13 - When An Angel Loses His Wing

[The Waffle King]

Six Days after the Fall of Midgar

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A couple of grunts echoed through a Midgar alley immediately followed by the screeches of a few monstrous creatures. Within one foggy alley a small battle was ensuing between a few of Valtiel’s spawn and a lone person in some dirty military clothing with a grey poncho whom had radiation tattoos of various sizes littering his skin. The man known simply as Nuke was tossing aside creatures and seemingly enjoying having this battle, if not simply enjoying having something to do. One monster leapt onto Nuke’s back in an attempt to strangle him, but Nuke promptly flung the monster over his shoulder onto the ground and emphatically drove his fist through the skull of the monster. Two other creatures sprinted towards Nuke from different directions. Nuke picked up the body of the previous monster and threw it at the closer monster, sending it to the ground as it tried to push off the dead weight. Just as Nuke turned to the second monster it flung an arm out at Nuke and a sharp-clawed fist scraped across his face, scratching him a little and making Nuke stagger a step or two back as he placed one hand against a brick wall for support. Nuke’s face doubled over in a sudden rage in response to the weak attack.

Nuke – All that screeching and slashing and all you do is hit me with one measly weak ass punch?! Seriously!? THAT’S ALL!?

The hand pressed against the brick wall began to glow a little as some of the radiation tattoos near the same area also illuminated. A small area of the brick wall itself began to superheat at Nukes touch, turning it into a glowing solid substance. Nuke’s hand curled up as if he was grasping an item, and as he did so the glowing material from the brick wall reformed into a large butcher knife.

Nuke – Give me a fight damn you!

Nuke swung the butcher knife over his head and down through the skull of the monster with so much force that the knife cleaved clear through the beast’s head and most of its torso, nearly splitting it in two. Nuke pulled the knife out from the monster and wrapped his hand around a portion of it. He then lifted the corpse into the air and continued screaming at it in a rage.

Nuke – Why won’t any of you give me a damn good fight for once!

Nuke spiked the monster onto the pavement with a wet sick thwack. His eyes darted around as he saw more monsters standing at both exits of the alley; they kept their distance and were nothing more the hazy silhouettes within the thick Midgar fog. Nuke stood at the ready waiting for the next wave to come after him. Instead of being greeted with more monsters however, the beasts scattered away and faded into nothingness within the fog. Nuke let out an angry yell as his would be opponents retreated from him and in his anger crushed the handle of his butcher knife from within his hand. But another voice quickly spoke out through the fog, getting the attention of Nuke quite quickly.

Valtiel – Well I certainly haven’t seen you around here before.

Nuke’s head jolted in various directions trying to find the origin of the voice until he realized the odd reality of it’s origin… the voice was coming from above him. Nuke looked upwards and saw the monster Valtiel standing against the wall with his arms crossed and his body standing horizontally against the wall, defying gravity itself.

Valtiel – And I normally don’t like people messing with my children.

Nuke flinched momentarily at the new, gravity-defying, creature.

Nuke – Whoa! Okay none of you’ve done anything like that before! But yeah well I was lookin’ for a fight! Once all the crazy fun stuff started I thought Id finally get to have some fun of my own! So if these things are your children huh. I guess that makes you the ring leader around here, I hate to break it to you but your children are pretty damn boring.

Valtiel examined Nuke a little further. He noticed the tattoos on Nuke’s body, the now broken butchers knife, and the missing mass in the wall next to him where Nuke formed the knife from.

Valtiel – Nice toy, you make it yourself?

Nuke – Nice shoes, you step in gum or something?

As Valtiel examined Nuke further, he could sense a tremendous amount of power from Nuke. It was a very unstable power, seemingly always in flux, but a tremendous power nonetheless. Valtiel quickly came to realize that this was no ordinary human being with a bunch of tattoos, but perhaps someone… useful.

Valtiel – What’s your name, human?

Nuke – The name’s Nuke.

Valtiel started to walk further down the wall towards Nuke.

Valtiel – Well I guess that explains the tattoos a little bit.

Nuke – They’re more then just tattoos…they’re my strength.

Valtiel – Interesting…So you you’re a little bundle of energy that can make stuff out of other stuff, huh? We’ve got something in common, I do it to…but with people.”

Nuke – So I’ve noticed.

Valtiel – Heh heh… Certainly a very handy ability if I say so myself. How have I not heard of you before?

Nuke – Cuz I didn’t wake up till not too long ago.

Valtiel – Well… I guess that makes enough sense…

Nuke – Don’t ask me where I came from though… I don’t remember much of anything….

Valtiel tried not to chuckle a little, this was almost too fitting for him. A new impressive person whom he had never heard of before, and likely neither did his enemies, who also doesn’t remember his past. Valtiel didn’t think he could get a more malleable person even if he tried, and this person just fell into his lap.

Valtiel – So, Nuke, you seem to have this fine gift… how exactly do you keep it under control?

Nuke – I have to keep concentrating on it, like literally, all the time.

Valtiel – And what would happen if you’d lose said concentration?

Nuke – Bad things…

Valtiel didn’t like the idea of ‘bad things’.

Valtiel – Please, enlighten me on your definition of bad. Like, say if you were rendered unconscious.

Nuke – The energy within me would probably lose containment a little and lash out… in short it would be like a small explosion.

Valtiel - …And if you died?

Nuke – Swap out the word “small” with “big” in my last sentence.

Valtiel – Well then, seems your name is a lot more literal then I expected.

Another voice within Valtiel, Necrostina the Fallen Phoenix, decided to voice its opinion quietly to its host.

Necrostina – He’s too unstable.

Valtiel – Agreed

Necrostina – While he doesn’t pose a direct threat to us, he’d create a mess if he’d lose that concentration of his while in this city.

Valtiel – I walking explosion would prove quite a nuisance if left unchecked.

Necrostina – What do you suggest we do with him?

Valtiel – He can be a viable tool as long as we keep him at a distance. I have an idea.

Valtiel continued down the wall, ultimately stepping onto the ground and slowly circling around Nuke.

Valtiel – You said you’ve been looking for a good fight, huh?

Nuke – You sure as hell got that right!

Valtiel - …Are you familiar with the legend of the Warrior of Prosperity?

Nuke – The huga jigga what now? Look, I don't like stories, so you got some one to fight or not cue ball.

Valtiel - Hmm...there's a man with a stone out in the desert, Sephiroth X, that stone makes him very strong. He'd be a good match for you.

Nuke - Look Mr. Boogeyman …

Nuke doubled his body up and charged his symbols, taking flight towards Valtiel, arm out stretched.

Nuke - IM BORED NOW !

Nuke's punch landed with a loud thud into Valtiel's chest, the force momentarily pushing fog and dust out of the area. But the creature didn't budge. He cocked his head and clamped down on his attacker's forearm, spinning around and pulling him off his feet. Valtiel slammed Nuke's back into the brick building next to him, cracking the bricks beneath him. He instantly pulled him out of the wall, slamming him with greater force into the wall across the alley. He pulled again, and released, throwing him down onto the pavement. Nuke bounced, but his decent stopped by the same deformed hand latching onto his face. He found himself pressed against the dented bricks, fingers digging into his skin.

Valtiel - That was a bad choice…

Nuke grinned ear to bloody ear and began to yell.

Nuke - Ehehehhe the boogeyman is fun!

Nuke slammed his fist to the side and yelled as energy shot from his body, forcing everything back, melting the pavement and debris beside him.

Nuke - More more more more more, lets get crazy Boogeyman!

Nuke tilted his head to the side standing up slowly, his bones cracking back into place and leans back looking around.

Valtiel took a couple steps back from the heat.

Valtiel - It's like giving sugar to a ritalin kid…

Nuke - yeah yeah yeah yeah!

Nuke pushed off forward and sank a heat spike into Valtiel’s chest, frowning a moment later.

Valtiel looked down at Nuke's fist, then back up at him, crossing his arms impatiently.

Valtiel - Done yet?

He pulled the spike back and rammed it through Valtiel a few more times, but with no effect.

Nuke - . . . If you're not going to fight Mr. Boogey

He leaned forward and glared.

Nuke - Then what about this stone guy...

Valtiel grinned inside.

Valtiel - Like I said, he's wandering around the desert just looking for someone to fight, and that stone makes him a hundred times more fun that me.

Nuke - iIf you're lying to me, Mr. Boogey, I'll come back next time and rip you in half...

He turned around and doubled over again, boosting head long into the sky.

Nuke - IN HALF!

Valtiel chucked as he watched him rocket off into the distance.

Valtiel - Simple minds are so easily manipulated.

Nuke looked down at the city flying by him, the desert... , he hoped the kid was ok.

[Sephiroth X]

*A gentle wind kicked up a small amount of desert sand as Sephiroth X descended from his brief flight and landed. The moment he landed he immediately stepped into a fast paced walk with his arms crossed. Thoughts flooded X’s mind as he tried to sort out the pieces to a multitude of things mostly regarding his last encounter with Valtiel.

Sephiroth X – This can’t be right… it just can’t! Right after I tapped into this deeper power I was able to fight six of those Magi at the same time and I know I wouldn’t be able to do that so effortlessly in my normal state, so how come it seemed so useless against Valtiel? There just must be more to this darker power that I haven’t tapped into yet. I felt a huge surge when I encountered the Yamato sword so what I can control must only be the tip of the iceberg.

*X analyzed the battle against Valtiel a little more, specifically remembering seeing images of Catrina flash through his mind and hearing a more horrid version of her voice berating him. He then remembered the moments of the fight right before, when it seemed like both he and Dark Crono had Valtiel on the ropes. In a gush of frustration X stabbed the Masamune down into the sand.

Sephiroth X – Dammit we almost had him I know it!

*As X’s frustration mounted his skin slowly started turning pale and traces of black, his darker powers were starting to manifest simply out of his own frustration. X himself never sensed the physical change, but slowly allowed himself to calm down a little bit. As he calmed he remembered the moments near the end of their battle, specifically when Dark Crono hit with an awe-inspiring attack that Crono had never even used on him before, and how Valtiel got up even from that.

Sephiroth X – Maybe we weren’t as close as we thought we were… But dammit, even with Crono on my side we couldn’t take him down.

*Seph paced in circles around his own sword, and a few moments later he remembered another moment from the battle with Valtiel. He remembered something odd, specifically the name that Valtiel called his hooded nemesis.

Sephiroth X – Zeal…

*It was a name X was unfamiliar with and it littered X’s mind with more questions then answers. And since the dark one himself was out of commission thanks to Valtiel, it would be a while before X could talk to Crono and get first hand answers.

Sephiroth X – Why did he call you Zeal, Crono? Why’d he do it? You don’t even address yourself by that name yet somehow he pulls that name out of thin air and you answer to it.

*X reached out and grabbed the handle of the Masamune in anger. As his grip tightened the black lines on his face slowly expanded outward further like dark infected veins.

Sephiroth X – What are you holding out from me, Crono! What is Zeal and what does it mean?!

*Seph’s heart began to race, adrenaline started to pump through his veins, and the traces of his darker powers began to take greater dominance over his appearance. His vision started to blur a little bit and he fell to one knee while still gripping the Masamune.

Sephiroth X – ZEAL!

*All of Seph’s frustration and anger seemed to mass inside his mind, his muscles weakened, his head ached, sweat ran down his brow, and he felt like he was on the verge of passing out. X took a few heavy breaths trying to regain his composure and kept hold of the Masamune to avoid falling over. Sweat continued to pour off of Seph’s face and it seemed like the desert sun’s heat became more intense with every passing moment. X continued attempting to regain himself for a few minutes, slowly telling himself to calm down. As he calmed his senses slowly came back to him, his skin color slowly returned to normal, and the dark veins near his eyes faded away. X took a few more deep breaths and let his vision get back into focus before standing upright again.

Sephiroth X – There has to be a way to find out what it all means. Gotta figure out what Ze--

*X's own sentence was cut off as his sixth sense picked up a fluctuating signal. Seph's head quickly turned towards its source, and X saw a camouflaged pants man wearing a rugged poncho walking towards him.

Sephiroth X – Were did you come from?

*As the man got closer X could see tattoos all over his body, all of them were identical radiation symbols of various sizes. Little did Sephiroth X know, but this was Nuke; the man Valtiel sent after him.

Nuke – I walked.

Sephiroth X – Odd... if he walked I should have picked him up a lot sooner, not to mention he wouldn't get this close to me unnoticed just by walking.. What's your name? And were did you come from?

Nuke – The names Nuke, and I just came here from Midgar.

Sephiroth X – Well it's a good thing you escaped from there... consider yourself fortunate.

Nuke – Well who said I simply escaped?

Sephiroth X – Well... whatever term you want to use is fine. Listen sir, I hate to cut you off but I really do need to be alone...

*Seph pulled the Masamune out from the sand and turned away from Nuke preparing to fly away. Before X could take off, Nuke spoke some more.

Nuke – So you're that guy, huh?

*Seph looked over his shoulder, back towards Nuke.

Sephiroth X – Excuse me?

Nuke – Ya know, the guy... “the man”. The guy with the thing that makes you all special and stuff.

*Seph figured this guy heard about someone fitting his description, and probably put two and two together to figure out X was the Warrior of Prosperity.

Sephiroth X – Yeah... That's me... Again, I hate to cut you off but I do need to leave. It's been a pleasure meeting you, Nuke.

*X sheathed the Masamune and slowly took off from the ground, flying away from the tattooed stranger. Nuke spoke again, loud enough for Seph to hear.

Nuke – And it's a pleasure to meet you, Sephiroth X.

*Seph continued flying away for a few moments before promptly stopping in mid-ar for a second, something didn't click right in Seph's mind with what Nuke just said.

Sephiroth X – Wait... I didn't give him my name.

*X immediately spun in mid-air and looked towards Nuke again. Just as the two made eye contact Nuke crouched a little and gave off a low almost growl like yell. The tattoos on the back of Nuke's legs and shoulders began to glow brightly. A fiery energy exploded from the tattoos seconds later, instantly turning the sand behind Nuke into solid glass, and Nuke flew up into the air towards Seph. Nuke shot towards X with impressive speed and caught X square in the jaw with a powerful right fist that sent the Warrior of Prosperity falling down to the ground. Seph hit the sand with a thud and quickly shot back up onto his feet, unsheathing the Masamune thereafter. Nuke landed on the sand a second later about ten feet away from X.

Sephiroth X – Who are you? What's going on here!

Nuke – As I said, the name's Nuke. I was walkin' 'round in Midgar looking for a good fight, and some walking chunk-a flesh told me I'd find you out here and that you'd put up more then a good fight!

Sephiroth X – Valtiel sent you!?

Nuke – What’s a Valtiel? Oh! You mean Mister Boogeyman! Yeah, he sent me out here for ya!

*Nuke knelt for a moment and let one of his hands touch the sand. The tattoo on his palm lit up with energy as the sand near his hand began to superheat, a split second later the sand turned to glass and Nuke pulled a large solid glass broadsword out from the sand. Sephiroth X took a defensive stance immediately, holding the Masamune up parallel to the ground. Nuke dashed towards X with the large glass weapon and swung it wildly at the Warrior of Prosperity. While overly aggressive in his attacks, X could quickly tell that there was a method to Nuke's madness when it came to fighting. Each swing forced X to significantly adjust his fighting stance in order to perform a clean block.

Nuke – Oho! Glad to know you can use that thing! I don't like pushovers!

*Nuke lifted one of his legs and kicked Seph right in the chest, forcing the Warrior of Prosperity to stagger back a few steps. Nuke held his glass weapon at his side and charged towards X, as Nuke came closer the tattoos on his arm began to glow. Just as Nuke swung his weapon at Seph again the tattoos on the backside of Nuke’s dominant arm momentarily shot out a surge of energy, promptly forcing the arm and sword to swing towards X at a rapidly faster speed. Seph was able to block the attack but the force of it made X go to a knee in order to keep his stability. Nuke spun in place a full three hundred and sixty degrees and swung at X again with his left hand. Like before, the tattoos on Nuke’s arm glowed again and energy discharged from the back of Nuke’s left arm this time, rocketing his sword towards X again. Still on one knee, Seph altered the Masamune’s angle again to block Nuke’s attack but the blunt force of the block sent Seph rolling a few dozen yards backwards skipping across the sand. Sephiroth X sprung back up to a knee with the Masamune tightly gripped in his hand. Nuke’s attacks came under instant analysis within X’s mind.

