Chapter 12: Judgment
"Sephiroth," Squall said bitterly, lowering his head.
"It took you quite long to find out . . ." Sephiroth said through Cloud, a condescending tone in his voice, "Cloud is a part of me now. You can destroy me if you want, but doing so will cause your friend's death."
"Damn you!" Squall fumed, clenching his fists tightly. The others still had not noticed where he had gone off to, leaving Squall in a very uneven situation. Stalling for time, he kept asking questions, "How? How did you get into his body?"
"Mako flows through his veins, just like mine. Our bodies are infused with the substance. Over time I have learned to manipulate it . . . command its will. You could say he is part of me, an extension of my body. He does my biding, without question . . ." Sephiroth continued, watching Squall's face suddenly contort in anger and sadness,
"Cloud! Don't let him do this! FIGHT IT!" Squall screamed.
A soft chuckle came from Cloud, "It's no use. Your friend is gone, just like your beloved Rinoa . . ."
The leader of this whole operation arched his head back, his eyes widened and a tear fell down his cheek. "Rinoa . . . ." he mouthed. Cloud threw a blue piece of cloth to the ground, covered in blood as evidence of the deed, "No . . ." Squall shook his head, " it's not possible!"
"Believe it . . . and you're next." With lightning quick reflexes Cloud launched his body forward, smacking Squall's sword away to the side with his bare hand and kneeing him hard in the diaphragm. Bones snapped as his knee slammed hard into Squall's stomach, knocking the wind out of him and breaking ribs as the possessed Cloud whispered in his ear, "After your friends that is . . ."
Squall grimaced, his jaw clenching and hands covering his stomach as the muscles spasmed and painfully knotted. He fell to the ground, his eyes tearing out of both pain and angst, the thought of betrayal fogging his conscious. He inhaled frantically for air, grabbing Cloud's leg in an effort to contain Sephiroth's terror. It was easily kicked away, and returned with a sadistic smile. He could only tilt his head and watch as the possessed Cloud walked into the group of his friends, and unleashed his fury.
The Ultima Weapon sliced through the ground in an upward motion, churning dirt and cutting Cid across the chest as it knocked away his mighty Venus Gospel. The others looked on shocked, backing away as Cloud swung in a wide arc, barely missing Laguna. "Cloud! What the hell is going on!" he yelled. He got no response, merely a cold stare. A silver flash wrapped around his attacker's body for an instant before carrying on with his attack again, "He's lost it! Something's wrong! Don't let him near you!!" The president of Esthar ordered as everybody remaining scrambled. Laguna blasted away at the SOLDIER, trying to impede his movement. His gun barrel heated up fast as the spray of bullets scattered worthlessly into the ground, some sort of shield on Cloud completely nullifying their effect. He pumped an endless streak of metal and gunpowder into the target but it had no effect. Vincent locked and loaded his massive shotgun and unloaded it in his side, a cloud of smoke blasting over Cloud as the powerful shot blew his body backwards. It angered Sephiroth's shell as it slid to a halt across the loose gravel and sand.
"You shouldn't have done that . . ." Cloud retorted, his eyes locked and head tilted down towards the former Turk.
"Shut up," Vincent replied, reloading the rounds of his Death Penalty and taking another shot at his once leader. The second shot seethed through the shield, ripping away its effectiveness. The gun smoked and cooled as Vincent confidently strode forward, his aim locked on Cloud's chest. He cocked the gun once more and pulled the trigger and the bullet roared out of the barrel. It stopped halfway to its target and just floated in midair. Sephiroth's power was controlling it. He could see it spinning in the air, hell bent on tearing a chunk out of Cloud's body, but Sephiroth wouldn't allow it. The round suddenly fell to the ground, spent, and Cloud slashed his sword toward Vincent, creating a nasty gale that blew the gun and his body through the air. His evil knew no bounds. Cloud was determined to kill now.
As the dust settled, Cloud's body reappeared on the battlefield, leaving himself and Laguna the only ones able to fight. Bullets screamed through the air again, pelting the weakening shield and raising a mist of dust around Cloud. His body disappeared with the smoke, then reappeared shortly after, completely side stepping the ex-Galbadian soldier's volley. In an act of mad speed, he teleported his body directly in front of the gun and grabbed hold of the barrel. With a swift kick to the shoulder, the gun was flipped and aimed right back at Laguna. With the same, cold and joyless glare, Cloud pulled the trigger and sent a hailstorm of fiery ammunition through Laguna's body. His insides lit up and exploded through his back. The man with the long black hair teared up, putting his hand on the shoulder of his foe before slumping to the ground dead.
