Cloud sat quietly in the little hotel room, part of him just wanted to go into the next room and slice the head of of the SeeD headmaster. To wipe that smug and polite smile of the chubby and middle aged man.
How much loyalty did the headmaster have with the six SeeD's that he wanted to kill? If he performed the broadcast, would it really work and lure the teens out of hiding or would it simply make them dig deeper into their hiding place?
He closed his blue eyes, wondering what kind of way he could kill Kramer with the least noise. It made his skin crawl knowing how close he was to something that was stopping him reaching his goal of bringing Aeris back. His body responding to the thought of killing like a drug, every nerve seemed to alight with anticipation.
I miss you so much but that will soon stop when I have you back in my arms...he thought as he shrugged out of his shirt, we'll be together soon. It'll all be perfect.
His boots landed with a soft thud on the floor as he pulled them off, his body ached for the chance to unwind but as usual, he refused to give into that temptation. He had to keep his mind and body strong for the up coming battle.
The former SOLDIER knew everything that was due to happen over the course of the next couple of days, the crystal had showed him every possible action the remaining Balamb SeeD's could and would do. It was nothing too perplexing or taxing for Barret and Nanaki.
While the crystal had shown the present situation to him, it wasn't perfect. Something was blocking it from showing him the new arrival that had decided to show up at the Fire Caves. That annoyed him, he hated being kept in the dark about things but he'd find out soon enough.
The being must have had some connection to the SeeD's but why the crystal hadn't shown him the identity of the newcomer was interesting. Could it be a possible threat to the mission or was it just some idiot who was in the wrong place at the wrong time?
"I'll deal with that person later," he mumbled as he looked out of the window, the stars looked so pretty in the dark sky as they came out.
Why do they struggle against the tide? Why do they feel the need to resist us? Cloud stood up and walked slowly to the window, Cid...Vincent...stay out of my way or I will destroy you both.
While there was no loved lost between the trio, he wasn't ready to forgive them for the betrayal that they had performed. Memories of times he had spent with them threatened to erupt through the walls he had managed to build up.
However, he found there was some small little part of his soul that actually felt sick about killing his friends. Remorse and regret filtered faintly through his being as he thought about the dead form of Reeve. He hadn't meant to go as far as he did but all the lies that the feline man was telling him only made him more angry and insane.
If Reeve had only told him the truth, only gave him what he wanted. All he had to do was tell him where Cid was heading but the man had refused him that, he had screamed in pain throughout the entire painful ordeal, sharing only the fact that Cid had been in the area but that was all.
He leaned against the window sill, the town looked so quiet in the darkness. It really did remind him of his home back in Nibelhiem before Sephiroth had torched the sleepy place.
Cloud clenched his fist and slammed it against the wooden sill. It infuriated him to even think about his own past. He should really be looking into the future, trying to plan what he and Aeris would do when she finally returned back to him.
He pulled out his cell phone, punching in a number. He better inform Barret and Nanaki that he actually had the headmaster with him and that they were to go back to the original mission of dealing with the errant two of the six who was hiding on the island of Balamb. A part of him wondered if he should also share the fact that they had a new visitor on the island with them.
"Yeah?" Barret's voice stated through the hard plastic case.
Cloud smiled slightly, "It's Cloud. Listen, I've got Kramer with me, go back to the original plan. Find those two missing kids. Kill them on sight."
"Bit of luck on the headmaster eh? Awright," Barret laughed, "Red an' me are heading to the Fire Cave as we speak. It's the only place close 'nough for the vermin to run to"
"Barret..." Cloud found that he wasn't really wanting to share the information on the mysterious stranger on the island with them.
"What is it Spike?" the large former coal miner and resistence fighter asked through the line.
"Nothing," the blonde stated, "Go, don't fail on this one. It should be a nice easy kill for you and Red."
"You're a damn strange dude," Barret laughed, "What do we do after that?"
"I want you to head over to Trabia Garden, the rest of the rats might've headed there," Cloud ordered, "Take the army with you, destroy them."
"Awright. Anything else?" Barret seemed to sense that there was something that Cloud was holding back on.
