Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2004 6:23 am
Chapter 11: Betrayal
"Hey!" Squall's voice echoed into the clouds above. He was beginning to challenge the decision the all-powerful voice had made for them. Was this war theirs for the fighting, or was it a holy war where they were all being used as nothing more than pawns? "What the hell are we supposed to do now? Huh? Show me the meaning to this massacre . . . give a purpose to my friends’ deaths!"
The sky reverberated with hundreds of thunderclaps in answer to Squall’s request. Light from this world was disappearing, causing the air to grow increasingly cold. His frustrated words resounded through the heavens, bouncing from cloud to cloud in search for somebody, ANYBODY to listen. The brash young man wasn’t expecting his plea to be answered, but five mighty bolts of lightning struck the ground nearby, shaking the already fragile, floating battle zone. Slightly unnerved, Squall turned away from the blasts as shards of rock flew past his face. The dust of the falling rocks cleared away to reveal a welcome sight to the surviving three SeeDs. Cloud, Barret, Cid, Yuffie, and Vincent appeared before him, each looking haggard and distraught from their previous battle, but they too were equally pleased to see their comrades still alive.
Squall glanced over to them, showing a fake grin, trying to hide the fact that they had lost almost everybody in the fight to defeat Ultimecia and Griever. He felt somewhat nervous wanting to ask and find out how the whole thing had went with Cloud, but the absence of Nanaki and Tifa told him everything. He feared the worst and instead walked away.
Both Laguna and Kiros had wandered over to the others, introducing themselves and were about to help them to their feet when Squall asked, “How’d it go?”
Cloud stared blankly back at Squall and refused to answer; he only shook his head in disdain. Seeing her leader’s contempt for others, Yuffie spoke up, “She wasn’t all you had told us . . . we weren’t prepared to fight the type of power Adel had . . . or Seifer. “
“Seifer?” Rinoa’s voice perked up with an instant interest.
Yuffie nodded in answer, “he killed Tifa . . .” The ninja couldn’t contain her tears and began to break down right in front of everybody, her body heaving with each heavy sob. “He cut her up, stabbed her, and . . . AND-“ There was no way she could continue. Cid stood close to the young woman and put his arms over her shoulder, trying to comfort the fragile shinobi who had known Tifa so well.
Rinoa, on the other hand, shook her head in disbelief, “No! That can’t be possible! Not Seifer . . . he wouldn’t do something like that!” She held her hand to her mouth in surprise as her cheeks reddened and eyes welled with tears.
“WELL HE DID, ALRIGHT?” Cloud screamed at Rinoa. How dare she show remorse for that maniac, how dare she care more about him than his beloved Tifa! “That murderous bastard killed Tifa in cold blood and allowed Adel to destroy Red in the process, so he is and WAS fully capable of doing it!” The ex-soldier grew irritated with the constant mourning and sobbing around him and lashed out, “Everybody just shut up!”
Barret came up from behind Cloud and got him in a bear hug before he could hurt anybody, “Calm down buddy, it’s not their fault. Take it easy foo, k?” The belligerent SOLDIER struggled for a few moments before easing his tense muscles and becoming relaxed. They needed a leader, one with a cool head and understanding . . . not one full of regret and hate. They all just looked at him with caring, understanding eyes. They wanted to help him overcome this dreadful day. Their looks forced him coming to terms again with the dire situation, faster than he would have liked.
“We gotta win this final battle . . . “ Cloud pleaded, looking to the ground, “The others . . . we have to do it for them . . . even for Seifer.”
“H-He’s dead? You killed him? HOW COULD YOU!” Rinoa screamed as her emotions took over. She ran towards Cloud as fast as she could and slapped him straight across the face. His cheek grew red almost instantly but he looked at Squall’s girlfriend, unmoved and unaffected. His eyes were cold and glazed with sudden abhorrence for the young sorceress. Something happened, something stirred inside him when she slapped him. It was the same feeling he had back in the Northern Crater . . . before the Reunion. For just a moment, he lost all control of who he was.
The slap was shaken off and the feeling subsided almost instantly, leaving Cloud to defend his actions once more, “He was infected by Adel’s evil, there was nothing we could do. He would have killed us all . . . I’m sorry Rinoa.”
“LIAR! He was always just joking . . . he didn’t mean it,” she trailed off, falling to her knees.
There were few moments of silence as everybody came to terms with the new developments. Many began to hold the same doubts that Squall had about fighting this war against a foe they barely knew. They wondered how one objective could be worth so many lives of their friends? If only they had been told the truth from the beginning, perhaps they wouldn’t be in the situation they are now. It was too late to turn back, too late to run. They were past the halfway point, and had to see this to its conclusion.
“What happened? Where’s everybody else?” Cid asked Squall, trying to keep Cloud from dwelling on Tifa’s death any longer.
“Look around you. Take a good look . . . Rinoa and I are all that is left of the original group. I’m already tired of all this, I’m tired of seeing death, being surrounded by it. As long as I have breath in my lungs, I won’t let anybody else will die today,” Squall told Cid. They clasped hands in friendship, forming a pact to make sure that the SeeD’s words held true. However, the compassion both teams once had for each other was starting to fall apart. They doubted one another’s abilities, their trust of support was thinning . . . the screaming and blaming was tearing their fellowship apart faster than their foes had done.
Yuffie felt a sudden chill take over her body as the air temperature around everybody dropped dramatically. Barret suddenly spoke, his words frozen as they steamed out of his mouth, “It ain’t over just yet . . .”
Everyone soon turned their heads toward the remains of the monster to see what he was talking about. The corpse released a white mist from within, causing the skin to glow white. It pulled in the heat and light from the surrounding area, never stopping until the floating island had been turned into a frigid vacuum.
Unexpected jolts surged through the deceased body, causing beams of white and black light to shoot out in all directions. As the brilliance of the light intensified, only Vincent could look on at the marvelous event. His dead eyes were unaffected by the glorious fireworks coming from the beast. The dead Turk stared dumbfoundedly into the cocoon of deadly light forming above the battlefield, watching the body of the dead beast melt away as a supreme being sprung to life from within.
But things of beauty are never eternal. As soon as it had begun the light ceased, leaving white specks of magic powder to drift lazily over the group that had gathered underneath. The mass of excess magic falling to the ground felt like the first cold breeze of winter, but with the putrid scent of rot mixed in. It bit at the warriors, slowly draining the strength away from them that was given to them by warmth.
