Alright, my beta is a loser and is lazy and won't read my story for me to update now, so I proofread it on my own. Stupid beta… All well. Hope you guys enjoy!

"Squall?" I rolled over in bed and stared at the door, wondering why the hell it was talking to me. Then when a knocking sound came from the door I realized the door wasn't talking to me. Someone outside the door was talking to me. "Come on, we need to talk." I groaned and rolled out of bed, staggered to the door in my exhausted state and tugged it open. Cid stood impatiently in the corridor his face set and ready for an argument. I doubt he'd have one though; or much one.

Ever since Cloud had gone missing, two, no three days ago I hadn't really slept well. Or eaten well, or done much of anything well. Except scour the city and outside areas for him. My cold logic had fled me, and while it occurred to me that yes, if I became incapacitated I couldn't look for him anymore, but I wasn't really listening to the little voice of reason that pestered me sometimes.

"Sit your ass down Squall." He snapped the light on and pushed me down into a chair. I tried to rub wakefulness into my eyes as the bright light half blinded me, but it wasn't really working. "I'm going to go make tea. You stay here or I will beat your ass."

I heard him go into the kitchen and start rummaging through Cloud's cabinets in search of tea. Yes, Cloud's cabinets. I'd been sleeping in his room because my room was missing the door. Fine, I'm lying. Cid had fixed my door at no cost, but I stayed here anyway.

"When was the last time you slept?" The tea kettle was beginning to gently whistle and I tilted back in my chair thinking. "You don't know, do you." I didn't answer Cid as the kettle began to whistle loudly. He hadn't even said it as a question, knowing full well that I didn't know, and that I probably hadn't slept since three days ago. Too tired to dispute it, I yawned and then quickly tried to smother it as Cid came in with his tea and some for me.

"I don't drink tea." Cid glared at me as he took the chair opposite of me at the table.

"You'll drink it and you'll like it, Squall." I made a face at the older man and wrapped my fingers around the warm mug. The warmth felt good. "You have got to start taking care of yourself again. Eating and sleeping and resting." Sleeping and resting. A bit redundant. "You look terrible, Squall, and that's not an understatement." I waved a dismissive hand at him and took a sip of the tea. It tasted terrible, but again, the warmth was nice. "Don't go dismissing me you overly cocky kid. I am ordering you to get a good breakfast after you get a good night sleep." He paused before adding, "And I'm taking you off the search party tomorrow. You nee-"

I stood up abruptly and shouted, "No!" For whatever reason, I drained the rest of my tea and said, "You can't stop me from looking for him." What little energy I had left drained from me and I fell back into the chair.

"Exactly. You're not doing anything tomorrow even if I have to tie you to the bed." As he talked a felt my eyes closing completely of their own accord.

"Bastard," I slurred. "Whuz you pu' in mu drink?" Cid grinned at me.

"Don't worry Squall. Just helping you get that good night sleep I ordered you to get. And tomorrow, breakfast."

POV

Days just kind of melded into nights while I was here, and it vaguely reminded me of when I was first bitten. At first I thought this was less painful both mentally and physically. But while I was handling the physically pain all right, everything was beginning to wear on me mentally. Between Sephiroth, not knowing where I was or what time it was, I was kind of beginning to fall apart mentally.

Sephiroth proceeded to strap me back into my stupid wooden chair. He'd fed me, after he'd…played with me, but I had a voracious appetite and what little I was aloud to eat or drink hadn't sated that appetite in the least. Still, I managed to muster up a snarl as he patted my cheek. The stupid bastard. How I loathed him, wanted him to burn for an eternity in hell. Or…my mind wandered back to the legend of Prometheus, a Greek god who gave the humans fire. Zeus and the other gods sentenced him to an eternity of being chained to a mountain and having a demon called the Fury, peck out and eat his liver every day of eternity. I think I might like to see that happen to the Sephiroth. He after all, could not die as he so happily told me. Bastard.

And so, in the room that never changed in appearance or smell, except for the blood on the floor, my blood, I reflected on my life. It was kind of like that "life flashing before your eyes" thing except this was much slower and I was able to laugh or scorn certain memories. Plus, my memories were in color. Usually, people said the whole experience was in black and white. So beat that, mine was in color.

I hadn't given up hope yet; I still imagined Squall and the rest of the gang out there searching for me but I wasn't sure if they would get here before Kairi finished me off. And speak of the devil, I heard the door open and close and her now familiar footsteps scamper across the floor. Kairi entered my line of vision, all demented smiles and flying hands. "Are you enjoying your time with Sephiroth? I certainly hope you are."

