Well, all things must come to an end and so must this fic. This is the final chapter of this story. I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed. Also, if the reason why you haven't reviewed was because you didn't want to log in, then I'm happy to announce that I'm allowing anonymous reviews. So please review and tell me what you think of this story.

Warning: Contains blood, violence, mild language, and character death

Disclaimer: I don't own FF7 or its characters. SquareEnix owns them.

Nightmares and Phenomenon

Part 7: End of the Nightmare

"This isn't over yet, puppet!"

I shivered at the voice. Was that really Sephiroth or had I finally gone insane? I much as I hate to admit it, I hope that it is the latter. We had barely managed to beat Sephiroth those many years ago. I don't know if we could do it again, especially since me and the rest of Avalanche had gone our separate ways. To make matters worse, I sold my sword long ago and didn't have a weapon with me. Damn the bad luck!

"Bad luck indeed", echoed Sephiroth's cold voice throughout the house. Great, now he could read minds! I had no idea where his voice was coming from. It seemed to come from all around me.

"No, you can't be Sephiroth!" I shouted at thin air. "Why not?" asked the voice. "Because you are dead!" I answered. "Oh, really? Are you sure about that?" replied the voice. I didn't know how to answer that. I wasn't really sure of anything anymore. How could I know if the voice was real or not, much less whether Sephiroth was alive?

Suddenly, I heard footsteps coming towards me. I turned around and saw…….Sephiroth! He was standing at the other end of the hallway. "No, it can't be! Your just a figment of my mind!" I shouted. "Cloud?" asked Sephiroth, or at least the image in front of me looked and sounded like Sephiroth. However, I couldn't help but feel that something was a little off. Still, as Sephiroth approached me, I started to back up and shouted, "Get away from me!" Sephiroth gave me a confused stare and asked, "Cloud, is everything alright? What's wrong?" I should've noticed that Sephiroth's voice sounded a little different as well as the fact that he wasn't acting like himself, but I was preoccupied with the fact he had returned.

Instead of answering Sephiroth's questions, I turned around and ran to the nearest door and entered the room. Fortunately, I found myself in the kitchen and began to search for anything that could be used as a weapon. I saw a steak knife lying on the counter and quickly grabbed it. It would not be a match for the massamune but at least it was better than nothing.

I heard footsteps slowly walking towards the kitchen. I quickly ducked behind the counter. The door slowly opened and I heard someone walk onto the tiled kitchen floor. I peeked from around the corner of the counter to see Sephiroth standing in the middle on the kitchen, most likely trying to find me. When he turned his back to me, I saw my chance. It was now or never! I ran out from my hiding place and charged at Sephiroth with my knife drawn. Sephiroth turned around to see me coming, but it was too late for him to do anything about it. I shoved him to the ground and started stabbing him like crazy. Closing my eyes, I continued to stab him over and over again. I wouldn't give him the chance to retaliate.

After a few minutes of stabbing him, I slowly opened my eyes. I expected to see Sephiroth lying on the ground dead, or at least severly injured. Instead I saw…….Tifa!

Oh Shit! What have I done!

No, it can't be! It couldn't have been Tifa who I stabbed! Yet, she was lying on the ground in a puddle of blood and was covered in stab wounds. I looked at the knife in my hand and saw that it was dripping with blood. Or to be precise, it was dripping with her blood.

Tifa was still alive, but barely. She had lost a lot of blood, after all. She slowly opened her eyes, and weakly asked, "Cloud, are you back to normal?" I nodded my head and said, "Tifa… I didn't mean to…. I thought you were Sephiroth." "I…. understand….. Cloud", replied Tifa, who was struggling to stay conscious. I slowly lifted her up and wrapped my arms around her. "Don't worry Tifa, you are going to be alright", I said in an attempt to comfort both her and myself. "I'm…. sorry…. Cloud….. but I…. can't….. hold on…… much longer," said Tifa, as tears began form her eyes. A single tear fell from her eyes and slid down her cheek.

Suddenly, she became limp in my arms. "Tifa?" I asked, as I started to shake her in an effort to revive her. After a few minutes, I shook her harder while yelling her name even louder. But it was no use. Tifa was already gone.

For several long moments I sat in silence, trying to absorb what had happened. Then, I began to break down in despair. I failed. I failed to save Aeris, and now, I failed to save Tifa too. In fact, I killed her with my own hands. My hands and my clothes are stained in her blood.

I picked up Tifa's lifeless body and carry it outside. Being careful not to draw to much attention to myself, I sneak her to our secret strip of beach. I laid her body on the beach and went back to the house to get a shovel. When I returned to the beach, I dug a hole in the sand and buried Tifa.

For a long time, I sat by Tifa's grave. I'm not even sure how I stayed there. I tried to hold back the tears, but I couldn't restrain them any more. One by one, the tears began to drip from my eyes. How could I been tricked by such an illusion? Why did she appear before me as Sephiroth? More tears formed as I pondered those questions.

