Part Eight
So hold me when I'm here
right me when I'm wrong.
Hold me when I'm scared
and love me when I'm gone.
------------------
Sephiroth took several deep breaths before continuing. He had been slashing at the door for an indeterminable amount of time but never made a dent, and barely even scratched the surface. He had even tried picking at the keyhole with the Masamune, but as before, it was to no avail. Sephiroth had even tried several Flame Pillars on it.
And, of course, nothing. The door was about as annoying as the portal summoning was. Katas didn't work beforehand this time, though, and both Sephiroth and Zack were out of ideas. But being the persistent men they were, they weren't about to stop.
There had to be some way to open the door, after all, since Ansem had warned Sephiroth to never go in there - in Sephiroth's mind, that had to mean that there was indeed a way for him to do so. Also, the creepy white-haired man had stiffened when the Keyblade was mentioned, but, as far as Sephiroth was aware, Riku's Light was the only Keybearer and that boy sure as hell wasn't wherever he was.
/--There has to be SOMETHING here.--/
"I don't see anything, Zackary." Sephiroth had given up on keeping up dialogue in his mind, considering Ansem was nowhere to be found and wasn't able to give him those wondering glances, and the entire place seemed too quiet as well. He had tried to look out the windows, but there was nothing outside them but pitch black, unlike before.
"There are decorations here…," the silver-haired man muttered, walking around the room, boots clicking the wood floor quietly with every graceful step. "There are books, journals…," he added, gesturing with his arms, pointing them out to Zack.
/--Well, what books are they?--/
Sephiroth sighed. "I'm afraid I do not want to know. The last book of Ansem's I picked up was… pornography…"
/--You can't see it, but I'm… raising my eyebrow at you right now…--/
"Fantastic, now a lech is giving me accusatory glances," Sephiroth grumbled, running his fingers across a journal's cover and binding as he scanned its surface. "These seem to be reports of some sort."
/--Look at 'em--/
"Zackary, please realize I am not a fool," the silver-haired man spat, taking one of the journals off the bookshelf to quickly rifle through it. An eyebrow raised as he came upon several interesting passages, all of which detailing in-depth studies of the Heartless.
/"The shadows that crawl beneath the castle… are they the people who lost their hearts, or incarnations of Darkness? Or something entirely beyond my imagination?
All my knowledge has provided no answer. One thing I am sure of is that they are entirely devoid of emotion. Perhaps further study will unlock the mysteries of the heart. Fortunately, there is no shortage of test samples."/
Sephiroth shuddered. "He reminds me of Hojo," he murmured absently, shaking his head, before reading on.
/"To study the Heartless behavior, I picked one out for observation. It wiggled its antennae and, as if sensing a target, headed deep into the castle.
In the deepest part of the castle, its antennae began vibrating, as if searching for something. Suddenly, a strange door appeared. I'd never known of its existence.
It had a large keyhole, but didn't seem to be locked. So I opened the door."/
/--Well, well.--/
"But this door cannot be opened, at least not by my hand. And as far as I'm concerned, that door is locked." He furrowed his brow, curling a finger underneath his chin. "Do you have any idea where we are?"
/--No… but it's somewhere… not… good…--/
The ex-General rolled his eyes, heaving a sigh. "I'm still amazed you ever made it to First Class…"
Book in hand, Sephiroth walked towards the door again, laying his hand flat on the wood. He slid his palm over the grain, feeling the solidness of the structure, and the dim vibration coming from the other side. "Where do you lead to," he musingly asked, voice just barely a whisper.
/--…it feels weird, doesn't it?--/
"Indeed it does."
/--Try stickin' your hand in the keyhole.--/ Sephiroth blinked.
"Will that work?"
/--Damned if I know, but you're not doing anything useful now, so what harm could it do?--/
The black-gloved hand slid higher, fingertips trailing along the outer edges of the pitch-black keyhole. He felt no shocks, no tremors coming from the inside, just that dim buzzing. Sephiroth gripped the edge with one hand and put down the journal before he slid his other inside, feeling around for anything - a lock mechanism he could pull, a latch, Heartless antennae, anything.
But his fingertips touched nothing on the inside, even though Sephiroth's arm was in up to the elbow. He couldn't feel the other side of the door, either, and wasn't even sure if his arm had completely through the keyhole or not… but it was possible. Though, if he had, the other side of the door seemed completely empty, and just… nothing.
With a sigh, the silver-haired man slipped his arm out and examined it briefly, checking for dust or fur or anything else that could have betrayed an actual opposite side of the keyhole. Upon finding nothing out of the ordinary on the black leather, Sephiroth picked up the journal again and slumped heavily down onto the room's bed.
"This is driving me mad," Sephiroth growled, laying the book in his lap. "You know I cannot stand feeling so useless… so damned helpless." He scowled, throwing his head back, and muttered, "and I still cannot feel Riku."
/--I know, Seph. Just keep looking through the journals, alright? There's gotta be some clue as to how to get out of here.--/
"I don't even know where here is."
/--I know,--/ Zack replied grumpily.
"At least before there were hints, how the windows saw straight through Riku's eyes…," he trailed off, snarling in frustration. Sephiroth shook his head violently, silver hair slapping the sides of his face. "And I sat idly by while that… degenerate… violated…" Sephiroth let his sentence die out and sighed.
/--It's no good dwelling on it, Seph, you weren't exactly in the best position…--/
The silver-haired man snorted in disgust. "Yes, and because I was so weak, that link between the boy and I was broken."
/--Knock it off or I'm going to slap you.--/
"Hmph. You're in no form to do so, you parasite," Sephiroth growled dangerously.