The former ex-SOLDIER said nothing as he ended the call. It was interesting to see if those two would actually go ahead with the killing or be killed by the new arrival. While he would miss them if they died, they weren't anything special in his plans. They held no specific role in his future with Aeris and he had no problems killing them if it ever boiled down to it.
Who are you? Why have you decided to help the SeeD's that are destined to die? he thought as he pressed his palm against his forehead, it didn't make sense. Who would be stupid enough to help them? Surely not the townspeople, they had seen the destruction they had performed agaisnt the Garden.
A knock on the door brought him out of his thinking, it could not have been the hotel's staff. He'd made it a point not to be disturbed by anyone, maybe it was Headmaster Kramer, looking for more information in regards to his poor little garden.
"Who is it?" he called out.
His second guess was correct, "It's Cid Kramer. May I come in?"
Cloud rolled his blue eyes, company was not something he was really after this evening. What could he possibly say to the middle aged man? Surely the fact that he had avoided every conversation since the initial meeting was testimont to the fact that he wasn't much of a talker.
"Do you have to?" he muttered under his breath as he headed to the door.
"Are you in?" Kramer called softly through the door.
The man who had made it his mission in life to destroy SeeD's elite took a deep breath as he stopped at the wooden door, catching his reflection on the full length mirror that had been placed near by. He gave it a long glance, taking in how thin he looked and how tired. Perhaps he should order a meal and get some sleep before the morning schedule?
"Yeah?" he opened the door, waiting for the next question to come out of Kramer's mouth.
"May I speak with you some more? I want to know exactly what you saw in regards to the Garden being destroyed, I've not been able to think about anything else since we arrived here," Kramer wrung his hands and looked like he was telling the truth.
The older man's eyes looked red and his hair ruffled, alcohol could be caught slightly coming off his breath. Cloud said nothing as he sighed mentally, the old man seemed to think that drowning his sorrows in booze was a way to chase away any nasty thoughts about what might have happened to his precious young children.
Rather harshly Cloud responded, "I've all ready told you everything that I saw. What more do you want to know?"
Kramer blinked in surprise, "I...I just want to know if there was anyone who escaped..."
Cloud found the weakness of this man suddenly disgusting, it was suddenly clear that it was not Cid Kramer who was the real power behind the elite of SeeD. It was all those around him, when it boiled down to it, infront of him right now was a sad fat man who relied on his children to perform his dirty work. It was sickening.
There was no way that he was going to let that go unpunished, he loathed weakness and Kramer was showing that by the bucketful at the moment. The crystal had shown him the man's past and there was small parts of his life where he had shown some backbone but that was rather rare and far between.
The man hadn't had the balls to fight for his wife when Cid Highwind had entered into the happily married couple's life for a few months. All he had done was sit back and mope around in the background when the pilot had quite happily flirted with and bedded the young sorceress at the time. No wonder the ebony locked woman had strayed away from her husband, she had some life breathed into her.
"Fine...come in," Cloud stepped back from the door and allowed Kramer access into the room, not caring how the man instantly spotted the huge sword sitting against the far wall.
"You say you were a SeeD..." Kramer edged nervously to a chair, unsure that he should have actually came now.
The young man smiled coldly as he locked the door to the room, "Actually I didn't. You just assumed that I was."
Headmaster Kramer frowned in confusion, he didn't even know this gentleman's name. All he knew was that he had seen the reported destruction of his Balamb Garden and wanted him to make a public plea to alert the other remaining SeeD bases to assist.
"Well, I didn't catch your name," Cid tried to sound friendly and confident but found himself lacking.
"I didn't throw it out," Cloud sat at the edge of the bed, his glowing eyes never once moving away from Cid's.
Kramer's heartbeat shot up, any kind of friendliness the blonde had shown him previously seemed to have disappeared completely from the blue eyes of the man sitting across from him. The man's pale face held no emotion, it was as though he was a million miles away from the current situation, thinking of something else.
Why was he showing this coldness to him all of a sudden after showing all that empathy back at the train station? It didn't make sense.
"Well...may I ask you," Kramer cleared his throat, "what is your name?"
Cloud gave him a one sided smile, "Cloud Strife."
