Chapter 7

The sun was beginning to set. The four of them had buried Yuffie and Sasha on the edge of the forest near the warehouse. Rinoa was sobbing quietly and even Cloud and Squall let out a tear or two. Ratchet however just sat and looked at the clump of ground were Sasha had been buried. He should have gone to her, to try and save her instead of going after Sephiroth. Maybe he could have saved her.

"It wasn't your fault." Ratchet looked around to find Cloud behind him. "You couldn't have done anything. Once Sephiroth gets you there's nothing you can do."

"You know funnily enough this isn't helping."

"Sorry." Ratchet sighed.

"I've gotta find Clank. I lost Sasha and I'm not gunna lose another friend."

Vincent began to set up camp. When Cloud had gone up after Sephiroth all the others had gone outside giving him a chance to slip away. Although he didn't regret saving their lives he didn't want to travel around with them. He worked alone. He was just about to lie down for the night when he heard a rustling in the trees above him. He quickly rolled backwards just in time to avoid a man falling down from the trees with his sword pointing down. Vincent drew his pistols for what he was sure would be his final battle, against Sephiroth.

The light began to fade, and the group got up and decided to move on to camp somewhere less out in the open. With Squall leading they moved out into the forest. Eventually they reached a place which seemed to be safe, so they set up the tents and took out some packaged food for them to eat. Cloud went out to check the area perimeter while the rest of them stayed at the camp wrapped in blankets to keep warm. They didn't dare light a fire incase Sephiroth should see the smoke rise from the trees. Ratchet was about to get some sleep when he heard a yell from the trees in the direction which Cloud had gone in. They got up and ran to were they had heard the yell. They reached a small clearing and found Cloud on his knees crying, holding something long and pink. Rinoa took a look and put her hands to her mouth. Squall merely looked away in disgust. Ratchet saw that Cloud was actually holding a girl in a pink dress. She was dead. "Aerith… no…" Cloud laid her down and wept quietly.

Vincent fired an onslaught of bullets at Sephiroth one of them hit its target, imbedding itself in Sephiroth's right leg. Sephiroth winced and ran at Vincent; he pushed his sword into the ground and pole-vaulted into Vincent sending him into a tree behind him. He quickly self-righted himself and drew a large shotgun from his belt. He had to be careful as he only had five bullets. He fired once, Sephiroth rolled out the way. He fired another two bullets which both missed. He then fired another which didn't hit but grazed Sephiroth's left shoulder. He saved his last bullet in case he should need it later on. He then pulled out a long knife and swung it at Sephiroth which he deflected with his sword, pulling out another pistol with his spare hand, Vincent fired at Sephiroth while keeping him back with his knife. He knew it wouldn't be long until he ran out of bullets but he kept going for as long as he could. Sephiroth dodged the bullets and kept moving at Vincent causing him to step backwards all the time. Eventually they reached the cliff were Yuffie had had her encounter with Sephiroth. It wasn't long before they were both on the edge of the cliff. Sephiroth brought his sword up knocking the gun out of Vincent's hand; he then went for a swipe at Vincent which he parried with his knife. Sephiroth then kicked Vincent's hand with the knife in out of the way and then pushed the butt of his sword into Vincent's chest; Vincent stepped back, winded, and wobbled on the edge of the cliff. Sephiroth pushed Vincent, thinking he'd won; Vincent shot his hand out and grabbed hold of Sephiroth's cloak. Pulling Sephiroth down with him Vincent toppled over the edge. Sephiroth panicked and grabbed the end of the cliff and held on for dear life, meanwhile Vincent was holding onto Sephiroth's legs trying to pull Sephiroth down. If he was going to die then he would take Sephiroth down with him. Sephiroth gritted his teeth he couldn't hold on much longer his fingers were slipping. Vincent took out his knife and rammed it into Sephiroth's already wounded leg. Sephiroth cried out in pain and let go off the cliff. He drew his sword to face Vincent. Together they both fell, locked in combat to face the water that waited below them.