STAR-CROSSED HEARTS
Chapter One – Remember
The flower girl made her way through the reconstruction zone that trailed along the town's outer wall of her childhood home of Radiant Garden. As the setting sun cast a golden glow over the castle and the vast mountains and valleys that encircled far around it, the flower girl moved closer to the crumbled stone wall that separated the castle and the town from the rest of the dangers that lurked within the outside world.
Aerith knelt alongside the wall and closely examined the flowers that bloomed from within the stone cracks of the wall and ground.
'Just as resilient as I remember,' she thought to herself with a small smirk, before she gingerly picked a few from the ground and placing them in the brown wicker basket that dangled delicately from her arm.
As far back as she could remember, she had always loved flowers and made it her personal responsibility to oversee the care of all of the flowers that blossomed in and around Radiant Garden. When she was just a young girl, there had been a great divide within Radiant Garden, an outbreak of violence, which claimed many lives and brought sadness to their small world. Even at such a young age, Aerith saw how the flowers she had taken care of brought hope and happiness back to the people of Radiant Garden, even in the darkest of times they had faced. If her daily efforts resulted in the smiles of her friends and townspeople, then all her hard work was worth it.
Even as a young adult, she had now become known as the flower girl of Radiant Garden and took great pride in her work, in her efforts to restore the light and happiness to her town.
She continued plucking the flowers from the earth and placing them in her basket, before she retrieved a specific yellow and white carnation that brought a memory back to her mind.
'Yep, just like I remember,' Aerith thought with a small hopeful smile, before she placed the flower in her basket and stood up, content that she gathered her carnation supply for the following day.
She let out a sigh after another day and looked off towards the descending, jagged rocks and valleys that stretched from the landing which she stood and down towards the outer edges of their world, where the castle ruins of Maleficent's domain stood.
Not quite willing to return home just yet, Aerith slowly trailed down the mountainous path that circled down into a ravine. It was far too often that her friends would warn and discourage her to travel on her own, or at least she thought, as she knew she was more than capable of taking care of herself.
Still, with the Heartless crawling about and unknown dangers in the world, she understood why the friends she had made her family felt as cautious as they did.
It wasn't long before the ravine had reached its' edge and opened into a large mountain landing that overlooked Maleficent's castle. Her brown boots lightly stepped along the dark bluish stone, as she went closer to the cliff's edge. Carefully, she set her basket down and went to sit at the edge of the cliff, her feet dangling over the side, high above the bottom of the gorge below.
She flattened out the creases in her pink dress as her mind continued to wander along with the setting sun. Truth be told, her life in Radiant Garden was very much the same as it was before her whole adventure had truly begun and yet, something was different. Something was missing.
She took a deep breath and laid back, lying against the cold stone surface as she looked up at the orange, pinkish sky.
'How many days has it been since you left?' She thought to herself with a small pout, 'It seems like too many to count now…'
She couldn't help but think of the blonde-haired soldier that had left their world sometime ago, to battle against the great darkness within him. Whenever she had come down here, which was nearly every day now, she always thought of him and remembered the moments they shared together when they still had them.
Now, he was gone and memories were all they had.
Aerith closed her eyes, "When will you find your way back?"
"Hiya!" A cheery voice called out behind her, "I knew I'd find you down here. Whatcha doing?"
The flower girl raised herself up and turned back to her friend, "Just the usual."
"Man, you're coming down here every day now," Yuffie said, walking up to the edge of the cliff. "You must be getting pretty antsy with him gone."
"That's a bit of an understatement," Aerith sighed and let out a small chuckle. "I believe in him. I know he'll succeed and he'll be back here. I just…can't wait til he is." She patted the spot of earth next to her, welcoming her friend to sit.
"He'll be back soon, Aerith," Yuffie said, sitting down next to her friend. "Believe me, that spiky-headed fool isn't gonna give up so easily, especially when he knows you're waiting here for him."