The sky darkened all around with the blowing of wind, and out of nowhere it became black as night. A new and improved Ultimecia rose above all that would oppose her like a dark phoenix, casting the only light over the ground from a ball of quasitime located where her face should be. She was the only source of light now . . . of time even. Time itself slowed down in the presence of this evil goddess and the sun shied away it’s powerful rays. The sphere of light, a mirror of time, could see far into the future and even deeper into the past. Her massive glow lit up the whole area in light that was a mix between dawn and dusk.
Through the darkness, the remaining fighters encircled their enemy, "Let’s get this over with," Cloud burned as drew his sword, “I have a promise I need to keep . . . “
"I am . . . Ultimecia," She said with arms calmly at her side, "Time SHALL compress . . . all existence . . . denied."
With that she raised her head to reveal her face had been replaced entirely by the sphere of subtime. It lay like an orb fixed on the top of a pedestal, firmly in place. She increased its power to search the surroundings like a spotlight would and found her first victim. With a nod Ultimecia locked in her attack and lifted her arm above, summoning fiery balls of hell-fire into her hand.
“Die”
The orbs released like a swarm of bees, covering the field with mighty explosions as they hit near their targets. The battle had begun with little fanfare, sending everybody into action right away. Both Squall and Cloud readied their swords and started to charge their opponent, but it would be Kiros and Yuffie that dealt the initial blows.
“This is for Tifa!” Yuffie screamed as she used her Gauntlet limit break on the unholy being, striking at Ultimecia tirelessly with the giant shruiken, Conformer. Each blow she landed on the entity sent huge recoil through her weapon and caused a rainbow colored geyser of channeled energy to rise up from the ground. The shockwave of each hit forced the ninja backwards, but unfinished in her task she jumped back into the action over and over. The colorful cylinders of light continued to erupt around the enemy, creating open holes for attack each of the magic waves dissipated. Kiros jumped in between Yuffie’s attacks, slashing at Ultimecia’s body repeatedly with the sharp knives he held in each hand.
The sorceress caught on quickly to their tactics, dodging left and right as the skirmish neared its conclusion. Kiros knew something was wrong, his potential deathblows missing more frequently as Yuffie’s attack subsided. He saw the shinobi pull back, catching her breath after her initial onslaught.
‘Get out of here girl, I’ll hold this bitch off,’ Kiros thought to himself as he tried to keep track of the counterattacks coming his way.
Too late . . .
The sorceress fought back as both fighters wore themselves down, casting her fist into the ground. The earth beneath the two fighters bubbled and vomited violently, sending them flying out of control into the air. They landed roughly on the ground thirty feet away, their bodies coursing with pain. Ultimecia instantly recovered her wounds, using a dazzling display of magic that coated her entire body. The technique had never been seen by the eyes of Squall and his friends before, but the reality of this battle became all too dire to those that did recognize it . . . Bizarro Energy.
"Ahhh shit,” Cid cursed, grabbing his spear tightly getting ready to fight.
“This ain’t looking too good,” Barret said, raising his gun-arm to fire.
"We were told to expect something like this, it is just as the voice had feared," Laguna informed everybody, "Before we left limbo, it had told us to get to you guys as fast as possible. We've taken too long in getting rid of her Squall. The tear in the universe has started. Her body is pulling those that would live again into her . . .
If we don’t stop her now, this will get worse . . . a lot worse. The rip is becoming ever larger due to Sephiroth’s and Ultimecia’s strong will. They are like magnets, pulling each other together and they will fully junction in no time. We most stop thinking about just killing her and focus on containing this rip, okay?”
“She must have close to godlike power now,” Vincent revealed to everyone,” No one, not even us has ever gone up against such a huge power before. This is bigger than the sorceress, even bigger than Sephiroth was,” he hung his head down, putting his deadly rifle to his side,” We shouldn’t even be here. Our powers are insignificant in front of a god . . . “
“But we must try," Rinoa interrupted, “We can’t give up, not yet.”
During all this time, Ultimecia had regained her full power, bringing her total ability far above that which anybody had ever seen before. Her body brimmed with radical power, the excess energy escaping into the near area of the sorceress’ body to create an impenetratable shield.
“We are witnessing the birth of a god . . .” Vincent declared to his allies.
"Screw 'dat bullshit Vince! She can’t be dat strong! Let’s see how she deals with Ultima!" Barret huffed as the spell exploded from his body and slammed into its target, enveloping Ultimecia in atomic green mist. With a bright light, the mist ignited and turned the area into cosmic dust. It took only moments to see the consequences of Barret’s haste . . .
Ultimecia had felt the affect of the hit almost immediately. Her body split apart as a countermeasure to disperse the damage, which then immediately led to the drawing of Apocalypse, a destructive spell more powerful than that of even Ultima . . . Without hesitation even for her own safety, she cast it. Yuffie and Kiros were still recovering when the spell erupted outwards from Ultimecia’s body, its heat already upon them by the time they turned and stared into its magnificent glare. Their eyes wide, their cries drowned out by the thunderous roar of the attack, the two heroes were swallowed whole by it.
Yuffie’s mouth opened and screeched shrilly in pain as she raised her weapon as the only means of defense. Seconds later Kiro’s and herself were disintegrated into dust.
"DAMN IT!" Cloud said with anxiety as the wave of death drove closer to their position after eliminating two of his friends. This was the first time anyone had seen a worried look on his face. He could usually collect himself and show everyone how brave of a leader he was, but in the face of the chaotic storm of Apocalypse he broke down," I don’t have enough magic to cast a Shield!"
Those that were left scurried through their packs for a mega-elixir or anything to help Cloud with, but they came up empty. He was lucky to even have such a spell to ward off such damage. Rinoa and Squall would surely die without any protection.
“Everybody get behind me, I can cast a shield around all of us!” Cid screamed as he waved for everybody to gather behind him.”
“No! That won’t work! We’d be left with nothing to defend ourselves after it subsided!” Vincent yelled, getting everybody’s attention. He walked past everybody, closer to the spell as it accelerated over the open, rocky plain. The brilliant Turk was thinking of something else, but his time was running short.
The earth was no barrier to Apocalypse as it ate through the mix of dirt and stone, spewing it sideways off the floating island into clouds of dust. The intense heat of the death wave eroded the ground away molecule by molecule and kept getting closer. Rocks separated from the ground were floating in front of the attack and had been forced to launch themselves away from Apocalypse or be destroyed. Now not only was a devastating magic attack heading towards Squall and the others, but a sky full of boulders too. Everyone tried to come up with a solution of their own as they dodged the swell of oncoming debris.
