Cloud's blood froze. His eyes widened with horror. Beads of sweat ran down his forehead.

Sephiroth.

Of every memory the darkness had taken away from him, Sephiroth was the one thing he couldn't forget.

All the hate, all the anger, all the pain that one man inflicted on him. Cloud just couldn't forget.

"You… you sold my soul to Sephiroth?!" Cloud said shakily. Wait, wait. There might still be a chance it might not be the same person, a voice in his head said.

Are you joking? An irritated voice replied. Just how many people would name their kid that?

Cloud shook off the voices. He glared venomously back at Hades. All his rage instantly erupted. He raised up his Buster Sword, he didn't care what would happen after, ready to slice Hades into a thousand pieces.

"Whoa, wait!" Hades said, holding up his hands to shield himself. "You're still gonna slice me?!" Cloud didn't want to answer. He just wanted to see the pain in someone else's eyes for a change.

"Cloud, stop!" a voice behind him yelled. Cloud turned his head to look over his shoulder. Meg ran over to him. Her hands reached for his sword, pulling it away from Hades.

"That's enough!" she shouted, trying to restrain him. "He's not worth it, Cloud!"

"But he gave my soul to Sephiroth," Cloud muttered. "He gave it to him…" Hades got off the wall, dusting himself. He looked up at Cloud, extremely annoyed.

"You think someone like me would just give away souls like that!" he snapped, exploding into red flames. He pushed Cloud onto one side as he brushed past them. He stopped and turned around, returning to blue.

"I don't know what you did to him, but I sense some issues." He started heading towards the exit. "Yo, Meg! Let's get a move on, babe!" Meg glared at him as he disappeared in a puff of smoke. She turned back to Cloud. His eyes darkened even more. Electric sparks shot out from him. Meg backed away.

"What… what are you gonna do now?" she asked, a little scared. He pushed past her, towards the exit.

"I'm going to find Sephiroth," he muttered. "I've wanted to settle things with him for a long time." His darkness. It was all because of Sephiroth. He was his darkness.

"Where are you going?" Meg asked, catching up to him.

"I'm gonna find him. It's time to settle my past." Meg stopped, watching him walk ahead.

"Well, then… that's the wrong way." Cloud froze. He turned around to her.

"What?" Meg sighed and walked up to him.

"He's here, Cloud," she said softly, as if afraid someone would hear her. "He's waiting for you." Cloud gripped her by the shoulders, forcing her to look him straight in the eye. He looked desperate.

"Where is he?!" he said. "Tell me!" He didn't realize he was shaking her; everything seemed to be frozen in his mind. He stopped, taking a step back, his mind going blurry. A chill ran down his spine.

Sephiroth is here.

"He's waiting for you," Meg said, pushing her hair out of her face. "It looks like he's tracked you down."

"Where?"

"The arena. He's waiting for you in the arena."

Cloud walked into the arena. Nobody was around, but he knew Sephiroth was close.

Suddenly, a single black feather fell from the sky. Cloud stopped, watching it float down from side to side. As soon as it touched the ground, a pair of booted feet landed down behind it. Slowly, Cloud lifted up his eyes to see him.

He had not changed a bit. He looked exactly the same since Cloud last saw him, 9 years ago. Silver hair, one black angel wing, a long sword. He hadn't aged at all. This man was not human.

Sephiroth smiled at Cloud. They stared at each other for a long moment, the hatred reborn. Everything was silent; the only sounds were of the blowing wind.

"So we meet at last," Cloud said after a while. Sephiroth just continued to smile.

"I was searching for you too," he said, still with the silvery tone he had used the last time. Cloud glared coldly at him.

"As long as you exist, I can't wake from this nightmare," he muttered darkly. "You… are my darkness." Sephiroth chuckled. He opened up his arms to Cloud, still smiling calmly.

"If that's so," he said silkily. "I shall draw you into the darkness. Into the nightmare that forever deprives you of light, from which you can never awaken." Cloud readied his sword. It was finally time to take revenge. For himself, for his mother, for Aerith.

For his light.

Sephiroth still smiled. He closed his eyes and very calmly reached for his sword. Cloud's anger over took him. Electricity ran through him, fizzing over his body. The darkness wanted to give him power, the power to kill. The same thing seemed to be happening with Sephiroth. Cloud could see his green eyes darken, even from the distance. It just made him hate him more.

Without warning, Cloud charged towards him, Sephiroth doing the same a moment later. They clashed, their swords smashing into each other, releasing a blinding spark. Both men relented slightly, and they jumped back. Cloud took a quick breath of air, and then jumped up. His wing immediately swayed into position, sending Cloud into a glide back into the battle. He hit as hard as he could, but Sephiroth continued to block. More sparks were sent. Cloud tried changing his angles, his wing carrying him up and down as Sephiroth took the air to his advantage. A hit sent Cloud flying back, but he quickly got use to his wing. They charged at each other in every direction possible. Cloud raised his sword and brought it down on Sephiroth, but he vanished in a flash of light. He looked up; Sephiroth reappeared above him, still smiling. Cloud shot back up into the air, where Sephiroth was waiting with his sword raised. The swords collide once more, a deafening clash was heard and a blinding light was released.

Cloud was sent crashing down onto the ground. Sephiroth landed back down, still seemingly calm and relaxed.

"Just give in to the darkness," he said as Cloud sat up. "Without a soul, you're nothing. The darkness has flowed into your heart. No light can save you now." Cloud quickly stood up and charged towards him again.