"Bitch," I bared my teeth at her. Though, it probably didn't look very threatening. Sharper teeth would have helped, but I couldn't even master a full Change yet. I'd tried numerous times, since I'd had enough waiting time and times when I just wanted to disappear into a well of pain simply to escape from a greater pain. I felt like I was getting closer, though I may have just been delusional. But could you blame me?

Kairi shook her head back and forth. "That's not nice, Cloud. You'll have to be punished now." She sounded like some spoiled brat talking to a doll. Except this was much more real than that. Kairi pulled out the stupid little knife she always brought and circled behind me. Why she had to do it from behind, I didn't understand. Maybe she was afraid to see my face. Not that I really even cared what the reason was.

I know you're probably wondering why I don't just keep my big mouth shut. Well, Kairi didn't really care whether I was silent or not. I had ignored her taunting once and it got me no where. She did the same thing whether I "fought" back or just sat there. And I always found it to be a little less painful if I taunted her in return.

The knife point dug into my jaw line and she began to pull back. Ow, I hadn't been expecting her to go for my face. My poor gorgeous face. I would have had her kill me then and there if I really meant that, but I didn't so it was okay. Once she removed the blade I said, "It's a pity Kairi, that no one wants you. I mean, I'm sure you're the submissive type and would do anything in bed." The knife plunged into my side and I felt it break through to the other side, I gasped slightly but then clamped down on my tongue. She'd never actually stabbed me before. It was always cutting with her. Thankfully, it felt like she had just gone through skin and nothing important like an organ or muscle or something. "On the other hand, you are kind of an annoying, self-centered, attention crazed bitch slut who won't take a hint."

Kairi twisted the knife under my skin and the resulting pain was bordering on excruciating. I clamped my eyes shut and grunted with the effort of holding my pain in. As she jerked the knife out, I breathed out sharply in relief and the overwhelming smell of my own blood made me feel nauseous. "I don't know what he sees in you," her voice a bit sing song. Very creepy. "You're an airhead, you're arrogant, you're creepy, and you're a freak."

"Sounds like you." She moved around to stand in front of me looking a bit like she wanted to peck out my liver every day for all eternity.

"I," she said indignantly and swelled up like a proud peacock, "am no freak. I'm not confused about my sexual orientation and I'm a human." She sneered at me and said, "Unlike you."

I tried to leap out of my chair, but the restraints held me back. My efforts only caused the straps to rip open the already cut up skin on my wrists. "You sick bitch! Just because you can't find someone who loves you, you take away the people that other's love! And leave them to be…" I swallowed and steeled myself for the next word, "raped repeatedly by their worst enemies while you can't even look at them while you rip them apart with some pathetic little knife. You're worse than a coward. You're worse than the lowest scum sucking creature that ever plagued this planet. You're-"

Kairi screamed something unintelligible and stabbed me in the right shoulder with the knife. Oh, shit. And she just left the knife there and stormed out.

Alright then. On the minus side, I'd been stabbed and had no way of helping myself. On the plus side, she hadn't pulled the knife out which might led to massive blood loss and I would still have no way to help myself. I couldn't decide whether to scream or…scream.

Comforting thought: Prometheus escaped the mountain with the aid of Hercules and broke the Fury's neck.

Now, all I needed was my Hercules.

POV

"So, we know where he is?"

While I'd been forced to stay in my room throughout most of the day, I was animatedly thanking Cid in my mind for forcing me to stay here and recuperate. They'd found where Cloud would be, and I'd need all my strength for whoever was holding him hostage.

Cid nodded and I said, "How did you find out?" It was still hard to believe that in just a few moments I would be going to rescue Cloud with the others.

"Well," Cid began, "While I thought Sora was safe in my room, he escaped during the day to go and look for Riku and Kairi." I shook my head and secretly thanked Sora for disobeying orders. "He started to talk to people, asking around and stuff. And one person came up to him and told him that he'd seen a big guy carrying a blonde over his shoulder. Apparently, the guy followed them and saw where they went. He told Sora, and Sora just told me." He shook his head and grinned. "I can't believe the little runt pulled off something like that."

I jumped up and started to head to the door. "What are we waiting for? Let's go get him."

Cid laughed, and grabbed my shoulder. "We're waiting for everyone else to get back. They're all still out in the city, coming back."

At that moment Yuffie leaped through the door that I had half opened, falling into me and causing me to fall to the floor. "I'm here!" She shouted enthusiastically, not noticing that she had just dropped me like a stone. I stood up abruptly as the others filed in, in a quieter fashion. "Can we go now?" Yuffie saved me the breath of asking that particular question.

