Thor's Notes: Some of you might hate me after this chapter. Don't read if you worship Talim.

The Undead Pirate.

(Sephiroth vs. Raphael-Cervantes.)

Raphael took his stance ready to face Sephiroth. Sephiroth studied his opponent and noticed he was very confident despite the overwhelming advantage Sephiroth had range wise. "Come, let get this fight over with." Raphael said and begun to spin his rapier in front of him and advanced on Sephiroth. Raphael closed in into Sephiroth's striking range and Sephiroth made an indirect strike to study his movements. Raphael parried the strike and Sephiroth followed his blade tip, but while looking at Raphael's weapon, he lost sight of Raphael himself. When Sephiroth regained focus on Raphael, he felt a cut in his chest. "Ah, appears you can't keep up with my movements. Allow me to take the offensive this time." Raphael charged him spinning his rapier out in front of him. Sephiroth tried watching his foot work, but failed to follow both his feet and his blade and a cut was landed on the face. "Well, have you figured now that you can't match my skills?"

"….Yes."

"Good! Now then, how about the underdog bows to his superior now."

"………Be my guest and start bowing."

"Excuse me?"

"When I said I was no match for you, I meant that even at my weakened state, my power would never get as low as yours. I admit, your sword skills are exceptional, but…" Life Stream flowed around his body healing all cuts. "If that's all you got, then you stand no chance against me."

"What…what are you?"

"……A monster."

"Humph, monster or not, you don't deserve to get Soul Edge before I do!" He charged again with his rapier, but Sephiroth didn't bother putting up his guard. He simple shot a dirty look and Raphael flinched.

"You hesitated." Sephiroth said before throwing a slash and knocked back Raphael a few feet.

"Grr, what a joke!" He tried to get into his fighting stance, but Sephiroth stomped the ground and sent a shockwave that made Raphael lose contact with the ground. Sephiroth made two slashed in that instant. One knocked away Raphael, the other severed his pouch of Shards from his sash. "Why you…!" Before he could finished, Sephiroth sent Masamune through Raphael's collar bone and pinned him to the floor. "Damn…you!"

"I don't have time for your little game. Time for you to die." Sephiroth dug Masamune out of Raphael and moved to finish him off. However, before his sword fell, he as tackled in the head by Amy, who came to save Raphael. The surprise attack knocked Sephiroth to a knee. He was about to get up, but Amy drove her rapier into Sephiroth's leg, pinning him to the ground. She and the remaining assassins helped the injured Raphael to a life boat. Sephiroth and Raphael made eye contact with each other, and then Sephiroth looked at the sash of Soul Edge Shards Raphael left on the deck. Sephiroth let out a grin of satisfaction as Raphael grinded his teeth as he realized what he lost. There was nothing Raphael can do as he escaped the ship by life boat. Sephiroth calmly dug the rapier out of his leg and went and picked up his prize. His collection was getting bigger he thought. He took a moment to look around and he noticed that after all that has happened he was the only one left aboard. He let out a heavy breath and made his way to the captain quarters.

Several days passed since Sephiroth defeated Raphael. The ship just sailed on its own course. For the whole trip, Sephitoth just laid on the captain's rack. He wasn't asleep nor fully awake, but in a trance. He drifted in and out of thought. He would think about the past, when he terrorized the world he once lived in. He was undisturbed, but there was a violent tremor from the ship. He calmly sat up. "Hmm, something is a miss." He rose to his feet, grabbed Masamune and walked to the door. When he opened it, he was greeted by a hurricane that came out of nowhere. Despite the winds, the rain and the heavy rocking of the boat, Sephiroth moved as if he was just walking on solid land. He walked across the deck till he made the halfway point of the deck and then looked to his feet. "Oh! Half of the ship is gone." He calmly said as he saw his ship was torn in half. He scanned the surf for the bow of the ship. He spotted it bobbing up and down in the surf he raised his hand to try to move it with his powers, but then he saw another wrecked ship in the surf smashing against the rocks. Then he noticed another and two more. He looked into the water and saw hundreds of corpses belonging to sailors, pirates, and civilians alike. "A graveyard of men and ships? Why does it seem all of these…" He pauses for he felt as if an evil presence was watching him. He slowly walked away from the ledge trying to pinpoint the source of the power. Then he got a chill in his spine and quickly looked over his shoulder. He barely got a chance to look before evading two swords that flew straight down at him. On looked liked an ordinary long dagger, while the other was a medium sized sword. A sword made entirely from Soul Edge shards. He then looked up and saw on the upper deck was the Undead Spaniard Pirate, Cervantes and in his arms was the young Talim attached to a ball and chain.

