Well, it's been a while since I updated this. My goal is to finish this fanfic before Advent Children comes out. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), Advent Children's U.S. release has been delayed until November (or was it December). Either way, that gives me more time to finish this. This fic won't last too much longer and will end either chapter 6 or chapter 7. Anyways, I should warn whoever is reading this that things are about to get even weirder. There may also be character death later in the story as well (Aeris doesn't count because she is already dead). I hope you all enjoy this, and please review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 7 or its characters. They belong to SquareEnix.

Nightmares and Phenomenon

Part 5: The Man in the Mirror

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Right in front of me, in the mirror where my reflection should be, was Sephiroth. But how could that be! I thought I had killed him with myself those many years ago. In fact, how did he get into that mirror in the first place? What the hell was going on!

Sephiroth stared at me so coldly that I almost felt my blood freeze. His mouth formed an evil smirk. I heard him chuckle; most likely due to my reaction to his sudden reappearance. I'm not quite sure exactly what I looked like, but I'm pretty sure my eyes were almost budging out of my head from shock.

"It can't be, you're supposed to be dead!" I shouted at the silver-haired man. His evil smirk grew even bigger, and after a few moments of silence, he replied, "Did you really think I was gone forever? You are even more foolish than I thought you were."

Suddenly, one of Sephiroth's arms shot out of the mirror. Before I had time to react, I felt his hand grasp my neck tightly. I tried to struggle out of his hold, but I couldn't move my arms for some reason. In fact, I could barely move at all. As his grip tightened, I began to choke. "You shall pay for interfering in mother's plans," said Sephiroth in an emotionless yet smooth tone. Then he tightened his grip even more.

After a few moments, the room began to become dim. Then, the shadows began to overcome the room. Soon, I could barely feel Sephiroth's grip. In fact, I could hardly see him since he was slowly fading away with the rest of the bathroom. Eventually, there was nothing left of my surroundings but darkness. I quickly found myself drifting away into the empty void. Darkness was slowly consuming me, and I felt as if I was drowning. All hope was quickly leaving my mind and my heart. I was lost in the darkness with barely any hope of getting out.

"No, Cloud! You mustn't give up!" shouted a voice. Suddenly, a bright light appeared in front of me. I was nearly blinded by it. A figure began to appear from the light. As it moved closer to me, I began to recognize who it was.

"Aeris?" I called out to the figure. Sure enough, it was Aeris who was standing in front of me. Her eyes were closed and it looked as if she was praying. Maybe she was praying; mostly likely for my soul to be saved from the darkness and despair. It was just like her to do something like that. When she was alive, she was such a kind and gentle person, putting the needs of others in front of her own. And now she was here in front of me. Had her spirit come to my aid? Did I die and is she here to guide me? Or is this another dream? Was the entire thing with Sephiroth strangling me a dream?

I was suddenly knocked out of my thoughts when I heard Aeris' voice again. "Cloud, you must live! You can't let this beat you," said Aeris in a soft, sweet tone as she opened her eyes. I could see a sad gleam in her gaze. She was right, of course. I couldn't just give up and drift in the darkness for all eternity. I knew that I must fight the darkness and fight Sephiroth. Aeris gave me a slight smile and said, "Cloud, you must see the truth. I know you can do it." Then, Aeris walked back into the light and began to disappear. I wanted to shout "Don't go, Aeris!" but for some reason the words couldn't come out of my mouth.

Suddenly, the light had Aeris had disappeared in grew brighter and the darkness around me began to fade. I soon realized that I back in the bathroom. Sephiroth was still in the mirror and still had his grip around my neck. However, this time I didn't let myself give up and loose consciousness. I wouldn't let him win. As Sephiroth tried to strangle me again, I fought with all my might to stay conscious and stared him down. Although Sephiroth wasn't the least intimidated, he seemed to have realized that I wouldn't give up so easily.

"So, the puppet has a stronger will than I thought", said Sephiroth in a calm, smooth voice. I smirked at him and replied, "You won't beat me. I defeated you before, and I'll beat you again!" "Is that so?" answered Sephiroth, his voice as cold as ever. The evil smirk on his face and the gleam in his eyes told me he was up to something. I was right of course.

Before I could do anything, I saw a swish of silver and felt a sudden surge of pain. Sephiroth had impaled my shoulder blade with the masamune using the arm that wasn't strangling me. I had no idea how the masamune (or even the arm that was strangling me) came through the mirror, but at that time it was the furthest thought from my mind. The pain was excruciating. I had to fight to keep from screaming in agony. Tears from the pain were forming in my eyes, but I knew I mustn't allow Sephiroth to see them. If I cried, then I would be admitting my weakness and that was what Sephiroth wanted: to see me weak and in pain. So, I fought back the tears and took the pain.

As I was fighting the pain, I noticed the similarities between this encounter and my nightmares. I thought to myself 'Could this be a nightmare too? I guess it's possible; yet, it seems so real. If this is a dream, then why do I feel pain?' I suddenly gasped as I felt Sephiroth turning the blade to cause me even more pain. He seemed to get some sort of twisted pleasure from torturing me. I could feel blood flowing out of my wound and running down my shoulder and even down my arm and chest. As Sephiroth kept twisting sword, the pain became more and more unbearable. I soon felt myself starting to become unconscious again, but I fought it with all my might. I couldn't surrender to the pain darkness, and despair.

As I struggled to keep being consumed by the pain, I heard Sephiroth ask, "Why do you fight against the inevitable?" "Simple, I can't let you win", I replied. "Pity, all your efforts are in vain", said Sephiroth in a tone that sent an icy chill down my spine. Then, he smirked before adding, "I know you are in pain. Don't try to deny it. You can't escape, not even in your dreams."

His words rang through my mind. What did he mean by 'you can't escape, not even in your dreams'? Was he saying that he somehow caused my nightmares to occur? Then again, it did make sense in a way. Was he responsible for the other bizarre events that had happed these past few days? I wouldn't be surprised if he was. At least, pondering these questions had kept me from thinking about the pain, if only for a moment. Yet, I couldn't keep ignoring the turning blade in my shoulder as it cut deeper and deeper into my flesh and bone. Maybe Sephiroth was right. Maybe my efforts were in vain. Yet I couldn't give up, despite the pain and the hopelessness of the situation.

"Cloud!" I heard a voice call out my name. At first, I thought it was Aeris again, but as I turned my head around, I saw Tifa standing behind me. She had a look on her face that was a mixture of shock and worry. I quickly worried less about myself and more about Tifa. What if Sephiroth somehow jumped out of the mirror and tried to attack Tifa? I wouldn't live with myself if something happened to her. I already failed Aeris, and if Tifa died, I don't know if I could live with the additional guilt. "Tifa, don't come any closer! Run away while I try to hold him off," I shouted at the top of my lungs. However, Tifa didn't move at all and she seemed to be even more confused. "What are you talking about?" asked Tifa. I raised my eyebrow in confusion. After all, I thought the situation seemed obvious. "Tifa, if you don't run now Sephiroth will probably kill you!" I said in an urgent tone. Yet, Tifa still looked confused and replied, "But Cloud, Sephiroth died years ago." Was she blind? She didn't seem like she could see him. But why couldn't she see Sephiroth? I had to know what was going on so I asked, "Don't you see Sephiroth chocking me!"

After I asked my question, Tifa took a few steps back. She looked at me as if I were crazy. A few minutes of awkward silence passed before she answered, "No Cloud, you're chocking yourself!"