Cid nodded. "Have at 'em, guys."

POV

I felt as if had been only minutes before the door opened and closed again. There weren't any footsteps and I wondered if my mind was just playing tricks on me. Or maybe it was Kairi trying to decide what she was going to do now that she'd left her knife in my shoulder. But as whoever it was began to walk, I recognized his footsteps. There were only two people who ever came in and out of this room and if it wasn't Kairi, it was Sephiroth. Oh God, please no.

Unlike Kairi, he had no qualms about standing in front of me and getting up in my face. And that's just what he did. "Well Cloud, it's time we leave. Some of your little buddies have shown up and Kairi's having a heart to heart with them." My buddies? Squall! As my brain slogged through what this would mean for me, Sephiroth was busy undoing the wrist and chest restraints.

"Just think Cloud. No more Kairi. You'll be safe from her and you'll be with me. For a very long time." Oh like hell I would be. With one hand free, I punched Sephiroth in the side of the head. Something he obviously wasn't expecting. He stumbled backwards, shook his head before he descended upon me. One of his cold hands grabbed mine in a steely grip and the other one wrapped around my throat, closing off the airway. "Cloud, stop fighting me." I wriggled my other wrist a little, trying to ignore the sharp pain as the ruined skin was irritated and the muscles in my shoulder around the knife moved. He had loosened the restraint, so maybe if I wriggled enough I could get it open…

He leaned in and pressed his fetid lips to mine. Disgusting yes, but if it distracted him from my attempted escape, fine. The door slammed open behind us; well, behind me and in front of him as he snaked his tongue into my mouth. I drew the line there. I bit him, feeling a bit of déjà vu from the first time he'd tried this. He looked up from me, still holding my wrist and closed his grip around my throat. I wriggled faster with my other wrist as my vision began to darken at the edges. Unless he was a necropheliac – which I really hoped he wasn't – he was going to be very angry with himself.

"Ah, so you're done with Kairi are you? Did you all have fun screwing her?" Who was he talking to? Were Cid and the others here? Was Squall here?

"Why don't you stop talking out of your ass and come fight me." My mind faintly registered that Squall was talking. Squall… I started to drift off into a dreamy place when Sephiroth finally released my throat. I heard him step away as I fought to regain some of my consciousness. I couldn't, wouldn't, die now. Squall was here; he'd made it before Sephiroth could take me away, and before Kairi could kill me. Everything was swimming around me and I could hear Squall and Sephiroth walking but I couldn't tell where they were.

"Have you come to save your precious Cloud?" Sephiroth. I ground and blinked my eyes, slowly shaking my head from left to right as if they would somehow clear my vision. It just made me more dizzy.

"Cloud?" That was Squall. I heard him step and then metal clashed on metal. Sephiroth had his sword? I tried blearily to remember if I'd seen him with a sword or not. Failing to remember, I jiggled my wrist again and felt blood sliding down my fingers. Damn it. Then I realized that Sephiroth no longer had my other hand. Yes, brilliant I know. I reached across and fiddled with the straps, trying to feel my around them as my eyes still hadn't quite focused yet.

As I worked, I heard Sephiroth and Squall fighting behind me and willed myself to work faster so I could help Squall. I finally unbuckled the strap and pulled my sore wrist out of it, wincing as waves of pain radiated from my stabbed shoulder. Metal squealed and screeched and my sensitive ears picked up Sephiroth's voice. "I can see why you want him so bad; he was a nice little fuck. And I had him again and again." Squall roared and I heard someone slam into the ground, hoping it was Sephiroth.

With my left hand, I grabbed the knife and tried to relax my shoulder to make the knife's exit less painful. I pulled my hand forward and the knife slid out smoothly, but still painfully. I gasped, not realizing I had held my breath until the knife was finally out. Then I quickly unbuckled the straps around me legs and stood up unsteadily.

The room spun and my stomach heaved, but I managed to lean on the chair and calm my erratic senses. Lifting my head up, I saw Squall and Sephiroth exchanging blows as they moved across the white floors now stained with splashes of blood. The floor beneath my own feet had a small puddle of blood around it. I pressed my left hand to my right shoulder, pressing on the wound as blood streamed out of it. As Squall and Sephiroth fought, I ripped off a piece of cloth and held it tightly to the knife wound.

