This isn't exactly where I wanted to stop this, but I've been trying to keep my chapters from turning into huge epics so I cut it off here. I'm so excited though! We're finally getting through the "beginning" stuff and to the meat of the story. I'm really looking forward to introducing some more characters soon... in this chapter, and the future ones. C: Hope you enjoy!

Also, if you're a fan who likes buying FF shit, you should check out my ebay store. I am a poor college student and I get by running an online business that focuses on video game collectibles - including a LOT of FF. Check it out!

usr/thegamingmuse

Voices; voices, in and out, in the dark. Murky and distant like waves on the horizon.

"Fast asleep already. … been gone a while."

"… his time in Midgar… not as peaceful as…"

"Don't fret…"

The words pull on him, each passing wave tugging at his feet, pulling him into the tide. Sleep heavy eyes blink.

"… Zack?"

"Left about when you did. Said he…"

Instead of sitting up, he turns, not quite abandoning sleep. It hugs him tight as he rolls onto his side on the couch, barely awake, hardly aware.

A chuckle. "He sleeps hard."

"Always has." His mother… and… who? It's fading in and out like a dream, and by waking he may not even remember.

"How long has he been…"

"… since he went in that damn house. Not that I begrudge it, but…"

Blackness; fading out, then back in. When next he slips out of sleeping, Cloud blinks bleary eyes, and sees a figure standing at the back door. Too tall for his mother, and too imposing and serious besides. Shoulders thrown back, long silver hair gleaming in the moonlight.

"Somethin' wrong?" Cloud mutters, sitting up. It's only been a few hours; he needs a bit more, but it can wait. The clock in the kitchen reads 4 am. "Why're you awake?"

"Zackary's gone." Sephiroth tells him without turning. Not quite awake enough to think clearly, Cloud just blinks. "He left without leaving an explanation."

"… I'm sure he's fine."

"Yes," Sephiroth sighs, hands tightening behind his back. "Fine."

There's something he's missing here, but – ugh. Rubbing his head, Cloud falls back down. It's been a long week and he's tired and at this point not even the fact that General Sephiroth is brooding in his living room can keep him awake.

"What of your friend?" Sephiroth asks. Blinking blearily, Cloud turns his head. "Mr. Valentine?"

"Vincent?" Cloud shrugs. "He's fine. He vanishes without a word all the time. It's kinda his thing." Then the wording catches up to him. Maybe he's not as sleepy as he thought. This isn't a General angered by insubordination, this is a worried friend. "I'm sure Zack'll be back soon. He's probably just on a bender at the bar, or something."

"Hm." Sephiroth turns his gaze back out the door. He doesn't move otherwise. Cloud manages to stare at his unmoving back for another minute before he sighs and sits up.

"At least come sit down." Cloud mumbles, rubbing at his eyes. "You won't help anybody getting yourself a cramp."

The General barely turns. "You need not get up, I am content to wait."

"Content and happy are two different things." Cloud pats the space beside him. "Sit. We'll wait up for him like parents waitin' for their no-good kid."

That gets a chuckle out of the man; finally, the iron bars of his limbs bend and move. He comes to sit stiffly beside the blond, still as straight and poised as ever, but he's sitting. Green eyes settle on Cloud, and the shorter man suddenly realizes he has no idea what to do now.

"So…" He mutters, scratching his head. "What's the plan for tomorrow?"

A sigh escapes the General. Sephiroth leans forward placing his elbows on his knees. "I am – not entirely sure."

Surprised, Cloud leans forward with him, keeping his gaze on the man's face. "Thought this was all your idea?"

"Yes." The man drags a hand down his face. "Now that I am here however…" The hand falls back to his knee, clenching tight. "I am…" The word catches on his lips like he's afraid to let it go. "Uncertain."

Cloud blinks. "About what?"

That seems to change something in Sephiroth's gaze; the man smirks. Sharp eyes turn on the blond. "You are quite disarming you realize?" He chuckles. "Only Zack has ever had such success in getting me to 'open up', as he says."

A blush spreads across the blond's face. What to say to that? "Uh – I didn't mean – I'm not trying to pry."

Sephiroth shakes his head. "No; I suppose I am saying you are easy for me to talk to. Not many are." His gaze turns again. "I came here looking for answers – but I am not sure I want them."