/--That's it.--/
Sephiroth's right arm tingled and he looked down at it, eyebrow raised. He watched as he tried to move his fingers, receiving no response. Without warning, the hand shot up and slapped him square in the cheek, most likely hard enough to leave a mark for a short while.
The silver-haired man simply laughed.
"How dare you do that!" he choked out between fevered cackles, shaking his head, hand splayed over his face. "You… you used me, you controlled my hand like a puppet! I am now Zackary's puppet!"
Zack's nonexistent countenance fell. /--…you're losing it, Seph, just… gods, just calm down, alright? Sorry…--/
Aqua eyes went wide as the last of the laughs slipped from Sephiroth's throat. "Oh, no, no I am perfectly sane, I've always been." He sneered, pounding his fist on the bed. "Now, never do that again."
Zack blinked. Telepathically, of course.
The silver-haired man sighed, picking up the journal again. Page after page of the book was filled with notes on experimentations, theories, and numerous equations, jargon… some passages were even written in a sort of code Sephiroth was unable to decipher, done up in cryptic runes instead of letters. None of which he could recognize.
Roughly drawn sketches of maps and various, nondescript locations were drawn on entire sheets, incredibly detailed, with tiny notes crammed tightly into the margins. Unfortunately for him, even with all the information Ansem had chronicled, Sephiroth still found no way as to how opening or unlocking that particular door in the room was possible… save the apparent Keyblade solution.
With the first journal finished, Sephiroth tossed it aside and rubbed his eyes with his knuckles. Thus far, all of the writings were utterly useless to him… they barely even made sense.
Frustrated, Sephiroth sighed and shook his head to himself before sliding off of the massive bed, retrieving another volume.
The journal Sephiroth chose next was entitled 'Reports VI - VIII', a thick journal with loose-leaf sheets of papers stuffed haphazardly in it, handwriting quickly done in a mad scrawl instead of that neat print the last had. Frowning, Sephiroth took 'Reports IX - X' along with him on second thought and flopped back onto the bed, careful not to bump his wing.
/--This is oh-so-entertaining…,--/ Zack commented dryly.
"Stop it, Zack," Sephiroth growled, flipping through the reports.
More graphs, more studies, more scientific jargon. The reports seemed nearly endless, all of them the studies of an apparent madman. As much as the two former SOLDIERs would have liked to avoid thinking of it, Ansem's obsessive nature with experimenting and the Heartless reminded them both greatly of Hojo.
/--And he's going down the same path, y'know? Experimenting on himself, making himself part of the project… 'cept with him it's this 'Darkness' crap instead of Jenova, I mean. Pretty creepy, eh?--/
"Yes, I am aware of the similarities between Ansem and the good Professor's antics," Sephiroth mumbled, reading.
/--I'm just saying, there's some creepy—--/
"Yes, parallels. I am aware, Zackary, just let me read!"
/--…just like Nibelheim…--/
Sephiroth stiffened, eyes narrowing dangerously. He hated when his friend brought up his mistakes of the past; more specifically, those days and nights when he had locked himself into the basement of ShinRa Mansion, right before he razed the entire town.
And, inevitably, turning Zack and Cloud, the two people closest to him, into a couple of Hojo's 'specimens'.
"Don't do this to me, Zackary…"
/"The Heartless feed on other's hearts, and they yearn for that energy core. That thing beyond the door must be a heart, too--the heart of this world. There is no proof, but, having felt that immense energy, I am certain. That was the heart of the world."/
/'That thing beyond the door must be a heart, too--the heart of this world…'/ Sephiroth quoted with a frown.
"Maybe not a heart of the world, but a heart…," the silver-haired man mumbled quietly, eyeing the door.
/--I think you may be on to something there,--/ Zack agreed.
"Yes, yes, so do I…"
/"By recreating the conditions that spawn the Heartless naturally, I should be able to produce them artificially. This device is the culmination of all my research thus far. The machine's test run successfully created a Heartless. This may be a step toward creating a heart from nothing.
The artificially and naturally created Heartless showed nearly identical traits. But the two types remain distinct for the purpose of the experiment. So, I will mark the ones that are created artificially."/
The deceased SOLDIER blinked. /--Wait up… that 'mark'… the shit that those Heartless things have on their chests?--/
The silver-haired man frowned. "Come to think of it… Ansem did have that insignia on his chest…"
/--You mean that dude MADE those!?--/
"That madman…"
Sephiroth shook his head, eyes raking over the script in the journals quickly, making mental notes at a feverish pace.
So, it was Ansem who destroyed his and Cloud's world… Ansem had been stealing hearts and using them for his own sick gain, treated the other worlds as nothing but a giant experiment. The man was a lunatic - nothing but a monster hell-bent on becoming a god.
Ruefully, Sephiroth thought, /just as I once was. Jenova or no, I was this way, and Hojo, and ShinRa…/
/--Seph,--/ Zack chimed in, cutting him off, /--this isn't the 'Sephiroth's Regrets of the Past' Happy Hour. This is 'Trying to Help the Friggin' Kid and Bust Open That Fucking Door' time! Knock it off!--/
"These things are hard not to think about, Zackary," he replied, a hand on his cheek as he read. Sephiroth's brow was almost permanently furrowed as he put together connections between Ansem's life and the people of his own, drowning in regrets and memories and guilt…
But his friend was right; this was no time to worry about himself. For once, he had to think about someone else, and actually be a hero to him…
/"We talked for countless hours, but one story in particular caught my interest: that of a key called the 'Keyblade'. The Keyblade is said to hold phenomenal power. One legend says its wielder saved the world, while another says that he wrought chaos and ruin upon it.
