"Sephiroth" I whispered. He was now gripping my face to make me stare at him.
"Geostigma would look beautiful on you if you didn't hide it" he said, his voice as alluring as I remembered.
"I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or not" I said, finally regaining my composure. "But I've never taken compliments from my nightmares."
His grip tightened on my face. "You would know all about nightmares, wouldn't you?" he asked. "You created plenty of them for yourself."
"Bastard. I may not have been there the first time, but I won't miss my chance this time around" I growled.
"You can't miss a chance you don't get" he said. I opened my mouth to reply but he slapped me so hard I saw stars. I blacked out for a moment and when I looked back up Sephiroth was already gone, flipping up to chase Cloud. My senses screamed. He really hit me hard, but I shook my head to clear it and quickly jumped up after them.
I had to make a couple of jumps to reach the top and when I did, I nearly ran into Cloud as Sephiroth landed above us. "Your geostigma is gone?" he said to Cloud. "That's too bad. Then again, I shouldn't be surprised. I never thought I would see Fayte alive again."
"Sephiroth, what do you want?" asked Cloud as I ignored his comment about me.
"The last thoughts of geostigma's dead" said Sephiroth. "These remnants will join the lifestream and girdle the planet, choking it, corroding it. What I want, Cloud, is to sail the darkness of the cosmos with this planet as my vessel – just as my mother did long ago."
Sephiroth lifted his hand to he sky and, when he opened it, what appeared to be dark clouds swirled viciously above us. My eyes widened as I realized that what he had summoned was the exact part of the lifestream he had been talking about. Cloud suddenly gripped his sword.
"Then one day, we'll find a new planet and on its soil we'll create a shining future" Sephiroth finished.
"What about this planet?" asked Cloud.
"Well, that's up to you, Cloud" he said. He brought his hand down and he and Cloud launched at each other.
The dark lifestream came down towards the ground like a huge ghost. It began to swirl and consume the main ShinRa complex and the broken buildings around it. My geostigma began to burn but I ignored it. I had to help Cloud.
Sephiroth and Cloud were fighting on the tops of some spherical structures not far from me. Cloud was forced away from Sephiroth and then Sephiroth flew around and slammed Cloud into a building. I took that moment as my chance to leap up and attack. Sephiroth fended me off, shoving me away and then going after Cloud, now in the building. What disturbed me was what I thought I heard him say. "I don't want to have to hurt you."
'Why?' I thought as blue light erupted from their swords with each strike inside the building. I debated following them into the building but I didn't want to get in Cloud's way. He honestly was doing very well on his own. I also wasn't sure if Sephiroth would fight back if I tried to fight him.
Suddenly Sephiroth was thrown out of the building and quickly leapt up it. I leapt quickly up after him and charged my own buster sword with the energy in the air around me. When I swung it at him, a white arc of energy left it and shot at him. He dodged it and it sliced off a large chunk of the building above us. I was forced to dodge it and watch as it fell toward Cloud who had just emerged from the building. Sephiroth followed the building chunk and attacked Cloud. After a few seconds of fighting, Cloud slammed his blade into the ground and caused three grooves to shoot from his blade, but Sephiroth dodged that, too.
Sephiroth landed high on a nearby building and cut a chunk of it out, making it fly at Cloud. Cloud pushed off of it and Sephiroth followed, attacking again as they landed on a building. Their blades met with a small shockwave and then Cloud threw Sephiroth back. As he followed, Sephiroth easily fended him off.
"I've thought of a wonderful present for you" said Sephiroth as he sliced off a part of the building and Cloud sliced it in half and followed him. I watched as they fought. It felt like it was all I could do. I was going to watch as Sephiroth once again destroyed everything I had and had come to love just by being alive.
"No!" I yelled as the building above me now suddenly began to fall apart. I mustered all of my energy and shot up off the ground in one leap. There was a look of shock on Cloud's face as I shot up past him. The debris did little to stop my ascent, and I soon met Sephiroth's blade. As I attacked, he blocked me but refused to fight back.
"Bastard" I said, slicing some debris out of my way. "Why won't you fight me?"
He smirked and blocked me some more. "I do not want to damage you, Dear" he said.
"Stop calling me that" I growled. "Since when do you care if you damage me?"
"Since I chose you to sail the cosmos with me" he said. "You are the closest thing to Jenova now that she is gone. We are meant to sail the cosmos together."
"I would die before I would do that" I growled.
"That's why I'm not going to let you harm yourself" he smirked.
"I would find a way" I sneered, quickly tiring of his idea.
"I could give you all you dream of when we find a new world" he offered.
"I've only ever had one dream and that was to live a normal life! No Jenova, no SOLDIER, no geostigma, and a family! How could you ever give me that?" I yelled.
"Where we go, I can give you all of that" he stated.
"Well, maybe I don't want it from you!" I yelled. "Maybe I want the friends I have now and maybe I want the rest from Cloud!"
"So, you're in love with him?" he asked.
My eyes widened as our blades locked. I had just openly admitted my feelings in front of him. "Yes, I love him" I whispered.
"Then let me take away what you love" he said as he forced me away and turned to face Cloud, who had just come up through the debris.
"Cloud!" I yelled as their blades met again and the white sparks flew like they had in the buildings. I came back down between them, attacking Sephiroth from behind. He had to block both of us as we landed on a falling block and another collided with it. As we leapt off, I slung my buster sword at Sephiroth, four smaller blades detaching from it, forcing him to block them all while fighting Cloud. Our movements were so fast I could barely keep track of them. I was fighting like I had in my old days, my days at SOLDIER. It was obvious that I wasn't as strong as I used to be, but I was still quick and agile. Every move I made was instinct.
