Chapter 7:

The Countdown

We made camp the next night in a small clearing. We had made it around the cave and skirted around Cloud as he buried Yuffie. I thrashed Sephiroth soon after we were out of earshot; he had knocked Vincent unconscious to keep him from calling out.

"I did it to keep you safe," was his excuse, a kiss added to try and convince me. Somehow I knew better.

Anima, Luben, Vincent and I sat up awhile talking. Sephiroth refused to join us and went to bed right after we ate.

"You've spoiled him," Vincent said, lighting a cigarette as he did.

"Like you said though, he's been shown so little kindness in his life," Anima reminded him. Vincent tilted his head slightly, giving his face a 'that's true' look. I coughed as the smoke blew in my direction.

"You do know that's a disgusting habit that'll get you killed one of theses days, right?" I choked as he took a long drag.

"Would you rather I shoot my gun at Sephiroth's ass whenever I'm stressed?" he asked. I had no comeback, so I shut my mouth. I think I made an impression on him, though. He flung his half-smoked death stick into the fire. I'm not sure, but I thought I heard him mutter, "my last one, too…"

"I'm actually glad you've kidnapped me. Other than these damn headaches he keeps giving me, that is," Vincent confessed. He rubbed his the bruise that was forming on his head from the last blow he received.

"What makes you say that?" Luben asked. We were shocked at those words.

"Cloud's a jerk. I only joined him in the first place so I could have my revenge on SHINRA and Hojo. I don't worry about them anymore, so I had no reason to stay in contact, but Cloud found me and begged me to help track down Sephiroth when he returned. I actually feel a little sorry for him."

"I think Sephiroth would want to know that," I told him. Vincent only shook his head.

"He never wants pity from anyone. Even when he was a child, he never wanted any of us feeling bad for him when he got injured. It could have been anything from a paper cut to a broken bone and the first thing he would say was, 'shut up and take me to the doctor' or, 'shut up and give me a bandage.' He threatened us a lot, too. If we tried to show any emotion to him, he would push whoever it was away or hit us. That's why it's so strange that he would feel strongly enough to marry you," he sighed and stood. "I'm going to sleep. Good night."

We watched him lay down on a rock just beyond the light of the fire. One by one, we went into our tents to sleep. I entered mine last to find Sephiroth curled up tightly, but not under his cloak or asleep. He was wrapped up by the front of the tent and seemed to be taking something in.

"I never realized that he felt bad for me. Then again, I didn't realize that anyone loved me, either," Sephiroth smiled at me. I kissed him and laid down on my blanket. Sephiroth came over and put his cloak over my body as usual. Instead of lying with me, he kissed my cheek and made to go outside.

"Where are you going? Everyone's in bed," I asked. Without turning, Sephiroth said the last thing I expected to come out of his mouth.

"I have a favor that I'll need Vincent to do for me. I only hope he won't have to fulfill it for a long time, if ever" he muttered. The next second, he was gone. I thought about eavesdropping, but as I was so tired, I dozed off before I made up my mind.

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"You're sure you can do it?" I heard Sephiroth ask quietly.

I was woken up by him and Vincent talking outside my tent. Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night thinking you've been asleep for hours, but it's only been five minutes to half-an-hour? That's what this was like. The fire was no different from when I had come to bed, and the sky had barely shifted. I laid deathly still and listened.

"Assuming you do die before me, yes," Vincent replied. My breath caught in my chest. The thought of Sephiroth dying…

"I have a bad feeling that I won't survive another battle with Cloud. With luck, I'll get through with enough time to get away from him."

"As long as I find another portal here, I'll do it," Vincent said quietly. I sat up, pushed the coat aside, and peered at them, careful not to let the firelight illuminate my face. They were facing the fire, so I couldn't see them very well.

"She's important to me. If anything happens, you'd better take care of her," Sephiroth ordered. Vincent looked at him. I could see him smile a little.

"Never thought I'd hear you say that about anything except maybe Jenova and the Promised Land. Are you still searching?"

"I think I already found it."

"Really? When?" Vincent asked in surprise. Sephiroth looked at him and smiled.

"The day I woke up to find Michiko sitting next to me."

I watched quietly as Vincent gazed around the camp. He whispered something to Sephiroth that I couldn't hear. They glanced in my direction, causing me to jump.

"Good. She should know," Sephiroth replied to him. The next thing he said to me. "Michiko, I already know you're listening. You might as well come out."

"How did you know?" I asked as I crawled out slowly. Vincent only smiled.

"I can see better than you think. As a matter of fact, when you four first fled from Cloud and ducked into the woods, I saw you there."

"So why didn't you tell him?" Sephiroth asked.

"Because I didn't want any of you getting hurt, especially innocent natives," Vincent explained.

"What were you talking about dying for?" I asked Sephiroth sadly.

"I'll probably have to fight when I get home. I'm afraid that I'll lose to him. If I do, Vincent will come back in my place," he told me. "If anything happens to keep me from coming back to you, he'll be here."

"You have to come back," I whined. "You're the great Sephiroth. Vincent, why don't you help him?"

"This is something that he has to do alone," he said. "This isn't my problem. It's between Sephiroth and Cloud."