Cloud Strife? That sounds somewhat familair...Kramer frowned, he hastily tried to recall when he had last heard that name being said by someone but sadly, time seemed to have blurred that name from his clear memory.
The young blonde stood up from the bed, "You know a former mate of mine. You also know some other people who I want to kill."
"What!" Cid choked on a surprised breath, the blonde man knelt down in front of him.
The headmaster of Balamb Garden wasn't sure as to what exactly startled him more about the young man infront of him. His entire attitude had suddenly became so cold and callous. The man's glowing blue eyes looked like they could freeze the sun.
Cloud grabbed Kramer by the throat and tightened his grip, "We can do this any number of ways but you seem to be far to much of a coward to actually say no to my offer."
He waited until Kramer nodded weakly in agreement, this action made something snap in his mind. It sickened him as to how easy the man was willing to give in to hostile actions. If he accomplished anything during the broadcast, it would be to show the SeeD's what kind of a founder they had. A weak and spineless little man who always hid behind his little warriors.
A man who had set up so many rules and standards of behaviour that the teenagers should live up to. To show pride and confidence in battle, to treat another with respect and not to show fear when presented with a powerful foe.
It was laughable really to him, he would give SeeD a broken founder when he dragged the man's body to the TV station in the morning.
Cloud released Kramer from his grip and watched as he slumped slightly forward. The man's torture wasn't over however, Cloud was sure of that. He was going to get every peice of information he could out of this man before making him perform infront of the planet.
The ex-SOLDIER leaned over to his boot and pulled out the knife he had used on the unfortunate Reeve two days or so ago. The man's blood was still clinging to the blade, causing Cloud to growl inwardly. At least Reeve had shown he had some courage left within him.
"We're going to play a little game now," the blonde edged closer on his knees as he pulled of Kramer's shoes and socks.
He stood up and looked for something to tie up and gag Kramer with. Having his little 'conversation' interupted by the man's screams wasn't going to help with his mood. If anything, it simply meant that he would have to dispose of more bodies.
Nothing seemed to be really suitable for a bound so he tore long strips off of the tacky bedsheets and proceeded to tie up the overweight man sitting in the chair. It didn't take that long and he used Kramer's own sock as a stuffing for the gag when it was needed.
"...what...what are you doing?" Kramer felt his heart pound rapidly in his chest, he was honestly scared.
The man in front of him seemed eerily calm as though he had done this kind of thing a hundred times before. An almost bored look played in the blue eyes but that was quickly hidden as Cloud looked back up to him and toyed with the sharp and evil looking blade he held.
"I told you," Cloud whispered as he took hold of one of Kramer's feet with a cold hand, "we're going to play a game."
Kramer shivered as his captor ran the blade gently up and down the sole of his bare foot, he could only imaging what kind of game the blonde was thing about playing with him. He prayed to the heavens that it didn't involve anything with the bloodstained knife.
"What kind of game?" he knew that he was going to regret asking that.
"This little piggy," Cloud grabbed hold of the headmaster's foot and brought the blade flush against his big toe.
Time compression
Vincent couldn't believe the pain that he had actually caused himself by calling his demons to the fore front. Chaos had fought all the way back and the winged beast hadn't went quietly. The other three demons in his body had battled with each other and had literally tried to tear his body apart.
Mentally he kept slapping himself over and over, why had he been so eager to call forth the rest of the idiots? He had heard all the words that he had said to his friend Cid. It was true though, he had been part of the tag team but like Cid, he didn't want to be reminded of them.
Why in the God's name did I suggest coming this way...he groaned as he sat up slowly, he spat out blood from his mouth.
You wanted to get the kiddies to Esthar quickly and safely, doing it any other way might have been too dangerous. You seemed to think that having Cid around you would have made Chaos quiet, the hellmasker whispered softly from the distance in his mind, if anything, it pissed him off further. Knowing what he had been and now a slave to promoting good once again.
Vincent sighed softly as he gingerly placed his hand on a slippy and wet spot. A few thoughts went through his mind as he processed all he could in the perpetual darkness he had been plunged into. Had he been sick or was he spilling blood from a wound that had long went numb?