“If you have an idea, say it NOW!” Squall screamed while using his sword to slice through a ten foot boulder.
“Well we can’t block the blast . . .” Vincent started before being interrupted by Squall.
"Then we’ll blow Apocalypse right back at her!" Squall yelled out.
"It should work! Everyone use Ultima now!" Cloud ordered desperately as he cast Ultima, draining away the last of his magic reserves. Cid used it alongside with Vincent in hopes that it would work. Each of the first three titanic blasts hit the Apocalypse wave, creating a hurricane of debris in the void between them, but it didn't slow it down much at all. Cloud grimaced as he put everything he had behind this final attack, hoping beyond all hope that a miracle could happen, even after a day that had tested his faith and caused him to doubt it. Squall and Rinoa quickly added in Ultimas of their own which pounded the seemingly unstoppable blast, slowing it down considerably from before. Each spell fought right back at the oncoming blast, but it still just smiled at them and crawled even closer. Two were left now. Laguna feverishly used Ultima as well, thinking the plan should have negated the attack by now, but Apocalypse was still inching towards them. A mix of red and green space magic had crested at the top of each terrible wave which had reached a stalemate, but all that each Ultima had accomplished was to vaporize the small boulders in between the waves.
Ultimecia would wait no longer. It would not sit back and be amused by the pitiful attempt any longer. She would put an end to this right now . . . she would destroy the universe. The lower half of Ultimecia cut itself from the floating top, spewing purple blood from it’s spine as the top half flailed and recovered. It now existed as a separate entity, and it had only one thought on its mind; shift the power in Ultimecia’s favor. All that was needed was one more on either side, and it would all be over.
"Can't . . . do this . . . much . . .longer," Cid said as sweat beaded down his face. He bit down hard onto his cigarette, causing some of the tobacco to spill out the front. His Ultima wave still was in front of him, fighting against the other equally powerful energy blast that sought to destroy them. He waited impatiently, just like all the others in his same situation for the last person to cast it, "Barret?! What the hell are you waiting for? C’mon already!”
His eyes were locked in a cold stare through the semi-transparent wall of flickering Ultimas, “It won’t work, she won’t let it” He suddenly ran off, into the center of everything.
"WHAAAAAT?!" Cid reacted badly to this, "What the hell- WHERE are you going?” He almost took his focus away from the blast but realized his error and kept on pushing forward, bracing his foot to push, “Damn it Barret, don’t go off and get yourself killed . . .”
Most of the combatants were being forced to inch backwards a few steps at a time in order to ward off the intense heat of the wave which had begun to approaching them again. Squall and the others could only stare in shock as the burly black warrior sprinted into the middle of the blast, diving in with no other protection except for an ill-conceived WALL spell. It would give him ten seconds at best, but then . . .
"I'm done!" Vincent yelled as his spell used up all of its kinetic energy and was close to being negated.
"Me, too," Cloud said as the rest of Ultima directed away from his body. All the others followed in having cast Ultima and slowly retreated backwards towards the edge of the dark cliff, “Barret! Get back here! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”
The lower half of Ultimecia was extremely close now and had noticed Barret’s body trying to force his way into the epicenter of it all. It changed its path and now came directly at him.
‘That’s it baby, I know you want it. Come on . . . Come on’ Barret counted the time left to himself in his head, he knew that this would be painful, but that’s the only way it would work. He raised his gun-arm, getting the other part of Ultimecia in his sights as it floated towards him too now, ‘Just a little longer . . . just a little more . . .’ The land beneath his body was dropping away, leaving him with no footing, but just when he thought his plan to be failed, it happened.
The mechanisms in his gun-arm spurred to life, whirring and whistling as compartments opened up and extra gun barrels came out of the main turret. Barret’s gun began to shake violently, out of control as the spinning gyro inside whizzed around and around. He could feel the heat building, the power surging . . . the true power of Catastrophe was best used for a last resort . . . and this was one of those times.
“Yeah you son of a bitch . . . TAKE THIS!” the leader of Avalanche jumped backwards with all his might, sending his body high into the air far above the standstill below him. Barret looked down, holding his gun sight directly at the middle of the Ultima wall his friends had created. Both the top and bottom half had converged on his location just on the other side, setting them up perfectly.
The end of Barret’s gun-arm blew off as a massive blast erupted from it. The shot from his gun widened radically from the point of his barrel to twenty feet in diameter, knocking his body up into the air even farther from its horrible recoil. The first blast hit the wall and immediately pushed it back into Ultimecia, sending both scurrying away as fast as they can. Another blast wave suddenly came from the broken Missing Score gun on Barret’s arm, tearing off his arm with its insane recoil. His body fell from the sky as the second blast came out twice the size of the first, ripping through the wall and hitting both Ultimecia’s.
The blast was overpowered easily a mere foot away from Cid’s face, causing his cigarette to be singed in the process. The tides had been turned against the evil sorceress as the Apocalypse and six Ultimas gained momentum towards her. Barret’s limit break tore chunks of flesh away from their body, stripping away any barriers between them and what awaited them.
"No. . . NOO! “ She gasped aloud as the inferno caught up with her engulfed both bodies with its tremendous blast, “NOOOO!!"
Squall looked on as the massive wall of death found its true target. Each wave ripped through her like a paper doll, causing the sorceress to flail around in torment. Ultimecia could only scream in anguish as each wave passed through her, tearing her limb from limb as the power to defend herself grew less and less. Flesh was ripped from bones, muscles fused together, and her insides boiled as the next shockwave ripped her arms out of their sockets and sent the destructive energy directly into her delicate face. With one last Ultima following the others, the delicate balance of time that existed in her facial sphere collapsed and exploded inwards, ripping her apart inch by inch as time compressed into her own body. As her body was vacuumed bit by bit into different times in space, a final cataclysmic explosion occurred and blew away what was left of her frail and tortured existence. The escaping power caused her body to turn into ashes and scatter with the returning wind. The battlefield was again silent, this time for good. Half of the arena was missing, and the ground underneath the surviving members was rapidly deteriorating. With Ultimecia’s magic gone, there was nothing holding it afloat. The giant rock face shifted to the left, causing everybody to slip and lose grip as they slid off the side.
“Help me Squall!” Rinoa screamed as she slid out of control, Squall was too far away to grab her, but Cloud managed to reach out and hold onto her as they fell through the sky on top of an atmospheric asteroid. Using their weapons and other means, everybody held on for dear life as they rocketed towards the ground far below.
