Didn't get the response I had expected for last chapter. Believe it or not, that is actually one of the few times I have received any negative comments. I rewrote chapter 11 for those of you that were against the pairing and actually let me know. It was more of a test to see the reaction of you readers, I wanted to know if anyone would ever raise an objection to me.
So go read the new chapter 11 before you read this chapter.
Anyways, here is the chapter you have been waiting for.
Zack and Claire made their way back to the village slowly. When the plumes of smoke, glowing orange from below, caught their eyes, the two SOLDIERs rushed back. To say the least, the sight was devastating and vastly confusing. The quiet, sleepy village at the foot of the Nibel mountains, completely engulfed in flame.
The flames roared and the intense heat quickly stopped the warriors from even approaching the buildings. Claire quickly swept her gaze over the area. Cloud was lying face down on the ground opposite the inn and not one other person could be seen. They both knew they had to look for survivors but they both doubted any had survived the inferno.
"No! Please!" The frightened scream alerted the two young operatives to the threat.
They rounded the building at the bottom of the stairs that lead to the Shinra Mansion and froze at the sight. Sephiroth, with his blood soaked Masamune in his left hand, standing over three mutilated corpses and a wall of fire behind him. The silver haired soldier slowly looked up from the bodies on the ground and over to Zack and Claire. The glare the young warriors were met with sent chills down their spines, the pure hatred in Sephiroth's eyes were nothing Claire had ever seen. Sephiroth turned away from them and calmly walked into the flames.
Zack and Claire charged forward and jumped through the flames, using their arms to shield their faces from the fire. When their feet hit the ground they saw Sephiroth walking towards the mountain trail without any sort of rush. The blood dripped off the end of the Masamune leaving no drop or stain on the white blade.
"Sephiroth!" Zack shouted, pain and anger present in his tone "Where are you going!" Claire could not believe what was happening even though all the evidence was in front and behind them.
"I am going to see my mother," Sephiroth replied without emotion. He vanished in a flurry of black mist and Claire blinked rapidly to make sure her sight was not deceived.
"Come on!" Zack shouted as he sprinted towards the mountain. Claire was soon on his heels.
They ripped through the monsters that inhabited the mountain trail. Neither wanted to waste a second while pursuing the man that had been known as a hero. When they reached the Mako reactor that acted as a tomb for Jenova, another sight stopped them dead in their tracks. Tifa kneeling over a dead man with a massive and very deep slash through his chest. The Masamune planted in the ground just a few inches away.
"Shinra, Reactors, SOLDIER," Tifa said as she stood up "I hate them all!" she screamed hysterically as she grabbed the Masamune, pulled it free of the ground and charged into the reactor. The speed at which she could run with that sword amazed the SOLDIERs, but they swiftly recovered and charged after her.
They reached the chamber with the pods just as Tifa reached the top of the stairs. Sephiroth had both hands on the door at the top but spun around and caught the Masamune as Tifa swung it at him. Pulling the sword free of the girls grasp and slamming his fist into her gut, Sephiroth made Tifa tumble down the steel steps. It was a minimal injury compared to what could have happened.
The door behind Sephiroth opened with a hiss. He sent another glare down to Zack and Claire before disappearing through the door. The door sealed with a hiss and Zack and Claire checked on Tifa. The black haired girl lay on her side and tears ran onto the floor. She looked up at the two SOLDIERs and quickly looked away.
"Get away from me!" Tifa shouted as best she could.
With a hurt sigh the two SOLDIERs complied and rushed up the stairs. Zack used the Buster Sword to slice through the door and Claire drew Blaze Edge and switched it to sword mode. Sephiroth was standing at the end of a red pipe, in front of a human sized steel angel-like statue, his Masamune firmly planted in the steel platform just beside him.
"Mother, let's take back this planet together." Claire could feel the hairs on the back of her neck start to stand "I… I had an epiphany. Let's go to the promised land… Mother…" Claire refused to let any memories cloud her mind at this time. All she saw was a silver haired man who had just attacked and killed civilians.
"Sephiroth!" Zack shouted, pure rage in his voice "Why did you kill the townspeople? Why did you hurt Tifa? Answer me, Sephiroth!" pain had made its way into Zack's voice. Claire continued to seal any and all her emotions and memories behind her mental walls. Sephiroth's chuckled echoed through the room.
"Mother, they're here again. You should have ruled this planet. You were stronger, smarter. But then they came… Those inferior dullards…" Claire noticed Zack was baring his teeth in a snarl and saw the rage in his eyes but knew he was rooted to the spot just like her "They came and took this planet away from you. But don't be sad, Mother. I am with you now…"
Sephiroth reached out and grabbed the torso of the steel angel and ripped it from its base. The ease with which Sephiroth had accomplished that sent another chill down Zack and Claire's spines. Neither had seen any display of strength such as that.
