The festival was loud. Everyone but the servants were given the day off. Everywhere mead and food were passed around. And this all began early in the morning.
Sephiroth left for his duties. Cloud didn't care. He wandered around at first until Biggs found him.
"Hey, Cloud! I would like you to meet my friends. This is Wedge, he's one of the best bakers of Midgar."
Cloud turned to see a young man with a big round belly. His dark hair matched Biggs. Wedge smiled all friendly with excitement.
"Heya!" Wedge waved.
"Hey." Cloud was too anxious to see the Fighting Ring to really hold a conversation.
"And this Barret. He's the boss of one of the biggest mines on the outskirts of Midgar." Biggs introduced the other one.
A very tall dark skinned man. His body was bulky, but his muscles told that he wasn't putting his body mass to waste. Cloud tilted his head at the missing arm.
"Used to be a renowned warrior. Until this happened. Took up mining and worked my way up to the top." Barret explained.
So that also explained the scar over one side of the man's face. It must have happened from the same injury of the arm.
"What took your swordarm?" Cloud wondered.
"I got a little too cocky around a direwolf."
"Direwolves? Out here?" This didn't look like the climate for them.
"No, further north. Woulda been closer to your home village. But we didn't want to take it too early without studying it beforehand." Barret explained.
Cloud didn't like this. How long did these people study the village? How did no one not notice? Or were they too lax that there hadn't been any raids in decades?
Biggs handed him a cup of mead. Cloud gladly accepted. He gulped down half in means to pace himself for the rest.
"Let's get going to the Fighting Ring." Biggs knew where the blond's true destination was.
The four of them were among the first to gather around it. Which gave them best spots to view it. The Fighting Ring was massive. A large, circular dug up pit. Wooden pillars kept the dirt from falling down on itself. And they all stood at the tips of those sharp pillars.
There must be tunnels that reached further down. For there were two doors on either side of the Ring. Cloud wondered what the girls will be fighting against.
Soon a crowd surrounded. Bodies were so close together that no one's personal space was safe. Cloud hated it. He was grateful no one was interested in pushing each other this close to the edge of the ring.
Eventually Queen Jenova and Prince Sephiroth were in view. At their sides was their Seer. But it seemed she had a daughter, for there was a girl who was spitting image of her but younger.
The queen raised her arms and everyone went quiet.
"Welcome! To the festival marking the end of another bountiful summer, and welcome the upcoming winter with open arms with the challenge."
People cheered loudly.
"The first challengers are two ripe shieldmaidens from Nibelheim! May the Goddess either guide them to victory or a merciful death!"
The cheers grew louder. And the girls were pushed into the ring from one of the doors. Cloud felt his blood boil.
"They're not even given proper armor!?" He turned to Biggs. They were wearing the same outfits from the ceremony.
"This is why I said I think you shouldn't be here." His mentor groaned.
"What about weapons?" Cloud looked down again.
They were given none. But scattered all around were broken spears, swords, shields, broken bows. What kind of absurdity was this? Cloud was equally horrified and appalled.
This was a death sentence.
"Bring out the bear!" The queen ordered louder than the cheering.
Cloud watched as the other gate opened. And his heart dropped. It was huge. If it stood on hind legs it would be taller than Sephiroth. And scars marred it's entire body. This thing had been the victor of these fights for years.
The bear roared. Tifa was the first to dash for a shield. At the sight of her friend moving Jessie snapped out of her fear and did the same. Cloud silently prayed they can do this.
They circled the massive creature in opposite directions. It turned its head from one to the other, as if debating which one to attack first.
Cloud caught sight of Jessie grabbing a broken spear. It wasn't at full length but it was enough to keep some distance with her lunges. Tifa grasped a sword since it was the first weapon she came across.
Together the girls began shield bashing their weapons. The bear snarled angrily at the noise. As the bear began to get overwhelmed Jessie took the first lunge.
The bears fur was too thick for the spear. And it angered the creature. It turned to swipe at her. Jessie held up her shield as she backed up. Tifa took her chance to take advantage of the distraction.
The sword did a little better. But she didn't get close enough to do a lot of damage. The bear roared as it turned on her.
For a few agonizing minutes it went along like this. The girls couldn't gain an upper hand and neither did the bear. Until it got angry enough.
It charged at Jessie. She rolled out of the way. She tried to jab with her spear. The bear quickly turned and a giant paw swiped at her middle.