It seemed that the demons had caused some damage during their battle for control. His jaw clicked in places that he thought just wasn't possible and his skull felt a few sizes to small.
When he tried to sit up, his rib cage threatened to explode with pain. Chaos had obviously kicked him for good measure and none of the demons right now wanted to share their unique ability to heal quickly with him anytime soon.
His vision hadn't cleared yet, all he was greeted with was the seemingly pure darkness. He was aware that someone was still with him but he wasn't so sure as to who his companion was. Was it Cid? Had he returned after all that had been said?
Did friendship still have a meaning with the blonde and if so, how far would Vincent get on that borrowed and strained note? That actually filled him with a small sense of pride, at least someone in the group still cared enough about the feelings and well being of others.
"You...alright?" Tifa's voice sounded so soft and gentle in the darkness that surrounded him, "...you gave us one hell of a scare. I never have seen you do that before."
Vincent rubbed his eyes with his good hand, trying to clear his blackened vision. Tifa? When had she arrived on the scene? He took a few extra seconds in silence, Chaos had mainly ignored the woman. The beast deciding that Cid was a much more worthwhile target to verbally abuse.
He wasn't going to allow Tifa the chance to see him as anything but strong, "Not something I like bragging about."
You can cause a riot in your own body with the demons you carry just so you get control in this world, the former bar hostess thought as she watched Vincent place another unsteady hand on the ground, you went agaisnt Chaos and the others and won. It is something to brag about.
Tifa said nothing as she pulled him to his feet, she gave him the once over. He looked like his normal self though his red eyes were wide, darting from place to place. The young woman noticed how hesitant the man was on his feet.
Had the demonic fight within him caused more damage than even Vincent had bargained for?
"Are you ok?" Tifa asked again, unsure if she could cope with any answer that the ebony haired man gave her if it wasn't an ok.
"My...sight isn't cleared yet," Vincent said slowly, he raised his metal hand infront of him and felt the air, sharing all the medical problems he was suffering from didn't seem like a good idea and they really didn't have time.
Silence came back to Vincent as he retreated to his own mind, looking for at least one of his demons to offer some kind of assistence and help restore his sight back to normal. It certainly wasn't likely that his own demons would readily offer it.
I will help you, it was Hellmasker who surprised Vincent by those four words, Allow me to heal you.
You will not have access to my body, Vincent stated adamantly in his mind, if that is not acceptable, then I will wait until my body heals itself.
Hellmasker shrugged, it didn't want control. It simply wanted to repay Vincent for allowing it the chance to have a square go with the winged demon Chaos. The other three demons had been rather surprised when the human had told them that he wanted control of his body and that Chaos was hogging the limelight.
The remaining demons had jumped at the chance to battle Chaos and they had all enjoyed the riot that had occurred. Gigas however had been a little regretful that the human body of Vincent had been damaged by the struggle and had sent out Hellmasker to offer the chance of healing.
Fine, no problem, Hellmasker agreed, don't want it anyway. Hurry up and get out of this place. Chaos can only be kept down for so long before he decides that he wants another shot of control.
The dark haired man felt a little fear at that prospect. There was no way he was ready for a second round of a who's the owner of the body. Chaos growled from deep within the body, making it's anger well known.
Stay there, Vincent hissed to the beast, Hellmasker, I accept.
"Vincent?" Tifa placed a hand on his shoulder, "Vincent?"
"Yeah?" the former Turk responded, how long would it take the Hellmasker to actually kick in with it's healing skills?
The very thought of the hockey masked faced demon actually being a healer was rather amusing. From deep within, an interesting image of the demon with a large oversized needle and a green surgical mask strapped over the lower half of the mask.
"Are you going to be okay?" the martial artist asked, she didn't want to hurry the man but his time was short in this place. Cloud could be back soon or one of the others could return.
She didn't want to leave him on his own but from the looks of it she was going to have to. This feeling of weakness made her sick to her stomach due to the simple fact that there had been a time where she would have done anything for him, would have even given her life for him but that feeling had slowly crumbled over time.
All her friendships had began to suffer after a few years on this horrendous quest to bring back the dead. Her love life was non existent and she knew that when or if Aeris returned, any chance with Cloud would suffer a flaming death.