"We meet at last, Mother," there was a sincere happiness in Sephiroth's voice.
The being in the large tank with blue lights was something Claire had never seen anything close to. It was a woman for the most part with strange limbs and organs growing out of her back, very long hair, a face frighteningly similar to Sephiroth's and glowing red eyes. Zack walked right up behind Sephiroth and leveled the Buster Sword with the silver haired warrior's neck. Claire's feet were still rooted to the spot.
"Have you completely lost your mind?" Zack asked with an aggressive tone. With one swift movement, Sephiroth pulled his sword free and swung it at Zack, who was able to block the blow "Sephiroth… We trusted you!" Zack jumped at Sephiroth but his attack was blocked and Zack was thrown down into the bowels of the reactor with Sephiroth right on his tail.
Claire ran to the edge of the platform she was on and looked over the side. Unfortunately she could not see where Zack and Sephiroth had wound up but she could hear a faint sound of swords clashing. Something akin to a faint whisper caught her attention. Claire looked around until her gaze landed on Jenova and she started to hope that the whisper was not from that being.
The pink haired SOLDIER could not understand anything the whisper was saying but she felt drawn towards the tank with the female being. Inch by inch her feet moved even though she tried with all her might to deny the movement. Her temples began to throb as the whisper kept her feet moving, it felt like she was inching closer to Jenova for hours and it started to scare her that it just felt like the right thing to do. Claire reached up to rub her temple and her finger brushed the rose that was still tucked into her hair and behind her ear. A sudden and very loud clash of steel forced her back to reality.
Zack landed on the platform, just to the side of Claire and in line with the door. Claire saw far more tiny cuts all over Zack than anyone would care to count. Sephiroth appeared a moment later, his sword glowing white, and not one scratch on him. Sephiroth slashed at Zack, who blocked and was thrown out of the room, the Buster Sword fell from his hands midair, and landed point down in the floor of the doorway. The Masamune lost its glow and Sephiroth turned to Jenova for a moment.
"Claire," Sephiroth said in a gentle tone "Come join Jenova. As a family we will cleanse this world of the weak and build a new world," Sephiroth held out his right hand to Claire.
"You murdered those people," Claire said flatly, sadness threatening to break through her cold facade "I can't let you live because of what you've done," Sephiroth's gaze hardened into a glare.
"So be it," Claire barely dodged the Masamune as it raced upward, attempting to sever her right arm.
Calling on everything Sephiroth had taught her, Claire used her size and speed to stay out of the Masamune's path. Not letting the thought of blocking, or even deflecting, the long white blade crossed Claire's mind for she knew that Sephiroth was much stronger than Genesis. Sephiroth was much faster than Genesis, which seemed impossible, and Claire was only able to dodge Sephiroth's attacks because she knew his fighting style.
The Masamune was constantly slicing through the air a mere half-inch away from Claire. She had been pushed back to the edge of Sephiroth's attack range and he was toying with her. Sephiroth had not moved from his starting spot but he had Claire jumping, flipping, and rolling back and forth across a twelve foot space. Sephiroth chuckled as Claire refused to show any sign of fatigue.
"I trained you well, Claire," Sephiroth stated as he thrust the Masamune forward, missing Claire's head by an inch "But believe me, no one, not even Genesis could beat me. Not once."
Claire felt a crack race through her mental wall at Sephiroth's words. Genesis' words about her parents repeated in her mind at every mention of the name of the avid LOVELESS fan. Claire decided then, she had to push through Sephiroth's attacks.
Claire slashed as fast she could manage but every one of her attacks was blocked. Claire was only able to avoid some of Sephiroth's attacks because of her size. The length of the Masamune prevented Sephiroth from properly fighting with Claire. As the two blades danced through the air Claire was able to perform the impossible, she rolled behind Sephiroth, kicked the back of his knee, making him fall onto it, jumped over him, and kicked the Masamune out of his hand. Claire brought Blaze Edge up to Sephiroth's throat and looked him in the eye. Claire admitted to herself that that action was a big mistake.
Claire stood there for what seemed like hours to the young girl. She knew that one small movement, one flick of the wrist, and the silver haired SOLDIER would be dead. Her mental walls suddenly evaporated and a flood of thoughts came forward that she did not want. Sephiroth, the man who's life was in her hands, had rescued her and Serah from the slums, raised them both, sent Serah to school, taught Claire how to be a warrior, all out of the selfless kindness of his heart. Tears started to well up in Claire's eyes as memory after memory flew through her mind, she didn't understand how Sephiroth was so calm with a blade against his throat. Claire lowered her weapon before any tears fell.