Cloud hesitates for just a second. Just one second – then, he reaches out, trying to comfort the man. But – how to do it? Hand or shoulder? Hand or shoulder? At the last minute, he goes for the forearm. Less personal, but with no bulky shoulder pads in the way. Success! You've comforted the General!

"I'm sorry about all this." The man says sincerely. "If there's anything I can do to help…"

Sephiroth's eyes settle on the hand, then lift to Cloud's eyes. "You have already been a great help. But perhaps I will enlist your aid once more."

For the third time in two hours, Zack completes his perusal of the outskirts of town. Never can be too safe; and he has plenty of time to kill, after all. His eyes dart to the sky every so often. Each time, he sees no sign of them. Anxiety heightens the deeper into the night they get, until the man is tense, fidgety, and on edge. Then, finally, he sees it.

A light in the distance. Once, twice, it flashes, then nothing – then a third flash.

Zack grins, and lifts his signal beam in reply.

The small plane heads his way, and he signals them down, to the clearing nearby. As the plane comes in, engines roaring overheard, a beaming grin comes to the SOLDIER and he breaks into a run.

It lands, and the door opens. Zack slides to a halt just in time to see the man stepping down from the entrance.

"So happy to see me?" Tseng quips.

"Course I am." The man puts his hands on his hips. "Always a pleasure. Really. Please get out of my way."

The Turk manages to suppress a smile and step out of the way. Zack bolts for the door, barreling into Reno, who'd been in the process of stepping down.

"Hey – Whoa! Slow your roll man! We gotta clear the area first –"

"Been cleared, checked it myself." He insists, pulling himself up and into the plane. Zack stands and makes to run again, only to slow to a halt at the sight that greets him. The woman he's been waiting for is right there, grinning at him, and completely safe.

"Fancy seeing you here," Aerith says with a smile. That's as long as she can resist running to meet him, wrapping their arms around each other. For the next few minutes, the whole world shrinks to the two of them, and their embrace.

Then Reno coughs.

"Seriously, if you're gonna make out right there, the polite thing to do is at least invite us for a little groping. Some over the clothes action." Zack quirks an eyebrow at the redhead as he turns, gaze on the Turks, arms all over his girlfriend.

"Not on your life, Reno."

"Wow, rude." The man scoffs, hands on his hips. "Fine, see how you like it. Tseng –"

"Touch me and I'll shove that rod of yours so far up your ass you'll never see it again."

"Promise?" The threat does nothing to intimidate Reno, of course. But it does have Aerith in stitches. She's still tense; Zack can feel it in her frame. She's been a nervous wreck this whole week most likely. It's good to see her smile, he thinks.

"Come on," He gestures to the world outside. "We should get moving."

"Are we going to see the General?" Aerith holds his hand tight, following alongside him. Zack winces at the mention and she definitely notices. "What's wrong?"

"Sephiroth… may not be the best person to involve." Tseng says diplomatically. "His loyalties so far as Hojo is concerned are – complicated."

"He loves the man, the poor bastard." Zack sighs as they step down to solid earth. "I know he doesn't approve of everything Hojo does, but… well. He cares about him."

"Not to mention that whole contract thing," Reno waggles a finger. "Technically don't he own the General?"

"No," Aerith gives a gasp. "Not really?"

"General Sephiroth is listed as a scientific endeavor in the Shinra archives. Technically… he is not legally listed as a human being."

"Fuck those bastards."

"Precisely." Tseng continues. "Now, Miss Gainsborough, you really should keep moving. Until this all blows over, you are not safe."

The woman nods; she gazes at her boyfriend, taking his hand, but hesitates when he begins to move. "It … is going to blow over, isn't it?" She asks quietly. Nervous eyes met Tseng's. "Everything will go back to the way it was?"

Tseng barely represses a sigh. "I doubt it, Miss Gainsborough."

"Hey, it'll be alright." Zack insists. "You didn't like Shinra the way it was before anyway, right?"

"Yeah, but…" Sighing, Aerith turns her head. "I have a bad feeling."

None of the men reply; they all know how accurate Aerith's "feelings" always are. Not that this time, they needed the prediction to know that trouble is undoubtedly on its way.

Morning comes, and Zack still hasn't returned. Cloud tries not to bring it up. Sephiroth hasn't mentioned it, even though it's clearly on his mind. He keeps looking at the man's bag as if it might tell him where Zack went, and every so often he stops and stares at the front door for minutes on end. He's anxious, clearly, and upset, and doesn't know what in the world to do about it. Still, by the time they've eaten and had coffee with Cloud's mother, the man seems ready to face the day.