Cid had been right but she didn't want to vocally admit that fact infront of the others. Everyone who had challenged Cloud had been hurt or killed for thier thoughts.
Sephiroth wannabe...those two words still rang in her ears sometimes, had her childhood friend really became what he so dispised? Had he finally snapped and now followed the same insane rule book his one time general had written?
"You have to leave," Tifa whispered softly, breaking herself out of her thoughts, "It's just not safe for you here."
Vincent gave her a snort, "It's not safe anywhere."
"You better go," Tifa took hold of Vincent's human hand and tugged on it gently in the direction where Cid and the others had ran off in. If she could help Vincent get to the Esthar point, he would be able to then make his own way.
"What of you?" Vincent whispered, leaving Tifa here alone wasn't something that he was really willing to do. Tifa smile sadly, she knew the action wouldn't be picked up by the currently blind former Turk though he seemed to be handling the lack of visual stimuli pretty well. Did Hojo allow Vincent the chance to roam in the old Shinra Mansion basement during the time the man's eye colour had been changed?
Like Cid, Vincent seemed to be more interested in making sure she was okay. Even when faced with certain death or the possibilty of being caught by enemies, the pair always seemed to be up for helping and protecting other people. The fact that they were now fighting for the lives of the SeeDs meant they were dead serious about showing how defiant they were now.
"Come with me," Vincent offered into the darkness, wondering why the woman was still remaining with the insane Cloud Strife.
A tear spilled from her chocolate eyes, she wished she could go with them but Cloud would only go completely berserk. Perhaps she could try one last reasoning attempt with Cloud before she completely gave up but before that, she needed to get Vincent to Esthar in order for him to assist Cid and the three teens who would be there by now.
"Like I said to Cid, I'll face whatever punishment I'll incur," she stated as they began their slow walk down, "anyway...I have a plan."
Balamb Island...
Sephiroth had taken the lead throughout the traipse through the forest that lead the way to the small seaside town. He'd prefered to have done it in silence but there was small children travelling.
Sniffles and sobs could be heard from the younger kids and every one of the misery cries pierced Sephiroth's skull, causing nerves to fray and his dangerous temper to shorten. Irvine would try his patience as well by constantly being edgy and would spin on the spot whenever a bird caused the leaves on a tree to rustle.
The young sorceress had done nothing but stare at him. She had tried to intiate some kind of conversation but that had died a rather horrible little death. Sephiroth didn't know how to talk with young teenage girls, his knowledge of pop bands and music in this time was something rather dated. Every topic she had brought up had no relevence to him and he didn't feel like sharing his own past with her.
"So...Mister Sephiroth," Rinoa asked, "Where are you from? Originally?"
Sephiroth turned round partly to look at her, "Excuse me?"
The young woman refused to give up on her conversational skills, if she could get Squall to talk and interact more with his friends and colleagues, then she could sure as hell get this guy to talk to her. Basic questions like his likes or dislikes or even where he was from was better than the silence he had silently imposed.
"Where are you from?" she ventured, hoping to strike conversation up.
"...I really don't want to answer that," Sephiroth shook his head, he wasn't sure as to why he wanted to have this journey in silence but he did.
They are being a major distraction right now, he growled mentally, they need to be silent.
"Could you tell the others to shut up? Our hunters will be able to hear them," Sephiroth walked backwards for a few steps, elegantly avoiding the tree roots and rocks that littered the path.
That caught Rinoa off guard, "They're scared. How would you like knowing that someone was doing thier best to try and kill you?"
Silver hair fell over green eyes, a low chuckle emerged from his throat. He knew exactly how that felt, he hadn't sobbed his heart out. He hadn't found a closet to sit and hide in. His warped and deseased mind hadn't allowed him that childish and cowardly little action.
"Looking back at it...kinda wished I'd missed the girlfriend and killed him," he admitted, "then your problem wouldn't be here."
The sorceress raised an eyebrow. This man had so many questions to him and he never seemed to answer any that were directed about his own personal life. Who had been the girl he had been talking to about an hour or so ago?
