Title: Ready for It

Author: comeandgetmebabe

Disclaimer: I OWN A CAR! HOLY FUCKING SHIT I OWN A CAR! And its name is…EL ZORROMOBIL!!!

-NOTE- Wow, this took a while :D

Anyway, here we are. I NEEEEEDDD to update Melt Away, the STORY NO ONE READS! but alas, everyone likes this more.

So, just for the record: For those of you who've fought Sephiroth in KH2, you know how it is, but those of you who don't: he's strong as fuck, but when you hit him (depending on what level you're at) he gets hit. And by 'hit' I mean he actually has damage done to him (UNLIKE IN THE FIRST GAME) and he actually, you know, stops moving and is all "ARGH YOU SMACKED MY ASS!" giving you time for a combo, etc, etc, look it up in a walkthrough. Anyway, that's just, you know, a little info on how Leon fights Sephy. OH SNAP SPOILER!

Another spoiler: There is maybe one funny line in this chapter. See if you can find it! Also see if you can find all the dumb quotes pertaining to both KH2 and Advent Children! THEN YOU CAN CALL YOURSELF A LOSER! WHOO!

As stated before, I have never played Final Fantasy VIII so I have no idea how the limits work. I basically went to Youtube and typed in "Squall's limit breaks" so please forgive me if I fucked it.

Songs you may want to listen to during this are Advent Children: One Winged Angel and Cloud Smiles both from the Advent Children soundtrack. One Winged Angel is totally badass and Cloud Smiles almost made me cry. So there you go. I'm saying this here because there's no note at the end.

So! There's not much to say, I'm sure you want me to deal with that evil mind raping cliff hanger I left in the last chapter. So here we go!

….

I am so mean XD

/o/O/o/

Cloud lay in the Dark Depths, his side bleeding, his eyes full of anger, and darkness surging around him.

Get up, his mind hissed.

"….can't…" he whispered.

Get up.

"I…I can't…" he murmured, his voice louder.

Get UP!

Cloud stood, grasping his sword for support. He leaned heavily on the faithful blade and stared down the pathway leading to the Ravine Trail. Which led to the Castle Gates. Which led to the Bailey. Which led to the Castle itself.

Which led to Leon.

/o/

Sephiroth laughed and gave one more swing of his sword, throwing Cloud on the ground. "You'll never defeat me," he smirked, silver hair glinting in the light.

Cloud heaved and pulled himself up, First Tsurugi at the ready. "I will!" he cried.

"No you won't," said Sephiroth, still smirking. He rose in the air, his hair floating gently in the wind. "On your knees. I want you to beg for forgiveness," and he flew straight at Cloud, piercing the blonds' side.

Cloud held in his scream in pain and fell to his knees, clutching his side. Sephiroth stood on the ground and began to walk slowly towards him, a predator cornering its prey.

"I can see you now," murmured Sephiroth, coming closer. Cloud scrambled backwards, still on the ground, still clutching his side and his sword for dear life. He glared at the silver haired man, wincing and trying to blink back hot tears of pain. "At the mercy of the Darkness. You always thought there was that one bit of light that would never go out…" he knelt down at cupped Cloud's chin, his other hand grabbing the blonds sword arm and twisting it. Cloud let out a roar of pain and frustration. Sephiroth smiled, like a snake. "It must be horrible to be proved wrong."

Cloud spat in his face.

Sephiroth seemed unconcerned. He smacked Cloud, throwing him to the side, his sword out of his hand and letting the blonds' light fade even more. The Almighty Sephiroth wiped his face and stood before Cloud, gazing deep into his eyes, green into green. Sephiroth raised his sword over his head, sunlight glinting off the metal. He smiled. "Welcome to Darkness."

Cloud closed his eyes tight, preparing for the final blow. Leon! he thought.

The sword never came down.

Cloud squinted his eyes open and looked up at Sephiroth. The towering silver haired man still stood in front of him, Masamune raised. But now there was a different look on Sephiroth's face. One not of triumph but of understanding. And then cunning. And then evil.

"Ah," he said, lowering his sword and sheathing it. Sephiroth looked down at Cloud's pathetic form and grinned. "I see your light isn't completely extinguished." His grin grew wider and his eyes turned to focus on Hollow Bastion in the distance. "I'll change that."

And he flew off to the castle.

To Leon.