"If you are not needed elsewhere," The man begins, standing behind the counter, his fourth cup of coffee in hand. Cloud's mother has already vacated the area, heading into town herself. "I could use a guide today."

"Hm, sure." Cloud nods. The chance to spend time with his childhood hero-crush? Sign him up. Besides, what would he say? 'No, I'm too busy doing fuck all in this crappy town'? "Heading for the mansion?"

The man nods, not meeting his gaze. Cloud lets it drop. The General will say more when he's ready. Now he even has the blond glancing at the front door, wondering.

Where are you Zack?

So comes the fateful day; Cloud and Sephiroth, alone together, entering into the Shinra Mansion for a day of exploration. For half a second Cloud got the weird idea into his head that this could almost be like a date if not for, oh, the creepy old mansion and the dead things and the monsters and the haunted freaky horror show in the basement.

But other than that, yeah. Totally a date.

Cloud huffs a disgusted sigh. It's as close as he'll ever get. He's behind the General as they enter, with his sword on his back, his materia equipped and a bag of small supplies at his waist. Sephiroth had been surprised by the bracer and said as much.

"I did not realize small towns such as this had materia equipment."

"They don't." Cloud had told him. As he attached the bracer, he held it up for show. "I made it. The materia I found around here and there, nothing great, but it works."

The look on Sephiroth's face was practically one of constipation. Cloud cocked an eyebrow, confused by the stunned ambivalence, deciding it was probably safest to just turn and walk away. As he did he could have sworn he heard the man muttering behind his back.

"… 'made it', he says, like it's a damn charm bracelet."

The mansion is as dark and creepy as ever, save for the little light flooding in from the holes in the walls and ceiling. There's snow piled around too, from the recent storm. "Careful," Cloud mentions, pointing it out. "The floor's probably rotting more from the weather."

They travel mostly in silence, Sephiroth leading the way. Cloud had told him where everything was; but the man seemed to be in no rush to go anywhere, just… walking through the halls. Every so often he would pause, cock his head as if listening for something, or look away as if there was something in the distance he could see. After a while, Cloud commented on it.

"Hm," Sephiroth says with a frown. "I suppose – I am trying to imagine it."

"Imagine what?"

"My parents, in this house."

The words choke the blond, who follows and watches Sephiroth continue with tears in his eyes. The man is visualizing his family; trying to learn about his parents in reverse, through the house they called home for some time. It's heartbreaking, but he doesn't let Sephiroth see it. Cloud wipes at his eyes when the man is turned away.

Eventually they do head for the basement. The rooms are even darker, sound echoing all around. They fight a bit to get there, but nothing Sephiroth can't handle; Cloud feels like a child around him, barely getting his sword off his back to fight, only for the other to have already finished it. It's humbling, and amazing to watch.

Sephiroth halts in the hallway. "This is where you found Mr. Valentine?"

Cloud follows his gaze; it's the coffin room. "Yeah," Cloud steps through the doorway, glancing up. "Fell through right there." Sephiroth follows after, following his gaze to the hole in the ceiling.

"You were quite lucky to have lived."

"Yeah," Cloud chuckles nervously. It was a doozy of a drop.

They move on, further down the hall. With each step, Cloud feels nerves trembling up his spine. Trepidation chokes him. Was this a good idea? Somehow, before, it had seemed like a great idea. But now, Cloud's on edge, antsy, and something feels – off.

The mansion had been a second home to him for years. But without Vincent, it feels cold and empty, almost hostile. With Sephiroth, it's practically chilling. The man has been stiff and stone-cold since they entered, even worse than usual. And there's a … glint in his eye, making Cloud nervous.

What's going on?

"Se- General, are you alright?" Fidgety, Cloud tries to glance round to the man's face. He's shivering a little, his eyes wide and distant, not looking at anything. The man stays stock still, before shaking his head.

"My apologies," He sighs, a hand rubbing his forehead. Cloud frowns.

They keep walking; Sephiroth examines the labs with a quick gaze, barely looking at anything. Glass cracks beneath their feet. Cloud looks at it all with a new gaze; imagining Sephiroth's perception of this place, his birthplace, his beginning. It's a terrifying thought.

"Sephiroth… are you alright?"

The man doesn't respond.

"Sephiroth? … Sephiroth!"

