A Number of Small Fires
No. No. Please, no. Please, Sephiroth... Cloud didn't dare even vocalize the pleas anymore. He couldn't find the breath after running all the way up Mount Nibel to the reactor. his legs were burning with exhaustion, his lungs were burning with cold mountain air, his eyes were burning with smoke and ash from his hometown below. Nibelheim was burning. Everywhere Cloud turned, something was burning. Even Sephiroth's eyes helf a flame of madness.
This can't be real. Gods, please, let me wake up. Please let-- Tifa! Cloud had seen Tifa's father injured, dying, down in the village, but hadn't realized Tifa would come this far. The blood was staining her white shirt, her tan skirt, and she looked up at Cloud in shock.
Cloud? You promised! You- you came! She smiled at him as he gently picked her up off the stairs where she'd landed and laid her to the side of the chamber.
Zack! Cloud's comrade was falling now too, bleeding heavily, and Cloud didn't know if he could take anymore. He grabbed Zack's heavy sword and stepped up to the dark chamber labelled JENOVA. Cloud could feel his blood burn as he walked onto the metal catwalk. The Great Sephiroth, SOLDIER first class and Cloud's childhood hero, was standing there, talking to a metal statue.
Mother... I'm coming, Mother... It didn't make sense, but Cloud was past the point of listening and understanding. He watched Sephiroth wrench the statue out of the floor, tossing it aside as it bled oil and cried rusty tears. Behind it was... a woman? Cloud was pretty sure from the exaggerated anatomy that the figure in the large tank was a woman.
Is that what you called Mother, Sephiroth? Most of her face was hidden by a heavy helmet, but her eyes seemed like small flames, flaring up as Sephiroth advanced. Before Cloud knew what the general was doing, Sephiroth walked up to the chamber and shattered it with a fire spell.
How can I stop him? Sephiroth pulled the cords attached to the woman's crown, tugged at her upper torso, but didn't seem to be making any progress. He ignored the puddle of mako forming around his feet. After a brief pause, Cloud watched him pull her head up by the cords he held in his left hand, unsheath his sword with the other, and quickly sever the head of the thing in the tank.
Sephiroth! Cloud didn't realize he was screaming until he heard his voice outside of himself. His former superior officer turned slowly, disembodied haed hanging from one hand, oddly purple gore dripping from the sword in his other. His eyes were frozen flames, cold and impersonal.
Before Cloud could say anything else, Sephiroth stepped onto the thin metal walkway and quickly impaled him on the messy blade. The pain itself didn't surprise Cloud. Instead, he wondered at how little pain there actually was. More than sharpness, there was a burning warmth spreading into his entire body from the wound he tried not to acknowledge.
Stop... it... Determined not to die uselessly, Cloud ran forward, impaling himself further on the blade. He grabbed it with both hands and wrenched it to the side with all his strength. Caught off-guard, Sephiroth grabbed more tightly at the handle of his sword and stepped to the side to regain his balance. When the SOLDIER misjudged the width of the catwalk, Cloud took the opportunity to push him over the railing.
All those lives... for that monster's head? I don't understand. Cloud fell to his knees, watching Sephiroth flail for a few minutes before sinking into the liquid mako at the bottom of the chamber. Exhausted, Cloud collapsed onto the catwalk. His entire body felt like it was on fire now, and the touch of his own blood seemed to be burning him. Cloud started to wonder about this, but then the painful flames consumed his mind and he closed his eyes, expecting to die.
No. No. Please, no. Please, Sephiroth... Cloud didn't dare even vocalize the pleas anymore. He couldn't find the breath after running all the way up Mount Nibel to the reactor. his legs were burning with exhaustion, his lungs were burning with cold mountain air, his eyes were burning with smoke and ash from his hometown below. Nibelheim was burning. Everywhere Cloud turned, something was burning. Even Sephiroth's eyes helf a flame of madness.
This can't be real. Gods, please, let me wake up. Please let-- Tifa! Cloud had seen Tifa's father injured, dying, down in the village, but hadn't realized Tifa would come this far. The blood was staining her white shirt, her tan skirt, and she looked up at Cloud in shock.
Cloud? You promised! You- you came! She smiled at him as he gently picked her up off the stairs where she'd landed and laid her to the side of the chamber.
Zack! Cloud's comrade was falling now too, bleeding heavily, and Cloud didn't know if he could take anymore. He grabbed Zack's heavy sword and stepped up to the dark chamber labelled JENOVA. Cloud could feel his blood burn as he walked onto the metal catwalk. The Great Sephiroth, SOLDIER first class and Cloud's childhood hero, was standing there, talking to a metal statue.
Mother... I'm coming, Mother... It didn't make sense, but Cloud was past the point of listening and understanding. He watched Sephiroth wrench the statue out of the floor, tossing it aside as it bled oil and cried rusty tears. Behind it was... a woman? Cloud was pretty sure from the exaggerated anatomy that the figure in the large tank was a woman.
Is that what you called Mother, Sephiroth? Most of her face was hidden by a heavy helmet, but her eyes seemed like small flames, flaring up as Sephiroth advanced. Before Cloud knew what the general was doing, Sephiroth walked up to the chamber and shattered it with a fire spell.
How can I stop him? Sephiroth pulled the cords attached to the woman's crown, tugged at her upper torso, but didn't seem to be making any progress. He ignored the puddle of mako forming around his feet. After a brief pause, Cloud watched him pull her head up by the cords he held in his left hand, unsheath his sword with the other, and quickly sever the head of the thing in the tank.
Sephiroth! Cloud didn't realize he was screaming until he heard his voice outside of himself. His former superior officer turned slowly, disembodied haed hanging from one hand, oddly purple gore dripping from the sword in his other. His eyes were frozen flames, cold and impersonal.
Before Cloud could say anything else, Sephiroth stepped onto the thin metal walkway and quickly impaled him on the messy blade. The pain itself didn't surprise Cloud. Instead, he wondered at how little pain there actually was. More than sharpness, there was a burning warmth spreading into his entire body from the wound he tried not to acknowledge.
Stop... it... Determined not to die uselessly, Cloud ran forward, impaling himself further on the blade. He grabbed it with both hands and wrenched it to the side with all his strength. Caught off-guard, Sephiroth grabbed more tightly at the handle of his sword and stepped to the side to regain his balance. When the SOLDIER misjudged the width of the catwalk, Cloud took the opportunity to push him over the railing.
All those lives... for that monster's head? I don't understand. Cloud fell to his knees, watching Sephiroth flail for a few minutes before sinking into the liquid mako at the bottom of the chamber. Exhausted, Cloud collapsed onto the catwalk. His entire body felt like it was on fire now, and the touch of his own blood seemed to be burning him. Cloud started to wonder about this, but then the painful flames consumed his mind and he closed his eyes, expecting to die.