Malice- Look she feels a bit sorry for you.
Sephiroth- Yes, everyone should. I deserve it. I'm good at acting all guilty and sad aren't I?"
Malice- (Laughs)
Z.A.G- (Struggles in the chair he's tied to.) BMMURDS! (Tries yelling through the duck tape across his mouth.)
Malice- (Shrugs) Hey I didn't have anything to do with it. Sephiroth merely kicked your ass and tied you to the chair (Looks back at Sephiroth) You said you were going to kill him last time.
Sephiroth- (Glares at Z.A.G.) He still owes me money.
Disclaimer- (Malice walks out onto the screen) Ahem.. Well the author is a little tied up at the moment, no literally heh heh heh. So I've come to tell you all that he doesn't own Final Fantasy 7, he's poor, he can't afford to buy anything. He does own me though and a few other things and might I add that I kick ass in this story. (Walks off the screen laughing)
(Malice quickly runs back onto the screen) Oh I was suppose to say this a while back. It's a message from Z.A.G. (Unfolds sheet of paper) Ahem, it reads, Howdy y'all (Rolls eyes) Well since you guys have been so great to me and this story I've decided to throw a big surprise for y'all at the end of this chapter. Of coarse it may just piss you off for what I'm doing in the next chapter heh heh heh. Well anyways, consider this a thanks for all your generous reviews and for sticking with the fic this far. (Crumbles up the piece of paper. Malice walks away shaking his head) God I hat this chapter.
Chapter 53- The Wait Was Worth It
Sephiroth is right, he can feel himself become stronger with this small transformation. He can feel the power running through his veins, traveling its way throughout his body. Cloud smirks, he didn't know it would feel so good to have this sort of power. It makes him feel almost invincible. The mystical wing on his back flaps once, tossing a few soft feathers into the air. Now he just has to learn how to use this new power.
Yuffie remains speechless as she stares at the wing sprouting from Cloud's back. She doesn't know what to say much less think. Too many questions about the wing are passing through her head, too many for her to pick out one and voice it out. Despite all the different questions raising through her head, one question stuck out the most, 'I wonder if it's as soft as it looks?'
Malice stood in his spot in confusion, his head tilted ever so slightly to the side as he stares at the wing. This is something he wasn't expecting. Perhaps it will make the battle more challenging, perhaps it's just used to try and intimidate people. Too bad Malice can't be intimidated. Well whatever the wing's use is, he'll find out soon enough. Spinning the nightstick in his hands, Malice gets down in a defensive stance to show that he's ready. Yes for the first time Malice doesn't just stand there uncaringly. The turn of events is too strange for the man to take any chances.
Cloud spreads out his feet on the ground bracing himself for what he's about to try. Despite the fact Malice won the last round, Cloud is enjoying himself. With the amount of energy coursing through his body, he can attempt something he always wanted to try. A grin spreads across Cloud's face as he draws the Ultimate Weapon back. Yuffie watches in fascination. Malice stands as still as a statue, waiting for Cloud to attack.
Cloud concentrates on his energy, a fiery orange light begins to surround his body. Something snaps in Cloud's mind signaling to him that everything is ready. "BLADE BEAM!" With one quick swing of his massive sword, Cloud launches a blade beam at Malice. Malice wastes no time in getting out of the way. Cloud swing his still glowing sword again and launches another blade beam at Malice. Malice quickly jumps over it. Cloud lets out a war cry as he continues to swing his sword, launching blade beam after blade beam at Malice. The blade beams soar through the air at Malice with amazing speed, yet the man is able to dodge each one.
In his fury, Cloud leaps forward, charging towards Malice, seemingly gliding across the ground since his feet are an inch off the ground. Malice brings his nightstick up to block the blow that he knows is coming. Instead of attempting to attack Malice with the Ultimate Weapon, at the last instant, Cloud jumps in the air, "BLADE BEAM!" He swings his sword underneath his feet, sending a single blade beam straight down towards Malice.
Malice is too close to dodge the attack completely. He attempts to jump to the side out of the beam's path. The beam flies down right by Malice's ear and crashes into the top of his arm. The blade beam cuts through, cutting Malice's arm off.