/o/

Cloud groaned and leaned against the a craggy wall of rock along the Ravine Trail, panting from his wound and from the energy it took to fight off the large groups of Heartless that attacked him relentlessly. But he had to go on. He had to get to Leon. If he couldn't defeat Sephiroth, then Leon definitely couldn't.

I should have never done this, he thought. I should have just dealt with the Darkness with Leon. But I had to...

He gulped down a mouthful of blood, narrowed his eyes, and began to run, limping and clutching his side. He had run out of Elixirs during his fight but even if he had one it wouldn't have mattered—he needed to get to Leon.

Now.

/o/

Leon had never realized how uncomfortable he was naked until he was staring at the embodiment of evil and had no clothes on.

Sephiroth stood in the corner of the room and smiled at Leon, his lips curling like a cat. He walked slowly towards the brunet, his green eyes, so much like Cloud's, never leaving Leon's for a second.

"Hello Leon," said Sephiroth.

Leon, who'd been in a state of shock and horror seconds before, snapped out of his funk and in a flash of light his Gunblade was in hand. Not even caring that he was unclothed, he stood on his mattress, inwardly cursing it for having such terrible footing, sword at the ready. "Where's Cloud?!" he yelled.

Sephiroth just chuckled. "Probably succumbing to darkness. Or he will when I'm finished with you." And then he sprang forward.

Leon was thrown through, through, the stone wall of the castle. He landed, sprawled on the stone floor, in Cloud's room, his back bleeding, his legs and arms scratched. He groaned and pulled himself upward, shaky but still in control. Sephiroth calmly floated through the hole Leon had made in the wall and stayed in the air, smirking. "I can see why he likes you."

Leon growled and let out a blast of fire from the end of his sword. It hit Sephiroth square in the chest and made him stumble in the air. Leon sprinted foreword and hit Sephiroth with his blade, slashing and hacking, and just trying, trying, trying to get the other man on the defensive.

"Rough Divide!" he growled and slashed the silver haired demigod, sending Sephiroth back through the hole in the wall. Leon stood, panting, sword still at the ready for when Sephiroth fought back.

And fought back he did.

Leon was still trying to see into the other room when a great pillar of fire exploded. Leon yelled and tried to run but was being pulled towards the towering inferno. In the middle of the flames stood Sephiroth, his eyes burning with anger and darkness.

"Fool," he hissed, his acid green eyes blazing. And then suddenly he was behind Leon, slashing him with his sword, then in front, hitting him again, and in back, in front, back, front, back, front, back, hitting Leon every time.

/o/

Cloud gasped in pain, pulling himself through the catacombs of the castle. He was so close, so very close to Leon. He dragged himself through the maze of hallways and nearly killed himself tripping over the skateboard Sora used to get around whenever he came back to Hollow Bastion. Cloud let out a scream of frustration, ready to turn the board into kindling. And then he remembered why Sora used it.

He heaved himself onto the skateboard, lying on his stomach, and kicked off. He was soon zooming through the hallways, bending his knees so his feet didn't hit the ground and slow his pace.

He skidded down the halls and was soon in the wing of the castle the housed his and Leon's rooms. He squinted his eyes, smoke getting into his eyes. Sephiroth must already be here…Leon! he thought, panicking. Cloud scrambled off of the skateboard and ran as fast as his wound would allow him. He skidded to a halt in front of his own room and gasped at the sight before him.

Leon, still naked, was being pummeled and hit and slashed by a teleporting Sephiroth over and over again. Leon's back was bleeding and there was a hole in the wall and from that hole billowed smoke from what had to have been one of Sephiroths' fire pillars.

It took approximately two seconds for Cloud to observe the situation. It took him .4 seconds for him to react.

Sephiroth, who had just teleported in front of Leon once more, was about to lay the final blow when he was stabbed from behind. He winced and turned, flashing his blade, which narrowly missed slitting Cloud's throat. Leon gasped and sank to his knees, his body covered in cuts, scratches and blood. He grabbed onto his Gunblade for support and stared in awe at Cloud.

Sephiroth stared as well, but with fury. "You," he snarled. He rose in the air. "You should be a Heartless!"

"You'll have to kill me first," growled Cloud, his side flaming with pain, his hand trembling as he pointed First Tsurugi at the silver haired man.

