The World That Never Will Be Chapter 23
by the infamous and notorious tocasia
7/10/2019
CHAPTER 23
That was the best night's sleep she'd had in forever. Aqua yawned widely like a tiger and reluctantly rolled out of bed.
Sephiroth was near. In his own room, next to hers. She sensed his darkness, steady and quiet. There was that special kind of silence you notice when you're the only one awake in the house. He must really need the rest.
Aqua tiptoed past his door, and peeked through the curtain but didn't touch; not even her breath rattled the beads.
She wouldn't linger. It was creepy to watch people sleep.
Sephiroth lay on his side. All she could see was his loose silver hair (she thought he would've braided it) and the blue-ebony wing, covering him more than the bedspread did, hiding his probably-angelic face and concealing any of him not under the blankets.
Aqua stayed long enough to see the rise and fall of his chest.
...he might not be wearing anything...
She mentally backpedaled as fast as she could. He deserved his privacy! She didn't want to get caught!
Actually... that might be exciting...
Stop it, Aqua!
Feeling extremely embarrassingly righteous, she continued down the hall.
There were still fruit flowers left over from last night. Aqua sucked a purple grape off its skewer and crushed it in her teeth. Bursting with juice, as fresh and flavorful as before.
The anthology of fairy tales was where they'd left it on the table. No, not quite...
On closer inspection, the book practically glowed with magic. When opened, it spat out little yellow butterflies, which flew away into nowhere like a conjurer's doves. Written in fissures of golden light on the inside front cover was a dedication:
Master Aqua, my precious ally -
If your heart is in your dream
No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star
As dreamers do.
And they lived happily ever after.
-Sephiroth
At first she saw nothing else changed, but then... a shimmer, like with the tent, and there was another layer to the pages.
The stories had been revised, as they'd discussed. He'd taken her suggestions into account, and yet there were surprises. So many romantic moments! Aqua knew she was going to be smiling about it all day.
Was Sephiroth secretly a hopeless romantic, or had he made the effort just for her? Either way was enchanting.
She read and read, curled up in the chair, indifferent to the time.
She needed to do something nice for him, too!
What symbol would he like? The same stylized wing pattern as on his belt?
Oh, but she didn't have all the right things. Maybe she could gather materials from the heartless? Maybe Sephiroth would come hunting with her! He wouldn't have to know what the ingredients were for, so it'd still be a surprise... and fighting by his side was... Aqua wasn't sure she'd ever felt so alive.
Aqua racked her brain in meditation, trying to remember which of her moves she'd charged with lucky strike.
Master Aqua had said it wasn't his fault.
...but what if it was? Sephiroth found the uncertainty maddening.
He'd fixed the mistakes. If Aqua expressed offense at his alterations, he'd reassure her that the book would revert to its original state by the library due date.
If she had gone to the library herself, would the stories have had the endings she wished for? Was it only because the darkness tainted everything he did that they were wrong? Even through his manipulation of another?
He'd guarded against it, but the darkness had clawed its way in anyway...
...he was overreacting.
The shadows in their camp were inert, mundane optical phenomena. Sephiroth would know if someone used the darkness to make a portal nearby. Through Cloud's eyes, he'd seen Villain's Vale was abandoned. There was no sign of Maleficent, nor any opportunistic squatters, save for the heartless, notoriously difficult to eradicate from an area entirely.
He had a strong ally and there was no current emergency.
He could relax, and enjoy what he'd made of the situation.
All morning, he had stood here.
He'd decided the scorching bright day didn't affect him. Sephiroth cloaked himself in the cold between the stars; vacuum-frost crept across the stone, and a brief dusting of snow. He made sure it did not touch the wildflowers clinging to the ridge.
And then changed his mind.
This outcropping, sturdy swatch of life, nature's humble microcosm. All its tiny organisms, flash-frozen, in death preserved for his eternity.
Sephiroth thought of bringing the blooms to Master Aqua.
...and immediately recognized the gesture for the proxy it was. He wanted to tell her everything he was and have her approval. But it was unlikely she'd agree with his enactment of his philosophy.
Heh. How funny, that he'd said he didn't need to brag! He burned with the desire to impress her.
Heroic anonymity did not suit him. Deception wasn't the issue; he was a master of the art. It was a deeper point of pride. Glory was his right! Fame, his destiny fulfilled! When there were survivors, his accomplishments should be remembered! Perhaps that was part of why he kept Cloud around? A living chronicle, a memory never to fade.
Oh, but he'd done well with the book! She'd be entertained for a while, his kindness would help her heal. Sephiroth imagined Aqua's upturned lips, her hopeful eyes devouring idyllic words of optimism.
As for himself...
He wasn't worried about being bored; he had Cloud.
It was good practice, being able to manipulate Cloud while also providing for Master Aqua. Appropriately godly multitasking.