"Thanks, Yuffie," the flower girl smiled and appreciated the small conversation that filled the would-have-been silent afternoon.
Aerith always appreciated whenever Yuffie came around to cheer her up, take her mind off other things or even just be someone to talk to when she needed it. Aerith had known Yuffie ever since she was a baby and was even partly responsible for her, Yuffie and Leon now all living under the same roof with Cid, now living as a sort of family tied together by unfortunate fates. Yuffie was like a younger sister to her, with Leon as their protective, sometimes excessively so, older brother.
Then, there was Cid, who, even with his crass and rough attitude, his 'sometimes' hard-to-get-along-with tendencies and his ability to string together a sentence with only using expletives, he had become like a foster father to them, a title which he would never openly adopt as it always made him feel much older than the savvy tech pilot was. Still, he took them in and looked after them ever since they were kids and the rest was history.
Over the past decade and a half, the four of them had grown together as a family, those there for one another in the best and worst of times in all that life had to throw at them.
"You know, we should bet getting back soon or Leon will have a fit," Yuffie said, turning to Aerith. "Nighttime seems to be the worst for the town. More Heartless seem to spring up then."
"Hm, strange," Aerith commented, placing a finger to her chin. "I haven't seen a single one all day."
"Good!" The ninja said with a cheery smile, "That means Sora, Donald and Goofy must be doing their job off wherever they've gone to! Who knows? Maybe soon enough, the darkness will be a thing of the past."
"We could only hope," Aerith said with a smile. "It seems like a life without the darkness…would have changed everything. Our world would have never been destroyed. We never would have met Sora and the others."
"And we never would have been to any of the other worlds we'd been to," Yuffie nodded.
"I suppose not," Aerith said with a smile, before it slowly faltered. "But…he'd still be here."
Yuffie opened her mouth to say something else, but she never did, unsure of what to say. The flower girl was right, after all. Without the darkness, it was likely that Aerith and the soldier never would have had to spend all this time apart from one another.
Aerith brought her knees up to her chest and sighed, resting her chin and arms over them. "It's okay. I'll be okay. I just have to stop thinking about how life could have been and start appreciating things how they are now." She flashed a small smile to her friend.
"Yeah. You're always the one to be optimistic at times like this, Aerith," Yuffie nodded and patted her friend on the shoulder. "Think of it this way, maybe without the darkness, you never would have met him in the first place."
Aerith raised her eyebrows and chuckled, "I guess I never thought of it that way before. When you put it like that, the waiting doesn't seem so dreadful now," she finished with a laugh.
"Exactly!" Yuffie cheered in a sing-song voice. "You have all the memories of the two of you together to remind you why you're here waiting for him."
Aerith nodded and smiled, "I know. I can remember the first time I saw him, as if…it were just yesterday…I remember it all so well."
Yuffie leaned back on her palms and turned to face towards her friend, "Maybe talking about it will make you feel better, Aer."
The flower girl gave a small chuckle and nodded, reaching back into her memory to the first time she saw the blonde soldier in the streets of Radiant Garden. She remembered every moment, ever detail so vividly, as the memory played through her mind. A smile stretched across her face when she reached into her flower basket.
The ninja watched as the flower girl retrieved a single yellow and white carnation from her basket.
Aerith turned to her friend, gently smiling down at the beautiful flower at her fingertips.
"It all began…with a flower."
- Before the fall of Radiant Garden -
The flower girl slowly opened her eyes, staring at the flowers that had blossomed over one of the walls in an alleyway that led between a section of the town's marketplace. She lifted herself up, flower basket in hand, and made her way down the shadowed alley and out into the open space of the market, where several townspeople were making their way through the shops and carts along the busy center.
She went to the stone wall at the edge of the market that overlooked the rest of the town and the castle before them.