Sephiroth's eyes were blazing. "With pleasure." He raised his arms, his eyes never leaving Cloud's. "Sin Harvest—"

"BLASTING ZONE!" roared Leon and a pillar of energy surged upward, hitting Sephiroth before he could finish his curse.

Sephiroth was hit directly, as was the castle. The energy pillar rocketed upward through the castle ceiling, through the atmosphere, hitting Sephiroth and making him fall to his knees. Cloud hobbled over to Leon as quickly as he could and grabbed him around the back, holding him steady.

"You're hurt," murmured Leon.

"Doesn't matter. Let's finish this." Cloud winced at the pain but managed to smile at Leon. Leon nodded and, with Cloud's help, stood tall on his feet. Cloud stood next to him.

Sephiroth stood as well, darkness surrounding him. "That last bit of light is always the hardest to snuff out," he said. "You'll never let go of your darkness, Cloud."

"Shut up…" growled Cloud. He glanced at Leon. "Ready?"

"You'll never let go of your past…" The darkness surrounding Sephiroth began to envelope him, filling him with unearthly power.

"Shut up!" yelled Cloud, his eyes snapping back to glare at his mortal enemy.

"No one can save you, Cloud. Certainly not him…" said Sephiroth, gesturing to Leon. Cloud growled and was about to spring foreword to attack Sephiroth, and probably be killed, when Leon grabbed him arm. Cloud looked over at Leon who gazed into his eyes. The brunet nodded.

"Ready."

Cloud felt his darkness receding, the weight on his shoulders lifting, his pain numbing.

"No!" yelled Sephiroth, sensing the light. He rushed foreword, so fast he could barely be seen.

But not fast enough.

"LION HEART!" yelled Leon. He bolted and slashed Sephiroth sixteen times in succession, greatly wounding the silver haired one, knocking the wind out of him and, in the process, Sephiroth let go of his sword. Leon moved foreword for one final slash but paused, his face nearly touching the others', brilliant blue eyes meeting acidic green. "I'll let him finish you," hissed the brunet, smirking. Sephiroth's eyes widened then narrowed and he snarled once more: "Sin Harvest—"

"OMNISLASH!" roared Cloud.

First Tsurugi broke into six different blade and they circled Sephiroth. Cloud, ignoring his side, ignoring his darkness, jumped and pierced Sephiroth through the side. He discarded his sword and grabbed another and did it again. And again. And again. And again. And then Cloud grabbed the final sword, and rose high, high in the air. Sephiroth floated, his back to the ground, his face foreword, able to see Cloud dive and sink his final sword straight into where Sephiroth's heart should have been. Cloud landed and looked up at his own ultimate evil. He stood straight and tall and ignored the now fierce, biting pain in his side. He ignored his exhaustion and his fear and his darkness and stared directly into Sephiroth's eyes, so green like his own.

"Stay where you belong," he said to the defeated Sephiroth. "In my memories."

Sephiroth glared as he began to dissipate. "I will never be a memory."

And he vanished.

And at the same time, so did Cloud's strength.

And he fell.

/o/

Leon rushed foreword and caught Cloud just before he hit the ground, cradling the blond in his arms. But he too was in pain, he too was wounded, and as soon as he caught Cloud he laid them both heavily on the hard stone floor.

"You did it…" he whispered, wincing as his back touched the ground.

"Yeah…" said Cloud, clutching his side.

They lay for a while, gazing into each other's eyes. The pain in Cloud's side came back with full force and he wished he had something to heal himself with so he could crawl over and hold Leon. Leon was covered with cuts and bruises and his back was like something from a nightmare, with all the slash marks and blood from Sephiroth's attacks and from being thrown through a wall. But that didn't matter right then. All that mattered was they were alive, they were together, and the light from the hole in the roof made by Leon's Blasting Zone attack was shining down on them.

"I can't move," murmured Cloud.

"Me neither."

"It hurts too much."

"I know."

"So what're we gonna do?"

Leon crawled on the ground to his blond haired lover and gingerly wrapped his arm around him. "I don't know."

"You never know."

Leon smiled and kissed Cloud gently on the lips. "I know you're free."

Cloud smiled and kissed Leon back, moving his head to lie on Leon's pectoral muscles.

And they lay there, hurt, bleeding, maybe dying, but so happy.

Cloud closed his eyes and felt tears run down his cheeks and onto Leon's naked chest.

He could stay like that forever.

/o/

To be continued…

(I'm not that mean)