No answer; the silver General brushes by Cloud like he isn't there, rushing for the exit. Cloud watches him go, stunned, slow to react. "Wait a minute! Slow down!" He chases after finally, but he's lost the man. Damn, he's fast. "Sephiroth!"

He keeps going rushing through the house, out the door, but he's gone. Sephiroth is gone, and on top of that he's acting like a total loony. Cloud stops on the front porch, breathing hard. The thoughts whirl through his mind and he tries sorting them, trying to look at the details and see what went wrong, what's happened.

"Cloud!"

The man's head shoots up. "Mom?"

The woman's hobbling over to him in a rush. "What the hell'd you do to piss off the General? Man blew past me without so much as a word."

"Mom, where'd he go?" Cloud slides to a halt beside her, hands on her shoulders. She nods down the road.

"Towards the mountain."

Mountain…? Cloud's mind races. What in the world could be –

Vincent. He went up to the reactor on the mountain and did something, that night that they researched Sephiroth's past. Was there something missing here? Something Hojo did that Cloud didn't know about?

"Go home, ma," Cloud says, gritting his teeth. Then he takes off running.

Before long, Tseng and Reno, with their driver, Rude, had to leave. It was a quick drop operation after all, and according to the Turk, they had one more piece of "important cargo" to drop somewhere.

"Aerith's not the only one in danger now," Tseng had muttered mysteriously to Zack, before heading back in the chopper.

So the two were left to their own devices, to finish the plan themselves. Zack's chest tightens at the thought. Sure he's been the leader on many high end ops but… his gaze drifts to his girlfriend, light of his life.

The stakes have never been so high.

"Come on," He says gently, holding her hand. "This way."

"Where to?"

"North, to Rocket Town." He says. "It's the nearest settlement with absolutely no Shinra influence."

"What about your friends?"

Guilt settles in his gut, heavy. "They'll be alright." Aerith needs him. He can't leave her on her own, and he can't take her back to Nibelheim, the risks are too high. He trusts Sephiroth… damn it, he loves the man, but…

Zack knows how far people can be driven to for family. He can't take any risks.

Suddenly, his hand's tugged hard, and the man turns, wide eyed. Aerith's boots are planted in the earth. Uh oh. There's a determined glint in her eyes that is not a good sign.

"Zack…" The girl sighs. "You're being silly again."

He blinks. "What?"

"You can't just leave Sephiroth. I'll be fine!" She leans forward, insistent. "Stop worrying so much."

How can he not? One of the world's most powerful scientists – soon perhaps to be the world's most powerful man – wants to sink his greedy claws into the woman he loves. And Zack, he's just a SOLDIER, a rung in the ladder, what can he do? If Hojo gets her… if he…

"I can't risk it." His grip tightens just short of too much. "I can't – lose you."

"Zack…" Soft eyes meet his as she leans into his line of sight. Then those eyes widen. "Zack!"

The man gasps; damn, he'd been distracted, he hadn't even heard the monster coming up on them, he spins and places himself between the beast and Aerith just in time to see it fall.

THUD. The bullet comes from a long ways off, blood arching through the air as the beast falls. For a moment Zack wonders if Tseng had hung around after all, the shot is so perfect. Eyes narrowed, he turns to look for the shooter, and barely catches sight of a flash of red.

They were followed.

"Huh." Shoulders slumped, Zack turns back to Aerith. "I'm so sorry, I –"

"You've had a lot going on." The woman taps his shoulder. "All the more reason to go to Sephiroth. You can't do everything on your own."

"I'm not on my own." A small smile comes to his face as he takes both her hands in his. "I've got you."

She smirks but seems pleased. "You know what I mean."

He smiles in return – but it's a little weak. Zack's… not sure. He doesn't know what to do and the worst part is? Usually, the person he'd go to for advice about this… about anything really… was Sephiroth. And Seph's the guy I'm avoiding.

Is he being stupid about this? Sighing, Zack scratches his head. He just… doesn't know. This is all so complicated and dangerous and the smallest misstep could mean the end.

"Alright," He says finally, turning to Aerith. "We'll talk to Sephiroth. Okay?"

She grins bright as the sun. "Okay."

So much buzzing. Loud, screeching. He hates it. Words and thoughts vanish and there is only the sound. White noise, white noise, whitenoise. Make it stop. Make it be quiet. He will, he will –

The noise gets so loud. So much of it. Louder and louder closer he gets, louder and louder and lou –

"Sephiroth!"