Sephiroth was moving faster than both of us and two chunks of building collided and Cloud leapt to slice it in half. He then leapt through what was left of the debris. I looked down and saw that we were coming close to the ground. Before Sephiroth could see what was going on, I leapt up after Cloud and landed by his side. He staggered a bit and fell down like he was hurt. Had he been? While we were fighting, I hadn't seen anything. Sephiroth shot up next to us and Cloud rolled out of the way as he brought his blade down.
"Sephiroth!" I yelled. He turned to me in time to block my first downward swing.
"You still insist on fighting me" he said.
"You won't take what I love away again!" I said. I swung my blade in a circle and brought it down on him. He blocked and was quickly drawn into a fight with me. He countered each of my moves and swung at me. I dodged easily and split my buster sword into two again. I lashed out with both, picking up speed in hope of hitting him at least once. My swings became wider and more powerful as we fought and green sparks flew from between our blades. I was getting closer and closer to striking him and I was almost there. All I needed was one slip up and I would have him… and then my leg gave out.
"Agh!" I screamed as I fell to my knees. Pain spread through my geostigma covered body parts, but it was different this time. This time, instead of staying in the parts of my body that were infected, it spread. I tried to move but every movement was met with pain. Sephiroth laughed.
"It looks like your geostigma is acting up, before we leave I'll fix that, but until then it will keep you out of my hair" he said as he turned and went after Cloud again. I managed to flip myself to my back so I could watch them, but fear filled me as he easily overpowered Cloud. Cloud and Sephiroth locked blades for a moment and then Sephiroth forced Cloud to the side and punched him. He stumbled and then rolled but Sephiroth barely gave him the opportunity to stand before he attacked again and shoved him. Sephiroth struck out multiple times with his blade before hitting Cloud hard, sending him flying before he slammed into what was left of a wall. Cloud slumped to the ground, seeming senseless for a moment as I watched Sephiroth stalk over to him. I opened my mouth to scream, anything to warn Cloud, but nothing came out and I was paralyzed. Everything had lost feeling. My arms and legs were numb and barely movable. It was then that it hit me; I was dying. The stigma was finally going to kill me.
My mind came back to reality as Sephiroth stabbed Cloud's right shoulder. It wasn't a killing blow, but my heart still cried out for him. Sephiroth stood over Cloud, not making another move. "Tell me what you cherish most" he said. Cloud brought his left arm up and grabbed the sword's blade. "Give me the pleasure of taking it away."
Cloud's head snapped up and he pulled Sephiroth's sword out of his shoulder, slamming it into the wall behind him and then swinging at him causing him to jump back. As he stood and faced him, Cloud spoke. "I pity you" he said. "You just don't get it at all." Sephiroth charged him and leapt high above Cloud as he struck. He landed above Cloud for a moment on a tall, skinny, red structure and leapt off as Cloud followed. "There's not a think I don't cherish!" said Cloud and he spun his sword so it glowed blue. Sephiroth smirked and got ready to block when Cloud swung his sword and it came apart into five glowing, blue pieces. The pieces surrounded Sephiroth in the air and he seemed stunned as Cloud took on an orange glow and proceeded to strike him once with each blade so they glowed orange as they floated around him and then took a bit of a blue glow on as well as he shot above him. When he came back down, he struck him and broke the circle of blades, around which the orange glow had taken the form of him, before landing on the ground. The blades fell to stick point down in the ground as he stood and then caught the main blade. He shot me a smile and then looked up at Sephiroth as the clouds broke and sunlight hit his face, making him seem like an angel.
"Stay where you belong," he stated, "in my memories."
Sephiroth's one black wing appeared out of his back. "I will never be a memory" he said and the wing wrapped fully around him and then he and the wing melted away into feathers to reveal Kadaj. Kadaj fell to the ground and on his knees, fighting to get back up. When he finally did get up, he charged Cloud but fell again before he got there. Cloud caught him as he calmed down.
"Brother…" Kadaj said as he looked at him. Cloud's eyes seemed sad and Kadaj looked away and up to the sky. "Huh?" he asked. He must have heard something. Rain suddenly began to fall. I smiled weakly. It had been so long since I felt rain. Kadaj closed his fist and said "Mother… is that…" A tear left his eye and he reached his hand to the sky. He seemed to grip something in the air and then his hand turned to green energy, his body followed. The energy looked a lot like the lifestream.
'A better place… that's where he's going' I thought. As he completely dissolved and the particles flew off, Cloud stood and looked up, watching them float off into the sky. I smiled because I knew it, now. This rain would take away the geostigma and cure the children. It was too late for me, but I could be content and die happy, knowing everyone would be okay. My eyes closed and opened again as the scent of geostigma slowly left the city. I could smell my father's leaving, too, and I had never been so happy. The Sierra flew in and hovered above us and Cloud looked at me, his eyes filling with concern. I gave him a sad smile and he began to walk towards me, but a glow behind him alerted me. When I saw Yazoo and Loz I wanted to yell to Cloud, tell him to watch out, but when I opened my mouth no sound came out. I watched in horror as a bullet ripped through his chest and he stumbled forward.
"Cloud!" I screamed, momentarily finding my voice. I didn't hear what was said, but I did see Cloud get up, his face in pain, and charge them. Red fabric suddenly surrounded me and someone picked me up as there was an explosion. 'He can't be… gone' I thought as I blacked out.