Disclaimer - I don't own FF7

Coeurl

By Crimson Skies

Chapter Five – Flight

Sephiroth could feel the pressure building behind his eyes. If he didn't take a break soon he was going to develop a stunning headache, possibly a migraine. He glared at the current report. It was mind bogglingly vague. From what he could gather, it was something about people going missing in the Nibelheim mountains. Not that it was unusual. Many things could go wrong when traveling through the mountains. Someone was just being paranoid. Still, this was his job. He wandered once again why he'd accepted Shinra's offer to become their General. Honestly, regular SOLDIERs were paid less, true, but at least they didn't have to wade through a swamp of paperwork on a daily basis.

A knock on the door interrupted his pity party. Before he had the chance to answer the door swung open. After just one glimpse of the intruder Sephiroth found the perfect excuse to abandon his paperwork. He blessed whatever Gaia twice over for sending him Zack. Of course, he didn't jump up immediately and glomp the poor cadet. That would have been severely out of character and probably would have given the boy a heart attack. He had an image to maintain after all. However, in the recesses of his mind Chibi-Sephiroth was dancing for joy in a very unSephiroth manner. Not that Sephiroth ever acknowledged that part of his brain. No, that would be sacrilegious to the highest degree.

And so, when Cadet Donovan walked through the door grinning insanely and practically skipping Sephiroth merely smirked at him.

"Donovan. May I inquire as to why you have come barging into my office?"

"Don't tell me you forgot!?" Zack exclaimed in mock horror. Sephiroth frowned. Forgot what? Oh, right, the prelim SOLDIER candidate exams.

"I take it you've been accepted?" he inquired.

"Of course! I had the top score in the class. Well, except for Ynen, but everyone knows he's being scouted by the Turks," Zack told him. Sephiroth suspected that everyone did not know that, but there wasn't a rumor circulating Shinra that Zack didn't know. He thrived on gossip. Not that Zack couldn't keep a secret. He never spread gossip, just collected it so to speak.

"I suppose you're expecting me to applaud your success," the General stated blandly.

"Nope! You never applaud anything, but you have to admit it's pretty impressive!"

"Indeed." Sephiroth was rather impressed, though not really surprised. Zack was Talented. Everyone recruited by Shinra spent a year in basic training before taking an exam to see if they qualified for SOLDIER training. If they passed they moved on to the new training. If not, they returned to basic training for one more year. If after that they still didn't pass they were recruited as grunts…er…guards. Once in the SOLDIER training program, one spent a maximum of four years and a minimum of two in the program. It all depended on individual talent. It was a long time to spend in training, true, but SOLDIER was the elite, and mako enhanced beings had surprising longevity. Come to think of it, Sephiroth had never heard of a SOLDIER dying of old age…

"So, you promised to start sparring with me if I passed the exams my first try!" Zack exclaimed.

"I beg to differ. I didn't promise anything. I said I would consider it," Sephiroth corrected.

"Pssha! You said, and I quote 'As little as you study, Donovan, I doubt you'll ever pass the preliminary exams. Don't come to me when you're sent back to basic.' And I said 'I'll pass, just you wait and see.' And then you said 'The day you do is the day I decide a moron like you is skilled enough to spar with me'." Never let it be said that Zackary Donovan had a bad memory. Sepiroth could vaguely recall that conversation, but he hadn't been serious.

"That's not a promise."

"Doesn't mean I can't make you eat your words," Zack smirked. "If you don't I'll sit around and whine until you do. Besides, you need to get out more. Your life is going to pass you by. You're what? Twenty or so?"

"I'm seventeen," Sephiroth snapped, visibly twitching.

"Whoa…I never would have guessed, what with that stick up your ass," Zack muttered. "So you were only fifteen during the Wutai War," he observed.

"You have an affinity for stating the obvious…"

Zack wisely dropped that subject and returned to the original one.

"Come on! Just save yourself the agony and come with me!" Zack said whined in a louder voice. Sephiroth glared, but in his mind he'd already agreed. Anything to escape the Paperwork-Pile-From-Hell (which was starting to reproduce, or clone itself, or something, because it was steadily becoming larger). But Zack really didn't need to know that.