Sephiroth X – Those attacks are almost too damn fast… It’s like he’s augmenting his energy with his natural movements… like strapping a rocket to his arms.

*Nuke ran a finger down the blade of his glass broadsword.

Nuke – I really hope you aren’t done yet that’d be a hell of a disappointment!

Sephiroth X – This guy doesn’t mess around… I think it’s time to get serious.

*Seph’s face instantly became a much more intense version of his common self. His fingers tightened around the hilt of the Masamune as his skin began to grow pale, the dark veins shot out from around his eyes like a bad infection, and thick black lines grew around the green portion of his eyes. As Seph attempted to conjure up his extra power, Nuke immediately took notice to the physical changes.

Nuke – Wow getting’ serious makes you look all weird and shit.

*X air-dashed towards just as the tattoos on Nuke’s back exploded with energy, rocketing him towards X. The two immediately engaged in a vicious flurry of sword swings with Nuke’s tattoos bursting out energy consistently to keep his blazing sword speed up and X utilizing all of his ability to keep up and match the speed of Nuke. The speed their weapons were moving at caused sand to swirl and kick up into the air a little bit due to all of the air movement around the two. After a series of attacks that were blocked by X, tattoos on Nuke’s right leg ignited with energy sending the leg flying outwards and tripping X. Seph rolled to his right the moment he landed in order to avoid an incoming slash from Nuke’s sword. Seph pushed down on the ground sending him up corkscrewing up into the air with the Masamune extended outward. X’s sword connected with Nuke’s a few times during the mid air spin before X landed back on the ground and unleashed a series of furious slashes at Nuke. Seph managed to score a powerful attack on Nuke that deflected Nuke’s sword away from his body, leaving Nuke exposed long enough for X to connect square in the jaw with a powerful right fist. Nuke staggered back and went to a knee after being dazed. Upon standing up, the tattoos on the lower portion of Nuke’s legs discharged energy and propelled him up into the air. Nuke hovered before a moment and raised his sword above his head as his back tattoos ignited and rocketed him down towards X rapidly. Seph gripped the Masamune with both of his hands and prepped to block a powerful incoming attack. Nuke and Seph both swung their swords at each other simultaneously and the force of the impact caused Nuke’s glass sword to shatter into fragments of glass and dust. The momentum of Nuke and his weapon caused all of the shattered glass and dust to fly directly toward’s X’s face, cutting up his cheeks and forehead as dust got into his eyes and momentarily blinded him. All of this caused X to stagger back and thus the Masamune missed what would have been a mortal blow onto Nuke. X put a hand over his face to apply pressure onto his cuts while Nuke examined the shattered hilt of his weapon still in his hand.

Nuke – Well doesn't that suck.

*Nuke dropped the remains of his weapon onto the ground and then pulled his fist back.

Nuke – You broke my toy!

*Energy shot from Nuke's arm as his fist rocketed towards his opponent. X couldn't see the fist coming and did not brace for an impact, and the punch caught Seph on his left cheek and sent him skipping across the sand. X pressed both of his hands against the sand to push himself back up to his knees before grabbing the Masamune and returning to his feet, blood dripped off of his face thanks to all of the cuts from the debris of Nuke's weapon. Seph's vision came back to him as the glassy dust washed out of his eyes.

Sephiroth X – I shouldn't be losing to this guy... He's strong but he doesn't seem that strong...

Nuke – Glad to see you’re stickin’ around! A couple punches like that take normal people down pretty quick!

Sephiroth X – I gotta try harder…

*Seph’s skin grew even sicklier pale and the black lines on his face slowly spread further across his face. X dashed towards Nuke and swung the Masamune at him in a noticeably angrier fashion. The attacks from X weren’t as clean and methodical as earlier, his anger was making things sloppier and the blood running down his face was messing with his vision. Nuke avoided a few of the slashes and used brief energy discharges from his tattoos to redirect other incoming attacks. It didn’t take long for Nuke to quickly become bored of X’s substandard attacks and drove one of his fists into X’s stomach. As Seph leaned over, gasping for air, Nuke pulled his other arm back and drove a second fist right into X’s jaw. The Warrior of Prosperity crumbled and fell to Nuke’s feet with blood still running down his face and now out of his mouth. Nuke looked down at his fallen foe for a moment before grabbing X’s coat, lifting him up to eye level, and tossed him a few yards away. Sephiroth X spit some blood out of his mouth while further blood dripped off of him onto the sand. One of X’s arms wiped blood away from his eyes to clear his, very blurred, vision while he staggered to his feet. Nuke stood there awaiting the rise of his foe, seemingly waiting to inflict more punishment.

Nuke – Let’s see how you like this trick!

*Nuke’s eyes closed and his brow furrowed as he seemed to focus all of his concentration on one thing. The tattoos on his body all began to glow in unison as glowing energy began to manifest around them. Energy shot out from all of his tattoos similar to how he would boost his own movements, except this time the energy continued to materialize into solid objects. Sand near Nuke began to swirl around him lightly and gather near the sources of these solidifying areas of energy. Nuke let out a thunderous grunt as a pulse of energy rippled off of him and the energy protruding off of him solidified. The energy that was pouring out from his tattoos all turned into solid spikes sticking out from his body, coated in thin layers of glass thanks to the sand around him.

*Nuke dashed at X and leapt into the air and twisted into a corkscrew spin as he approached. Seph twirled the Masamune and deflected away a couple of the spikes from Nuke’s body as he landed, and Nuke immediately threw punches towards X thereafter trying to get one of his bodily additions to land a hit. Seph held off Nuke’s offensive for a few exchanges, deflecting away any potentially fatal object that came his way. After having another punch forced away by X, Nuke threw a kick near Seph’s legs and two of his body-spikes cut into his foes legs. Seph cringed and immediately took weight off of his wounded leg as he tried to keep Nuke at bay. Realizing that Seph’s mobility had been reduced, Nuke intentionally let X deflect away one of Nuke’s arms and let the momentum of the deflection put him into a fast 360 spin. The number of spikes Seph had to block became overwhelming and a numerous amount of Nuke’s appendages cut across Seph’s arms and body. After letting out a short scream of pain from all of the damage inflicted upon him, Nuke backhanded Seph and sent him back down to the sand.

*Seph laid on the sand with blood gathering in small pools under him. X tried to push himself off the ground but his body was unable to comply, almost refusing to let him get up.

Sephiroth X – This can’t be right! I know I can beat this guy and I’ve taken beatings like this before… Why can’t I fight off this guy!?

*As X’s anger within him grew his skin would vary between a normal and super pale pigmentation, and the black ‘veins’ protruding across his face from around his eyes almost looked like they were pulsating. His eyes themselves even had changes occurring to them, the black borders around the green portion of his eyes would grow thicker almost like the whites of his eyes were being invaded. Nuke sighed as he looked down at his defeated opponent, and with a brief flex of his muscles the artificial spikes on his body fell off.

Nuke – Really is this the end of it already? Boogeyman said you’d be super tough and could probably kill me. I don’t think you’re trying and this isn’t any fun because of it! Why don’t you come fight me when you’re ready to go all out!

*Nuke drove a thunderous shin kick into the side of Seph’s chest, making the Warrior of Prosperity cough up further blood and gasp for air. Seph laid chest down against the sand as Nuke knelt down and pressed his knee against Seph’s back, pinning him against the sand. Nuke grabbed Seph’s hair with his left hand, pulled his head back away from the sand, raised his right hand and curled it into a solid fist, and drove the fist right into the back of Seph’s head. The force of the punch knocked Sephiroth X out immediately and his unconscious head bounced off the sand as a result of the punch’s force.

Nuke – I’m gonna go find somethin’ fun to do.

*The tattooed newcomer stood up and walked off towards the horizon with only a slight idea of what to do next. Sephiroth X laid unconscious on the sand as small puddles of blood built up around him while his skin color and facial features slowly reverted back to their normal appearance.

[Sephiroth X]

Eight Days after the Fall of Midgar

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…Rise…

*Sephiroth X gasped for air for a second and sat up while an unknown voice’s single word echoed through his mind. The sudden movement made entire his body ache in pain from the beating he took from Nuke. X went to grab an aching wound on his arm before realizing that there was no blood or even scabbing around the wound, but instead a bandage.

Sephiroth X – Eh…? When did I learn to apply first aid in my sleep?

*X looked over the rest of his body and realized that all of his wounds had been addressed and touched his face to feel bandages covering the cuts on his face. Seph’s eyes moved away from himself and looked at his immediate surroundings; he was no longer laying in puddles of his own blood but instead a blanket on top of the sand, the Masamune was appropriately placed alongside his resting place with his cloak folded under it, and it appeared he was resting inside of a small tent. Seph picked up the Masamune and looked at his reflection; someone had even taken the time to clean the blood off his face. A few moments later, a familiar voice addressed X.

Eve – You’re awake!

*Seph looked ahead of him towards the opening of the tent. In walked, fully garbed in her Magi robes, the purple haired priestess Eve.

Sephiroth X – Eve!

*X quickly reached for the Masamune, Eve quickly spoke out as he did so.

Eve – Wait! Please!

*Seph hesitated for a moment just as his fingers touched the hilt of his sword. Eve’s tone indicated no sense of hostility but perhaps a tone of fear. X looked over at Eve, her facial expressions showed a similar expression to that of her voice and Seph even noticed that none of her weapons were on her.

Sephiroth X – What’s going on here? Where am I!

Eve – Calm down, calm down. You’re right where I found you… well, a couple of feet away from where I found you because I didn’t want you to keep sleeping in your own blood.

*The sudden movement towards his sword made Seph’s body ache again, he moved back and laid back down on his makeshift bed.

Eve – You’re still pretty beat up… You’re a little lucky to be alive after the beating you took.

Sephiroth X – I guess it could have been worse…

Eve – What happened here? Spots of sand are soaked in blood and chunks of sand are glassed over. Who did this to you?

Sephiroth X – Some guy named Nuke.

Eve – Who? Never heard of anybody by that name.

Sephiroth X – Neither have I.

Eve – Heh, the great Sephiroth X humbled by a no name that’s slipped under the radar of almost everybody? Amazing.

*Seph rubbed one of the sore muscles of his arm and shot Eve a glare.

Sephiroth X – Thanks, Eve. That’s exactly what I need to hear right now…

Eve – Hah, don’t mention it. I need to check up on some of your wounds.

*Eve walked up and knelt beside Seph, inspecting some of the bandages on his torso.

Sephiroth X – Jeez, you seem like a walking first aid kit.

Eve – All higher-ranking Magi require standard medical supplies and a small bit of healing materia.

Sephiroth X – Well I’m glad you could spare some of your precious Magi supplies on me. So… can I ask why you came to my aid?

*Eve hesitated, thinking for a moment before ultimately sighing a little with her response.

Eve - …I was concerned for you, Sephiroth.

Sephiroth X – Concern for an enemy is allowed amongst your ranks?

*Eve promptly yanked one of the bandages off of X’s face, causing X to grasp his cheek in pain for a moment.

Eve – Ugh, maybe I should have just let you bleed out.

*Seph looked at her for a few moments, realizing her concern was legit. Eve inspected a few of the wounds on Seph’s face; gently removing a few bandages that were covering healed wounds.

Eve – Bax mentioned that you had been trying to further your powers. He said you were trying to find some kind of darker side of the Element… It made me remember the look on your face when you fought Rivel and the others… You were different… and well, it all made me worry.

Sephiroth X – I… appreciate the concern… Honestly, I do.

*Eve’s face finally broke a trace of a smile; she was in need of hearing a compliment of any sort.

Sephiroth X – You and Bax… were talking?

Eve – Yes… It was coincidence we found each other. We were both going to a place to mourn some lost ones.

Sephiroth X – You went alone?

*Eve nodded.

Eve – I took a short leave of absence from the Magi… I’ve needed to think about things for a bit now.

Sephiroth X – What kind of things?

Eve – Just a lot of things regarding life; where I’ve gone and where my life is going. I’m only getting older and I’m just trying to make sure I’m not wasting away my youth with all of this shit.

Sephiroth X – Yeah… Seems like self-reflection is kind of a common thread amongst people these days.

Eve – Well, when you’re part of an organization that’s almost directly linked to the fall of Midgar it makes you really question if you want your legacy to constantly be intertwined with them.

*Seph nodded.

Eve – Plus… yeah, there are other things.

Sephiroth X – Like what?

*Eve sighed.

Eve – You may think otherwise, but I’m a human too… I want to have a family some day and have reason to be happy just like everybody else…

*Seph listened intently, though internally he was stunned to see such an open side of someone he considered an enemy.

Eve – And I’ve come to a point where I’m curious if my life as it is will let me have that.

Sephiroth X – Believe it or not… I think you and I might not be too different in our thoughts.

*Eve tilted her head slightly.

Eve – Mmm?

Sephiroth X – A normal life is something I’ve pretty much never had, and ever since I had the X serum used on me it pretty much became set in stone that my life would never be normal again. There are days where I want to settle down and just have a normal life and family too.

*As Eve thought about it she realized he was right. X never had a chance to really live a normal life, quite similar to her since she joined the Magi.

Sephiroth X – And more recently I’ve started to think that maybe I wasn’t ready for the responsibilities that came with the Element of Prosperity…

Eve – What do you mean?

Sephiroth X – The Element made me cocky… I mean, the Element itself didn’t but the feeling of power that came with it made me arrogant about my abilities. It made me lazy; I was content thinking that I was king of the hill. Because of that, I blocked out the world around me and pretty much handed Valtiel the time he needed to plot his takeover.

*Eve just knelt there quietly. Seph sat up a little bit and continued speaking.

Sephiroth X – I was given a gift that I could have used to protect people, instead now look at things. Thousands of people have died thanks to Valtiel, god only knows how many are trapped in Midgar, Dark Crono has returned, and now I can’t even seem to hold my own against enemies I know I should be able to beat… I, feel like I’ve lost everything I worked for.

*Eve slowly realized that her worries for Seph were warranted, but perhaps the reasons behind them took a slight shift. She was kneeling next to one of the most powerful individuals on the planet whom carried a title legendary enough to make him a very influential person along with his power. Yet he was so humbled and hurt that she began to worry if his will to fight on was vanishing. Eve adjusted her posture and sat alongside Seph, resting against him slightly.

Eve – I really doubt anybody was prepared for what happened in Midgar… I certainly wasn’t prepared for it. After Rivel, Teras, and myself scuffled with you in that Midgar gym we got out of the city right as it was starting… I watched it all happen from a distance. Don't be too hard on yourself Seph, I really don't know if any of us could have prevented it from happening.

*Eve sighed.

Eve – If anyone's to blame for this... I feel part of it should go to be... I mean, you know? I'm a Magi...

*Seph looked at her for a few moments and then nudged her a little with his arm.

Sephiroth X – You couldn't have known it would have reached this level, don't blame yourself.

*Eve looked at Seph and smiled lightly, she was glad that at least someone out there wouldn't throw the blame on her simply for being a Magi. Seph looked back down near the ground in thought, and Eve continued to look at him with thoughts of her own running through her head. She always thought X was a pretty self-righteous, and rather arrogant, bastard from a distance yet somehow seeing him humbled before her right now made her second guess those viewpoints. The recent events in the world had taken as much a toll on him as they had on Eve, and she slowly had a better understanding of the turmoil X had been going through. Yes he was usually on the opposite side of the Magi and she did think he was a little too high and mighty at times, but she began to understand the magnitude of the sacrifices that Seph has made in his quests as well and in the passing moments she realized that perhaps the two of them weren’t as different as she once thought. Slowly, Eve began to open up a little more to him.

Eve – I’ve been thinking a lot lately and well, I’ve been blaming myself for a lot of things… Been blaming myself for my engagement falling apart, all because I wanted to pursue a career and continue my work on…

*She hesitated for a second and tried to avoid mentioning the X Project directly.

Eve - …an experiment I was working on early on when I joined the Magi. I think about all of the people who have died because of the Magi and think that their blood was on my hands because of one thing or another, and that the blood of those I’ve cared for are on my hands for not helping them. It’s just that… well…. it seems like everybody I end up caring for dies, and I’m wondering if everything’s my fault.

Sephiroth X – Eve… I wish I could practice what I preach sometimes but… you can’t blame everything on yourself like that… I don’t think there’s a single person in existence that can be in every place at every time at once…

*Eve nodded slowly, trying to accept what he was saying.