Stop. Stop shouting, stop saying. Stop the noise. Teeth gritted, blood in his mouth. Stop the noise. She's crying and she shouldn't be alive and who is she listen son listen he can't listen because of the noise and she's not strong enough to really speak someone hurt her why is this hurting

Hands on him, he screams, stop touching stop the noise stop everything it hurts it hurts

Father it hurts please stop I don't want to be in the lab today can't I go outside I don't want more tests no father no please don't

No. No more pain. No more noise. No more.

The reactor is a mess. Whoever came in before Cloud didn't know how to use a door, because every single one is torn off the hinges or simply blown through. Thank fuck nobody actually works at the reactor, save one guy in town who drops by once a month to make sure it's still doing its thing.

That guy isn't around, which is a good thing since Cloud's pretty sure he'd be dead. The reactor looks like a monster tore through it, walls destroyed and fire licking at the walls. Whatever Sephiroth is after… he's impatient for it.

Finally, Cloud catches a glimpse of silver in the distance. "Sephiroth!" He bolts after him. The man's just walking forward, at a brisk pace, with no sign he can see the world around him. "Sephiroth!"

This is… a weird looking reactor. Cloud's seen pictures before, read books about them. He's never seen anything like this. There's a long walkway over a huge drop that really does not seem safe. At the sight, Cloud hesitates, flailing to keep from tumbling over. Wide eyes gape at the glowing mako what seems like miles below, but is probably all too near.

It's a circular room, and in the center is a raised dais. There's some kind of device, some computer that's all torn up in the middle. An empty tube of – something, Cloud doesn't want to know what – is there, too. It's all destroyed. Is this what Vincent did?

"Sephiroth?" He reaches for the man. A blur of silver shocks him out of lethargy, silver that isn't hair but a sword that almost took off his hand. Cloud leaps out of the way just in time, stunned eyes staring wide at the General. "What the hell?"

He's… blank. Distant. Something in his eyes is wrong. But there's anger there, and it's all directed at Cloud right now. Whatever this has to do with the reactor and what was in it doesn't matter now, because Sephiroth is mad, and definitely not acting like normal.

"Sephiroth, please," Holding up a hand, Cloud takes a tentative step back. "You aren't like yourself. What are you thinking?"

He says nothing; one heavy step forward, then another. Like a puppet, thumping along on invisible strings. He's hunched over, hair falling over his eyes, mouth agape.

" …"

Cloud blinks, pose relaxing. "… What?"

"M – Make…" The man is trying to speak. Wild eyes open beneath his bangs. "Make her stop – make her stop screaming."

Masamune lifts over his head. The man grits his teeth before releasing a scream of his own.

Cloud barely has the time to think, 'aw hell.'

The sword cleaves a good twelve feet of metal in two, everything that was in front of Sephiroth; the platform, the overhang above the door, even part of the next room. Cloud was almost a part of that if not for quick, instinctive thinking. He runs. The man races out of the room, out of the reactor, as fast as he can.

'No use fighting in here,' He thinks with a grimace. 'Way too enclosed. Get outside get outside!' Behind him he hears the roar and shriek of metal being torn and the building collapsing with each swing of the great sword; and each sound has his heart jumping in his chest. Cloud comes out into the snowy wilderness in time for the very entrance to cave in.

The man slides to a halt in the nearest snowdrift, turning to face the building. He has no fanciful dreams that this is over. It will take a lot more to kill General Sephiroth. For a moment it occurs to him that General Sephiroth is fighting him and vertigo strikes him, the unreality of the situation sending him reeling.

This can't be happening.

The building blows; smoke and fire billow into the sky and from that towering inferno appears a man. A man sheathed in flame, his sword glittering with it. He walks out of the fire with a madman's grin, his eyes bright and fiery, but not lucid.

Something is very wrong.

"Sephiroth, what the hell are you doing?" Cloud puts a hand on his sword. How the hell is this his life? He's about to fight his hero for Gods know what reasons, the strongest man in the world having just lost his mind out of fucking nowhere.

And he's the only one here to do anything about it.

'Zack, where the hell are you?' Cloud asks himself. Another SOLDIER could do this. Sephiroth's lieutenant could hold him in a fight. But Cloud? Against Sephiroth? The blonde resists the urge to groan.

I'm gonna be shishkebab.