I shut my eyes tight and sat on the ground. I refused to let either of them see the tears in my eyes. I hardly acknowledged Sephiroth when he stroked my face and spoke to me.

"I'll be in the tent. Good night. I love you."

I sat there shaking out of anger and sadness. I jumped three feet in the air when I felt metal on my shoulder. I looked and saw Vincent looking in my eyes, almost as Sephiroth had done so many times. His clawed hand gripped my shoulder.

"The only way to save him is not to let him through, but get Cloud to go alone."

"He told me several days ago that he had to go home, that he had a role to play there," I whispered.

"Then there's still one way to prevent his death," he said. I looked at him oddly, and I was shocked at his answer. "Kill Cloud before he gets to the portal and Sephiroth."

"But this is between Sephiroth and Cloud. You said so yourself."

"I know. If you can find him and make him very weak, Sephiroth will have little trouble finishing the job," Vincent explained. I thought for a few minutes. "Do you want to see him again?"

"Yes."

"Then you know what to do, don't you?"

"Yeah," I sighed with regret. "Don't tell him where I've gone."

Vincent nodded and watched me gather my pack from the tent. I looked at the sleeping form of Sephiroth for the last time. I bent and kissed him. He was fast asleep and didn't make any motion when I did so. I quietly left the tent and readied my bow and arrow.

"This is a suicide mission, isn't it?"

"Not necessarily. If you can stay hidden and hit him from the shadows, you'll make it out alive," he reassured me.

"Tell Sephiroth I love him," I requested. Vincent laid a hand on my shoulder again.

"Tell him yourself when you finish the job."

I began walking towards the woods, but a voice stopped me.

"Michiko? Where are you going?" Sephiroth asked, walking out of the tent sleepily. He looked at me worriedly.

"Goodbye, love," I whispered. Tears in my eyes, I turned and ran into the woods. I could hear him chasing after me, but he never saw me leap into a tree. I listened to him and Vincent in the camp a few minutes later.

"What did you say to her?" Sephiroth yelled.

"I told her how to save your life so she could see you again," Vincent explained calmly. I heard flesh connect with flesh, and knew that Sephiroth had punched Vincent.

"She's going to die if she goes after him, and you know it. I'm not leaving without saying goodbye to her," Sephiroth hissed. I heard the flap of the tent as he went back in, and heard only silence come from the direction of the camp. I remained there for a short time, sobbing quietly. Luben came out and yelled for everyone to get up.

"Where's Michiko?" he asked when he didn't see me.

"She's gone to fight Cloud so Sephiroth can kill him and come back to her someday," Vincent said hurriedly. "What's wrong?"

"I just checked the portal in Kauko. We only have five days to get there."

"I thought you said it closes in three weeks. It can't have been more than one," Anima whispered after a moment of shock.

"Something's gone through. When someone or something goes through a portal, the life time of the portal is decreased."

"We stop for nothing. We try to find her on the way, and we stop for nothing else," Sephiroth commanded. He began gathering his supplies.

"We need to rest at least one night," Anima insisted. Sephiroth turned to her angrily.

"You can sleep if you want, but I'm going after the portal and Michiko."

"Sephiroth, please," Luben begged, stifling a yawn.

"I agree with him," Vincent sighed. "Why chance anything else going through? If we miss this portal, we may never get home."

"Fine," Anima moaned. She and Luben went into their tent to pack. Sephiroth waited with Vincent impatiently.

"You know what? If she didn't care enough to come with me the rest of the way, fine. I don't care if I find her," Sephiroth muttered angrily. He began taking our tent down. Vincent walked just under the tree I was hiding in.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think things would turn out this way," he muttered to me. At least, I think that's what he said. I tuned him out as I made my way through the forest in search of Cloud. I don't think I ever looked back.

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Okay, he's back to his old cold-hearted self. Happy now, SV? Anyway, this is the last update until sometime in August. I'll be out of town for two weeks starting tomorrow, so I hope you all read this chapter nice and slow. Also, I fixed up my bio page, so now you all can learn a little more about me. Just remember, don't believe everything you read…

Onwards!

Soul Vagabond: I know who you mean. No, Luben's not quite that bad. Hope you had fun on your vacation. I hope you're happy. He's back to his unloving self again. That'll change by the end, but now he's himself.

Mediciner: On the subject of FF7, you may be right. Is there something you know that I don't? On the subject of my ff, thanks! On the subject of your review, that was short!

Trance: Thanks for the compliment. The story actually only has (maybe) five to eight more chapters. Very short, but I'm glad someone's enjoying it.

Me: Thanks for Reading and Reviewing, and I'll 'see' you all in two weeks.

Sephiroth: cough stalker cough

Me: Hey!

Sephiroth: And what's the deal with giving me a wife and cutting my hair, huh?

Me: smiles maliciously Well, I can give the real you a haircut, instead… draws multiple Shurikens

Sephiroth: No! I didn't mean it! is chased by me

Auron: Run, Sephiroth! Use your scrawny little legs!

Sephiroth: I'm going as fast as I- stops and glares at Auron My legs are not scrawny!

Me: -.- Ah, the joys of letting my prisoners watch LegendaryFrog's Ark and Kerrigan cartoons on Newgrounds…

NINJA MAGE