Sephiroth X – Things happen in the course of life that we regret… but the best you can do is continue on and try to learn from the past, and make sure the future doesn’t repeat it. If you spend too much time in the past then you neglect the present and eventually will tarnish your future. Eventually things will work out, and that’s when people can settle down with their lives and be happy.

*Eve’s continued thoughts led her down a path she was toying with not so long ago, about her failures to settle down and the thoughts of how her mother warned her about not finding a man when she reached her 30’s. Perhaps he was right, maybe instead of simply thinking about her failures in the past she should rather use the past to improve her future. Eve looked at Seph again for a moment before shaking her head and thinking to herself.

Eve – Nuh uh… No way…

*X sat there and looked at her for a moment as he felt her lean against him. It was odd to him that she was this close to him and not showing a single sign of hostility, yet as he thought about her recent actions there was a pattern: she mourned alongside Bax, she found and healed up X, had a genuinely concerned look on her face during the battle X had with several Magi, and she even admitted that she was concerned about him. Seph slowly started to feel sorry for Eve. She genuinely seemed like someone different then a typical Magi, perhaps someone who didn’t really want to be amongst their ranks, yet she will probably get dragged into infamy with the rest of them.

*Eve tried to shake the idea out of her mind, but her thoughts seemingly wouldn’t let go. Both Adam and Ben were out of her life and well… there wouldn’t be any chance of rekindling a flame there. She thought about Rivel again, it would make sense since they were both Magi… but his delusional attitude would be way too much of an issue. The more she thought Seph though, she started to piece together things that make sense; a confident man, pretty attractive, and seems to have an idea of his place in life. Eve thought about the concern she displayed over Seph when Bax let her know about his alliance with Dark Crono, as well as the horrified feeling she had when she found X beaten in the desert. Were these all just instinctive feelings she would have for any other person? No… she understood that normally she wouldn’t feel these kinds of things towards someone considered an enemy. As Eve sighed slightly she accepted within herself that she probably had feelings for Seph. Perhaps she a slightly arrogant and virtuous man was the type of guy she needed in her life, and perhaps Seph was one of the few men alive who could successfully get her away from the Magi.

*She looked at him for a few more moments letting her thoughts and feelings loop for a few moments. Ultimately, she was trying to figure out what to do next without doing something awkward. Eve was hesitant to simply say or do anything, but before long her feelings told her that father time eventually wins all battles and that perhaps she was at a point in her life were she needed to act swiftly and promptly.

Eve – Well… you only life once.

*Eve looked at Seph and reached out a hand towards his face. She turned him towards her, leaned in, and gave him a slow long kiss. After a few passing moments Eve slowly pulled away from Seph, keeping her eyes locked on the Warrior of Prosperity. Seph looked at her for a moment with a faintly puzzled look on his face.

Eve – I … came to you because… I was… well, worried… amongst other things…

*Eve was nervously anticipated Seph’s response to her kiss. She was tense and simply didn’t know how to put into words how she was feeling right then and there and only hoped he understood. The only thing Eve herself could understand at that moment was that the kiss felt right, if not a little rushed, and it felt natural.

*X was about as tense as she was yet for slightly different reasons. Eve, a one time enemy, was sitting next to him and she was all but confessing having feelings for him. He knew he should tell her about Catrina… about how Valtiel used images of her against him… heck even Cynthia was back in Seph’s life now and she was even showing feelings for him too… Eve would make things extremely complicated for him, at a time were any more complications wouldn’t be beneficial.

…Just go with it…

*A feeling, almost like a voice, within X was compelling him to go with the moment. It felt like Seph’s conscience within him, yet it was contradicting with what Seph knew he should do.

Go with the moment, X… you know the stress you’ve been under… this will be good for you…

Sephiroth X – What..?

It’s the truth… She wants you, X, look at her timidly sitting next to you…

*Seph’s eyes slowly trailed up and down the body of Eve, observing her body language and the look on her face. Inconspicuously to Seph, darker circles very faintly began to develop around his eyes.

She’s trembling in her desire for you… She’s been a Magi pawn for so long, she’s likely gone without any physical gratification for far too long… far too long for an attractive lady as she…

*X felt a slight pain within his mind that vanished as quickly as it came. Seph looked towards Eve again for a few moments, and just as Eve had done moments earlier he leaned towards her and gave her a kiss equal to the one she gave him. The two closed their eyes as they kissed, the passion of each kiss growing exponentially. The dark circles around Seph’s eyes became more pronounced with each moment that passed and the dark vein-like protrusions commonly associated with X’s dark Element powers spread out from around his eyes. As Eve and Seph broke their kiss they slowly opened their eyes again, and Eve quickly noticed the change in Seph.

Eve – Seph! Your eyes… and your skin looks pail.

*Seph blinked for a few moments, almost like he was coming back to his senses. Curious to what she was talking about; X grabbed the Masamune and used the blade as a mirror. It was at that moment that he too saw the dark circles, the black veins, and the pale skin for the first time. Yet the moment he saw his own reflection the black veins began to fade, almost like they were retreating back into hiding.

…Don’t be concerned… It’s nothing…

*Seph blinked again as the black veins and dark circles vanished. His skin, however, was still the same pale shade it was before. Seph looked back at Eve and echoed the same words his “conscience” told him.

Sephiroth X - …Don’t be concerned… It’s nothing…

*X looked into the blade of the Masamune one more time, his physical self only carried the pale skin and no signs of the dark areas of his face. Yet his reflection in the blade was an imperfect one, it still showed the black veins and dark circles around his eyes and the whites of his eyes were completely black. Seph clearly saw this imperfect reflection and simply set the Masamune blade down with a smirk on his face, as if it didn’t matter to him.

Sephiroth X – Your lips taste sweet… An impressive kiss I must say…

*Eve smiled coyly.

Eve – You’re no slouch yourself.

*Eve leaned towards Seph again and the two shared another deep, more lustful, kiss. A few minutes later Eve determined it was time to step things up a little bit. She exerted a little extra force and pushed Seph back onto the ground and slowly sat herself atop him.

---

*A few hours later Seph stood outside of the tent Eve and he were in. The Masamune was sheathed at his side and he was in his full traditional outfit, which Eve had apparently sewed up for him while he was recovering, with the buckles unfastened. X grasped his forehead a little and rubbed it slowly as if a small headache was plaguing him, yet it wasn’t truly a headache but rather just a bother. Seph felt an arm wrap around his waste and saw Eve leaning up against him, zipping up a portion of her Magi robe that would cover what needed to be covered. Eve gave him a kiss on his cheek and then noticed him rubbing his forehead.

Eve – Is something wrong?

*Seph thought about the use of the word “wrong”. Seph understood that he should really be feeling guilty about what they had been done together yet something inside of him was preventing him from feeling guilt, rather urging him to keep enjoying what had happened. Instead of mentioning what he should have told her, X brought up something else that was indeed wrong.

Sephiroth X – Something that happened during my last battle with Valtiel... I went into battle alongside Dark Crono...

*Eve nodded.

Eve – Bax told me about it...

Sephiroth X – It isn't the loss itself that's bothering me... but something that happened during it. Valtiel called Dark Crono a name I had never heard before, Valtiel called him “Zeal”.

Eve – Zeal?

Sephiroth X – And Crono answered to that name...

Eve – Interesting...

Sephiroth X – I have no clue what it means... Or who Zeal is. And now Dark Crono is out of commission for a while, laying unconscious in a makeshift hospital. So there's no way I can get to Crono in order to get answers...

*Eve thought about things for a few moments, and then looked towards Seph again.

Eve – Gather whatever you need, I'll pack away the tent.

Sephiroth X – What for?

Eve – There's something I think you should see...

Sephiroth X – So where are we going?

Eve - …To the Magi.

[Sephiroth X]

*Sephiroth X flew over the desert with Eve hanging on his back. Eve had only told him at this point that there was something he needed to see, and that it involved them going to the Holy Order of the Magi. The idea didn’t completely sit well in Seph’s stomach as walking into an area swarming with Magi was a powder keg ready to explode. However, having a Magi on his side could tip the scales in his favor… assuming Eve wasn’t leading him towards a trap.

*X quickly dismissed any ideas of Eve pulling any kind of triple-agent stuff. Her lack of loyalty to the Magi had been hinted at for a while, and Seph had a feeling of true sincerity from her after their time together. And regardless of even if it were some elaborate trap, they would still need something vital as bait that would be relevant to Seph’s interests. So as Seph saw it, either way he would get what he needed.

*Eve had her arms wrapped around Seph’s torso while she rested on his back and the wind was blowing through her air as Seph continued flight. Eve let her face rest against his body and let out a content sigh while a smile came to her face. The tense feelings that Eve had leading up to her kiss with Seph hours ago had completely vanished and were replaced feeling feelings of delight and bliss.

*Seph could feel her snuggling up to him and as she did he felt his own emotions knot up inside of him. He still couldn’t get himself to feel guilty over what had transpired and couldn’t bring himself to tell Eve about Catrina, however there was still something in him that was still making him feel proud of what happened at the same time.

Take pleasure in what happened…

*X tried to tune out what his internal feelings were telling him.

The other woman came back to you and is gone again just like that… Don’t you think it’s a sign that maybe you two weren’t meant to be?

Sephiroth X – What?

First Dark Crono… then Valtiel… Maybe it’s time to realize that there will always be something keeping her away and that you aren’t meant for each other. She could even be dead by now.

*Seph closed his eyes for a moment and blocked out his own conscience and went back to thinking about why he and Eve were traveling towards the Magi, and probably to their new base of operations.

Sephiroth X – So why are we going to the Magi?

Eve – There might be an answer to one of your questions…

Sephiroth X – Care to explain?

Eve – Not yet… I’d like to wait until we get closer. Land here for a second please.

*Seph acknowledged and descended to the sand, softly landing and turning to face Eve. Eve locked eyes with X and spoke to him with a rather serious tone.

Eve – We’re going to the Magi’s temple… Well, the new one we have since The Senate removed us from Zion.

*Seph nodded.

Eve – I can’t just walk up to the front door with you and say that I captured you and was bringing you in… They know that I alone wouldn’t be able to take you down so would never buy that and we wouldn’t have cover for that long. I’ll need you to act like you’re willing to join the Magi…

*X raised an eyebrow.

Sephiroth X – And you’re sure that won’t make them suspicious as well?

Eve – It’s more believable then me defeating you. Plus given the current times they might buy that you’re coming to them out of desperation.

Sephiroth X – I guess it’s worth a shot.

Eve – But Seph, you have to promise me two things okay?

Sephiroth X – Mmm?

Eve – First, when you see what I’m taking you there for you have to keep yourself under control, don’t do anything sudden or irrational that could blow our cover. Secondly, after we do get out of there you need to promise me you’ll keep the Magi away from me and don’t follow us… They’ll inevitably find out this whole thing is a ruse, and when they do they’ll come for me…I know I won’t be able to hold them off forever without you.

You don’t have to worry…

*Seph again echoed his conscience’s words.

Sephiroth X – You don’t have to worry…

*Eve draped her arms over Seph’s shoulders and gave him a luscious kiss.

Eve – Thanks, now we should get going…

Sephiroth X – Agreed.

*Eve held on to Seph again as he lifted off the ground, continuing their flight towards the Magi with Eve navigating the way.

---

*Not too long of a time later, Seph and Eve flew towards an area of the desert that had a small grouping of dunes.

Eve – Land over there.

*Seph acknowledged and slowly touched his feet on the desert sand. Eve surveyed the area, ultimately looking towards one dune specifically.

Eve – Over there.

*The two walked towards one of the dunes and Eve immediately inspected it further.

Sephiroth X – What specifically are you looking for?

Eve – A door; the temple has multiple entrances that all tunnel towards the same entryway underground.

Sephiroth X – Impressive considering you guys haven’t been out of your Zion home.

Eve – This facility was actually set up before we ever left Zion… It was apparently an old Magi temple that predated the time before the Order resided underneath Zion. Only Revan and a few of the high priests knew of this place, so when we got kicked out they led us here.

Sephiroth X – Lucky for you, then.

Eve – Indeed.

*After a few more moments of inspection, Eve stuck her hand a little ways into the sand. One of the small bits of material attached to her Magi robe illuminated and a small glyph appeared on the sand. The glyph remained visible for a few seconds before slowly fading away. As the glyph faded the sand in the area of the glyph faded away as well revealing a door that led underground. Eve opened up the door and looked back to Sephiroth X.

Eve – Ready?

Sephiroth X – As I’ll ever be.

*The two walked through the door, down into the dark passageway below. The passage was narrow and lit only by sparsely placed torches, leaving patches of darkness between each source of light as they traveled through.

Eve – You never told me about the dark power you were trying to tap into.

*Seph tilted his head slightly, he never remembered telling Eve about the legend of the dark powers of the Element. Eve caught a glimpse of Seph’s puzzled look and followed up her statement.

Eve – Bax told me about it. We both were afraid of you losing control.

I am under control…

Sephiroth X – I am under control…

Eve – I think all of your friends are concerned; yet they probably know you have the resolve to not let it get to you.

*Eve looked forward and continued walking down the hall with Sephiroth X a few steps behind him. As X walked past each torch his appearance shifted slightly; his skin became pale after walking past one torch, black circles around his eyes came after the next torch, and very faint black lines appeared on his face stretching out from his eyes. The illumination in the tunnel was dark enough that Eve wouldn’t have noticed the change had she looked at Seph. After walking for a few minutes the duo came up to a turn in the hallway. Before they hit the turn, Eve stopped and gave instructions to Seph.

Eve – Wait here for a moment.

*Eve then made the turn in the hallway, leading her into a much larger room. There was a large doorway in this room along with entrances to multiple other hallways similar to the one they just walked through. The room functioned as a hub for all of the various entrances to the Magi headquarters. Near the large doorway multiple armed Magi priests stood guard. Eve calmly walked into the hub, towards the guards, and promptly identified herself.

Eve – Priestess Eve, Technology and Combat. Requesting permission to re-enter the temple.

First Guard – Eve, huh? You’re the one they sent a few people out to catch.

Second Guard – We should probably contact Rivel or Revan.

Eve – No need, I’ll explain and apologize to Revan myself. I was continuing an assignment.

Second Guard – And how are we supposed to believe you?

Third Guard – You could be a traitor, trying to sneak in and get a couple of supplies to survive on your own.

Eve – That’s not true, I was-

First Guard – You were trying to desert the Magi I think, now you’re just—

*Sephiroth X’s voice darted into the conversation from the darkness.

Sephiroth X – She was trying to find me.

*X’s green eyes illuminated from the darkness, and he slowly stepped out from the hallway into the light.

First Guard – What!? You led him here!

*The three guards unsheathed their swords.

Sephiroth X – I’ve come to join you…

Third Guard – How are we supposed to believe you!?

Sephiroth X – Eve’s secondary assignment was to track down the Warrior of Prosperity alongside Teras and Rivel. Those two abandoned that assignment while Eve continued and eventually found me. I’ve willingly come here because of the situation in Midgar, Valtiel has become a powerful foe and it’s quite clear that his wrath will eventually reach places like this. If we all stand alone and fight each other, Valtiel will eventually destroy us all. An old saying is “the enemy of your enemy is in fact your friend”, and I’ve come to make friends of enemies.

*The three guards looked at each other suspiciously, wondering if it was possible that the once defiant Warrior of Prosperity had truly walked up to their door asking for a chance to join the Holy Order of the Magi. Before any of the guards could make a decision, a voice came from one of the intercom units next to the door.

Revan – Allow them to enter. Send them my way.

All Three Guards – Yes Lord Revan!

*The three guards quickly moved aside as the large doorway opened up. Eve and Seph hesitated at first, but then calmly walked through the doorway into the Magi temple. After they walked through the doorway and got a few feet away from the guards Eve quietly mumbled to Seph.

Eve – Well, hopefully the hard part is over.

*The two of them continued down a series of hallways within the Magi building. They passed various priests, some of which gave prolonged glances towards the silver haired newcomer.

Sephiroth X – So, is it time yet to explain what answers might be here?

*Eve nodded.

Eve – Just under two weeks ago an incident occurred in this temple that cost us a good deal of priests; an incident that unfortunately affected you thereafter.

Sephiroth X – Was it something with Valtiel?

Eve – Unfortunately no. We are the reason for Dark Crono return.

*X stutter stepped for a moment before continuing his pace alongside Eve down the hallways.

