Round 5

Cloud vs. Sephiroth

Bout 2

Healing Room A

"WAHAHAHAHAHA!" hooted Wario, "THIS IS-A GOING-A PERFECTLY! YOU'RE BORN A CHAMPION. YOU HAVE IT INSIDE! YOU FEEL IT, LIVE IT, BREATH IT, AND YOU'VE-A DIED TWICE FOR IT! LEAD THE ASSAULT ON LIFE ITSELF THE WAY YOU KNOW HOW, THE WAY YOU WERE MEANT TO!"

Sephiroth said nothing.

"YOU CAN'T HOLD BACK NOW! ASCEND TO YOUR DESTINY AND BEYOND!"

Just as a smile appeared on Sephiroth's lips, Mills Frames' voice echoed through the room.

"We are immediately beginning the next bout. The stage will once again be Northern Crater!"

"Alright, y ou've-a got dis. Knock 'em dead kid,"

Sephiroth nodded to Wario as he disappeared.

Healing Room B

"Scorched Earth," Snake growled, "Hold nothing back."

Cloud nodded. The two sat in silence until the announcement was made, at which point Cloud disappeared.

Stage: Northern Crater

Rules: Best of 3, 3-stock, items none

Music: "One Winged Angel"

3

Sephiroth stepped out of a blast of darkness

2

The Buster Sword fell to the ground. Cloud fell after it, retrieving it.

1

Cloud held is sword aloft, then vertical. Sephiroth grinned.

GO!
 "OMNISLASH!"

A flurry of Cloud's most powerful blows slashed Sephiroth in a seemingly unending stream. The fourteen slashes were crescendoed when Cloud jumped into the air, bringing his sword down with such force that the ground around them exploded. When the dust settled, both swordsmen stood.

"Do you think," Sephiroth seethed, "That that's all I have? Do you remember?"

A chill went up Cloud's spine. The battle at Hollow Bastion, The Battle at Edge, the battle in the service of Goddess Materia and her brother, he'd never gone Safer.

In a flash of light, Sephiroth's ghoulish form hovered above him. A simple smack with a malformed claw was enough to send Cloud to the Blast Zone!

Cloud: 2

Sephiroth: 3

Smash Stadium gasped collectively, falling silent.

Sephiroth waved his hand as Cloud stepped off the Revival Platform.

"Surely you remember me casting Wall," Sephiroth laughed, his voice loud and deep enough to shake the heavens, "I stand before you as an even greater titan than I was before. And what's worse, none of your foolish friends, nor that cur Aerith's magic can stop me."

"I don't need them," Cloud protested.

"So you say," Sephiroth said with an evil grin, "Shadow Flare."

The world slowly turned white, the air turning thick. Blobs of darkness pummeled Cloud, the thick, noxious gas penetrating Cloud's defenses immediately, vaulting him into the air and sending him crashing back down.

"Cloud's damage is 200 percent already. What the hell is happening?" Cranky bemoaned.

Despite this, Cloud raised himself to his feet. Holding his sword aloft, the normal Materia twinkled with life.

"ULTIMATE END!" Cloud called.

"Unbelievable!" 9-Volt shouted over the cheering crowd, "Cloud casts the Knights of the Round.

Everything happened in quicker succession than Cloud expected. Longswords, maces, fire magic, lances, ice magic, a trident, a naginata, axes, a hammer, and even the legendary sword Excalibur all slashed at Sephiroth's hide The only thing as grand as he remembered was King Arthur's regal entrance and attack, the one that fell Sephiroth the first time. Despite the beating, Sephiroth's face remained neutral, his glaring eyes forever piercing.

"Did you really think that would work?" Sephiroth taunted, "Conker brought me back from the world in which I won. I am more powerful than you ever imagined me being. Pale Horse!"

The word around Cloud flashed blue, the air once again growing thick. With a blast of blue energy, Cloud was rocketed to the Blast Zone.!

Cloud: 1

Sephiroth: 3

Cloud stepped off the Revival Platform, an archaic symbol glowing on the floor beneath him as he readied an attack.

The air hung silent in AVALANCHE's suite.

"Aw Cloud, no," Barrett begged in a near whisper.

"Why would he use this bloody thing with three stocks to go?" Reeve shouted, so panicked that he reverted back to his Cait Sith voice.

"Simple," Aerith said glumly," To destroy him,"

Aboard Smashcraft KH, King Mickey was furious.

"You gave him the power to destroy Sephiroth?" Mickey cried, "What in the Sam Hill were you thinkin' Donald?"

Donald remained stoic, "He asked for the power, I gave it to him."

On the Northern Crater stage, Cloud warbled with energy. Fire flashed upon the Buster Sword. It was time.

"ZETAFLARE!" cried Cloud.

Sephiroth's stoic face changed as the power of Bahamut erupted from Cloud's human hands. His eyes widened just in time to be smothered with the power of a god, the fires of wrath extending to the Blast Zone and beyond.

Finally, the hellfire petered out, Cloud falling to his knees.

.

In the Smashers Box, the Administrators were aflutter at the control.

"ROB, was that a stock KO? What the hell do we put on the board?" demanded Mario.

"That's the trouble sir," ROB whirred, "There are no biometric readings of Sephiroth."

Mario's eyes widened, his breathing shaky, "But nothing's supposed to be powerful enough to kill someone in a Smash arena!"