Barret was above them, falling at the same rate of speed but unconscious from his selfless act. It was already hard enough to get out of this situation before they hit the ground, so how could they save Barret? The rock fell through clouds at a terrifying speed, dissipating the puffs of water molecules as they crashed into one after the other. The wind was passing over their faces with incredible force, pulling their hair and clothes back onto their bodies.
The clouds suddenly broke beneath them, and they could see their world below them, far off in the distance. It was beautiful. The sun had finally cut through the dark clouds surrounding what had been Ultimecia’s castle, and the survivors of this time period could finally return to peace. The ground approached, they had completed their mission and their worlds would be saved, but it would be at the cost of their own lives.
Rinoa took in a deep breath and said to Cloud, "We did it."
“Yes. We did it . . .” Cloud replied.
They closed their eyes and fell into a deep sleep before they hit the ground.
When they awoke, they found themselves sprawled out somewhere on the Esthar plains, the city far off in the distance. They were back in Squall and Rinoa’s time, safe and without any battles for once.
One by one they stood up, questioning each other whether it was truly over or not. When it became evident that they had succeeded, everyone erupted into cheer and celebration. The last remnants of the battle faded from their short-term memory, seeming like nothing more than a waking dream. The pent up happiness was finally realized, and everybody hugged each other, shaking hands with those that had fought along side them through thick and thin. They had saved their future as they knew it, and had a second lease on life. If only their friends were there to enjoy it with them . . .
“You lucky bastard, you knew something like this was gonna happen, didn’t you?” Cid laughed as he helped Barret to his feet.
“No, not really, “Barret responded as dryly and sudden as ever, “Jus’ knew what I had to do.”
Cid gave him a puzzled look, “Right . . . sure you did,” he laughed wholeheartedly and patted his comrade on the shoulder.
As the two friends erupted in laughter, not too far away Squall was talking to Laguna.
“That was a little too close for my tastes,” Laguna said, a carefree smile on his face as always, “But we made it, didn’t we? No need to look down about it, alright Squall?” He looked over and put a hand on the young SeeD’s shoulder, trying to get him to perk up.
“Irvine, Selphie, Quistis . . . they all-“
“They are all proud of you son. They would be happy for you, happy for us. They did a very brave thing fighting along side you” Laguna interrupted Squall.
“Yeah, you’re right.” Squall sighed relief at the departure of the death, and just wanted to settle down, “Where’s Rinoa?”
Rinoa had strayed away from the celebration and was surveying the toll their battle had caused. All her friends, Squall, Seifer . . . it was overwhelming to deal with it in just one day. While wandering around, she noticed Cloud, laid back against a rock, hiding himself from the others. She approached him slowly, thinking he was probably doing the same as she was, except thinking about Tifa.
“Cloud?” she stammered, “Sorry to bother you-“
Cloud suddenly jerked his head around and stood up.
"What’s wrong Cloud?" Rinoa said as she backed away at the quick movements of her new friend. He stared back at her, motionless and without saying a word. His eyes were locked on hers, causing her to look down to the ground to avert his uncomfortable gaze. “I’m sorry if I did anything, I just wanted to talk with you, okay?” Cloud didn't talk and when she looked back up, he was nowhere to be seen, "You're not gonna say anything?"
Thinking he had hidden himself again, she turned around and started to walk towards everyone else. Her gaze suddenly met Cloud’s, and then the luminescent Ultima Weapon as it was stabbed straight through her body, "Cloud. wha-" he removed the sword and ran it through her chest once again. Rinoa could only look up at Cloud, shear terror filling her eyes as blood filled her lungs. Before she could say anything else or scream for help, he stabbed his god-slayer weapon further through Rinoa’s body to silence her. The sword broke the tender flesh on her abdomen effortlessly, blood trickling down the sword to soak the ground behind her.
The frantic Rinoa raised her hand to push on Cloud’s chest, "Cloud, why?"
Cloud failed to answer her last request and slowly withdrew his sword as her body became limp and lifeless. Elegantly he took the sword and moved it in a dance of motion, spraying the excess blood onto the ground. It looked like he had never used it before, as though he was testing out its boundaries. A cold liquid feeling on his hands caused him to look down on Rinoa’s unmoving form. Cloud’s clothes and arms were covered in her blood when she pleaded with him to remove the sword.
Sneering, he jammed the bloodstained sword in the ground and commenced to drag the body of Squall’s loved one behind a small rock formation out of sight of the others. Barret, who had been coming to get Cloud, had seen the whole thing and gasped as a stream of blood flowed from her body and over his pale arm.
"Cloud!" Barret exclaimed with fear, “What happened?”
Cloud looked down at this friend villainously, his left eye ticking as the hated within took hold. He heeded Barret's yell, dropping the body and walking in the direction to meet him. The giant of a man gaped in horror when Cloud pulled the Ultima Weapon sword out of the ground and brought it to attack his own friend. Barret raised his healed gun-arm to prevent the attack but Cloud was too fast and sliced through the dense metal of the Missing Score, exposing all types of gears and electrical equipment that had been incased inside. As all good swordsmen do, he capitalized on his enemy’s sudden shock and ran the blood coated sword straight through Barret’s open chest. The impact of the sword pinned Barret to the ground, leaving him helpless to the whim of this dark and devious Cloud.
"Spiky haired punk," Barret wheezed as he fell to the ground, grabbing for Cloud’s throat before giving in to the pain. The wide nature of the sword had cut through most of his vital organs, injuring him fatally. His strength faded and he let his body collapse. Cloud propped his foot against Barret’s thick chest and pulled the sword out, and with one swift stroke decapitated Barret. He dragged the body while kicking the head of the former Avalanche member behind the same rock that hid Rinoa.
Squall approached Cloud defenselessly, not seeing what had just happened to Rinoa and Barret. When he got closer, he noticed the blood that was covering Cloud’s SOLDIER uniform. It was more blood that could have came from an injury, and the weapon he held in his hand was covered and dripping with it. Cloud looked at him and just smiled. He was different. This new Cloud gazed at Squall with a devilish smirk and almost glazed over eyes. His hair was a lighter color of blonde too, bordering silver in comparison to his own color. With a simple move of his hand, Cloud almost cockily drew a couple stray strands of hair to the left side of his face, moving them out of his sight. The eyes he looked at Squall with were no longer his own. They were bluer, brighter, like the blue hue of a being that had been born OF Mako, and not just infused with it.
Squall had seen this look before; he had been through this same event what seemed like an eternity ago. As he realized who it was and what was happening, his heart almost stopped . . . Nothing had changed at all.
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Yikes, should have posted something before I left for break. Sorry about that. More later in the week.
