Revitalized Dream (Book Three)

Year Five, Day Fifty-Seven

Sam POV

Blinding snow swirls around me, whiting out all my surroundings. The cold would be unbearable, but the raging inferno of hatred inside me keeps me warm as I push on. The snow is up passed my knees now. Each step is a struggle, but one thought keeps me going,

I must kill Sephiroth at all costs.

All of a sudden, everything freezes, as if time itself has stopped. The snowflakes which had been coming down incessantly since I left Icicle Inn are now hovering in midair, unmoving. But I ignore it all, moving on without even a second's hesitation.

"In this weather, how are you going to get anywhere, let alone coming to kill me?"

I come to a halt, rage boiling up inside of me at the sound of that thrice-cursed voice. "SEPHIROTH!! SHOW YOURSELF!!"

He appears before me, a smirk on his face. "So much fire in someone so small. Even so, do you really think you can kill me?"

"I will kill you, even if it costs me my life!"

Just after I finish saying that, a pain begins to grow in my head. It becomes so great, it overwhelms my anger and causes me to stumble back and fall into the thick snow at my feet. "What...what are you...doing!? Stop...messing around...and fight me head on!"

"In the condition you're in? Killing you would be even easier than killing that Cetra girl. You are nothing, an insignificant bug, no more than a tiny speck of dirt. What could you ever hope to accomplish?"

His voice is all around me, everywhere at once. It's like it's both inside my head and outside of it. I cover my ears, trying to block it out, but I can still hear it.

"You may have some of Mother's powers, but you can't even use them properly. A disgrace. You can't do anything without Cloud and all his little 'friends'. You even needed there help to escape ShinRa. Pathetic."

"Stop...STOP IT!!"

Sephiroth laughs. My head pounds. His words echo inside my brain, swirling around without cease. I can feel myself starting to black out, but I struggle to stay conscious.

"C-Cloud..." I gasp out before passing out in the snow.

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Cloud POV

Anxiety is coursing through my veins as I push through the blizzard. Everything around me is white. Am I even going the right way? Will I even be able to find Sam? What if she gets lost and freezes to death before I can even find her?

"CLOUD!!"

I look back, barely able to make out the blurred silhouette of Tifa and the others. This cold isn't a problem for me because of the Mako inside of me, but they still feel it. They are in danger in this weather.

"GO BACK TO THE INN!!" I shout over the wind.

"NO!! WE HAVE TO FIND SAM BEFORE SOMETHING HAPPENS TO HER!!" Tifa yells back.

"LEAVE IT TO ME!! YOU ALL WILL FREEZE OUT HERE!!"

"YOU CAN'T FUCKING STOP US!!" Barret bellows, stomping his way passed me to forge a path through the ever thickening snow for the group. "SAM IS OUR FRIEND, TOO!!"

Out of the blue, everything comes to a standstill,. Even the snowflakes in the air halt in there downward trajectory. How in the world is this possible?

"What the hell!?" my biggest companion asks, stopping and looking around.

"Over there! I see someone!" Yuffie suddenly shouts. With her light ninja skills, she runs over the top of the snow, pointing into the distance.

Squinting my eyes, I can just barely make out a small dark figure on the side of a hill ahead of us. My heart leaps with hope. Please let that be Sam! Please let her be alright!

"SAM!!" I call out, dashing forward through the snow. As I get closer, I can see that there are actually two figures, and doubt seeps into my heart. What if it isn't her?

But soon, I can see that one of them is indeed Sam. She's on her knees in the snow, clutching her head. Standing over her...is Sephiroth.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!!" I shout with all my might, already reaching for my sword.

Not again, not again, not again, my heart pounds. I won't let anyone else die!

Only a couple yards away, I put on a burst of speed. "DON'T TOUCH HER!!"

Sephiroth looks up at me, a smirk on his face. With my Mako-enhanced ears, I can just make out Sam saying, "C-Cloud..." before they both vanish into thin air.

Instantly, time resumes and the blizzard comes back full force.

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Tifa POV

Cloud falls to his knees as the snow begins to swirl around us once more. He lets out a cry of pure anguish, shattering my heart into a million pieces. First Aerith, now Sam...How much more are we going to loose before Sephiroth is defeated? Can we...really win against him?

"She's not dead yet, Cloud," I tell him, trying to reassure him and myself. "We'll save her."

He stands up, buster sword in his hand. The determined fire in his eyes is so much different than the devastated expression he wore only a few hours ago. A part of me is glad that he's back to his old self, but at what cost?

"We will save her, and defeat Sephiroth. I won't rest until she's safe and he's gone forever."

Here's the next chapter! I hope you like it! I'll do my best to update again soon!