Eve – After your battle with Dark Crono in the Super City, the Magi thought there was a grand opportunity to gain a new powerful tool. Since souls only linger in this plane for a short time before passing into the afterlife, The Order decided to make an attempt to conjure the soul of Dark Crono. The High Priests theorized that Crono might carry the same “Element effect” that prolonged the lives of the Senator, Azriel, and Cyrus Jackson. They also thought it was possible that since he actually carried half of the Element, he may have retained its power.

Sephiroth X – And they also thought it was possible to control him?

Eve – That’s where the experiment got a little tricky. They were going to resurrect Dark Crono’s body and soul, but they were going to attempt to deny the soul the chance to re-enter the body and contain it. Therefore they’d have a super powerful body that they could control at will, and not have the independent soul controlling it. Technically, the process went flawlessly…

*The two turned another corner and walked down a larger hallway that had a large double-door at the end of it.

Eve- …The body was brought back, as you obviously know, and the soul was separated from the body. However, something happened that we did not anticipate.

*The two came closer to the large double doors. Eve stopped for a minute to finish her story to Sephiroth X.

Eve – You mentioned how Valtiel addressed Dark Crono as “Zeal”. Well, I believe I know at least the base idea of what Zeal is and I think it may answer some of your questions as well. You see, we did remove Crono’s soul from his body… The thing we didn’t anticipate was that the body had more then one soul.

*Eve pushed open the double doors, revealing a large room with a large circular table on it bearing the “Halo of the Sun” crest X remembered from his last run in with them. Around the walls of this large room were various cabinets filled with books, chemicals, and other scientific and spiritual equipment. Small computer consoles were also littered around the walls of the room with a few priests operating on them. High Priest Revan was standing alongside the table, reading a book that was placed in front of him. Sephiroth X saw something just over the shoulder of Revan that caught his attention immediately; it was another shelf containing multiple bottles and various jars. Within one of the jars there was a glowing blue small humanoid entity that stood up seemingly the moment X walked into the room. The almost fairy like entity turned towards Sephiroth X, and X immediately recognized the familiar hairstyle, facial structure, and body type that made up its appearance. It was the soul of Crono.

*Sephiroth X and Eve slowly walked into the room, and Revan turned to address the new arrivals.

Revan – Greetings my lovely Eve.

*Revan then looked towards the Warrior of Prosperity.

Revan – And my-oh-my do we have us a special guest with us today. You know, I believe I offered you a spot in our ranks once before during a tussle with the alien and his friends. However, you turned me down. Is there a specific reason for the change of heart?

*Sephiroth X’s eyes stayed locked on the soul of Dark Crono for a few moments before he looked at Revan and answered his question.

Sephiroth X – The times have changed, the rules of the game have been altered. Valtiel’s rise has made me realize that the time for being a lone wolf has ended. I’m fortunate that the first Magi I found was Eve, and not one of your headstrong priests who’d rather deliver my head.

*X’s eyes drifted back towards the soul on the other end of the room for a moment. His emotions pulled him towards simply walking up to the soul’s container and taking it for himself.

She was right! This could be the answer to those questions…

Sephiroth X – I have to stay calm… If I just start a ruckus and go after the soul it will blow both my cover and Eve’s cover… and probably get Eve killed in the process.

She’s fulfilled her purpose and she’s given an opportunity to get the answers regarding Zeal…

Sephiroth X – But I can’t just abandon her to the wolves like this…Stay calm, Seph…

*Meanwhile Revan continued to preach on towards Sephiroth X.

Revan – I overheard what you were saying to the guards outside… and yes, you are right. Eventually Valtiel will spread his control and if we stand divided then divided we shall fall… However, as you know… we are the reason for Valtiel’s existence… his rise… Are you sure that we won’t just let the rest of the world rot and welcome in a new utopia?

*X continued to gaze at the soul, meanwhile Eve answered for Seph.

Eve – How do we not know that Valtiel will take us out of the picture first?

*Seph forced himself to break off from his gaze again to continue speaking to Revan.

Sephiroth X – The Magi as they are right now are cowards… if your lives are in jeopardy you will fight against him too. I’m here to fix that.

Get that jar and get out of here!

*Sephiroth X continued to fight the urge within him to grab the jar holding Crono’s soul and book it out of there. Black lines started to build between the green and white areas of Seph’s eyes, his skin grew paler, and the black circles around his eyes grew ever so slightly more intense. Revan meanwhile looked at Seph for a split second longer, starting to wonder what Seph’s eyes were constantly refocusing towards before turning towards Eve.

Revan – I think special accommodations are in order for you, Eve. You’ve brought us quite a valuable new asset. Now we have the pure Element of Prosperity at our disposal, perhaps our need to hold onto that soul of the Dark One is no longer required.

*X's eyes widened momentarily in regards to Revan's final comment. His conscience began urging him to take action.

He's going to destroy the soul!

Sephiroth X – Ugh... no... I shouldn't....

Get the jar and get out of here!

Sephiroth X – But Eve...

Do it!

*The black veins on X's face began spreading out a little further, and his hand gripped the Masamune tighter.

Sephiroth X – Control yourself, X...

YOUR NEEDS TRUMP ALL ELSE! GET THAT JAR AND GET OUT OF HERE

*X's arms began shaking uncontrollably, the dark features on his face began taking more and more dominance over his appearance, and a single bead of sweat rolled down his face. Seph fought for a few moments to regain control, until ultimately he unsheathed the Masamune and dashed towards Revan.

Eve – Seph what are you doing!?

*Revan unsheathed his sword as well and promptly blocked X's incoming attack. The two of them engaged in a series of parry and attacks that led them across the room. A couple of other Magi priests came in to assist Revan, and X promptly kicked one away into a desk full of chemicals. The second priest threw a punch at X only to have X duck it and retaliate with a punch of his own, sending the second priest smashing into a computer console. Revan and X continued their sword battle across the large room, and X promptly shoved X into another cabinet and kicked him in the chin. X wrapped his hand around Revan's neck and held the Masamune up to Revan's face, with an intense look of anger on his face. Seph prepared to inflict a fatal wound on Revan, yet Eve's voice managed to cut through.

Eve – Seph! Stop it!

*As Seph turned his head back towards Eve, she saw the extent of his facial changes for the first time. She saw how pale his skin had gotten, she saw the black veins on his face, the dark circles around his eyes, even the faint black borders between the white and blacks of his eyes. X turned towards the shelf holding Crono's jar, yanked it off the shelf, and gazed at it for a few more moments before he stuffed it into one of the pockets. Sephiroth X sprinted past Eve towards the door, yet something urged him to stop for a moment knowing that Eve was still in the room. The dark features of X faded away from him for a moment as he turned towards Eve and made eye contact with her. Eve's face had a look of genuine shock and sadness, and a similar heartbreaking look came over X's face.

Sephiroth X – I... I'm sorry...

*X kicked open the door and took off in flight down the hallways, eventually making his way to the exit of the temple before exploding outwards into the Desert of the Dead. Back in the main chamber of the Magi, sparks flew across the room thanks to the destruction caused by X. Various chemicals were spilled across the floor and wrecked shelves fell onto the floor. Eve stood there motionless, not knowing what to say or do. She slowly fell to her knees and started to cry as her worst case scenario played out right in front of her. Just as she thought things were starting to shape up for her, X abandoned her in the heart of the Magi temple.

[ZaCloud]

OOC: I wrote the first bit, then Waffles read it and wanted to jump in, so we RPed between Zack and Dante, then I finished up. It went a lot of directions, more than expected. ^_^ Enjoy)

---

Zack, hands in his pockets and head lowered, was walking slowly through Libertas, looking drawn and weary. Dante had insisted that Onikage would return on his own, being a man of his word and not so easily overcome. Zack had failed to even look effectively for Jack, let alone find him. He absolutely could not attempt a return to that hellish place with the inner walls of his mind so close to crumbling. Bax and Black Spider and Sephiroth X were gone. And the voice that usually told him to quit blaming himself for these failures, had fallen unusually silent.

To the left, he heard a bit of commotion. He paused and turned his eyes, instinctively avoiding looking straight at a set of teenage boys and young men, around his age, playing a simplified version of football using a flaccid ball reinforced with cloth patches. Most of them had detached sleeves tied to their arms to protect their elbows from sandburn as they shoved and tackled each other in respective offense and defense. A small part of Zack wanted to join in... but very small. Even without his pained confusion, he had had very little experience just playing with others his age. His instinct was always more to watch and enjoy the joy the others experienced, rather than to experience it firsthand. When he was younger, he used to be wistful about it. But eventually, that had passed as he learned to live with the fact that he just did not belong with others. He was a Strife.

But before he could continue walking, a few of the boys had spotted him, and one beckoned to him. “Hey! Got a while? We need more players!”

Zack blinked, turning his face now toward them, the mentally kicking himself. He should have pretended not to hear. He felt a bit panicked, unsure how to react. Both because this was highly unusual; absolutely abnormal, in fact. And because he could not really remember how to react anyway.

But wait... I thought I was charismatic and confident... Right? That's right, I'm Zack, I played with folks before, and I'm outgoing and friendly.

In his mind, he tried to shuffle forward the facet that fit the bill...

***********

The child facet came to the window. But in his arms, the dark-haired doll was dissolving. One of its legs was gone, and one arm was beginning to fall apart into powdery dust, slowly but surely, like the sands of an hourglass. Its owner was smiling, but nervously, clutching the dwindling doll to his chest before holding it up to the window.

***********

He scratched the back of his head, chuckling and semi-humbly yelling back, “Heh, well I'd love to, but I might be too strong an' things might go off-balance.”

The boys looked at each other, discussing quickly.
“Oh yeah, he's a Strife.”
“Nuh uh, those are brown.”
“He looks like one though, an albino one.”
“Heh, and Santa Claus exists too, right?”
“It does happen, I have read about it multiple times.”
“See? Dexter's a walking encyclopedia.”
“Well, if he is, maybe he isn't all strong yet? He looks scrawny.”
“Yeah he's got the boost, look at those swords!”
“Hmmm...”

Finally, one of them stepped to the sidelines, and grabbed a length of rope out of a box, stepping toward Zack. He found himself a bit uneasy, but kept smiling, cocking his head. “Well,” Zack breezed, “If it's too much trouble, I don't wanna complicate stuff. I do know how to play football a little, but yeah, too much Strifeness here, eh?”

The young man was a bit heavyset and muscular, with wide shoulders. He had a crew-cut style for his brown hair. He smirked and dropped half of the rope, holding onto the other end. “Tell you what, we'll have a tug-of-war match. Well, a few maybe. We'll see how many guys worth of strength you've got, and adjust the team numbers accordingly. How's that?”

Zack grinned, though still a bit nervously, and nodded, removing his swords and setting them aside so he wouldn't have any inertia advantage. This drew a few more whispers from the others as they saw the ease of the motion. The Strife then swung his arms, rising and falling in a couple squats to loosen his muscles and boost his confidence, smirking, but all the while still not exuding the boundless aplomb he normally would. “Alrighty, we'll see how this goes.”

The crew-cut young man nodded, smirking himself. “I'm pretty strong, so don't be surprised!”

“Let's see what the rope says,” Zack replied, taking position as the other drew a line in the dust.

The others took positions to watch at the middle on both sides. One, a lanky teen with glasses, raised his hand and counted them off. “Ready? Set... GO!”

Crew-cut jerked hard, and ended up hurting his shoulders a bit as he was pulling against a great counterforce. He was jerked straight across the line with Zack having only twitched his arm upward, feet still in their original position.

He then blinked, surprised at himself. “Oh! Sorry! I didn't mean to jerk that hard. You ok? Er, you said you were strong, so I believed you an' didn't go easy cuz that woulda insulted you, but now I think I did anyway, but I really really didn't mean to an--”

Some of the boys slapped him on the back good-naturedly, all chuckling, “Hey, your mouth's a faucet!”
“We expected that anyway!”
“Heh, nice arm,” the first challenger commented, “So we'll just have to up the ante. Butch, Dexter, let's do this!”
“Sure, Bill,” another buff teen said, taking the middle of the Normal side. He had a black mohawk and dark skin.
“Let's calibrate!” Dexter said enthusiastically, taking up the rear. He was red-haired and wore a white jacket despite the weather.

The signal was given to go again. And despite Zack taking it much easier, he still pulled all three opponents across the line with three reverse steps.

“Let's go with five!” Bill exclaimed, two more recruits stepping up, one strong looking and one average. And once again, Zack dragged them over the line with only a little visible effort.

“Man, you're no slouch,” a long-haired boy exclaimed from the sidelines as he joined in, bringing the number up to seven now. Only two remained as audience. Zack was beginning to feel guilty. “Uhh... Not many left to play if this doesn't do it...”

“Don't worry about it!” one of the boys shouted from behind the others.
“Give us all you've got!” another shouted, pumping his fist into the air.
“We must gauge all levels accurately!” Dexter's accented voice piped up.

Zack shrugged and got into position again. “Alrighty, ready when you are.”
One of the remaining watchers flagged them to begin, and everyone pulled. Zack planted his feet firmly, and he actually lost a few inches of ground. But he quickly leaned backward almost parallel to the ground and dug the sides of his feet in deeply, and jerked several contenders across the line. They all pulled back, pausing their motion before again losing a few more men worth of ground. The two watching did their best to keep track of the line, which was now getting scuffed. Zack continued to step backwards, utilizing his uncanny sense of balance and traction as well as his raw strength. And he pulled all of them across the line.

“Hah! Holy shit! This guy's somethin' else!”
“Oh man! You might hafta be your own team!”
“Man, so this is a Strife? Where can I get me a few? Can you say 'bodyguard'?”
“Hell, why didn't the Midgar Tigers hire a whole team of 'em?”
“Well if you think about it, that'd make things pretty skewed.”

Zack was already thinking about that. He wondered if he should let them win when all nine formed up. In fact, he decided to make that the case. But when they started pulling and he tried to hold back, Bill in the front could tell as the Strife started sliding. “Oh come on! Don't hold out on us! We wanna see whatcha got!” Zack tightened his lips, and planted his feet and pulled with all his might. Slowly, he worked several opponents over the line. He slipped a bit, lost some ground. Caught again, pulled two more over. Then three more. Then all of them.

They were looking between each other and him in amazement. Some now looked a bit uneasy or uncertain.
“Dude, did you guys really try?”
“Of course! Man, the little guy's a beast!”
“Heh, wow, so what now?”
“I dunno, nine-on-one football? That'd be different.”
“Football is about more than strength; the numbers would have higher ramifications in that circumstance.”
“Yeah Dex, so what do you suggest?”
“I'm thinking...”
“I dunno, I'm pooped here.”

Zack stood with his hands folded behind his back and his head slowly lowering again, his hair covering his blue eyes. Then after the boys finished convening, they looked up and saw that he was gone.

The young Strife was jogging between tents, zig-zagging so he would not be pursued. Eventually, he slowed down, then came to a stop, the tears at the edges of his eyes spilling over.

“...I'm... a freak...” he murmured, covering his face.

Unnoticed by Zack, Dante interjected from the ground, lounging in the warm sand under the shade of the medical tent's exterior, arms folded behind his head. "Hey kid, you runnin' from something?"

Zack gasped, jerking his head out of his hands, then looking toward Dante. Still easily recognizable even past his water-blurred vision. "Aww... Crap..." he half-whimpered, half-growled, wiping furiously at his face with his forearm. He thought highly of Dante, and had been doing his best to look cool enough to hang out with him... But now his chances were probably dashed.
...Who am I kidding? What right do I have to hang out with anyone, anyway?
"I... I just suck, is all," he forced out, turning away, rubbing his sleeve over his face harder than necessary.

The man sighed, popped his legs forward and jumped to his feet. He stretched his arms in the breeze, his usual shirt replaced with a bandaged side covered by his coat. "You're strong Kiddo, but you're not that strong." He rubbed a finger under his nose. "You kids woke me up from my nap, I heard it all from way over here, so I think it's time for the final round. Lets get back over there and try this one more time."

Zack straightened abruptly, and whirled to look at Dante with shock, then he desperately shook his head. "But, you're hurt, you might open the wounds back up! And..." He slumped a bit again. "There's no reason to do anything else anyway."
Before Zack could even finish his thought, he found himself being pushed back toward the open. "You don't got a choice in this, kid." He waved to the other children looking on with a bit of confusion. "You got room for one more?"