Cloud drops to the ground and shoulder's his weapon as he smirks at the now one armed Malice. His eyes glance to the arm that's cut off and to Malice's shoulder, where the blade beam cut through. Malice's flesh glows a bright blue color as his strange blood gushes out of his shoulder. Malice calmly walks over to his fallen arm and picks it up. Bringing the arm up to his shoulder his arm reconnects itself.
Cloud's jaw drops in surprise, "What the hell?"
"I told you this guy isn't human!" Yuffie finally manages to speak again. "I said I sliced his arm off before only to have him put it back on."
Cloud's eyes lower to the ground at Malice's feet where a small pool of his glowing blood is. Cloud's eyes widen in surprise as he recognizes the substance, "That's Mako! Your blood is nothing but Mako!" Cloud exclaims. Cloud scratches his head in thought, "Well if I slice a part off of you, you'll only put it back on." Cloud grins, "Guess I'll just have to cut you into a bunch of piece so you can't put yourself back together."
Malice smirks suddenly from where he stands. Cloud tilts his head slightly to the side in question. Within a blink of an eye Malice moves across the distance between them and strikes Cloud on the side of his head with the nightstick. As Cloud stumbles back, Malice pulls out one of the devices he uses to electrify his opponents and throws it at Cloud. Cloud sees it however and cuts it in half with the Ultimate Weapon.
"Quick thinking Cloud!" Yuffie compliments him from behind.
Cloud's mako blue eyes narrow as he stares down Malice, "Why do you attack us?" Cloud questions, "What is it you want anyway?" Slowly, Malice raises his hand up and points over Cloud's shoulder. Cloud raises an eyebrow, "Yuffie? What do you want with her?"
"....Her life." Malice speaks, his voice sounding inhuman, it sounds like what some sort of demon who can speak English sounds like. It has a reptilian hiss to it.
Yuffie brows raise a bit in surprise, "My life? Why do you want to kill me?"
"It will awaken.... if you continue to live." Malice replies.
Cloud lowers his weapon a bit in his confusion, "What will awaken?"
"That man thinks he'll control it. It will kill him and everything on the planet."
Cloud growls in frustration, "Stop talking in riddles! Who will try and control it! And what is it?"
Malice begins to laugh lightly as he slowly steps back, "Her life is the only one that needs to be sacrificed to prevent it from being awakened. I will come back to kill the girl. You won't always be there to protect her."
"Hey! I'm not done talking to you!" Cloud shouts as he charges towards Malice. Malice throws a smoke bomb, surrounding the area in thick smoke. When it clears Malice is gone. Cloud scowls, "Dammit." He mutters to himself before sheathing the Ultimate Weapon, "I could of gotten him too." Cloud shakes his head dejectedly as he turns around to walk back to Yuffie. "You alright?" Cloud asks concerned, "You look.. pale."
"I think I'm going to throw up." Yuffie says sickly holding a hand over her mouth.
Cloud's eyes widen, he backs away as he holds up his hands, "Whoa.. if you are then don't do it near me."
'Oh GAWD why does my life have to suck so bad?' Yuffie thinks to herself. 'Why do I have to die?' "I don't wanna die!" Yuffie shouts as she collapses onto her knees as fresh tears streak down her cheeks.
"Yuffie.." Cloud kneels down in front of her and wraps his arms around her again. His wing goes behind her and pushes her deeper into his hold. Cloud looks down to the top of her head as she sobs into his shirt again. Cloud gives out a sigh, "Yuffie, you're not going to die. I.. we won't let anyone harm you." He says reassuringly.
"You guys won't always be around to help me." Yuffie says, her voice muffled in Cloud's shirt.
"How about this..." Cloud begins, pushing her back some so he can look into her eyes, "I won't let you out of my sights. I'll never take my eyes off you, that way someone will always be watching your back." Cloud says with a grin.
Yuffie lets out a short laugh, "Promise?"
Cloud smiles, "Of coarse, I'll just have to learn how to fight without looking at what I'm attacking."
Yuffie laughs again. She turns her head to look at Cloud's wing. She reaches out and brushes her fingers across the soft silky feathers, "It's really soft." Yuffie comments, changing the subject.
Cloud laughs, "That's what I said! I had it when I first came out of the Mako Tank." Cloud explains.
Yuffie nods her head while keeping her eyes on the wing as she continues to brush her fingers across it. "So you can make it disappear and reappear whenever you want?" Yuffie asks.