"You are my darkness," he said again. Sephiroth quickly raised his sword, blocking Cloud's head-on attack just in time. He smiled.

"That seed I gave you," he said softly. "The darkness I planted into you, it has done its job. You cannot face the light any longer." Cloud started hitting him repeatedly.

"SHUT UP!" He slashed his sword up at Sephiroth's neck. Sephiroth merely leaned back, avoiding the attack entirely. Cloud spotted a vile hanging from his belt.

"Don't you get it?" Sephiroth said, a manic look in his eyes. "I am a part of you. My darkness has flowed into your heart." Cloud knew the vile was his soul, and he tried to get to it. He tried to stab him, but Sephiroth easily dodged them. However, Cloud's determination soon came to his advantage. Cloud flipped over and sliced the air around Sephiroth's sword. Sephiroth had not expected a move like this, and his sword was sent flying from his hand. It landed in the corner of the arena, behind Cloud. Sephiroth smiled.

"My," he said. "You're certainly a lot stronger than the last time I encountered you." Cloud's rage blinded him; he charged head-on at the weaponless Sephiroth.

Sephiroth narrowly dodged it, and quickly scrambled to his sword. But as soon as he lifted it only an inch off the ground, Cloud stabbed him from behind. The Buster Sword went right through Sephiroth's chest. He let out a strained gasp. He turned his head slowly to look at Cloud behind him. He still managed a shaky smirk.

"You… you think you can end it by killing me?" he choked. He grabbed the blade and forced it out of his body. Sephiroth collapsed onto one knee. "It doesn't matter… if you kill me…" He lifted up his face to Cloud. "Your darkness… will always… will always pull me back into the living…" He began to laugh; although quite weakly, Cloud could tell that he was trying to manipulate him. He wouldn't stand for it. Cloud charged over again and slashed his sword across Sephiroth's chest. It cut the belt, and the vile was sent flying into the air. Sephiroth collapsed next to his sword. Cloud watched, as if in slow motion, as the vile smashed into a million pieces onto the ground. The light inside was released; it was almost blinding. It rose up into the air, and then shot into Cloud.

Cloud closed his eyes and let out a soft gasp. He could feel a wonderful sensation through his body, a feeling he hadn't felt for so long. His mind cleared, and he could remember everything again. The shadows dissolved completely from his eyes, into the air as black smoke, floating away with the wind. Cloud could feel again. The bat wing dissolved into the air, light shone from inside his clawed glove, healing his burnt hand. He wasn't a monster anymore.

The light then faded as Cloud's soul had finally found home. He let out a relieved sigh. He looked over at Sephiroth, and was quite surprised.

Sephiroth had stood up again; his sword was back in his hand. Though there was still the bloody wound in his chest, he seemed calm.

"It doesn't matter that you have your soul back," he said, smirking. "You still won't be able to bear the light. You are doomed to walk forever in darkness." At that, slowly, Sephiroth's entirely body began to dissolve into the air. Cloud's eyes widened in horror. He rushed over to stop him, but it was too late.

"No!" he shouted. But the only thing left of Sephiroth was a black feather. Cloud clenched his fist in anger; he had gotten away. His first thoughts were to go after him; to settle things once and for all.

He's still weak, Cloud thought. He couldn't have gotten too far. He quickly turned to the exit, but was only to be blocked by Meg.

"Get out of the way, Meg," he said coolly. She didn't move.

"What are you doing?" she said. "You've got your soul back. You're human again." Cloud dropped his gaze and sighed sadly.

"I'm human… but my heart is full of darkness," he muttered. He looked back up at her. "I have to confront it. To find my light." Meg shook her head.

"No, Cloud. You've been gone long enough. It's time for you to go home." She smiled at him. "Go home to Aerith. She'll understand, I'm sure she will." She took him gently by the shoulders to look him in the face. Cloud smiled softly at her.

"What about you?" he asked. Meg's smile faded a little. She sighed.

"Hades still has my soul," she said. "I can't leave." She cupped his cheeks, looking deep into his eyes. "Wow, now all the dark stuff's gone, you're kinda cute." Cloud smiled sheepishly. He let out another sigh.

"Thank you, Meg," he told her. "Thank you for everything." Meg nodded.

"Just go on outta here, Cloudie boy. Go home and be happy for once."

Cloud gave her a small smile. "Maybe… we'll meet again someday?"

Meg wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "I know we will."

"MEG!" Hades' voice rang. The pair pulled apart, looking over in its direction. "GET YOUR BUTT IN HERE!" Meg let out a sigh and rolled her eyes. She turned back to Cloud.

"I'll… I'll see you around sometime, okay?" Cloud nodded.

Meg smiled. She kissed the tip of her fingers, and then placed them on his lips. She shot him a wink and hurried off to Hades. Cloud watched her leave.

He looked up at the sky. It was the first time in a while when he was finally able to see the stars. But still… he had darkness within him, and Sephiroth was still out there.

"Traverse Town," he muttered softly. That was where Aerith was. That was where his light was. He didn't know if he could face it, he didn't know if he could face Aerith with the darkness inside him. But he had to see her. That was what he had wanted to do for so long.

He made up his decision.

Cloud headed out the Coliseum Gates. He needed to find a way to get to Traverse Town, to confront his demons and to face the one he loved, hoping to the gods she would accept him for what he had become.

It was time to return home at last.

Phew, this chapter took a little longer to write, because I had to watch the real Showdown of Fate a few hundred times to get it right. Hope you liked it!