I must know what this Keyblade is. A key opens doors. It must be connected to the door I have opened."/
"Hm… intriguing…"
/--…you know which Keyblade that fuck's probably looking for…--/
"Yes." Sephiroth's eyes went wide as something clicked. He let out a groan and slammed his fists on his thighs in disgust. He muttered a curse, growling. "I don't believe this."
Zack was quiet before making a noise of recognition. /--Since Sora apparently has the good Keyblade…--/
"Though Riku was able to wield it as well, he told me… that's why he needed the boy…"
/--…because Riku would be able to use the 'dark' Keyblade, Ansem used him as a vessel…?--/
"Exactly… Ansem really is like Jenova. This is sickening…" Sephiroth shook his head again, laughing bitterly. "And I couldn't stop him…" He sighed, closing his eyes slowly. "I should have seen this coming, Zackary…"
/--No, you couldn't have known, Seph…--/
The silver-haired man made a noise in the back of his throat. "But I should have. I should have thought something when the boy first started exhibiting strange behavior, I should have known when… Zackary, I should have realized it when I saw… when I figured out how astonishingly similar we are."
/--What could you have done, though? What do you think you could have said to him to make him stop when Ansem was already inside?--/
"…something. Something more than nothing but sitting idly by while he…" Sephiroth took a deep breath, crossing his arms over his chest, "…this really is my fault. Completely mine."
Zack sighed harshly. /--Look. Believe it or not, this isn't your fault. All we - you - can do now is just… help… before Ansem can do anything too drastic with that Keyblade, okay? So just stop worrying, use that big ole General's brain of yours to figure out a way to open the door, and help Riku stop him before he does anything too drastic. Right?--/
Sephiroth nodded mutely and got up, grabbing the last three journals off the shelf and throwing them onto the bed. He tore through 'Report XI' quickly, finding several interesting pieces of information. The eleventh book was terribly written, visibly showing the madness growing within Ansem, its writing fevered, and even several of the pages were torn through by hard strokes of the pen.
/"If the door has been closed by the key known as the Keyblade, you probably cannot reach that world's heart again. Before the one with the Keyblade appears in this world, I must take measures to do something."/
He pushed 'XI' off to the side and grabbed 'Report XII', eyes darting over the pages before stopping at a passage, eyes going wide. "Zackary…"
/"I have transcended to an existence of only the heart. I should have come back as a Heartless, but there is no sign of such a transformation."/
Sephiroth took a ragged breath, rereading the passage, repeating the words in his head. A headache burst suddenly into his head, beating on his forehead and his temples. He cradled his face in his hands for a moment, mulling over the new information. "He is not alive, Zackary… how am I here in this place… if he's not alive?" His mental companion was silent.
The silver-haired man took a deep sigh, shaking his head. "Zackary…?"
/--…you're not going to like this…--/
"What is it…?" His eyebrows furrowed, breath caught in his throat. "Am I still dead as well, Zackary?"
/--No, you're alive, you're very alive.--/
The silver-haired man closed his eyes, head swimming. Zack was going to tell him something terrible, he knew it, and he didn't want to know what it was. But he had to hear it, he knew it was information he had to get, no matter what it entailed. "What is it, then, Zack…?"
/--…um… but, see… I think you're kind of… a… um…--/
"Just tell me, Zackary!" Sephiroth shouted angrily. "I've had enoughof your procrastination! Tell me!"
/--…you're kind of a… well, a Heartless… maybe…?--/
Sephiroth raked a hand through his silver hair, eyes rolling upwards. "A Heartless," he repeated dully. "…how…?" He thought a moment before asking, "…Hades?"
/--Probably… he's obviously in league with the Darkness… and… there's another thing.--/
"And that is?"
/--You're probably not a complete Heartless… at least… I don't think you are…--/
The ex-General sighed, shaking his head. "I don't see how I am a Heartless in the first place… that pain from the door was in my heart… and I can feel my heart beating…" He frowned. "It is weaker… but… I still have it…"
/--…right.--/ Zack gave a frown and muttered, /--but the thing is, you have powers of the Darkness 'cause of Hades… see, this is what I'm thinkin'. You know how you felt that connection with Riku…?--/
Sephiroth nodded slowly. "Yes…" He curled his fist and placed it under his chin, listening intently.
/--I'm pretty sure he's why you aren't completely Heartless… maybe when Hades brought you back, your lines somehow got crossed with Riku's?--/
"What makes you think a thing like that could've happened?"
/--Well, probably happened because you're so similar… maybe.--/ Zack paused for a moment. /--And that's probably why Ansem wanted you to… you know… 'submit'. If that was the case…--/
"So… you're saying I've some of Riku's heart…?" The deceased SOLDIER made a small noise of affirmation, and Sephiroth snorted. "And that way, Ansem would've gotten the boy's heart entirely?"
/--Yeah… but it's speculative, so… anyway… but now…,--/ Zack trailed off, sighing. /--I'm nearly positive what remained of his own heart was swallowed by the Darkness. By Ansem.--/
"But a piece is still there… it's faint, but it is." Sephiroth frowned. "I'm certain it is."
/--Then I think that's a valid reason why you need to get through that door… there's something there, Seph.--/
"You don't know what's behind that door, Zack?" Sephiroth asked, eyeing the portal warily.
/--No, I can't tell what it is…--/
Sephiroth frowned, opening 'Report XIII'.
/"When the heart casts off the flesh, where does the body go?
Heart and soul are separate, and the spirit remains in the body. But can we assume that the leftover body and soul perish?