Zack looked frantically behind him at Dante, then back at the others, unable to think of anything to say. Likewise, they were puzzled for a while, before exchanging a few words. A few looked at Zack with apprehension, a few with a bit of sympathy. But mostly the eyes moved to the newcomer with a lot of questions. Then Bill shrugged. "Eh, sure, what do ya have in mind?"

Dante leaned down toward Bill and started whispering something. At first, the child was kind of off put by the strange adult among them, but a smile soon spread across his face. Dante made a quick, vague pointing motion at the others and Bill jumped over to them to relay the secret. The man grabbed one end of the rope off the ground and wrapped it around his arm a few times, a smirk etched onto his face. The other kids stacked up behind him, grasping the remaining rope with renewed vigor. He nodded at Zack with an almost smug sense of confidence.

Zack blinked, then looked hesitantly at the vacant end of the rope. He was a bit embarrassed that such a big deal was being made of this; it was simpler to just accept reality for what it was. But, the effort had been made, and he had to take what was being offered. So he moved to the end of the rope and picked it up gingerly, before setting it up. He sort of hoped to lose this time; well heck, he'd better. But he would still give it his all. After all, he didn't know if Dante was just one more man on the field, or if he might end up jerking Zack five miles over the dunes. Given the man's confidence, that wouldn't have surprised him. So he set his stance as firmly as possible before nodding his readiness.

Dexter, from the back of the line, gave the count again. "Ready?....GO!" Both sides let loose in a unison grunt. The war was on. With Dante in the mix, it was almost evened out, but not quite. Zack's mastery of inertia and balance gave him the obvious edge as the whole opposing group inched toward the line as their feet slowly slid through the sand. The children squeezed their eyes shut and pulled with all their might, as did the blond. Zack forced open one of his eyes to check his progress. He saw the kids straining, getting red in the face from the effort, but in front pulled Dante. His teeth gritting, but the goofy smirk still stricken through his mug.

The man's cheek twitched, and suddenly he began to jerk the rope in random directions, almost taking the kids with him. Zack's eyes popped open, suddenly having to constantly readjust his stance, balance, and grip. He kept up, but barely able to keep his grounding. Dante finally tugged the rope as low to the ground as possible, forcing the Strife to push his center of gravity as low as possible. Then Dante took his chance, he released one coil of the rope around his arm, dropping the boy past his balance limit, he roared to his team. "NOW!!"

They all sucked in their breath and gave every once of power they had in them. Zack's unbalanced heels lost their traction and slid out forward, too low to the ground to get them back under him. He was dragged across the line nearly flat on his back.

The children erupted into a fountain of cheers and high fives. Zack blinked and began to hoist himself up, but was pressed back down by a finger to his forehead, Dante stood apart from the celebrating group with the smile still on his face. "See kid, you got beat by a bunch a little sprites and a laid up merc. That means you're human just like the rest of us freaks." He took his index finger off of the boy, showing a more sincere smile. "You're just a kid, Kid. You will be for a long time. So why don't you ditch the 'too big fer yer britches' attitude and enjoy it while ya got it." He straightened up and extended a hand.

Zack lowered his head a moment; there were plenty of points to argue. It had still taken ten people and some trickery to beat him. And compared to him, very few of the other kids were "little sprites". But when Dante put it that way, it didn't seem so bad, and the man seemed to allow no openings against any words he spoke. Zack closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them with a resolute smile and accepted his hand. "Thanks," he said quietly as he was drawn to his feet.

While a few of the teens seemed a little hesitant, the majority stepped forward to congratulate Zack on his performance.
“Haha, dude, good game!”
“You sure can wring some muscle outta those twig arms!”
“It was most thrilling to experience this Strife feature in person.”

Zack scratched the back of his head, simultaneously enjoying the attention, and utterly unsure of what to do with it. He glanced around to see Dante, but the man had already retreated out of sight, and the number of people around him made it hard to sense how far he had gone. Luckily, Butch came forward holding a box of cards. “Well, since football would be pretty dodgy, we can play somethin' on a level field.”

The long-haired guy pumped his fist in the air. “Haha! Oh yeah! Put-on Poker!”
“Hm? What's that?” Zack asked curiously.

---

Five of the guys sat around a large box, while the other five were watching, several with cans of beer. Two of them were shirtless, one had a tanktop, and one had a sweatshirt, all with long pants on. Butch was just in his shorts, relatively comfortable under the desert sun. Zack was bundled up in his boots, two layers of pants, three shirts, a jacket, winter gloves, and a hat. He was sweating in rivulets. Quite obviously losing. His inexperience with the game was roasting him, but he was determined that by this hand he knew what to do. He eyed the coats lying nearby tensely.
No, I refuse, I won't end up wearing any more!

All had completed their draws, and it was time to lay their cards on the table. Bill led, tossing his deck down fairly confidently. “Eight-high straight!” he declared.

“Aw, man,” the long-haired fellow (found to be called Duke) whined, dropping a six-high.

“Nothing here,” Butch sighed, tossing in his jumble of worthless cards, “There goes my streak-streak.”

“I possess a flush,” Dexter proclaimed, spreading his spades which maximized in an ace. Everyone raised their eyebrows, impressed, then turned their eyes expectantly at the newbie.

Zack had been trying to remember what the name of his hand was, but after a moment gave up and spread his cards, saying, “Uh, I've got the thingie with the cards in the right order, and they're the same color-thingie, an' people on most of 'em.”

There were gasps.
“Dude! Royal flush!”
“Holy crap, you're back with a vengeance!”

Zack cocked his head. “Soooo... this is good?”
“Good?! That's THE winning hand!”
“Oooooh... THANK GOODNESS!” Zack whipped off the jacket over his shirts, feeling blessed relief as one of the tortuous layers was removed. The others groaned and donned the nearest shirts, Duke pulling on a jacket over his sweatshirt, and Butch pulling on loose jeans.
Duke leaned aside and pulled a can of brew out of the special-occasion box. “You've totally earned this, dude.” He handed it to Zack.
“Whoah, thanks!” the Strife exclaimed. He started twisting the tab around before helplessly looking up. “Uh, how do I open it?”

---

Zack had slowly managed to win his way back down to his usual outfit, and the game ended when two opponents couldn't take the heat anymore. While a few of the boys still seemed apprehensive of the Strife, most of them wished to see him again sometime soon, and gave him their names and tent/cabin locations. Zack tried to remember them, but that was difficult, as he had usually not instinctively had to memorize such things throughout his life. And experiencing his first beer-buzz didn't help either.

But knowing he had a duty to keep an eye on Dark Crono, he took his leave, waving and smiling, and walking with a light and content pace. Albeit with occasional stumbles, during which he chuckled.

He had managed to forget completely about the Valtiel incident now, and his young persona's doll's decay had dwindled... but still not completely halted. Both legs and one arm were gone, with the last arm wrapped in a small bandage, with the word “acceptance” labeling part of it, slowing what would have otherwise been a more rapid fragmentation.

Zack reached the medical tent and sat down near his charge again, sighing contentedly. For the first time since he could remember, and possibly even couldn't, he felt his age. And it was nice to be young.

[AltruisticCrono]

OOC: ZaCloud and I wrote this conversation.

---

*Amidst the deafening silence within the medical tent, a sudden noise jolted the mental attention of the still unconscious Dark Crono. Despite not being able to awaken his physical, war-torn body, his severely limited senses remained intently focused on a single point of existence during his stay. Knowing the inevitable truth, he willingly lost its position and began to slowly scan the immediate area. Upon discovering Zack’s recognizable energy, he crudely formed a life force connection to his unsuspecting guest, although far weaker than the one often used on his favorite experiment, Sephiroth X.

Dark Crono - Searching in a world, lost in fleeting emotions…

*Zack jolted upright in his chair, looking around, then staring at Dark Crono.

Zack - Uhhh.... You talking to me? Er, braining? Whatevering?

Dark Crono - Correct... Temporary amusement, despite our commonalities…

Zack - Uhhh... ok... Those are some big words. So...

*Zack scratched his head.

Zack - Um, you might need to rephrase that.

Dark Crono – Constricted in humanity at my current state, I vaguely remember what it means to be human again. …Your current emotional experience is notably comforting.

The teen cocked his head. “Oh... Thanks, I guess? Heh, I did have fun. Might've made some new friends." He folded his arms behind his head, grinning with his eyes closed. "It was pretty cool!"

Dark Crono – Such minor influences to the future, yet I am uncertain. Plagued for so long as a curse, I cannot foresee your current path with new acquaintances.

Zack – Hmmm... Well, if I get what you're saying... Who knows. But I'll just hafta hope for the best, otherwise things'd get mighty depressing.

*Then he blinked and narrowed his eyes, one hand on his knee and the other pointing at Dark Crono.

Zack - Hey! Why am I talkin' to you like this anyway?! You're actually a real jerk, you know that?! Botherin' Seph all the time! Why are you always stalking him?!

Dark Crono - Perceptions can be deceiving, but not without merit... Just as you’ve made your best attempt as life’s momentary decisions, so have I… And yet… any attempt at control still remains a falsehood. The puppet still acts upon his own…

*A moment of silence paused the conversation, leaving Zack time to understand the words.

Dark Crono - Despite what you may think, Strife… His best interest lies in my hand for this perilous realm.

Zack - Huh? Yeah right. If you gave a crap you wouldn't be so darn cruel about it! You gave him the guilt of killing the woman he loves for crying out loud! Stalking him, giving him nightmares, talking to him like he's a... a friggin' Strife! Don't get so cocky an' think that's helping him!

Dark Crono – …His misfortune is a mere fraction to an endless witness of this planet’s destruction – both past and future. Alone, I am a witness to billions of deaths during my attempt at shaping the future… and yet, of any time period… this particular one is the tipping point of no return that I stand to watch the End of Time.

*The blond sighed, creasing his brow as he tried to take in what this dark being was saying.

Zack - So wait... You're trying to 'shape the future'? And have seen other times? That's... weird. But that still doesn't mean you hafta be a royal jerk! You can be what you choose to be. And if you choose to be a jerk, that's only your own fault!

*He crossed his arms and hmphed. At the boy’s discontent, Dark Crono eerily laughed within Zack’s head.

Dark Crono – An entity once named the “Hero of Time” is now a “jerk” by the mass. I’ll be sure to let him know…

Zack – "Him"? No no buddy, I'm talking to you. And you ARE a jerk. Heck, worse than a jerk. If it weren't for Seph insisting, I'd...

*His eyes darkened and narrowed.

Zack - ...I'd kill you myself. Rid him and the world of the danger you pose.

Dark Crono – Threat by tongue, an action by all… Verily, you are chained by your deciding peers. … As fitting as it may, only you alone have this one chance they yearn.

Zack - ...Yes... But I'm trying to trust Seph's judgment in that regard. Tell me... Why would he spare you? Do you know something I don't, some kind of redeeming quality?

Dark Crono - Tainted by your preconception, I do not possess these words you wish to hear... However… Marked in tone and spirit, the enshrouded persona you currently possess is not common… Claude.

*The boy's breath caught, and his narrowed eyes widened in a jolt.

Zack - ...That's not my name. I'm Zack.

*Dark Crono’s evil cackle rang through Zack’s head fiercely as a noticeable smile briefly showed on the face of the unconscious host laying on the patient bed.

Dark Crono – Yes, I suppose you are correct… who am I to delve into such a topic.

*The boy sighed, eyes slitted again before closing.

Zack - ...A jerk, that's who.

*Silence returned to the tent without a word further spoken.

[AltruisticCrono]

*Sephiroth X had flown for a short while over the Desert of the Dead, hastily putting distance between himself and the temple of the Holy Order of the Magi. The dark features that had overrun his face were still quite visible and the look on his face reflected the same intensity it did before. As he continued to fly, X observed the area around him and determined that he was far enough away to prevent any Magi from finding him for quite a while. Seph then decelerated and slowly descended to the sand below. Once he landed, the dark features on X's face began to retreat back within him almost as if it was letting the “light” features take over again. Once Seph visibly returned to his normal appearance, an emotional sensation hit X's heart like a sledgehammer. The “conscience” that had been holding back Seph from feeling any regret as of late seemed to fade away and all of the emotions of the immediate time slammed into him all at once. It caused X to fall to his knees in tears as he clutched his own chest, seemingly trying to apply pressure onto an injured limb. But this injury was something that could not be braced or bandaged.

*The regret of what he did with Eve, and how it would hurt Catrina, rushed through his soul as he couldn't believe he would do something like that to the one he loved most. Simultaneously X felt the regret of what he did to Eve as well. Despite his love for Catrina, he did promise Eve a chance for safety and a chance to escape the Magi. Instead, all X had done was betray her as well and leave her helpless in the den of a very angry lion. Tears ran down X's face as he tried to gather himself and calm himself down. Slowly but surely Seph's emotional equilibrium began to return and as it did the dark features of him faded completely away.

*After X finally gathered his emotions again, he reached into his coat and pulled out the bottle that held the teal aura of Crono within it. Seph couldn't help but feel empowered for a moment, he was literally holding a soul in his hand and it was a sensation he never experienced in his life. But X forced the sensation to quickly pass from him, there were answers to be had and this soul had to be released in order to get them. Seph touched his fingers against the cork keeping the bottle sealed and slowly started to twist it open.

*Just as the smallest bit of air opened up in the container a small trace of the soul's essence leaked out and temporarily entwined itself with X. As Seph felt the fraction of the soul's energy, an overwhelming and indescribable sensation overtook Seph. Images raced through his mind ranging from things that made sense to things that were indescribable. Seph saw images of his past; images of his Super City battle with Dark Crono, his first date with Catrina, his time in the military, himself in the Valley of the Promised, his retreat from the Magi temple.

*X also saw images that seemed to be from the future; potential confrontations with Valtiel, a Midgar where Valtiel is gone, people living their normal lives. While all of these familiar and possible images ran through his head Seph saw variations of them appear in his mind as well; versions of past memories that were ever so slightly different, memories that were drastically altered, people in different places, people alive long past their death. Seph also saw what seemed like futures that were much bleaker; places were Valtiel still ruled Migar, Valtiel overtaking the world, friends like Zack and Bax crucified atop a Midgarian church.

*It seemed like the further into the past or future X's mind wandered the more and more variations he saw. What further confused Seph was that these didn't seem like traditional memories were he was reliving a memory and acting out the same actions as in the past, with each memory and it's said variations the people in those memories all looked at him and began talking to him like something was wrong... like he was actually in that place in time. The same happened with each potential future he seemed to be envisioning, people everywhere acting like Seph had literally appeared there out of thin air, he could sense every bit of confusion and happiness around him as well as the pain he would be suffering in that potential future.

*Seph felt his stomach turn over and felt nausea overcome him, his body felt like it was being pulled through time and space itself as if he was literally in more then one place simultaneously. X felt like he was in every single one of those memories at the same time trying to live them out all at once. Sephiroth X tried to focus back on the bottle in hand and the “true” area around him as he forced the cork tightly back into the bottle. As the bottle sealed again the essence of Crono that flowed into X promptly vanished and Seph felt his body get tugged in every direction until he ultimately felt like he was truly back in the desert. Still nauseated, and now extremely stunned and confused, Seph dropped the bottle onto the sand and fell backwards onto the ground as well as he gazed at the contained soul of Crono with the most perplexed and confused of looks.

Sephiroth X – What the... what the hell.... just happened to me...?

*X then heard a voice call out to him, a voice familiar to him yet somehow different.

Dark Crono - That… is what we see… a millennia told and untold every waking moment. Far beyond just a vision or prophecy, we are actors that alter history.

Sephiroth X - What... do you mean... by actors in history? I just... saw the past?

Dark Crono - No... not only the past, but previous pasts that did not exist... as well as futures that haven't happened or will happen depending on ever changing daily events.

*X's head ached in pain... everything he saw was clearly too much at once for him.

Sephiroth X - You mean... you see everything like this... at once?

Dark Crono - Selective isolation can greatly help at times, but only so far... You remain in every time simultaneously whether you like it or not... however, I do not bare this burden alone.

Sephiroth X - You mean... I was in every time... at once?

*X gazed at the jarred soul, perhaps more puzzled then before. The more he thought about it, it almost made sense... everyone he saw in every image seemed to look at him as if something was wrong, like he just appeared.

Sephiroth X - But... that's impossible... You said you do not share this alone... I went with "you" to Midgar to confront Valtiel. When we were there, the monster addressed you as Zeal.

