melodiesoflife | Event || Esdham Under Fire

There might be two things that became obvious as Cloud continued to fight alongside -but not too close to- Sephiroth.

The first was that this man wasn't used, at all, to having anyone fight alongside him and with a sword that length it was easy to see why. Quite often as they carved through the attacking forces, Sephiroth sometimes had to turn his blade early or Cloud might well have had to dodge out of the way of Masamune's sweeping length. Perhaps it added weight to Sephiroth's own legend as well; indeed he had cut down hundreds, if not thousands of Wutain troops on his own when the war was underway on Gaia.

The second was something that Cloud might not want to draw too much attention to. On a fair few occasions, the infantryman-come-magitek knight would find that he were having to defend Sephiroth's flank from rather basic and often easy-to-have predicted attacks toward him. As their battling went on, Sephiroth's growing lethargy became more and more apparent in that way, it was obvious he were slower than he should be, that the gleaming impression Cloud had of him was somewhat tarnished - but still he kept going.

Hacking through wave after wave of warrior-type to get at the mages trying to set fire to more of the building.

The first was an observation quickly noted and a lesson quickly learned. As the fight went on, Cloud moved further and further from Sephiroth to give him his space. It was still an honor to fight in his vicinity, and Cloud kept an eye on him to make sure he wasn't overwhelmed, but the last thing he wanted was to be the cause of trouble for the man.

As the second point began to show itself more and more, Cloud grew a bit troubled. His spells were helping him cover that distance that he opened up whenever Sephiroth needed the defense, but they couldn't hold out like this. And Cloud lacked the spells needed to revitalize the SOLDIER.

They would need supplies. The coliseum had to have some potions somewhere, but how to break away without leaving Sephiroth behind or the building undefended? Cloud wasn't sure, and he didn't like that their only other option was to hold out until help arrived.

Part of Sephiroth's strategy here was to keep moving. It wouldn't do for them to get pinned down in any part of the Coliseum, if their surroundings continued to burn, and the longer he kept fighting around in the same circle the more that deadly lethargy threatened to rip around the edges of his focus - in short it wouldn't be the way they could save the building, nor stay alive.

He were also keenly aware of the fact that he had popped his last potion only shortly before Cloud had found him. Items sometimes could be gathered from the bodies of the fallen Herans but they were becoming hard-pressed in having the time to stop and look. Or rather, Sephiroth was forgetting to look back.

"Cloud. Ngh-" An involuntary grunt was ushered away from the Warrior/Dragoon as he fought stubbornly not to let on the new stitch that felt like it had ripped almost all the way up his right side. From his continued left-heavy posture with Masamune, no doubt.

Another streak of gleaming silver swept the legs of the next attacking warrior up before Sephiroth continued.

"-search them. As they fall-"

As, given how the breaks between the waves of attacks were getting tighter, Sephiroth wouldn't have the time to do the same.

Cloud nodded, feeling a little dumb for not thinking of it earlier. He couldn't be completely faulted for it. All the previous fights he'd been in, even as a grunt, were smaller groups and altercations. A few troops here and there. Excepting the one incident with AVALANCHE he never really felt like someone might actually die like he did now.

Hurriedly, he went through the packs and pockets of the fallen soldiers around him. It wasn't until he could hear the sound of more enemies coming that he finally found something. His eyes lit up at the green flask he held. A hi-potion! Perfect!

"Sephiroth!" He tossed the medicine over. Hopefully it would tide them over until he could find something better or they could get some refuge or backup.

"We should still fall back inside the Coliseum. We can defend ourselves better if we bottleneck them."

Not only smaller numbers. At Cloud's proficiency, he would never have been dispatched into anything near a war zone which is what the area around them was rapidly devolving into. Bodies dead or dying littering the streets. It was certainly a side of Sephiroth only those who had served beside him in Wutai would ever have seen. The detachment, the cool expertise, the confidence in how he fought. Cutting across armor and bypassing shields. It was a grim profession to be sure; hardly the clean image Shinra ever painted it as.

Though one thing was for sure, Sephiroth was at home in this environment. Only his body not being the same was starting to lag under the endurance being demanded of it. Just as it looked as if he hadn't heard Cloud yell, and the hi-potion might fall short, Sephiroth dashed from the last fallen opponent and caught it. The flask shattering in a gloved hand, the high-powered intensity of a green hue magically engulfing his frame as the concoction did it's job.

"Got it." He looked down and across a shoulder at Cloud, his green eyes alive inside the silts of his Dragoon-type helmet. The same tilted back a little to indicate for Cloud to make a run for it. He'd follow, mopping up as he went on.

When the potion shattered, there was a moment where Cloud's heart skipped a beat. Did he screw up? Had it broken and ruined the contents? Did he just doom his hero? It was seconds after Sephiroth regained his energy that Cloud remembered to breathe again.