"Yup! Although it hurt like hell when I made it appear." Cloud stands up, "I'll give you a demonstration!" Cloud announces. Yuffie stands back up and watches as the wing on Cloud's back begins to retract back into his body.
"Cool! But where does it go?" Yuffie asks in wonderment.
Cloud blinks, seemingly caught off guard by the question, "Wow.. I have no idea. And you know what? I don't think I want to know." Yuffie laughs at the statement. "Sephiroth has one too." Cloud says, "Except his is on his left."
{}
{}
Sephiroth lets out a deep breath as he continues to meditate. He's sitting on top of a boulder, his legs crossed and his eyes are closed. The Masamune is laying across his lap. Sephiroth finds that the best way to rid himself of a headache is to Meditate, to clear all his thoughts and to focus on nothing more then the flow of time. One thing he wanted to rid himself, is the decision he made for himself a while ago. He made up his mind, once everything is peaceful again, he'll kill himself. He's not suppose to be alive anyway, he's suppose to be dead, buried within the North Crater. Killing himself will be the only thing that will bring him any sort of peace. He can't go on living in a world where everyone fears him. Being alone is not a way to live, he's already lived that way for too long.
The sound of soft footsteps bring Sephiroth out of his thoughts. He opens his eyes to see Rima walking towards him. "What do you want?" Sephiroth questions as she stops in front of him.
Rima crosses her arms and scowls, "I've come... to apologize." She replies. That earns her a raised eyebrow from the cold-hearted swordsman. Rima's brows lower in frustration, she hates choking down her pride and apologizing to others, no matter who they are, "I was wrong to try and kill you for so long when I didn't even know the entire truth."
".....There's no need to apologize to me. Technically it still is my fault. If I hadn't asked Hojo to do a blood test on you then he wouldn't of found out what you are and enhanced the changing process." Sephiroth replies in monotone.
"As true as that may sound. The way I see it is that I would of eventually turned out like this with or without Hojo." Rima counters, "So I had no real reason to try and kill you. For that I apologize."
Sephiroth gives a defeated sigh, it's too late to try and argue with anyone, especially with someone as stubborn as her, "Fine, apology accepted." Sephiroth says closing his eyes. After a moment he opens them back up to see Rima staring at him expectantly. He raises a questioning eyebrow, "Is there something else?" He asks.
"...No there isn't." Rima replies. Staring at him for a moment longer, she turns around and walks away.
Sephiroth shakes his head before taking a deep breath and closing his eyes again. After a moment he opens them back up, "You can come out, I know you're there." Sephiroth calls out.
Behind a dead tree, Vincent steps out, his crimson eyes glowing in the darkness. "Your senses are as sharp as ever I see." Vincent comments.
"I did just spend a week in a Mako shower." Sephiroth points out, "You should know that Mako enhances your senses."
Vincent crosses his arms, not replying. Sephiroth raises an eyebrow, "What is it you want?"
"Do you intend to sleep out here? It's getting late" Vincent questions.
Sephiroth snorts, "I'll be fine, father." Sephiroth replies a bit jokingly, not noticing the faint smile on Vincent's face the comment caused. "Why do you care? Wouldn't you and your friends feel safer without my presence in the room?" Sephiroth says, a smirk playing across his lips.
"You can't expect everyone to trust you so quickly." Vincent says.
Sephiroth uncrosses his legs, letting them hang off the side of the boulder. Sephiroth rolls his eyes, "Tell me something I don't know Valentine."
"Trust is earned not freely given." Vincent replies.
Sephiroth jumps off the boulder, "I knew that also. You seem to underestimate my intelligence." He says as he locks eyes with Vincent.
"You believe Jenova is your real mother." Vincent's brows raise in slight amusement. Sephiroth doesn't reply, he merely crosses his arms waiting for Vincent to finish. Vincent shakes his head in disbelief, "I'm sorry you think that." Vincent says before turning around and walking away.
Sephiroth snorts in annoyance, "What do you know?" Sephiroth says quietly to himself.
Vincent turns around hearing the comment Sephiroth made. Sephiroth looks back at the dark man. Vincent locks his gaze with Sephiroth's again. "You wish to know something that you don't?" Vincent asks through the darkness. Sephiroth doesn't reply. Vincent nods, "I'll tell you anyway, it's something someone once told me. It's a shame you couldn't meet her before her time." Vincent shakes his head before returning his gaze to Sephiroth's, "Your life is an open book, don't close it until it's done." With that said, Vincent walks away.