Dark Crono - Zeal... so it was finally revealed to you.

*Crono paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts*

Dark Crono - ...She was the ruler of an elemental kingdom intently focused on becoming immortal through harnessing an enormous, but tainted power from deep within the planet.

*He lowered his voice, bringing about a memory from long ago.

Dark Crono - It was a parasite... a planet devourer that absorbed the planet's energy to its entirety. However... this parasite was defeated before it successfully completed its purpose.

Sephiroth X - And... this Zeal... what became of her?

*Seph found it weird to be addressing what seemed to be half of his mortal foe as a female.

Dark Crono - ...Before obtaining true immortality, she was struck down by my blade at her greatest dimensional energy... or so I thought... She had already gained the ability to exist in all times at once, but was distracted... self absorbed in gaining more power.

*Crono held his hand to his forehead, turning away from X.

Dark Crono - She... did not accept defeat however. Like the parasite that preceded her, she fused her final essence into my soul... waiting to regain consciousness.

*Seph tried to put together words in response to the story he was hearing, initially everything coming from his mouth was stuttered and incomplete.

Sephiroth X - I... she...

*As X thought more, one specific thing stuck out in his mind.

Sephiroth X - You said... she could exist in all time at once?

*X thought some more, letting the weight of that sink in.

Sephiroth X - What I just felt now... I was... similar to that?

Dark Crono - Yes. In your current state, the natural counter elemental balance created your multi-existance...

Sephiroth X - So... you... are you... y'know... everywhere right now?

Dark Crono - You consumed the last of that ability when you opened the seal... Separated from Zeal, none of us can use that power anymore.

Sephiroth X - So... you two depend on each other a little bit it seems... And the further you look either backwards or forwards in time, the more variants you see?

Dark Crono - Yes, but there are unmistaken constants that revolve around each varied event in time. She... would refer to it as "the line within darkness". Selectively chosen, this specific of era was her greatest focus.

Sephiroth X - The... single line of darkness...

*X remembered from an incident between he and Dark Crono predating their battle in the Super City, where Dark Crono referenced something regarding this realm and how it might be ready to unveil a line within darkness. ((Chapter 9 EoP - A Single Line of Darkness))

Sephiroth X - That line... it was.. your time based ability? Or was it more?

Dark Crono - It was... THE constant that never faulted and never wavered from truth. It held a specific point that determined where the darkness overtook the light with no return. It was the End of Time or Eden. It was... you.

Sephiroth X - Me..? I'm that line?

*X continued to think, stretching even further back in his mind.

Sephiroth X - You... once said that you foresaw that you and I were the end of the world... You weren't necessarily referring to our confrontation for the Element of Prosperity... were you. ((Chapter 23 EoP - Destiny))

Dark Crono - It was the end of all mankind... limitless beyond this planet.

Sephiroth X - And you believe that Valtiel has the ability to do this? Why me, Crono? Why me.

Dark Crono - You were the only constant she specifically changed and manipulated to determine Valtiel's success. Every action and event of your life to this exact moment is designed by her... Every misery... every success... was revised and will be revised until the outcome is satisfactory. In uncontrollable witness myself ...Catrina's death was one of her favorite moments.

*Crono's words shot straight to X's soul. A different kind of nausea slammed into Seph's stomach, not from disorientation or any temporal distortion but from a sense of violation.

Sephiroth X – Everything... was done to prepare me for... Valtiel?

*X finally stood up from the sand and stared down blankly into the ground, his hands balled into fists and began to shake with anger. Seph tried to deny it, but after the experience he just went through he couldn't help but believe it to be true deep in his heart. If Crono could truly exist in every time then it could explain how he seemingly can move around at will and be exactly where he wants to be at the right time. It would also mean that trail and error would be his ultimate tool for shaping the future the way he wanted. As all of these thoughts crept through X's mind, his skin slowly began to pale, his frustration began to rise, and his eyes slowly darkened.

Sephiroth X – You've... treated me like... a puppet? Why!? Just so this world wouldn't suffer a fate that almost came upon yours?! Even if... I never saw you... you've been there as some sort of master manipulator?

*X continued in thought for a moment.

Sephiroth X – But now... you said what I felt was the last bit of your individual power... that means that Dark Crono-- er, Zeal does not have the same ability either. The Magi didn't get what the wanted from you, but they robbed you of your most key component.

*The sensation of rage continued to build within X. His eyes looked directly at the bottle again and right at the teal soul of Crono, and X began to talk to him directly, yelling in a raged voice talking almost irrationally.

Sephiroth X – You son of a bitch. You could have stopped all of this from happening! Her death! Valtiel's rise! All of those people who died! You could have stopped everything yourself!

*The dark features of X slowly began to make themselves pronounced again.

Sephiroth X – As I speak right now... your body is lying in a hospital bed fighting for its life, with Zeal trapped inside of it. Since you two seem to be very much linked I'm going to take a wild guess and say that Dark Crono will not recover unless you two are reunited.

Dark Crono - That... is... yes, Zeal will perish without my return... but everything that was done to prepare for Valtiel would be lost. You... this planet's and Zeal's only chosen Element carrier cannot defeat Fallen without her presense and aid.

Sephiroth X – That means that everything that has happened since you two became separated has happened without your all seeing golden eye. Events are transpiring as we speak that you have as little control over as I do.

*X picked up the jar from the sand and held it within his hand.

Sephiroth X – For the first time in my life... I am in control of my own fate, my own destiny.

*The dark features on X grew to levels similar to what had transpired in the Magi temple not long ago. His voice and his words began to reflect those changes almost immediately as his tone became malicious.

Sephiroth X – You talk to me like I am some sort of messiah who will lead us to some glorious battle with a god. You've treated me and those I love like nothing more than pawns while you look over the chess board plotting your next move. What if I don't want to be your piece of the puzzle that triggers your checkmate? Because of people like you I am starting to wonder if maybe this world does need to whither and rot!

*Seph began to squeeze the bottle in anger, squeezing it so hard that one small crack trickled down the bottle right between the shared gazes of X and Crono's soul. Seph slowly lightened his grip, and ultimately let the bottle fall out of his hand and into the sand below. As it sat there in the sand, X tapped the blade of the Masamune against it metaphorically putting the blade to his foes throat. He did not care if Zeal was responsible and not Crono, as far as he looked at it they are two in the same.

Sephiroth X – And now I leave you in no control of your life... forced to wait for another to shape your destiny and determine the path you must then follow.

*Sephiroth X turned away from the jarred soul, and he slowly lifted himself off the ground. The helpless soul stood there in disbelief while X thought about other things within his own mind. Seph's thoughts lingered on some of the things he just told Crono, about the world itself. After a few moments a dark smirk crept onto his face and he bolted through the air towards a very specific destination. Seph exerted extra energy to increase his speed until he ultimate saw the small “city” that comprised his destination.

*Sephiroth X promptly landed and walked through a series of small alleyways between tents and shack-like buildings, trying to ignore as many people as possible. Eventually X found his way to a much larger tent that housed numerous people within it. As he walked into it personnel within it gave him passing glances as if he was there before, but wasn't expected. Sephiroth X made his way to one specific room, and walked inside to find his target sleeping peacefully. X paced, almost tiger-like, towards his target and tapped him on his shoulder in order to wake him.

Sephiroth X – Excuse me?

*Just as the person began to open his groggy eyes, the only thing he saw was a black gloved fist rushing to his face. And then everything went black.

[ZaCloud]

(OOC: This post takes place before Sephy's last post, but it's perfectly fine to read after his. In fact, I think it works quite well this way. :3

Created by the combined efforts of Sqiky_Kleen and myself over the course of several hours. And well, let's just say that there will be a unique side to this in the near future. Enjoooy!)

---

In the young Strife's mind, Quiet Claude remained steadfast at the window. Off to the side, the Child was still clutching his doll... or what was left of it. The conversation with Crono had resulted in the bandage falling off of its arm, and the loss of structure had continued. The body was gone. The toy was nothing but a head now, with its stitched-on face, black cloth hair, and purple button eyes. It seemed stable for the moment.

The youngster clung to it, eyes closed, whispering, “The name. The Name...”

---

After the unnerving mental conversation with Dark Crono, Zack again felt the need to go out and clear his head. He walked aimlessly through the encampment, arms crossed, looking vexed once again. Uneasy, and in need of something to occupy himself, he pulled out the black-and-silver cell phone Jack had given him what seemed like such a long time ago, when it was only a few days. So many times, he had checked it, and there were no bars to indicate service; Midgar's zone had been rendered ineffective, so it had been useless near the large city. And of course the vast majority of the Desert held no such structures.

Indeed, he had only received a basic crash-course on the phone's mechanics, and his difficulty with reading, and unfamiliarity with technology in general, had made him hesitant to attempt using it. But Jack had had time to tell him that there had to be bars to indicate service for it to work... and his ritualized checking had always come up empty.

Such was the case once again. Zack sighed, staring at the screen. It had a nice background with green hills against a blue sky. The battery was fairly low by now. That was another thing he would have to remember to keep track of. He was afraid to turn it off, however, for fear of missing a call from Jack. The boy sighed, and squinted at the various buttons until he remembered which one was the Menu, then Contacts. Jack had put his name in there. It had an avatar of a flaming skull with pointed sunglasses.

”In case we get separated, just push the green button when my name's on there, or hit 3, and my phone will ring.”

Zack stopped walking, looking forlornly at the name. Jack... Are you even alive? I wish I could know...

But then, something caught his eye. He looked at the upper right corner of the screen...

There was one bar!

Zack's eyes widened. He stared for a moment, to make sure he was not just seeing things. There really was a bar! He looked around; maybe somebody here in Libertas had a portable transmitter, or perhaps the phone used satellites. Of course, these questions did not enter his mind specifically; he didn't know the mechanics behind these phones. He just wondered why it was working. Then he grew deathly afraid that moving even an inch would lose the reception, so he carefully lowered his head to the phone by bending over, rather than raising the device's altitude. Eyes wide and expression tense, he pushed the green button, then put his ear to the speaker, waiting...

---

Quiet Claude stepped back from the window, and the child and the head of the doll took his place. “Zack” was supposed to be the one to deal with other people, after all, especially when they were cool people. But the child knew there was not much left to draw from now... other than the Name.

---

The boy was holding the phone protectively in both hands, one cupped gently under the receiver, the other folded half over his other hand, to make sure he wouldn't drop it, and to symbolically cradle the delicate link to his dear friend. With his hunched stance, it would appear as if he were listening with baited breath to see if a limp kitten's heart was beating.

...And suddenly the tinny speaker clicked on, immediately blaring sounds from the moment the call was answered. Zack stood tense, barely breathing, and confused by what was playing through it; nobody was on the other line. Instead all that could be heard were continuous series of loud thumps, popping sounds, somebody breathing heavily, and people yelling things. After about eight seconds or so, a loud booming sound rang out, pushing the small speaker to its limits, followed by a lull in the volume. The breathing sound got noticeably closer and louder, then a familiar voice finally answered, that of Jack Golizze, who spoke quickly and loudly, as if to not waste time. "Claude? Zack? You there? Hello?"

Zack's breath caught. At first, it was the other name again... but then, the one he needed. After only a moment to let this register, the boy's relief tumbled out in an excited-yet-half-choked tone, though it was far more stilted than his usual breathless tirades.. “Oh jeez, Jack, thank God you're ok! Oh jeez... I thought you could be dead! I mean, I... I know you're a badass but--”

"Holy... SHIT MAN you're still alive, oh my god I was thinkin' I wasn't ever gonna hear from any of you guys again!", Jack blatantly interrupted, his voice seeming to be trying to work its way out between short breaths. Whatever he was doing, Jack seemed to be exerting lots of energy, and sounded like he was constantly on the move as he talked. Zack stared at nothing with his eyes wide, trying to imagine what was going on, occasionally cringing and gasping.

Jack spat his words out even faster than before, resulting in phrases that sounded like tongue twisters. "Listen, I'm really, kinda really busy here man, I gotta keep moving, WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T HANG UP, STAY WITH ME; SHIT!" More noises echoed across the phone, followed by the recognizable voice of someone yelling out 'hey, you!'. The voice was then muffled, but not long after that the temporary silence this created was broken by a solid thud sound mixed with a crunching sound.

Zack carefully tightened his grip a bit, as if to keep the connection going through sheer force of will and steady the phone itself. His hands were shaking slightly, however. More indistinguishable sounds were heard as Jack spoke out once again. "How did everyone do in Midgar, is everyone alright?!?"

The boy perked up a bit, then answered, "Uhh... It's complicated. Really complicated. We're all alive last I heard, but everyone else is off doing something. I'm worried, but we all got out at least at first." He flinched at another noise. "Jack... What's going on over there?"

"We're at a dock on the East coast of the continent...", Jack said, a several popping sounds could be heard on the other end. "..me 'n the survivors I found here are gettin' the hell off this continent... sorry I couldn't come back, but there's something I need to do..." The popping sounds became more frequent. "SON OF A BITCH!... alright, let's see you like this! Come and get me you Senate pricks!"

Jack seemed to drift away from the conversation with that last statement, but it wasn't long before he was heard again, this time screaming as if in extreme pain or anger. What followed was the loudest crashing sound yet; literally thousands of tiny smashing sounds could be picked up from the phone transmission, but together they all blended into an inaudible mess that sounded as though the speaker was crackling. Zack held the phone in shock, head jerking back at the sounds, the volume too loud to listen to directly. Then his eyes momentarily changed shade, and he felt terrified. "...Jack?" he whispered, so quietly the receiver probably could not pick it up.

After what seemed like an eternity, Jack finally responded with the rest of his statement, sounding as though he was picking up the pace to keep running. "...I saw Celica...in one of my dreams... I need to find her Claude, shes been gone for too long and DAMMIT I'm not gonna allow one more innocent life to be lost on my watch!"

The Strife heaved a quiet sigh of relief at hearing Jack's voice again. Then, the mention of Celica, combined with the use of the other name... ~...in his mind, caused one of the eyes to begin dangling as the thread holding it to the Zack doll's head began to unravel, and the Child pushed Quiet Claude away from where he had taken the window...~

"M-my name is Zack," he said mechanically, "Don't call me Claude anymore..." Then, his eyes and tone flipped straight to concern again. "Yes, Celica needs rescued, it's been way too long, I'm worried about her too. Really worried..."

"I have no idea what could be happening to her.. I gotta get there, and I cant fail. Success is my only option now.." Jack sounded as though he was continuing to run, but was keeping a slightly slower pace. Most of the background noises had also faded out entirely. "...but that thing... Volatile, or whatever his name is... that scares me on a whole other level... I feel like I'm obligated to help now that I got this suit. Zack, if I ever get back I'm gonna do whatever I can to fight that thing... Where did you end up after the shit hit the fan in Midgar?"

"I... I don't really know where I am. Distance, I mean. I'm south of Midgar, about a day's run. Found Libertas, a buncha drifters in a giant movable town... It could end up anywhere later." He sighed, then closed his eyes. It was difficult, heart-tearing, for Zack to be stuck where he was, knowing his friend was in a dangerous situation. Knowing that each word he spoke could very well be his last. And knowing that there was nothing he could do about it. Even though things were quieter now, he still did not know what might be happening, what could happen at any moment. "I... wish I could help you, Jack..."

"Thanks man, I appreciate the concern. But I'm holding my own here. Besides, I wouldn't want to be dragging someone, anyone for that matter, along with me in case I do something stupid, which is likely for me now considering what's at stake."

Jack paused in his speech for a moment, then made an exclamation that seemed to drift away from the conversation, then back to Zack. "...hhhhhey, I think this is it...", he whispered. "...don't worry bout me, your friends need you now. But Celica needs me... hey, stay on the line, I gotta take care of something...", Jack stated in a matter-of-fact sort of tone, still whispering.

The next thing to blare through the phone was the sound of wood breaking, followed by another brief moment of silence. "...heh, nobody in here... awww, are these?....yup. oh man, I can't believe they just left them out here! What a bunch of idiots! Hey Zack,", he said excitedly. "I just got my hands on a new ride, Ill be making it to the Beta continent after all!"

Zack smiled slightly, still tense but a bit more relaxed than before. "That's great, Jack. Man, you've really got the situation in hand. Just like the old days... You always knew how to handle things."

