Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Ephemeral Existence ❯ 01: Life ( Chapter 1 )

Ephemeral Existence
A C/S Story

Warnings: YAOI, angst, kinda AU
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or anything in it. It is owned by Square-Enix. It sucks that way, huh?

Chapter 01: Life

They were close to defeating Sephiroth, fighting and giving their best, but he had somehow stopped them, blasting each and every one of them away from him. Barret and Cid had been smashed against the nearest barrier; Yuffie and Vincent had struggled to get up from the floor; Cait Sith and Red XIII had attempted to attack Sephiroth while the ex-General pulled himself back and used his other attacks to destroy them all.

Cloud and Tifa-- they had stood back as well, trying to heal them.

But it was too late; the timing was off, and everyone was suffering. Cloud and Tifa were panting, sweat dripping down the sides of their faces. Their energies were running out, and their MP and items they had used to keep them alive were almost gone as well. The best friends watched in horror as each of their friends began to disappear, as though they were really nothing more than pieces of data.

Sephiroth won; there was no denying it.

Tifa tripped, landing on the invisible floor unceremoniously. Large burgundy eyes stared at the hovering One-Winged Angel in fear, and a gasp escaped her throat. “No…” she muttered in denial, holding her head. “Nononononono!” she cried, tears falling down her cheeks, and she cried not because she was weak, but to somehow ease the grief of her fallen companions.

“Tifa!” Cloud shouted desperately; he used the last bits of his powers, a final Bolt3 spell, to distract Sephiroth away from her. Electricity sparked around Sephiroth, making him stagger in midair, but that was not enough to deter him from his mission. He murmured a few words, and Tifa choked, holding her neck, and eyes widening in pain. What Sephiroth was doing, they did not know, but it hurt so much.

Cloud could see the bits of her, falling apart, but not like the gruesome horrors where a knife was used to chop off the victim's arms and legs-- this was worse; she began to disappear like her other friends.

The blond was alone, completely alone, facing Sephiroth. Could he defeat his once-idol on his own? His belief in gaining peace, his belief that this would save the Planet, had told him that yes, he could defeat Sephiroth. After all, couldn't he use Omnislash?

“Admit it,” Sephiroth whispered hoarsely, hovering over Cloud, his large wings flapping. “Submit like the clone that you really are. All your friends are gone; why bother fighting me?”

“Destroy me, then!” Cloud lied, feeling rebellious. Funny, people rebelling against the General. Would that make him and his friends, mutineers then? I have nothing left, nothing, nothing, nothing. He took everything-- He choked, feeling the same sensation as his best friend had felt a few seconds ago. Then it stopped, and he gasped again, finding himself floating in midair.

“I will destroy the Planet,” Sephiroth muttered darkly. He reverted back to his all black attire. Cloud collapsed to his knees, staring at Sephiroth blankly. “But I will also figure out how some things like you were able to fight against me and Mother.” He seemed calmer now, not really as insane-sounding as before, but Cloud couldn't trust him. “So, I will have to keep you with me.”

What?

“Why!” Cloud yelled, looking around for an escape. He felt like coward, but he couldn't help it. Life was too precious, even if he and his world meant little to Sephiroth. “I thought you didn't like us being around!”

An ex-SOLDIER revealed himself from the sidelines, gazing at Cloud and Sephiroth in disbelief. “Seph, how could you? You still don't get it!” The One-Winged Angel snarled, the same sinful wrath reached his glowing silver eyes again, and the other occupants of the area had to back up in fear once more. “Why are you still doing this? Don't you realize that they just want to keep their lives and home?”

“You said those words to me not long before they arrived,” Sephiroth snapped, one of his hands curling into a fist. “They mean nothing. They're really just traitors! But I will take it upon myself to study Cloud and understand the complexities of him in order to avoid future fakes and would-be fighters in my next world conquest.”

“You're insane!” Cloud shouted, having an urge to laugh at the irony of it all. He felt delirious, knowing that no matter what Sephiroth did, his future `conquests' would always end in failure, because that's how it worked. Sephiroth would come to their world with Jenova to destroy, obviously underestimating the inhabitants again, and then the mistakes of the past would repeat itself. Cloud released the nearly insane laugh that he had kept inside of him, shouting, “The General is not perfect after all!”

Sephiroth leaned down, glaring at Cloud in dislike. He grasped a part of Cloud's clothing, forcing the blond man to rise on his feet. Sephiroth cupped Cloud's face and tilted it to the side; then he murmured, “Who is more insane? The General who tries to do what his Mother thinks is right?” Their faces were so close now; Cloud could feel Sephiroth's breath on his lips. “Or the traitors who came up with a ludicrous notion of rebelling against him?”

Cloud didn't answer; he kept panting. What was Sephiroth going to do?

“Answer me!” Sephiroth shouted, shaking the blond haired man. “Ha, it doesn't matter. The rest of the Planet is going to be destroyed. You're mine now.” He pressed his lips against Cloud's, and the other man was so startled that he didn't retaliate. Sephiroth pulled back and continued, “Remember that and keep that in mind. Resistance is futile.”

He turned away, heading towards a large computer as the purple abyss broke apart. Zack, the ex-SOLDIER who had watched almost everything, had sneaked off, already hatching a plan to stop him, and Cloud-- what could he do? He was watching Sephiroth with the same expression of disillusionment, but he realized that after a few moments of thinking, that the kiss was not something sick or even affectionate that Sephiroth had showed, it was…

A kiss of death.

--

Okay, this is my first yaoi fanfic, and I originally put it up on deviantART, but all of the quotation marks came out as boxes, and it really sucks. So I put it up here to see how it will go.

Demand updates. Updates happen.