"NO!!!" Cid screamed as he swung his weapon over his head and brought it against Cloud's face. The impact snapped his neck and sliced a gash out of his cheek, sending his body careening to the side from the force. Cloud's body slid across the ground, accumulating a mound of dirt in front of it as it came to a stop.
Squall smiled, feeling strong enough to stand again as Cloud's body lay broken behind Cid. Vincent had just recovered and immediately came to the aid of the pilot when he fell to his knees in pain, "Did I get him?"
"Yeah, he's down for the count," Vincent said, looking back over to the fallen corpse of their good friend. But it was gone.
"Oh no," the bruised, bloody visage of Cloud stared right into Vincent's as he turned around. His hands were positioned at the vampire-looking man's stomach, quickly manipulating the winds and shocking Vincent with a focused blast of air. He flew back, out of control, leaving Cid completely helpless to Cloud's next assault.
He was a monster now, his jaw hanging on by a few sinews and neck covered in disgustingly black blood. Cloud's hair was matted down and a mess, and his clothes were ripped and barely hanging off his body. He grabbed Cid's neck, lifting his body high off the ground and started to choke him.
The captain's neck was being crushed by his own friend's hand. It was beginning to get hard for him to breathe. His eyes rolled back into his head and he began to pass out, everything that had happened this day going through mind. It was a sad turn of events, a horrible, cruel joke being played on him and all the others that had given their lives this day. Friends dying for no reason . . . the dead coming back to life . . . friends killing friends . . . with that he screamed and exploded with unrivaled rage, punching Cloud in the face multiple times, putting all his remaining strength in the blows. But all he managed to do was mangle Cloud's nose and cause extra blood to spew from his mouth and eyes. Cid's former friend sneered and threw him high into the sky above him. He quickly reached for the Venus Gospel that lay on the ground and got it firmly in his grasp. Without hesitation, Cloud cocked back his arm and launched it at the falling Cid. The projectile weapon ensnared its target and carried Cid backwards in an arc, falling to the ground far away and crushing his body into a boulder. It hit the stone with such intensity that the spearhead ripped through the body of the old man and shredded his lungs. Stuck against the rock, he did all he could to get free, even though his death was assured.
"What the hell?" a waning Cid said as he grabbed the Gospel as hard as he could. The weapon wouldn't budge no matter what he did, but Cid wouldn't give up no matter what. His hands tightly grabbed the pole of the spear, even as they grew cold and useless, "Shit," he mouthed as his last breath passed through his lips. Cid's head fell forward, blood dripping from his lips.
Cloud/Sephiroth saw his next opponent. The red cape that the Turk had always worn had been cast aside and glided in the wind to the ground. Soon after the red headband was stretched past his hair and thrown away too. Squall struggled painfully with his lower torso to get up. He HAD to help out Vincent. There was no way he could do it on his own! Squall managed to prop his arm on his knees, but extreme pain quickly answered his reckless action, 'My ribs must be broken,' Squall thought. That position would have to do.
Sephiroth's fury knew no boundary. The fire within Cloud started to build as he prepared himself for the next confrontation. Blue and purple flames spit out of the wannabe SOLDIER's wounds as Sephiroth pulled everything he had into this beaten body.
Vincent's arms grew larger under his black shirt, along with the muscles in his legs too. The clothes on his body stretched and ripped apart, his skin dying and becoming a steel grey as massive demon-like wings sprang from his back, blood showering from their veined surface. His eyes became white as the moon, shining with hatred and sorrow. The hair on his beautiful head fell out, and razor sharp claws tore through his hands as extensions to his body. The power of Chaos was his to control, the burden of the curse no more.
"Chaos!" Cloud shouted in surprise.
Vincent screamed at the top of his lungs when he saw the Devil clad in Cloud's skin getting close, his scaled wings tore farther through his flesh with a horrendous crunch. It was no longer painful for him. No, it was a showing of his grandeur as the fully opened wings spanned ten feet in each direction. Soon after his wings had dried, his skin faded into a deeper death-gray like color and his black, tortured eyes rolled back into his head. The color returned once more . . . but this time his eyes seemed to vary with his current mood. The red tint of anger shone from Vincent's eye sockets as they opened ever so wider to embrace the surroundings.