Cloud was the closest thing he had to existing in two places at once. An invigorating feeling, except when Sephiroth remembered it should spread further. But he'd become content with this much, over the years, usually in short bursts, the self-restraint tantalizing, building the crescendo of each torturous moment when Cloud was his.
Oh, the games they played! Sephiroth wished never to tire of it.
He wondered when Cloud would give up trying to kill him and accept the failure he'd once so readily embraced. When all that was Cloud was dead, and all that remained was Mother's cells... Sephiroth wondered if he'd try to preserve his nemesis, after that, or if he would finally grant 'Cloud' rest within himself.
He let Cloud hear those thoughts, and was met with volatile disgust. Not for a while yet, then. Good.
Cloud's strength had grown. Sephiroth was pleased, knowing he was the source of it, the selective pressure, Cloud's fear of him the driving force. Sephiroth welcomed any lessening of the gap between them! If they were to be locked in interminable conflict, no matter how artificial, he deserved an opponent he could respect.
Which meant his adversary was not allowed to flap around like a drunken chocobo! Cloud's weakness with his wing was shameful. Sephiroth had a reputation to protect. He was a god, and Cloud his fallen angel. 'Fallen' ...now disappointingly literal. Sephiroth amplified the pain from the crash, and set to work molding tendons, teaching nerves, filling in the blood vessels of the lanky appendage, until it looked quite regal.
Upon the forsaken soil of Villain's Vale, he tested it, fought the heartless with his enemy's body, relying primarily on muscle memory of the sword. Still partially Zack's. Stolen! It made him angry. Soon, he was gloating at each stinging injury he caused his host, from where he slowed Cloud's reflexes not to dodge in time. Each drop of spilled hopelessness his rightful due, propagated with each oozing wound, each tiny struggle, Cloud so tangled in his web that to attempt escape would tear him apart, drawn with ropes, knots to tighten, Self sliced through, cut like clay by wire.
Hopes and fears and broken mind. The plans Cloud had had for defeating him. New techniques developed, practiced clandestinely, an honorable sense of duty to the world...
...the delicious feeling of having failed in it.
There were no secrets anymore. Sephiroth playfully shook the anthill of his puppet's thoughts.
...fighting not to inhale shadowy miasma expelled by the heartless, and then never inhaling at all, because Sephiroth deemed it unnecessary, though Cloud's brain blistered with the need for air and he felt the panic of its withdrawal, swinging in and out of blackened consciousness, perpetually choked to death and back again, while his body moved by the command of another. Who enjoyed his hurt and had the finesse to torture perfectly, every sensation chosen, precisely applied. To prove a point long proved, or reap satisfaction in the execution of his self-defined godly office, Cloud had no idea. It was not his place to know God's reasoning.
Sephiroth hummed a caress of approval, "You are merely serving the purpose you were created for."
...hacked apart, over and over. Mixed with the toxic essence of his fallen foes, smeared soul-deep in gore and offal, until Sephiroth saw fit to absolve him, to siphon off his darkness for his own use, a mockery of mercy. Always, always Cloud was a tool for Sephiroth's recovery, he ached for Sephiroth's draining, cleansing touch, the only redemption allowed him, the tiny reprieve from the darkness that swallowed him whole.
"Yes. You will always be mine." The pleasure he pushed into Cloud's mind reverberated within himself also. "Rejoice in it."
Loitering in gratification, Sephiroth slowly centered his awareness once more on his vantage point on the cliff. But it was hard to stop. Picking through his favorite toy's many regrets at range, he exposed an interesting one: despite harboring feelings for both Tifa and Aeris, Cloud had never told them.
Aqua wiped sweat from her brow, glad to be back in the vicinity of comfort.
Late afternoon cast its golden rays, and as she shielded her eyes, she spotted Sephiroth sunning himself on the ridge. He spent an awful lot of time silhouetted there, wing extended, sitting quietly or pacing. Aqua wondered how much he was hiding his pain, and grimaced to recall the brutality of the injury. She hadn't heard him laugh today. When you love someone, it's nice to hear them laugh...
She climbed the path to see him.
"Did you enjoy your walk, Master Aqua?" Sephiroth asked, tilting his head to listen over his shoulder. He had his back turned to her.
"Yes, I did." Aqua was proud of how far she'd hiked in the heat. Her cooling magic had helped. "Um, are you okay?"
"Yes," Sephiroth said, looking up at her now.
"You're sure?" she sort of teased.
"Yes, Master Aqua." It was kind of a goofy smirk.
Hmm, was he really? She grinned, flirting, "No fair. I hardly got to fuss over you at all."
"Maybe I'm not completely well yet..." Was that a wink?
"Is there something you need?" Aqua offered, playing along.
"Besides the continued pleasure of your company?" Sephiroth replied.
...wow. Aqua felt the warmth rise in her cheeks.
He smiled at the effect his words had on her. So did she.
"Come." He beckoned for her to sit, inviting her under his wing. When she was settled, he added, "There are questions I need the answers to. We should start making a plan."