Chapter 42
"Ah...Cervantus... What brings you to my humble realm?"
"It concerns Sifan Leonhart, Hyne..."
"Aeris has talked to you about it, hasn't she?"
"....................."
"You have to understand something Cervantus... Aeris was once human.... She cannot understand things that we, the higher Gods, can..."
"It's not a matter of understanding, Hyne...It's a matter of faith..."
"You're a fool, Cervantus... You've changed a lot ever since you fell in love with Aeris..."
"....................."
"Isn't that a shame, Cervantus? A higher God like you, to be overcome by an human emotion like love...?"
"....................."
"And to fall in love with a lower Goddess like Aeris..."
"Just because she was once human...doesn't mean she's a lower Goddess, Hyne..."
"I still see Aeris more of a human than a Goddess, Cervantus... Perhaps that's what you adore about her?"
"......................."
"So tell me... What about the young Leonhart...?"
"The God of Death wants him..."
"And you...of course, Cervantus... have to choose the time you grant his wish...."
"Yes...however, Aeris believes he is the one that shall slay the one winged Angel..."
"The one winged angel is a higher God like you and me, Cervantus..."
"I know..."
"Like I've said before, Cervantus... you're foolish to EVEN THINK a human can slay him..."
"Cloud annihilated him, Hyne... don't you remember...?"
"True... but Cervantus, don't you see...? by comparing Cloud and Sifan... you're comparing a mountain and a grain of sand..."
"I am aware, Hyne...but still... Aeris believes there is hope in him..."
"You're letting your love for Aeris affect your insight, Cervantus..."
"Perhaps so... but he IS Squall Leonhart's son..."
"You bestowed the Lionheart on Squall, didn't you...?"
"Yes...."
"Even AFTER I told you to hand him over to Death when he was killed in that sorceress assassination attempt..."
"Yes..."
"I believe you TRUSTED him enough to spare his life AND at the same time, bestow the Lionheart on him..."
"True, Hyne...what are you trying to tell me...?"
"Do you have the SAME trust in the Lion's son, Cervantus?"
"......................"
"I am afraid you don't..."
"You're right...I don't have faith OR trust in him... but Aeris does..."
"You're going to take a decision based on her emotions, Cervantus?"
"Yes..."
"Do you realize the risk you're taking, Cervantus? You are interrupting the flow of things..."
"........................"
"When a human dies, his soul immediately flows to the realm of the God of Death.... That is the way of things..."
"........................"
"You have the right to change the time it all happens, Cervantus...BUT...don't you have foresight? If your decision to let Sifan live proves fruitless... you will infuriate all the higher Gods..."
"Yes... and I am aware of the penalty the higher Gods will impose, should I fail... "
"Yes... that fool, Yu Yevon misrepresented a God to try and rule Spira forever...he enraged the higher Gods and the price he had to pay was DEATH..."
"........................"
"Imagine that, Cervantus... a GOD falling to DEATH? A question mark on your IMMORTALITY?"
"........................"
"You will risk all just to make Aeris happy, Cervantus?"
"...Yes..."
"If Sifan Leonhart does not slay the one winged angel... Cervantus, you will DIE! If the God of time dies, Time compression shall begin in ALL DIMENSIONS! Think of the gamble, Cervantus...!"
"........................"
"Is Aeris worth ALL THAT?"
"Yes...."
"You're a fool... a big fool..."
"Everything you say maybe sensible Hyne, but I have faith in Aeris and if she believes in the young Leonhart, I choose to stand by her..."
"I have no more words of guidance for you Cervantus, you're beyond salvation... Fine...so be it... Let Sifan Leonhart live if that is your wish but I have counseled you...."
"Thank you, Hyne for your advice, Hyne but I am afraid I'll have to go against it... but thank you, nevertheless..."
"Don't thank me Cervantus, because it won't be long before the one winged Angel obliterates Aeris' little child...and it shall not be long before you are thrown out of existence either... "
"We'll see about that, Hyne..."
"Farewell, Cervantus...I have no time to spare for imprudent Gods like you..."
*********************
Sifan gradually opened his eyes. He stared at the wooden ceiling for some time before turning his head a little and looking to his side. Near the table on which he was lying, Phillona was asleep on a chair, her head resting on Sifan's uninjured shoulder. Sifan saw the tears still clinging to her eyelashes as the chirps of early birds sounded outside. Across the room, Trex was fast asleep on another chair with his mouth wide open.