Sephiroth raises an eyebrow in confusion, "What's that suppose to mean?" Sephiroth asks to himself. He has a sneaking suspicion that Vincent knows what he's planning on doing when everything is over with.
{}
{}
"Finally off that cliff!" Cloud exclaims in relief.
Yuffie laughs a bit, "You big wussy. It isn't that hard to climb down."
Cloud rubs his chin, "Maybe for you since you probably climbed it everyday you're here." Cloud points out.
Yuffie smirks a bit, "As a matter of fact I do. So there!" She sticks her tongue at him and give him a light push.
Cloud raises an eyebrow as an amusing smile crosses his lips, "Playful aren't we?" He asks laughing.
"Eh.." Yuffie shrugs her shoulders and turns around to continue her way back.
Cloud grins as an idea pops into his mind. He begins walking again, slowly catching up to Yuffie. He bites his bottom lip to hold back his laughter as he reaches out to her sides. Yuffie's reaction is priceless. She shrieks, jumping a few feet in the air as the area fills with her laughter. Cloud clutches his stomach to support himself as he laughs at the look on Yuffie's face.
Yuffie grits her teeth in annoyance as Cloud continues to laugh at her. "I.. didn't know you could be tickled! Oh man that was priceless." Cloud says rubbing the tears out of his eyes. Yuffie growls in anger before she pounces at Cloud.
Cloud's eyes widen a bit in surprise when the ninja tackles him. As the fall to the ground, Cloud manages to maneuver them so he has her pinned when they hit the ground. Yuffie let's out an 'oof' as her back hits the ground. She blinks in confusion, 'Well that didn't quite work out.' She thinks to herself.
Cloud grins down from on top of her, holding her hands down at the sides of her head, to prevent her from hitting him. Yuffie's face heats up as she notices the position they're in. 'It didn't work out like I wanted to, but I like this better.' Yuffie quickly thinks to herself.
The grin on Cloud's face drops as he stares down at Yuffie, getting lost in her stormy grey eyes. 'I wonder if she'd kill me if I..' Cloud thinks to himself as he begins to lower his head.
'Oh my GAWD he's not going to do what I thinks he's going to do, is he?' Yuffie asks herself. It seems like everything happens so slow to Yuffie. It feels like an eternity until Yuffie feels Cloud's lips on her own. Her eyes go wide in shock for a moment before she begins to return the kiss. Cloud releases her hands and brings his hands to the sides of her face as he continues to kiss her. Yuffie closes her eyes giving a slight moan as she wraps her arms around Cloud's neck, deepening the kiss.
Cloud caresses her cheeks with his thumbs. 'Why did I wait so long?' Cloud asks himself enjoying the feel of Yuffie's soft lips on his own. He slowly pulls away, pulling Yuffie up at the same time, causing her to open her eyes. He gazes into her eyes before wrapping his arms around her, resting his cheek against the top of her head.
Yuffie closes her eyes as she rests her head on Cloud's shoulder. She gives out a content sigh as a small smile spreads across her lips, 'Oh yea, I definitely like how this worked out much better.' Yuffie gives a soft laugh, 'The wait was worth it.'
(Malice rips the tape off of Z.A.G's mouth.)
OW! Well anyways, I told ya I had a nice surprise for all of ya! Don't you just all LOVE me so very much now? Enough to shower me with twenty dollar bills? I actually was thinking about not typing up this last part. I was going to wait for a while. But I love you guys SO much that I figured that I'd you know, write the scene since I figured you guys waited long enough for some fluff.. LOOK! I rhymed! Heh heh heh. Now don't go thinking that there will be lots and lots of kissing for these two now, because they still have to fight the evil dudes lol and I'm really not one to write fluff, I don't do fluff. Well I bet this last part made Firefly jump for joy, she's been dieing for some Clouffieness lol. Hmm and Malice spoke, but what the hell was he talking about? (Looks over to Malice)
Malice- (Grins) Do I get to go Ninja hunting next chapter?
(Shakes head) NO! You will not try to kill Yuffie!... at least not right now heh heh heh. Well everyone, drop me a review and tell me how much you love me hee hee hee. The next chapter I will be able to get the damn idea out of my head. Well TTNC!