I've been buzzing with ideas and my Muse has been enveloping my attention. I've been writing these up instead of writing a paper for English.

Here's some responses to your questions, because I do see and read them:
Stardust2011: Thank you. Keeping things fresh is the only way to go.
xXSymmetryXx: Which outfit are you talking about? The one she always wears? The one in her dream?
I really tried to make it a point with Zack to keep him as Zack as possible. (I'm not a huge fan of her myself) The Vincent teasing will come back to haunt her.
Guest: Aka, mysterious person; I'm very much a Cloti lover. In life I'm a Zack/Evie(Zevie?) lover. In death, a Zerith lover. Thank you however for taking the time to send my some love.

Words: 3482

(Day 7)

Between napping the day before and the dream I had last night, it was nearly impossible for me to sleep. I thought about life, about Zack, about Sephiroth, about Angeal… everything and anything I could have thought about, I did. It was pretty terrible. I managed to pass out eventually, but barely two hours later I was getting up to do a patrol I wasn't even paying attention on.

I felt pretty stupid, walking around just yawning with a cadet who was watching my every move at my side. The kid kind of wielded me out. He wasn't a huge SOLDIER fan to be honest, but he was always watching me, like I was interesting to him.

I practically dropped to my knees and laid on the floor once we got back. My senses were dulled, my eyes were heavy, and I missed my bed. Zack laughed at me, prompting me to get up and face the day.

"Remind me again why we have patrols at this time?" Zack gave me a face.

"You do realize that it's practically noon right?" I glared at him, my sleeplessness getting the best of me.

"Can we just go home already? I miss my fucking bed." I grumbled before dragging my feet towards the hotel and my bed. Zack followed me into my room and even chuckled as I plopped down face first onto the bed that wasn't even made. I was happy about that though, easy access to more sleep.

Briefly I wondered why I was sleeping so damn much. "Actually Eves, I wanted to talk to you about that." I kicked my boots off, dropped my sword on the ground and attempting to curl under the sheets with the rest of my armor on. I nodded to Zack to imply that I was listening to him, before I realized I would need to take all my armor off. With begrudging movements I removed the rest of my armor; Zack however didn't speak as I wrestled with my belongings under the covers.

"I thought you should go talk to Sephiroth. We've been here a week already and none of us have heard word from him. He's been in that basement for a week. Every time I go to check on him, the lights are always on. I considered talking to him, but last time didn't go well. You get through to him better." I sat back in my bed looking at him lazily.

"Sephiroth is on a personal mission to find something out. He can kind of get like that. I've never seen him get like this exactly, but this is important to him Zack. He mentioned something about his mother right? Maybe that's what's going on. Maybe he was born here or something. I certainly can't read his thoughts." I paused, taking my gloves off and throwing them haphazardly. "I'll talk to him though, or try at least. When I'm not so tired. Before we grab some grub." He nodded, seemingly appeased. For the time being at least. He didn't move from his spot however, and I didn't move to try and sleep.

We sat there separately, silently. Seemingly absorbed in our own thoughts for a few minutes. I wondered what I could say. Maybe I could ask him about yesterday. After I had woken up from that terrible dream. Stupid idea, Eves. You'll ruin everything again. Just shut up. As if reading my thoughts he stood slowly.

"Want me to come back and wake you up in a few hours, if you manage to nap?" I nodded a bit and sunk down into my bed as he left my room.

A knock came and I heard Zack's voice. I turned to face him groggily. I had managed to fall asleep for a bit. Enough to where I felt somewhat better. I smiled at him, silently showing him my good mood. He smiled back and brought a container over for me. Inside it was some food. I thanked him and he sat with me as I ate.

"Cloud's mom is one hell of a cook," I mumbled after finishing the contents happily. Zack grinned brightly.

"Yeah, shame Cloud won't just talk to Tifa so we can come back to visit her after we leave." I nodded in agreement. My eyes roamed Zack's features as they often did on their own accord and his features, little by little were memorized.

