Yay! Updates! Look at this, once a week! Who would have seen that coming?

Evil StormSister: Lol Cloud needs to get a hold of himself XD Ridiculous boy. I'm so glad you're enjoying the angst, and the dialogue! I actually really wasn't sure about that chapter, but no one seemed to have a problem with it -shrugs-. Enjoy!

Axel'sChakrams8: Vincent does have a sense of humor :D That tsp was the Sleeping Beauty reference lol. My favorite part in the movie :3 Hope you enjoy!

The main plaza was packed with humanity, and it was all Squall could do to not turn around and leave. He had never liked crowds to begin with, but this was worse. Rumors had already spread across the town, each more horrid than the last, and Squall decided that it had had a considerable impact on the peoples' psyche. The crowd was uneasy. People shifted restlessly, murmuring to each other and breathing nervousness into the air. It was stifling.

Squall had already managed to find one of his cadets from Garden. She was one of the many guards spaced along the perimeter of the crowd. Cadet May Renolds had been diligently scanning the throng for threats when she had seen him, and Squall had been relieved when she didn't react at all. She was either still loyal to him, or was giving him the benefit of the doubt. He didn't train his cadets to pass judgment based on circumstantial evidence, after all. He had slipped Renolds a piece of paper with a location, date and time, then let the crowd swallow him back up. Getting caught here, in the middle of a hundred castle guards now under Xehanort's command, would do nothing to further his plans.

"Citizens of Radiant Garden!"

Squall was jerked from his thoughts and looked up to see Xehanort on the terrace, flanked by Dilan and Aeleus. Sephiroth loomed in the background like a ghost. This was what everyone had been waiting for. This would be the confirmation of their fears.

"You are all aware of the horrendous attack that took place on our castle," Xehanort continued. "And I am sure you have heard the rumors that Ansem is dead. It is with great sorrow that I tell you it is all true." A murmur of disbelief swept through the crowd. Xehanort raised his hands for silence. "It appears to have been a conspiracy, planned by those whom Ansem trusted most. We are still investigating, but we believe we know the names of at least two of the murderers. Former General Zack Fair and former First Lieutenant Squall Leonhart."

Well, Squall had certainly made an impact.

"Zack Fair would never murder his king!" a voice cried out from somewhere in the audience. Squall couldn't see the speaker, but he thought he recognized the voice. Maybe a soldier that had been under Zack's command?

Xehanort did a pretty good job of looking torn up about it. "It seems Zack Fair has been deceiving us all from the very beginning. We have uncovered ties between him and a terrorist organization that has been plotting to overthrow the government for years." The lies fell fluidly from his lips, no trace of guilt to be found.

"But who will lead us now?" another voice demanded, asking the question no one else wanted to.

"The council will decide in due time who the successor will be," Xehanort informed. "For now, the council has appointed myself as the temporary ruler until a permanent one can take my place. Our first priority is the investigation into Ansem's murder. I encourage every one of you to be on the lookout for the suspects, as they have yet to be detained. That is all."

Xehanort turned away and headed inside, Dilan and Aeleus close behind. Sephiroth paused to scan over the crowd and Squall had to resist the urge to duck. That was ridiculous. There was no way the General could spot him in this crowd, especially while wearing a hood over his head. Apparently finding nothing, Sephiroth retreated into the castle. When he disappeared from view, the crowd erupted in a dull roar as everyone began discussing the recent news at once.

Squall left as quickly as possible, the confirmation of their suspicions weighing heavily on his mind.

When he arrived at Vincent's house, he quickly discovered there was no one home but Cloud, who greeted him with a blank stare as he closed the door behind him. "Where is everyone?" Squall asked, hanging Vincent's hooded cloak by the door, then removing his belt with the Lionheart sheathed on it and placing it on the table. Rinoa used to get so annoyed with him for leaving his weapons on the kitchen table. At the memory, a ghost of a smile almost graced his lips, but when he looked up to see Cloud's eyes, all mirth vanished. His stare wasn't exactly blank. It was deeper, colder than that. Despite the faint glow, his eyes were dark.

"They went to meet AVALANCHE," he supplied, his voice possessing a hollow tone it had only recently acquired.

"I see," was all Squall said. "When will they return?"

"I don't know."