"Heh, thanks dude..." He paused momentarily. "...say, hope you don't mind me mentioning it again, but I was sorta hopin' I could call you Claude; you know, cause Jack and Zack sound so similar... I figure if you got a nickname, or if Zack's your nickname or whatever, use whatever sounds different and stands out. There aren't many Claudes out there, its a cool name."

~The purple button-eye began to dangle further, hanging precariously past the doll's chin, swinging unevenly. Dark Claude came swiftly toward the window, pushing the other facets aside.~

Zack was frozen in silence for a moment. Then his eyes darkened, though his expression and tone were quiet and... frightened. "I... I'm Zack. Remember? We ran around when we were younger. I did ok. Claude... was weak. He's not here."

There wasn't an immediate response; Jack did pause for a bit before making his next remark. "Not the way I remember it...in fact, tell Claude if you see him that I remember one time when he was young in particular... he beat my sis' at arm wrestling; which was really something because Celica would always beat up on the other boys, and a lot of times, send em home cryin'. I could tell she was impressed by that..."

Zack wavered a bit, then his eyes lightened again in color. He was still worried, but showed a meek measure of encouragement. "...Really?"
"Definitely; me and my friends all saw it in you... we knew you were kinda shy back then, but we also knew that with a mentor like your brother, you were gonna grow up to be a strong individual, with a good sense about the world around you."

Zack's eyes stared glassily at the ground. His voice could barely be heard, his throat tight. "...........brother..........? ......Where......"

~Behind Quiet Claude at the window, who was wavering, clinging to the sill, a click and rattle sounded. The button-eye landed on the floor, clattering in a tight circle like a dropped coin before it fell flat, then faded away.~

Another long pause came from the phone speaker. "He's always with you, no matter what happens; watching over you, and probably smiling with that big dopey grin of his. Claude, I know you're in there somewhere, I know you want to do the right thing, and I know you may be struggling a bit to find yourself right now, but I think you're making the right decisions. Someone in there is choosing which personality to be, and I think that somebody is Claude. Whatever you do, promise me you'll trust in your decisions... ...but listen, I gotta go, there's still unfinished business here, and I think they may be coming back up."

The Strife boy was silent for another moment, as his mind wavered back and forth between comfort and desperation...

~For normal people, their Consciouses contain not only their own avatar, but also those of people they know and things they perceive. With so many facets in the Main Room, there had not been enough space for the boy's perceptions of his friends to form there. But now, a transparent silhouette was taking up the slack as the doll's presence had dwindled. It was the boy's image of Jack, still thin from lack of space, but present. And even as the Subconscious Door edged open and monsters began to emerge from the revealing statements, the Jack image turned toward them and stuck up its middle finger. And they cowered and edged back away. Before the door closed, however, the brief glimpse of Real Claude's blue eye could be seen through the darkness within, with a very faint glimmer of hope among its desolation. Then the portal clicked shut.

A few other shapes were behind him as well. One with flickering about its head. Another with an ambiguous outline due to a long head of hair. And a few more. They were not as defined in this particular moment, but could finally show themselves, just a little.~

Finally, Zack closed his eyes, drew a long sigh, and focused on what needed to be dealt with: Jack's safety. "I... I'll try..............Thank you, Jack... It's...... just until things get a little better... I'll... I'll be waiting for you. I don't know if the phone will get bars later. But we'll find each other somehow. You can do it... Good luck."

"Thanks again, I'll be needing it... Take care of yourself!" The phone then went entirely mute, dropping Jacks voice out of Zack's present existence as the fragile connection was terminated.

Zack stood where he was, still cradling the phone closely. Then he slowly knelt on the ground, holding the phone to his bowed forehead, eyes closed. “...Please keep him safe,” he whispered. He was overwhelmed, exhausted, and still immensely worried... yet somehow, at peace. Jack was alive. Celica had a chance to be rescued. And... something lonely within him had been acknowledged.

The boy remained stooped for several minutes, not noticing a few people glancing at him awkwardly. Then, he slowly stood, and looked at the phone once more. The bars were empty again.

He put it in his pocket, and headed back to the medical tent, his expression neutral and quiet. He was very tired.

And so, when he arrived, he fell fast asleep on the chair near Crono's bed, slumped in deep repose.

But then... something woke him up.

...Then put him back to sleep.

[Sephiroth X]

*Catrina hung suspended still trapped in her domain deep in Valtiel’s realm, the place that was formerly referred to as Midgar. It had been a while since Valtiel or Hodia had given her any food and she could feel herself weakening as a result. Had Valtiel forgotten about her, or was he just contempt to let her whither away and die? Behind her dark tendrils continued to slowly stretch out reaching for her almost like a series of arms, all hoping to eventually reach her and pull her into an endless abyss of darkness. Catrina thought about what Hodia said before, about how X and Dark Crono had come to Midgar and lost in a battle to Valtiel… and how X didn’t come for Catrina.

Catrina – He didn’t come for me…

*The simple thought of it made her heart sink and as her emotions fell the appendages from behind her tried to reach further. Almost as if she sensed the danger behind her, Catrina focused and tried to make logic out of the situation.

Catrina – No… He had to come to Midgar to fight Valtiel… Seph isn’t a fool he knows that he wouldn’t be able to get to me if Valtiel was still in the way… Valtiel is the first priority and both he and I know that.

*As she thought on, she thought about how dire things must be if Seph had to resort to allying with Dark Crono in order to fight Valtiel. Crono was the reason that she and X were torn apart, and the instigator of her inadvertent death. Regardless of how dire things might have seemed to her, Catrina urged herself to stay strong… just like her love, Sephiroth X, was.

Catrina – …C’mon girl… you’ve gotta stay strong here… He didn’t abandon you…

*Like before the only thing Catrina could do at this point was to cling to any hope she could possibly have left. She needed to keep herself strong, just like X and his friends.

Catrina – Stay strong, Catrina… stay strong…

[ZaCloud]

OOC: Awesomely, epically written by Sephiroth X, partially RPed between both of us, and revised by me. This shall close the current chapter. Enjoy! Also, this should really be your music of choice for this post

---

*Zack’s eyes opened and his vision was extremely blurry for a few moments. He had a feeling of disorientation, as well as feeling perplexed, to what happened to him that caused him to black out. As Zack’s vision focused he realized one thing very quickly, he wasn’t in Libertas. The Strife looked around quickly and saw impressive skyscrapers that seemed to span out to every horizon. He also quickly observed that he was on in fact on top of one of the massive buildings that comprised the mega-metropolis.

I’m on the roof of a building in the Super City?! How the heck did I get here?

*Zack stopped gazing at the city for a moment and saw that there was a figure standing on the other side of the roof, standing right near the ledge. Zack quickly recognized the black cloak, the long silver hair, and the Masamune. Sephiroth X was with him! But why were they here? A second later Zack noticed that something was in Seph’s other hand, it was large and very familiar to him… it looked like Fjalar! The boy quickly checked his sheath and saw that only Fenrir was there, and Fjalar was not. While he was confused why Seph was holding his sword, Zack was still pleased to see his friend.

Zack – "Seph! How’s it going? What’s going on!"

*Sephiroth X slowly looked over his shoulder; dark lines protruded from his face like veins, the whites of his eyes were replaced with a black ink like look to them, his skin was totally pale, and his eyes were constantly glowing a luminous green*

Sephiroth X - "It's good to see you, Claude."

*Zack, half sitting-up, gasped audibly. Despite the fog still in his mind and disorientation of this sudden situation, the utterance of that name, especially from who it was, shook his fragile awareness and sent a cold shiver down his spine.

Zack - "...Don't call me that, Se--"

*His eyes blinked into focus, and he was again shocked at Sephiroth X's appearance.

Zack - "Seph... What's going on? What happened to you?"

*X narrowed his eyes slightly*

Sephiroth X - "You seem oblivious to the fact, I have discovered my power, my purpose, and have had a reawakening."

*X looked away from Zack and gazed at Fjalar.

Sephiroth X - "When I was first trying to tap into this side of the Element, something called out to me... it led me to a sword legend called Yamato. It was the blade of the only other Dark Warrior of Prosperity. When I reached out to the blade... something shot from it to me. It took me a while to figure out what it was, and just now it had dawned on me."

*Seph's eyes looked over the vast Super City.

Sephiroth X - "It was not a soul that was passed to me or any kind of power, but rather it was an essence... almost an idea in spirit form. And that essence passed the idea of that ancient being to me."

*Zack glanced between Sephiroth and Fjalar anxiously, and slowly swayed to his feet, holding his forehead as he wobbled momentarily, before steadying. His posture was as apprehensive as his expression.

*Zack - "Uhh.... Idea? What... what idea?"

*X's face shifted to a slightly more angered expression.

Sephiroth X – "That idea was that there are irreversible flaws with this world that will inevitably doom it and bring about its own destruction. All my life I have been living under the control of another, a puppet bound to its master by unbreakable threads. But at last I am now able to act on my own and with that freedom my eyes have opened. I have seen that the people in this world are no different then the ones directly involved in my life..."

*Seph extended out his arms, as if pointing to the entire world.

Sephiroth X - "...Full of people who will do nothing but try to control others, and others who will obliviously follow that control in the hope that their lives are uninterrupted. This world has spawned a race of people who are too weak to stand up to the people seeking to control them, and now the sacrifice is that all humanity has seemingly lost their ability to control the one thing they should control... their own lives."

*X's arms slowly lowered.

Sephiroth X – "And I have realized what that ancient warrior realized long ago... That perhaps this power that the planet itself has given me, the Element of Prosperity, should perhaps be used to bring about the prosperity of the planet itself and not its inhabitants. Valtiel is the result of humanities own flaws, and this races civilization is now on the brink of its own demise."

*Sephiroth X turned slowly and faced Zack.

Sephiroth X – "What I realize now, Claude, is that this planet may very well be calling for the end of the plague called humanity. I wish to watch this planet rot just enough for this flawed race to whither away, and from the smoldering ashes I shall raise a new humanity unrestricted from the flaws in humanity’s current form."

*Zack stood with his eyes wide. He couldn't believe what Sephiroth X was saying. This man; his mentor, who had fought so hard to defend humanity from so many dangers, who had snatched the ultimate power from the hands of darkness... Had now become part of the darkness he fought…

*And that name again...

~The other button eye began to dangle, the thread halfway down the face...~

Zack - "Sephiroth! Listen to yourself! You sound just like Valtiel! I mean yeah, people aren't perfect... But not everyone is that bad at all! Most people are fine, and a lot of them are really good an' make sacrifices for others!"

*He took a small step forward, hand extended tentatively.

Zack - "That's how we all became friends, right? We were all pretty cool, right? Maybe you're upset, but letting innocent people get killed is just plain wrong."

*The boy's voice shook a little as he added to his plea.

Zack - "And... My name is Zack, ok?"

Sephiroth X – "One time long ago, Claude, you asked me to enter your mind in an attempt to help you... Do you remember that?"

~The thread slid further...~

*The boy's voice was laced with pleading distress.

Zack - "Y-yes... So you should know not to call me that, please..."

Sephiroth X – When I entered your mind I saw fragments of another life that was not your own, fragments that shattered your life. It was at that point that I realized that the help I did would be in vain and that you would only be able to recover under your own power."

*X calmly shook his head negatively.

Sephiroth X – "And it seems you are content living in your own fragmented world, destined to block out the real world and substitute it with your own to preserve something within you... a disease I call “hope”. You hope to preserve your own little world and use it to shun out the instability of this world, making you become someone you are not. You, in fact, are no different then the rest of the people in this world."

*Seph turned away from Zack again, looking down at the people walking calmly by on the streets below. He then returned his gaze to Fjalar and continued speaking.

Sephiroth X – "You carry a gift that I once gave you, I gave it to you hoping that you would use it to shape your own identity and help become yourself again."

*X nodded towards Fenrir, the prototype buster sword that Seph stole from Zion and gave to Zack.

Sephiroth X - "Yet you still carry this rusted chunk of metal around with you and cling to it like a crutch, preventing you from ever walking on your own again. This obsolete blade of your brother is a symbol of how little you have progressed, Claude, and in a sense is a symbol for how this obsolete species has failed to step forward. And now this sword, like this race, will fall."

*X's fingers slowly loosened from around the hilt of Fjalar, and the buster sword fell from his hand and crashed onto the pavement far below them. Zack let out a startled yelp, and ran to the edge of the building, helplessly watching the sword fall. Seph slowly turned to Zack again and unsheathed the Masamune, holding the blade at his side.

Sephiroth X – "I will begin my own campaign and fulfill my own purpose in this world, shaped by myself and nobody else. I will remove any other sources of power that can fuel Valtiel. Then Bax's demonic god will leave this world to spread to another, and I will begin the world anew. And I will do it by eliminating those powerful enough to oppose him and work my way through the rest of humanity."

*Seph slowly raised his hand into the air and opened up his fist with his palm to the sky. As he did so the clouds above them began to darken and swirl, almost reaching towards X seemingly at his command.

Sephiroth X – "And I will start it with the person who not only hates this world as much as I, but the person who created his own flawed world."

~The button clung resiliently to its thread, but it was wobbling at the tip... Dark Claude rushed forward.~

*The boy turned toward Sephiroth, eyes wavering at both tears and desperate rage.

Zack - "I... I HAVE to! Don't you understand?! There's too much! Everyone's fighting, all at once. If I were Claude now... I would be a burden! I HAVE to be Zack, for my friends, for everyone! Just until this is over! Just so they don't have one more thing to deal with!"

*The Strife shook his head hard, eyes closed tightly, as he drew Fenrir and held it forward.

Zack - "But you... You're not being you! You're twisted by whatever's taken over you, and you're upset an' taking it out on everyone! I can't let you! Please, stop this!"

Sephiroth X – "Hmph... I understand that you must constantly lick your wounds and never let them heal. You cater to the pains of your past... and you are nothing more than a puppet because of it... letting the pains of your past tug away at your strings. You will forever be a burden as Zack... because Zack is dead, and you will doom your friends to his fate if you continue to live as him."

*A much darker version of X's normal smirk crept onto his face.

Sephiroth X – "And I can't let you do that... now can I?"

~The button rolled on the floor in a wide circle, during the arc of which it hit the Child's foot, falling on its side. It disappeared into dust, then nothing... as did the head in the boy's hands, its crude features smiling to the very last like the Foolish Traveler in his last moments.~

Zack is dead...

*Claude's eyes glazed over, then spilled the tears they had been building. The boy slowly shook his head, inhaling in a slow, shaking gasp which increased in pitch and volume until his lungs were nearly bursting. Then his eyes squeezed shut and he collapsed to his knees, braced up only by Fenrir, and he screamed. A heart-wrenching cry of horror, of loss, of despair. Of having just been ostracized by hundreds and hundreds of his peers at once. Of having just been through the horrors of war, witnessing and dealing death on the battlefield at a tender age. Of having just been through nearly half a year of torture of every imaginable sort, all folded together simultaneously. And of having just lost his brother, the only anchor in his life, the only warm stability and friendly smile that had sustained him through it all... forever. And this was all at the hands of a man who he had considered a dear friend. A respected family member. A patch for the hole that had been left in him. This had now been pulled away, revealing the wounds, opening them afresh, his soul bleeding. At the hands of Sephiroth X.

*Claude was sobbing pitifully, shaking hard, frozen in distress, his hair hiding his face.

Claude – "Why....... *sob* WHY? *sniff* Sephiroth, why? *sob* I trusted you... We all trusted you... *sniffle* You were supposed to be our hero!"

*The boy's grip on the hilt of Fenrir quivered, but slowly tightened. His voice then lowered, still painful, but weighted by grim realization.

Claude – "You're so cruel.."

*Sephiroth X’s arm shot down to his side and he dashed through the air towards his helpless prey. Seph pulled the Masamune back as he prepared to attack, and as Seph came within dangerous range Claude’s inner anger broke out and took control as he gripped Fenrir with two hands and swung the massive blade. The impact of the two blades clashing thunderously echoed and the concrete beneath them cracked. The young Strife's tear-streaked expression was hot with ragged rage, fueled by fear and hopelessness, yet an undefined determination.

Claude – "I can't let you destroy Humanity's chance at prosperity!"