"You ever have your heart dead set on doing something that was important to you, but every time the opportunity comes up, you just couldn't do it?" My eyebrows rose in question.

"An odd question, but numerous times actually. No one is without their faults. You want to do it, but something is holding you back. Fear of finding the answer to question," I nodded solemnly. "I know that feeling well. Occasionally an honest fear but more often than a not, a silly fear when you hear the truth of things. That's one of the things about life; you've got to take the chance. If not one day you'll regret it. There was always this one question that had nagged me about an old man I knew from before SOLDIER. Like why he always treated me the way he did. And a year later when I went to go thank him, I found out he had died. Turns out I reminded him of his daughter who had grown to be a young woman who wanted nothing to do with him. He ended up dying alone. His wife had died some years back." I paused remembering the man who had answered my questions, and fed me every so often. He was my inspiration for fighting so hard some days. He knew my story and would remind me what I was fighting for.

The mere thought of my brother made my heart sink. I hoped he was alright, or at least not dead. I'd be furious if Shinra had just killed him. I stood up gathering up my belongings and putting them in a pile on my bed. Zack laughed at me.

"What?"

"What are you doing?"

"Organizing them. Don't laugh until you see what's going on Mr. I'm going to judge you." He nodded bending down to pick something from the floor. It was my phone.

"Hey! Give that here."

"What do you need it for? Did you take pictures of that sleeping man so you can have it to go?" Zack teased, my face lit up, a blush creeping along my features rapidly.

"Oh give me a break! No. Give it back!" I shouted jumping towards him. He pushed his chair in front of me to block my path and I smacked it away. Zack's eyes widened.

"Whoa! Calm down." I hadn't even realized I was getting angry. Irate was more accurate, but I just smacked a wooden chair across my room. It was now in pieces.

"I am calm! You calm down! Give me my phone back. You don't see me snooping around on yours for no reason."

"I haven't snooped yet."

"Yeah and you shouldn't be. I'll wrestle you until I have it back." He shook his head.

"No need to get all hasty on me. Let me see what you have on here to hide first." I had nothing to hide on my phone from him, it was just the mere fact that he was poking around on my phone.

"Oh let's go through these emails then," he announced as he held my phone. I threw my boot at him, which he dodged with ease. I threw my entire pile of armor at him and when I finally ran out of things I grabbed the phone violently, pushing him away from it.

He released it, putting his hands up in surrender. I huffed grabbing it tightly and bending over to pick up my new mess. "Yeah right." He smacked my side and smacked my hand causing my phone to fly across the room violently breaking the lamp.

"You are SO paying for that!" I gasped before I tackled him trying to stop him as he ran for my phone. I reached into his pocket and threw it in the opposite corner with hopes that he would run after it. "I'm gonna go read your love letters." I said getting off of him to run after his phone. A hand made me fall to the ground just as I got up. I turned to see Zack had grabbed me. "Nope my turn," I said.

It was war between us. He didn't want me to see his, and I didn't want to see his. We were using the other's phone as bait from the other. After some time I huffed angrily.

"Truce, you let me get mine and I'll let you get yours." He was silent looking at me from a few feet away. He looked like he still had fight in him. I rolled my eyes going to pick my phone up. It was as I passed my window that something caught my eye.

"Zack… is today a special day? Or something?" I turned to glance at him; he shook his head no confused. "I think something's going on, go check it out. I'm gonna get dressed and be right after you." He nodded leaving quickly. By the time that I got dressed and ran downstairs fully armored, I was horrified at what I saw.

The whole town was on fire, there were bodies strewn about. Their bodies cut with a single long stroke. There was blood pooling on the ground. I gasped in shock. The owners of the hotel killed just after walking out of their property. What is going on? I couldn't find Zack. There was a little boy with his mother; she was covered in ashes, her body dead on top of her dead son. My heart dropped and tore my eyes away from their forms fighting the need to cry for the loss of innocence. For people I had come to know, some people who could be considered by extended family. If I ever had one.

