Life as a SOLDIER

Disclaimer: It's not good to be a sadist, Fairy Red.

A/N: I know, but I enjoy it! -smiles evilly-
Mario: Mama mia, get the mop and buckets ready, there's gonna be a BIG bloody boss fight!
Muses: -gets ready to clean up bloody mess-
Me: It's not gonna be that bloody…-stares at Muses weirdly, then shrugs- Lets continue!

Chapter Seventeen: The Final BERSERK Fight
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Cloud was the first one awake. The first thing he felt was Zack's arms around him. Thrilling thoughts went through his mind until he saw that Zack was holding the pillow too, snoring loudly. Cloud sighed, and was about to get up. Eh… Five more minutes, thought Cloud, and he snuggled himself closer to Zack with a bright bunny smile.

At that moment, however, the door flew open. "Cloud, have you seen Zack? We've been…" the two SOLDIERs stopped in their tracks upon the sight they saw. "Uh…" hesitated one SOLDIER, scratching the back of his head.

Zack shot up. "Wazhappn!" he asked.

"Are we interrupting something?" asked the other SOLDIER. "We'll leave if we did."

"Interrupt what?" asked Zack groggily, rubbing his eyes.

Cloud sighed. Damn it, he was right there…!

"Uhm, it's a bit unusual to come into someone's room and see two guys entwined in the same bed," said the other SOLDIER, scratching the back of his head.

"Huh? Oh, this?" asked Zack, pointing at Cloud. "Nah, this was temporary, we didn't do anything. Friends usually share the same bed, you know."

"Oh, okay," said one SOLDIER. "Anyway, we've been looking for you, shachoo wants to see you right away."

"He does?" asked Zack, hopping out of the bed. "Why?"

"He says it involves the 'BERSERK' program. You'd better wake Cloud up and bring him with you."

"Okay, I'll wake him up," said Zack. "Thanks for telling me."

"No problem, Zack," said the other SOLDIER, and they both left the room.

"Hey, Cloud," started Zack, giving Cloud a poke.

"I'm awake," sighed Cloud, sitting up. "Shachoo wants to see us about the 'BERSERK' program?"

"I guess so," said Zack. "Anyway, we'd better hurry, let's go," said Zack, heading for the door.

Cloud jumped out of bed and hurried over to Zack, and together, they walked up to shachoo's office.

Shachoo looked up from his desk. "Ah, Zack, I see you brought Strife with you. I'd rather he not hear this bit, but oh well. The Turks tell me that they have completely perfected the BERSERK program. Now all we need is to see it in action."

"In action, sir?" asked Zack, though he had a good idea of what was coming next.

"Yes. You are to give the BESERK program one final test run. And I shall observe this program myself. Strife, you are to go and challenge Sephiroth to another fight. I hear you've defeated him twice already. A third time would certainly be something Sephiroth will want to prevent."

"But--But the two times I defeated him, it wasn't my own skill, it was the BERSERK program!" protested Cloud.

"That matters not, Strife. The BERSERK program is exactly what I want to see. Go now and challenge Sephiroth, there's something else I need to tell Zack in private."

"But I…" started Cloud, then he looked down with a resigned sigh. "Okay, sir, I'll find Sephiroth right away…" he turned and left the room.

Zack looked back at the closed door and back at shachoo. "What is it you have to tell me, shachoo? What is it that I can hear it, but it's not for Cloud's ears?"

"You know it already, don't you Zack?" asked shachoo, standing up and walking to the window. "You knew it was going to happen when Hojo took Cloud from the infirmary to where Jenova was held."

Zack didn't respond right away. "Well…" he hesitated. "I guess I knew… I mean, many SOLDIERs knew it was going to happen. Hojo likes to think it's in complete secret, but he knows that everyone knows of his plans."

"And what were those plans, Zack?"

"…Hojo used Cloud to make him a clone of Sephiroth. Cloud is a clone of Sephiroth…" the words were pushed out, Zack didn't enjoy the sentence at all.

