Chapter 4: Chaos in the Land of the Dragon.


All eyes were on Sephiroth. Ever since they had stopped, all he had done was constantly jerk his head around as if he were trying to follow something. Zack and the infantrymen were growing uncomfortable- they couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, but the sight of Sephiroth acting so agitated was enough to create a sense of tension in their ranks. Then he had drawn his sword, causing the soldiers in the front lines to warily step backwards out of his range. After all, who knew what was going through his mind at the moment? He might decide to turn his attentions to them if they did anything to provoke him. As second-in-command, Zack took it upon himself to step forward and enquire if anything was wrong.
"Commander Sephiroth. Is everything all right?".

Sephiroth turned to face him, his blue eyes blazing with fire. Twisting the Masamune in his grip, he brought it upwards towards Zack's head in a murderous arc. The young SOLDIER reacted the only way he knew how- quickly and efficiently. Ducking and throwing himself to the side at the same time, he managed to avoid the sword's path, barely. The blade whistled past his ear, and embedded itself in something behind him just as he fell to the ground. Quickly picking himself up, he turned to Sephiroth and brandished the Buster Sword in his face. "What the hell do you think you're doing!?! Goddamn idiot!". He later realised just how foolish this was- after all, Sephiroth could have killed him in an instant if he so wished, and yelling at him certainly wouldn't have helped matters if that were really the case. Luckily for him, Sephiroth did not respond, as he simply stared past him at the target his sword had connected with. Seeing this, Zack eased himself around to get a better view, still keeping one eye on Sephiroth lest he attempt another surprise strike. What he saw was an individual clad entirely in black- even his face was obscured by a heavy mask. Sephiroth's Masamune had caught him in the chest, and the abnormally long blade had pushed itself right through his chest cavity, exiting on the other side of his ravaged body. Blood dripped steadily through his mask- one of his lungs had been pierced, leaking blood into his windpipe, and Zack could tell that he was beyond any medical help at this point. He also noted the katana in his hand, raised above his head in an offensive motion. Zack immediately realised that if Sephiroth hadn't stabbed him, the unknown individual would have killed him. This knowledge jerked him back to reality, and he realised that his would-be assailant would certainly not be alone.

At this point the soldiers awakened to the threat around them, quickly assembling themselves in a dual defensive/ offensive position. Forming a rough concentric circle, they covered each other's backs while keeping their rifles trained on the outside of the perimeter, ready to open fire on anything that looked even remotely hostile. Rifles sprayed bullets from various points around the circle, and Sephiroth noted the deaths of several of the Wutai ninja. He was silently impressed. The soldiers may have been scared, but they were still excellent marksmen. He was interrupted mid-thought, however, as a dozen of the black-clad warriors appeared as if from nowhere, and bore down on him and Zack with inhuman speed.

Zack himself was quick to spot the oncoming threat, and responded in kind, eviscerating the nearest ninja with a swipe from his Buster Sword. A second ninja leapt overhead, flinging a succession of shuriken at the young soldier, but with yet another quick manoeuvre of the Sword, the projectiles fell harmlessly into two pieces, and the ninja was dead before he even hit the ground. Within seconds, 4 more of Wutai's warriors were struck down by Zack's expert swordsmanship. The immediate threat gone, he turned and prepared to assist Sephiroth, and what he saw behind him, he would remember for the rest of his life...

As a recruit in SOLDIER, Zack had heard countless tales about Sephiroth's unfathomable power, his legendary strength, but he could honestly say that nothing he had ever heard could have prepared him for the carnage which lay before him at that very moment.


Sephiroth was surrounded by about 20 of the Wutai ninja- an unfair match, but not in the way that one would originally think. Even if there had been twice as many, they still would have been hopelessly outclassed. He raised the Masamune above his head, and it flashed in the pure white light of the moon. The ninja pressed forward regardless, and were met with cold, hard steel. Sephiroth swung repeatedly with inhuman speed, slashing like lightning over and over again. What warriors were left alive soon began to stumble backwards, trying in vain to escape from this floundering human that had suddenly turned into a ferocious beast. Sephiroth pressed forward, showing no signs of slowing or fatigue, swinging the sword as if possessed by a demon. Screams of agony echoed through the valley as the Wutai ninja were savagely cut down. Several of them thrashed around in their death throes as Sephiroth kicked them aside. Within minutes, not a single one of them remained alive.

Sephiroth stopped and looked around, almost as if in a daze. Both he and the Masamune were heavily stained with a slick red coat of blood. It seemed to take him a long time to realise that there were no more enemies left to fight.

Zack approached him with caution. He wasn't sure if Sephiroth could distinguish between friend and foe at this point, and he had no intention of suffering the same fate as the unfortunate men of Wutai. Edging slowly in his direction, he kept one hand near the hilt of his Buster Sword, ready to draw it should the need arise. Needless to say, he was extremely relieved when Sephiroth turned to face him with a look of recognition in his eyes, before sheathing the Masamune. Wiping the blood from his face, he roared an order to the nearby soldiers, "This way! Quickly!". Looking at Zack, he added, "You too."