Deciding not to disturb Phillona, he lifted himself slowly, carefully slipping his shoulder from under Phillona's cheek. He placed her head down slowly on the headrest he had been using and walked to the door. As he walked out into the cold morning air, Sifan felt his injured shoulder with his arm. It was still as numb as it was when he had woken up. He pulled down the collar of his gray T-shirt to see how bad the damage was. A dry, thick scar was the only thing that was present. He hugged himself as he walked across the snow-topped huts in the direction of the inn.
His wound didn't hurt anymore... but inside his mind, a pandemonium of painful and raging emotions began to rise...
[Avatar...]
The images of the previous night flashed across him mind. He recalled the way Avatar had stared at him with eyes of rage and hatred.
Sifan's jaws hardened, and his eyes became rigid pools of angst. His mind quivered from the recollection of the incident, sending a shiver down his entire body.
[No... Even if he WAS Ultimecia's son, we still grew up together... Eight years, we shared everything... we shared the same parents... Squall Leonhart was the father of BOTH Sifan Leonhart and Avatar Fenis... The whole WORLD knew Avatar as a Leonhart...Not as someone adopted by the Leonhart family...]
The highlights of his life with Avatar took a dive into Sifan Leonhart's mind as he absent-mindedly crossed the inn towards the town's exit.
~*~*~*~
In the early childhood days of Sifan and Avatar, Squall and Rinoa always took them to the flower fields at least once a month.
However, neither Sifan nor Avatar considered watching the exquisiteness of the flowers. They spent their time in worm-digging competitions and beetle killing contests. Sifan usually won but Avatar always took advantage of the fact that Sifan was bad at math.
So he told Sifan, 'Remember, er...that I told you five worms equals one dead beetle, buddy? See, I have 10 worms and 2 dead beetles here and you have just 7 dead beetles and 2 worms here... so you lost, too bad...'
Sifan thus always ended up losing the flower field competitions.
And then came the trips to Obel Lake...
Sifan loved fish when he was a small boy and Avatar knew this only too well. One day, he managed to fool Sifan into believing that the small tadpoles in Obel Lake were actually fish. So, on one of their trips to the lake, they hid small teacups into their bags.
While Rinoa and Squall were spending time with each other, the two of them had sneaked away to the lake. There, they spent the whole afternoon catching tadpoles by running their teacups along the water. Sifan asked Avatar why the 'fishes' were so easy to catch to which he replied that they were 'lazy' like Sifan.
Their expedition remained unknown to Squall and his wife till that evening when Avatar cooked the Tadpoles using the oven. He served them to a famished Sifan. He had gobbled them all up avariciously.
A year later, an encyclopedia enlightened his knowledge that the 'fish' he had eaten actually were the small ones of those big ugly frogs Sifan loathed. The same encyclopedia served as a weapon for Sifan that very day. Avatar's head had a nasty little bump that evening.
Before that of course, was the Angelo-riding competition.
Avatar had found a saddle from somewhere and Sifan was curious as to what people did with saddles. At once, Avatar demonstrated by placing the saddle on a wooden toy horse and riding it as if it were a bucking bronco.
Sifan wanted to try but Avatar said Sifan was too much of a wuss for horses. Avatar said in order to qualify for horses, Sifan needed to ride dogs first. Unfortunately, Angelo had given birth to puppies and neither did Avatar nor Sifan know how vicious newly mothered dogs could be. Mr. Fearless, as Sifan called himself, took the saddle and placed it on the usually calm Angelo. Angelo didn't suspect anything but the moment it felt someone climbing on it's back, he had turned around and almost bit Sifan's hand off.
Fortunately, Sifan's reflexes saved him and he bolted out of the room. For the next six months, Sifan stayed away from anything that looked like a dog.
They eventually grew up, and soon they were cadets at balamb garden. That's where Avatar made Irvine Kinneas his mentor, trying to hit a home run on every girl he met. Sifan after having eaten tadpoles, having undergone the Angelo experience didn't trust Avatar enough to do all the things he did with girls.
Of course, the girls in Garden usually flirted with Avatar almost as much as he flirted with them. Sifan of course, stayed clear from any of it. But Avatar never gave up, he always had some girl or another come up and talk to Sifan. The girls didn't hesitate either. Squall Leonhart's son... of course, was 'WORTH DYING FOR' as far as they were concerned.
The garden festivals were something Sifan LOATHED. Mainly because Avatar always forced him into a position he couldn't escape. Sifan never saw the fun in being surrounded by hyperactive females with a taste for interior decoration.
One by one, the flashbacks of him and Avatar haunted him...
