[Thread] Here We Go Again (the real one)

[silvergeneral]

Characters: AU Sephiroth, OU Cloud, eventually OU Aerith too?
Where: The park/pond
When: Daytime
Summary: Sephiroth's got a raging chocobo-head on his tail, shenanigans are likely to ensue.
Warnings: Er... this may end in a manly contest of who-can-beat-the-shit-out-of-the-other-faster? Possible mindfuckery, depending on whether or not Seph's on

Comments

[liveandforgive]

Despite the compound basking within the golden rays of the afternoon sun, there was some form of a chill hanging within the air; at least, to him. Mayhaps the world was preparing itself for the inevitable? What he could only hope was the final showdown. Alternate universes or no, the very fact that the silver haired Ex-SOLDIER had teased him with such a title as puppet... That was all that he needed to know his course of action. He had told Albel before. He didn't just know how to fight this man.

He knew how to defeat him. And with sword in hand (and none in Sephiroth's), that was exactly what Cloud intended to do. With the First Tsurugi by his side as he hastefully ran to his destination, the blond had discovered enough about the landmarks to feel a sense of comfort in directions. He didn't care if the One Winged Angel was unarmed, he certainly had enough power beyond the use of a sword to compete with the rest of the supreme beings of the world. Cloud would know. He had engaged in combat with him or a form of him enough times to know what worked and what didn't. And more often then not...there was no weakness.

You simply had to be stronger then him. Though not having a sword could have put the blond at an advantage. If only a small one.

Good luck, Cloud.

His footsteps slowed as he approached the park, a chill running down his spine when he caught a glimpse of something...silver, in the distance. It was him. It just had to be. The breeze caught his clothing again as his eyes narrowed, mako flaring within his nearly glowing sapphire-hued gaze as his heart raced. He enjoyed peace as much as anyone else, but the thrill of a good battle was always something that got his blood pumping. And for the right cause, for the sake of the Planet. And for this one. And for everyone else that this man could threaten.

Cloud was going to finish him once and for all.

"Sorry to keep you, Sephiroth!" He called out as he approached, his grip on the First Tsurugi tightening dangerously as he neared the man on the bench. This was him. How he was alive...how Aerith was alive... None of this made sense. The only thing that mattered to him right now was that one of these two needed to be protected. And the other one needed to be destroyed. Keeping his distance, he stopped a good fifteen feet short of Sephiroth, staring the man down with a look of intensity in his eyes that could only mean one thing.

'Get up.'

This was it.

[silvergeneral]

Glancing down at the raging gold porcupine of a head glaring daggers at him, Sephiroth never moved, but his eyes sharpened and his muscles bunched, ready to react within the moments in a second. Godsall knew Cloud had ever been one to push an advantage when he found one.

And was there an advantage? Sephiroth took brief stock. Pride aside, he had fallen at the sword of this man often enough to be wary. The last time had been with a foreign body, stripped of a large portion of his strength, his will. Before then, Cloud had has his friends, a whole swarm shooting, cutting and biting at him while had had Jenova and her power. And the first time... well, he couldn't remember anymore. Had Cloud thrown him into the reactor? Had he jumped?

Either way, they had never truly fought one against the other, alone. Would this then, be that time?

And here he was without his sword. If anything, the Fate Goddesses must have a sense of humor. He touched the tips of his fingers to the bracer at his arm, felt the familiar tingle of power running through his veins, even as the stones flared brilliantly to life, glowing as bright as Cloud's eyes. "Why do you wish to fight me, Cloud?"

Sephiroth had been in this place long enough to discover that not all those that he'd known in his former life were the same or from the same incarnation of the world. Better to know ahead of time.

[liveandforgive]

Why? Sephiroth must have known why, deep down, after the struggles and pain that he had caused him and his friends. Regardless, the blond was more then willing to remind him. With words of truth and by the sword he possessed. He stood his ground, even as the materia Sephiroth had on him were set ablaze, preparing just as much as he was for the inevitable conflict. While he was angry, and determined, he was also calm and focused. At least, that was how his voice portrayed the man.

"To protect what you'll destroy."

[silvergeneral]

Certainly not much of an answer. Definitely not one from which to glean a great deal of information. This from the Cloud who had once made such inspirational speeches, such fervent declarations of intent? Perhaps this was eventually what happened to all failed puppets as they were allowed to age.

Sephiroth shook his head, sitting up finally and twisting around to face Cloud properly. The mako light behind the green eyes flickered briefly to life as he contemplated launching the first attack, see how well the scared little boy of memory had grown into this broad shoulders, those cold blue eyes. That had always been the temptation--testing this one, toying with him. Mother had hated him, had so very much enjoyed trying to break him. And Sephiroth?

Well. It was hard to quantify exactly what he thought. He and Mother had been two similar entities embodied together for so long, that one had seemed almost inseparate from the other, driving further the limits of madness. For so long, all he had felt was hatred, and that had encompassed everything.