Squall gazed intently, horrified at seeing such a demonic transformation. He knew not whether his help was needed or if the beast would come after him when this battle was completed. He had witnessed Vincent turn into a dreadful, dark beast named Chaos, and knew that if there was a hope of victory, it lay with him. The young leader was unhindered, and inched his way closer and closer as the final battle was about to begin.
Flapping his wings, Chaos soared above Cloud, taunting him. In the air his speed was unmatched. He dove down, closing his wings and blowing faster than the wind across Cloud's body. Moments later he appeared again, hovering and flapping his wings, holding his claws in front of his body so Cloud could see the blood dripping off of them. Through Cloud's eyes, Sephiroth stared at his stomach, seeing that his clothes were completely shredded. He tried to breath but could gather no air. Instead, three gashes appeared, Cloud's skin splitting apart and spewing his insides forth. His intestines spilled into his hands, along with gallons of blood, quickly covering the entire stone surface of the battlefield in front of his body. Chaos then spun around on the path going away from his victim and gathered speed for another pass. This time the demon mounted Sephiroth's host from behind, digging both his hind and front claws into Cloud's back. Reaching over the SOLDIER's shoulders, he impaled his claws through his friend's armor and began to rip the armor apart with his devilish vigor. The red liquid grossly poured out of Cloud like a waterfall. The thick red color and rotting smell would be overwhelming to anyone who wasn't accustomed to death, but this winged demon was the Angel of Death, he lived off of it. The diabolical beast pushed off from the body and let it collapse to the ground, leaving it pale and corpselike. Vincent's inner monster could only roar with delight as Cloud's body lay unmoving on the ground, masked by a sea of blood. The sky echoed with his calls of victory.
Squall got to his feet, now strong enough to walk as Vincent reverted to his human form. It wasn't nearly as painful to him reverting to this primitive state, but it felt very unsettling. His wings shrunk from their majestic span and folded into themselves until they slid back into his shoulders, his skin softening and healing up as soon as they retreated. He had made sure that Cloud was dead, and with him that horrible man by the name of Sephiroth. It haunted Vincent that he had to kill one of his only friends, but what was worse was the thought of Sephiroth being alive and well, wreaking havoc and spreading his evil across time and space. He shook his head shamefully, looking at Cloud's body, asking him silently why he made himself do that to a person he cared about. Vincent's cold exterior warmed for a brief moment, allowing him to feel both grief and to mourn for his comrade. He could have stayed there and given homage all he wanted to his fallen friend, but instead of dwelling on something that was sure to give him more nightmares, he decided to check up on Squall.
Vincent saw the image of the SeeD stumbling towards him and almost laughed. How could someone with so many weaknesses be considered one of the greatest warriors of his dimension? It was just like Cloud .. . it was as though he had stumbled upon it. The path of a hero is never something you desire, it is a role that is placed on you. You have no decision but to accept it. As they walked towards each other, Squall yelled something out, but he was to far away for even Vincent to be able to make it out. Squall used all his energy left in his body to run to Vincent at full speed. He limped and struggled, but Vincent had become haughty from his victory and thought that Squall was rushing to congratulate him, so he stood there with a confused expression on his face. When Squall had jogged close enough he caught his breath and yelled. Vincent noticed that he had a terrified look on his and his own expression shifted and heart sank into the bowels of his soul.
"BEHIND YOU!!!!"
He almost didn't want to turn around. He knew what would be waiting for him, he accepted it. But it is instinct, and Vincent spun around just in time to see a man in ornately decorated black armor and long white hair stand before him. "No," Vincent managed to sputter as he walked slowly backwards away from the long, thin blade that had just been drawn and was racing towards his body. He was defenseless against the man's wrath. The blade's sharpness and the deadly precision cut through the metal on his reconstructed arm like soft wood. Sephiroth was much too fast for him. His arm sparked and spewed hydraulic fluid from its open tubes, drawing Vincent's attention away from his attacker. It was the utter disbelief that such a thing could happen . . . it was impossible . . .
The last slash came as a surprise to the former TURK, who had thought he knew most of the Demi-god's moves from their last fight with him. All Vincent could do was to watch in utter disbelief as Sephiroth feinted to his right and spun back with his Masamune to cleave diagonally through Vincent's helpless body. The torso from the warrior fell to the left, sliding off the lower part of his body with a sickening bubbling sound while his legs fell lifelessly to the ground.