Certainly when the heart changes into a Heartless the body disappears.
However, that is only this world's story; in another world, mightn't they change forms like the Heartless and exist there?
If we take that to be the case, there must be a you other than yourself existing somewhere.
An existence neither of darkness nor of light.
An in-between existence.
Cast off by the heart, a mere shell, one who begrudges both the darkness and the light.
This mystery cannot be easily resolved.
The relationship between the heart and the flesh is a complex one.
But since we exist here, they cannot be termed as existent.
Therefore I shall call them…
'The non-existent ones'."/
/--…Seph…--/
"…yes, Zackary…?"
/--…just shut up and open the freakin' door.--/
------------------
Cloud looked at the day's fight roster with a frown. "Did you see this?" he grunted as Leon read the sheet over his shoulder. "I'm the fucking fourth seed… FOURTH!"
"Strife. STOP."
"I can see not being first, since it is Hercules' cup and all, but… fourth…"
Leon sighed, rolling his eyes. "I'm sure it has nothing to do with your skill." The blonde frowned.
"Then what does it have to do with?"
The ex-SeeD didn't answer for a moment as he tried to come up with a formidable excuse. Finally, he shook his head and shrugged. "Well, look at the second seed. 'Flying Pirates'. Do you think that you yourself would be harder to beat than all of those together?"
Cloud growled. "Yes, Leon, I do." He jabbed his finger into the roster sheet as he spoke. "Look. 'Dark Squadron'. That's only seven Heartless. Yeah, I might just be one guy, but I have my own brain and I can actually think while I battle instead of… that…" Cloud crumpled up the sheet and threw it over his shoulder. "Whatever."
"You're starting to sound like me," Leon said dryly. The blonde rolled his eyes, arms crossed.
"Honestly, I don't fucking care." He wanted terribly to wring Phil's neck for bumping him to fourth on account of some Heartless, but the - rather fortunate - little satyr wasn't anywhere in sight as he stood with his companion in the holding pen. Cloud was the old champion of the place, with the exception of Hercules, and yet he was tossed aside for tactless, idiot groups of Heartless?
The brunette raised an eyebrow curiously as he leaned against the far wall of the pen, one leg crossed over his other and arms folded over his chest. Truthfully, Leon was surprised at Cloud's anger over the list - it seemed such a trivial thing for the little warrior to get a rise from. But, he also felt that wasn't the only thing on the other man's mind as he vented his frustrations. Leon had figured it to be some sort of inferiority complex the blonde was slipping into - maybe never even got out of. And with Phil bumping Cloud from a top position…
"What seed are they on now?"
"Sixth," Cloud muttered, absently wrapping some athletic tape around the Buster Sword. "Wight Knights and Gargoyles. Big fucking whoop." He let out a sigh, scowling as he ripped the tape from the roll and threw it into a corner.
Leon simply watched the smaller man's infuriated actions. Cloud was constantly wringing his hands or running them through his spiky hair, sometimes even pulling at his cape and adjusting the many straps and belts he wore. His leg was jumping up and down, heel clacking on the floor as it hit, and his face was fixed with a constant scowl. Such a little bundle of grumpy energy that one was.
…Cloud looked pretty cute when he was angry.
The brunette blinked and turned away from the younger man, opting instead to watch Sora and his companions beat the snot out of Heartless. The little brown-haired boy wasn't going to have an easy a time with Cloud, Leon assumed, since the blonde wasn't only a strong opponent, but had great speed as well, battle-hardened… a great warrior with tactical abilities to boot.
A bell rang out as the Rare Truffle hit the ground and huffed angrily, forfeiting its match against the Keyblade master. And less than a minute later, when the arena was clear of debris, another bell blared, signaling the fighters to the ring.
"Good luck," Leon said, clapping the blonde hard on the back.
"Yeah, yeah." Cloud picked up the Buster Sword and rolled his shoulders, tilting his head to the side.
Time for the fight.
He actually was looking forward to battling the young Keybearer again, interested in seeing how far the boy had progressed as far as ability and techniques were concerned. Cloud's plan was to go against Sora legitimately, however, and if the spiky-haired boy got hurt too badly he would throw the fight. Mercy was in his nature, after all.
The blonde, of course, had withheld that fact from Leon, who seemed to be rooting for a win indefinitely.
[Holding a grudge on a kid. I never figured you'd have it in you, Leon.]
Sora was already in his designated area, with Donald on his left and dropped behind, presumably done so because of two reasons - he was the mage, made to heal most of the time and use assault magic when his offensive teammates weren't too badly hurt. Goofy stood on the right, large shield held protectively in front of him with an uncharacteristically serious look on his face.
The boy himself, however, was front and center, a huge, goofy grin plastered on his face at the sight of his next opponent. The two spiky-headed ones really hadn't seen each other in a while, and Sora was obviously excited about the reunion.
…but Cloud didn't fail to notice that wicked-looking Keyblade in Sora's hands - a black, wrought-iron key which actually looked more like a piece of an old-fashioned fence, topped with spindles and deadly-looking points.
Cloud had a feeling that thing was going to hurt.
Sora's blue eyes suddenly hardened and his grin gave way to a serious look as the countdown to the fight began, shifting his weight on his feet and licking his lips in determination. When the bell rang out, he barely had time to ready the Buster Sword before the boy took Cloud by surprise and ran in for an attack.
The teenager immediately started slashing at him, attacking in diagonal swipes and horizontal cuts, swinging his Keyblade in wide arcs as Cloud deftly blocked the seemingly haphazard swings. Then, out of nowhere, Goofy slammed into his right side, knocking Cloud off balance and consequently threw off his block, allowing Sora to slam the Keyblade into his shoulder. And the blonde was right.
