The Stop For FF7 Freaks - C and Z Part 2 - Video Games - http://maxpages.com/theff7stop/C_and_Z

Final Fantasy 7: C and Z part 2
If you hand't noticed, C and Z mean Cloud and Zack. But then, a TRUE FF7 fan would have figured that out!

"Damn, that new WEAPON was tough!! If it could survive the Knights of the Round Table attack, its way out of our league!!" Cid said to the group.
"We have to find Cloud; he has the three Master Materia. We need all the Master Materia we can get," Reeve said.
"Where do you think Cloud is, Tifa?" Barret asked Tifa, "I mean, the guy's practically your boyfriend and everything..."
Tifa's face turned bright red. "I-I-I don't know what you're talking about, Barret," she stammered.
Barret and Cid exchanged knowing glances, then each threw an understanding wink to Tifa.
"This really sucks!" Yuffie said, exasperated, "WHERE THE %$#^% IS THAT POKEY-HEADED WEIRDO?!?!"
"That's my line, Yuffie! I'm the one with the foul mouth!" Cid yelled, "Now...WHERE THE %$#^% IS THAT POKEY-HEADED WEIRDO?!?!"

Cloud had returned to the spot that Zack had been killed at. Five years...no, six years now... Cloud searched for his friend's body, hoping that he wasn't going crazy, hoping that he hadn't lost it completely. Zack....alive?
"Dammit, where are you, Zack? I have to prove that I'm not going crazy again! I can't live with these demons within me: Sephiroth, Jenova, Aeris....you... I Have to prove that I'm NOT crazy!!" Cloud scoured the area, ripping up dirt and grass with his hands, searching like a man gone mad; a man obsessed.
After two hours of futile searching, Cloud still hadn't found Zack's corpse. He did find one thing of interest: a picture of Aeris and Zack. They were both younger looking, Zack didn't have the muscled build he had when Cloud first met him, and Aeris hadn't fully grown into womanhood. Most notably, Zack didn't wear the clothes that Cloud was wearing now: blue shirt and pants, boots, gloves, and Buster Sword. Zack looked more innocent, more childlike; not the cool, hardened warrior that died saving him.
"Zack...are you alive?" Cloud asked no one in particular.

"Well, we've tried searching in Nibelhiem, Rocket Town, Wutai, Kalm, Fort Condor.....everywhere except Midgar and Cosmo Canyon," Vincent said, ticking off a mental list of the towns and cities on the Planet.
"There's nothing in Cosmo Canyon that would tie Cloud to it," Nanaki said, uusing logic to narrow the field of options, "that leaves only Midgar....where this whole mess started,"
"Pilot, take us to Midgar," Cid ordered.

"What in the---" Cloud looked up, hearing a sharp buzzing noise. What he saw shocked him to the core: a new WEAPON. It was as tall as he was, but was plated from head to toe in armor. Somehow, this WEAPON seemed familiar......
Cloud quickly dodged to the side, narrowly evading the WEAPON's eye lazers. Cloud went into a sidelong roll, came up, and ripped his Buster Sword from its scabbard. He had left his Ultima Weapon in the Highwind, after defeating Sephiroth in the Crater, before he left the group. Now, though, he wished he hand't been so hasty in getting rid of the weapon that had killed his worst enemy.
The WEAPON charged at Cloud, firing lazers and missiles from its arms, legs, chest, and eyes. Cloud dodged, jumped, sidestepped, and parried as many attacks as possible, trying his best to get a few attacks in himself. There was no time for charging any magical spells from his materia; this thing was way too fast!!
Cloud managed to cause a dent in the WEAPON, a big dent. The WEAPON staggered back, straightened, and then drew something from behind its back: a Buster Sword!
It was identical to Cloud's, except it hadn't been used, which was obvious since its sword had no dents or nicks in it. Cloud just stared at the blade, awestruck at the similarity his blade has to this one. The only person who had a Buster Sword was Zack, and Zack was dead! Cloud's sword was Zack's; he took it after Zack died.
Cloud jumped into the air, and dropped back down to the ground, sword positioned to cleave the WEAPON in half. A loud screeching noise ensued as Cloud's blade cut into the WEAPON. Cloud jumped back, expecting the thing to explode, but saw that the WEAPON was only severly damaged and fully functional.
"Damn you," Cloud muttered, Buster Sword poised for another attack. The WEAPON also readied its blade, in the exact same position as Cloud. The WEAPON charged at Cloud, sword above its head, prepared to cleave Cloud in two. Cloud quickly brought his sword up to block the blow; the jarring shock from the two blades clashing causing his arms to weaken. Cloud quickly moved away from the creature, keeping enough distance between it and him so that he could charge up a spell. The WEAPON somehow realized his intent, as it charged at him yet again, causing Cloud to lose his concentration as well as the spell he was preparing. Cloud quickly parried the attack, parried yet another slash, blocked a third, and managed to send a counter attack at the new WEAPON. The thing pulled away from Cloud, a new hole in its leg from where Cloud stabbed it with his sword.
The WEAPON quickly composed itself, charged yet again, and this time, it hit Cloud--hard. Cloud was down in an instant, the WEAPON's Buster Sword in his stomach.