Sephiroth beamed over his kill with a smile, enjoying the look on Squall's face more than anything else. With renewed energy, the SeeD sprinted towards Sephiroth and drew his Lionheart. He sought to sting Sephiroth with a quick slash to his right shoulder, to get retribution for his fallen companions, but his adversary moved the Masamune to meet the opposing blade in midair.
Their swords clashed in a shower of sparks with the initial hit, but the power from Sephiroth was enormous. With a slight shove he forced Squall teetering backwards, off balance.
"BASTARD!" Squall said as he gritted his teeth, "You killed all of them!! ALL OF THEM!!! My friends . . . Rinoa . . .I'LL KILL YOU!"
Sephiroth replied with a smug smile and waved on his opponent. Squall charged at him again, not giving in to the pain that coursed through his veins. His body felt like it would fall apart if he pushed himself any harder, but it just didn't matter anymore . . . nothing did. Sephiroth held out his hand as he approached and blasted the hasty nuisance backwards with a ball Fire from his palm. Squall toppled onto his back, surprised and in a daze.
"You're too late." Sephiroth informed, "I'm beginning to meld with this world. The thoughts of your planet, your friend's memories, the skills and techniques of all your enemies . . . I will become a god once more."
As Sephiroth told this to Squall, he raised his hands upwards and the majestic blue sky faded into dark black. Squall saw the surroundings instantly change as a huge city with eight reactors broke through the ground far off in the distance. Their droning echoing as far as the battlefield as vaporized Mako rose like exhaust. Was that something from Cloud's world?
'Damn it,' Squall thought, knowing that he had failed once again to stop the harsh reality from becoming true once again. Dimension Compression was taking place, and the worlds were merging together. It would all be over soon . . . Lightning jumped from cloud to cloud in an elegant dance of light as if it rejoiced in the damnation of the universe. With his last burst of energy, Squall swung high and hard at Sephiroth. It was easily parried and held to the side.
"You can't destroy that which is forever . . ." Sephiroth sneered as he grabbed a hold of the Lionheart. In less than a blink of an eye, he knocked down the sword and stabbed Squall in the chest with his murderous Masamune.
"Sephiroth," Squall said bitterly, lowering his head.
"It took you quite long to find out . . ." Sephiroth said through Cloud, a condescending tone in his voice, "Cloud is a part of me now. You can destroy me if you want, but doing so will cause your friend's death."
"Damn you!" Squall fumed, clenching his fists tightly. The others still had not noticed where he had gone off to, leaving Squall in a very uneven situation. Stalling for time, he kept asking questions, "How? How did you get into his body?"
"Mako flows through his veins, just like mine. Our bodies are infused with the substance. Over time I have learned to manipulate it . . . command its will. You could say he is part of me, an extension of my body. He does my biding, without question . . ." Sephiroth continued, watching Squall's face suddenly contort in anger and sadness,
"Cloud! Don't let him do this! FIGHT IT!" Squall screamed.
A soft chuckle came from Cloud, "It's no use. Your friend is gone, just like your beloved Rinoa . . ."
The leader of this whole operation arched his head back, his eyes widened and a tear fell down his cheek. "Rinoa . . . ." he mouthed. Cloud threw a blue piece of cloth to the ground, covered in blood as evidence of the deed, "No . . ." Squall shook his head, " it's not possible!"
"Believe it . . . and you're next." With lightning quick reflexes Cloud launched his body forward, smacking Squall's sword away to the side with his bare hand and kneeing him hard in the diaphragm. Bones snapped as his knee slammed hard into Squall's stomach, knocking the wind out of him and breaking ribs as the possessed Cloud whispered in his ear, "After your friends that is . . ."
Squall grimaced, his jaw clenching and hands covering his stomach as the muscles spasmed and painfully knotted. He fell to the ground, his eyes tearing out of both pain and angst, the thought of betrayal fogging his conscious. He inhaled frantically for air, grabbing Cloud's leg in an effort to contain Sephiroth's terror. It was easily kicked away, and returned with a sadistic smile. He could only tilt his head and watch as the possessed Cloud walked into the group of his friends, and unleashed his fury.