"I suppose, if only to spare myself the headache," he said. He was rewarded with an insanely huge grin, or was it just an insane grin? Sighing, he snatched Masamune from its resting place and followed the bouncing cadet out the door.

COEURLBYCRIMSONSKIESCHAPTERFIVEFLIGHT

Cloud was becoming increasingly nervous. He and Vincent, along with several other outsiders including Liam, had just joined the villagers in the town square for the beginning of the feast. It was odd. Every single villager wore a dark cloak, and it was difficult to tell if they were even wearing anything underneath. Not to mention their nearly impossible cheerfulness. Nobody should be that cheerful. It was enough to seriously freak Cloud out. Vincent was rather unnerved as well. Cloud could tell by the subtle twitch in the gunner's eye. And one other thing was bothering Cloud.

For a supposed feast, they were surprisingly lacking in the food department.

"Ahem," a man said from a raised platform. "I'm pleased to welcome all of our guests to Tal Hierna's sixty-fourth Festival of the Midwinter Moon. It is most fortunate that you are here to help us celebrate this day. We are pleased to have you for our feast. The festivities shall begin in about," here the man paused to glance at the darkening sky, "Six minutes. If all of the guests would gather in the marked area in the center of the square it would be much appreciated. There is a complicated...ritual…we must perform before we begin."

Cloud somehow did not find those words welcoming. Nevertheless, he and Vincent followed the others to the center circle in the square. For some reason, he felt they resembled penned cattle. Come to think of it, the other guests seemed about as intelligent as cattle. Their eyes were glazed, almost as if…

…as if they were incapable of independent thought.

Cloud paled.

"Vincent…" Cloud whispered. The gunner was glancing around warily and didn't appear to hear. Cloud reached over to tug on his cloak. "…Vincent, I think we should leave."

"Yes. Yes, I think you're right," Vincent agreed quietly. "This place is not what it seems. I don't think we want to be here when their ritual begins." He began making his way casually to the edge of the ringed off area. "Stay close to me, and do not panic under any circumstances." Cloud felt a hand rest on his shoulder, directing him. He found it somewhat comforting.

Cloud followed him out of the circle and towards the surrounding crowd. A villager stepped out to intercept them.

"Where are you headed, friend?" the man asked casually.

"My ward is sick. I was just taking him back to the cabin," Vincent replied smoothly. His hand tightened on Cloud's shoulder. Cloud tried his best to look ill. It wasn't hard. He certainly felt ill.

"That's too bad. But perhaps you should stay until the ritual is complete. Then the town doctor could look at him," the man told them.

"Oh, I think he just needs a bit of rest, and I doubt the cold is very good for him," Vincent answered with false calm.

"But I really think you should wait," the man insisted.

"I don't think we will," Vincent said, bypass him. The man moved to block him again.

"You won't be leaving," he snarled. "You won't ever be leaving."

This time Vincent didn't bother to talk. He charged past the man, knocking him over. Cloud ran alongside, fear growing. The sky was almost completely dark and the moon was starting to rise. His breath came in ragged gasps. All around them the townspeople seemed frozen, staring at the sky. They were both surprised by the sudden lack of resistance. Blindly, they pushed towards the edge of the crowd. Suddenly, they'd broken free. They hurried towards the edge of the square, intent on continuing straight out of the town. Somehow, they maintained the presence of mind to run alongside the road, instead of directly on it. The iced surface would greatly hinder them.

They'd almost made it out when a howl split the silence.

Vincent and Cloud redoubled their efforts as they ran towards the town wall. The first howl was followed by dozens more. Minutes later they heard the scratching of claws on ice from behind them. When he glanced back, Cloud saw something he would never forget. Eight huge, mutated wolves. All had orange eyes and elongated fangs. Their rear legs were too long and their front legs too short, but somehow this did now inhibit their movement. Their eyes were burning with a fierce bloodlust and startling intelligence. The pack was chasing them from the other end of the street.

And they were gaining.

"Can I panic now?" Cloud gasped. Vincent replied by cursing. The small part of Cloud that could still think straight quite agreed with him. They barreled right through the barricade doorway and into the valley forest, but the pursuit did not stop. It was then that Vincent spoke up.

