Fountain of Memories

Chapter 10: A Fire Which Burns Inside

Disclaimer: I still don't own any of the characters from FF7, despite coming up with many devious plans to take over the world, and more importantly Squaresoft (who actually do own the chars), they always seem to be one step ahead….Oh, and I'm still not making any money from this.

Heat buffeted him backwards as the flames licked around his boots, but still he forced himself onwards. The houses around the main square were all ablaze; roaring tongues of fire crawled up the walls, and around the windows. Glass shattered, and bricks and tiles cracked and split with loud bangs.

He'd already known he would be too late. He had known from the moment she had called out to him that there was no way that even he could get there in time, but still he had desperately hoped that maybe, just maybe…

A figure clothed all in black stood in the centre of the flames, green energy pouring from outstretched hands and becoming white edged flame as it touched the ground and spread around, tendrils of hungry fire racing towards anything that was near.

He took a deep breath and ignored the fiery air as it scorched his throat.

'Seph! What are you doing?!' He screamed over the growling fire.

The green energy stopped suddenly, and Sephiroth clenched his fists, but did not turn.

'Ah… Linus.' Came his voice, sibilant and warped as if not his own. 'So, you think you can stop me brother dearest? You know you are not as strong as me, that you were always the failure. Why don't you just kneel down and make it easy for me to remove your head in one go.'

Sephiroth turned, smirking nastily. His green eyes glowed with an unearthly light, as they bored into Linus' face.

'You are not my brother.' He said in a hoarse whisper, staring back into those green eyes.

Sephiroth laughed mirthlessly, 'Oh but I am. You know that I have Jenova cells in my body? They give me powers and strength beyond your imagining. She has shown me how to be great. And do you know what else she has shown me?'

'Who is this 'she' you talk about? Why would you put power over what you believe in Seph?' Linus said, almost pleading. 'You always hated your strength, why do you persist in this? Stop it now! I know you can, and… and I don't want to have to hurt you little brother.'

'Well, big brother. She has shown me how I can control things. Things which are tied to her.' He grinned suddenly, but his eyes still bore the dark malice which struck fear into Linus' heart. 'Did you know that Jenova cells grow throughout your body brother?' He raised his right hand, and clenched it into a fist suddenly, and Linus screamed as every part of his body seemed to clench up and try to compress itself. Pain streaked through his bones and muscles as they began to spasm and he was sure he could hear bones cracking. Collapsing to the floor, he felt the heat of the flames come dangerously close suddenly, as the strength he was using to keep them away evaporated as the pain forced its way around his body.

'You can not stop me from killing you, Linus.' Sephiroth sneered over him, 'You could not stop me from destroying this town, you could not stop me from becoming strong, and you could not stop me from slaughtering your beloved Charlotte…'

Despite the paralysis which had overcome him, Linus felt his body surge towards Sephiroth in anger before the crippling agony overcame him once more.

Charlotte. Precious and lovely Charlotte, whom he had not seen for 16 years, and yet she had always been one of the two people he cared for most in this world. The other was standing over him now, smirking.

Sephiroth's head suddenly jerked up, and his smile seemed to become even more malevolent.

'Guess who you won't be able to stop me from killing now, Linus? Can you think who may be slowly waking up from a deep sleep in that mansion right now? Oh what a happy little reunion this is going to be. They'll be able to bury what's left of the three of you in the same grave. Won't that be nice?'

Linus felt the rage build up inside him. A dull, but fearsome strength inside him which was pushing and fighting against the pain. He could see now that the man who stood above him was not his brother. Whatever was controlling him, seemed desperate to kill all those who might be able to oppose it. All those with Jenova cells. Which meant that whatever was controlling him thought that the young boy in the ShinRa Mansion, had a chance of beating him. Maybe there was a way to even the odds. A way to release Sephiroth from the control of this thing he called 'She'.

Gripping himself and trying to ignore the agonising pain, he concentrated on the anger and the determination. 'No… You cannot have him. I may not be the successful experiment Sephiroth, but at least I am not so easily overcome by the thing which you rely on so heavily.'

'Ah, but you are not worthy of such powers, Linus. You are worthy of being punished by them. Do you think you will enjoy watching me tear him limb from limb whilst you lie there like a small child, crippled and useless?' Sephiroth retorted, cruel smile never leaving his face.

That was it. The final surge of feral power which came from the deepest depths of the human soul. The small part inside every human which is not civilised, the part that wants to scream and beat it's chest. The part which refuses to lay down and die, the sheer stubbornness which just will not give up.

His body was suddenly released as the feeling of red hot pokers being hammered through every part of his body at once, was over-powered by the raw, hot energy which flowed life back into his limbs. He leapt towards Sephiroth with a speed even his brother could not match, and pressed his hands to the sides of his head.

This was a skill that Sephiroth had never possessed. Far too subtle and pointless, that Hojo would never think it worthwhile to bestow on his prime specimen, even if he had known about it. And yet Linus had learnt how to channel his thoughts to another person. He couldn't read their thoughts in any detail, but he could pick up emotions, but the thing that had kept him sane in his years away from Charlotte, had been his ability to talk to any person through their mind. How Charlotte had managed to get into his mind in the brief seconds she called for him he would never know. Perhaps once the link was made it was usable by either party.