The Ultima Weapon sliced through the ground in an upward motion, churning dirt and cutting Cid across the chest as it knocked away his mighty Venus Gospel. The others looked on shocked, backing away as Cloud swung in a wide arc, barely missing Laguna. "Cloud! What the hell is going on!" he yelled. He got no response, merely a cold stare. A silver flash wrapped around his attacker's body for an instant before carrying on with his attack again, "He's lost it! Something's wrong! Don't let him near you!!" The president of Esthar ordered as everybody remaining scrambled. Laguna blasted away at the SOLDIER, trying to impede his movement. His gun barrel heated up fast as the spray of bullets scattered worthlessly into the ground, some sort of shield on Cloud completely nullifying their effect. He pumped an endless streak of metal and gunpowder into the target but it had no effect. Vincent locked and loaded his massive shotgun and unloaded it in his side, a cloud of smoke blasting over Cloud as the powerful shot blew his body backwards. It angered Sephiroth's shell as it slid to a halt across the loose gravel and sand.
"You shouldn't have done that . . ." Cloud retorted, his eyes locked and head tilted down towards the former Turk.
"Shut up," Vincent replied, reloading the rounds of his Death Penalty and taking another shot at his once leader. The second shot seethed through the shield, ripping away its effectiveness. The gun smoked and cooled as Vincent confidently strode forward, his aim locked on Cloud's chest. He cocked the gun once more and pulled the trigger and the bullet roared out of the barrel. It stopped halfway to its target and just floated in midair. Sephiroth's power was controlling it. He could see it spinning in the air, hell bent on tearing a chunk out of Cloud's body, but Sephiroth wouldn't allow it. The round suddenly fell to the ground, spent, and Cloud slashed his sword toward Vincent, creating a nasty gale that blew the gun and his body through the air. His evil knew no bounds. Cloud was determined to kill now.
As the dust settled, Cloud's body reappeared on the battlefield, leaving himself and Laguna the only ones able to fight. Bullets screamed through the air again, pelting the weakening shield and raising a mist of dust around Cloud. His body disappeared with the smoke, then reappeared shortly after, completely side stepping the ex-Galbadian soldier's volley. In an act of mad speed, he teleported his body directly in front of the gun and grabbed hold of the barrel. With a swift kick to the shoulder, the gun was flipped and aimed right back at Laguna. With the same, cold and joyless glare, Cloud pulled the trigger and sent a hailstorm of fiery ammunition through Laguna's body. His insides lit up and exploded through his back. The man with the long black hair teared up, putting his hand on the shoulder of his foe before slumping to the ground dead.
"NO!!!" Cid screamed as he swung his weapon over his head and brought it against Cloud's face. The impact snapped his neck and sliced a gash out of his cheek, sending his body careening to the side from the force. Cloud's body slid across the ground, accumulating a mound of dirt in front of it as it came to a stop.
Squall smiled, feeling strong enough to stand again as Cloud's body lay broken behind Cid. Vincent had just recovered and immediately came to the aid of the pilot when he fell to his knees in pain, "Did I get him?"
"Yeah, he's down for the count," Vincent said, looking back over to the fallen corpse of their good friend. But it was gone.
"Oh no," the bruised, bloody visage of Cloud stared right into Vincent's as he turned around. His hands were positioned at the vampire-looking man's stomach, quickly manipulating the winds and shocking Vincent with a focused blast of air. He flew back, out of control, leaving Cid completely helpless to Cloud's next assault.
He was a monster now, his jaw hanging on by a few sinews and neck covered in disgustingly black blood. Cloud's hair was matted down and a mess, and his clothes were ripped and barely hanging off his body. He grabbed Cid's neck, lifting his body high off the ground and started to choke him.
The captain's neck was being crushed by his own friend's hand. It was beginning to get hard for him to breathe. His eyes rolled back into his head and he began to pass out, everything that had happened this day going through mind. It was a sad turn of events, a horrible, cruel joke being played on him and all the others that had given their lives this day. Friends dying for no reason . . . the dead coming back to life . . . friends killing friends . . . with that he screamed and exploded with unrivaled rage, punching Cloud in the face multiple times, putting all his remaining strength in the blows. But all he managed to do was mangle Cloud's nose and cause extra blood to spew from his mouth and eyes. Cid's former friend sneered and threw him high into the sky above him. He quickly reached for the Venus Gospel that lay on the ground and got it firmly in his grasp. Without hesitation, Cloud cocked back his arm and launched it at the falling Cid. The projectile weapon ensnared its target and carried Cid backwards in an arc, falling to the ground far away and crushing his body into a boulder. It hit the stone with such intensity that the spearhead ripped through the body of the old man and shredded his lungs. Stuck against the rock, he did all he could to get free, even though his death was assured.
