Eternal Fall

Final Fantasy and its characters are owned by Square Enix.
Warning: Violent imagery, rape, sexual situations (M/M, M/F)

Eternal Fall: part XIII: Self-Control


Zack slowly opened his blue-violet eyes and blinked a few times, completely confused as to where he was. He stretched on the large, comfortable bed and looked around at the simple room. It was comfortable and traditional with an elegant simplicity, as though it belonged to some modern samurai. He realized he was still at Sephiroth's house, but the young general was no where to be seen. Suddenly the raven haired young man sat up, complete panic taking over.

"I overslept!" he yelled, practically falling out of the bed. "Shit!"

He found his clothes, which had been torn to shreds the previous night after his encounter with Sephiroth's demonic guardian angel. Deciding that he didn't have time to care, he pulled them on and bolted out of the bedroom, grabbing one of Sephiroth's jackets to cover himself and mentally reminding himself over and over to return it in the best condition possible.

As soon as he opened the front door he ran into a strong and upright body, and almost went flying back the way he came.

"Going somewhere?" Sephiroth asked. "What would the recruits think if they saw you looking so--"

"Shitty?" Zack grinned. "Hey, why so formal?" he asked, noticing that Sephiroth was in his all black attire that he usually only wore when he needed to look important. (And the ShinRa usually decided that for him.)

"I had to go to take care of important business."

"Like what?"

"Let's just say I made a deal with one of the Turks to have a prisoner released. Tell no one."

Zack blinked. "You made a deal with a Turk? That's just asking for trouble, Seph. Which one was it?"

"Tseng."

"The scary quiet one?!"

"He did me a favor," Sephiroth said, walking around the corner of the house to his motorcycle.

Zack followed him. "Look, I have to get back and--"

"I performed all of your morning tasks."

"You did them?! I'm sorry, Seph. You should have just woken me--"

Zack stopped in mid-sentence and forgot everything. He looked up to see the slender figure taking off the black spare helmet and handing it to Sephiroth. The long brown hair spilled down in pretty curls. Zack took in the light pink outfit, which was dirty now from the days she was made to spend in The The raven-haired young man only stood there in disbelief.

"So," Sephiroth said, waving a hand in front of his face. "Would you mind telling me if this is the right one? You said a name last night...."

Zack nodded slowly. "Y...yea. This is my Aeris...."

The girl ran up and wrapped her arms around Zack, giggling happily. Zack was speechless, and he held the girl tightly. Sephiroth felt himself smiling. He had never seen Zack this way before. And now he knew just how much pain Zack had been holding in at losing this girl.

"You two go inside before someone sees you," Sephiroth said softly.

All three of them went into the small home, and as soon as the door shut Sephiroth received a crushing hug from Zack and his girlfriend. He tried to stand his ground there as he was practically wrestled to the floor and hugged by the two laughing maniacs. Part of him had trouble understanding the feelings that were rising up in him at that moment. But something moved deep in his heart, and he found himself laughing with them as well. It was immense happiness, and it delighted him and frightened him. He didn't want to think of it as fragile. He wanted it to go on forever.

~~~~~~~~~~

Aeris sat on the couch, staring at the silver-haired young man in the armchair not far from her. He was out of his general's attire and clothed in something that looked more like Zack's uniform, with the sleeveless shirt, dark pants, and belt with the ShinRa logo. Sephiroth felt her eyes on him and looked up at her. She continued to stare with shining blue eyes. They sat there in the house while Zack was off at the dorms.

"How old are you?" she asked, tilting her head.

Sephiroth sat there for a moment, looking down as if he were calculating his own age. "Twenty-one."

"Aren't you a little young to be general?"

"Yes. By traditional standards I am far too young."

"You should be hanging out with friends and partying."

"Zack tried to convince me to do that with him, but it's simply... not my thing."

Aeris smiled brightly. "You're just the quiet type. I understand."

Sephiroth nodded slightly, then stared at her as she had done to him.

"What's on your mind?" she smiled.

"I'm not used to seeing normal girls."

"Normal?" she giggled.

"Yes. Girls who have normal lives," he stopped for a moment. t dot do you do?"

"Do?"

"What do you if... you aren't in the military?"

Aeris blinked and thought about his question. "What did you do before you joined?"

"I have been with the ShinRa since I was very young," he answered, as if it were normal.

"I... I see. Well, I sell flowers. And I speak with my mother. And I try to make friends. I write to Zack. I sing." She narrowed her eyes on him with a grin. "You have a lovely voice. Sing something for me."

Sephiroth shifted in his chair. "I don't sing."

"Try it! Anyone can sing! Zack loves to do it. You must have heard him by now."

Sephiroth winced. "Yes... I've heard him."

Aeris laughed. "Don't make that face!"

Sephiroth watched her as she laughed. She and Zack laughed and smiled a lot. He wasn't used to seeing this kind of happiness. She continued to beg him to sing for her, and he continued to observe her as she joked around with him. Suddenly he felt a small pang of guilt for what he did to Zack's body when this girl had Zack's heart. Sephiroth didn't know why he knew what it meant to be faithful since he never had parents, but for some reason, he knew that a the bond of romantic love was meant for two and alo alone.

At first, he parted his lips to tell her he was sorry for what he did, even if it wasn't his fault. But he stopped, not wanting to hurt her feelings. He looked up to see her innocent smile.

"I don't know any songs," he said finally.

"I'll teach you!"