Memories, moments, reminiscences, recollections...
He felt like exploding...
~*~*~*~
Reality suddenly dawned on Sifan Leonhart when a loud wind raced through his ear. He sighed when he saw where he had arrived. He had walked all the way outside the town's exit and almost halfway up the snowy hill. He heaved loudly and spun around. What he saw didn't make matters any better. In front of him, towering over 100 feet tall stood a giant troll with a humungous club in his hand.
The club came heaving through the air directly at his head. Sifan rolled backwards as the club smashed into the snow in front of him, sending chunks of small ice grains flying into the air. He panted heavily and whisked out his gunblade. His shoulder was still irrationally painless. He took another step back as the troll advanced towards him with huge steps. He almost fell back when his foot stumbled on something. He checked to see what he had stumbled against. It was a body. The body of the soldier Avatar had taken to the grave the previous night. The same night where he was backstabbed by the only person he had trusted, loved and cared for.
[How did I suddenly become...someone so meaningless to him...?]
Once again, flashes of the incident rummaged his confused mind. Clearly, his mind was NOT in the battle. The Troll's hand swung across the air and connected with right side of Sifan's body, sending him sprawling to the left. He shook his head and watched the Troll raise his club. Once again he rolled and avoided the Troll's club but this time, the troll's club missed him only by inches.
"A bit too early for a walk around here, ain't it?" came a voice from beside him.
Setzin stood a few feet to his side, the monstrosity of a sword on his shoulder as usual. He glared at Sifan with his one eye as the troll surveyed the newcomer.
Sifan didn't reply. He just held his gunblade, the thoughts of Avatar still lingering in his mind. He shook his head and watched the Troll raise his club yet again. It almost seemed as if the Troll was trying to get some sadistic pleasure from flattening its opponents with his club.
But this time, the troll went for Setzin. Setzin quickly stepped to the side, as the club crashed beside him. He immediately countered with a 'blind' spell. With a loud grunt, the troll groped his eyes. Still clenching his eyes, the troll charged forward, swinging his club left and right like a mad maniac.
Sifan and Setzin arced around the giant monster while his club swished about the air over their heads. Soon enough, the troll was aimlessly swinging his club around, oblivious to the fact that its opponents were behind him.
"Summon, kid..." Setzin said, planting his sword into the snow and lighting a cigar.
Bahamut appeared and swooped down through the cold air. He was about to do one of his loud landings when he noticed that his opponent was pointlessly waving his club about the air, evidently under a blind spell. The Dragon king quietly landed on the ground behind the Troll and charged his body with extreme energy.
Finally, the blind spell wore off from the Troll. On hearing a loud roar, the troll immediately spun around, grateful he could see again. But the gratefulness quickly disappeared when he saw Bahamut releasing his mega flare.
After watching the Troll getting baked alive, Sifan and Setzin quietly made their way back towards the town.
"Setzin..." Sifan mumbled suddenly.
"Yeah?" Setzin said turning to Sifan, "What is it, kid?"
"Fight me..." Sifan said, swiping out his gunblade, "I need a fight... badly..."
"You wouldn't stand a chance, kid..." Setzin muttered, crushing his cigar under his foot, "forget it..."
"Afraid of losing...?" Sifan said, glaring at the man who had saved his life for the second time.
Setzin laughed, "And I am supposed to be provoked by that, kid?"
Sifan looked at the ground, "I just want to get something out of my mind... a fight could do wonders..."
Setzin looked away, "I don't have the time to sit around and serve as your emotional outlet, kid..."
Sifan lifted his gunblade to Setzin, "Coward..."
"Very well..." Setzin said, and readied himself for the battle, "Just don't piss me off by losing..."
************************
Relafen Almasy walked across the small huts populating the Gondola village. He whipped out a small photo of the container his airship had dropped during the race. He walked around the village showing the photo to everyone in his way and asking them whether they recognized it. After an hour of exasperating searching, he finally turned to the village exit to leave.
But before he took a step, he felt someone place a hand on him, "Looking for something?"
He turned around to face the person who had touched him. Relafen Almasy fell down with surprise.
"I-It can't be!" Relafen whined.
"What can't be...?" the stranger replied.
"I've read all about you in S-Shin-Ra's database..." Relafen cried, "Y-You...a-are..."
"...Sephiroth..." the silver-haired man completed, a gentle smile on his face.
*************************
------------------------------ -----------------------------
Note from the author: nothing to say.... Please review...