"Hey!" Squall's voice echoed into the clouds above. He was beginning to challenge the decision the all-powerful voice had made for them. Was this war theirs for the fighting, or was it a holy war where they were all being used as nothing more than pawns? "What the hell are we supposed to do now? Huh? Show me the meaning to this massacre . . . give a purpose to my friends’ deaths!"
The sky reverberated with hundreds of thunderclaps in answer to Squall’s request. Light from this world was disappearing, causing the air to grow increasingly cold. His frustrated words resounded through the heavens, bouncing from cloud to cloud in search for somebody, ANYBODY to listen. The brash young man wasn’t expecting his plea to be answered, but five mighty bolts of lightning struck the ground nearby, shaking the already fragile, floating battle zone. Slightly unnerved, Squall turned away from the blasts as shards of rock flew past his face. The dust of the falling rocks cleared away to reveal a welcome sight to the surviving three SeeDs. Cloud, Barret, Cid, Yuffie, and Vincent appeared before him, each looking haggard and distraught from their previous battle, but they too were equally pleased to see their comrades still alive.
Squall glanced over to them, showing a fake grin, trying to hide the fact that they had lost almost everybody in the fight to defeat Ultimecia and Griever. He felt somewhat nervous wanting to ask and find out how the whole thing had went with Cloud, but the absence of Nanaki and Tifa told him everything. He feared the worst and instead walked away.
Both Laguna and Kiros had wandered over to the others, introducing themselves and were about to help them to their feet when Squall asked, “How’d it go?”
Cloud stared blankly back at Squall and refused to answer; he only shook his head in disdain. Seeing her leader’s contempt for others, Yuffie spoke up, “She wasn’t all you had told us . . . we weren’t prepared to fight the type of power Adel had . . . or Seifer. “
“Seifer?” Rinoa’s voice perked up with an instant interest.
Yuffie nodded in answer, “he killed Tifa . . .” The ninja couldn’t contain her tears and began to break down right in front of everybody, her body heaving with each heavy sob. “He cut her up, stabbed her, and . . . AND-“ There was no way she could continue. Cid stood close to the young woman and put his arms over her shoulder, trying to comfort the fragile shinobi who had known Tifa so well.
Rinoa, on the other hand, shook her head in disbelief, “No! That can’t be possible! Not Seifer . . . he wouldn’t do something like that!” She held her hand to her mouth in surprise as her cheeks reddened and eyes welled with tears.
“WELL HE DID, ALRIGHT?” Cloud screamed at Rinoa. How dare she show remorse for that maniac, how dare she care more about him than his beloved Tifa! “That murderous bastard killed Tifa in cold blood and allowed Adel to destroy Red in the process, so he is and WAS fully capable of doing it!” The ex-soldier grew irritated with the constant mourning and sobbing around him and lashed out, “Everybody just shut up!”
Barret came up from behind Cloud and got him in a bear hug before he could hurt anybody, “Calm down buddy, it’s not their fault. Take it easy foo, k?” The belligerent SOLDIER struggled for a few moments before easing his tense muscles and becoming relaxed. They needed a leader, one with a cool head and understanding . . . not one full of regret and hate. They all just looked at him with caring, understanding eyes. They wanted to help him overcome this dreadful day. Their looks forced him coming to terms again with the dire situation, faster than he would have liked.
“We gotta win this final battle . . . “ Cloud pleaded, looking to the ground, “The others . . . we have to do it for them . . . even for Seifer.”
“H-He’s dead? You killed him? HOW COULD YOU!” Rinoa screamed as her emotions took over. She ran towards Cloud as fast as she could and slapped him straight across the face. His cheek grew red almost instantly but he looked at Squall’s girlfriend, unmoved and unaffected. His eyes were cold and glazed with sudden abhorrence for the young sorceress. Something happened, something stirred inside him when she slapped him. It was the same feeling he had back in the Northern Crater . . . before the Reunion. For just a moment, he lost all control of who he was.
The slap was shaken off and the feeling subsided almost instantly, leaving Cloud to defend his actions once more, “He was infected by Adel’s evil, there was nothing we could do. He would have killed us all . . . I’m sorry Rinoa.”
“LIAR! He was always just joking . . . he didn’t mean it,” she trailed off, falling to her knees.
There were few moments of silence as everybody came to terms with the new developments. Many began to hold the same doubts that Squall had about fighting this war against a foe they barely knew. They wondered how one objective could be worth so many lives of their friends? If only they had been told the truth from the beginning, perhaps they wouldn’t be in the situation they are now. It was too late to turn back, too late to run. They were past the halfway point, and had to see this to its conclusion.
“What happened? Where’s everybody else?” Cid asked Squall, trying to keep Cloud from dwelling on Tifa’s death any longer.
“Look around you. Take a good look . . . Rinoa and I are all that is left of the original group. I’m already tired of all this, I’m tired of seeing death, being surrounded by it. As long as I have breath in my lungs, I won’t let anybody else will die today,” Squall told Cid. They clasped hands in friendship, forming a pact to make sure that the SeeD’s words held true. However, the compassion both teams once had for each other was starting to fall apart. They doubted one another’s abilities, their trust of support was thinning . . . the screaming and blaming was tearing their fellowship apart faster than their foes had done.
Yuffie felt a sudden chill take over her body as the air temperature around everybody dropped dramatically. Barret suddenly spoke, his words frozen as they steamed out of his mouth, “It ain’t over just yet . . .”
Everyone soon turned their heads toward the remains of the monster to see what he was talking about. The corpse released a white mist from within, causing the skin to glow white. It pulled in the heat and light from the surrounding area, never stopping until the floating island had been turned into a frigid vacuum.
Unexpected jolts surged through the deceased body, causing beams of white and black light to shoot out in all directions. As the brilliance of the light intensified, only Vincent could look on at the marvelous event. His dead eyes were unaffected by the glorious fireworks coming from the beast. The dead Turk stared dumbfoundedly into the cocoon of deadly light forming above the battlefield, watching the body of the dead beast melt away as a supreme being sprung to life from within.
But things of beauty are never eternal. As soon as it had begun the light ceased, leaving white specks of magic powder to drift lazily over the group that had gathered underneath. The mass of excess magic falling to the ground felt like the first cold breeze of winter, but with the putrid scent of rot mixed in. It bit at the warriors, slowly draining the strength away from them that was given to them by warmth.
