Lunara sat on the edge of Sephiroth's bed, holding her arm that was cut up almost to shreds by the monster she had just faced in the training room. They had been practicing when he distracted her by winking at her suggestively after a rather crude comment. She had turned to gawk at him in shock and thus had been distracted enough for the monster to take his sharp claws and run its razor edges down her arm. When she had cried out in pain and fallen to the floor, Sephiroth had lost all humor and quickly dispatched the creature before going over to her.
She refused to go to the healing quarters, so he opted to taking her back to his room where he himself could take care of her. Both of them hated the idea of doctors for obvious reasons, but Sephiroth knew some things about emergency fixes, being General and as soon as they reached his quarters, Lunara in his arms, he had placed her on the bed with a towel to slow the bleeding as he went to get the first aid kit.
When he returned, he gently peeled the towel away to reveal the extent of her wounds. Luckily for her, the cuts didn't pierce muscle, but they were deep enough to hurt like a son of a bitch. Reaching into the kit, he pulled out a vile of green liquid and handed it to her. Eagerly, she gulped down the small amount of potion and the bleeding stopped. Sephiroth then proceeded to clean her wounds as gently as possible and bandage them. Throughout the process, Lunara hissed in pain and clenched her fist, but made no moves to pull away or make any other sign of weakness.
When he was finished, the tall and stoic SOLDIER General leaned down and placed gentle kisses over the bandages where the wounds ran down her forearm. When he was done with that he sat on the bed next to her and gently cradled her injured arm in his one hand as she rested her head on his shoulder. His other hand came up to smooth her hair soothingly as the hand from her uninjured arm came around to hold his as it cradled her bandaged arm.
"Thank you," she whispered softly and almost too quiet for him to hear. She didn't feel him make any acknowledgement of her praise for a moment then he sighed quietly.
"You're welcome, Ara," he replied before tilting his head to place a kiss on her hairline affectionately.
"Watch out!"
The shout came almost too late, but Lunara quickly snapped to attention and dodged the swing Bahamut's wing made. After the attack passed she jumped on its back and buried her sword to the hilt in its back. The creature shrieked in pain and anger and spun around, tossing her off its back to land on a metal bar harshly. Sneering slightly, she leaped back onto it to retrieve her sword before jumping back off to dodge another blow.
Flipping onto another bar, she watched the man in red shoot his gun at the creature, pissing it off even more. Even with the six of them repeatedly pelting Bahamut with lethal attacks, the creature still didn't slow down and only seemed to get angrier with every blow. Their attacks were like mosquito bites; annoying and held little damage.
Suddenly, Barret was dropped on the bar next to her and something flew past her to land on a bar up higher. Looking, Lunara smiled when she saw Cloud, a determined light shining in his eye. His buster sword was held in his hand tightly and he rolled his shoulders slightly.
"Where the hell have you been?" shouted Barret from beside her, but the blonde ignored him. On another bar higher above that held the red caped man and the ninja girl, landed Tifa, a determined look of her own on her features.
Cloud leaped from the bar then, a sword in each hand and struck at Bahamut repeatedly, only to have the creature parry each attack. Cloud attacked again and again, soon gaining the upper hand as he sent the creature hurtling toward the ground. Landing on a high bar, Cloud and the rest of the fighters watched as the Creature let out a shriek of anger and took to the air with a ball of blue fire forming between it monstrous teeth.
The beast flew quickly and higher and Cloud leaped after it, but it wasn't enough. Grabbing his hand, Barret hauled him up to go faster. "Alley-oop!" he cried then laughed as Cloud shot into the air. Lunara jumped quickly to a higher bar so that when he came to her, she'd be able to do the same.
But Cloud reached the creature only to be kicked down. Fortunately, the older blonde man was there and he stuck out his lance for Cloud to land on, letting out a grunt as he flung him back into the air. The red creature and the cat jumped out next, clamping its teeth onto Cloud's back and flinging him farther. The ninja girl did the same then Lunara leaped out and grinned cheekily at her old friend before using all her strength to push him faster. Putting the rest of his sword together, Cloud then reached out to the red caped man and he shot him higher then at the very top of the building came Tifa was the last one to send Cloud above the structure and after the monstrous creature.