That new Keyblade really, really hurt.
Cloud winced in pain as the weapon came down, that familiar blinding-white hiss of pain surging up. After he landed the hit, the dog backed away to allow Sora to fight the blonde on his own, until he was stuck again.
The duck, however, shot a fireball straight at Cloud, the magic solidly hitting the blonde in the stomach and burning him as Sora cried out, "POWER!"
Sora's simple word of warning started a powerful attack, swinging his blade in quick movements, arcs and side-swipes and vertical slashes. The combo was brutal and swift, even somehow lifting the boy into the air as he slashed wildly, before finally delivering the finishing blow: a slam on the head with that damn powerful Keyblade.
As he fell to the ground, Cloud couldn't help but compare the attack to the Omnislash. Of course, Sora's technique wasn't nearly as powerful as the blonde's old Limit, but it was still quite a formidable force.
Which, of course, made Cloud angry. He finally realized he was getting the shit beat out of him by a little kid, and that just wouldn't do.
With a growl, the blonde stood and lashed out, thrusting the Buster Sword at Sora's stomach. He put his feet into the attack, pushing himself forward and slicing deeply into the boy. From the corner of his eye, Cloud caught Leon cheering him on, hands clapping above his head, and smirked.
For show, Cloud kicked Sora in the side, launching the boy onto the ground. He landed with a solid 'thump' but to Cloud's surprise, Sora got up quickly, blood on his shirt from the previous hit clearly visible, and the blonde winced in sympathy.
Fortunately for Sora, Donald saw the wound as well and swiftly healed him before whirling around, sending out a powerful Blizzara spell on Cloud.
The Blizzara hit him in the back, sharp knife-like icicles tearing his cape even more. The tip of Cloud's wing poked through one of the holes, cut up from an icicle and bleeding just a bit. When he stopped stumbling, the blonde snarled and threw himself forward at the duck as Donald cast yet another Blizzara.
Dodging the spell this time, Cloud slammed the duck hard with his knee, sending Donald to the ground with a loud cry. Once again Cloud stumbled forward, that blinding light feeling spiking up again as Sora's Keyblade hit him hard on the back, the key then spinning back to its place in the boy's hand.
Goofy hit him soon after, ramming into Cloud's back and sending him to the ground, the blonde nearly falling on - and consequently crushing - Donald's body. Using this low opportunity, Cloud swung his leg out to hook Goofy with his foot, sweeping the dog's leg out from under him, and Goofy landed with a loud thump, the heavy shield he wielded like dead weight on his chest.
Cloud got up quickly and mercilessly slammed the hilt of his sword into the dog's temple. He winced at the brutal attack to the prone Goofy, but to be fair, this was, in some ways, 'war'.
But before Cloud had the chance to do the same to the duck, Sora ran forward, thrusting the Keyblade into the man's torso, just underneath the sternum. Cloud lurched forward as the wind was knocked out of his lungs, shirt torn where the sharp points from the key made contact and pierced his skin.
The duck, even though he was seemingly lifeless, went on to use the last of his remaining strength to cast a Gravira spell. The attack forced Cloud down to his knees, pressure crushing him from all sides, and the blonde clenched his teeth as he pushed against the attack - to no avail. The sheer force of the spell wouldn't allow it.
Sora pulled the Keyblade up before slamming it down on Cloud's right shoulder, eliciting a loud crack. The man winced at the white-hot heat burning from the attack, flares of pain shooting up and down his arm. Cloud tried to lift the Buster as he got to his feet, but soon found that the boy had actually managed to dislocate his right shoulder.
Well.
Angry now, Cloud snarled and again threw his cape back like he did during their first confrontation. His wing dully stung from one of the assaults on his back, but thankfully it still functioned. Sword in his left hand, Cloud flew away from Sora, the boy glaring at him for using his dark powers for the ability to fly.
Little did Cloud know, Sora could do the same - albeit much slower. Cloud passed the gliding boy, admittedly shocked to see the kid doing something strange as that…
[How the hell?!]
After passing by Sora several times, the teenager landed on two shaky legs before steadying himself. Satisfied, Cloud circled back to slash at him from above. The kid was starting to piss him off… he managed to land several solid blows, and thus far, Cloud knew he was… losing quite badly.
Suddenly, Sora twisted the upper half of his body back, both arms outstretched, and snapped forward. Easily the Keyblade slid from the young brunette's grasp as the boy hurled it at Cloud, attacking again with what Sora had called a 'Strike Raid'.
Cloud watched smugly as the pumpkin-charmed Keyblade spun around like a boomerang, missing its mark badly as it whizzed past him from the right. Jeeringly, Cloud smiled at the boy and landed before him, raising the Buster Sword over his head.
But, unbeknownst to the blonde fighter, the match was already over.
The Keyblade had started to make its way back to Sora after it bypassed Cloud by tens of feet, but the weapon didn't manage to make it back into the boy's gloved hands.
Cloud's head was busy being in the way.
The key slammed hard into the back of the blonde's head with its handle, the spinning force behind it far too great. It made contact with an audible crack, the audience gasping dramatically as the key split open the back of the blonde's skull, Cloud's hair instantly turning red as blood gushed from the wound.
Cloud crumbled to his knees, white pain burning in his head. The arena felt like it was spinning around him as he tried to get up, vision blurry and marked with white spots. He clawed at the ground and attempted to lift his head, but it felt far too heavy to support. Both arms gave out underneath him as the blonde finally collapsed, everything fading to black.