"That girl, who you were talking to, that was her wasn't it?" the sorceress pressed for more information, anything to learn more about the silver haired stranger called Sephiroth.
The mention of the girl from earlier earned her a rather cold flash of the green eyes, Sephiroth span back round so his back greeted Rinoa as an answer. Every topic about him seemed to get the brush off, was he ashamed of his past? Ashamed of who he was?
"Come on, you've not told us anything we can really use to help ourselves with. Who is trying to kill us? What the hell did you mean when you said that man had been forgiven?" Rinoa narrowed her eyes, unsure as to why she felt so dependant on this man.
Surely it wasn't because he was the only one to step forward and take contol of the group and the situation? The young woman spared a glance to the rest of the group gathered, not one of them seemed to have recovered from the shock of seeing thier friends and family die at the hands of an army. No one had stepped forward to take leadership apart from the strange green eyed man.
Sephiroth crossed his arms, he had told them why someone was trying to get rid of them. The reason why he had said that Reeve had been forgiven was none of her concern. Reeve had never been the problem of AVALANCHE, neither was Cid or Vincent.
It boiled down to Cloud Strife, the young man had became such a little warlord since the death of Aeris. It had been slow in building, every death had chipped away at the fragile soul of the young blonde. His personal demons had sat and chewed on the remnants of his heart.
So much for the young warrior being nothing like his former idol, all the things that Cloud claimed to be different about the two swordsmen seemed to bring them closer together. Sephiroth had been eager to join his mother in the Promised land and had killed for it. Cloud was desperate to be reunited with his lost love and was killing to get that goal.
Because Cloud...you are a puppet, Jenova's words from an age ago resounded in his skull.
A puppet, a failed experiment. An incomplete Sephiroth clone not even granted a number by the mad Hojo. It seemed that time had finally shown the world that Cloud was not a failed clone. He was willing to kill to get what he wanted, to be complete by gaining the love of Aeris.
Cloud had gained powers that had outstretched his own, controlling time compression and commanding an army from the pits of hell. The longer Sephiroth thought about it, the more unsure the once great SOLDIER became of his confidence about how to destroy his adversary.
Every encounter they had together ended up with Sephiroth's defeat, no matter how hard he tried to fight. The last one had seen his soul sent into a thousand pieces into the lifestream. It had taken him years to literally pull himself back together.
"Mister Sephiroth?" Rinoa frowned, "I'd like some answers."
"He's called Cloud Strife," Sephiroth allowed his shoulders to sag very slightly, "as I stated in the Fire Cave, he's the one trying to kill you. He's trying to bring the woman who you saw talking to me back from the dead. As to why Reeve was forgiven, in time, you'll know the answer for yourself."
The silver haired being took another few steps before stopping sharply, out of the corner of his eye, he had spotted the tip of a fire red tail. His heart quickened in responce to the possible battle. Would he battle alone or would he have the back up of some of the teens behind him?
"You should be dead. We killed you," a voice hissed from behind them, startlement had been successfully hidden from it.
Sephiroth lowered his head and gripped the hilt of his sword, "It's been a few years Mr Barret Wallace."
Barret stepped out of hiding, revealing his large form and the nasty looking Missing score weapon attached to his right arm. His face had a dark smile as if he knew what was going to happen. Infront of him was three people who just deserved to die. One more than the other two.
The two teens that had been picked out for death looked like rabbits caught in headlights, instantly freezing and tried to edge closer to the one person who they thought would be able to assist them. Sephiroth took a long step away from them, he had to put some distance between them, to draw attention all onto him.
"Wouldn't think you would be a damn babysitter," came Barret's taunts, "Such a little girl."
Jaw muscles twitched in sheer anger over the comment, Sephiroth mentally counted to ten. No matter how many times he counted over to that number, the killing feeling returned with a fierce passion. Was it the comment that got him or was it more the fact that he had been defeated by the two warriors in this forest.
"Get out of my way before I cut you down where you stand," Sephiroth warned, green eyes burned with fire.
Barret stepped forward and fired a warning shot that just missed Sephiroth's left cheek, the bullet displaced a few strands of his long silver hair but nothing else moved. The former general smiled slightly.