With the speed he had gained, a blue light formed around Cloud as he shot towards Bahamut, his sword at the ready. The beast let out the ball of blue fire it had been gathering and the giant ball raced towards Cloud just as quickly. Above her, Lunara spotted Tifa land and watch with everyone else in anticipation as Cloud entered the burning ball with bated breaths.
There was a collective sigh of relief when Cloud came out the other end, the light of the fire attached to his sword as he dug it into Bahamut's back and dragged it up its length. Cloud remained in the air while the creature was engulfed in its own flame and fell from the sky in cries of agony. It landed among the fighters how let out their cheers of victory, only a few staying silent. Tifa watched as Cloud fell from the sky, doing a series of flips before landing in a crouch on a high bar.
A light from a building not too far away caught everyone's attention then and a cry of anger and sorrow echoed to their ears. Cloud immediately leaped off his beam and back to the ground where he proceeded to mount his bike and race in the direction where a building was now aflame. His friends were about to follow when the older blonde man yelled at them.
"We'll follow 'em on Shera! Let's go!" He waved his hand in gesture before leaping off this beam towards his ship still hovering in the air above the square. No one protested and easily followed the man to the air ship. As soon as everyone was aboard, the blonde took to the wheel and they were hurtling toward the action.
"Watch it, old man!" shouted the young ninja angrily as she searched through a box of materia.
"Stop your complainin', woman," the man grumbled back.
Tifa approached Lunara as soon as the woman found a comfortable spot in a corner where she had only a slight view out the large window and where she would hardly be noticed by the others. "Are you okay?" she asked softly.
Lunara raised an eyebrow over her blindfold. "Although I'm flattered by your concern, Tifa, I don't think it should be me you're worried about," she responded coolly and nodded her head in gesture to her friends and the men they currently chased on motorcycles.
Tifa nodded, but was stopped from saying anything more when the blonde man suddenly shouted again. "Hey! You! Who are you and what do you have to do with this?"
Both dark haired women turned their attention to the older man, but she didn't respond to his question. All eyes were on her expectantly, but she didn't think now would be a good time to relay her story. Besides, she highly doubted the rest of them would be as understanding as Cloud and Tifa had been when she told them.
"This is Lunara. She's an old friend of Cloud's," Tifa said slowly after Lunara didn't say anything. The group watched her curiously and suspiciously, but no one made further comments until the ninja finally skipped over to scrutinize her.
"An old friend? You mean, like, from Nibelheim?" he asked. Tifa merely shook her head, but Lunara made no move to answer her either. She really didn't feel like going through the whole story, especially when they were short on time. Tifa could tell them later when everything would be over and she would be gone, that way, if they were angry, they wouldn't be able to find her.
"Anyway, Luna, this is Yuffie, that's Red XIII or Nanaki, the cat on his head is Cait Sith, that over there is Vincent, he's Barret and the pilot is Cid," said Tifa, pointing to each of her friends as she said their names, each giving their own response of greeting. Lunara nodded to them, but still said nothing as they continued to chase Cloud and Kadaj all the way to Midgar.
They soon lost track of the rivals when Cloud entered a tunnel followed by the remaining two silver haired men and tall buildings prevented Cid's ship from going a certain way. Cursing, the man steered away to find another way around, but it was minutes before they actually found Cloud again. By that time, everyone looked out the window with bated breaths. Even Lunara had come from out of the corner to see the action. She didn't want to watch because she knew she'd probably end up doing something she'd later regret, but she couldn't help it as her concern for Cloud overcame her.
"Cloud, I brought the materia," called Yuffie as if he could hear her. Then she stumbled as the ship rocked slightly. "Whoa! Watch it!" she yelled back at the captain.
"Yo, Cid! Park this turkey!" shouted Barret. The men had been bantering about landing so they could help, but Cid refused to put his baby down.
"Shut up!" the pilot shot back in annoyance. "You want off then jump. Get off my back."
Leaning against the wall, Vincent suddenly cut into the argument. "He can handle this alone," he said in his gravely voice. Lunara tilted her head to look at the man, but his eyes stayed glued on the fight outside.