The castle had belonged to a wise man named Ansem, who ruled over all of Radiant Garden. The wise man, as he was called by his people, was almost like a mystery, an enigma of sorts. It wasn't ever clearly distinguished how he gained his position of authority over Radiant Garden, but he was widely respected, regardless. It wasn't very often he was ever seen, either. Aerith, along with many others, had only ever heard of the man through spoken word. When he did make his presence known in the town, he was usually surrounded by the castle guard or his apprentices, making interaction with the wise ruler nothing short of impossible.
Aerith squinted her eyes and looked down at the castle postern from the landing, which was the one section of the town where one could spy on the proceedings happening outside of the castle. From what she could see, some of the castle guards had gathered there.
Dilan and Aeleus, two of the castle guards originally sworn in by Ansem himself, stood at the castle postern, impatiently waiting for their new guard arrivals to come.
"Where are the new recruits?" Dilan raised an eyebrow, turning to Aeleus. "They should have been here already."
Aeleus grunted, "If their tardiness is any indication of their job performance, I'm not impressed."
"Whoaaaa, hold on there, fool!" A uniformed guard arrived up the castle steps and called out to the two others. The man had dark skin and uneven black beard patched across his chin which seemed to blend directly up into his hair. From the man's burly, large figure, his guard uniform compressed down around him, making it look like he could rip it to shreds with a quick, misguided move. He gave a confident smirk from the corner of his lips, "Don't go countin' me out just yet!"
"You're late," Dilan replied blandly, almost uninterested in the new recruit.
"Tell me somethin' I don't know, ya damn numbskull," the new man said. "I was readyin' myself for the first day on the job."
"Temper your excitement. We're doing thorough surveillance over the town, nothing more," Aeleus said, rolling his eyes and scoffing at the recruit's eagerness over a small job.
"Yeah, well whatever, man. Small job, but I'mma do it best," the burly man said, before raising his arm into the air. Most noticeable about the man, in place of where his hand should have been, was an artillery gun grafted in its' place.
"Most interesting," Aelelus examined the man's replaced hand. "With advanced weaponry like that, perhaps I could understand why Ansem selected you to defend the town."
"Ah, this thing?" The man said, looking down at his arm, "Thing can take out damn near anything in a single hit. Ain't nothin' messin' with me and gettin' away for it, that's for damn sure, boys!" The man said before letting out a boisterous laugh.
"What's your name," Dilan asked.
The man gave a cheeky smile, "Barret Wallace – best gunman this town'll ever see!"
"Quite confident. We'll see…" Aeleus smirked. "Well, welcome to our team. It won't be easy tasks ahead of you, but someone willing to get their hands…hand dirty is a welcome change."
Barret looked between the two men, "So, why's Ansem bringin' in more of us into his guard? Seems like you two can get the job done well enough."
Dilan sighed and shook his head, "We could…once, but things are 'changing' in our small town."
"Changin'?" Barret asked, "Changin' how?"
"The peaceful and bright existence of our Radiant Garden is slowly becoming a thing of the past," Aeleus confided. "The town's growing more dangerous every day – new threats are slowly making themselves known to Ansem. He'll do anything to protect his world, even at great costs."
Dilan nodded, "But that is a matter to discuss once our final late arrival decides to grace us with his presence."
"Shoulda been here long ago. And y'all thought I was late!" Barret laughed, "Where's that fool at anyway?"
"Right here."
The three men turned to see the final recruit make his way up the castle path and approach them. Clad in a royal uniform just like all of theirs, the man had a huge sword strapped along his back. He had piercing blue eyes, remarkable and unlike any other, with a spiky head of blonde hair that somehow seemed both just slightly messy, yet well put together.
"Took ya time, didn't ya?" Barret called out to the man, "Never show up late for the job on the first day, spiky!"
"From what I could hear, you were no better," the blonde replied with a cocky smirk.
"Ooh, you damn cold, aren't ya," Barret shook his head. "But just so happens I know how to handle a cold, empty-headed, spike-ass like yourself!"
"Nice to meet you, too," the blonde soldier replied dryly with a hint of sarcasm, before turning to face the other two. "Sorry for being so late."