"What the hell?" a waning Cid said as he grabbed the Gospel as hard as he could. The weapon wouldn't budge no matter what he did, but Cid wouldn't give up no matter what. His hands tightly grabbed the pole of the spear, even as they grew cold and useless, "Shit," he mouthed as his last breath passed through his lips. Cid's head fell forward, blood dripping from his lips.
Cloud/Sephiroth saw his next opponent. The red cape that the Turk had always worn had been cast aside and glided in the wind to the ground. Soon after the red headband was stretched past his hair and thrown away too. Squall struggled painfully with his lower torso to get up. He HAD to help out Vincent. There was no way he could do it on his own! Squall managed to prop his arm on his knees, but extreme pain quickly answered his reckless action, 'My ribs must be broken,' Squall thought. That position would have to do.
Sephiroth's fury knew no boundary. The fire within Cloud started to build as he prepared himself for the next confrontation. Blue and purple flames spit out of the wannabe SOLDIER's wounds as Sephiroth pulled everything he had into this beaten body.
Vincent's arms grew larger under his black shirt, along with the muscles in his legs too. The clothes on his body stretched and ripped apart, his skin dying and becoming a steel grey as massive demon-like wings sprang from his back, blood showering from their veined surface. His eyes became white as the moon, shining with hatred and sorrow. The hair on his beautiful head fell out, and razor sharp claws tore through his hands as extensions to his body. The power of Chaos was his to control, the burden of the curse no more.
"Chaos!" Cloud shouted in surprise.
Vincent screamed at the top of his lungs when he saw the Devil clad in Cloud's skin getting close, his scaled wings tore farther through his flesh with a horrendous crunch. It was no longer painful for him. No, it was a showing of his grandeur as the fully opened wings spanned ten feet in each direction. Soon after his wings had dried, his skin faded into a deeper death-gray like color and his black, tortured eyes rolled back into his head. The color returned once more . . . but this time his eyes seemed to vary with his current mood. The red tint of anger shone from Vincent's eye sockets as they opened ever so wider to embrace the surroundings.
Squall gazed intently, horrified at seeing such a demonic transformation. He knew not whether his help was needed or if the beast would come after him when this battle was completed. He had witnessed Vincent turn into a dreadful, dark beast named Chaos, and knew that if there was a hope of victory, it lay with him. The young leader was unhindered, and inched his way closer and closer as the final battle was about to begin.
Flapping his wings, Chaos soared above Cloud, taunting him. In the air his speed was unmatched. He dove down, closing his wings and blowing faster than the wind across Cloud's body. Moments later he appeared again, hovering and flapping his wings, holding his claws in front of his body so Cloud could see the blood dripping off of them. Through Cloud's eyes, Sephiroth stared at his stomach, seeing that his clothes were completely shredded. He tried to breath but could gather no air. Instead, three gashes appeared, Cloud's skin splitting apart and spewing his insides forth. His intestines spilled into his hands, along with gallons of blood, quickly covering the entire stone surface of the battlefield in front of his body. Chaos then spun around on the path going away from his victim and gathered speed for another pass. This time the demon mounted Sephiroth's host from behind, digging both his hind and front claws into Cloud's back. Reaching over the SOLDIER's shoulders, he impaled his claws through his friend's armor and began to rip the armor apart with his devilish vigor. The red liquid grossly poured out of Cloud like a waterfall. The thick red color and rotting smell would be overwhelming to anyone who wasn't accustomed to death, but this winged demon was the Angel of Death, he lived off of it. The diabolical beast pushed off from the body and let it collapse to the ground, leaving it pale and corpselike. Vincent's inner monster could only roar with delight as Cloud's body lay unmoving on the ground, masked by a sea of blood. The sky echoed with his calls of victory.
Squall got to his feet, now strong enough to walk as Vincent reverted to his human form. It wasn't nearly as painful to him reverting to this primitive state, but it felt very unsettling. His wings shrunk from their majestic span and folded into themselves until they slid back into his shoulders, his skin softening and healing up as soon as they retreated. He had made sure that Cloud was dead, and with him that horrible man by the name of Sephiroth. It haunted Vincent that he had to kill one of his only friends, but what was worse was the thought of Sephiroth being alive and well, wreaking havoc and spreading his evil across time and space. He shook his head shamefully, looking at Cloud's body, asking him silently why he made himself do that to a person he cared about. Vincent's cold exterior warmed for a brief moment, allowing him to feel both grief and to mourn for his comrade. He could have stayed there and given homage all he wanted to his fallen friend, but instead of dwelling on something that was sure to give him more nightmares, he decided to check up on Squall.