Her scream made Cloud pale.
The sound made the bear back off. It took this moment to circle widely, huffing and watching. Tifa called Jessie's name as she ran to her side.
As she tried to apply pressure on the wound the bear took this chance. It roared as it began to charge.
Everything went by slowly. As if time was trying to stop but it can never be paused. Cloud shoved his cup into someone's hand then leaped his way down.
Soon as he landed time flowed again.
Cloud straightened and roared.
The bear stopped and turned at the new challenge just shy of reaching the girls. Cloud roared again as he reached for the first weapon in reach. It was an axe. Heavier than his twins, but it wasn't a two-handed weapon.
It will be enough.
Without taking his eyes off the beast, Cloud reached for another with his spare hand. It was another broken spear. With all the courage he could muster he took aim. The bear roared in agony when the spear pierced the neck.
"Cloud!?" Tifa cried out in surprise.
"You...you'll get killed!" Jessie reprimanded.
"I died the night my mother was killed!" Cloud yelled. "I owe a life debt. I aim to repay it. Now get up and fight!"
His courage spurred them on. Tifa found some torn leather of an armor and used it to provide some form of bandages. She wrapped tightly to help stop the bleeding.
Cloud charged full speed with a war cry. The bear charged to meet him halfway. The beast lifted partway up for a swipe. Cloud slid on the dirt on his back and swung with all his might at the underbelly.
Blood splattered his face. Cloud found himself behind the bear as it roared in both fury and pain. Tifa circled and began shield bashing to get its attention while Cloud steadied back on his feet.
The bear stood on its hind legs. It aimed for a swipe at Tifa, who blocked with her shield. The beast was infuriated, or perhaps desperate, so it continued its onslaught on her.
Jessie lunged. This time her spear hit the mark on one of the hind legs. She yelled as she pushed with all her weight to force the spear deeper.
Cloud moved for a daring frontal assault. But the bear turned on the last second. He paused before his lunge. Then he heard a garbled scream as Jessie was sent flying.
She didn't move to get up.
Cloud stared, losing focus. He didn't even hear the cheering of the spectators. The bear turned on him since he was so close. He instinctively raised his arm only to stupidly realize he didn't have a damn shield.
Before the claws hit, Tifa was at his side with her metal shield covering them. The force nearly sent them down. If his arm hadn't helped support the shield then they probably would have.
"You didn't have to do this!" Tifa really picked an awful time to do this.
"Just be sure you make the finishing blow. I'll keep it distracted." Cloud wasn't interested in arguing.
The bear was back on all fours. Cloud took his chance and rushed out from under the shield. He grabbed another on the ground for his own use so Tifa didn't have to come to his aid.
Cloud analyzed the beast. It limped from the spear piercing one of the back legs. Both spears were still impaled on it. So then the weak spots will be the injured leg, and the shoulder that couldn't move very well for a full swipe.
It lunged at him. The speed was slowed so Cloud was able to dodge. He aimed with his axe for the impacted shoulder his spear pierced.
He realized too late he was in range of the leg that he aimed at. The bear swiped at his leg. The force sent him down on the ground with the wind knocked out of him. It didn't help when another paw pressed down on his chest.
The weight was crushing.
The bear seemed to be taking the moment to enjoy torturing him. Cloud gathered enough of his strength to swing his axe at the leg that held him down.
The bear roared into his face but didn't pull away. Cloud winced at the horrible breath. He caught sight of the other paw being raised.
Suddenly there was a war cry.
Tifa leaped onto the bears back. The beast got off as it tried to shake her off. She clung onto an ear with one hand then used her sword arm to begin stabbing the bear. She was so intent on saving him that she didn't calculate properly in her attacks.
She cut its face, nearly sliced the order ear off. Until finally she stabbed through the throat. The bear collapsed with a garbled groan and then went still.
Cloud laid his head down once he saw for himself she ended the poor beasts mysery. He found it difficult to breathe. As he stared up into the blue sky time seemed to slow again.
And suddenly a vision came to him suddenly. He was in a longship during a terrible storm. Cloud felt someone touch his leg, but it wasn't enough to pull him out of the vision.
His brain registered a frightened scream.
Cloud couldn't focus on it. The storm had increased in its fury. The rain was so cold it felt like ice. The waves went higher and higher. Somehow the longship managed to stay afloat.
