Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Ephemeral Existence ❯ 04: Materia ( Chapter 4 )

Ephemeral Existence
A C/S Story

 

Warnings: YAOI, intensity? (<.< >.>) Manipulation, mind games, kinda AU
Disclaimer: I don't own. Phooey.

Chapter 04: Materia

Sephiroth hadn't been doing anything except work for the last few days of the week, though those days seemed to last a long time. He hadn't talked much to Cloud--or actually the other way around because the other man remained strangely silent in those days he worked, watching him thoughtfully like a hawk--even though the blond man was supposed to be talkative, according to Zack. Sephiroth had a few theories about this: either Cloud had finally received the message that he didn't like to be disturbed, or something was up.

Paranoid and obsessive Sephiroth was, he believed the latter.

With that decided, he walked out of the living room and headed straight to his bedroom upstairs. His abode was enormous, resembling a mansion. In fact, he should call it a mansion since it had so many rooms that contained his and Zack's work regarding the Promised Land.

It took him three minutes to get to the floor where his room was at; it took him two minutes to make his way over to the hallway of his room; it took him thirty seconds to walk over to the front of his bedroom. However, it was barely a second he heard voices, one from Cloud and the other from his nosy, unbelievable best friend, Zack. He gritted his teeth at the notion of them sneaking off somewhere, and inched closer to the other hallway that was obviously occupied by them.

If they were trying to have a ridiculous secret meeting, it wasn't going to work; Sephiroth could use his computer and his cameras to figure out what they were saying. In this case, since he was near them, it was better for him to eavesdrop, swallowing his irritation first.

“I have it,” Zack muttered softly, excitedly, puzzling Sephiroth. Damn him for getting in the way again; other people in his position would have eliminated her already, but honestly, even though he had created a double version of her, and had directly and indirectly killed millions of people (that's mostly the traitors though, so did those count?) he didn't think he had the guts to really take Zack's second life.

In reality, he was all he had.

It was palpable, as glass that the people in his work, like Angeal and Genesis weren't really fond of him any longer. In fact, he knew of Genesis' plot against him, and had a plan to stop that soon. The others that liked Zack weren't comfortable with him either; then again, he had to admit that he was a hard person to get along with…

“You do? How did you do it?” Cloud inquired eagerly, happiness clear in his tone of voice. Sephiroth wondered what the blond was so elated about; he had a strange and sickening feeling of dread what that item-- he had an educated conjecture that it was an item-- might be.

“The back-up materia,” Zack answered brightly. Cloud obviously exulted in the news.

The irritation in Sephiroth suddenly rose, turning into bits of anger. He knew it; he should have known Zack was going to rise the blond man's hopes with that damn materia. Furious about this, he rose from his hiding spot and marched his way over to them, creating thunderous steps with his boots and alarming the two people with it.

He froze, gazing at Zack and Cloud in disbelief. Zack was holding up the Twilight Materia and was about to hand it over to Cloud. The blond's eyes widened at the sight of him and instinctively, shielded Zack. Sephiroth glared at him, warning Cloud of the consequences if he remained in the way. He was going to get that materia and perhaps just to psychologically mess with his puppet's head, crush it in his hand.

“Strife,” Sephiroth hissed, his silver eyes glowing brightly. Cloud didn't make a move and he didn't show any reactions to that particular insult either. “Get out of my way.”

“No,” Cloud stated, staring at his once-idol sternly and raising his arms to shield Zack again. “You have to get through me.” Then he paused, thinking for a moment. “Also keep in mind that it no longer matters to me if I get hurt, since I've nothing to lose.”

“Is that so?” Sephiroth challenged, taking one step forward thunderously. His eyes gleamed dangerously. “Then why are you protecting that damned materia? What does it do, I wonder?” He took another step closer, and the two people in front of him backed up in defense. A cruel smirk twisted upon his lips-- and before he neared them again, he noticed something different.

In the deep blue depths of Cloud's eyes he could see tiny bits of fear and awe, and he watched closely as they flashed. Why awe? He should be flattered, but that only confused him. Surely, logically, his puppet should be astonished with its master, and he figured, he must have looked frightening with his intimidating aura, so it was to be expected. Still, Cloud was no ordinary puppet--he was different, far more different than those other imperfections that flanked him.

He really had to keep that in mind.

He had to wonder, just by being with Cloud for a week, was difference and change really that frightening? Of course, he had experienced his own life, though in his world it was so tedious, so lifeless, so meaningless which had fueled his obsession to create the Promised Land. As he grabbed a hold on Cloud, causing the blond to flinch in alarm, why was he doing this? Why did he take something he worked so hard to protect away and attempt to do what most insecure leaders would do?

His hold on his puppet tightened even more, and he narrowed his eyes, demanding him to step aside once more, but this time, the cruelty in his expression faded, replaced by utter calmness as he continued to muse on that realization. Would that be enough to lower Coud's guard? His original intentions for that damned materia had changed, but what was he really asking for in the blond?

“I will not destroy it,” Sephiroth finally said, extending his other hand and attempting to ignore the pulse from Cloud's wrist. “Hand it over to me.” He could feel the blond's body relaxing, and he realized that he too loosened his grip. He let Cloud go, and the blond man excused himself. With that accomplished, he nodded his head at Zack, who without a word, relinquished the small golden materia. A part of him wanted to snatch it, crush it, destroy it, eliminate it, but that strange reasonable side (where did that come from, he wondered. Since when did he have reason?) battled with his irrational behavior.

In the end, because of his indecision, he grabbed the orb and walked away, leaving Cloud and Zack alone in the hallways. He would keep this just in case, though he didn't know what other uses he had for this.

However, he failed to notice the strange gleam in his best friend's eyes as though he had other intentions hidden there.

And perhaps, that might lead him to his downfall again.

--

Let the games begin… Sorry for no Clack. Yet. <.< >.>