A/N: Over…sixty…reviews! I love you guys!

Princess of the Knight: No worries, I think you will find out in this chapter.

AerithRosey: Yep, no fluff for you. I'll try to put some more in soon. Laura's…well, she's out somewhere. I'll tell ya that.

bdsproductions: Yep, he's dead. Believe the receptionist! I sorta have something planned. You'll see. Best page turner? Cool! I'm glad someone appreciates my work (coughcoughnon-reviewerscough… Just kidding)

Beeria: For real! It isn't right or fair! They've done a lot more unreal things before. Can't we just have this one thing? About Laura…you'll see. As for Sephiroth, he'll get what's coming to him.

Teddy-the-Bear: Yeah. Sephy got killed and he got brought back. Why can't Aeris? …sniffle…I could swear I saw Tseng and Elena…yeah, I'm positive. Vincent said they'd have to see…he never said they were dead…

Ghost in the Mirror: Aw, poor you. It's the thought that counts!

Fantasy: Hey, a new reviewer! I'm glad you like my story. Sorry for the wait, but my parents are getting difficult and testy.

scarlettHuntress: Another new reviewer! I can't say no to a nice Leon and Cloud or Riku and Sora pairing myself. I'm glad you'll make an exception, though.

Chapter Twelve

Garret sat in a room at AVALANCHE headquarters. The headquarters were in the basement of Biggs's bar, the Blue Bahamut (Woot!). Jessie, Wedge, and Garret's friends were all sitting in front of a TV on the couch or ground, watching the warehouse explode. Jessie looked proud, as if it the bomb had been her baby.

"That was the scene tonight, folks. The explosion was caused by a bomb definitely made by the terrorist group AVALANCHE. They'd long been thought dormant-" The reporter was cut off when Garret turned off the TV.

"Hey!" Yuffie said, turning the TV back on. "We're trying to see if Sephiroth survived or not!"

Garret winced and held his bandaged wound before replying. "Of course he's dead! Didn't you see the explosion?"

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Duh," she scoffed.

"Let's watch this," Tiffany said.

Brandon was the only one missing. Therefore, as he sat in front of the huge computer Jessie used to calculate all the math needed for her job, he didn't hear what they heard. He was looking for Laura, completely unconcerned about the man he thought dead. Chances were pretty slim, but he prayed she'd show up.

At eight thirty, he saw something he'd really not been expecting.

"You're late," came up on his screen.

"Brandon," Vincent said, coming into the room. "Sephiroth's still-" He stared at the screen with his red eyes.

"Still alive," Brandon said. "I know." Sephiroth stood before him in virtual reality, brandishing his sword.

Jessie suddenly ran past Vincent and pushed Brandon and his chair aside. She began frantically typing away at the computer, pulling up new screens and clicking things. Finally, she said, "We're tracking him. I'll keep linked to this computer by my laptop. You just keep him distracted long enough for us to find him," she said, running out of the room again.

Cloud didn't hear her tell the others. The fight had started. Vincent watched the screen.

Sephiroth slashed at Cloud left and right, but Cloud somehow managed to slip through his attacks. He was about to swing his huge sword at Sephiroth while he was distracted, but he nearly got his virtual ass smeared across the beach region when he realized Sephiroth was only bluffing. Sephiroth brought his long sword up and then down at Cloud.

Cloud managed to jump aside and dodge much of the attack, but Sephiroth had activated his materia. A blast of wind blew him ten feet away and wiped out a big chunk of his life points. He rolled back up to his feet and looked around frantically. Sephiroth was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly, he felt a blast of wind blow on his back. Sephiroth kicked him hard and sent him sprawling out on the sand. He rolled several times to his left to avoid the evil man's sword.

Cloud got up and ran towards a palm tree, an idea forming in his head. Sephiroth chased him with far greater speed, but Cloud reached the tree before he reached him. He began to run up it like in action movies.

Sephiroth jumped up to slash at him, but he surprised him by kicking off the tree and barreling into him. They both went flying five feet into the air until Sephiroth pushed Cloud off him and slashed down.