All at once Sephiroth is gone. Just gone. Cloud chokes on his next breath until he feels it – like the Angel of Death is just hovering over his shoulder. The killing intent breathing down his neck has him moving on instinct, rolling forward just in time to avoid a downward aerial strike that surely would have killed him. He turns with the motion, moving to face Sephiroth, drawing his sword.

'Surely at this range,' Cloud thinks, 'He won't be able to counterattack. The blade is too long. As long as I'm close enough I can – '

Sephiroth withdraws the blade from the earth and snow with blinding speed. He jumps with it, already moving again so soon, barely within a blink of having landed. The timing is too fast. Cloud gasps, even as he sees the motion. Sephiroth's coming for him again, blade extended downward, and Cloud barely has the time to turn his shoulder to keep it from piercing his heart.

"AHHH!"

It fucking hurts. He's been hit and skewered and stabbed before but this is stainless steel meant to pierce human bone and flesh. It cuts right into his abdomen, through the other side into the earth. Cloud can already feel blood seeping from the wound, gritting his teeth as he looks up to his hero.

His damn hero.

The man's eyes are so cold. This isn't the awkward man who'd unknowingly insulted him. This isn't the confused young man looking for answers. This is a stone cold killer.

He's actually trying to kill me.

Sephiroth removes the blade and Cloud can't help another scream. The man smiles. Smiles. And Cloud realizes with dull horror that he is actually going to die here.

I'm going to die!

Whenever Cloud got into fights, he tried to avoid going to his mother for help. When it came to injuries, he always went to Vincent.

The older man never questioned, never judged him, never asked if he won or lost or impugned his manhood for it. No; Vincent was always a comfort to him. Cloud would come in, bruised and bleeding, tears in his eyes, and the quiet man would simply kneel, and extend a hand. Always making him feel safe, and welcome.

"I always lose," Cloud muttered one such time, sitting on Vincent's coffin. The man was sitting on the opposite side, bandaging a rather nasty cut on Cloud's arm. "I've trained my whole life to fight but Aaron always kicks my ass."

"He fights without honor." Vincent murmured. "You hold back, afraid to truly hurt anyone. He lacks such concern."

Cloud, only slightly appeased, gave a grumble of acknowledgement. Surely even holding back he could be able to get away sometimes. Or at least hold them off without getting beat up. Why was it they always got the best of him?

It was always a losing fight, with Cloud.

"It sucks being the underdog all the time." Cloud finally muttered, looking at his newly bandaged arm. He knew he was pouting and being stupid, but the young boy was frustrated and tired and in a great deal of pain.

"Hm," Vincent had muttered, before coming to sit next to the boy. In a rare show of physical comfort, the man actually put a hand on the boy's shoulder. Cloud remembered it had stood out as the first time Vincent had instigated such an action with him. Vincent didn't like touching people.

"You're stronger than they'll ever be. Underdog though you are." Cloud huffed, but Vincent shook his head. "They'll never understand your strength because they've always been strong. But you've known what it is to be at someone else's mercy."

"When an animal is cornered and hurt it lashes out with all its strength. Humans are the same way. You'll find that when you are at your weakest, when everything is against you and you have nothing left to lose, new strength will rise in you the likes of which you've never felt. A rushing fury that every living creature is ultimately driven by – the will to live. To keep fighting to live until there is no fight left."

"You have that kind of strength Cloud," Then, Vincent had smiled at him, actually smiled. Cloud felt his chest swell. "When you find it, you will be amazed what you can do. I only hope I am there to see it."

The blade comes down – and clashes with metal.

It takes two hands and all of Cloud's strength behind it to keep Sephiroth from completing the finishing blow. It's a near thing – the man is practically a God on the battlefield. But Cloud holds his own, hands shaking as he presses back, refusing to back down.

No…

Lifting his knee, he puts one foot on the ground, trying to gain leverage as he pushes back.

If I die… who's to say he'll snap out of it?

Then, he swings with his other leg, towards Sephiroth's. The man sees it coming by a long shot, and jumps free. Cloud seizes his chance to stand back up.

He could take the whole village out. I can't…

Furious eyes meet a cold green gaze. Cloud's grip on his sword tightens to the point of pain.

I can't lose!

"Wrahhh!"

With a furious battlecry Cloud leaps forward, sword swung to his left. Sephiroth meets his charge, their blades clashing, and immediately moves into another swing. Cloud meets it – and another, and another.