**Sighs watching the computer** "That's the third FF fan site that's turned my fic down...."
"Ah...Cervantus... What brings you to my humble realm?"
"It concerns Sifan Leonhart, Hyne..."
"Aeris has talked to you about it, hasn't she?"
"....................."
"You have to understand something Cervantus... Aeris was once human.... She cannot understand things that we, the higher Gods, can..."
"It's not a matter of understanding, Hyne...It's a matter of faith..."
"You're a fool, Cervantus... You've changed a lot ever since you fell in love with Aeris..."
"....................."
"Isn't that a shame, Cervantus? A higher God like you, to be overcome by an human emotion like love...?"
"....................."
"And to fall in love with a lower Goddess like Aeris..."
"Just because she was once human...doesn't mean she's a lower Goddess, Hyne..."
"I still see Aeris more of a human than a Goddess, Cervantus... Perhaps that's what you adore about her?"
"......................."
"So tell me... What about the young Leonhart...?"
"The God of Death wants him..."
"And you...of course, Cervantus... have to choose the time you grant his wish...."
"Yes...however, Aeris believes he is the one that shall slay the one winged Angel..."
"The one winged angel is a higher God like you and me, Cervantus..."
"I know..."
"Like I've said before, Cervantus... you're foolish to EVEN THINK a human can slay him..."
"Cloud annihilated him, Hyne... don't you remember...?"
"True... but Cervantus, don't you see...? by comparing Cloud and Sifan... you're comparing a mountain and a grain of sand..."
"I am aware, Hyne...but still... Aeris believes there is hope in him..."
"You're letting your love for Aeris affect your insight, Cervantus..."
"Perhaps so... but he IS Squall Leonhart's son..."
"You bestowed the Lionheart on Squall, didn't you...?"
"Yes...."
"Even AFTER I told you to hand him over to Death when he was killed in that sorceress assassination attempt..."
"Yes..."
"I believe you TRUSTED him enough to spare his life AND at the same time, bestow the Lionheart on him..."
"True, Hyne...what are you trying to tell me...?"
"Do you have the SAME trust in the Lion's son, Cervantus?"
"......................"
"I am afraid you don't..."
"You're right...I don't have faith OR trust in him... but Aeris does..."
"You're going to take a decision based on her emotions, Cervantus?"
"Yes..."
"Do you realize the risk you're taking, Cervantus? You are interrupting the flow of things..."
"........................"
"When a human dies, his soul immediately flows to the realm of the God of Death.... That is the way of things..."
"........................"
"You have the right to change the time it all happens, Cervantus...BUT...don't you have foresight? If your decision to let Sifan live proves fruitless... you will infuriate all the higher Gods..."
"Yes... and I am aware of the penalty the higher Gods will impose, should I fail... "
"Yes... that fool, Yu Yevon misrepresented a God to try and rule Spira forever...he enraged the higher Gods and the price he had to pay was DEATH..."
"........................"
"Imagine that, Cervantus... a GOD falling to DEATH? A question mark on your IMMORTALITY?"
"........................"
"You will risk all just to make Aeris happy, Cervantus?"
"...Yes..."
"If Sifan Leonhart does not slay the one winged angel... Cervantus, you will DIE! If the God of time dies, Time compression shall begin in ALL DIMENSIONS! Think of the gamble, Cervantus...!"
"........................"
"Is Aeris worth ALL THAT?"
"Yes...."
"You're a fool... a big fool..."
"Everything you say maybe sensible Hyne, but I have faith in Aeris and if she believes in the young Leonhart, I choose to stand by her..."
"I have no more words of guidance for you Cervantus, you're beyond salvation... Fine...so be it... Let Sifan Leonhart live if that is your wish but I have counseled you...."
"Thank you, Hyne for your advice, Hyne but I am afraid I'll have to go against it... but thank you, nevertheless..."
"Don't thank me Cervantus, because it won't be long before the one winged Angel obliterates Aeris' little child...and it shall not be long before you are thrown out of existence either... "
"We'll see about that, Hyne..."
"Farewell, Cervantus...I have no time to spare for imprudent Gods like you..."
*********************
Sifan gradually opened his eyes. He stared at the wooden ceiling for some time before turning his head a little and looking to his side. Near the table on which he was lying, Phillona was asleep on a chair, her head resting on Sifan's uninjured shoulder. Sifan saw the tears still clinging to her eyelashes as the chirps of early birds sounded outside. Across the room, Trex was fast asleep on another chair with his mouth wide open.