The infantrymen were only too glad to turn and leave the valley, and hurriedly began scrambling clumsily up the mountainside. Arrows suddenly fired as if from nowhere out of the darkness and rained down on the retreating army, felling most of the soldiers near the back of the pack. At this point, everyone realised that Wutai's ninja's- their stealth assassins, had merely been the first wave of a continuous assault. They had been sent to thin out their ranks in preparation for the final battle. In other words, the Wutai army had been aware of them from the very beginning. The Midgar soldiers turned and released a burst of rifle fire, causing numerous straggled cries to echo through the valley. Arrows and bullets rended the air as the two armies exchanged their deadly blows.

Zack had no gun- he was a sword specialist, and as such he was never trained to use one. But, he smiled to himself, he something even better. It took him a few seconds to recall the materia he had equipped at the camp earlier in the day, and it was crucial that he got it right. If he concentrated on using Fire, but didn't have the corresponding orb equipped, all he would do is succeed in wasting his time, as well as give himself a righteous headache. It was surprisingly hard to remember in the heat of battle, but he vaguely recalled acquiring a Lightning orb. Sheathing his sword, he focused on his training back in Midgar, with SOLDIER, and gathered his energy for the most powerful spell he could extract from the materia. He could instinctively feel it's power deep inside him, and began using all his willpower to draw the magic to the surface.

"Bolt", he repeated inwardly, as the energy began to coruscate and build. He felt a terrible pressure build up behind his eyes, and a fantastic electrical current danced through his central nervous system. Opening his eyes, he raised a gloved hand in the direction the arrows originated from, and yelled "Bolt3!".

For 5 miles around the night sky turned a mesmerizing white as Zack's immense power began to grow. Light radiated and energy crackled from his body, as his eyes shone with an even brighter blue glow than usual. Darkness lifted from the battlefield, revealing the exact location and number of the Wutai army. Sephiroth estimated them to number at almost one thousand men, all of whom had managed to enter the valley without detection. He was impressed at their obvious skill, but not as impressed as he was at the young SOLDIER candidate who stood not too far away from him, and the apparent ease with which he handled the magic of the materia. The magic had apparently reached it's absolute apex, meaning the spell would be discharged any time now...

Sure enough, as soon as the very thought had entered his mind, Zack released the sheer enormity of the materia's magic. Liquid lightning leaped from his body and arched towards the Wutai army, briefly illuminating the horrified look on their faces before it impacted, shattering the valley's walls in an incredible impact. Dust clouds washed over Zack and Sephiroth, momentarily obscuring their view of the destruction right before their eyes. When the smoke cleared, it became clear that nearly half the Wutai army had been incinerated in the attack, and many more had been burned beyond recognition. Those near the far end of the valley, however, had been left relatively unscathed, and quickly charged at the young man responsible for the death of their comrades.

Midgar's soldiers met them half way, using their bayonets to counter the enemies' razor-sharp swords. Flesh was torn, and limbs were lost as the two forces clashed in what would probably be their final battle. Zack and Sephiroth entered the fray, swinging madly and with inhuman precision, cutting down 10 Wutai soldiers in half as many seconds. He roared with laughter as the Masamune wreaked havoc all around him, piercing through even the heavy armour worn by the enemy soldiers. Zack took the fight more seriously- he was only a trainee after all, and there was no way he could afford to be careless.

The young SOLDIER's lack of experience soon took it's toll as his concentration wavered, allowing a Wutai swordsman to manoeuvre behind him. With an expert flick of his katana, he sliced a long wound along the back of Zack's legs, sending him crashing to the ground. Quickly rolling over onto his back, Zack was able to catch a glimpse of his assailant- a Wutai soldier barely older than himself, his face contorted in rage. When he spoke, he spat the words out with disgust, "Bastard! You killed my friend!!" Bringing the katana above his head, he began the downwards motion which would have ended Zack's life. Unfortunately for him he never got that opportunity, as a Midgar soldier tackled him from the side, causing him to lose his footing and tumble earthwards. Infuriated, he rose to his feet and screamed, "Shinra scum! Get off me!". Ducking and re-acquiring a grip on his katana, he took a clumsy swipe at the infantryman's face. The Midgar soldier blocked with remarkable speed, using his rifle to deflect the blow. The gun was no match for the sharpened sword, however, and it fell into two halves, leaving the soldier defenceless against the swordsman's next attack.

On the ground below them, Zack extended his arm and grabbed the Buster Sword from where it had fell. Getting to his feet despite the immense pain shooting through his legs, he tapped the swordsman on the back with the tip. The young Wutai officer turned his head around, only to be met by the cold stare of Zack's mako eyes. A look of disbelief crossed his face, as Zack simply muttered, "I'm sorry". The swordsman's head hit the round as the Buster Sword neatly severed it from the neck.

Completely spent, Zack toppled forward, kicking up a cloud of red dust as his body hit the ground. It had taken all his remaining strength to eliminate the Wutai swordsman, and now, no matter how hard he tried, he could not persuade his battered legs to carry his full weight. Despite the protests his weary muscles were giving, he reached down and ran a hand across the one of the long gashes to the back of his left leg. His hand came away covered in a sticky crimson liquid. The edge of his vision was cloudy and flecked with a dull red colour, but out of the corner of his eye he could see Sephiroth whirling like a dervish, his long black cloak whipping around him like an aura of death. That was the last thing he remembered before he lost consciousness...