"This world is going to be consumed," one said.
"Oh?" said the other.
"I'm going to make it happen," one said.
"Really?" said the other.
"It's going to give me knowledge," one said. "I'm going to learn so much. And from that knowledge will come power."
"Hmph," said the other.
"I want you to come with me," said one.
The other said nothing.
"Think about it, you are already powerful enough to take this place by yourself," one said. "Imagine if you had the power of darkness as well."
The other said nothing.
"I know you have nothing to lose," one said.
The other said nothing.
"There's nothing left for you," one said.
The other said nothing.
"Except the pursuit of power," one said.
The other shook his head.
"Even so," said the other. "I have more than enough darkness already."
"I can't guarantee your safety," one said.
"Can you guarantee your own?" said the other.
One said nothing.
The other left.
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The Hollowing of the Castle
It began under the ground. A soft ringing and then a tearing sound. The world went silent, listening to these new sounds. There was a light giggle and then a deep bass laughter coursed through the air. It began, with laughter.
The castle shuddered. Gradually, a chorus of screams rose from the town below. Soft giggles that weren't quite sound, traveled across the castle grounds and whispered in the lone man's ears. The castle shook again and the screams got louder. From inside as well, shrieks of fear rose up and mingled with the already crowded air.
But here, in this cold stone room, the man simply nodded slightly.
There was a crash and the sound of crumbling rock. A loud screech echoed from the room adjacent to the man. The screech was followed by a click and then a beep. Finally, a metallic, electronic voice emanated from inside the castle.
"-the Rising Falls! I repeat, Radiant Garden is under attack! This is not a drill! Everyone inside the castle, please evacuate to the Rising Falls! I repeat…"
The warning soon became a droning presence. The man knew that there must be a similar message playing in the town below. He wondered, briefly, if anyone would survive. He sighed softly. Outside, footsteps began to echo and soon grew louder as a rushing current of people began to hurry past the doorway to his dark room. While he sat, the man heard pieces of hurried conversation while the mob rushed by.
"What were they?"
"How could this happen?"
"Where's Ansem?
"DADDY! DADDY'S STILL BACK THERE!"
"Daddy will be just fine sweety."
"Oh god…oh my god!"
"They looked like shadows."
There was a thump outside the door and the man knew that someone had fallen to their knees.
"We're doomed!"
"KEEP IT TOGETHER!"
"Will you shut up! There's no point! You saw them kill Michael! We don't have a chance!"
"Will you calm down! Squall told us to get to the Rising Falls! He's back there risking his life so that idiot's like you can get out of here!"
"I don't care…I never asked him to risk his life. It's suicide. It's…"
The man stood up slowly and walked to the door.
"Don't give up dammit! Even if he dies, maybe he really did buy us enough time to get out of here! If you don't take advantage of that, everything he did will be in vain!"
"I DON"T CARE!"
The man opened the door slowly and looked outside. One man was on his knees, his eyes were wet with tears and wide with fear. He was pounding the ground in frustration. Another man stood over him, screaming and pointing down the corridor where the last of the mob had turned and escaped.
"I DON'T CARE ANYMORE! LEAVE ME! I JUST WANT TO-"
The man's hand moved like a blur and the distraught man on the ground went silent, and then limp. His head hit the ground, his body followed.
There was a moment of silence as the other man in the hall looked down at his companion. He sputtered something and then fell silent again. Slowly, he turned to look at the man in the doorway.
"S-Sephiroth?"
The man nodded.
Again, the man in the hallway looked at his fallen companion.
"You…you killed him."
"I did what he wanted."
"But…"
Sephiroth stepped past the man and began walking in the direction the mob had come from.
"Those who wish for death will find it in the end, and in crisis, shall take others with them." Sephiroth turned to face the man. "I may have saved your life. Now go. Leonheart is fighting for your escape. Don't let it be in vain." Sephiroth turned again and began walking up the hallway. Behind him, the man sputtered uselessly, then turned, and ran the other way, sobbing softly.
Sephiroth shook his head, feeling his soft silver hair brush against the nape of his neck. As he walked, he pondered the fleeing crowd. What does Ansem plan to do? How can he expect to evacuate this many people? The man doesn't have access to that many gummi ships. He turned the corner, now consumed in his own thoughts.
And what is Leonheart thinking? He had sparred with the boy several times. He was good for his age, but couldn't lay a finger on the man. Was he just trying to buy the other's time? Did he plan to escape himself? He had always been a fool when it came to protecting others.
The other one though…
Sephiroth's mind returned to the other child of the castle. The blonde haired boy who showed up one day without parents or belongings. Ansem had, of course, taken him in, just like every other orphan that showed up in his home. That boy showed promise. That boy had power, and not only that, he was untainted.
That was what drew the man in. Squall was pure as well, but he didn't show the same kind of promise that the other boy did. The other boy was perfect, untouchable, even by him, and he was strong. His potential was immense. And that is why he wanted to destroy him.
Sephiroth shook with the thought of bringing the invincible child into shadow but calmed himself. There was no time to think about the end of the plan, he must focus on the plan itself right now. He repeated those words in his head until he could hear the sound of battle in the distance.