"I was severely hoping you would say that, " Sephiroth whispered, his hand shook as he pulled out his sword slowly.
Never in his life had his hands shook so much in battle, even when he had been a complete and utter rookie in the field. Was he not as strong without the Jenova cells poisoning his form like a cancer?
A sick feeling crept into his stomach as his hands began to sweat, was this how normal humans reacted when faced with a battle that they don't know the outcome of?
Bullets flew out of the Missing score like they were on fire, every one of them crashed into the black wing Sephiroth had summoned to protect himself with. Barret growled in frustration, he hadn't expected the man to pull that little trick. Sephiroth had to be honest and admit that it surprised the hell out of him as well.
"How bout we do this fair n' square eh?" Barret called as he walked forward, "No guns or swords. Just a good old fist fight?"
Fist fight? Yeah, if I wanted my face rearranged, Sephiroth laughed mentally.
"Nah," the planet messenger declined, "It wouldn't be a fair one. You have your gun hand and you'll quite easily knock my block off."
The former AVALANCHE leader laughed, that was the answer he was looking for. It made it more interesting to see if he can actually hold his own against Cloud's arch nemesis in a fight. His own chance to see if he really could take on the infamous Sephiroth in human form.
"Sephiroth!" Rinoa called out, was this one of the guys he had warned them about?
"Rinoa," Sephiroth called her by name, "Stay on your guard. There's a large fire red lion prowling around."
The sorceress blinked in surprise and looked around the grassy area. She couldn't see anything that resembled a lion in the area but she wasn't about to ignore the warning. Irvine raised his weapon and stepped closer to the younger children, not really grasping the fact that he was one of the primary targets.
Out of habit when she was nervous, she clasped the rings that hung around her neck for strength. Rinoa took a few deep breaths and tried to kick herself into a battle fight mode, Irvine held his gun tightly, looking for the missing possible attacker.
"Get the kids out of here!" the former war general ordered, innocent eyes should not see the nastiness and sheer ugliness of death.
Sephiroth barely avoided the strong business end of Barret's gun arm as he elegantly stepped out of the way. The second blow however was more successful for Barret as the man connected with Sephiroth's knee and fired. The silver haired man went down quickly with a strangled growl of pain but quickly pushed the feeling aside as he tried to get to his feet again.
A bullet tore through his left knee as Barret continued to aim low, pain wasn't something that Sephiroth was accustomed to. The feeling was unusual and the silver haired man decided that he really didn't like feeling that much. It seemed that the planet, while giving him immortality, had passed up on the impervious to pain ability that he once had.
He stayed low, trying to dull the pain and push it elsewhere. For a few seconds, he lowered his gaze and closed his eyes only to be greeted with the gaping hole of the barrel of the Missing Score and Barret towering above him when he opened them again.
"Don't know why Spike was so damn scared of ya," the large man laughed, "You're nothing. A washed up war general."
Rinoa squeaked in horror as Barret sent Sephiroth sprawling to the ground as he slammed his weapon the the back of the groups leader's head. She couldn't take her eyes of the two figures, Sephiroth's sword dropped to the ground silently.
Barret picked up the powerful blade and held it at an angle. He drove it into the ground, making it stand on it's own accord. This wasn't all that he had planned for the blade that had slain the woman who had saved his daughter from the Turks all those years back. He held the hilt with his good hand and brought his heavy booted foot down the centre of it.
The blade snapped with a crystal sounding ping, "Pretty weak sword man."
Sephiroth panted heavily as he struggled to raise his head. His green eyes taking in the sight of his blade snapped in two. Why hadn't the lion entered into the fray? Why was it staying in the shadows?
The urge to kill those who had been responsible for his death was almost non existent. His anger wasn't there, how could he kill in cold blood? This surprised him, back in the academy he held no such qualm but now?
Now the idea repulsed him, it made him ill and his body shake. Had he really changed that much since the planet released him from his self made prison of memories?
How can I protect them if I cannot raise my sword? he cried mentally to whoever was watching out for the teenagers, give me the strength I need to help them...please...