He briefly felt a hand grasping his sword arm. It was so ghostly that it sent shivers down his spine. Cloud couldn't focus when a wave sent him toppling over.
Someone caught him. Cloud glanced up to see it was Sephiroth. The longship veered to the other side. Cloud grasped a railing. Sephiroth held onto a line of the sail.
Suddenly a huge wave towered above them.
Cloud didn't have time to register the danger until it crashed down on them. He clung on desperately onto the railing even as he sensed the longship being flipped over. The water nearly forced his breath out of him being so cold.
There was a snap echoing in the water. Cloud turned to see the sail had detached and began sinking. The arm that was wrapped around him let go. Cloud turned to see Sephiroth had been tangled by the rope and was being dragged down.
In rising panic Cloud pulled up to the surface for air. He gasped a few times before he inhaled as deeply he could. Then he dove down and swam to catch up as Sephiroth struggled to free himself.
Cloud reached him. With stiff fingers he was doing his best to undo the rope. But it was proving to be stubborn.
The waters grew darker and somehow warmer. As his chest burned Cloud had a harder time focusing on the task at hand.
Sephiroth tried to shove him away. Their eyes met. The prince's were pleading with him to save himself.
Cloud shook his head.
With renowned vigor he hurried to disentangle the rope. Even as he grew dizzy and his vision darkened he worked. Cloud began to use his sense of touch instead of his sight.
Until finally Sephiroth was free. The last Cloud felt before the waters claimed him were familiar arms grasping him as they desperately swam to the surface.
Cloud gasped as he came out of the vision. It felt as if he couldn't breathe during the entire time he was underwater. It took him a few seconds to register he wasn't out at sea.
He blinked as he took in the sight of two people hovering over him. One of them was Tifa. The other was Ifalna's daughter?
She seemed close enough in age to them. Her facial features sharper in her youth. Deep green eyes stared into his own.
And all around was absolute silence.
Had she been relaying his vision for all to hear? It somehow made sense as Cloud recalled the scream he heard distantly over the storm.
With shaking hands the young woman let go of his. She stood, looking like she was gathering up her courage. Then she turned to face the queen and her son.
"My queen! The vision and his declaration of owing a life debt to one of these shieldmaidens is proof to show how caring and kind this young man is. Even at the risk of his own life he goes out of his way to save others. Including Prince Sephiroth."
"He still interfered with the Fighting Ring! The punishment is still the same. The girl earned her right by delivering the final blow." Queen Jenova remained cold as ice.
Cloud tensed. He didn't like this. He should have known that his body could endure more before death claimed him.
Suddenly Genesis leaped gracefully down from the audience. He approached them. Tifa grasped her shield and took a defensive stance. Genesis ignored her as he looked up at the queen.
"My Queen, I can add to the boy's kindness. During the raid he injured me. When Angeal ran out of medicine to help me, he didn't know the herbs from the village's Seer enough to continue tending to my wound."
Genesis pointed at Cloud.
"He could have just ignored the situation. He could have let me die before we made it home. Instead he showed a kindness despite how we raided, pillaged and killed his people and burned his home. He told Angeal what herbs to use. He could have even set up to poison me. But no! He healed me. Indirectly, yes. But through him Angeal was able to keep me alive."
Queen Jenova turned to her son. "Is this true?"
"Yes, Mother. He wasn't even asked to help. He did it of his own will." Sephiroth heavily focused on this detail.
"My Queen, there is no denying that Cloud's fate is intertwined with Prince Sephiroth's. They are bound together. It has been preordained. Would you really risk losing Prince Sephiroth, should he be caught in a storm like this vision, and Cloud is not there to save him?"
Cloud stared at the young woman. She had a serious backbone to even speak such words to the queen's face. Everyone waited on the same baited breath for the queen's answer.
"...Very well. I cannot ignore such valid points. Take him to be healed." Queen Jenova gave in.
"Allow me. It seems fitting if I do it." Genesis volunteered to carry him.
"Or so she doesn't change her mind if she sees Sephiroth carrying me." Cloud whispered.
"Can't have that now, can we?" Genesis snickered as he picked up the blond like a bride. "By the way, consider this my life debt owed."
"Didn't think you cared." Cloud huffed.
"You're truly an inspiration." Genesis replied with all seriousness.
Both girls followed behind the redhead. The gate opened for them to leave. Cloud wasn't sure how to feel that he wished Sephiroth was the one carrying him instead of Genesis.