"Cloud, listen to me carefully. When I stop, keep running. Don't look back, whatever you hear. Get as far away as you can before you have to rest. Then find a place to hide. Take this with you," Vincent told him, producing a dagger from somewhere in his cloak. "I would give you my gun, but you wouldn't be able to use it."

"But…"

"Don't argue!" Vincent snapped. "Don't even think of it. I can take care of myself, but you cannot. Not in this situation anyway. I'll catch up later," Vincent assured him, steel in his voice. "I promise," he added, seeing Cloud's reluctance. That sold him. The gunner never promised anything. Cloud nodded and snatched the dagger.

"Be careful," he panted, continuing in his flight. Vincent nodded curtly before grounding to a halt. Cloud didn't look back.

Vincent watched as Cloud continued to run. Satisfied, he turned to face his foes. The reached him within seconds. Drawing his gun, he fired at one, critically wounding it. The shot hadn't managed to kill it, but it succeeded in driving them back. They now circled him warily, realizing that their prey had fangs. Their snarls seemed almost mocking. He was surprised when one of them opened its mouth and spoke.

"Weak little human. You think a weakling human like you can stop us? You are the prey, and we the hunters. You shall die tonight, human, and fill our bellies," it growled.

"I will only warn you once. Cease this pursuit. If will not desist then I will kill you," Vincent spat.

"Insolent human. You truly believe you can defeat us? We are what your kind would call demons, for our strength far surpasses yours. But you fight to protect your pup. A good sentiment, so we shall make your death quick," it barked in amusement. Certainly it was surprised when Vincent threw back his head and laughed. For a full minute he continued, his harsh laugh echoing through the woods. Quickly calming, he smirked viciously.

"So you call yourself a demon? Obviously you do not know the true meaning of the word," he mocked. Smiling, he holstered his gun and flexed his claw. A black aura began to gather around his form. The voice he spoke with next was not his own. "Allow me to reeducate you…"

ENDCHAPTERFIVE

Well, how was it? Good I hope. I tried to leave you with a nice cliffhanger. Please don't kill me! (Oh, and once again this wasn't proofed, so please forgive the errors…)

Cloudy fan – Thanks for the review. I appreciate your support.

BloodRaevynn– I hope this story continues to interest you. I've never seen "Curse of the Undead: Youma" but I try to avoid scary movies. I have a very over active imagination, and I even freaked myself out writing this chapter. I left some things in this chapter out because I decided it was a bit too creepy. I guess my imagination helps with writing, but let met tell you, it does not help me sleep at night.

Cendrillo – Thank you very much. I'm actually very proud of that one line, so I'm glad you found amusing. I like to try and add some humor and it's nice to know when I've succeeded. I agree with you on the Auron/Rikku pairing. What is it about pairing young, teenage girls with sort-of-dead guys? I dunno, but it just never sat right with me. It's just my opinion though. Anyway, thanks for another excellent review and I hope you'll like this chapter as well.

schu – Muses are wonderful things, aren't they? Of course, I sometimes feel like throttling them, but only sometimes. I'm honored that you liked my fic enough to review it. I couldn't really tell you why more people aren't reviewing. It would be nice if they did, but I suppose I haven't impressed (or horrified) them enough to review (or flame, not that I want flames. I have a fear of fire. I accidentally burned myself really badly on a sparkler when I was little. I still remember being up all night, wailing, quite clearly.) I like ice-skating. I'm not very good, but I've gone enough that I can usually keep from falling. It just takes practice I guess. On the other hand, I used to rollerblade a lot, so that probably helped.

babymar-mar– Thanks for reviewing. I'm glad you like it! I hope this chapter answers your question.

Theory Mistress – Will do. (grins)

SarsMortis – Well, I didn't manage to post early, but at least it was on time. I'm happy you liked the ice-skating detail. It was a spur of the moment thing, and I wasn't sure how well it would fit. Thanks for the suggestions on good SxC fics. I'll have to look into those. If I stumble across any others in the mean time I'll be sure to let you know.

Meanae – (grins) I was hoping you'd be able to eventually read it. Fuzzables to you! It's a good thing too, because I couldn't figure out how to spell your pen name! (grieves over her own stupidity) At first I didn't recognize your new name, but then I saw you had both Crimson Skies and The Chaos Fuzzable on your favorite list, and I remembered. Happy day!