Title: Wine of Victory
Fandom: Final Fantasy: Advent Children
Characters: Cloud, Sephiroth
Prompt: 060 - Drink
Word Count: 781
Date finished: 07/20/2006
Rating: PG
Summary: Sephiroth can taste his victory.
Author's Notes: It's a little tenuous, but I think it works.
Disclaimer: Characters are owned by Square Enix and Sony Pictures as far as I know.

Sephiroth could taste Cloud's exhaustion, savoring it like he would a fine wine. Pulling the building down on him had been a stroke of brilliance; between falling debris and his own attacks, Cloud had reached the end of his endurance. He'd fled to steady ground.

He could nearly taste the victory, it was so close.

Sephiroth came leaping out of the falling debris as Cloud pulled himself to his feet, exhaustion in every movement, and the blonde rolled out of the way of his strike. Instead of engaging, he evaded every blow, but Sephiroth was willing to let him. He smirked inside as Cloud left himself wide open, and Sephiroth took it, slamming his fist - holding his Masamune - into Cloud's shoulder, knocking him off his feet.

Oh, to control Cloud, freeze him as he found and killed the little tramp that loved him - making the blonde watch him kill her. What a heady wine his grief and misery would be!

Cloud could barely lift the sword, and his movements were slow and clumsy. Hardly a good fight any more. It was child's play to knock the blonde to his knees and kick him in the ribs, sending him flying to crash against a wall, sword at his side but out of his hand, stunned.

Sephiroth pinned him to the wall, stabbing the Masamuna into Cloud's right shoulder. Oh, he'd play with this little failure first, give him energy to fight longer until he could barely move, until he was so beaten he would beg, as Sephiroth wanted. Age this wine of revenge a little.

"Tell me what you cherish most," he purred as Cloud, his movements jerky and painful, reached with his left hand to grasp the blade in his right shoulder. "Give me the pleasure of taking it away."

Cloud stiffened and looked up, his Mako-blue eyes narrowed, and something like fear brushed Sephiroth's mind at the look on his face. With the strength Sephiroth knew well, Cloud pulled the Masamune out of his shoulder, sticking it back in the wall. He grabbed his sword, rolled to his feet, and swung -

But Sephiroth was not there, leaping over Cloud's head to land out of reach, eyes on the small blonde, who glared back.

"I pity you."

You pity me? Sephiroth raged - although none of it showed on his face. I'll torture that tramp before I kill her!

"You just don't get it at all."

Tired of hearing him talk, Sephiroth attacked, just enough to gage Cloud's strength. The blonde parried his blow with ease as Sephiroth flipped over his head, landed on a strut high above, and pushed himself off, watching Cloud, who followed.

"There is nothing I don't cherish!"

Cloud whirled that sword over his head, a move Sephiroth recognized, only this time he felt Cloud gathering his own Spirit Energy, and it manifested around that sword. Sephiroth readied his sword, and himself, for whatever Cloud threw at him.

He did not expect the six blades to separate, surrounding him, holding him in place, his arms spread to leave him wide open. He was unable to move, unable to defend himself at all, caught in a web of whatever Cloud was doing.

And then Cloud moved with amazing speed, glowing gold, slashing at him as he passed, trading blades at each point. With each blow, Sephiroth was turned so he could follow the blonde's progress.

The shock wore off just as Cloud, hovering above him now, dove down, slicing one last time before landing. He straightened as the gold glow faded and the blades of his sword rained down around him, and the main blade fell into his upraised hand.

Sephiroth struggled to hold onto the magic, to finish what he started, to bring those with Geostigma (how he wanted Cloud to be part of that!) closer to death, but he was too injured, and the sun began to break through the dark clouds he'd caused. He could see the light growing on Cloud's face; the blonde kept his eyes on him.

"Stay where you belong," Cloud said wearily, no trace of the triumph that should have been in his voice. "In my memories."

Sephiroth lost his grip on the magic entirely, the clouds retreating from his position, letting in the afternoon sun. His wing stretched up from his right shoulder no matter how hard he fought to contain it, and he knew he'd lost - again! - to this blasted Failure.

He didn't have the energy to rage. The wine of victory had turned to ashes in his mouth.

"I will… never be a memory," was all he could say. Then the wing covered him, and he knew no more.

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