Around him, the sound of the droning loudspeaker continued but beyond that was the very distinctive sound of a hopeless fight. The man began to walk faster now. If he wanted things to go his way, he would need to move quickly. He rounded another corner. The courtyard was near. Leonheart would be there. He knew that. He only hoped that there wouldn't be others.
He turned around another bend and before him stretched the vast castle courtyard. For nearly twenty feet, green, well kept grass stretched in front of him. After that, it was cut off immediately by something dark. Something that looked like a puddle of liquid darkness oozed over the blades of grass. In the growing puddle, a young man with brown hair and torn clothes stumbled backward, panting and nearly out of breath.
He was holding a sword in one hand. His other hand was held tightly to his chest where a dark red patch was slowly growing on his white undershirt. Sephiroth smiled, it seemed that he was just in time. In front of Squall, a wall of shadow rose up and from it poured little creatures with bright golden eyes. They opened their tiny mouths and raised small hands tipped with sharp claws.
The man stepped forward and placed a hand on the hilt of his sword. Squall staggered to his feet and took his blade in both hands, letting the blood flow freely from the wound on his chest. Sephiroth smiled at the boy's tenacity. He was stronger than he had given him credit for. But he wasn't strong enough.
In a flash, Sephiroth was in front of the boy with his own sword drawn. The silver sheen glinted in the light before it whipped forward and cleaved a giant scar through the ranks of shadow. The tide of creatures split and then exploded into the same shadowy ooze that covered the courtyard ground.
Not turning, the man pointed a finger at Squall and said quietly, "Curaga."
Squall felt the magic course through him and he felt his wounds knit together. In moments he felt as though he could move again, then as though he could run. He stood shakily and looked questioningly at the swordsman in front of him.
"Why did you save me?" There was distrust in his voice. Sephiroth did not look away from the sea of creatures. It would be easier to lie if he wasn't looking at him anyway.
"I wasn't 'saving you,' I was 'killing the enemy.' Don't mistake one for the other." He sighed dramatically. "Now get out of here. You'll only get in my way. Hurry to the Falls."
Squall hesitated. "Why are you doing this?" Sephiroth rolled his eyes. He had known it wouldn't be easy.
"Boy," he began. "This is my home as well. I may not care for the people in it, But I don't plan to lie down and let these things take my home away from me. Besides," He stepped forward and readied his sword. "It's been a long time since I could fight without worrying about killing someone."
For any normal person, this would have been enough. Sephiroth knew that the boy was going to agree, maybe just…one more time…
"But I can't just leave! I promised everyone I would hold them off until they escaped!"
The shadows rose up again and dashed forward toward the man. He swung his sword again, ripping through them and sending them crashing backwards. He turned to face Squall.
"I am a stronger fighter than you. I can kill more of them than you can. You should go to the Falls and protect the people there." He turned away. "Just remember. I'm not protecting anyone. I am killing for my own benefit."
Squall paused, shook his head and then smiled. "Yea…sure thing." He turned and ran to the hallway. "And Sephiroth?"
"Why are you still here?"
Squall nodded and turned again. As he entered the hall, he whispered something.
"Thank you."
Sephiroth shook his head. The shadows ceased their movement and remained still for a few moments. When he was sure that the boy could not hear him, he sheathed his sword and took a step forward.
"Xehanort!"
His yell echoed through the courtyard. He paused and stepped forward again, leaning down to peer into the golden eyes of one of the little creatures.
"Xehanort if you have any bit of sanity left, show yourself!"
There was a deep laughter that chorused through the waves of shadows. The creatures began to move again. Silently, they scuttled out of the way, forming a circle around Sephiroth. In front of him, the puddle of shadow stretched forward. Then, it gave off a ripple.
The liquid splashed upward and from it, a figure soared out and landed messily on the ground. He was dripping the substance for a moment and then, as though he were a sponge, his skin absorbed the shadow. After a moment, the figure straightened up.
"Ah, Sephiroth." The figure laughed again. "That was a brilliant performance. Completely fooled Leonheart. Excellent job."
"You saw through it, I see."
The figure contorted with raucous laughter. "Saw through it? I didn't have to. I know you. You don't act like that. You don't care for this place. You're not even a killing machine like you said." The figure paused. "Which makes me wonder, what do you want? It's too late to take me up on my offer, you know."
"Yes, I know." Sephiroth looked around at the teeming mass of shadow. "And I know you can't guarantee my safety." He stepped toward the figure. "I would like you to keep someone else safe instead."
"Keep him safe? That doesn't sound like you at all."
Sephiroth smiled and felt a tingle run down his spine. "Yes, keep him safe." He shivered with the thought of his plan. "Keep him safe, and alone."
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So this is more for peace of mind than anything else. I've been writing all my Sephiroth fictions as though they begin in Final Fantasy VII then migrate to Kingdom Hearts. So, here's just a look at how I see things had they of started in Radiant Garden. I think it's pretty good. I think Sephiroth is characterized well. Very in character, unlike how I tend to write him. It feels good to write him as a villain again.
Well, tell me what you think, I may write a bit more on this although my primary focus will always be my other story.