"Master Hand to not account for the fires of Bahamut I'm afraid."

Mario gulped, fearing he may throw up if he didn't.

"Okay," he sighed, "Send word down to the truck, the winner is C-"

"Three times Cloud," Sephiroth's voice boomed from seemingly everywhere.

"What in the name of Agni?" Marth demanded.

Meanwhile, on the Northern Crater stage, Cloud looked around. Sephiroth's voice was coming from everywhere.

"Three times you tried to kill me. Three times you attempted to know peace. Yet, darkness will follow you to the end of time."

Before him, Safer Sephiroth began to reform before him.

"For I will never remain a memory," Sephiroth declared, having assumed his full Safer form.

As the Smashers clamored in their suite, Sans turned to the rest of the admins.

"Sephiroth's file says that Cloud knocked the original Sephiroth into the Lifestream right?" he asked.

"Yep," Otis and Mikey blurted simultaneously.

"I was afraid this might happen," Sans sighed.

"What do you mean?" Mario demanded.

"When my father Gaster left this plane, he fell into the space-time continuum, omnipresent in all fascets of what we understand as reality. I reckon Sephiroth did the same thing."

"So that means…" Marth went paler than usual, having put two and two together.

"Sephiroth is just like Gaster," Sans concluded, "He can't die."

Sephiroth was on the Northern Crater stage with Cloud, away from all the noise, but Cloud's defeated expression said it all. He had realized, the people had realized. He could never be defeated.

"SUPERNOVA!" Sephiroth roared.

The sky shattered behind them, The Solar System was destroyed behind them as a comet whizzed through the planet, their immeasurable stature in an unforgiving cosmos crushed to nothing as the comet made further mincemeat of Gaia's neighbors. The comet met the sun, Mercury, and Venus crumbling to dust in the resulting explosion's titanic wake. The explosion engulfed Cloud Strife, pushing his hopeless husk backward. But, something pierced his chest, holding him mere inches from the Blast Zone. \

Cloud aimed to move his lips to express shock, but no noise came.

He mustered all the strength he had left to glance down to the source of the pain. The Masamune had pierced him completely, Sephiroth held his signature blade, having changed into his human form in the time it took for the explosion to erupt. Hoisting the Masamune over his head, Sephiroth heaved Cloud into the Blast Zone for the final time!

GAME! SEPHIROTH WINS!

"Sephiroth hisn't in the Courtyard," barked Otis, glancing at the many screens of the administrator area.

"Of course," Mario said confidently, "He's out making fires…"

"No," quacked Mikey, "He's in the interview area with Wario. Cloud on the other hand is refusing to be interviewed."

"I'm sure," Mario nodded, "Throw it to him then, tell the truck no victory screen."

Mister Zero shook as he held the wireless mic aloft over Sephiroth, "I-I'm here with Sephiroth, who just punched his ticket to the semi-finals. C-c-c-congratulations."

"I must say," Sephiroth said, "I'm sorry. Sorry that all of your friends aren't dead, and they had to witness me end you today. Let me clarify, everyone in your pathetic found family except for Aerith."

Wario began to cackle as Sephiroth mimed holding a phone to his ear, mouthing 'call me' The fright on Mister Zero's face turned to disgust, the seasoned broadcaster frowning, shaking his head, and walking away.

Meanwhile, in the Smashers Box, Mario shook with rage, "Tell the camera crew to come up to me. No ceremony, I'll announce what I have to say here and now."

A fleet of Wire Frames wielding camera equipment appeared at Mario's behest, Wario and Sephiroth still grinning as they wandered up the tunnel.

"You thought you were going to get a bye this round you clown?" Mario shouted, face as red as a tomato, "Well, you're going to have to pick a crew to earn it. All three semi-finalists will. It will be a five-on-five-on-five team tag match, stamina elimination rules. Last team standing gets to bye to the finals. Oh, and you can't choose yourself, or the other two semi-finalists. This event will take place in three days. After that, it will be

"Well," Wario huffed, pushing his way onto camera, "I believe it goes without saying that the team captain of Sephiroth's team will be m-"

Masamune came inches from decapitating Wario.

"No," Sephiroth growled, "My team will consist of people I respect in this forsaken thing. Akechi, Ganondorf, Team Chaotix, Ridley, and Dark Samus."

"Well-a," Luigi proclaimed, stepping forward, "If you're a-gonna put the Wah-ffice back together, I'mma put my family together. Mario, Peach, Daisy, Sonic, and Isabelle!"

Quinn sighed, "If I gotta announce a team right here, it's gonna be Banjo-Kazooie, Sans, Altair, Terry, and Joker."

"Aw shit Sans," Terry cheered, "You know what that means."

Sans teleported to Terry's side, gripping his right hand with his left, as if he were pushing his hand into a handshake, Terry did the same, their hands interlinking in a handshake.

"MegaPowers, yeah!" they both cheered.

Mario tipped his hat, "And that's that. See you all in two days! After that, championship ascension ceremony will take place, 16 days until the semi-final and the remaining six days to train for the finals! Remember, we are Smash Brothers!"

Mario gave a 'cut' signal, turning to the bewildered Smashers, "Alright, that means you have twenty four hours to train your teams, but for tonight, we will celebrate! I requested an Itallian dinner cooked in the Mario family style.

A portal opened to the Smash Mansion, the bewildered competitors stepping through as Smash Mansion itself emptied out..