"…eon… he… ……ay?"
"He… …ret… ha… hea… Sor…"
"Concus… by… … Keybl…?"
[Shut up… let me sleep…]
"Yes… he'll… … …wake …oon."
Cloud groaned and cracked his eye open, the talking refusing to stop. He closed his eyes again soon after, a dreadful pain in the back of his head preventing him from keeping them open for too long, dizzy spells passing through him. All he could see were blurs of color, browns and blacks and blues, and his hearing kept fading in and out. Cloud knew he heard voices - familiar voices - but they sounded too quiet and far away.
"…ook! He's… …ing… up!"
"Shh……ora… …loud?"
[…Leon?]
The blonde groaned again as he felt a few slaps to his face, lifting a hand to weakly brush the presence away.
"Cloud?"
"…what…?" he mumbled, still dizzy.
He heard someone breathe a sigh of relief. "Man……orried about… you…" […and Sora?] "I'm so…orry, Cloud!"
The blonde opened his eyes again, blinking away sleep and pain. His vision slowly cleared, Sora's form coming into sight first, his brown eyebrows drawn in worry as he chewed on his lower lip. Looking to the left, Cloud caught sight of Leon, the usually stoic face tinged with concern.
A gloved hand brushed at his forehead and Cloud flinched, his entire head sore and definitely not in the mood for attention. "What happened…?" he asked, voice reverberating his ears and causing him to cringe. "Feel like shit…"
"You have a concussion," the older man replied, leaning into his normal field of vision. "You'll be alright soon."
"Cloud, Cloud, I'm so sorry!!" Sora cried, guilty tears spilling down his face.
Cloud raised a hand and waved it around, telling the boy not to worry. "It was a fight… this stuff happens…," he coughed, wincing when he tried to lift his leaden head. "…ow."
"Strife, don't move yet," Leon ordered, placing a hand on Cloud's forehead. "You're concussed, I told you."
The blonde waved his hand dismissively and shifted to get up. "I'll be fine… I'll be completely healed in a couple days, anyway…"
Again Leon kept him down, this time by pushing down on his chest. "Stop. We're not going anywhere until you're alright."
"Fine," Cloud growled, bringing his unclawed hand to his face. He hated being taken care of like that; it made him feel like he was too weak to take care of himself, the same now as it did back in Nibelheim. The only person Cloud hadn't minded treating him like a baby was his mother, after the other children beat him up or made him cry… when Zack treated him like that, Cloud turned sullen and grumpy, much like the way he was with Leon.
"I'm really sorry, Cloud…," Sora said, stroking his arm with a white-gloved hand. "I didn't know it would hit you so hard in the head!"
"Don't… just don't worry about it, kid," the blonde replied, turning towards the other spiky-haired one and forcing a grin. "It's alright. I'm proud - you beat me fair and square." He waited a bit before winking. "'No dark powers involved'."
The boy's mouth turned into a wide smile, his personality showing through, despite his apparent guilt. "Thanks." That didn't last long, though, as Sora frowned soon after, shoving his hands in his pockets.
Leon turned towards Sora and gestured towards the door of the holding pen. "Your next match is going to start soon."
"Yeah…" The teen sighed and made a face. "Against Herc. By myself…" Sora stuck his tongue out and added, "it's gonna suck."
Cloud chuckled at the comment before he reached out and swatted him lightly on the arm. "You can do it, you beat me, didn't you?" Leon rolled his eyes.
"Egotist."
"I try."
A bell blared, making both Sora and the blonde cringe, though both for different reasons - Sora didn't want to leave Cloud's side, and Cloud's head screaming in protest of the intruding sound. Leon gestured towards the exit again, and the little brunette nodded his consent.
"Good luck, Sora," the blonde said with a small smile, Leon thinly mimicking the expression.
"Thanks!" Sora then darted out of the room, summoning his Keyblade, chains leaving behind a metallic clanking sound. The oldest one turned to Cloud and frowned.
"You look terrible with red hair," he commented, humorlessly.
Cloud rolled his eyes, shakily bringing himself into a sitting position. Quickly he brought a hand to his still-aching head and brushed away some flecks of drying blood. He could feel his hair was still somewhat damp, and with small amusement realized that several spikes were still standing, even when tainted with the crimson fluid of his wound.
"I guess I need a bath, huh…," he half-stated, pulling his hand down to examine his dirtied, red fingertips.
"Not without help."
[Help, eh…?] "No, probably not."
Leon nodded at him and shrugged. "You can wait a couple more hours, right?"
"Yeah…"
The brunette bit his lip and turned his back on the younger man, focusing all his attention on Sora's seemingly futile battle with Hercules. He gasped suddenly before letting out a small laugh behind his hand.
"What's so funny?" Cloud asked, frowning.
"Sora just threw a barrel at Hercules' head," he answered, snickering.
With a small sigh, the blonde murmured, "that kid and chucking shit at people's heads…"
It took him nearly an hour, but the little Keybearer - despite the odds against him - actually managed to defeat Zeus' son, earning himself a large, golden trophy and an overwhelming round of applause from both the spectators and the two men in the holding pen.
The boy was in complete shock as he walked from the arena to the courtyard, blue eyes wider than anything Cloud had seen, and he could see why Sora was beaming with pride. It really was an amazing feat.
"I should've placed a bet," Cloud murmured, lightly shaking his head.
"You and me both," came Leon's reply, when the two men heard people cheering and carrying on outside the pen. They quickly shot each other questioning glances.
"You alright to see what's going on?" The blonde nodded and got up, with Leon's help.