Sephiroth swung his long sword over his head. Squall deftly blocked and kicked Sephiroth in the chest. The silver haired man staggered back and swept his sword across his body. Squall jumped back and I tensed as I saw Sephiroth's sword catch on Squall's white shirt. Squall smirked and stood tall. "Is that your best?" He mocked Sephiroth, obviously feeling all right. My silver haired enemy glared at him, disbelief clouding his features, and I felt like laughing for the first time in a long while.

Sephiroth stood up tall as well, straightening out the shoulders that had been hunched before in his disbelief. "No," he said and his eyes darkened. "I have a lot more than you could you imagine." Squall didn't falter as the silver haired demon came at him again, sword flying and flashing. Both gave and lost ground continually, neither willing to let up.

Until Squall slipped on some blood on the ground.

As he fell, a look of triumph filled Sephiroth's face as he plunged his sword towards Squall's heart. There was a flash of metal as I staggered forward to see better. Squall's Gunblade was up, and it had deflected Sephiroth's sword to his other shoulder. I touched my own wound in the same place, wondering at the coincidence. Squall's head tilted back in a silent protest, his eyes shut as Sephiroth glared victoriously down at him.

I needed to save him.

But how? I looked around frantically for a weapon but there wasn't a one in sight. And then I realized that I was a weapon. If only I could get the Change to work for me…

"And now here you are. Cloud's lover, about to die before his very eyes." Sephiroth tossed a look in my direction but then focused on Squall who was struggling to get Sephiroth away. In the meantime, I was hunched over trying to find something, anything to draw out the wolf inside. I thought of freedom and Squall and killing Sephiroth; of feeling his throat in my teeth. I could feel precious seconds slip by as Sephiroth talked. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of him." Just when I was about to give up with the whole Changing thing and attack Sephiroth with my bare hands, I felt that familiar twinge in my gut and braced myself.

It was really fast this time and painless, surprisingly enough. My whole body quivered for a moment before launching in the contracting and lengthening of muscles; of cruching bone and moving organs. I figured with how beaten up I already was, the Change would be even more painful but it wasn't, not at all.

Through the haze of the Change I could hear Sephiroth telling Squall what he'd do to me after Squall was dead, and my rage only fed the speed of my Change. It was as if one moment I was a human and the next I was wolf. Shaking myself briefly to adjust, I took off across the floor. Thankfully I had kind of leaped first, so there was so comical scrabbling on the slick white floor for me. The clicking of my nails on the floor alerted both of them to my presence and predictably, both turned to look at me.

Sephiroth yelled something, but the blood was pounding in my ears and I didn't really care what that guy had to say anymore. As he moved the pull his sword from Squall, I launched myself at him.

It seemed like I was moving in slow motion as my body soared towards him, jaws open and snarling, and the look on his face changed from fury to fear in a matter of seconds. And then my teeth were sinking into his throat and I heard his gurgled words as his blood seeped out of him and into my mouth, onto the floor. We stayed suspended in the air for a moment, me latched onto his throat and him thrown a few inches off the ground from the impact of my body.

Then life sped up again to a normal pace and he slammed into the ground, me on his chest and still grinding my teeth into his flesh for good measure. Jerking my head back, I ripped out his throat and opened my jaws to let his flesh drop from them. As I watched, his body began to glow brightly, turning white and then exploding into millions of green, circular particles. He was rejoining the Lifestream, as he said he would.

Damn. And I was hoping for a Fury to come and take him away.

I turned, my nails clicking on the white floor and saw Squall sitting there, Sephiroth's sword gone, with his hand to his shoulder. I limped over to him and he wrapped his arms around my neck. He stroked my fur and I nuzzled his face with a whine. It was so good to be back with him.

"Cloud, I love you." His voice was soft and those words made me feel all warm and melty inside. He hugged me tighter and I pulled away and willed myself to be a human again. It was surprisingly easy and painless again, and the whole thing ended with me kneeling in front of Squall as my body shuddered into its final human shape. Naked yes, but that didn't really matter right now.

"I love you too, Squall." Squall drew me into his arms and I didn't even care about the pain coming from my bruised and cut up body. I wrapped my arms around him and rested my head on his chest as he kissed the top of my head. I was with Squall again, and I was happy.

I'm sorry to say, but the next chapter might wind up being the last one. . Unless I can think of another plot twist… Which might result in me not updating until…next week sometime. Like, the end of next week. But, just figure that the next chapter will be the last one. I don't want to kill the story with endless, repetitive drabble. Anyway, lemme know what you guys think.

Also, I apologize for taking so loing to get htis one up. I've had a lot of homework altely, and then when I tried to update, fanfic wasn't working. So... Those are my excuses. Off to write Chapter 9