But now? Just as quickly, the glow died back down, and he smiled. No. For years they had been on opposite sides of the battlefield, but he had enjoyed teasing him along the trail, baiting him, at times even helping when the boy's sanity threatened to crack. A long ago Zack would have said he had a strange sense of humor. In all that time, it had been Cloud who'd come running after him, not the other way around. Why should this be any different?

Let him come.

"And what makes you think that that's why I have come?" he replied coolly, "If that were my intent, don't you believe me more than capable of wreaking a little more havoc than I have at present? No more cuffs, nothing left to chain me down. And yet, I believe the only one blinded by hatred this time is you, not me, Cloud."

And that was an odd feeling. Certainly a very strange situation to be in. He could have laughed, but Sephiroth was of the opinion that Cloud's sense of humor was not much developed and likely wouldn't understand.

[liveandforgive]

He saw the flare within Sephiroth's eyes, and had half the mind to move, to jump, to lunge, to do anything to stay on his toes... But just as quickly as the flicker of power was there, it had all but faded. He had come to face him finally, that was for certain. And he had his attention; good. Because at any given moment, the blond was about ready to destroy that bench he was sitting on if he didn't move accordingly.

Cloud grit his teeth, eyes narrowing as Sephiroth spoke. Just what was he hoping to accomplish by thrusting...what was surprisingly logic on him? He could have done it. The man would have destroyed everything if he had the right mind to. So why didn't he? The blond's vision was solely focused on Sephiroth, his own logic telling him that the former general was far smarter then to just mindlessly wreck havoc. As wrong as he was with his motives and actions, Sephiroth always had a plan. And this time, he would not succeed in taking him off guard, mentally or physically.

"Don't try to fool me," he was starting to get irritated, mayhaps...anxious even? "I know what you want. What you desire in the name of 'Mother'." The First Tsurugi's position changed some, poised but not exactly in battle mode just yet. If anything, Cloud was ready.

"What I cherish most. What you want to take away. Doesn't that excite you?" That last question wasn't sincere, and he wasn't expecting an answer. The tone in his voice was spiteful, malice for all the wrongs he had committed, the unforgivable no matter how far the man could ever think to come for redemption...if he even wanted that.

"I won't let you..."

Placing a second hand upon the handle of his massive sword, he began to crouch only in the slightest, preparing himself for anything.

"This ends here. Right now."

[floweringangel]

Aerith looked up at the sky, frowning a bit, wondering where Cloud was -- he was late, and it wasn't like him. Hearing a soft muffle of voices coming from nearby, Aerith decided to check it out, but still be careful since she didn't want to get involved in something that might put anyone in danger.

Gasping as she came across Cloud and Sephiroth, she arrived just in time to hear Cloud say, "This ends here. Right now." She wanted to run towards him and stop him, but she remembered the promise she had made...the promise to stay safe. Deciding that for now it would be best for her to try to stay hidden, Aerith backed up a little and crouched down, ready to spring in and heal Cloud if she needed to.

[silvergeneral]

(OOC: Branch, btw. Seph's sitting on a tree.)

And again, the boy made assumptions. What really made him think he knew exactly what Sephiroth was thinking, what he was planning, even what he wanted?

"Do you?" he asked, a corner of his lips curling, "Do tell me then, Cloud. Tell me what you know of Mother, what you know of Mother's power. Tell me what she wants. What I want. Tell me how you know that they are one and the same."

After all, to think that this boy who could no more disassemble his memories from Zack's to pretend to know how to sort out the entanglements between Mother and himself! Sephiroth was quite sure that Cloud did a perfectly good job of fooling himself without any other sort of outside help.

"What excites me," he continued, slipping down off the branch and landing lightly on the soft turf with the quiet sound of rustling leather, "is the thought that perhaps even one of Hojo's failed puppets can prove to be my equal. In strength, in power... yes, Cloud, it does make me wonder, time and again, how long and how often we will clash."

He glanced away from the blond, a puzzled frown playing briefly across his features as he looked off over the fields in the direction of the residential areas. Had he heard--?

"And I suppose also over what and whom."

...The flower girl?

[liveandforgive]

[OOC; Derp. That's my brain late at night and/or without sleep. My apologies. ♥]

He could feel it too. A precense. But he didn't dare take his eyes off the One Winged Angel for a moment. That was the first mistake he could have made against him. Especially since he was the one to provoke him. But if someone was watching...he could have only hoped that they stayed out of his way. Or out of Sephiroth's sight. Was it an enemy? A friend? A miscellanious spectator?

A distraction?