~~~~~~~~~~

"Nai eleni siluvar antalyannar....
Aa' menle nauva calen ar' ta hwesta e' ale'quenle....
Cormamin niuve tenna' ta elea lle au'...."

Aeris smiled as the words flowed from Sephiroth's mouth. She was almost lost in the words as though she had heard them for the first time. He had picked up on the tune and the words so quickly. But she hadn't expected him to bring out such emotion in it. His singing voice was beautiful, as though it belonged to an angel rather than a human. It flowed like water and made her heart beat fast. She felt tears coming to her eyes.

"Where did you learn to sing like that?" she asked softly.

"Learn? This is the first time I ever really sang," he responded with a satisfied look. Suddenly his bright green eyes shifted to the doorway.

Aeris turned to see Zack there. They hadn't even heard the door. She and Sephiroth both expected him to make some witty comment. But he just stood there silently, walking in after what seemed like a great deal of thought. He made his way to the couch and gently sat on Aeris' lap.

"Hey!" she whimpered.

"Seph, that was one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard," Zack said, complete sincerity in his voice.

"Your heavy!" Aeris whimpered again.

Zack sat back slowly. "Seriously Seph, I'm speechless."

"OWIE OWIE OWIE OWIE OWIE!!!!"

Zack laughed and switched places with his whimpering girlfriend. She sat on his lap and breathed a sigh of relief.