As much as he wanted to fight side by side with Sephiroth, or at least protect him, it was clear that they were fighting in a losing position here. He gave Sephiroth a nod in understanding and ran on ahead, using his gunblade and the weight of his armor to clear a path. Still he couldn't help but glance back now and again to make sure that he was being followed and not just being made to save himself.

The attacking forces were starting to press in from all around them, making not only Cloud's retreating path towards the Coliseum building more difficult to gain ground in quickly but it also slowed up Sephiroth's determination to follow the younger fighter as he was having to stop, cut down a few more bodies, rinse and repeat every few feet.

Not to mention how difficult Cloud's Job were making it to distinguish him when there were other Magitek Knights with similar armor all around, all equally catching the light from the various fires.

Still, Sephiroth persevered. When he got chance he'd spot Cloud's position so he knew which way to head in even if at times it didn't seem like they were gaining much ground at all. Kicking the latest Heran Warrior away from where his bulk had rested too close to the hilt of Masamune, Sephiroth called loudly.

"Keep going, break through the crowd. I'll be right behind you!"

Cloud gave one last nod before lowering his head and used the sheer bulk and weight of his armor to push through the crowd. He was getting exhausted but there was no time to rest. Gunshots barked out from his sword each time he slashed it at the soldiers. They were crushing against him now and he could feel the heat of the small bursts on his face.

He chanced a glance up and saw the doors of the coliseum ahead of him. One last push and he was at the top of the stairs, turning to kick a soldier out of the way. He jogged a few steps to the door and turned to check on Sephiroth's progress. All they had to do was get inside and bar the door and they could catch their breath.

What Cloud didn't see was the Imperial Dark Knight walking out of those self same doors. The Imperial raised his greatsword to strike the young hero, the sounds of battle drowning out his own movement and giving him the opportunity of surprise.

Though Sephiroth had every intention to follow exactly the path that Cloud had cleaved through to the doors, about half way through that plan it needed altering on account of the Mages that were creeping up the flank where there weren't so many bodies. The last thing the building needed was more fire blasts from the outside while undoubtedly there were others indoors trying to smother the same.

So he took a risk and swept off to that side. A side effect being that when Cloud looked for him though, he wasn't in the boy's line of sight. Which probably caused the delay-

A dash of movement might have been all that Cloud caught out of the corner of his eye as Sephiroth got caught up just in the nick of time. Wasting no time, Cloud was knocked forwards out of the way and the greatsword came crashing down. A heavy screech was heard as Masamune was tilted up and angled into the perfect position with which to block - stretching his stance out at the same time from which he could summon the muscle strength to push back, aim a well-placed boot to the gut of the Knight on his way and then twist back around to pull Masamune's great length across the dark armor.

Armor and flesh split open like it was made of butter, amidst a few gargled groans from their adversary in the moments before Sephiroth brought his opposite fist to the side of the falling soldier's head. A small act of mercy.

That done, Sephiroth reset his stance and curled Masamune away before regarding Cloud once more.

"I told you, keep going."

Cloud couldn't help it. He gaped, wide eyed, as the soldier who nearly took his head off drops to the ground and died before him. For a moment time seemed to stop. He'd been in a few fights before, and he'd killed people and he'd seen allies be killed. Even fighting his way here had some of that.

But this was a death that wasn't being drowned out by the battle or that rush of defending one's own life. This was real. Here and now. Questions about who this man might be...might have been, flooded his mind. For an instant he watches the life leave this man and it is Sephiroth's strike that pulls his back to reality.

"Uh, r-right. G-got it." He turned and ran into the coliseum, managing to hold on to his stomach's contents as he moved.

Sephiroth seemed to only afford Cloud another blink, oblivious to the reality which had struck at the younger man. Even if the sounds of the battle were more at the bottom of the stone steps and not all around them Sephiroth wasn't phased at all by the finality of fatally injuring and then delivering a swift death to an opponent. Impossible to feel connected when one had spent a lifetime being separate from the masses of humanity.

He followed right behind Cloud and even helped to heave the doors to the Coliseum open far enough for them to both slip inside. The sounds of fighting could be heard in the gloom but it was on another side of the building so for now at least they might be able to gain some respite.

Sephiroth took the time to sheathe Masamune, the long gleaming sword that didn't even seem to be stained by any of the gruesome work, slipped away into the scabbard that he wore diagonally-down across his back. Then clipped the strap for the hilt into place so the sword wouldn't fall out. It could be considered an upside-down arrangement but it kept the handle close to his hand and that could mean all the difference.