Suddenly, I heard a voice, the smooth, cold voice of Sephiroth, murmur, "Pathetic fool!" "Sephiroth, where are you? Are you behind Tifa's death?" I shouted out loud so that Sephiroth could hear me no matter where he was hiding. Following my words, I heard a deep chuckle before Sephiroth replied, "Why are you so quick to blame her death on me when it was you who killed her?" Sephiroth's words struck me down. After all, I did kill her even though I was tricked into thinking it was someone else. Then, a thought occurred in my head and I answered, "I thought she was you, not to mention that you have a history of messing with my head." "True, you do have point and perhaps I did have something to do with that girl's demise", said Sephiroth.

At this point, I was tired of waiting for Sephiroth to appear. "Why don't you show yourself, you bastard!" I shouted, my words hinted at the rage that filled my heart. "I would but unfortunately, I lack a physical body of my own", replied Sephiroth. "So, your appearance in the mirror was an illusion? And how are you able to exist without a body?" I asked out loud. I heard a deep chuckle before Sephiroth replied, "Yes, it was an illusion as was making the girl look like me. Also, I never said I didn't have a body. I just don't have one of my own."

After I heard those words, I began to get even more confused than I already was. He has a body but not one of his own? Does that mean he is sharing someone else's body? And where is his voice coming from, anyway? If I didn't know any better, I could've sworn that the voice came from my head? Wait a minute, my head! "That's right," said Sephiroth, "I don't know how, but for quite some time I've been existing inside your mind. Perhaps, it was ever since you defeated me. However, I was in a deep slumber and was repressed into the deepest parts of your mind. Recently, I had regained some power and slowly began to take over." As unbelievable as Sephiroth's words were, they did sort of made sense. Still, why should I believe him? "Believe what you want Cloud, but what I told you was the truth", echoed Sephiroth's voice through my head. Great, he's reading my thoughts again. "Of course I can read your mind, for I'm a part of it" said Sephiroth.

Was Sephiroth behind everything that had happened? What really happened, anyways? Suddenly, I had a vision. I saw myself pulling the books of the bookshelf. Was that how they got onto the floor? Then the scene changed and I saw myself standing next to the living room lamp. Without warning, I summon the massamune and cut it in half. How was I able to summon the massamune? Did Sephiroth take over my body and was somehow able to summon it? I had a feeling that was the case. Then I saw me stab myself with the piece of light bulb glass, and a few seconds later I saw me strangling myself in the bathroom while stabbing myself with a large piece glass I found awhile back. Then I saw myself running at Tifa with a dagger in my hand. I desperately tried to shake the image from my head. I didn't want to relieve Tifa's death again. Before that image could go any further, I screamed, "Stop it! No more!"

"What's the matter? I thought you wanted to know what happened," said Sephiroth's voice. I growled angrily before shouting, "What do you what with me! Why did you make me do all of those things!" "Simple," answered Sephiroth, "I wanted to weaken your will enough, so I would be able to permanently take over your body. You were easy to manipulate, especially after I created those dreams. In the end, you really were nothing more than a mere puppet."

"Damn you! Get out of my head you bastard!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. Sephiroth chuckled evilly and replied, "It's too late. It's only a matter of time before I have total control." No! It couldn't end this way! I couldn't let him win! I realized that I still had the dagger in my hands. I thought about stabbing myself at that moment. But would it work. What if Sephiroth was able to gain control of my corpse? I realized that I must kill myself in a way that Sephiroth wouldn't be able to gain control of my body after I was gone. Then, I saw the ocean and an idea popped into my head.

Tifa and I had bought a speed boat shortly after we moved to Costa del Sol. We rarely used it, but now I was grateful that I had it. I pulled out the boat, and used it to go into the middle of the ocean. Tying a rope around a heavy anchor in my boat, I began to tie it around my feet. However, just as I finished tying the knot, I heard a certain voice whisper, "Do you really think I would allow you to do this?"

Suddenly, Sephiroth appeared before me. Of course it was an illusion, but it felt real enough when he grabbed my wrist. As he squeezed my wrist harder, I began to black out. No, he was starting to gain control! Desperately, I fought back and regained control before he could undo the knot. For several minutes I struggled against Sephiroth's mental image but I kept slipping into darkness. I had to end this!

In an effort of desperation, I flung myself at the edge of the boat. I rammed it with such force that the boat capsized. With a loud splash, I hit the water and felt gravity take over the anchor as it began to sink and pull me down with it. Sephiroth's mental image had disappeared, but he still hadn't given up. I could hear him whisper, "Don't do this. You know that you will die." 'Yes, I know but I rather die than let you take over my body', I mentally replied.

As I'm pulled into the depths of the ocean, my life flashes before my eyes. However, I am relieved that it finally over. Sephiroth is gone, and though I will die, I am free from his nightmares. Who knows, maybe I will be reunited with Tifa and even Aeris. With this thought, a smile appears on my face. Everything starts to fade as my lungs fill with water. My soul can finally rest in peace as I fall into eternal sleep within my watery grave.

The End