"Go," Claire said to her adoptive father "We can blame what happened on AVALANCHE, we can say Zack was ambushed and we tried to protect the village or they were working with AVALANCHE and tried to assassinate us or … or … or something," Claire was trying very hard to not cry. Sephiroth slowly got to his feet.
"I'm proud of you, Claire," Sephiroth said gently as he ran the back of his fingers through Claire's hair and down the right side of her head "You would do anything to protect your family wouldn't you?" Claire nodded "Even lie to the Shinra about me destroying an innocent town?" Claire nodded again "Serah was very lucky to have you as a sister," One thought ran through Claire's mind at that moment.
Was?
The very instant that thought appeared, so did a left hook from Sephiroth. The hit launched Claire off her feet, split her lip open, knocked three of her teeth loose, and cracked her jaw.
Claire landed on her shoulder and was able to roll onto her feet. Sephiroth's fist almost connected with her face a second time, but she moved back just in time. Claire slashed at him but sliced the air as he jumped to the side and threw several punches, Claire dodging them changed Blaze Edge into the gun mode and fired several shots, not one finding its target. Quickly switching the weapon back into sword mode, she charged and slashed. Sephiroth caught the blade and ripped the weapon from Claire's grasp. With his hand on the blade Sephiroth placed his other hand on the handle of Blaze Edge and snapped the weapon. The transformation mechanism shattering into hundreds of tiny levers, nuts, bolts and springs; the blade and handle clattering to the floor shortly after.
Sephiroth lunged at Claire again. Claire had no idea how close to the wall she had been until Sephiroth's fist crashed into the wall and his elbow was beside her head. Sephiroth pulled his arm free and threw another punch, Claire forced her knees to buckle so Sephiroth's fist passed over head. Claire rolled to the side and leaped up to punch Sephiroth with her right hand. Faster than humanly possible, Sephiroth pulled his hand out of the wall again, spun to face Claire, and grabbed her hand. Sephiroth twisted Claire's hand and slammed his other hand into her elbow, breaking both Claire's wrist and elbow simultaneously. Before the pain could reach Claire's brain, Sephiroth used his impossible speed to quickly break Claire's forearm, upper arm, and dislocated her shoulder.
When Claire had her feet back on the ground, the pain from her arm finally reached her brain and she was stunned by it. Sephiroth took the moment of advantage and delivered three punches, first into Claire's right eye, second into her left eye, and the third was an uppercut to her jaw. The silver haired warrior jumped, spun and sent his right foot into her collar bone, sending the girl crashing into the wall shoulders first. If Claire had any less than an ocean of adrenaline in her veins, she would not have been able to remain on her feet.
As Sephiroth charged at her once again, Claire leaped again. Kicking off of two walls, she planned on planting the steel plate in the toe of her left boot directly into Sephiroth's right temple. Claire had almost accomplished what she had intended but Sephiroth spun towards her leg. He repeated what he did to her arm, on her leg, and landed a downward punch on her ribs, sending Claire straight to the floor. Sephiroth bent down and started to plant several punches on Claire's chest and did not stop the assault until every rib had broken. The assault was finished with a kick, sending Claire rolling over to the wall. Claire pushed herself up, not wanting to give in.
"You are very stubborn," Sephiroth chuckled as he walked towards her "Remember how I said that can be both good and bad? This is when it is a very bad trait, Claire," Sephiroth grabbed a handful of her pink hair and roughly shoved her head against the wall, stars racing through her vision. Something snapped in Claire's mind when Sephiroth said her name.
"My name is Lightning," Claire was barely able to growl. Sephiroth slammed her head against the wall again. Sephiroth grabbed the rose out of her hair as he stood up. Claire, barely able to stay awake, saw the rose petals turn black.
"The black rose, a symbol of death and a genetic impossibility," Sephiroth tossed it aside as he chuckled to himself "I seem to share those traits," Sephiroth fell to one knee, grabbed the Masamune and turned back to Claire "Don't be sad, Claire. I'll make sure Serah joins you in the lifestream," the Masamune was then thrust into Claire's gut and the girl instantly lost all feeling in her legs.
Sephiroth pulled the Masamune free and walked back over to Jenova. Claire started using the Cure materia she had brought with her, by Zack's advice. The pink haired operative used the materia until it had to recharge and struggled to not pass out but was unable to remain conscious. The last thing she saw was the standard Shinra Infantry boots and the tip of the Buster Sword.
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By the way, as most if not all of you have noticed, many errors tend to slip by me. So if anyone would like to be beta-reader, I would be very grateful.