Cloud hit the ground, red electricity seemingly consuming him. It was Sephiroth's materia. He looked up from watching Cloud struggling to hold his hands up to the sky. A green static appeared around him, but it didn't hurt. He gained the life points Cloud lost, not that he'd lost any points.

"If I calculated correctly," Sephiroth said, looking back down at Cloud, "you've lost over half your life points."

Cloud buried the tip of his sword in the sand and pulled himself up. He then pulled the sword out and pointed its tip at Sephiroth. "A lot worse is going to happen to you," he said vehemently.

"Is that so?" Sephiroth asked, raising his sword and touching its tip to Cloud's from several feet away (like in KH). "Prove it."

Cloud suddenly began to glow. He watched his status change drastically. His health was restored, and his strength and defense went up exponentially. That could only mean one thing.

"Aeris?" Cloud said, looking around for her. Further down the beach, she was running towards them.

Sephiroth hacked at Cloud's waist, but he didn't follow when Cloud flipped out of the way and landed on his feet a few feet away.

Sephiroth smirked. "You're her guardian." He turned to Aeris and held up his hand. It began to glow red and burned straight through his glove.

"Get down!" Cloud shouted before charging and swinging his blade at Sephiroth. To both swordsmen's surprise, the attack connected, hitting him in the back and making him lose concentration. A wave of heat rushed over Cloud, and the blast soared into the sky.

Sephiroth hit Cloud's sword, forcing him back. Both jumped backwards, away from each other. Sephiroth raised his hand to the sky, which suddenly became stormy as clouds rolled in above them.

Cloud was about to rush to attack, but a bolt of lightning shot down and struck Sephiroth's raised hand. He was forced to jump back to a safe distance- or, at least, that's what he thought. When he landed ankle-deep in the ocean, he almost cussed.

Sephiroth lowered his hand, palm out to Cloud. He was forced to roll, jump, and duck away from a rapid barrage of electricity. When one actually hit him, he was surprised at how much the defense boost helped.

Finally, when Cloud saw what he was sure was the last bolt, he leapt over it and raised his sword above his head. Sephiroth somehow managed to block it and shove him backwards.

Sephiroth kept Cloud on his toes (I wrote this down and let my friend read it before I typed it out. She could swear I wrote hoes and not toes…) and slashed nonstop. Cloud was forced back to the water. When one attack cut open his chest and took out some of his life points, Aeris shouted his name.

Cloud jumped onto Sephiroth's blade as it came at him and jumped high over his head. Aeris threw something to him, and it sparkled in the little sunlight spilling through spaces between the receding storm clouds. He grabbed it in midair and shoved it into his arm.

Sephiroth rushed Cloud, slashing at him with his sword. Before the virtual metal could connect, Cloud vanished into thin air. Sephiroth slid to a stop. His searching eyes revealed Aeris was missing, too. That could only mean-

A huge, serpent-like creature rose from the sea. Water suddenly came up and floated around it, as if it was dancing. It opened its maw and let out a loud, piercing shriek. A huge tidal wave suddenly rose up behind it.

Sephiroth raised his hand to the stormy clouds above. Just as the wave struck him, a bolt of lightning shot from the sky. (Cuz it looked cool in my head)

Cloud reappeared and looked around frantically. Sephiroth…was gone. When the water pulled back into the sea and the serpent sank back down into the dark depths of the ocean, his body was nowhere to be seen.

He noticed his level went up by fifteen. He obviously shouldn't have been able to beat him. If Aeris hadn't…-Where was she?

"Aeris?" he called out, worried. There was no reply. "Where are-"

"Right here," she said from behind him. Cloud whirled around and hugged her.

"I-We won," he said, disbelieving.

"Yeah," she replied, smiling and pulling back from the hug.

"I'm sorry for-" Cloud let out an anguished shout of pain and alarm. Brandon grabbed his virtual reality helmet and tried to pull it off, but hooks inside it sunk deep into his head. A barrage of lights hit his eyes, causing him to panic. There was a piercing ringing sound in his ears. He felt like his head was going to split open.