Before Sephiroth had time to react, Linus was thrusting all the images he could remember from their past. Images of two boys playing together in a small boring room as rain cascaded down the window behind.

The older, blonde boy comforting the younger brother, as he cried in the corner.

And then as they were older, the blonde holding his brother's head as he retched over a bucket, shaking as tears ran down his cheeks for the first man he had ever killed.

The image of a fast flowing river with emerald coloured trees hanging over it, and plush grassy banks where two young women sat and watched the two men as they tried to reclaim a football from the tree it had become stuck in. Peals of laughter from the two girls as first one fell into the water with a splash and then the other, and then shrieks as they were splashed with water in turn.

A birthday cake dominated the picture, with one solitary candle in the middle. One of the women from the river scene was holding a small toddler up to the table so she could blow out the candle. A man with long white hair was leaning on the other side of the little girl, enthusiastically showing her how to blow air out of her mouth. His puffed up cheeks made him look comical and the little girl was laughing, one chubby hand resting on her mother's supportive arm, and one reaching up towards her father.

He felt his brother's mind rebel and the darkness overshadowing it was forced away. Sephiroth collapsed to his knees, Masamune falling to the ground amidst the still burning flames.

'Linus… Jenova is….What have I done?' Came a strained whisper, as if every effort was being put into the words. 'Jenova has…me. Cannot…fight her…anymore. Namaya…Aurora…'

'Seph listen to me, you've got to try and fight it. Think of Namaya and Aurora, think of the world they will live in if Jenova wins.' Linus pleaded holding up his brother's face o he could look into his eyes. No longer glowing darkly, they were filled with pain and guilt. 'Don't let her win Seph! Keep the memories close to you, don't let Jenova get full control.'

'So… weak. You always stronger…looked up to you. Always stronger…Jenova overpowering…wants power to rule……everything.' A look of sudden desperation and fear crossed Sephoroth's face and suddenly he gripped Linus' arm. 'She's fighting me, brother. She will always be there, she's a part of me……brings out the dark. There's only one way… lose her, wipe her from the planet. Linus, I'll try and fight. If someone…can kill me then she'll be gone. If I can get control for just a moment…maybe enough for a lucky strike…Cloud is coming……I'll be ready.'

'No…Seph….' Linus whispered.

Sephiroth's face suddenly contorted with pain. 'There's no other way, Linus! Let me do my duty, and do yours by getting away from here……I said get away…she…she's…' He suddenly screamed and clutched his head. Linus staggered backwards through the flames, and turned to flee. He had done all he could, now it was down to the boy who he could see had just run bewildered out of the mansion, and was staring open mouthed at the flames which ate up his hometown.

'LINUS!' Came a hoarse shout from behind him. 'Look after Namaya and Aurora when I'm go…..' Another scream punctuated the air as, part of the inn collapsed in on itself with a tremendous crash.

Linus ran without looking back. The night air of the plains outside Nibelheim were blissfully cool. Finally his body collapsed in a damp cave several miles from the glow of the town. He realised that his skin was burnt and blistered, and his body ached like it had been pounded into the ground repeatedly.

Back at Nibelheim Sephiroth straightened and stared malevolently into the eyes of the man who would one day kill him, before turning and walking through the flames towards Mount Nibel. Later, he plunged into the reactor's core, and the part of his mind that was still his, rejoiced as the liquid Mako closed over him…

***

Cloud sat up so fast in his bed that he heard his muscles crack in protest. His sweat-soaked sheets tangled around his legs as he tried to get up. Taking deep breaths, Cloud got the panic under control.  Attempting to get out of his bed - his sheets still caught around him - he fell to the floor. Disentangling himself from the damp sheet finally, he threw it viciously at the bed.

Staggering into his small bathroom, he lent over the sink and splashed cold water on his face. Looking up he scowled at his reflection in the mirror. He hadn't had a nightmare for some time now. He rarely had dreams of any kind.

Of course he'd once had nightmares about the burning of his town, but not from the point of view he had just seen them from. Sephiroth had called him 'Linus'. The name of the man who had saved him earlier that evening from Aurora. And it seemed Jenova… had taken Sephiroth over. Did that mean that they had been wrong to go after Sephiroth? That he was just a… a pawn of Jenova's?

Cloud clenched his fist. NO! Sephiroth was evil. He'd killed Aeris in front of Cloud's own eyes. How could he even consider that Sephiroth hadn't deserved to die?

No… Sephiroth was evil, and if Cloud had only found his way through the Ancient City faster, he and Aeris could have saved the world together… and it would have left him some reason to live in the world he had saved. Cloud growled angrily, and punched the mirror. It shattered loudly. Shards of silver flew across the room, shimmering in the dim light, tinkling as they hit the floor. Cloud looked at his hand and grimaced. It was bleeding profusely. He'd better get it seen to. Grabbing his trousers he pulled them on with one hand, and left the room, all thoughts about the strange nightmare forgotten.

Authors notes: Hope you enjoyed that ppl! Write some nice reviews for me if you did! Thank yoooou!