"You should sing more," Aeris said to Sephiroth. "There is so much hidden emotion inside of you. It just wants to burst out."

~~~~~~~~~~

Cloud took a cold shower, dressed in his boxers, and threw himself down on his bed and shut his eyes. He was exhausted. The drills were hell today, and he was soar and stiff from head to toe. But it was paying off. He knew he was getting stronger.

And the last couple days had more than a few events in his favor. He saw general Sephiroth more than once, and it was usually when he thought he wouldn't be seeing him for a long time. Once the general even appeared in the cafeteria. Cloud smiled at his luck, and he laughed at himself for even having these current thoughts about another man. But he felt something when he saw Sephiroth.

Cloud rolled over onto his back and took a deep breath. He let his mind wander to the time when Sephiroth healed him. It felt so good to the blonde that he wished he had more injuries. He wanted to cut often, he wanted to hurt, he wanted to bleed... and he wanted Sephiroth to heal him.

Or maybe... he wanted to hurt Sephiroth. Maybe he wanted to make the general bleed just so he would need Cloud to heal him. Cloud smiled at the thought. He pictured Sephiroth, the strongest warrior in the world, bending to his will. Sephiroth was powerful, and Cloud knew he wouldn't yield easily to anyone. But if the general ever did show weakness, Cloud wanted to see it. Cloud wanted to cause him pain. He wanted to be in complete control. He wanted those beautiful green eyes to want him, and he wanted that long silver hair to cascade around his body.

Cloud's hand slid over his own toned abs and his fingertips found their way under the band of his boxers. But he stopped himself, letting his ache build. He continued to sink deeper into his desires. He wished he was strong enough to make the general do whatever he wanted him to. Cloud thought about cutting Sephiroth all over and painting his own body with the blood as he fucked the man senseless. No... not just fuck. Rape. Force. Control. But he knew he wanted the beautiful man to give in sooner or later. He wanted Sephiroth to beg for it.

For a brief moment Cloud mentally punished himself for his fantasies. They were becoming so dark and tainted with a wish for pain and blood and painful lust. He couldn't understand why he felt the way he did. Perhaps it was because he never had control over anything in his life. He wanted someone to share this pain. He wanted to feel the power he could have. And rather than be turned off by it, he wanted to know what that boy felt in the bathroom when he raped Cloud against the shower wall.

The young blonde gave in, and let his hand slide down to wrap around his erection. He thought of every dirty little detail he wanted to inflict upon the general. With every stroke of his hand he imagined a deep groan from Sephiroth's throat or some half-whispered begging for Cloud to stop. Cloud tilted his head back just as his mind began to fool with the idea of having Sephiroth tied up...

...and then the fire alarm went off.

The aching blonde nearly fell out of bed as the alarm sounded. He cursed the sound and ran for his clothes, the cloth rubbing painfully between his legs. He quickly started to think of his mother, dead kittens, old monks, ANYTHING to get his mind off of Sephiroth and to calm his body down as he pulled his clothes on. But nothing was completely helpful. He winced as he ran to the door and flung it open, only to see Sephiroth standing there, looking down the hall.

"Go back to bed," Sephiroth called out to the recruits. "It's a malfunction."

Sephiroth's green eyes met Cloud's as he passed by the doorway, and the young general continued off to his room, looking strong and tranquil and usual. Cloud quickly shut his door, the image of those glowing green eyes burned into his mind. He dropped his pants and continued the job he started not long ago.

~~~~~~~~~~

A week after a friend of Zack's came to take Aeris home, life was pretty much back to normal routine.

Zack yawned lazily in the sauna next to Sephiroth and stared off into space for a long while. The two didn't get much sleep while Aeris was around. It was odd for Sephiroth… having company over and getting to know people so thoroughly.

"You sure it's okay that I'm in here?" Zack asked, tilting his head towards his friend.

"No," Sephiroth grinned. "You aren't a senior officer, so they might kill you if they see you in here."

Zack stood slowly. "That's it, I'm leaving."

Sephiroth grabbed his wrist and pulled him down again. "I'm joking. Senior officers come in all the time with first class members. They talk about business and recruits. In fact, people hardly come on their own." He pointed up to the far corner of the steam room. "Don't sit in that spot. I've heard things about a few of your first class peers and the senior officers they come in with."

"That's disgusting!" Zack responded. "All the senior officers besides you are old!" He blinked and suddenly snickered. "Did you bring me in here to make a pass at me?"

Sephiroth elbowed him in the ribs gently. Zack laughed and pretended he was going to take his towel off for a moment before Sephiroth couldn't help but laugh at him.

"So Seph...?"

"Hm?"

"Are you a virgin?"

"Yes. Wait... no. Well--"

"You waking up after being possessed and finding yourself up my ass doesn't count. Being forced to do anything doesn‘t count."

"Then yes."

"Heh heh. Actually that's not my real question. I was just wondering. You got along with Aeris so well that I think a girl would do you good."

"I don't have time or desire for--"

Suddenly the door burst open and someone ran in, ducking into the thick steam. The person sat next to the door, breathing heavily. Sephiroth and Zack could hear people running past the door outside. Whoever ran in was hiding from someone. Zack put a hand on Sephiroth's shoulder and stood up, walking down a few steps and getting a good look at the person sitting next to the door. Sephiroth watched as the young man on the floor suddenly shot up and stood at attention.

"Strife? What are you doing here?" Zack asked, crossing his arms. "You aren't supposed to be anywhere near this area."

"I was running from someone, sir!" Cloud responded, still catching his breath.

"Who were you running from, Strife?"