The flames licked their way up the water tower, the water in there not enough to stop its wrath. I watched as it burned, the wood holding it creaking savagely. There was a man with lengthy hair holding another man, Zack was talking with him. Cloud ran off with him, trying to help whoever managed to survive the killer.

Zack ran up to me, and I shook my head not understanding. "Sephiroth."

I choked, "What?"

"Sephiroth did this. He did all of this. He lit the town on fire and killed nearly everyone in it. He's still in the town, I can sense him." I nodded I could too. I followed him as we stopped before a pool of fire. Among the flames stood Sephiroth. His head was bent down and as he felt us near, he raised his eyes slowly. Every fiber in my being froze in disbelief. He had a crazed look in his eye. He lifted his head gradually; between the tall pillars of fire I thought I saw a smirk on his features. I tried to take deep breaths to calm myself, but the fire made it hard to breathe properly, it was eating away what little oxygen there was.

I coughed a little and Zack didn't watch as the flames ate Sephiroth as he walked away. He turned to me concerned. "You alright?"

I shook my head, "I don't know."

"I'm going to head to the reactor; apparently that's where he's headed. I don't want you to have to fight him. I know you wouldn't be able to Eves. Try and find anyone still alive. Help Cloud and that man take anyone you can to safety." I was supposed to be telling him what to do, not him tell me what to do. I was in shock from all of this. Fighting the war in Wutai was one thing. Those were grown men making the decision to fight the world's greatest warrior. These were civilians. Innocent people who couldn't defend themselves from a tree falling. I hadn't regained myself fast enough to argue with him, I just nodded numbly as he ran off.

I turned my face to eye the town as the town sat engulfed in its devastating power. It happened suddenly; probably a material started the fire, especially if the people had no luck in putting any of it out. I ran off in hopes of finding Cloud. Or anyone alive in all of this bloody carnage. Everywhere I checked, everywhere I went it was more dead people. The frame of a dead man caught my eye and I ran over to it recognizing features on him, pulling him away from the body trapped on top of him. He was bleeding out profusely.

I knew this head of hair. I knew this man, as I pulled him to me and brushed the hair from his face I saw who it was. Josh. He was barely breathing. The wounds were too deep and no matter how much concentration I put into my healing material, he just wouldn't heal. Something about Sephiroth's power was preventing the Curaga to work. I trembled knowing that I would watch this person breathe their last breath. Someone who's lips had touched my own.

Sluggishly his eyes flickered open, he saw me. I knew he saw me holding him because he smiled and tried to touch me. His hand raising barely a foot off the ground before dropping and my ears could hear his heart stop beating; my gloved hand able to feel his breath stop and his skin grow cold. My heart felt like it was being squeezed, and I found it difficult to breathe as my throat tightened. I laid him down gently, closing his eyes with clenched teeth. I couldn't cry. I needed to keep my head on straight. I needed to keep moving.

I stood and left him glancing back just once, "I'm so sorry I couldn't save you Josh." I ran away trying to move from the flames in hopes of someone being safe out there. The people here had been dead the longest. They were killed first it seemed. I took slow calming breaths, my emotions kept under control with much difficulty. But as I turned to follow Zack up the reactor I dropped to my knees suddenly. My heart stopping, my lungs felt like they were being crushed.

The elderly couple were lying on the ground huddled up, both stabbed. I fell to my hands, my body trembling. They were the closest thing to family I ever had. I had only known them for four days, if that. I knew I shouldn't be feeling the way I do. I was used to this. I did it for a living.

But it was one thing to kill someone or something you didn't know. But to see people you care about dead. I had never experienced this pain. After all the physical injuries I had sustained, this was certainly the worst. It was emotional and mentally shattering. I watched my vision fuzz as tears fell from my eyes and splattered on the floor, the realization of everything going on around me finally sinking in.

Sephiroth killed all of these people. Sephiroth burned down Nibelheim. He did this… HE did this. My resolve was replenished and I stood slowly my trembling going away. I walked to the couple whispering words to their dead bodies and entered the home in hopes of finding their grandson. I ripped open a closet door to find him shivering and crying. He saw me and cringed away in fear.