Vincent pulled a knife from his pocket and rushed to Brandon's side as he fell from the chair to the ground. He stabbed into the metal helmet and pulled the blade through it towards him, successfully splitting open the helmet but also cutting a deep gouge from Brandon's hairline to the back of his head. He tore the helmet, hooks and all, from Brandon. The boy immediately clamped his hands over his eyes.

"Brandon," Vincent said, grabbed his wrist. "Brandon, let go." He slowly allowed Vincent to move his hands aside. At Vincent's command, he slowly opened his blue eyes.

Brandon saw him look at his eyes with a strange expression. It was pretty scary seeing the older man's normal neutral face contort in such a way. "Wh-what?" he asked nervously.

Vincent helped him up and led him wordlessly to what could be called AVALANCHE HQ's living room. Brandon glanced from Vincent to the mirror on the wall he obviously wanted him to look into. Finally, growing more and more nervous by the second, he stepped before the mirror.

There were four bloody holes all around his head from the hooks. The side of his head was cut open. It wasn't a pretty sight. The pain and blood loss was making him slightly dizzy and nauseated. It was very hard to focus. Finally, he was able to concentrate on what Vincent had been staring at: his eyes.

With a loud cry, Brandon leapt back from the mirror and tripped over the couch in his haste to get away. He landed with a crash on the floor and began to furiously rub at his eyes, but Vincent quickly made him stop.

"Wh-what is that? What does it mean?" Brandon asked the dark man.

Vincent shook his head. "It means you're now Sephiroth's top priority."

(later)

Garret and the others came back an hour after Laura came. Garret was about to storm and rage about Sephiroth when he saw her. Tiffany and Yuffie ran up to give her a hug or a pat on the shoulder. Brandon had told them what…happened to her parents.

"Where've you been?" Yuffie demanded. "You said you'd be back by yesterday!"

Everyone stared at Yuffie, who grinned sheepishly. "You knew where she was?" Tiffany asked.

"Don't be mad at her," Laura said, looking tired. "I made her promise not to tell."

"Hey, Brandon, could you go get me a sod-AH!" Yuffie said, staring at his head, wide-eyed.

Everyone looked at him now. He almost ran a hand through his hair nervously, but he quickly jerked it away when he realized how that'd feel.

"What happened?" Tiffany asked, concerned.

"I…fought Sephiroth in FF7…and won," Brandon said as if that'd explain everything. "Listen, I have to get home before my mom worries. It's 9:30."

"Here, spiky," Garret said, tossing him a bandana. "I know how your parents are."

"Shouldn't we bandage your head first?" Tiffany asked.

Jessie came in with a first aid kit and made him sit down before she went to work disinfecting and cleaning the blood and wounds on his head. Laura offered her hand to squeeze in case it hurt. It did.

Once he was done and had his bandana secured on his head, Vincent gave him some sunglasses, saying "They're my extra pair." He put them on and tried to ignore Garret's smirk and Yuffie's muffled laughter.

When Laura and Brandon finally got in her jeep and left, there was an awkward silence between them.

"I heard about the explosion," Laura said. "You guys did that?"

"Yeah," Brandon said bitterly. "We shot Sephiroth several times and blew up the side of the building he was in, but he's still alive. How are we supposed to-?"

"Stop it," Laura cut him off. There was a hint of anger in her usually peaceful voice. She sighed and haphazardly slid around a corner. "Sorry. I'm just tired of losing hope."

"Where are you going to live?" Brandon asked quietly.

Laura was quiet for a long moment. She actually turned on her blinker before making a turn. Brandon stared at her. "Yuffie's dad is going to take me in. They lost her older sister and mother so he wants to fill in the empty space," she said just as quietly.

"I'm sorry," Brandon said, lowering his head. He couldn't help anyone.

"It's okay," she said, putting in a CD. Japanese pop music began to play. That seemed to calm her down a bit. They were quiet all the way to the house.

A/N: So this isn't exactly my best ending. So I made you guys wait for my story. So I'm having the worst couple of weeks of my life. I'm still going strong. Sorry about the wait. Fate has decided to go against me. Fate won't hold this author down, though! I hope you guys still read my story and I thank the people who actually reviewed! Hope you liked it!