"That's right. Can you imagine Sephiroth's reaction if he finds out? Maybe he will when they fight. Oh, by the way, the stigma can greatly effect this battle," said shachoo, facing Zack. "I think this battle could be one of Cloud's last, don't you think?"

"I don't think so, sir," said Zack, clenching a fist unconsciously. "Cloud is strong enough to fight on his own. He could have defeated Sephiroth that one time if Sephiroth didn't cheat. Even Sephiroth knows that; that someone here is better then him. And I think that someone is Cloud."

The shachoo raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Brave words, Zack," he said at last. "Very brave words. Let us hope you're not wrong. Now let's go to Sephiroth and Cloud and see the final test run of BERSERK. Come on."

Zack opened his mouth to say something but shachoo already pushed past him towards the door, beckoning for Zack to follow him. He sighed and followed. Whatever happens in this battle… I can't…I'll just wait it out a bit… I don't want to use BERSERK on Cloud again…

With Cloud…

Cloud looked around all over Shinra, but he couldn't find Sephiroth. "That's odd… he wasn't in his room, he wasn't in the cafeteria… He wasn't in the dueling hall, nor the library, nor the Chocobo Garden… where could he be…?" he walked down the hallway and walked outside, and sat down on a bench. "Where could he have gone of he's nowhere inside Shinra…?"

A few SOLDIERs off to the side were walking back inside, chatting excitedly about their Chocobo. Cloud watched them, and sighed. I'd better go find Sephiroth… He stood up and headed for the Chocobo Garden, thinking that he'd try there again.

BAM

"Ouchie!" cried Cloud as he fell to the ground. He had crashed into a certain silver-haired-6-foot-tall someone.

"Watch where you're going, Cloud," said Sephiroth.

"Uh, sorry, Sephy, I was looking for you," said Cloud standing up and dusting himself off.

"Looking for me?" repeated Sephiroth. "Why?"

"Uh… Shachoo wants us to have another fight. This time, I think he said he's gonna watch the battle… Zack will use the BERSERK on me again…"

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes. "Does he now?" he asked, looking over at Shinra. "Huh. Very well, if we must. Let's go, I've been wanting to fight you again anyway."

Sephiroth walked towards Shinra, and Cloud was about to follow until some things on the ground caught his eye. It was a few scattered black feathers. "…?" he asked, picking one of the feathers up. "Where did this come from?" A gust of wind blew the rest of the feathers away, but Cloud held on tightly to the one he held. "I didn't see these until…" Cloud gasped in surprise. "Wait, this came from…!"

"Cloud!" yelled Sephiroth from the doorway. "Are you gonna stand there in Lala land forever or what? Come on!"

"Sorry! I'm coming!" called Cloud. He looked at the feather for a couple more seconds, and stuffed it under his shirt, following Sephiroth inside Shinra. But if that feather came from Sephy… does that mean Sephy really CAN fly! thought Cloud as he followed Sephiroth to the dueling hall.

Sephiroth looked up and around and spotted Zack and shachoo from a high spot in the spectators seats. "Well, shachoo," he called, "let us know when to begin!"

"Anytime Zack's ready," called shachoo. He gave Zack a sideways glance. "Well?" he asked. "Do the program. The battle won't start until you do BERSERK, Zack."

Zack hesitated, and looked down at Cloud, who had already drawn his sword. Cloud looked up at Zack, and looked back down at the ground. But Zack understood that quick glance. It meant "no matter what happens I won't blame you". But kid, you should blame me… I'm the one forcing you to do this… Zack swallowed and opened the laptop, opening up to Cloud's programming, and typed up "BERSERK" three times.