When they stepped out into the courtyard, Cloud, against his will, broke out into a fit of unbefitting giggles at what he saw.
The little brunette was currently caught in the center of a writhing mass of people, all of them clutching pieces of papyrus as if their lives depended on it, and all of them begging for his autograph - a lot like Sephiroth's countless fangirls and boys back when he was a General, Cloud noted.
Poor Sora was doing all he could to keep the crowd happy, snatching papers and hastily writing his name on them now almost automatically. Though, his face looked frantic as he tried to sign them all, always the giving type, never turning anybody down even if he looked incredibly tired and frazzled. Watching with a bit of amusement, Cloud absently wondered where the boy's animal companions were and why they weren't around to help keep Sora's many new admirers at bay.
Leon elbowed him and tilted his head, gesturing for the stairs in front of the Coliseum so they could sit and wait to congratulate the little hero.
Both men sat on the stairs for nearly two hours, watching - boredly, by that time - as the crowd dissipated slowly. Cloud noticed that after each signature, Sora would stop and shake the kinks out of his hand before resuming the daunting task of pleasing his 'fans'.
…he really was quite the little hero. Cloud wondered why the hell he never had so many groupies like that…
"I can't stand this anymore," Leon announced, standing up and stretching his arms over his head, allowing Cloud the tiniest glimpse of the other man's finely toned stomach. "I'll be back in a while, I have to talk to Phil about the next tournament he's holding." He looked down at the blonde, eyebrow raised speculatively. "Will you be alright by yourself for a while?"
"Yeah. I still want to talk to him, anyway," Cloud answered with a small smile, pointing slightly at the now-frustrated brunette. The taller man nodded and made his way to Phil's office.
The boy was still signing, and even though it was at a much slower pace. Thankfully for Sora, the pleased spectators finally thinned out to only a few, allowing him to finally catch a glimpse of Cloud. He smiled and waved before hurrying to sign a few final pieces of papyrus and dashing in his direction.
Cloud chuckled a little as the boy sat next to him, looking completely exhausted. "Have fun?"
"I wish I didn't win!" Sora replied, hands in his face. "Autographs are more work than the tournaments!"
The blonde chuckled, placing his elbows on his knees. Sora's face was bright red, most likely embarrassed by the numerous compliments and praises he had received by all those fans admiring his performance. "I'm sorry, but… congratulations. That was a really impressive fight."
"Thanks," the boy mumbled, flopping his head to his chest. "I'm so tired…"
Cloud nudged the teenager with his arm, nearly knocking him over. "So where have you been lately?" he asked, after a graceful moment of silence on the other's behalf. The question made Sora pout, his whole face showing lament.
"Dealing with Riku," the young brunette answered, sighing raggedly. "And… stuff with my friend Kairi…" He shook his head and went on, "it's bad. Kairi has no heart, and Riku…" Sora drew his eyebrows together, deep in thought. "Riku's been acting really different… like he hates me." He looked up at Cloud, blue eyes threatening tears. "I don't want him to hate me, Cloud…"
"Sora… even after all he's done, and all he will do… how can you still consider Riku your Light?"
[…hypocrite.]
The boy's brow furrowed as he stuck out his lower lip into some semblance of a pout. "What do you mean?"
Cloud licked his lower lip and leaned forward on his elbows. After a moment's thought, he frowned and shook his head. "Why do you consider him your Light, exactly? Do you… love him?"
[You just seem so naïve and innocent…]
"I… I think I… really… do," Sora said, eyebrows furrowed. "But… he's my friend, you know? I… love him…," he glanced towards Cloud, grinning crookedly, "like that… I think… but… also like a brother, too, ya know?"
[How do you know, you're just a kid…] Cloud frowned a bit. […but then again… I was his age, too… when I fell in love with…]
"I guess."
"…but, Kairi…"
The blonde tilted his head, studying the young boy's face as Sora clammed up. To Cloud, Sora was so innocent… it was strange to think of him even considering something like love…
Even so, Cloud ruffled Sora's brown hair and smiled lightly. He tilted his head to the side, mouth screwed up, thinking. A gloved hand reached into his pocket. […I don't really need this…]
"Hey, Sora." The blue-eyed boy looked up at the man, grinning.
"Huh?"
Cloud took the boy's hand and dropped the little chocobo keychain Aerith had given him earlier into it. Sora's eyes went wide, sparkling with childish joy, mouth dropping open. "Take it."
"Are you… sure?" he asked, voice hushed, to which the blonde nodded. "This should be pretty good… a little chocobo." Cloud furrowed his brow as he watched the younger one conjure up his Keyblade.
"What are you doing?"
Sora smiled impossibly wide, removing a keychain with the shape of a jack-o-lantern from the hilt of the Keyblade. Cloud watched with wide eyes as its shape slowly morphed back into what he assumed to be its original form.
"See, keychains are special," the teenager explained, gesturing with his hands as he did so. "When you put them on this little loop,—" he pointed to said loop "—it takes on the properties of that keychain. I never got one as a present, though, 'cept from Herc…"
"So you're going to see if that one works that way?" The brown-haired boy grinned.
"Yep!"
The tip of Sora's tongue settled itself on his upper lip as he carefully attached the keychain to the Keyblade's hilt. To Cloud's surprise, the Keyblade morphed yet again, into a very blocky but powerful-looking key in the same the color as the metal chocobo, fitted with a large, golden handle. Sora's eyes were alight as he grinned, tentatively swinging the newest Keyblade incarnation.
"Whoa!"