Vincent saw the image of the SeeD stumbling towards him and almost laughed. How could someone with so many weaknesses be considered one of the greatest warriors of his dimension? It was just like Cloud .. . it was as though he had stumbled upon it. The path of a hero is never something you desire, it is a role that is placed on you. You have no decision but to accept it. As they walked towards each other, Squall yelled something out, but he was to far away for even Vincent to be able to make it out. Squall used all his energy left in his body to run to Vincent at full speed. He limped and struggled, but Vincent had become haughty from his victory and thought that Squall was rushing to congratulate him, so he stood there with a confused expression on his face. When Squall had jogged close enough he caught his breath and yelled. Vincent noticed that he had a terrified look on his and his own expression shifted and heart sank into the bowels of his soul.
"BEHIND YOU!!!!"
He almost didn't want to turn around. He knew what would be waiting for him, he accepted it. But it is instinct, and Vincent spun around just in time to see a man in ornately decorated black armor and long white hair stand before him. "No," Vincent managed to sputter as he walked slowly backwards away from the long, thin blade that had just been drawn and was racing towards his body. He was defenseless against the man's wrath. The blade's sharpness and the deadly precision cut through the metal on his reconstructed arm like soft wood. Sephiroth was much too fast for him. His arm sparked and spewed hydraulic fluid from its open tubes, drawing Vincent's attention away from his attacker. It was the utter disbelief that such a thing could happen . . . it was impossible . . .
The last slash came as a surprise to the former TURK, who had thought he knew most of the Demi-god's moves from their last fight with him. All Vincent could do was to watch in utter disbelief as Sephiroth feinted to his right and spun back with his Masamune to cleave diagonally through Vincent's helpless body. The torso from the warrior fell to the left, sliding off the lower part of his body with a sickening bubbling sound while his legs fell lifelessly to the ground.
Sephiroth beamed over his kill with a smile, enjoying the look on Squall's face more than anything else. With renewed energy, the SeeD sprinted towards Sephiroth and drew his Lionheart. He sought to sting Sephiroth with a quick slash to his right shoulder, to get retribution for his fallen companions, but his adversary moved the Masamune to meet the opposing blade in midair.
Their swords clashed in a shower of sparks with the initial hit, but the power from Sephiroth was enormous. With a slight shove he forced Squall teetering backwards, off balance.
"BASTARD!" Squall said as he gritted his teeth, "You killed all of them!! ALL OF THEM!!! My friends . . . Rinoa . . .I'LL KILL YOU!"
Sephiroth replied with a smug smile and waved on his opponent. Squall charged at him again, not giving in to the pain that coursed through his veins. His body felt like it would fall apart if he pushed himself any harder, but it just didn't matter anymore . . . nothing did. Sephiroth held out his hand as he approached and blasted the hasty nuisance backwards with a ball Fire from his palm. Squall toppled onto his back, surprised and in a daze.
"You're too late." Sephiroth informed, "I'm beginning to meld with this world. The thoughts of your planet, your friend's memories, the skills and techniques of all your enemies . . . I will become a god once more."
As Sephiroth told this to Squall, he raised his hands upwards and the majestic blue sky faded into dark black. Squall saw the surroundings instantly change as a huge city with eight reactors broke through the ground far off in the distance. Their droning echoing as far as the battlefield as vaporized Mako rose like exhaust. Was that something from Cloud's world?
'Damn it,' Squall thought, knowing that he had failed once again to stop the harsh reality from becoming true once again. Dimension Compression was taking place, and the worlds were merging together. It would all be over soon . . . Lightning jumped from cloud to cloud in an elegant dance of light as if it rejoiced in the damnation of the universe. With his last burst of energy, Squall swung high and hard at Sephiroth. It was easily parried and held to the side.
"You can't destroy that which is forever . . ." Sephiroth sneered as he grabbed a hold of the Lionheart. In less than a blink of an eye, he knocked down the sword and stabbed Squall in the chest with his murderous Masamune.