Deciding not to disturb Phillona, he lifted himself slowly, carefully slipping his shoulder from under Phillona's cheek. He placed her head down slowly on the headrest he had been using and walked to the door. As he walked out into the cold morning air, Sifan felt his injured shoulder with his arm. It was still as numb as it was when he had woken up. He pulled down the collar of his gray T-shirt to see how bad the damage was. A dry, thick scar was the only thing that was present. He hugged himself as he walked across the snow-topped huts in the direction of the inn.
His wound didn't hurt anymore... but inside his mind, a pandemonium of painful and raging emotions began to rise...
[Avatar...]
The images of the previous night flashed across him mind. He recalled the way Avatar had stared at him with eyes of rage and hatred.
Sifan's jaws hardened, and his eyes became rigid pools of angst. His mind quivered from the recollection of the incident, sending a shiver down his entire body.
[No... Even if he WAS Ultimecia's son, we still grew up together... Eight years, we shared everything... we shared the same parents... Squall Leonhart was the father of BOTH Sifan Leonhart and Avatar Fenis... The whole WORLD knew Avatar as a Leonhart...Not as someone adopted by the Leonhart family...]
The highlights of his life with Avatar took a dive into Sifan Leonhart's mind as he absent-mindedly crossed the inn towards the town's exit.
~*~*~*~
In the early childhood days of Sifan and Avatar, Squall and Rinoa always took them to the flower fields at least once a month.
However, neither Sifan nor Avatar considered watching the exquisiteness of the flowers. They spent their time in worm-digging competitions and beetle killing contests. Sifan usually won but Avatar always took advantage of the fact that Sifan was bad at math.
So he told Sifan, 'Remember, er...that I told you five worms equals one dead beetle, buddy? See, I have 10 worms and 2 dead beetles here and you have just 7 dead beetles and 2 worms here... so you lost, too bad...'
Sifan thus always ended up losing the flower field competitions.
And then came the trips to Obel Lake...
Sifan loved fish when he was a small boy and Avatar knew this only too well. One day, he managed to fool Sifan into believing that the small tadpoles in Obel Lake were actually fish. So, on one of their trips to the lake, they hid small teacups into their bags.
While Rinoa and Squall were spending time with each other, the two of them had sneaked away to the lake. There, they spent the whole afternoon catching tadpoles by running their teacups along the water. Sifan asked Avatar why the 'fishes' were so easy to catch to which he replied that they were 'lazy' like Sifan.
Their expedition remained unknown to Squall and his wife till that evening when Avatar cooked the Tadpoles using the oven. He served them to a famished Sifan. He had gobbled them all up avariciously.
A year later, an encyclopedia enlightened his knowledge that the 'fish' he had eaten actually were the small ones of those big ugly frogs Sifan loathed. The same encyclopedia served as a weapon for Sifan that very day. Avatar's head had a nasty little bump that evening.
Before that of course, was the Angelo-riding competition.
Avatar had found a saddle from somewhere and Sifan was curious as to what people did with saddles. At once, Avatar demonstrated by placing the saddle on a wooden toy horse and riding it as if it were a bucking bronco.
Sifan wanted to try but Avatar said Sifan was too much of a wuss for horses. Avatar said in order to qualify for horses, Sifan needed to ride dogs first. Unfortunately, Angelo had given birth to puppies and neither did Avatar nor Sifan know how vicious newly mothered dogs could be. Mr. Fearless, as Sifan called himself, took the saddle and placed it on the usually calm Angelo. Angelo didn't suspect anything but the moment it felt someone climbing on it's back, he had turned around and almost bit Sifan's hand off.
Fortunately, Sifan's reflexes saved him and he bolted out of the room. For the next six months, Sifan stayed away from anything that looked like a dog.
They eventually grew up, and soon they were cadets at balamb garden. That's where Avatar made Irvine Kinneas his mentor, trying to hit a home run on every girl he met. Sifan after having eaten tadpoles, having undergone the Angelo experience didn't trust Avatar enough to do all the things he did with girls.
Of course, the girls in Garden usually flirted with Avatar almost as much as he flirted with them. Sifan of course, stayed clear from any of it. But Avatar never gave up, he always had some girl or another come up and talk to Sifan. The girls didn't hesitate either. Squall Leonhart's son... of course, was 'WORTH DYING FOR' as far as they were concerned.
The garden festivals were something Sifan LOATHED. Mainly because Avatar always forced him into a position he couldn't escape. Sifan never saw the fun in being surrounded by hyperactive females with a taste for interior decoration.
One by one, the flashbacks of him and Avatar haunted him...