"Hey, there's Cloud! At that ledge!" Tifa exclaimed, pointing at the blond man with thehuge sword.
"What's that thing he's fighting?" Barret asked, looking at the armored creature Cloud was clashing swords with.
"It looks like....another WEAPON!!" Reeve said, shocked.
"Two new WEAPONs....at least this one's not so big," Cid said softly.
"We gotta help him!" Tifa said, worried, "That thing's killing him!!"
"You guys go down and help him. I'll take care of thing's here," Reeve said, pulling out his remote controller for Cait Sith. "Go! Cloud doesn't have any time to spare!"

Cloud, on his knees, a large sword in his stomach, began hacking at WEAPON's ankles with his Buster Sword, sparks flying with each cut. Despite his efforts, he just couldn't find the strength to continue fighting, and soon his vision started blurring, he could feel his life slipping away....he really wasn't scared by the thought of death, his life was tormented enough as it is, but still...so much left undone...his friends: Barret, Nanaki, Vincent, Cid, Yuffie, Reeve and his Cait Sith robot..and Tifa....
Cloud could hear a faint voice in his ears; a voice and some noise. Someone was battling the WEAPON, and someone was talking to him, saying his name...Tifa? His hearing began to fail, soon he couldn't hear anything except the beating of his heart, which was slowing down...

*Cloud.......*
*Help me, Cloud...*
*Kill.....kill....me......kill...Sephiroth....*

"Cait Sith, be careful!" Tifa said to the robot sternly. Caith Sith, Barret, Vincent, Yuffie, Nanaki, Cid, and herself had finished their fight with the new WEAPON. it ended in a draw; the WEAPON flying off before they could destroy it. They managed to remove the sword from Cloud's stomach, but Tifa began to cry as she heard his pained moans as Barret extracted it from him after their fight with the new WEAPON. They were in the Highwind's infirmary, Cloud being carried by Cait Sith. The robot gently put the wounded Cloud on the bed, moving away after completing its task. Tifa tried to ignore the fact that Caith Sith was covered with Cloud's blood.
"Hmm....that's a pretty nasty wound..." the doctor muttered, looking at the hole in Cloud's stomach. The doctor quickly pulled out a green materia: Full Cure materia. After quickly casting the Full Cure spell, the doctor began his examination of his patient. The Full Cure spell had sealed the hole in Cloud's stomach, as well as regenerated his internal organs, but his health was still diminishing rapidly; he had obviously been poisoned.
"That WEAPON's sword must have been poison-caosted," the doctor told Tifa and Caith Sith, "I need some Heal materia, and I'm fresh out,"
"We're out of Heal materia too," Tifa said quietly.
"Hey! Cloud still had the Master Magic materia, doesn't he?" Cait Sith quipped.
"You're right!" Tifa exclaimed. The woman quickly went to Cloud's battered body, searching him for the materia. "Here it is!" Tifa pulled a green orb from Cloud's belt buckle: Master Magic.
"ESUNA!!!" Tifa cried, watching as the materia did its work. Cloud slowly came back to conciousness, a little sore and a bit disoriented.
Barret and the others came in at that moment to see if Cloud was alright. "How's he doing, Tifa?" Cid asked.
"Well, he's awake," she replied.

*Cloud...kill..me...kill...Sephiroth...*
*Cloud...kill...Sephiroth....*
*STOP!! JUST STOP!!! I DON'T WANT YOU IN MY MIND ANYMORE!!!!! GET OUT!!! GET OUT!!!! LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!*
*Cloud....help me....kill me.....*
*LEAVE ME------*

"-----ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Cloud screamed, sitting up in bed, hands at his temples. "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!!"
The others started backing away, but Tifa quickly composed herself and went to Cloud's side, grabbing his arm and shaking him. "Cloud, snap out of it!" she said to him.
Cloud threw her back, causing her to slam into the wall. Vincent and Barret each grabbed one f his arms, holding him down. Cloud fought against them, eventually throwing both of them into the wall as well. Cloud grabbed at his temples again, screaming.

