Chapter 4: "Torture"

Thanks for all the reviews guys! I would appreciate it if there were more! Oh, and I won't be updating for the next two weeks cause I'm going on vacation.

P.S.:I want to thank my friend Kel for inspiring this chapter. Thanks Kel!

Cloud felt himself falling and falling and, for just a split second, he thought it would last forever. Suddenly, he hit something hard. It was a stone floor. He stood up, rubbing his backside. Darkness covered everything.

"Kadaj? Vincent?"

The only answer he got was the echo of his own voice. Suddenly, candles started lighting up, allowing Cloud to take a look around him. As light filled the place, he saw that he was inside a stone corridor. Seeing that it was useless to try and go back the way he came, Cloud started walking cautiously down the corridor, sword in hand. One step, two steps. Although his experience and knowledge on situations like this prevented fear from taking over him, he knew his opponent's power well enough. So, he knew that, if Sephiroth wanted him dead, he'd be dead already.

"So why would he want to play games with me?" he thought.

"Well, even strong, evil geniuses like to have some fun once in a while" Sephiroth's voice said, answering his thoughts.

Cloud looked around nervously, but there was no one to be seen.

"What the…? How can you read my thoughts?" he yelled.

No answer. Just a short laughter coming from far away, down the corridor. Cloud started running towards the sound. Wrong move. He felt one of the stones on the floor sink in right under his foot. Almost at the same time, a wall opened and sharp daggers flew towards him. Due to his well-trained reflexes, he ducked, avoiding the knives. His heart beat faster. One more wrong move and he'd be dead in seconds, crushed by some sort of diabolical device. Gently, he made another step. Nothing. As he lifted his other foot, he lost his balance and touched the wall with his hand. He heard a loud "crack!" and looked up. A huge stone was on its way to crush him to pieces. He quickly stepped to the left, just seconds before the stone touched his head. It landed on the floor with a loud thud, thus triggering more traps. Huge axes started falling from the walls. He ran. Fire came roaring out of a hole on the floor. Using his sword as a shield to protect him from the flames, he jumped over the fire. He saw a door in the distance and ran to safety…

At the same time that Sephiroth was playing his little games with Cloud, Vincent was facing other means of torture in another room. As soon as he hit the ground, he heard a voice.

"So, here we meet again my dear, old friend. You didn't feel content with the things I did to you the last time, so you came here to give me another chance?" Sephiroth's voice said, mockingly.

Vincent merely grunted.

"Well, since you're not much of a talker, I'll get straight to the point. I'd like to play a game. And because I've always been a good sportsman, I'll tell you… one of the rules. Your torture will stop once you find a way out of this room!"

"And what do you have in mind to torture me with?" Vincent said.

"Hello Vincent." A sweet female voice came from behind him. He turned around. A beautiful woman was standing in front of him. She had long brown hair, tied up high on her head with a ribbon. She looked at him and smiled.

"Lucrecia? But, I thought you were dead!"

She didn't answer. Suddenly, Sephiroth appeared right behind her and started pulling her down. She screamed and reached out to Vincent.

"Lucrecia!"

He reached out to grab her hand, but all he got was air. He took out his gun and shot at Sephiroth. The bullet passed right through him, like he was a ghost. Vincent just stood there, stunned, as they disappeared. Suddenly, it hit him. None of this was real. They were holograms, mere illusions. Sephiroth had decided to play a little mind game on him this time. Before he could think any more about it, voices started coming from all over.

"Help me Vincent!"

"I love you! Why do you want to let me die?"

"Please Vincent! Help me!"

Vincent covered his ears with his hands. He felt his heart break. His heart was telling him to go towards the voices, but his mind was telling him that they weren't true.

Trying hard to ignore the voices, he searched the walls to find some kind of exit. The voices were getting stronger. His hands moved frantically, covering every inch of the wall. Suddenly, his hand bumped on something that seemed like a doorknob. He turned it and a door opened, leading him out of the room. He stepped outside, leaving his torn heart and painful memories behind.

Meanwhile, Kadaj had fallen in another room, not far from his two companions. The darkness was so thick you could slice it with a knife. Suddenly, Kadaj heard a voice.

"Well, well, well, what should I do with you Kadaj?" Sephiroth's voice echoed in the dark.

"Do whatever you like! Burn me, cut me in half, I'm not leaving without my daughter!" His heart was burning with anger. He clenched his fists, making his knuckles hurt.

"Oh well, you see, that would be too easy, both for me and for you. No, no, I think I'll harm you in another way…"

"In what way, damn it?" Kadaj clenched his teeth. Sephiroth's calm, powerful voice was driving him crazy. It made him realize that he wasn't the one in control of the situation, and he hated that feeling.

"I shall present you with your deepest, most dreadful fear." Sephiroth's voice was becoming more deep and at the same time sarcastic.

"What you fear most is being all alone in the world. With no friends, no love, no relatives. So, I shall erase from your mind all the people that you know…"

"How on earth can he do that?" Kadaj thought.

It seemed that he hadn't evaluated Sephiroth's powers correctly. Sephiroth was quite capable of much damage, both to the body and the mind of his enemies.

Kadaj felt pressure and pain in his head. He grasped his head with his hands. The pain grew stronger. He closed his eyes and saw images passing by like lightning. Images of Lilith. Suddenly, he couldn't remember why he was there in the first place. An image of Cloud came to his mind. Instantly, it was erased, along with all his memories of Cloud. Then, he thought of Tifa.

"No, not Tifa!" he yelled. He covered his head with his hands, like he was trying to keep the memories inside. But, no matter how hard he tried, everything was erased. Not one single memory of a person he knew was left. He lay on the ground, shivering, all alone in a world he knew nothing of.