Buffy didn't have time for this. She wasn't known for her patience, just her 'get-it-done' attitude followed by a barrage of quips. Needless to say after the man spoke she just frowned and walked up, taking a swing of her fist. But it didn't connect with a normal deafening crack like she was used to hearing. No. It was stopped. The man grabbed her fist mid-strike and gave her a glare filled with hate and some sort of sick enjoyment for the duel all at the same time. He began to exert more pressure on her fist until it was searing with pain. Buffy just stared wide eyed at him as he smirked.
"Don't you know who I am?" He asked, twisting her arm and using it to fling her against the wall, where the stone cracked as she collided. She fell and was quickly covered with dust and pebbles from where she had just met with a very painful hit against the wall. The man approached her as she propped up on the palms of her hands, not even reaching for his HUGE sword. He felt he didn't have to. This frail girl would be no match.
"I am the collector of souls. I am the reaper of the righteous." He said with a cold look on his face, giving her face a rapid kick. Buffy grunted and rolled over to her side. "I am the wind, the earth, the sea."
Buffy had enough of this 'I am holy' crap. She stood up, a little shaky and swung a barrage of punches at him, all of which he dodged. She then spun and hoped to connect her elbow with his nose, but he grabbed it, along with her ponytail, and smashed her head into a stone pillar. "You are not worthy of death by my sword. But I have no problem killing you with my bare hands."
Buffy choked a bit on her blood, now streaming from her nose. She had never felt like she was going to lose a fight before, and now she was being thrown around like a rag doll. She had to think. Something. Anything that would keep her alive. Because the world didn't just need her this time. The whole UNIVERSE did. The man still had ahold of her hair and arm, so a straightforward attack was out of the question. Time to go with a time-honored classic.
"W-while you were babbling on about being oh so great..." She managed to choke out before kicking her leg back up as hard as he can, right into his crotch. The man was indeed not immune to that attack, as he doubled over in pain. Buffy was sure that would barely slow him down though. "... you forgot to protect your man-parts."
Buffy wiped her mouth of the blood that had been staining it and then ran. She needed this key thingamajiggy now, because somehow she knew if she wanted to win this fight, it was her only hope. She sprinted down another hallway, lit with fire and filled with rust and otherworldly sounds, then around corners in the labyrinth. She heard a crash behind her, all the walls rumbling as she continued, not looking back. The man was up, and he was pissed. And it didn't help that she had no idea where she was going. It seemed this was a maze. Probably part of her trials, but right now, a pain in her ass and not good for her running from this guy.
Buffy stopped for a moment. Things had gone silent. The rumbling had stopped. Not good. Her head shot to her left as a strange buzzing sound began. Soft at first, but then it elevated to a loud whirring, then a destructive rumble. Her eyes widened and she lept out of the way as the wall exploded and the man stepped out of the dust that followed. Not only did it blow a hole in one wall... whatever he had done blew a gaping hole in all the walls. Buffy scrambled to her feet but he was too quick. He picked her up by her neck and slammed her against the wall.
"Now I kill you slow."
Buffy whimpered and clutched at his wrists, pulling at them helplessly, like a fly tangled up in a spider's web. This was it. The end. And Buffy almost gave up. But something caught her eye. A shimmer. A brilliant light emanating from something. Her eyes traveled through the holes in the walls to a sword that laid on a ritualistic looking table. That must be it. "The key..." She managed to slip through her lips as Sephiroth's choking hands tightened around her throat.
"What did you say?" He said, eyes piercing with intensity. Buffy looked back at him and quirked a smile.
"This has been fun.." She said, moving her legs up and grappling his arms, twisting with a loud crack, much like one of those moves you'd see on a trashy wrestling show. The man dropped to his knees and howled in pain as Buffy ran through to the end, approaching the table slowly, just taking in the sight. Her eyes were wide in awe. How could this holy object belong to her? She was just Buffy. Yeah, Buffy the vampire slayer, protector of Sunnydale, the Hellmouth, and now the known universe, but she still just seemed unworthy. She picked it up by the handle and felt the power surge through her, like she was a plug inserted into a socket. She had the power.
Sephiroth rose. He stared Buffy down with the worst of any evil looks she had ever received, even worse than the ones she had the pleasure of receiving from Maggie Walsh. He swung either arm and with a grotesque crackling sound, they were forcefully put back into place. Buffy locked eyes with him and gripped the keyblade tightly. She would win now. She not only knew it, she felt it.
"Prepare to die!" Sephiroth scowled as he pulled out his sword, then sprinted towards her faster than a bloodthirsty cheetah. Steel met steel, and they were inches from each others faces, the zone where you either had to kiss or kill. And Buffy sure as hell wasn't locking lips with the sexually ambiguous girly-man.
"Gee, you seem to be lacking in originality." She said, throwing him back by using the blade for leverage. "I'd consider new writers. Possibly the ones from Friends. Their scripts are witty and fun-filled." Oh yes, Buffy was confident now, you could tell by the quips. Sephiroth jumped back to his feet and swung fast, an attack that would slice any normal human in half. But Buffy flipped back on the table over the blade, then connected a strong kick to his face.
"Not feelin' so holy now are we?" She smirked, flipping over him, grabbing him by his long silver locks and slamming his head into the stone table. "Oh. And now we're even."
Sephiroth snarled and butted the back of his head against Buffy's, gripping his sword and taking advantage of the moment, stabbing it into her shoulder. Buffy screamed out loud with blinding pain, and kicked Sephiroth's feet out from under him, yanking out the sword and throwing it across the room, where the blade embedded itself in the wall. She was angry now.
Sephiroth however, was still completely sure he was going to win this fight, and stopped, now unarmed, and began to chant. His hands began to glow and red light surrounded his body. That must've been the thing that made the walls go boom. Oh no you don't. Buffy threw the keyblade at an angle and the bladed end connected right where she wanted. Sephiroth screamed, something he had never done in his life, and collapsed to the ground, quivering, as his hands laid severed on either side of him. Buffy walked over and picked up the keyblade, then took a moment to look over him. He looked pathetic now, just how he made her feel not moments before. Then she howled out in rage and connected the blade with his neck. His head rolled off as Buffy stood straight.
"Checkmate."