"Huh?" inquired Yuffie.
"Kadaj is a remnant of Sephiroth," Vincent explained coolly and Lunara felt her back stiffen. She now understood how the three men had known where to find her. They were all parts of Sephiroth's soul and body; they had his memories, his instincts, his aspirations. "Think of his as sort of a larval form."
"Larva?" shouted the ninja with a hint of disgust. "You mean, he's an insect?"
"Lassie, shut yer gob," exclaimed Cait Sith in annoyance from atop Red's head.
"So, the punk's gonna become Sephiroth?" confirmed Cid from the wheel with a sigh as he looked over to Vincent.
"Vincent, does Cloud know about Kadaj?" asked Tifa calmly, turning away from the window to look at her friend. Next to her Lunara looked out the window, her eyes trained on Kadaj. How easy was it for him to become her old lover? The box he held under his arm had to hold something of Jenova or else the transformation wouldn't work.
"One would think," replied Vincent.
"Then you're right. It's his fight now," she said turning back to the window. Lunara felt a pain in her chest then, Cloud was going to kill Sephiroth again, but this time she was going to be forced to witness it.
"What? I don't get it. Why can't we help out?" cried Yuffie in annoyance, still hugging the orbs of materia to herself.
"This is man talk," responded Cid.
"Sexist!" she accused. "Sexist!"
"Wheest, Lassie, shut yer boot!"
"Men don't get it either," interrupted Barret, turning back to the fight, a frown marring his face.
"Two years ago…" said Tifa suddenly drawing everyone's attention. "Think of the strength we all had when we fought that last battle. It's only been a couple years, but already that feeling is gone." Lunara watched the woman next to her silently as she continued. "But Cloud… I think he's found it again."
Scoffing slightly, Barret grumbled, "He's got ten minutes." Lunara cold tell that he wasn't a man that liked being kept out of a battle.
"That Cloud is a royal pain in the ass," sneered Yuffie, casting Tifa a sideways glance. "Like always."
The bartender smiled slightly and shrugged. "Cloud is Cloud," she said.
Pulling away from the fight, Cid brought the ship higher and the pain in Lunara's chest grew stronger; strong enough to cause her to gasp softly and clutch at it. Beside her, Tifa's warm eyes suddenly turned worried and she turned to the other woman. Placing a hand on her arm, Lunara looked up at her, her lips twisted in barely contained agony.
"Luna, are you alright?" she asked.
"I need to get off this ship," she choked out then gasped again. Without another word, she pulled away from Tifa and bolted for the door of the ship.
"Luna!" the younger woman called after her, but she didn't stop. The attention of the rest of the group was drawn to her, but she paid them no heed. They called out to her, telling her to stop, but she pulled the latch open and jumped out before they could stop her.
From the extreme height, Lunara had to do a series of flips to maintain balance before she hit the roof of a building. Landing hard on her side, she cried out in pain as the wound there flared angrily. After a few moments of rolling she finally stopped and looked over to find Kadaj hanging from a ledge with Cloud's sword tip pointed threateningly at him.
Gasping, she sat up on her knees and watched as Kadaj threw the box in the air, causing Cloud to slash at in and break it open. Jumping off from the edge, Kadaj caught the box and pulled out the object from inside, clutching it to his chest. Beneath her blindfold, Lunara's eyes grew wide as she witnessed the thing being absorbed into him and he let out a cry of pain and Cloud jumped off after him in hopes of stopping the inevitable.
"No…" she breathed as the thing completely entered the remnant's chest and he landed gracefully on a lower building. Bringing up his sword, Cloud went to strike, but the man held up his hands and a bright flash emitted from them and quickly disappearing. Lunara gasped again when the remnant's form was replaced with that of an old friend and lover.
Sephiroth's hair blew out behind him from the blast of the contact between masamune, which had suddenly appeared in his hands, and Cloud's buster blade. The blonde gasped at the sight of his old foe, but the silver haired ex-General only smirked at him.
In a flash Sephiroth shot Cloud away from him and onto a high building only to jump gracefully right after and land only yards away on a slightly higher ledge. "Your Geostigma is gone? That's too bad…" he tsked smoothly.