Down with the battle…

Sephiroth drew Masamune and waited on tenterhooks for Cloud to attack first. When the BERSERK takes full control of him, I'll know exactly what to do to counter it. For now, I'll just wear him out, and when his moment of exhaustion comes… He narrowed his eyes. But still… He's dead if he defeats me this time…

Now that BERSERK had taken full control, Cloud was ready to fight. He drew out sword number two and charged at Sephiroth, attacking with both swords. Sephiroth dodged both attacks and parried the third attack, whacking Cloud away with a sword strike. Cloud recovered on his feet and combined swords one and two, and charged again. On the first attack Cloud was parried again, but he quickly defended against Sephiroth's quick attacking. He jumped back to combine sword three with the other two, but had to pull out sword number four to quickly dodge Sephiroth's quick attacks.

"This is nothing!" yelled Sephiroth. "You're just toying with me now! Show me your real stuff!" He readied Masamune and charged quickly at Cloud, who had combined swords four through six now. Cloud jumped high and charged at Sephiroth, using the combined sword to catch Sephiroth off guard, as he pulled out sword number seven to whack Sephiroth away with it. Sephiroth was sent flying, and hit a hand on the wall to recover. He smirked to himself. "Yes, that's much better!"

Cloud gasped as Sephiroth flew high in the air and come down really fast, stabbing Masamune right through Cloud. He let out a yell of pain, but Sephiroth didn't release Cloud from his sword; instead, Sephiroth held Cloud suspended by Masamune for a few seconds with an evil smile. "That'll be a wound that'll be no easy thing to cure!" he said, and threw Cloud off of the blade. Cloud cried out as he hit the wall, and he quickly grabbed his sword and combined it with all eight blades. He glared up at Sephiroth, and leapt to the air, spinning the sword to use the move on Sephiroth again…

With Zack…

Zack gripped the edge of his laptop tightly, watching the battle with anxious eyes. Cloud… Oh, Cloud, be careful…!

Shachoo, however, seemed to be enjoying the progress of the battle. "This is truly an excellent program," he commented as Sephiroth and Cloud continued to exchange blows. "Even against a BERSERK-ed opponent, Sephiroth puts up a good fight. That just what I expect."

"Sir, even though he's BERSERK-ed, Cloud seems to be having difficulty with this battle… The stigma--"

"I know. I've noticed. If they lock eyes, the stigma will rack Cloud with pain all over again. Cloud was already stabbed once. No doubt the stigma will start reacting soon."

"Sir, do we really have to watch this battle?" asked Zack desperately. "I mean, if the program is already perfect, there's no need for a test run, right? I--I say we stop now!"

"Oh, now, Zack, look, the real battle has just begun. Let's see what Cloud does next," said shachoo with a gesture to the battle field. Zack looked down and felt a thrill of horror. No, the stigma is acting up again…! he thought in fear.

Down at the battle…

Cloud had successfully parried all of Sephiroth's attacks and recovered to the opposite end of the battle field. He readied his sword to attack again but felt a pain in his left arm again. With a wince of pain he clutched his left arm. No, not again… he thought. I don't want to remember…!

Flash: "Sometimes I wish you'd go to Shinra and NEVER come back!" yelled Tifa angrily…

He shook his head, tying to clear his head of that unpleasant thought. Sephiroth came quickly and out of nowhere, slashing Cloud's side again. He hit the wall hard, sliding down the wall slowly and painfully. He got to his knees slowly, his eyes flashing dark green and blue. He clenched his left arm again.

Flash: A girl that Cloud once had a crush on in Nibelheim named Pansy was telling him that she didn't like him at all…

His fist grabbed at the ground; he was completely unaware of Sephiroth attacking again. I'm enjoying this!thought Sephiroth. Cloud looked up in shock and quickly defended. He was wincing with one eye while trying to stop the pain in the left arm. Sephiroth whammed Cloud's hand and knocked the weapon away along with Cloud. He slid across the room and rolled to his side. He was cut up pretty badly, and the stigma chose a bad time to rack Cloud with pain.

Flash: A lone blonde kid named Cloud is sitting alone on the swings with his head down sadly as the rest of the kids are playing happily on this hills and playgrounds…

Cloud coughed heavily, getting to his knees shakily. I can't handle this! he thought desperately, as he stood up to hurriedly defend against Sephiroth's attack. They stood, pushing down on each other's blades, trying to dissuade the other. Cloud pushed back on Sephiroth and attacked again, his eyes still the evil green of the program. He slashed one of Sephiroth's arms; even that began to bleed heavily.