"Ha ha ha! Yet another victim of my storm, and he even got Soul Edge Shards with him. Good, I shall claim both a soul and shards today." He drops Talim and her ball and chain. She tries to struggle free, but her small stature didn't phase the weight one bit. Cervantes came to the edge of the deck. "Now," He jumps down and grabs his weapons. "Give me your soul." Without hesitation, Cervantes charged at Sephiroth. Sephiroth, for the first time coming to this realm, he was surprised by the power that some one cam possess. Cervantes didn't let up for a second as he kept Sephiroth on the defensive that was having a tough time keeping track of both Nirvana and Soul Edge. Then Sephiroth saw a possible opening and slash his sword at Cervantes. The strike was on target, but before a cut was made, Cervantes just vanished into thin air. Sephiroth was then looked up at the last second to see Cervantes appear above him. He came down hard, but Sephiroth managed to jump out of the way at the last second. With some distance between himself and the Pirate, Sephiroth attempted to do a thunder spell, but mid way through conjuring; Cervantes came at him with a spiral attack and caused him to defend himself instead. With no other option, Sephiroth was forced in a defensive stance with Masamune pointed directly at Cervantes.

"Ha, what's wrong? Can't keep up with me?" Sephiroth remained silent while trying to think of a way to beat him. "Don't feel bad, none can keep up with me. So you're not the only one. Now how bout you give me the shards of Soul Edge and I'll let you keep your soul." Sephiroth just pondered what he could do to stop his undead foe. He then looked down and dropped his stance.

"…..you win. I'll give you the shards quietly."

"Exellent!" Sephiroth tossed Cervanted all the shards he had. "Good." The shards fused with his share of Soul Edge, increasing it in size and power. "Ha! The power of Soul Edge flows through my veins." He then moves to Talim who was still unable to get free of the ball and chain and lifts her up. "Now be gone you…..." Before he could finish, Sephiroth charged at him with Masamune. Cervanted saw it coming with no surprise. He calmly dropped Nirvana and readied a stance. Though Sephiroth was fast, Cervantes still followed him carefully. Sephiroth then began to spin his sword and became a bit unpredictable to both Talim and Cervantes. Then the gap was closed, Soul Edge was knocked out of Cervantes' hand and the sound of a blade piercing flesh and two painful grunts. Cervantes looked down to see Masamune going into Talim's chest all the way out his back. Talim face began to go pale from the blood loss as Cervantes was shocked that his opponent would pull off such a cruel maneuver. "What! You monster!" Sephiroth grabbed Soul Edge and held it at Cervantes' throat, while Talim's head dropped. The two men stared into each other's eyes, but then Cervantes eyes narrowed as he slashed at Sephiroth. To avoid the attack, he slid Masamune out from Cervantes and Talim to get distance. In response, Cervantes pushed Talim's lifeless body at Sephiroth causing him to catch her in his arm. Before he could retaliate, the sound of a gunshot was heard and Sephiroth's body jerked back. He looked up to see that it came from a pistol mounted on Cervantes' Nirvana. He fell overboard with Talim in his arms as blood trickled from the wound in his neck. The splash was heard and Cervantes dropped Nirvana and held his chest wound as he stood alone on the ships deck, lucky to be alive, but without Soul Edge. Cervantes and his ship drift out of sight in the storm, but Sephiroth, with Talim in his arms, was submerged beneath the surf for a few minutes. They appeared both lifeless, but then Sephiroth's body began to glow green with the energy of the Lifestream in his body. The green light consumed them both and there was a bright flash, but then silence as the water went black.

Morning came and the storm died. The sun shone on a beach not to far from the sight of the battle. On the beach laid Sephiroth with Masamune in one hand, and the fragment of Soul Edge in the other. Not to far from him was the body of Talim. Sephiroth's hand began to grasp Masamune tightly as he began to wake. He struggled to his feet and looked around. He noticed Soul Edge was actually changing shape in his hand. It started to form the shape of Masamune, but without it complete, it didn't come close to the actual length of Masamune. With that, he walked off out of sight, and the body of Talim was left behind.

Thors notes: ………OK OK! Talim will be back later! I didn't wana spoil, but I don't wanna scare anyone away. Tee minus 3 chapters till they meet.