*Claude pushed his sword forward and sent X backwards a few steps. The enraged boy swung his sword multiple times at X with such force that X’s Masamune would simply deflect out of the way after attempting a block, almost as if Claude’s attacks were going straight through the Masamune. X ducked under the next incoming attack and quickly drove a left handed uppercut into Claude’s chin, staggering the infuriated foe just long enough for Seph to launch his own offensive. X grabbed onto Claude's face and shoved him backwards, then unleashed a flurry of slashes towards the staggering youth. Claude swung Fenrir and deflected Seph’s incoming attacks as he stabilized his footing. The two continued their tango of attacks and deflections for a few more moments before accumulating with a simultaneous attack that sent another small shock wave from the two.

******

*Halfway around the world, and still trapped in her dark dreary hellhole, Catrina was still suspended in her chains trying to get some form of rest. Without any sort of warning a small rush of adrenaline kicked through her bloodstream and woke her up. As she shot awake she sensed something, something that felt wrong, and saw quick flashes of images go through her mind. Catrina felt her heart sink and her skin grow cold as her mind pieced together things until she quickly realized the truth; something very wrong had happened to her love.

Catrina – "No!"

******

*The fight atop the roof continued with X primarily attacking and Claude being defensive. With each block, Claude had to readjust his footing in order to stay properly balanced and this caused him to continuously step backward. Seph quickly picked up on the disadvantage his opponent would soon have and continued his flurry of slashes, forcing the young Strife further backwards. As Claude stepped back again, he began to slip as his foot reached the edge of the rooftop. Seeing an opening, X swung the Masamune in an uppercut like direction towards Claude. A surge of adrenaline rushed through Claude as the blade came closer to him and it gave him enough speed to get his buster sword between himself and the Masamune, yet the result of the impact shot Claude high up into the air.

*Seph watched Claude become a progressively smaller dot in the sky for a moment before launching himself up into the air in pursuit, using his flight to quickly close the distance between the two. Claude looked down towards the ground to get his bearings, as well as momentarily stun himself over how high in the air he was, and saw X incoming with the arrogant smirk still on his face. Claude secured Fenrir with both hands again and prepared for a mid-air exchange. The two swung their swords concurrently and clashed before exchanging numerous attacks in mid air, this time with Claude attempting to be more aggressive than before. The force of deflecting X’s attacks kept Claude suspended in mid-air almost as if he was hovering independently.

*As Claude kept swinging his large weapon he could feel propulsion continuously build, and he let it influence his attacks as he began to put more force behind every blow. Each impact from Fenrir caused X to go further on the defensive, and before long Claude was performing mid-air spin attacks as his weapon gained further momentum. Sensing the threat of a fatal blow increasing, X deflected another one of Claude’s attacks and then quickly flew backwards a few feet to put distance between the two. Just as Seph had halted his backwards flight, he immediately shot forward toward Claude again and slashed towards the Strife. Claude managed to block the attack, but the force of the impact caused Claude to spin out of control in the air and stalled his ability to attack. Seph flew up above Claude and watched him struggle to regain control of himself in mid-air for a moment before shooting down towards the blond-haired foe and charging his shoulder into Claude’s back, sending him rocketing through the air towards a partially constructed building not far away.

*Claude crashed through the roof of the incomplete building and fell through a few floors before his descent was broken. A couple of scrapes on his body caused blood to run down his right arm and face as he pushed himself off the floor. Claude looked around for a moment to get a feel for his surroundings. The building was still very under construction; only one side even had windows or walls in place, the inside was completely barren, and I-beams from the buildings frame were still visible. Claude directed his attention up through the hole he had just made in the building and saw Seph hovering in the air for a few moments before descending downwards after him. Claude wielded his weapon as if to meet his charge. But just as the powerful man was nearly upon him, Claude swung Fenrir not vertically, but at a fierce horizontal angle. The weapon's weight created enough momentum to jerk the boy off his feet and out of the way, causing X to slam through the floor and fall to the level below.

*Claude stayed at on one knee for a moment while trying to regain some energy, breathing heavily. His moment of rest was quickly interrupted as the blade of the Masamune shot up through the floor just in front of Claude’s face. Claude shot backwards a little with a gasp as the Masamune disappeared back into the floor. A split-second later the blade shot up behind Claude, causing the youth to dart away from it in a different direction. The Masamune continued to shoot up through the floor dangerously close to Claude every time the Strife took a step in a different direction, and each time the blade stabbed upwards faster than before. Frustration mounted for the boy and after the Masamune shot upwards again Claude swung his buster sword and connected with the enemy weapon, causing it to cut through the floor a little before disappearing again. Claude held Fenrir at the ready again, but quickly noticed that the X’s stabbing had stopped. Claude looked around for a moment anticipating another attack, tense about the loaded silence. The floor creaked under Claude, and as the youth looked down he realized that X’s stabs through the floor had left a near perfect circle of holes around his feet that weakened the floor’s integrity. A split-second later the floor gave way underneath Claude and he descended to the next floor.

*Just as Claude landed a slash from X was already incoming and the Strife had to dive backwards to avoid the attack. Claude quickly hopped up to his feet again and dashed towards X followed immediately by a few powerful attacks of his own. Sephiroth X blocked the incoming attacks and then pushed his sword forward and shoved Claude back a step. Claude quickly closed that distance between himself and X again and the two furiously clashed once more.

Sephiroth X : "Heh... Even I didn't expect this much fight from you. One wonders if this strength would have saved your brother."

Claude - "You don't know what happened... But look at your strength, and you'd rather harm than save anyone!”

*The boy’s anger grew inside of him as he exerted his strength and shoved X’s sword out of the way. Claude threw a punch that connected and followed it up with a powerful two-handed swing of Fenrir. Seph blocked the attack, but the force of the impact was powerful enough to send X rocketing through the one windowed side of the building and clear out of the building amid a cloud of shattered glass. As X fell onto a nearby rooftop, Claude dashed towards the shattered window and leaped out hot in pursuit of the fallen Warrior of Prosperity.

*A few trails of blood ran down X’s face after being blasted through the window, and as Seph got back to his feet he saw Claude descending down upon him. As the boy came closer X twisted his body and held the Masamune behind him. Just as Claude drove his blade X uncoiled and viciously swung the Masamune, deflecting away Fenrir and pushing Claude back up into the air. From Claude’s perspective it felt like he was deflecting a series of powerful slices, almost as if in that one swing X had in fact concealed a series of slashes. As he flew back up into the air, Claude had already regained his bearings after the attack and was holding Fenrir outward while he calculated his next offensive. X held the Masamune in an attack-ready position and leaped into the air from the rooftop in pursuit of the Strife, likewise plotting his next salvo of attacks.

~Within the mind of the boy, the doorway of the house was broken down and the demons outside it had stormed in. All of the facets found themselves cornered together as the demons grew closer, and as they came closer the different versions of Claude began to realize that confronting these demons was reaching inevitability. As this realization dawned upon them their focus slowly sharpened, and as it did each demon began to take a shape familiar to them. Each demon slowly morphed into a long haired caricature of their current foe and former friend.~

*A blue aura built up around Claude’s weapon as the Strife’s focus and fighting spirit grew within. Seph closed the distance and the two clashed blades again, this time with energy discharging off Fenrir as they did so. Claude and X exchanged blows in the air again, with each blow now being more thunderous then anything before in their fight. With each clash of their blades bits of energy from Claude’s spirit-slashes shot from his sword like waves of energy, slashing into nearby buildings. Claude’s offensive seemingly grew stronger with every swing and every one of X’s attacks was being met with equal, if not more, strength. Internally X grew frustrated with the boy’s refusal to simply give up, however Seph prevented that frustration from being visible to Claude. The two exchanged a few more blows as energy seemingly exploded from them with each impact, and after another epic clash between the two X put forth an extra level of strength resulting in Claude being flung away across the sky.

*Seph stayed behind Claude about twenty feet or so but remained in pursuit. Seeing the Warrior of Prosperity tailing him, Claude swung Fenrir three times and sent waves of energy from the blade towards X. Seph slashed at the incoming waves of energy and cut through them as he continued to pursue Claude, and as the two flew near another partially completed building they clashed blades again.

Sephiroth X – "Jadus… His gift to you was your false world you hid within… Perhaps I shall give you a gift too."

*Hearing the name Jadus enraged Claude a little further and the two clashed blades a few more times in mid-air.

Sephiroth X – "Should I give you regret? Fear? No… I think will give you despair."

*X slashed downwards with the Masamune, intentionally wedging his blade between Claude’s removable blades. Seph then swung the Masamune downwards again, flinging Claude and Fenrir downwards as a result. A few seconds later Claude halted his descent by stabbing Fenrir into the side of the incomplete building next to them, and his own momentum swung him around the hilt of the blade and allowed him to stand on his own sword. Claude quickly looked upwards and saw X hovering near the top of the building, looking down at Claude with an arrogant smirk. Seph looked to his sides for a second and observed the building as he saw support beams for the building clearly exposed yet due to its construction.

Sephiroth X – "Here I am, your hero and messiah… Now fall to your knees and beg for forgiveness at the sight of my power."

*Seph spun in a circle and slashed horizontally, a quick blade like beam similar to Claude’s shot from the Masamune and cleaved through the support beams on that side of the building. The building and the floors above it immediately buckled and collapsed. Concrete, metal, and glass began descending towards Claude and the city below as X flew downwards just in front of the debris towards Claude. The Strife adjusted his footing on Fenrir and intentionally pushed one of the blade-release buttons on the hilt with his foot, ejecting a second blade from the main component for use. Claude knelt down and stabbed the second blade into the wall while keeping one hand on the hilt of the main Fenrir blade. With one hand on each weapon, Claude kicked his feet against the side of the building and pushed both blades out while back flipping to narrowly avoid an incoming slash from Sephiroth X. As the debris from the building engulfed the two, Claude and Seph descended downwards in a heated exchange of sword clashes with lightning-bright sparks flying off their blades. Claude utilized both weapons to his fullest advantage as he simultaneously blocked and attacked. Seph’s frustration with the boy’s resistance grew as he had to go on the defensive to prevent Claude’s dual-wielding flurry from landing a hit.

*A large beam of steel from the debris separated the two for a moment, but both fighters quickly improvised and began running up opposite sides of the beam. As they both sprinted upward each fighter swung one of their blades around it trying to land a quick hit on the other, and as the two reached the top the both leaped upwards above the cloud of debris and continued their battle. After a few more exchanges Claude swung both blades inwards horizontally in an attempt to essentially scissor-cut X with his two swords. Seph corkscrew spun over the two blades, then adjusted his spin in mid-air, and thrust his right foot outward connecting square with Claude’s chest; sending the boy downwards towards another building.

*Claude fell sliding over the rooftop and skidded across pavement and gravel. He quickly got back to his feet and ignored the pain of the fresh scrapes on his body as he reassembled Fenrir back into one blade. Claude held Fenrir out in front of him and looked upwards to see Seph again descending towards him for an attack. Claude held his ground and twirled Fenrir once in his hand, and upon completing the twirl his blade and whole body erupted in a blue glow. X slashed again at Claude and the youth swung his blade to counter the attack. The overall force of Claude’s counterattack sent X flying back across the rooftop a few yards. Seph quickly got to his feet and Claude dashed towards the Warrior of Prosperity and unleashed a series of attacks more powerful then X had seen thus far from Claude. Seph frantically swung the Masamune to deflect each of Claude’s attacks. One of Claude’s swings deflected the Masamune out of the way and the force of the impact spun Seph halfway around, completely exposing him for an attack. Seizing the opportunity Claude leapt into the air and held Fenrir high above his head as even more energy from Claude’s spirit built up. The high spike in Claude’s strength quickly alerted X’s sixth sense and just as Claude began to swing downwards towards Seph, the silver haired warrior completed the spin he was in and stabbed the Masamune outwards through the upper left portion of Claude’s torso.

*The blue glow from Claude completely vanished as he dangled on Seph’s blade, and his arm holding Fenrir almost lifelessly hung at Claude’s side. The young Strife futilely clung to the Masamune with his other hand, trying to alleviate some of the agony being wrought by gravity, his own weight pulling at the wound. Blood was trickling around the invasive metal. The boy emitted short, choked cries in-between hurried, strained breaths.

Sephiroth X - "How does it feel to experience real pain, something that you cannot hide with false identities and and a fake world?"

*Claude cringed further.

Sephiroth X - "Tell me, what is left in your fractured mind that you find dearest to you? I ask to know what is left of you that I can shatter."

*The boy squeezed his eyes shut in many shades of pain, then opened them, and gazed down the long blade to its owner. His gaze grew melancholy, and his tone bereaved.

Zack – "You... already did... Seph.... You... shattered yourself."

Sephiroth X –"Hmph."

*Sephiroth X felt something twinge within him emotionally as a result of what Claude said. X frowned and swung the Masamune upwards into the sky, sending Claude upwards off of the blade. Seph flew upwards in pursuit of Claude again, hoping to finally finish the Strife off.

~The different facets of Claude continued to fight off the demons despite the fact that the “house” they were in was crumbling around them. In a last ditch effort, the different facets of Claude fought together and forced themselves to the window of the house, each one of them becoming a presence in Claude’s consciousness that seemed to form a new will to survive.~

*Pain overwhelmed Claude’s body as he looked downwards to see Seph closing in on him yet again. As X closed in, a reinvigorated sense of determination came over Claude that prevented him from giving up. The pain from his shoulder wound faded as adrenaline rushed through him and he readjusted his position mid-air to face towards X. With a swing of Fenrir Claude generated momentum that sent him on an intercept course with X.

~As Claude’s determination grew, each of the different personas within Claude’s mind suddenly had something appear in their hand. As the objects appeared in their hand, each facet was holding a different sub-sword that composed of Claude’s Fenrir blade. All of the facets turned in unison, holding their weapons, to confront the demons around them.~

*As the two fighters flew towards each other Claude spoke out to Sephiroth X.

Claude – "Now Seph, it’s time for me ask you something!"

*The two met in mid-air and their swords clashed fiercely. Just as they clashed, Claude erupted into an even more ferocious blue glow then he had before.

Claude - "What would Catrina think of all this!?"

*The youth’s question shot right into X’s soul and rendered the Warrior of Prosperity completely speechless and unable to even move. With a press of his thumb, Claude hit another button on Fenrir’s hilt that shot out all of the various blades that made up the weapon. Every section of the weapon hovered around the two in a circle as Claude backed away from X. Claude grabbed the first blade, flew towards X seemingly under his own power, and swung the weapon. Seph felt a thunderous impact hit him as the energy from the weapon flew through his body. Claude’s momentum carried him past X towards the next blade as he combined the first piece back into Fenrir, which he then grabbed and again attacked X with. Claude continued the process and bombarded the Warrior of Prosperity with well over a dozen or so attacks that left his body in extreme paralyzing pain. Seph’s body hovered parallel to the ground for a moment as Claude flew upwards into the air to retrieve the final blade of his weapon, and as he grabbed the final component to his blade the Strife descended downwards Sephiroth X leaving a fiery trail of blue energy in his wake. Claude’s final attack connected and the discharge of energy from it lit up the sky as Claude continued downwards and landed on the roof below. As Claude landed, he combined the final piece of the sword back with Fenrir to complete the blade.

*Claude looked upwards into the sky and saw a seemingly lifeless Sephiroth X descending downwards. X landed on the same rooftop as Claude with a sickening thud and blood pooled beneath him as he lay there for a few moments. Claude stood there with Fenrir still in his hand, wondering if in fact X was indeed dead. A few moments later Claude heard a groan and saw X’s body slowly begin moving. The Strife quickly raised Fenrir again in a defensive position, however his caution quickly lowered as he saw that X was crawling very slowly away from him, leaving a small trail of his own blood on the ground. As Sephiroth X crawled towards the edge of the rooftop, he spoke out in a voice that was angered yet fighting off pain.

Sephiroth X – "This… isn’t right… How did he… have that in him?"

*X reached the ledge of the rooftop, and looked down over the city again.

Sephiroth X – "I will… shape my destiny… will use all of this power to shape my own fate…"

*Within X’s mind a different conscience spoke to him.

But what about Catrina?

*Sephiroth X pulled himself off the edge of the building and free-fell for a split second before flying away from the site of his failure against Claude. As X became a distant dot in the sky, Claude fell to his knees and gripped Fenrir’s handle for support. It felt like everything to him had come crumbling down, leaving utterly nothing stable.

*He had beaten Sephiroth X... but had not stopped him.

*What was going to happen now?

Claude – "Seph......"

*He curled down onto his side, still clutching the handle of Fenrir, slipping into unconsciousness.