Cloud hesitated, breathing heavily. Zack saw him glance towards the door. The kid was going to run for it. As soon as Cloud moved the slightest bit for the door, Zack was already there, blocking his way.

"I am not in the mood for your games, Strife! I asked you a question! I expect that question to be answered! If you can't even follow a simple order then why the fuck are you here?!"

"Sir... yes, sir..." Cloud said, looking completely defeated.

Zack listened as Cloud named a name... then two... the three... then four. Finally the raven-haired young man asked him to stop.

"Those people are all your seniors, Strife. It seems you have a problem with orders. Perhaps we need to see that--"

"Please don't send me home!" Cloud cried out suddenly. "I'd rather bare what they'll do to me," he said, motioning his hand toward the door. "I swear, I won't tell anyone."

Zack rose a brow and stared a Cloud for a moment. "I'll ask this one more time.... Why were you running?"

"I didn't want to be raped today... sir," Cloud said, trembling slightly.

Zack blinked and glanced over at Sephiroth, who was now approaching slowly. Cloud realized that he and Zack weren't the only ones there, and he nearly fainted when he found out who the third party was.

"What do you mean by... 'today?'" Zack asked more gently.

Cloud looked at the two nearly naked, sweating young men nervously. Finally Zack understood.

"Shit, Strife. General Sephiroth and I aren't in on this. We have no idea what's going on with you. We aren't here to hurt you…….. outside of training. It's your job to report any misconduct."

Cloud looked down at the floor, clenching his fists.

"How often?" Sephiroth asked.

"Once or twice a week," Cloud said, pain in his voice.

"For the record, why didn't you tell anyone?" Zack asked.

"Most of the people I went to were either in on it, or they didn't believe me."

"I need you to give me all of the names again," Sephiroth said softly.

Cloud listed six people. Two first class members, three senior officers, and...

"...a member of the Turks," Sephiroth said, narrowing his eyes. "No wonder you couldn't go to anyone. This Turk probably has a constant eye on you. They cover up everything."

"All of these people... they forced themselves on you?" Zack asked.

"Yes sir..." Cloud murmured.

"Why are they picking on him?" Zack asked Sephiroth. "They have to be using other recruits as well."

"They probably have a select group they fancy," Sephiroth nodded. "I want you to walk him back."

"What are you going to do?" Zack blinked.

"I'm going to see that this doesn't happen again."