Both stood on opposite sides of the room, awaiting the other to make the first move. The pain in Cloud's left arm slowly subsided, and Cloud and Sephiroth attacked each other again, clanging and clashing their swords; but even as the fight continued, both Cloud and Sephiroth were beginning to feel exhausted. "This can't keep up any longer!" decided Sephiroth aloud, and whammed Cloud with his arm, sending Cloud high in the air; Sephiroth took this advantage to jump high and slash down at Cloud, sending him crashing into the ground.

Cloud sat up against the wall, holding on with one hand. He clutched a hand onto his shirt, tying to catch his breath. Feeling quite as exhausted, Sephiroth walked towards Cloud slowly. "Now, now, surely this is the best a BERSERK-ed warrior such as yourself can do?" Cloud didn't respond, he continued to lean against the wall, slowly catching his breath as his eyes were flashing strangely again. "I suppose not," said Sephiroth with a please grin, and raised Masamune to stab Cloud in the back. Cloud screamed in pain, but he couldn't move away from Sephiroth's blade; Sephiroth laughed to himself and kicked Cloud off of the blade. Cloud fell to the ground with a yell of pain.

Up with Zack…

Zack cried out in horror as shachoo grinned widely. "Yes, this is brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Good job, Zack."

"Sir, Cloud is… He was… It's not…" Zack's voice was a slight higher pitch then usual in fear. "Can I go down to him!"

"Of course, Zack, now that my work here is done." he patted Zack on the back and walked off. "I'm glad the BERSERK program was a success."

Zack stood there wide-eyed with intense fear and jumped down to Cloud. "Cloud! Hey, Cloud!"

Sephiroth sheathed Masamune with an air of self-satisfaction. "There, now my past errors are deleted. Take good care of your friends, Zack. Now I have no reason to hate you or Cloud."

"Sephiroth…!" said Zack, looking up at Sephiroth, but he didn't answer, he just left the room. Zack gritted his teeth and held Cloud up. "Oi, Cloud! It's okay, it's all right! I'm here."

Cloud was wincing greatly, and blinked his eyes weakly. "Za--Zack…? I'm sorry… I tried to fight it, but… it's was too much…"

"No, no talking," said Zack firmly. "It's not your fault. Come on, I'll take you to the doctor."

"I wanted to fight for you, as well as Tifa… I promised her that I'd become stronger for her…. But the way I am now, I'll never be stronger…"

"Cloud, you're perfect, you'll become stronger," said Zack, helping Cloud to his feet. "Hold on to me, I'll take you to the doctor."

"Zack…" said Cloud, holding Zack closely. "I--I really… I…" Cloud stopped with a small whimper of pain, grabbing his left arm again. "It hurts…"

"It's okay, Cloud, I'm here," said Zack, holding Cloud close too. "I'm here. Hold on to me as tightly as you want, I'm here."

Cloud blinked a tear away, and fell onto Zack, exhausted from severe blood loss. "Zack, I… love…" he fainted away.

Zack looked down at Cloud with a small sad smile. "Poor Cloud… I'm sorry to have put you through this… I'm glad it's all over… I'll never do anything to hurt you again…. Really… I'll take better care of you from now on." As Zack carried Cloud to the infirmary, shachoo headed for his office.

"I'm glad that's over with…" sighed shachoo. "Now that BERSERK is perfected and successfully tested, I can deal with this other problem…" he opened the door to his office, called up his secretary and said, "Okay, tell him that he can come to my office now. We have a great deal to discuss regarding the outer space project…"
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Wow, that was AWESOME MAN!
Muses: -cleaning up big bloody mess-
…? You guys act so weird. Huh. Anyway, as always, thanks for reading! I'm glad you like it! Stay tuned for the next installment of "Life as a SOLDIER". See you in a bit!