then, suddenly, the entire cavern was bathed in a blinding white light…

And on that note... A little housekeeping. As a result of having acquired a paying job and needing a regular sleep schedule, chapters will now be released closer to Midnight EST rather than at the ungodly hours to which I was once accustomed (ergo 3:00 AM EST). Aside from getting you the chapters a few hours earlier, it will not impact the release schedule. I have a backlog that I have dutifully kept up to insure that updates will not fail to occur unless something really catastrophic happens.

See ya next time!