Cloud watched as Sephiroth left the steam room to change and take care of business. He took in the beautiful view of the general's strong muscles and the way his long silver hair stuck to his body. He came back to reality when Zack opened the door to leave also. He followed Zack to the locker room waited for him to change, and then returned to the dorms with him.

~~~~~~~~~~

Sephiroth made his way into ShinRa Headquarters. He swiped his card and walked inside, wearing a casual uniform with a sleeveless shirt and pants. But he was still intimidating, because unlike most, this casual uniform was all black, and it only highlighted his silver hair and glowing green eyes. He slid a specialized card key into the elevator slot and made his way down to the fourth basement floor. He stepped out and looked around, seeing no one. But he was aware that this Turk hadn't left the building yet, because he had been watching closely. He knew who had entered and who had left from this floor.

He started to search the halls, keeping his steps light. Down the hall he could see the faint light coming from beneath one of the doors. He made his way there and listened. Hearing nothing, and finding the door slightly open, he pushed on it slowly.

"My good general," came the woman's voice. "I'm flattered that you would come to see me."

The woman in the chair had her back to him when he entered, but she slowly rotated the chair to look at him. She smiled darkly, her blue suit jacket thrown over the back of her chair and her shirt unbuttoned just low enough for the valley between her full breasts to be exposed. She had long black hair, which was hanging loose now. Her dark eyes undressed him slowly as he approached.

"Please, general, have a seat," she said, motioning to the chair in front of her desk. "And please, call me Raven."

Sephiroth sat down. "I've come to talk to you about your conduct with the soldiers here," he said, knowing that being blunt with a Turk was the fastest and easiest way to get things done.

"You're such a gentleman, general," she smiled. "In short, you want me to stop fucking the soldiers, am I right?"

"Yes. Especially the unwilling."

She laughed. "Unwilling? Oh my good general, I assure you that none of them are unwilling."

Raven stood and walked around her desk. She sat on the edge of her desk, only feet away from him. She leaned forward a bit, her exposing more of her cleavage.

"What man in his right mind wouldn't be willing?" she smirked.

Sephiroth only sat there in his state of constant serenity. "I've heard a complaint."

She laughed again. "Face it, sweetie, I've never had a man resist me," she said as she pressed a couple buttons on her desk. The door shut and locked itself.

"Regardless of who wants it, I'm fully aware that you've had indecent relations with minors who are to abstain from relationships with members of the military who outrank them, which includes the Department of Administrative Research… which includes you, if I am correct."

"But you're old enough, aren't you?" she smiled, "Even though you're still so young. Why you're just out of your teens aren't you?"

She slid off of the desk and started to circle him slowly as he sat there. Her short skirt was riding dangerously high. Sephiroth only continued to stare forward. Being alone in an office with a Turk, especially a Turk who knew that you knew they were doing something against their extremely short list of rules, was dangerous.

"They all got hard, they all wanted it. But I saw to it that it was on my terms. Perhaps a few of them had a problem with the dildo shoved up their asses. The largest size possible. Probably very painful. But they still bared it long enough to please me into allowing them to fuck me."

She stood in front of him again, this time with her gun. She pointed it at his head with a smile.

"I'm not here for games," Sephiroth said, his calm exterior remaining.

"Neither am I," she smirked. "And tonight, general, you're going to fuck me."

"I notice the conversation hasn't left the issue of sex since I walked in," he said flatly. "Did you stop to consider that I wasn't interested in you?"

If his comment hit a nerve, she didn't show it. She only smiled, and he heard the gun at his head click as the bullet was readied. She was out of her mind, and she would shoot if provoked again. He sighed and stood up slowly, but she kept the gun aimed at his forehead.

"Don't think I'm not aware that all of those wartime stories of you are complete lies," she grinned. "You're just an intelligent boy who happened to be a prodigy in something."

"You see me as a boy? That explains why you have to have sex with me...."

She was about to answer his insult, but with a speed no normal human could possess he grabbed her wrist and pointed the gun away from his head. He backed her up against the desk and lifted her up onto it, positioning himself between her legs. He smiled down at her, his face so close to hers that he could feel her breath hitting him.

"I knew you had to be more aggressive than you looked," she smirked.

He said nothing, only let his free hand travel up her thigh while the other still held tightly to her wrist.

"I think I'd feel safer with the gun," she grinned. "I'm not so sure I can trust you."

"The Turks don't trust anyone," he said softly as his hand left her thigh and wrapped around her, pulling her close and pressing her breasts against his chest. "Hold on to it for as long as you want."

His hand returned to her thigh, pulling her skirt up higher. She wasn't wearing any underwear, and she eagerly wrapped her legs around him. He let go of her wrist even though she still had the gun. His hands traveled slowly up the sides of her body, he leaned over to whisper in her ear.

"I'm not a gentle person," he whispered.

"Neither am I," she smiled darkly.

"Good," he said, pulling her off of the desk just long enough to turn her around and bend her over it. She was now spread open, and vulnerable to him. He moved close and roughly pulled her back against him, his hands moving up her stomach as she rested her back against his chest.

"For that boy to complain about you, he must prefer men," Sephiroth whispered as one of his hands moved up to cup her breast.

"Which of the little brats was it?" she murmured.

"It's not important," Sephiroth said.

"I want to know, my dear general. Someone needs to be taught a long and painful lesson."

"You said they all enjoyed it, so it must have been a lie out of shame."

Raven grinned, pressing her backside back and rubbing it against his crotch gently. "Well, they didn't all enjoy it. If you know about me, then surely you know there were men in on it too. Oh! Let me guess, it was that blonde boy, Cloud. He definitely likes it up the ass more. He needed a good blowjob and a hard fuck."

"Maybe I need that too," he said, turning Raven to face him.

She only smirked, and leaned in to kiss him.

"Or maybe..." he said softly, making her stop. "Maybe I don't want you."

"What?!"

Sephiroth leaned in close, her breasts crushed against him and her lips barely touching his. "Maybe this was all an elaborate trick. Maybe you should have been paying better attention while I disabled all of the security measures on your little desk panel. Maybe I know that this building’s security system was designed with me as a model in case someone with equal power came along. Maybe I knew that your gun only has tranquilizer "bullets" that I'm immune to, and that in the event that I walked out without giving you what you wanted, you would use the control panel on your desk to set off one of the main security measures on this floor that would kill me." He smirked slightly. "It WOULDN'T kill me," he pressed against her cruelly, arousing her even more. "...But we can't set those off and ruin the equipment on this floor, now can we?"

He suddenly stood upright and walked towards the door. He opened it easily since all of the systems in this room had been disabled. Raven looked around, surprised.

"By the way, thank you for your confession. I only needed one name."

"Where did you get those codes?!" she demanded.

A group of men burst in, and within seconds she was arrested.

"Where did you get them!" she yelled. "They should be arresting you!"

"On the contrary," a smooth voice interrupted her. "Sephiroth only had to ask for mine, and I gladly handed them over for the purposes of removing you from this team. They will be changed soon, of course."

Raven turned to see the owner of the voice, and found Tseng there.

"Tseng! How could you do this?!"

"You're a danger to my promotion," he smiled. "Don't worry, I'm sure we will find some sweet lady to take your place."

Raven was taken away, and Sephiroth almost felt sorry for her. There was no telling what they'd do to her since she knew so much about the inner workings of the ShinRa.

"You've already arrested the others?" Sephiroth asked.

"Of course," Tseng said. "As you know, we work swiftly. And we've already connected them with two other people who were raping recruits. You need not worry about this anymore."

"That is two favors, Tseng. I thank you," Sephiroth nodded.

"Two favors?" Tseng smiled. "Sephiroth, don't be so naive. You've done me a favor here. Consider us even."

Sephiroth nodded and walked out of the building with Tseng, then back to the dorm on his own.