Rinoa dug her feet into the soft grass, she wasn't going to allow this man to scare her. It didn't matter that Sephiroth had been knocked out and they were now on thier own. She would stand her ground and fight to protect those she was standing with.
The young sorceress clenched her fist and raised them, "I warn you...I'm a sorceress. My friends and I will not give in without a fight."
Rinoa felt herself being knocked backwards as Barret backhanded her to the ground and stood above her. He pointed the Missing Score at her chest and offered a cold farewell smile. The young sorceress squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the loud explosion of the bullets tearing through her ribs and lungs.
"Say goodn..." Barret seemed to stopped mid word as he blinked.
Something made the word stick in the man's throat, the raggedly end of a blade managed to peirce through his windpipe. Blood gurgled up into Barret's mouth and his dark eyes went huge with shock.
"When you make an offer to dance with the dead," Sephiroth hissed as he pushed the blade further into Barret's throat, "you don't disappear halfway through it to dance with someone else. We get quite upset."
"You...you'll get...get yours..." Barret choked out, every breath and word was painful.
Sephiroth kept one hand on the hilt of the sword while he placed the other on the blade's end that stuck out from his opponet's neck, "We all do. Now you have to stand up and take yours."
He ignored the scared and horrified screams of his charges as he took off his 'dancing partner's' head with a strong stroke. This man would not receive any forgiveness in the Lifestream, he would be tormented by his demons and those he killed over the eight hundred years until the planet and those he had killed thought he had suffered enough.
Blood splattered across Rinoa's face and chest, the sorceress's eyes flew open in horror. It took all her strength not to cry out in revulsion as it made it's way down her cheeks and her neck. She would never get used to how someone else's blood felt.
"This is not your fight, one winged angel," the hidden lion called through the forest, "Though Cloud will be interested in knowing of your arrival."
"Good," Sephiroth called back as he wiped his blade on Barret's headless corspe, "Tell him I look forward to our rematch."
He knew Barret's passing had sent a shockwave throughout the group, Cloud would know instantly of his friend's passing but not who had killed him until the lion shared the information. His own role in this morbid tale had now became offical and he was no longer neutral.
Sephiroth pulled Rinoa up to her feet and was surprised at how tightly she held onto him. It felt to him that every muscle in her slender frame was shaking, he couldn't tell if it was fear or she had been shocked at the way Barret had been killed.
"Are you wounded?" Sephiroth asked her softly, not wanting to startle her.
Rinoa said nothing as she held onto him tightly. She didn't know why she was holding him like that but it felt comforting for a strange reason. Sephiroth nervously put his arms around her, unused to giving comfort.
"Shhh," he whispered as he closed his eyes, his head hurt and his knee throbbed in a horrible sickening pain. He wanted to rest for a few hours and gather his strength before heading to the Shumi Tribe in the north.
"You're okay," the words seemed to trip so easily off his tongue, "You're safe."
The sorceress took a deep breath, her protector had been injured during the battle and he was asking if she was okay. Something told her that he wasn't much of a comfort giver due to the way he was holding her. It was like the way Squall had done whenever they were shoved into what he felt was an embarressing situation before they had became an item.
"You're hurt," she whispered finally, "Let's get you sorted first and you can tell us everything about Cloud and why you should be dead."
Sephiroth looked down at her with surprise as she helped his sit on the grass. Her touch was gentle as she prodded down his thigh and up his calf, stopping whenever her patient hissed in pain.
"Take...the jacket off and cover up Mr Wallace's body," Sephiroth nodded in the direction of the corpse, he didn't want the young children seeing the horrific images of the body any more than they had already.
Irvine helped Rinoa out of the jacket and covered Barret's upper body with it, "He one of the guys ya told us about?"
Sephiroth nodded, wincing as Rinoa prodded an extremely tender part of his skull. Green eyes closed as he allowed the examination continue, allowing a warm feeling to wash over his body.
His body suddenly felt so tired and he wanted to fall asleep. He knew that he was more than likely suffering from concussion or something or a delayed reaction to being shot but his body was wanting to follow the order that was being so forceably acted out.
"Sephiroth...?" the sorceress's voice faded as the silver haired hero of the hour passed out.