The sky darkened all around with the blowing of wind, and out of nowhere it became black as night. A new and improved Ultimecia rose above all that would oppose her like a dark phoenix, casting the only light over the ground from a ball of quasitime located where her face should be. She was the only source of light now . . . of time even. Time itself slowed down in the presence of this evil goddess and the sun shied away it’s powerful rays. The sphere of light, a mirror of time, could see far into the future and even deeper into the past. Her massive glow lit up the whole area in light that was a mix between dawn and dusk.
Through the darkness, the remaining fighters encircled their enemy, "Let’s get this over with," Cloud burned as drew his sword, “I have a promise I need to keep . . . “
"I am . . . Ultimecia," She said with arms calmly at her side, "Time SHALL compress . . . all existence . . . denied."
With that she raised her head to reveal her face had been replaced entirely by the sphere of subtime. It lay like an orb fixed on the top of a pedestal, firmly in place. She increased its power to search the surroundings like a spotlight would and found her first victim. With a nod Ultimecia locked in her attack and lifted her arm above, summoning fiery balls of hell-fire into her hand.
“Die”
The orbs released like a swarm of bees, covering the field with mighty explosions as they hit near their targets. The battle had begun with little fanfare, sending everybody into action right away. Both Squall and Cloud readied their swords and started to charge their opponent, but it would be Kiros and Yuffie that dealt the initial blows.
“This is for Tifa!” Yuffie screamed as she used her Gauntlet limit break on the unholy being, striking at Ultimecia tirelessly with the giant shruiken, Conformer. Each blow she landed on the entity sent huge recoil through her weapon and caused a rainbow colored geyser of channeled energy to rise up from the ground. The shockwave of each hit forced the ninja backwards, but unfinished in her task she jumped back into the action over and over. The colorful cylinders of light continued to erupt around the enemy, creating open holes for attack each of the magic waves dissipated. Kiros jumped in between Yuffie’s attacks, slashing at Ultimecia’s body repeatedly with the sharp knives he held in each hand.
The sorceress caught on quickly to their tactics, dodging left and right as the skirmish neared its conclusion. Kiros knew something was wrong, his potential deathblows missing more frequently as Yuffie’s attack subsided. He saw the shinobi pull back, catching her breath after her initial onslaught.
‘Get out of here girl, I’ll hold this bitch off,’ Kiros thought to himself as he tried to keep track of the counterattacks coming his way.
Too late . . .
The sorceress fought back as both fighters wore themselves down, casting her fist into the ground. The earth beneath the two fighters bubbled and vomited violently, sending them flying out of control into the air. They landed roughly on the ground thirty feet away, their bodies coursing with pain. Ultimecia instantly recovered her wounds, using a dazzling display of magic that coated her entire body. The technique had never been seen by the eyes of Squall and his friends before, but the reality of this battle became all too dire to those that did recognize it . . . Bizarro Energy.
"Ahhh shit,” Cid cursed, grabbing his spear tightly getting ready to fight.
“This ain’t looking too good,” Barret said, raising his gun-arm to fire.
"We were told to expect something like this, it is just as the voice had feared," Laguna informed everybody, "Before we left limbo, it had told us to get to you guys as fast as possible. We've taken too long in getting rid of her Squall. The tear in the universe has started. Her body is pulling those that would live again into her . . .
If we don’t stop her now, this will get worse . . . a lot worse. The rip is becoming ever larger due to Sephiroth’s and Ultimecia’s strong will. They are like magnets, pulling each other together and they will fully junction in no time. We most stop thinking about just killing her and focus on containing this rip, okay?”
“She must have close to godlike power now,” Vincent revealed to everyone,” No one, not even us has ever gone up against such a huge power before. This is bigger than the sorceress, even bigger than Sephiroth was,” he hung his head down, putting his deadly rifle to his side,” We shouldn’t even be here. Our powers are insignificant in front of a god . . . “
“But we must try," Rinoa interrupted, “We can’t give up, not yet.”
During all this time, Ultimecia had regained her full power, bringing her total ability far above that which anybody had ever seen before. Her body brimmed with radical power, the excess energy escaping into the near area of the sorceress’ body to create an impenetratable shield.
“We are witnessing the birth of a god . . .” Vincent declared to his allies.
"Screw 'dat bullshit Vince! She can’t be dat strong! Let’s see how she deals with Ultima!" Barret huffed as the spell exploded from his body and slammed into its target, enveloping Ultimecia in atomic green mist. With a bright light, the mist ignited and turned the area into cosmic dust. It took only moments to see the consequences of Barret’s haste . . .
Ultimecia had felt the affect of the hit almost immediately. Her body split apart as a countermeasure to disperse the damage, which then immediately led to the drawing of Apocalypse, a destructive spell more powerful than that of even Ultima . . . Without hesitation even for her own safety, she cast it. Yuffie and Kiros were still recovering when the spell erupted outwards from Ultimecia’s body, its heat already upon them by the time they turned and stared into its magnificent glare. Their eyes wide, their cries drowned out by the thunderous roar of the attack, the two heroes were swallowed whole by it.
Yuffie’s mouth opened and screeched shrilly in pain as she raised her weapon as the only means of defense. Seconds later Kiro’s and herself were disintegrated into dust.
"DAMN IT!" Cloud said with anxiety as the wave of death drove closer to their position after eliminating two of his friends. This was the first time anyone had seen a worried look on his face. He could usually collect himself and show everyone how brave of a leader he was, but in the face of the chaotic storm of Apocalypse he broke down," I don’t have enough magic to cast a Shield!"
Those that were left scurried through their packs for a mega-elixir or anything to help Cloud with, but they came up empty. He was lucky to even have such a spell to ward off such damage. Rinoa and Squall would surely die without any protection.
“Everybody get behind me, I can cast a shield around all of us!” Cid screamed as he waved for everybody to gather behind him.”
“No! That won’t work! We’d be left with nothing to defend ourselves after it subsided!” Vincent yelled, getting everybody’s attention. He walked past everybody, closer to the spell as it accelerated over the open, rocky plain. The brilliant Turk was thinking of something else, but his time was running short.
The earth was no barrier to Apocalypse as it ate through the mix of dirt and stone, spewing it sideways off the floating island into clouds of dust. The intense heat of the death wave eroded the ground away molecule by molecule and kept getting closer. Rocks separated from the ground were floating in front of the attack and had been forced to launch themselves away from Apocalypse or be destroyed. Now not only was a devastating magic attack heading towards Squall and the others, but a sky full of boulders too. Everyone tried to come up with a solution of their own as they dodged the swell of oncoming debris.
“If you have an idea, say it NOW!” Squall screamed while using his sword to slice through a ten foot boulder.