~~~~~~~~~~

Cloud didn't know he had left his dorm room door open until he heard Sephiroth speak.

"I should be over now, Strife. They've been arrested. You should be glad you spoke up."

"Thank you, sir," Cloud said as he stood. A razor fell from his hand to the floor.

Sephiroth walked over and picked it up, sighing softly.

"I was going to throw it away, sir," Cloud insisted.

"Good..." Sephiroth nodded. "It's good to hear that."

Cloud looked at Sephiroth with an innocent appreciation in his eyes. It was refreshing to see this compared to the looks Raven had given him. But the innocence that had returned to Cloud's eyes was somewhat painful. It brought back memories of the many innocent people Sephiroth had seen in the past as they were tortured. The people in the many videos Hojo made him watch... the girls in Wutai... the innocent people who died in the countless battles. For some reason, all of the feelings he felt when first witnessing these events were coming back to him. He decided it was because he didn't move fast enough this time. He didn't realize fast enough. He didn't truly protect the innocent person standing in front of him. He failed.

"Is everything okay, sir?" Cloud asked, seeing the normal tranquility on Sephiroth's face slightly troubled.

"Yes. Everything is fine."

But it wasn't fine. He turned to leave, but stopped suddenly. He heard a voice whispering to him. Now he knew. He knew about the demonic woman who possessed him. She waited until his heart was weak, and then she found a way to take over. Every time his buried feelings rose up in him, she took over. But he experienced so much pain his entire life that he didn't even realize this was the cause.

"Did I get you into trouble, sir?" Cloud asked, worry in his voice.

"No, not at all."

He has so much faith in you, Sephiroth. He trusts you so much. You saved him.

Sephiroth nearly panicked at hearing her voice in his head again, but he didn't show it to Cloud.

But what if you were to do to him what those who were arrested did to him? What would he think of you then?

Sephiroth's intention was to walk out and back to his room, but he found himself staying and closing Cloud's door.

It hurts so much, doesn't it? All of those emotions coming back to you. All of the times you failed to protect others. What are you good for in the military if you can't protect others? Is that what you're thinking? That is the reason you're still here isn't it? Or is it because you don't know how to function outside of this life? What good is your life?