Only mere feet away, Lunara crouched with her eyes trained on Sephiroth. He looked exactly how she remembered him. Long, dazzling hair, firm muscular build and eyes that sent her multiple times into a daze. He didn't seem to notice her as he spoke to Cloud.
"Sephiroth," scorned Cloud as if the name burned him just to say it. "What do you want?"
"The last thoughts of Geostigma's dead. Those remnants will join the Lifestream and girdle the planet… choking it… corroding it…" He smiled down at Cloud. "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."
Raising a hand towards the already cloudy sky it suddenly became darker, the little sunshine that once shone between the clouds disappearing instantly. They swirled above them angrily, thunder erupting from their dark depths. Cloud lifted his sword readily.
"Then one day we'll find a new planet… and on its soil we'll create a shining future," Sephiroth continued.
"What about this planet?" growled Cloud.
"Well, that's up to you, Cloud," chuckled the silver haired nightmare. Behind him, Lunara finally stood and raced toward her old lover just as Cloud began to come at him, sword raised.
"No!" she yelled, causing Sephiroth to pause and turn to her quickly, recognizing her voice, but Cloud still advanced. At the last moment, she leaped in front of the tall man and unsheathed her sword, raising it to block the attack. A loud clang echoed around them and Cloud only had enough time to register his shock before she forced him away from them with a cry.
The blonde fell back several feet, but regained his balance and looked at his old friend in astonishment. The woman breathed heavily, the pain in her side flaring again before holding up her sword in front of her. "You will come no closer," she called out to him, her voice dangerously low.
"Luna! What are you doing?" he shouted at her, but didn't move.
Her expression suddenly softened and she looked at Cloud sadly, her hand dropping to her side with her sword still clutched in her palm. "I'm sorry, Cloud. I… I can't let you kill him," she said, her voice going quiet.
"… Ara?"
Turning slowly, Lunara came face to face with her lover and tears immediately erupted from her eyes, her blindfold instantly soaking them up. The man looked at her in utter shock and disbelief with an undertone of sadness as his leather clad hand came up to caress her cheek. Leaning into his touch she lifted a hand to hold his there almost afraid that the feeling would disappear in a second.
"Hello, Seph…" she choked out. She saw his brows furrow confusedly and above him, the clouds began to return to their normal shade and sunlight once again shone through them.
Suddenly his lips were on hers in a passionate kiss which she eagerly returned. Their tongues danced as her arms moved around his shoulders and his came to circle her waist. They held each other firmly, afraid to let go; afraid that as soon as they parted, they'd be ripped away from each other again. When the kiss finally ended, they still held each other close and touched foreheads.
"I missed you so much," she whispered brokenly, giving him another peck before they pulled away more to study each other.
"I thought you were dead," he replied, one hand lifting to brush a strand of her dark hair away from her face before promptly pulling off her blindfold. Instantly, matching emerald eyes met and although hers had a blank, glazed over look she still stared hard at him, determined to memorize his features. She couldn't see him as clearly as she could moments ago, but she knew he was there; she could feel him holding her.
"As you can see, I'm far from it," she laughed softly, her voice still choked and tears still falling from her eyes. Brushing her tears away, he kissed her slowly again before they could hear Cloud clearing his throat behind them. Parting, the couple looked over at him where he stood tense and ready for a fight.
"Luna… Get back," he ordered and she felt Sephiroth's arms tighten around her.
"I'm sorry, Cloud…" she responded softly, her voice sad.
"Luna, you know what I have to do. He will kill innocent people and he will destroy this planet," urged Cloud, but before she could say anything back, Sephiroth released her and stepped in front of her, his eyes cold once again as he looked the ex-Guard over.
"Perhaps we can come to an agreement," he suggested.
"I'm not about to trust you," replied Cloud lowly, his voice dangerous.
"You will have to," growled the General in return. Lunara watched as the men proceeded to have a glaring match, neither letting down their guard. She didn't know what kind of deal Sephiroth had in mind, but she was sure he wouldn't halt his attempts at destroying the planet. Although he seemed perfectly sane, his thoughts were bent and corrupted and she couldn't possibly imagine what he wanted more than to see the destruction of the world.