“Well we can’t block the blast . . .” Vincent started before being interrupted by Squall.
"Then we’ll blow Apocalypse right back at her!" Squall yelled out.
"It should work! Everyone use Ultima now!" Cloud ordered desperately as he cast Ultima, draining away the last of his magic reserves. Cid used it alongside with Vincent in hopes that it would work. Each of the first three titanic blasts hit the Apocalypse wave, creating a hurricane of debris in the void between them, but it didn't slow it down much at all. Cloud grimaced as he put everything he had behind this final attack, hoping beyond all hope that a miracle could happen, even after a day that had tested his faith and caused him to doubt it. Squall and Rinoa quickly added in Ultimas of their own which pounded the seemingly unstoppable blast, slowing it down considerably from before. Each spell fought right back at the oncoming blast, but it still just smiled at them and crawled even closer. Two were left now. Laguna feverishly used Ultima as well, thinking the plan should have negated the attack by now, but Apocalypse was still inching towards them. A mix of red and green space magic had crested at the top of each terrible wave which had reached a stalemate, but all that each Ultima had accomplished was to vaporize the small boulders in between the waves.
Ultimecia would wait no longer. It would not sit back and be amused by the pitiful attempt any longer. She would put an end to this right now . . . she would destroy the universe. The lower half of Ultimecia cut itself from the floating top, spewing purple blood from it’s spine as the top half flailed and recovered. It now existed as a separate entity, and it had only one thought on its mind; shift the power in Ultimecia’s favor. All that was needed was one more on either side, and it would all be over.
"Can't . . . do this . . . much . . .longer," Cid said as sweat beaded down his face. He bit down hard onto his cigarette, causing some of the tobacco to spill out the front. His Ultima wave still was in front of him, fighting against the other equally powerful energy blast that sought to destroy them. He waited impatiently, just like all the others in his same situation for the last person to cast it, "Barret?! What the hell are you waiting for? C’mon already!”
His eyes were locked in a cold stare through the semi-transparent wall of flickering Ultimas, “It won’t work, she won’t let it” He suddenly ran off, into the center of everything.
"WHAAAAAT?!" Cid reacted badly to this, "What the hell- WHERE are you going?” He almost took his focus away from the blast but realized his error and kept on pushing forward, bracing his foot to push, “Damn it Barret, don’t go off and get yourself killed . . .”
Most of the combatants were being forced to inch backwards a few steps at a time in order to ward off the intense heat of the wave which had begun to approaching them again. Squall and the others could only stare in shock as the burly black warrior sprinted into the middle of the blast, diving in with no other protection except for an ill-conceived WALL spell. It would give him ten seconds at best, but then . . .
"I'm done!" Vincent yelled as his spell used up all of its kinetic energy and was close to being negated.
"Me, too," Cloud said as the rest of Ultima directed away from his body. All the others followed in having cast Ultima and slowly retreated backwards towards the edge of the dark cliff, “Barret! Get back here! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”
The lower half of Ultimecia was extremely close now and had noticed Barret’s body trying to force his way into the epicenter of it all. It changed its path and now came directly at him.
‘That’s it baby, I know you want it. Come on . . . Come on’ Barret counted the time left to himself in his head, he knew that this would be painful, but that’s the only way it would work. He raised his gun-arm, getting the other part of Ultimecia in his sights as it floated towards him too now, ‘Just a little longer . . . just a little more . . .’ The land beneath his body was dropping away, leaving him with no footing, but just when he thought his plan to be failed, it happened.
The mechanisms in his gun-arm spurred to life, whirring and whistling as compartments opened up and extra gun barrels came out of the main turret. Barret’s gun began to shake violently, out of control as the spinning gyro inside whizzed around and around. He could feel the heat building, the power surging . . . the true power of Catastrophe was best used for a last resort . . . and this was one of those times.
“Yeah you son of a bitch . . . TAKE THIS!” the leader of Avalanche jumped backwards with all his might, sending his body high into the air far above the standstill below him. Barret looked down, holding his gun sight directly at the middle of the Ultima wall his friends had created. Both the top and bottom half had converged on his location just on the other side, setting them up perfectly.
The end of Barret’s gun-arm blew off as a massive blast erupted from it. The shot from his gun widened radically from the point of his barrel to twenty feet in diameter, knocking his body up into the air even farther from its horrible recoil. The first blast hit the wall and immediately pushed it back into Ultimecia, sending both scurrying away as fast as they can. Another blast wave suddenly came from the broken Missing Score gun on Barret’s arm, tearing off his arm with its insane recoil. His body fell from the sky as the second blast came out twice the size of the first, ripping through the wall and hitting both Ultimecia’s.
The blast was overpowered easily a mere foot away from Cid’s face, causing his cigarette to be singed in the process. The tides had been turned against the evil sorceress as the Apocalypse and six Ultimas gained momentum towards her. Barret’s limit break tore chunks of flesh away from their body, stripping away any barriers between them and what awaited them.
"No. . . NOO! “ She gasped aloud as the inferno caught up with her engulfed both bodies with its tremendous blast, “NOOOO!!"
Squall looked on as the massive wall of death found its true target. Each wave ripped through her like a paper doll, causing the sorceress to flail around in torment. Ultimecia could only scream in anguish as each wave passed through her, tearing her limb from limb as the power to defend herself grew less and less. Flesh was ripped from bones, muscles fused together, and her insides boiled as the next shockwave ripped her arms out of their sockets and sent the destructive energy directly into her delicate face. With one last Ultima following the others, the delicate balance of time that existed in her facial sphere collapsed and exploded inwards, ripping her apart inch by inch as time compressed into her own body. As her body was vacuumed bit by bit into different times in space, a final cataclysmic explosion occurred and blew away what was left of her frail and tortured existence. The escaping power caused her body to turn into ashes and scatter with the returning wind. The battlefield was again silent, this time for good. Half of the arena was missing, and the ground underneath the surviving members was rapidly deteriorating. With Ultimecia’s magic gone, there was nothing holding it afloat. The giant rock face shifted to the left, causing everybody to slip and lose grip as they slid off the side.
“Help me Squall!” Rinoa screamed as she slid out of control, Squall was too far away to grab her, but Cloud managed to reach out and hold onto her as they fell through the sky on top of an atmospheric asteroid. Using their weapons and other means, everybody held on for dear life as they rocketed towards the ground far below.