Memories, moments, reminiscences, recollections...
He felt like exploding...
~*~*~*~
Reality suddenly dawned on Sifan Leonhart when a loud wind raced through his ear. He sighed when he saw where he had arrived. He had walked all the way outside the town's exit and almost halfway up the snowy hill. He heaved loudly and spun around. What he saw didn't make matters any better. In front of him, towering over 100 feet tall stood a giant troll with a humungous club in his hand.
The club came heaving through the air directly at his head. Sifan rolled backwards as the club smashed into the snow in front of him, sending chunks of small ice grains flying into the air. He panted heavily and whisked out his gunblade. His shoulder was still irrationally painless. He took another step back as the troll advanced towards him with huge steps. He almost fell back when his foot stumbled on something. He checked to see what he had stumbled against. It was a body. The body of the soldier Avatar had taken to the grave the previous night. The same night where he was backstabbed by the only person he had trusted, loved and cared for.
[How did I suddenly become...someone so meaningless to him...?]
Once again, flashes of the incident rummaged his confused mind. Clearly, his mind was NOT in the battle. The Troll's hand swung across the air and connected with right side of Sifan's body, sending him sprawling to the left. He shook his head and watched the Troll raise his club. Once again he rolled and avoided the Troll's club but this time, the troll's club missed him only by inches.
"A bit too early for a walk around here, ain't it?" came a voice from beside him.
Setzin stood a few feet to his side, the monstrosity of a sword on his shoulder as usual. He glared at Sifan with his one eye as the troll surveyed the newcomer.
Sifan didn't reply. He just held his gunblade, the thoughts of Avatar still lingering in his mind. He shook his head and watched the Troll raise his club yet again. It almost seemed as if the Troll was trying to get some sadistic pleasure from flattening its opponents with his club.
But this time, the troll went for Setzin. Setzin quickly stepped to the side, as the club crashed beside him. He immediately countered with a 'blind' spell. With a loud grunt, the troll groped his eyes. Still clenching his eyes, the troll charged forward, swinging his club left and right like a mad maniac.
Sifan and Setzin arced around the giant monster while his club swished about the air over their heads. Soon enough, the troll was aimlessly swinging his club around, oblivious to the fact that its opponents were behind him.
"Summon, kid..." Setzin said, planting his sword into the snow and lighting a cigar.
Bahamut appeared and swooped down through the cold air. He was about to do one of his loud landings when he noticed that his opponent was pointlessly waving his club about the air, evidently under a blind spell. The Dragon king quietly landed on the ground behind the Troll and charged his body with extreme energy.
Finally, the blind spell wore off from the Troll. On hearing a loud roar, the troll immediately spun around, grateful he could see again. But the gratefulness quickly disappeared when he saw Bahamut releasing his mega flare.
After watching the Troll getting baked alive, Sifan and Setzin quietly made their way back towards the town.
"Setzin..." Sifan mumbled suddenly.
"Yeah?" Setzin said turning to Sifan, "What is it, kid?"
"Fight me..." Sifan said, swiping out his gunblade, "I need a fight... badly..."
"You wouldn't stand a chance, kid..." Setzin muttered, crushing his cigar under his foot, "forget it..."
"Afraid of losing...?" Sifan said, glaring at the man who had saved his life for the second time.
Setzin laughed, "And I am supposed to be provoked by that, kid?"
Sifan looked at the ground, "I just want to get something out of my mind... a fight could do wonders..."
Setzin looked away, "I don't have the time to sit around and serve as your emotional outlet, kid..."
Sifan lifted his gunblade to Setzin, "Coward..."
"Very well..." Setzin said, and readied himself for the battle, "Just don't piss me off by losing..."
************************
Relafen Almasy walked across the small huts populating the Gondola village. He whipped out a small photo of the container his airship had dropped during the race. He walked around the village showing the photo to everyone in his way and asking them whether they recognized it. After an hour of exasperating searching, he finally turned to the village exit to leave.
But before he took a step, he felt someone place a hand on him, "Looking for something?"
He turned around to face the person who had touched him. Relafen Almasy fell down with surprise.
"I-It can't be!" Relafen whined.
"What can't be...?" the stranger replied.
"I've read all about you in S-Shin-Ra's database..." Relafen cried, "Y-You...a-are..."
"...Sephiroth..." the silver-haired man completed, a gentle smile on his face.
*************************
------------------------------ -----------------------------
Note from the author: nothing to say.... Please review...
**Sighs watching the computer** "That's the third FF fan site that's turned my fic down...."