The man is a fury on the battlefield. It's all Cloud can do to keep up with his speed, meeting blow for blow, barely stay alive. The long blade manages to cut and scrape him up a bit, and he hasn't touched Sephiroth at all.

Cloud pushes back, trying to force space between them, but Sephiroth is an iron wall. He might as well try to move Mt. Nibel. Grimacing, Cloud instead leaps back from the next attack. Sephiroth follows, sword by his left side, preparing to swing again.

Today, Cloud did not bring his First Tsurugi. The Fusion Sword, made of multiple blades, has been a personal project that he's worked to perfect for years. Clearly, it isn't there yet, given the performance with the Behemoth. So today he'd opted to take another blade he'd made himself: The Organics.

It's a long, curved black and red blade, which unlike his other blade is made to be used with Materia. It's a magic sword – a damn good one. It had taken Cloud years to learn how to properly incorporate the shit with his blades. This has been his one success, a blade that increases magical power as well as allowing the equipping of six materia into itself.

Cloud uses these to his advantage.

Immediately he activates both the Barrier and Cover materias in the blade. A white wall of light erupts between him and his opponent; not that Sephiroth can really be more than slowed down by such a thing. The Cover materia's defensive power settles over him too, so that by the time the blade hits him, it hurts a lot less than it would have.

Now, he has an opening; letting Sephiroth in to make a blow has let Cloud in close. He twists the blade, slamming the hilt up into Sephiroth's jaw, before spinning to hit his head with the broad side. BAM. The sound resounds through the mountainside as Sephiroth goes flying, tearing through the snow and taking a tree down with him.

Cloud stands, breathing heavily. He barely has time to activate another materia before Sephiroth stands: Speed plus. He's gone before Sephiroth notices, moving behind the man.

He knows soon enough, though, spinning to face Cloud, but not before the man gets in another blow. Sephiroth reels back but Cloud doesn't let up; he keeps pushing, hitting again and again with the broad side of the heavy blade. He tries aiming for the head; maybe it'll shake the man out of whatever crazy's come over him.

Cloud really, really hopes so. This isn't going to end pretty otherwise.

He goes in again but a gloved hand catches the blade. Cloud's breath stills in his throat. He can't let go, and so is forced to fly with the sword when Sephiroth tosses them both aside. He tries standing again quick as he can but Sephiroth is on him, a boot planting onto his open wound.

"A – AHHH SHIT!"

Still, through half closed eyes and gritted teeth, Cloud grabs the offending limb, and shoves him off, following it with another blow with the sword.

It goes on for what feels like forever. Blow trading blow, magic vs magic. Cloud is on his heels and barely able to react to everything being sent his way, constantly reacting as Sephiroth continues to challenge him. It looks as if the man will never break out of whatever spell he's under, simply wheedling Cloud down to blood and bone, when finally –

"Ah, fuck," Cloud, gasping for breath, slides to a halt. He's winded, hunched over, stabbed half a dozen times in so many places, the snow tinged pink with his blood. Sephiroth doesn't actually look much better. He's one giant bruise, with some bleeding here and there, some of it Cloud's. The man is swaying on his feet, blade still in hand but his eyes are drifting, his strength waning.

'I'm tiring him out!'

Amazed, Cloud lifts his blade, determined. "Alright General," He mutters. "You asked for it."

The man's sword lifts to his eye level, in his signature pose. Something in Cloud gives a thrill at that, a rush searing his veins. He's… fighting his hero. A battle of wills the likes of which he's never had before.

The world vanishes and it is only Sephiroth and Cloud and this damn cold mountain, two blades rushing to meet one another, and just at the moment the two swords clash, Cloud gives a cry and calls on one more materia.

"Ultima!"

Knowing it was coming, Cloud is able to react, completely releasing the sword and source of the magic explosion. It is – somewhat unstable. Cloud had known that would be true, too, having tried and never been able to master the specific spell. Tossing himself into the snowbank, Cloud winces and waits for the inevitable –

BOOM.

The sword explodes. The blade itself will be fine, despite the black singeing all over it; it falls with a wet thunk into the snow below. For just a moment, Cloud remains as he is, hands over his ears, in the deafening silence.

When the dust clears, when the snow settles and Cloud can see again, Sephiroth is spread limp across the ground, silver hair splayed around his head. Completely unconscious.

Harsh breaths coming in pants, Cloud sits up with a slow wince. Then it all really hits him.

"… holy shit."