Barret was above them, falling at the same rate of speed but unconscious from his selfless act. It was already hard enough to get out of this situation before they hit the ground, so how could they save Barret? The rock fell through clouds at a terrifying speed, dissipating the puffs of water molecules as they crashed into one after the other. The wind was passing over their faces with incredible force, pulling their hair and clothes back onto their bodies.
The clouds suddenly broke beneath them, and they could see their world below them, far off in the distance. It was beautiful. The sun had finally cut through the dark clouds surrounding what had been Ultimecia’s castle, and the survivors of this time period could finally return to peace. The ground approached, they had completed their mission and their worlds would be saved, but it would be at the cost of their own lives.
Rinoa took in a deep breath and said to Cloud, "We did it."
“Yes. We did it . . .” Cloud replied.
They closed their eyes and fell into a deep sleep before they hit the ground.
When they awoke, they found themselves sprawled out somewhere on the Esthar plains, the city far off in the distance. They were back in Squall and Rinoa’s time, safe and without any battles for once.
One by one they stood up, questioning each other whether it was truly over or not. When it became evident that they had succeeded, everyone erupted into cheer and celebration. The last remnants of the battle faded from their short-term memory, seeming like nothing more than a waking dream. The pent up happiness was finally realized, and everybody hugged each other, shaking hands with those that had fought along side them through thick and thin. They had saved their future as they knew it, and had a second lease on life. If only their friends were there to enjoy it with them . . .
“You lucky bastard, you knew something like this was gonna happen, didn’t you?” Cid laughed as he helped Barret to his feet.
“No, not really, “Barret responded as dryly and sudden as ever, “Jus’ knew what I had to do.”
Cid gave him a puzzled look, “Right . . . sure you did,” he laughed wholeheartedly and patted his comrade on the shoulder.
As the two friends erupted in laughter, not too far away Squall was talking to Laguna.
“That was a little too close for my tastes,” Laguna said, a carefree smile on his face as always, “But we made it, didn’t we? No need to look down about it, alright Squall?” He looked over and put a hand on the young SeeD’s shoulder, trying to get him to perk up.
“Irvine, Selphie, Quistis . . . they all-“
“They are all proud of you son. They would be happy for you, happy for us. They did a very brave thing fighting along side you” Laguna interrupted Squall.
“Yeah, you’re right.” Squall sighed relief at the departure of the death, and just wanted to settle down, “Where’s Rinoa?”
Rinoa had strayed away from the celebration and was surveying the toll their battle had caused. All her friends, Squall, Seifer . . . it was overwhelming to deal with it in just one day. While wandering around, she noticed Cloud, laid back against a rock, hiding himself from the others. She approached him slowly, thinking he was probably doing the same as she was, except thinking about Tifa.
“Cloud?” she stammered, “Sorry to bother you-“
Cloud suddenly jerked his head around and stood up.
"What’s wrong Cloud?" Rinoa said as she backed away at the quick movements of her new friend. He stared back at her, motionless and without saying a word. His eyes were locked on hers, causing her to look down to the ground to avert his uncomfortable gaze. “I’m sorry if I did anything, I just wanted to talk with you, okay?” Cloud didn't talk and when she looked back up, he was nowhere to be seen, "You're not gonna say anything?"
Thinking he had hidden himself again, she turned around and started to walk towards everyone else. Her gaze suddenly met Cloud’s, and then the luminescent Ultima Weapon as it was stabbed straight through her body, "Cloud. wha-" he removed the sword and ran it through her chest once again. Rinoa could only look up at Cloud, shear terror filling her eyes as blood filled her lungs. Before she could say anything else or scream for help, he stabbed his god-slayer weapon further through Rinoa’s body to silence her. The sword broke the tender flesh on her abdomen effortlessly, blood trickling down the sword to soak the ground behind her.
The frantic Rinoa raised her hand to push on Cloud’s chest, "Cloud, why?"
Cloud failed to answer her last request and slowly withdrew his sword as her body became limp and lifeless. Elegantly he took the sword and moved it in a dance of motion, spraying the excess blood onto the ground. It looked like he had never used it before, as though he was testing out its boundaries. A cold liquid feeling on his hands caused him to look down on Rinoa’s unmoving form. Cloud’s clothes and arms were covered in her blood when she pleaded with him to remove the sword.
Sneering, he jammed the bloodstained sword in the ground and commenced to drag the body of Squall’s loved one behind a small rock formation out of sight of the others. Barret, who had been coming to get Cloud, had seen the whole thing and gasped as a stream of blood flowed from her body and over his pale arm.
"Cloud!" Barret exclaimed with fear, “What happened?”
Cloud looked down at this friend villainously, his left eye ticking as the hated within took hold. He heeded Barret's yell, dropping the body and walking in the direction to meet him. The giant of a man gaped in horror when Cloud pulled the Ultima Weapon sword out of the ground and brought it to attack his own friend. Barret raised his healed gun-arm to prevent the attack but Cloud was too fast and sliced through the dense metal of the Missing Score, exposing all types of gears and electrical equipment that had been incased inside. As all good swordsmen do, he capitalized on his enemy’s sudden shock and ran the blood coated sword straight through Barret’s open chest. The impact of the sword pinned Barret to the ground, leaving him helpless to the whim of this dark and devious Cloud.
"Spiky haired punk," Barret wheezed as he fell to the ground, grabbing for Cloud’s throat before giving in to the pain. The wide nature of the sword had cut through most of his vital organs, injuring him fatally. His strength faded and he let his body collapse. Cloud propped his foot against Barret’s thick chest and pulled the sword out, and with one swift stroke decapitated Barret. He dragged the body while kicking the head of the former Avalanche member behind the same rock that hid Rinoa.
Squall approached Cloud defenselessly, not seeing what had just happened to Rinoa and Barret. When he got closer, he noticed the blood that was covering Cloud’s SOLDIER uniform. It was more blood that could have came from an injury, and the weapon he held in his hand was covered and dripping with it. Cloud looked at him and just smiled. He was different. This new Cloud gazed at Squall with a devilish smirk and almost glazed over eyes. His hair was a lighter color of blonde too, bordering silver in comparison to his own color. With a simple move of his hand, Cloud almost cockily drew a couple stray strands of hair to the left side of his face, moving them out of his sight. The eyes he looked at Squall with were no longer his own. They were bluer, brighter, like the blue hue of a being that had been born OF Mako, and not just infused with it.
Squall had seen this look before; he had been through this same event what seemed like an eternity ago. As he realized who it was and what was happening, his heart almost stopped . . . Nothing had changed at all.
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Yikes, should have posted something before I left for break. Sorry about that. More later in the week.