*Cloud.....*
*Cloud.....*
"Cloud! Stop!" It was Tifa. She was yelling at him to stop. His mind continued to reel, his senses unreliable to him.
"Tifa...?" the name came out slowly, as if he had a hard time remembering how to talk. The name came out of his mouth, but the tormented man felt that the name was familiar and unfamiliar all at once.
"Cloud, are you alright?" Tifa asked him gently. Her head was bleeding slightly at her forehead from her crash into the wall.
"Tifa, I'm sorry," Cloud said, seeing that he had hurt her.
"Hey Cloud, what the hell was that about?" Cid asked him sternly.
"I keep hearing these voices, they're not Sephiroth's though. But, they seem so familiar....they were the voices of friends," Cloud tried to explain.
"What did these 'voices' say, Cloud?" Nanaki asked.
"They kept asking me to kill them, to help them, and kill Sephiroth. I think I've finally snapped," Cloud mumbled, head drooping.

The WEAPON that appeared in the ocean swam into a secret underwater cavern, reappearing inside the vast chamber. The WEAPON that Cloud fought was here as well.
The entire chamber's ceiling was exactl 1500 feet up. The chamber was circular with a 1000 foot diameter. It was filled with three hundred gallons of sea water. There was a tiny little penninsula of sorts that was attached to the wall of the chamber. This penninsula was only 30 feet long and 20 feet wide. But there was a huge computer on it, and a swivel chair in front of the computer. A tall, slender man was sitting in that chair, his white hair cut short, and well-combed. He was wearing a black coat, black shirt, black pants, and equally black boots. A rather long katana/no-datchi was resting against the computer. The man steepled his slender fingers, as he watched the monitor send a readout of his two WEAPONs' status.
"Zack, come out of that armor of yours," the man said to the WEAPON Cloud fought. The WEAPON's armor began to retract and transform. In a few seconds, the armor was gone, transformed into a simple belt buckle. The buckle was worn by a tall, black-haired young man. The young man resembled Cloud in many ways: his movements and clothes matched Cloud's exactly. He wore the Buster Sword in the same position Cloud would wear his.
It was Zack, alive and well. The only difference in his appearence was that his hair was shorter, close cropped, and neatly combed. He had a tougher, hardened aura about him. A dangerous aura.
"Zack, you failed to kill Cloud," the man in the chair stated, not looking at Zack.
"His friends came and outnumbered me," Zack explained, "but I will kill him. He killed Aeris. I loved her. I'll avenge her death, Sephiroth!! I swear I will...by killing her murderer, Cloud..."
"That you will, my young friend," Sephiroth said calmly, turning in his swivel chair to face Zack, "and I know just how to destroy Cloud. We will take away the one thing he cares for the most: his friends. He took away your love; we, in turn, will take away his friends,"
Sephiroth grinned evilly, green Mako eyes shining in the dim glow of the computer monitor. Zack grinned as well, relishing the thought of getting his revenge on Cloud, a man he trusted and cared for, a man who he thought was more than just his friend, but a brother. Though they weren't brothers by blood, Zack had once believed that Cloud was the closest thing to one. Not anymore. Those good memories were destroyed when Cloud murdered Aeris.
Sephiroth tried to help him save her, but they weren't fast enough. She died in Sector 5, Cloud gloating over his victory of runing Zack's life, proving that he was stronger than Zack and Sephiroth by beating them in combat then murdering Aeris as she tried to heal Zack with her materia......

"Hey, how are you doing?" Yuffie asked Cloud, bringing him a little boquet of flowers. Cloud put them on the table next to his bed in the infirmary.
"Better, thanks," Cloud replied, coughing a little.
"Cool, those were from Tifa, by the way," Yuffie said to him, pointing to the flowers. "She really cares for you, Cloud. Stop being an idiot and ask her out on a date!" Yuffie bopped him lightly on the head.
"She wouldn't go out with me, Yuffie. Just being friends is complicated enough as it is, at the moment."
"She would go out with you, she loves you,"
"I-I don't really care that much about such things like that anymore..."
"You're an idiot, then!"
Yuffie turned and started walking out the door when Cloud said to her, "Give me back my materia, Yuffie...."

"Did you talk to him?" Tifa asked the ninja girl.
"Yeah, he caught me stealing his materia. I just can't figure out how he does it!" she said, exasperated.
Tifa chuckled, "Well, what did he say?"
"He said he doesn't care about love or anything like that,"
Tifa looked at the Highwind's decking, holding back her tears.

Sephiroth continued to train, preparing himself for the final confrontation with Cloud. Slash, slash, downward slash, reversal slash. His Masamune blade cut through the air silently, like a ghost. He was lightning fast, and deadly silent. As silent as death. He would win this time. And if Zack somehow turned traitor on him, he would have to kill the young fool as well.
By SenshiB@aol.com

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Page Updated Tue Apr 10, 2001 3:30pm EDT