Squall didn't continue the conversation. Well, what was there to do? He certainly didn't want to sit and stare at Cloud all afternoon. He pulled his gunblade from its belt and made his way to Vincent's backyard.

It wasn't exactly a backyard, though. It was more like a space of dirt with no fence or yard to speak of. It was a cool autumn day, with a light breeze and a weak sun, and Squall was eager to take out some of his frustrations through physical exertion. He peeled off his jacket and tossed it aside, then raised his blade and began going through the familiar motions of his warm-up routine.

It was moments like these that he could truly feel peace of mind, when there was nothing but him and Lionheart and everything was reduced to a simple clarity, all black and white with no shades of gray. He moved the blade like a deadly extension of himself, the motion and stillness, give and take all making the kind of perfect sense that couldn't be found in everyday life. It was an effortless dance, but it required focus and awareness to execute properly, and that was the kind of respite Squall's mind needed. He didn't want to think about his world and the Heartless. He didn't want to think about all the people he had lost there. He didn't want to think about Rinoa, Laguna, Quistis and Zell, and he didn't want to think about Xehanort and taking back the kingdom. His soul was crying out for a rest that sleep couldn't grant, but somehow this peace could.

But as usual, peace was to elude him.

"Fight me."

Squall had sensed the young man's approach long before he spoke, but he hadn't said a word or stopped his exercises in hopes of him going away. It seemed there was to be no such luck. He halted his movement, wiping away the perspiration clinging to his forehead and brushing back his sweaty bangs before turning to acknowledge Cloud. He was taken aback a moment by the huge sword he carried over his shoulder. It was Zack's Buster sword. Squall could barely lift it off the floor, much less wield it. "You're still not well," he finally said. "I don't think it's a good idea."

Cloud's gaze darkened. "I didn't ask your opinion," he bit back. The black monstrosity attached to his back curled in what was presumably frustration. "Fight me."

It was a struggle to keep the sigh from escaping his lips. Squall had crossed swords with Cloud several times during training exercises, and Squall had come to the conclusion that the younger man didn't have the makings of a soldier. These past few days aside, Cloud was generally gentle, innocent, and overall very passive, none of these things lending themselves well to a soldier's work. He held back when he fought, and even when he gave it his best, his attacks were weak and poorly delivered. And now Cloud wanted to fight, when he was obviously not well, struggling with emotional problems, and as if that weren't enough, adjusting to a new limb. To fight now would be unfair and probably not good for Cloud's self-esteem.

But maybe if Squall hadn't been so wrapped up in his own frustrations, he would have caught on sooner.

"Are you sure you don't want to do this later?"

Cloud scowled. "Now."

Squall actually sighed this time. "Whatever."

Instead of his acceptance easing Cloud's irritation, it only seemed to annoy him further. His scowl deepened as he stepped out in front of Squall and leveled the Buster sword.

Squall felt the faintest bit of unease at that. Zack had said the Mako would make Cloud stronger, but certainly he hadn't had enough for it to make this kind of an effect, was it?

Before Squall could ponder it further, Cloud lunged forward.

It was all Squall could to do get out of the way. He dropped and rolled, grateful that his head was coming along for the ride as the Buster sword narrowly missed its mark. Squall had to admit, he was not prepared for that. How had he gotten that much momentum so quickly?

He scrambled to his feet, in time for Cloud to swing around, bringing his blade with him. Squall put up his gunblade to deflect the blow. The Buster sword hit hard, shaking Squall to the core and forcing him stagger back to maintain his balance.

So maybe he had severely misjudged the situation at hand. This was not the Cloud he had sparred with only five or six days ago. This was someone else entirely, with new strengths and weaknesses Squall did not yet know.

Despite all of that, something else wasn't right here. It was as if Cloud was taking no precautions whatsoever, like this was a real battle to the death.

That was a disturbing thought. But Squall really didn't have time to ponder it. Cloud was coming at him with his sword held to the side, ready to cleave him in two if he didn't move.

Squall ducked and rolled out of the way again, coming up a good ways from Cloud's reach. "What are you doing, Cloud?" he asked, doing what he thought was an excellent job of keeping the apprehension out of his voice.

Cloud seemed to be ignoring him. Instead, he advanced with red hot fury in his eyes.