Suddenly he felt the dam of his emotions breaking. She was getting better at controlling so many parts of him.

"General?" Cloud said softly, moving closer to him.

Time to make him feel pain, Sephiroth. It's too late now. You let your pain sink too deep again. You can't resist me. So just sleep.

Sephiroth turned to face Cloud slowly. His hands reached out to the shorter blonde boy, and they grasped his shoulders. He felt himself pulling Cloud closer. Suddenly he stopped and sank down to his knees.

"I'm not myself..." he whispered. "I can't explain, but there is something wrong. Go... get Zack."

You're getting stronger, dear Sephrioth. The demonic guardian angel whispered. But you can't resist me for long. You've stored so much pain inside. I only have to find where to tweak you. What to make you remember. What hurts you most and when.

Sephiroth put his hands over his face and took a deep breath. Cloud put a hand on his shoulder.

"Zack isn't here, sir. What can I do?" the young blonde asked.

The demon inside of Sephiroth was killing him. She was filling him with guilt over everything he thought he'd ever failed at. And the more he gave into his guilt, the more she took control of his body. Sephiroth looked up at Cloud's worried face. He knew he couldn't let her hurt the worried blonde.

"Call someone... to have me arrested."

"Arrested? What have you done?"

"It's what I will do if you don't call to have--!"

Sephiroth's voice was cut off, and he knelt there as if he forgot where he was.

"General...?"

"You are a beautiful young man," Sephiroth said softly. "Even for a human...."

Cloud stood there silently as he was grabbed around the waist. Something about the general was different now. There was a different spark in his eyes.

"Good boy," Sephiroth murmured as he pulled out the razor blade Cloud had dropped not long ago, "Don't fight me. It will only hurt for a little while."

"G... General? What do you mean, sir?"

"You're going to be tortured, of course. I'm going to cut you to shreds, rape you, and then torture you some more."

Again Cloud only stood there, staring down into Sephiroth's eyes as the young general knelt in front of him, his arms wrapped around him. Cloud's hand rose slowly and pushed back the silver hair from around Sephiroth's face. He leaned in, and kissed Sephiroth gently. Cloud didn't know what he was doing until it was done. He knew how badly he wanted it, but he never thought he had the nerve to do it. He also didn't imagine he could be this gentle.

Suddenly the young general jolted and released Cloud, standing up quickly. He was back to normal somehow. Cloud only nodded at him.

"I know," Cloud said gently. "You aren't allowed. I'm sorry."

"Don't," Sephiroth said, shaking his head slowly. "Don't apologize. It isn't your fault. That wasn't me... it was..." he stopped, not knowing how to explain himself. "I don't want to do to you what the others did, Cloud. What you just saw... what I just did... it wasn't--"

"Wasn't you?" Cloud said softly, looking down.

Sephiroth detected the sadness in Cloud's voice. He was probably confusing the young blonde. How many times had Cloud been rejected in some way or another?

Hard footsteps and whistling could be heard in the hallway, and Sephiroth opened the door. Zack turned around, hearing the sound.

"Hey! How's Strife?" he asked with a cheerful smile. But that smile faded when he saw the look on his friend’s face.

"She came back..." Sephiroth said softly. "She left before I could hurt him... but..."

Zack nodded and walked over to him. He peeked around him to see Cloud standing there.

"I can't keep doing this, Zack," Sephiroth whispered. "I'm going to kill someone."

"Let me talk to him," Zack said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Go to bed. Just go relax. And leave your door unlocked so I can check in on you... sir."

Sephiroth didn't want to leave Cloud like this after what he'd done. But all he could do was nod and walk down to his room, leaving Zack to sort things out. Once again, he thanked whatever higher power that might have existed for sending him at least one person who was always there for him.


~*~*~*To Be Continued*~*~*~


(*Checks the page number* o.o; I got a little carried away so this chapter is LONG. Once again, I apologize for the errors that come with the long chapters. I'm tired, so I'm not proofing as well tonight. Anyway, thank you for reviewing me! You‘re all so sweet! I'm reading a lot of stories lately and people aren't updating! I'm getting a taste of my own medicine!)