"It's alright Hugo. It's safe. I won't hurt you. Let's get you out of here." He seemed to accept my words and I lifted him into my arms, telling him to put his head down so he wouldn't have to see the death, even though I knew he could smell it. The man who was trying to save people I found was a local martial arts teacher. The man had been teaching Tifa some moves lately. I gave him the boy, and asked where the cadet that was supposed to be with him was.

"He ran off going to look for someone," he said gruffly. I nodded silently wishing Hugo all the luck in the world.

I ran with all the power my legs could give me to try and catch up to Zack. Adrenaline pushing me past the landscape; I had a bone to pick with the General.

Fiends were running rampant, I slashed down as many as I could but they popped up in numbers I hadn't thought possible. They were going somewhere maybe? I couldn't imagine where to, but I tried to keep my thoughts focused. It was still some time before I reached the reactor, even with all of my speed and power. There was a man lying outside, I recognized him as Tifa's father. He was dead, a stab wound giving him a fairly slow death. There were tears on his face…

My breath hitched. Tifa. No. I stood looking up at the reactor with wide eyes. Maybe that was why Zack was running to follow Sephiroth… I cursed myself and took the stairs three at a time. The whole time all I could do was push myself to run faster, I needed to do something. I needed to help Tifa. Or Zack. Or Sephiroth.

I entered through the chamber with all the pods in it. At the stop of one more flight of stairs was the sign of Jenova. I looked at it briefly, the sound of swords clashing reaching my ears. My eyes landed on Tifa's crumpled frame. Sephiroth must have done it. I bent down to speak to her but she pulled away mumbling to me about how much she hated me and SOLDIER and Shinra. My one good female friend hated me because of Sephiroth. I stood walking away from her silently instead, my hair billowing as I rose up the steps.

Suddenly Zack came crashing through the broken door. He was tumbling head over feet backwards. I gasped in surprise as his body smashed into one of the pods. The contents inside being flung out from the weight of Zack's body. He was bleeding on his head, and on his arms; the machine blew static around him.

If I had thought the feelings I had felt before were powerful, they were nothing in comparison. Zack wasn't moving. Was… he dead?

"Come to betray mother?" I snapped my head around locking eyes with those familiar green eyes. I wasn't sure what he was talking about or how for that matter but I continued up the stairs casually.

"What are you talking about?" My body and voice much calmer than my racing thoughts.

"I'm not going to repeat myself," he muttered turning away from me. I pulled Harpenger from my back with a trembling grip.

"I don't understand how you could just do this to everyone. To people you don't know, and to people you know." My words were weak, almost as weak as my grip. I don't know if I could fight Sephiroth. I wanted to. I needed to. But he was a friend, a brother, a mentor… even a lover of sorts. He was so many important things to me. I had known him since I became a SOLDIER.

"I taught you better than that," I heard him mumble. It was like a sign of hope that Sephiroth was himself. If he was himself. How could he have done so many terrible things if this was him? Any hope I had was crushed the instant his sword slashed me, my sword deflected the blow.

"I'm not going to fight you Sephiroth. I won't." He turned to face me again.

"You must. I've killed the people, destroyed the town, hurt your precious Zackary, and now I'm going to kill you for betrayal," I couldn't move at his words, but my well trained body fought him without me having to think it. I had fought Sephiroth simulations on multiple occasions. I knew how to counter some of his moves. But what's a fight if you don't have your heart in it?

I managed to push him back into the room he had left. There was the scent of Mako everywhere, an irritating and bothersome scent. I never had a love for it. Then there was a platform leading up to a creature in a tube. Sephiroth jumped away from me to stand next to it. I cautiously followed, my sword in a defensive position, as I stared at it.

Images flashed by eyes, this was the woman from my dream…. This… Jenova.

I had a fight with the last chapter after this. I wrote it, rewrote parts of it. Rewrote some more parts, added some parts, took some parts out. Et cetera.
An explanation to the bolded names: This was to signify all the people she cared so much about being hurt by Sephiroth and his actions. This will affect her later.