Cloud fell to his knees, the last core sword of the First Tsurugi slipping from his bloody grasp. The blonde swordsman was a mess, covered in red from all the wounds cut into him. They were precision strikes, befitting Sephiroth's skill. He hadn't been so clumsy to merely gouge or dismember his nemesis, but rather he had made surgical strikes to sever muscles and cut veins and arteries. It wasn't simply that Cloud lacked the strength to move. He physically couldn't. And he'd bleed out, but not before witnessing what was to come.
Cloud coughed, a black red spattering hitting the floor in front of him. He could feel the blood filling his lungs as he tried to breathe. His reply came out as a slow wet gasping around each word, "I..told...you...*cough*...last...time....not just...me..."
He looked up through the red haze of blood in his eyes, and he smirked like he was the one getting a joke out even as he and the world both teetered near death. ".....Reunion..."
His body flared with the power of a Limit Break. Despite all of the battles here, Cloud had never used his own. He always muscled through the fights he had been in, never wanting to risk giving something away his enemy.
The blow came from behind, a hard fist colliding with Sephiroth from his blind spot. The impact came like a truck, full of force and fury and backed by a familiar golden glow. It was the same as last time, though this time the figure who had struck him was bare handed, though tethered to one of the fallen blades. And the figure, glowing hot and golden, was the only woman who would dare lay a hand on him. The Tifa Cloud knew, who would have, should have come from the girl who now lay dead on the ground.
Another strike as the first figure caught his attention, another golden woman and this one holding a staff which she swung into his gut. She cleared out of the way as another two leveled their guns at him and opened fire. Huge hands came down and grabbed his shoulders and kept him still as an animal, a girl with a shuriken and a man with a spear rushed him. With each hit the force of Cloud's memories surged into Sephiroth, pressing images of why he cherished each and every one of them into his mind. The bonds of his friends were never something he would get rid of, and they were what kept him going even now.
Cloud's body shuddered and a golden afterimage stepped out of him now, gathering the broken Buster Sword from the ground. Calmly it settled into a cool and confident pose, its own light filling the gap where the blade had once bit. It took just a second, only long enough to make eye contact with Sephiroth before rushing forward, launching into a flurry of bladestrikes.
And through the barrage his voice came cold and cool, "I'll never let you win. No matter how many times you try, I'll stop you. Not because of what you did to me. Not because of what you did to my friends. Because you're wrong. Because you think that nothing matters. You believe everything beneath you and throw it away. And what do you have left? You say want to take away what I cherish. I know why you're so desperate to destroy what I have."
The afterimages dispersed one by one, the last one dropping Sephiroth to the ground as it vanished. There was a beat and then a heavy thud as Cloud's body slumped to the ground as well, the vitality and spirit completely gone from it. But even as his soul had already passed from this plane, his voice echoed once more in Sephiroth's mind.
Re: fyi - rounding this off after the next tag
Cloud coughed, a black red spattering hitting the floor in front of him. He could feel the blood filling his lungs as he tried to breathe. His reply came out as a slow wet gasping around each word, "I..told...you...*cough*...last...time....not just...me..."
He looked up through the red haze of blood in his eyes, and he smirked like he was the one getting a joke out even as he and the world both teetered near death. ".....Reunion..."
His body flared with the power of a Limit Break. Despite all of the battles here, Cloud had never used his own. He always muscled through the fights he had been in, never wanting to risk giving something away his enemy.
The blow came from behind, a hard fist colliding with Sephiroth from his blind spot. The impact came like a truck, full of force and fury and backed by a familiar golden glow. It was the same as last time, though this time the figure who had struck him was bare handed, though tethered to one of the fallen blades. And the figure, glowing hot and golden, was the only woman who would dare lay a hand on him. The Tifa Cloud knew, who would have, should have come from the girl who now lay dead on the ground.
Another strike as the first figure caught his attention, another golden woman and this one holding a staff which she swung into his gut. She cleared out of the way as another two leveled their guns at him and opened fire. Huge hands came down and grabbed his shoulders and kept him still as an animal, a girl with a shuriken and a man with a spear rushed him. With each hit the force of Cloud's memories surged into Sephiroth, pressing images of why he cherished each and every one of them into his mind. The bonds of his friends were never something he would get rid of, and they were what kept him going even now.
Cloud's body shuddered and a golden afterimage stepped out of him now, gathering the broken Buster Sword from the ground. Calmly it settled into a cool and confident pose, its own light filling the gap where the blade had once bit. It took just a second, only long enough to make eye contact with Sephiroth before rushing forward, launching into a flurry of bladestrikes.
And through the barrage his voice came cold and cool, "I'll never let you win. No matter how many times you try, I'll stop you. Not because of what you did to me. Not because of what you did to my friends. Because you're wrong. Because you think that nothing matters. You believe everything beneath you and throw it away. And what do you have left? You say want to take away what I cherish. I know why you're so desperate to destroy what I have."
The afterimages dispersed one by one, the last one dropping Sephiroth to the ground as it vanished. There was a beat and then a heavy thud as Cloud's body slumped to the ground as well, the vitality and spirit completely gone from it. But even as his soul had already passed from this plane, his voice echoed once more in Sephiroth's mind.
"Because you have...nothing."