He then tilted the faceplate to his dragoon-type helmet up and despite the uncomfortable sheen of wetness and grime that painted the whole surface of his face, went about checking the various pieces of armor plate he was wearing. Not that he was intentionally ignoring Cloud, by not talking to the boy, but he understood well that they wouldn't get much of a break before the fight would come to them again.

Anything to put his mind to something in the meantime, considering how long he'd been fighting in the battle so far.

As they ran in, Cloud threw down the bar as Sephiroth closed the door, locking out the enemies for the time being. It would buy them some time for sure. Cloud flipped up the visor of his own helmet, taking a moment to adjust to the general gloom of the hall they had entered into. It looked like they were in one of the side lobbies of the arena. The sounds they were hearing were coming from the direction of the main entrance.

Cloud paced a bit and then collapsed heavily on a bench, his breaths long and heavy. He felt fine physically, but he also felt exhausted. Like his mind was being pulled in every direction and almost burned from the labor of being constantly alert.

He let Sephiroth go on about his own distraction for a few moments, not wanting to bother the man. Eventually though he couldn't help but speak. "Sephiroth....Sir....what was it like the first time you killed someone?"

Eyes that shone some in the gloom flicked over towards Cloud when he heavily sat down on the bench nearby but didn't linger on the boy for long before returning to reaching underneath a particularly buckled plate on his opposite arm, searching for the release in order to discard it. Sephiroth knew, from the aching that already was settling in a lot of his major muscle groups, that if he did the same it'd take at least double the effort to get back on his feet again. He didn't want to think too much on how many hours he'd been going without much of a rest.

It was that self-same constant state of alert that was more than half of the reason he were still pressing on with the fighting. Although it had been a while since the War at Wutai had officially ended for him, slipping back into that particular 'zone' was akin to donning a well-worn second skin for Sephiroth.

He paused, finally pulling the dented plate free and letting it fall to the floor, as Cloud broke the silence between them. Sephiroth kept most of the resulting frown to himself, mostly turned away for a few seconds before turning to face him again. One might as well ask him what it was like to swim for the first time, or ride a bike. It wasn't a detail that Sephiroth ever put any weight into. Still, he had a good guess why it had come up now; how many times had he seen otherwise promising candidates for SOLDIER balk when it came to ending a life? Cloud couldn't afford to balk now.

"What was it like?" He repeated, trying to use the words as a guide for how he might attempt to answer Cloud. Truth be told, given the intense battle they were caught in the middle of, the last thing Sephiroth needed now was to be distracted by sentiment or philosophy. There could be a thousand long answers to that query- but the silver general of SOLDIER settled on only a short one.

"It was me, or them."

On edge as he was, Cloud's eyes snapped to the metal plate as it landed. The clattering alone was nearly enough to make him jerk from where he was seated. As his heartbeat returned to normal he pushed himself back to his feet and paced around some to work off the energy. He really hoped this would all be over soon. This wasn't how he was expecting this engagement to go at all.

They were legendary heroes right? Weren't heroes supposed to be able to come in and change the tide of battle? And here they were fighting for their lives against a superior force.

"Well...yeah I guess...But I mean how did you feel about it?" Cloud couldn't help but push. The sight and sound of that man dying in front of him was still repeating in his eyes and ears.

Sephiroth followed Cloud's pacing with only his eyes and by slightly turning his head when he passed out of sight. It reminded him of Zack, and how the puppy would always resort to squats as a way of disposing of unspent energy. When Angeal had mentioned the habit, Sephiroth had wondered if it might be a side effect of the mako infusion - but here was Cloud exhibiting the same symptoms without a drop of the Planet's lifeblood infused. It had to be something else, then.

"I felt-" Cloud didn't ask for much, for sure, though Sephiroth was having difficulty pinning down an answer. Truthfully he hadn't felt much of anything, or at least as far as he remembered. Only monsters didn't feel though, so while Sephiroth must have felt something, he'd worked so far past it that it didn't matter anymore.

"-it's important not to think so much." Was the only advise he could bring himself to give, it wasn't a comfortable subject and Sephiroth quickly found another scratched plate of armor to occupy himself with.

It was a much simpler form of restlessness than Mako energy, and one that Zack certainly shared as well. It was the curse of being a country boy from a quiet backwater. It was that restlessness of wanting to do anything to avoid dying in the same one chocobo town that you grew up in. Well Nibelheim had a truck, but that's beside the point.

The energy would find its way out one way or another, and the biggest fear was not life or death but the failure to make a difference. To matter. Being a hero in this land helped with that, but having just been face with the sheer Reality of a man dying in front of him those thoughts couldn't help but creep in.

He stopped his pacing as Sephiroth 'scolded' him. He was right, there would be time to worry about this later at least. For now he needed to live. "R-right..." He checked his gear and gave Sephiroth a nod, "Whenever you're ready, Sir."

Event || Esdham Under Fire

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