He couldn't let himself ponder on such thoughts though. At the mention of being a failed puppet, he had the urge to stop playing with him, his blood on the verge of boiling as he knew Sephiroth was playing the game of trying to get under his skin and into his mind. Raising his sword before swinging it down in front of him, Cloud got into a battle stance, his familiar one. One could call it...traditional? Just like the old days when he used to wield the Buster Sword. He was pushing his luck, this silver haired character.

"I am not a puppet, Sephiroth."

[floweringangel]

Aerith frowned a moment, thinking about what Sephiroth and Cloud were saying to each other. It sounded familiar, and she knew that she vaguely remembered hearing the words from Sephiroth before. Trying not to move, she continued to watch, wishing she could just jump out and fight Sephiroth herself. Aerith knew though, that this was Cloud's fight...something he needed to do himself.

[silvergeneral]

(OOC: My laptop rebooted which means half-finished post when poof. I hate rewriting stuff. Sadface.)

"Words won't change the truth."

Certainly not for long. One way or another it would out and then it would simply linger in the air. Sephiroth should know as well as any, and the moldy library at the base of the Shinra mansion was testament to that discovery. Cloud should know better. After all, it had taken Sephiroth himself to strip away that Tifa girl's lies, the foolish little fantasies that had made up a younger Cloud's memories.

But Sephiroth was under the impression that now he was simply wasting his time. Cloud had all he needed to maintain his own black and white version of reality, where truths of any other sort simply sluiced off him like water.

Crossing his arms against his chest, he regarded the blond frankly, with eyes that were clear of the old madness for the first time in... well, he supposed a lifetime ago. It was hardly the time for revelations, but Sephiroth simply was not interested in fighting this man. He had other things to worry about, and reforging old enemies was hardly the way to go about finding a way to fend off those ominous lights in the sky.

Enough of this ridiculous posturing. He shook his head and turned away. "Come at me then, if that's what you want."

If Cloud wanted to fight, he could make the first move. No need to give him another opportunity to lay on another layer of blame. Sephiroth had enough confidence in his reflexes to chance turning his back on his only equal in the whole of the Planet.

Because right now he was going to find out who exactly was trying to hide behind a bush. An instinctive paranoia borne of long military service, he was not particularly keen on having anyone close enough to listen in on a conversation without knowing who exactly they were.

[liveandforgive]

"Shut up!" He wasn't; and he despised the way that Sephiroth carried himself. And yet...something didn't feel right. Where was the power to bring forth the impurities of the planet? To veil the world in a cloud of darkness? He was just as evil as ever...wasn't he? What really caught Cloud off guard was the fact that the silver haired Ex-SOLDIER had just turned his back on him. When did he...? And in battle even...

Sephiroth would never do this. The one that would confront and battle him, taunting so and asking if he could grant the blond despair. And yet he looked so calm; granted he always was. But...it was as if he didn't care. Like everything he had done to the man was all but forgotten as bygones were left to be bygones. Cloud wasn't sure if he should have felt angry or just...confused. Was he taunting him, believing that even with his back turned he could have defeated him? That's what the blond wanted to believe, and he knew what he wanted in some senses...

And yet all he had to remember was a certain flower girl who may or may not have been closer then he thought. Smiling to him, kneeling, praying for that brighter tomorrow as she played her part. And then she was overshadowed by the sword. By the hate. By the One Winged Angel who pulled Aerith away from the stage. And away from him and the others. He pictured that smile, that wicked smile as if feigning innocence that caused his blood to bubble over and his eyes to burn with tears.

Aerith was here; with Sephiroth. This was an opportunity the blond couldn't afford to pass up to get rid of one of the Planet's largest threats.

"Don't turn your back on me..." and with that? He did lunge forward, leaping upward before bringing the hefty First Tsurugi crashing down in a surprisingly quick slash. You could hear the sword cut through the air at this point. It had begun. "Sephiroth!"

[floweringangel]

Shifting a little, Aerith again fought the urge to run out and come between the two. She knew from her own encounter with Sephiroth that he wasn't from their world, that he was different, more arrogant, more...something. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but there was definitely something seriously off.

Wincing and trying not to gasp, Aerith watched as Cloud swung his sword at Sephiroth, her heart pounding as she watched.

[silvergeneral]

Even as Cloud's sword had begun its whistling descent, Sephiroth's gloved fingers had gone to the materia slotted in his bracer, his eyes flaring to life.

So be it.

In less than a moment he was airborne, past the keen edge of a sword entirely too collapsible for its own good, momentarily missing the familiar weight of his sword in his hand, even as he sent out a summoning pulse in the slight hope that it would materialize. It didn't. Wherever they had taken his beauty, it was well and truly hidden.

A pity. Sephiroth preferred balance. A Cloud with a sword-and-twenty and he with none at all was far from balanced.

Briefly, a power sigil flared up in the sky beneath him before he unleashed a spell, the Bolt3 throwing jagged bolts of lightning down towards the ground.

As it was, he would work with what he had.