Cloud stared at the key. "Now that's pretty impressive…"
The spiky-haired boy wrinkled his nose. "Yeah, it is pretty powerful, but," he pouted, "my magic ability seems a little weaker…" Seconds later he shrugged, perking up again. "But I like it a lot! Thanks, Cloud!"
[You should be thanking Aerith… what a bastard I am…] "You're welcome, kid." He smiled, adding, "I'm glad you like it."
"Are you done jabbering or what?!" Donald asked vehemently, waddling from the holding pen. "We got work to do!!"
Sora gave the blonde man a sad smile before looking at his duck companion. "Yeah, yeah." Sora craned his neck, looking behind Donald with a frown. "Hey… where's Goofy?"
"He's still talking to Hercules about that dang shield," the duck replied sullenly. "Stupid Goofy."
The brown-haired boy pouted, crossing his arms. "Don't talk about him like that. We're all friends, right?"
"Ah, phooey," Donald replied with an added gesture that Cloud thought, if the duck had the correct number of fingers, would've been the equivalent of flipping the boy off. Irately the duck waddled past them both, apparently heading for the Gummi boarding dock. "Yeah, yeah, I'm getting outta here," he muttered, duck-ily. "I'll be in the ship, so hurry up!!"
"…someone's awfully happy today," Cloud muttered sarcastically as the duck left. He looked up at Sora, pout still on the teen's face. "Has he been like that a lot lately?" The boy nodded.
"I don't know why! All he's been doing is yelling!"
"H'yuck! Buh-bye, Herc!" Goofy shouted, trotting towards Sora, upper half twisted behind him comically as he waved. "Uh, hiya, So-ra!"
The boy waved half-heartedly and smiled a bit. "Hey, Goof."
Goofy bit his lip, his large eyes scanning the courtyard. His ears flopped around his face as he asked, "uhh… where's Donald?" Sora jerked a thumb in the direction of the dock, making a face.
"Waiting."
"…uh oh." Sora nodded and turned to Cloud.
"We gotta go or else Donald's gonna fling fireballs at us again," the boy said, pouting. He stepped forward, giving Cloud a quick hug. "But I'll see you later, Cloud. Get better!"
Goofy flashed a grin and waved bonelessly. "Buh-bye, Cloud! It sure was good ta see ya again!"
The blonde nodded and waved weakly. "Bye you two."
Goofy and Sora both trotted leisurely towards their Gummi ship, Sora chattering excitedly about the 'Metal Chocobo', as he dubbed his new Keyblade, and the dog about his new shield. With one final wave, they stepped into their loudly-colored vessel and out of sight.
[I wonder if they can defeat both me and Leon together…]
Cloud frowned when he read part of the tentative roster for the next tournament, posted up on a far wall. It was the Hades Cup. Cloud had a sickening feeling that Hades was indefinitely participating in the competition, and the blonde was not looking forward to seeing him again.
Not really surprised, he noted that Yuffie's name was also on the list, and Cloud presumed she had signed up the last time she and Leon were at the Coliseum, during the Pegasus trials, as the billboard said.
[Me, fighting side-by-side with that sexy… well, speak of the devil.]
"Hey, Leon."
The older man nodded as he walked out of Phil's office, holding two official entry tickets for the Hades Cup. He handed one to Cloud and sat down on the steps next to him with a sigh, elbows resting on his thighs, hands clasped together in the middle and hanging between his knees.
In short, the scarred one seemed quite unhappy.
An elbow popped out, shoving the older man in the side. "What's wrong?"
"I was thinking about earlier." Cloud blinked.
[…no bath?] "Yeah?"
Leon nodded and swallowed a lump in his throat. "Can… can we talk about this at the bathhouse?" Cloud blinked again.
[Oh, fuck, he was serious…?!]
"You wanted to take one, right?" the brunette asked, no ill intentions in his face.
[I'll be… naked? And… wet…? …Cloud's bath time with Leon… Talking in said bath with sexy, sexy Leon… with you-make-me-painfully-horny Leon… oh-how-badly-I-want-you Le—]
"Cloud!" Cloud blinked and looked up at the brunette. Leon was staring down at him, hands on his hips, looking more than slightly annoyed. "…start paying attention. I hate repeating myself."
"Um…what…?"
The other man sighed, tossing his hands into the air. "I said, 'I'm going to go back to the inn and get our things so we can take a bath and leave', okay?"
[…we? You're really… he's…] "Um… yeah."
"I'll be back soon."
The blonde nodded and blinked, staring as Leon jogged back to the inn.
[Oh gods oh gods oh gods oh gods…]
He took a deep breath as he felt his face burn a fiery red, thoughts of bathing with the brown-haired object of his current lust running rampant through his head, making his body all too prepared for it.
[…oh, gods…] Cloud winced and crossed his legs. […awkward…]
He dropped his head back and sighed, both anxious and anticipating the impending bath.
[Or impending doom…]
Cloud's thoughts were on overdrive, both fear and rejection swirling around in his head, as well as the possibility of a very fulfilling bathroom romp tumbling into the mix.
[Cloud, he saidhe was straight…]
"You ready?" Leon asked, back sooner than Cloud hoped he would be, and holding two duffel bags by his sides.
[…you have no idea…] The blonde groaned, wishing he didn't have to stand up at that moment. He looked at his lap slyly and shook his head.
[Don't you make me do anything stupid…]
----------------------
A/N: Revised 7/09/04. 1000 words added…
Fight… bath…
Many thanks goes to The Ansem Report ) for the script copies of the reports I-X, and for the translations of Ansem's Reports XI-XIII from Final Mix. Great site, great theories. Go!