"Cloud," Squall barked, forcing enough authority in that word to get the attention of a small army. Cloud didn't even flinch. Words were going to get him nowhere fast.

But Squall was already reworking on his strategy. Cloud may have had superior strength and even more speed than he had had previously, but he was still wielding a rather large and awkward sword. The longer the blade, the more effort required to move and control it. Squall's moves were all fluidity and finesse, skilled and practiced movement honed by years of experience. Cloud, however, threw his sword around like a novice, with almost no grasp of the fundamentals of swordsmanship. All in all, perhaps they were evenly matched, unless you considered mental state. Cloud seemed to be fighting in a rage, exerting all of his effort into landing a blow on Squall, and while he was doing a fairly good job of almost nailing him, he wouldn't hold out for long at that rate. If Squall could just stay out of his way and wear him down, he would at least stand a chance.

But if that didn't work, he could always run.

Labeling that thought as a last resort, Squall brought his sword into a defensive position.

Cloud was surprised he felt as well as he did. There wasn't a sign of weakness anywhere in his body, even in the atrocity that sprouted from his back. In fact, the wing felt almost natural, as if it had been there forever. He felt . . .perfect.

Perfect enough to kill Squall.

The thought startled him, enough so that he stumbled in his advance on his brunet opponent and his anger seemed to subside. Was he actually going to kill Squall, if given the opportunity? Was that really the road he wanted to travel?

He knows you don't trust him.

So what? If he killed Squall now, what would Zack say? Zack didn't seem to think there's anything wrong with him, and Zack abhorred murder. Wasn't this murder?

If you don't kill him, he'll kill you.

Cloud stared across the way at Squall. He held his gunblade in his hand, his grip as steady as his stance. He was ready for Cloud's next move. Cloud met his gray-blue eyes, finding a trace of confusion and apprehension. Beyond that, though, was something darker. It was like looking at an oncoming storm, or the steel of a knife, cold and merciless.

He wouldn't hesitate to kill you.

It was self-defense. There was no way around it. He would have to be killed.

Cloud rushed forward, using his wing for speed and control and bringing his blade to bear on Squall. He had sparred with Squall before, and it always ended with being overly criticized and humiliated. Now the tables had turned. So what if he didn't have the skill or finesse that Squall had? He had a reach that Squall didn't, and now far more strength. He could still feel the burn of the Mako in his veins, making his muscles feel like steel cords, strong and invincible.

He would defeat Squall. It was impossible for him not to.

Then you'll kill him.

Yes. Then he'd kill him.

Squall had seen Cloud pause and took full advantage of the break. He was already tired, the force of Cloud's blows physically draining him beyond what he was used to this early in a battle. He also took the time to observe Cloud. The look in his blowing eyes betrayed the conflict inside of him. What was he thinking? Was he perhaps coming to his senses?

Then, Cloud's entire demeanor changed. The rage seemed to just disappear, his posture straightening and a dangerous calm settling around him.

Squall blinked. Did his eyes just flash green?

Cloud rushed forward.

Everything had changed again. This was nothing like his opponent a few moments before. Cloud attacked with a speed and ferocity that wasn't like him at all. His movement was now more precise and fluid. It was like the difference between a turtle and a swan.

He hit and hit hard. It was all Squall could do to move, dodge and block. The flurry of blows rained down on him, jarring him and forcing him back. There was nothing he could do to get out from underneath them, and no chance of getting an attack in himself. His arms shook under the force, and he knew his arms wouldn't last much longer.

And then in one swipe, Cloud's sword caught his and ripped it free from his hands. Squall dove for it as it flew through the air, but Cloud's boot connected with his side and he tumbled to the ground.

He kept rolling, hoping to keep going out of Cloud's reach and find his feet again. He stopped suddenly, though, when he rolled into a sharp edge.

Cloud stared down at him, neither haughty nor ashamed. His face was simply a mask of ice. Time seemed to slow to a painful crawl. He raised his sword high and Squall's heart stopped.

A smile slithered across Cloud's face. A frozen, familiar smile.

Then a shot rang out, sharp and sudden. The smile twisted into a grimace, blood spurting from his arm. Then his blue eyes widened and Squall saw horror there.

Cloud dropped the sword and ran.

Cloud needs therapy :/

Lol hope you enjoyed. Please review, and have a great day!

God Bless,

-RainFlame