His actions had been proven right when he felt the blonde sagging against him in exhaustion. Regardless of his partner's stubborn nature, he wasn't about to let Cloud push himself when the younger male obviously needed the time to recover. While the energy drain had been significant on him, it hadn't been nearly as taxing as it had been on Cloud. Even if it had, he would stop at nothing to protect the man behind him.

"And who's going to protect you?" Sephiroth snapped in return while trying to avoid inhaling too much dust. Shifting his position, he fluidly moved to swipe his bladed-arm through the air in an attempt to create an air slice to cut through the dust, or at least find themselves a path out of the area. It worked... to a degree, but it wasn't anywhere near as effective as when Cloud wielded him.

"Keep close," he muttered as he moved to follow the direction he was cutting. With some luck, the momentary lack of dust in the air would help both he and Cloud breath a little better.