"Just don't make a habit out of it. Understood?" Aeleus said, "Now that we're all here, we could continue with what we were telling your new comrade."
Dilan continued, "Ansem has scouted you and other new recruits for the castle guard to join in our efforts to keep our town safe and protected. He believes with more positions filled, it will be an easier task for all of us. Though, he's too aware of the troubles that dwell in the shadows of our world."
"Well, that sounds damn ominous," Barret replied.
"What 'dangers'," the blonde asked.
Aelelus turned from the group then and faced the castle, pointing upwards towards it. "Ansem and his apprentices have been quite busy as of late, tirelessly researching late into the night about the studies of the 'heart' and many other things. They've remained quite silent about their proceedings and findings. One can only assume what they're up to."
The blonde crossed his arms and looked up at the castle, "And something's gone wrong?"
Dilan tilted his head, "Yes, but unrelated to Ansem. These new…dark creatures have started to appear within the town just over the past couple of days. Surely you've seen them?"
The two new recruits looked at each other before shaking their heads. Barret pouted his lips and thought, "I ain't seen nothin' outta the ordinary. At least I think not."
"What are these…'dark creatures'," the soldier asked. "I haven't seen anything of the sort, either."
Dilan crossed his arms, "Hm, not surprising. They've slowly been emerging and only a few sightings have been reported. Just the other day while at the castle garden, Ansem and his apprentices had gathered and while there, these dark creatures had emerged, as if they came out of nowhere. The apprentices managed to subdue the beings and took one back to their lab for observation and what they'd uncovered was truly discomforting for our town."
Aeleus closed his eyes and nodded, "They are called 'The Unversed' – creatures born from darkness that feed off anger and negativity. It's unknown why they've only started to appear now or where they've come from."
"Creatures born…from darkness…," the blonde thought out loud, thinking about this new information. "It doesn't sound like something that could be destroyed so easily."
"We thought the same," Dilan said. "That's why we are going to try and do our best to keep the creatures at bay while we can, providing they don't began to pose more of a threat to Radiant Garden. If the sightings to continue to grow more frequent, it won't be long before they make their way towards the town."
Aeleus finished, "And if any of the townspeople were hurt by this…'darkness' under Ansem's authority, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself."
Barret nodded, understandingly, "Well, no worries, guys! You got us now. So, whaddya want us to do to help!?"
Dilan looked at Aeleus first before turning back to the new recruits, "Simple. Your first task as new members of our squad is to keep a close eye on the town today, making sure none of these new creatures pose a threat."
"And if they do," Aeleus finished, "…dispose of them before any harm is done. Clear enough?"
"Crystal clear. We got it covered," Barret said.
"Dilan and I will keep close watch over the castle grounds and the parameters within. Remember, not much is known about these 'Unversed', but I wouldn't take them lightly," Aeleus said. "We'll meet back here at sunset and report on our findings, if any."
"Understood," the new recruits said in unison.
Aeleus and Dilan turned from them and began towards the grand castle doors at the front of the large fortress. Aeleus turned back to the two and called out to the blonde soldier, "By the way, didn't catch your name."
The blonde smirked and nodded, "Strife. Cloud Strife."
"Good to have you in our squad, Cloud," Aeleus finished, before turning back.
"Try and make up for your lateness," Diland continued forward and rolled his eyes. "Please, do something to impress us…." He and Aeleus left then.
Cloud's lips thinned and he smirked, "…okay then."
"So, Strife is it, huh?" Barret said, looking down at the shorter soldier with a wry smile. "Mind if I call you 'Spike'?"
Cloud squinted in thought and scratched the back of his head, "It sounds a little…'too much fun' sounding. You can call me Cloud."
"Nah, I'm gonna call you Spike," Barret quickly compromised. "And you can call me Barret."
"Right," Cloud nodded and motioned to move towards the steps that led down away from the castle and towards the town. "Well, Barret, let's get going."
Barret trailed behind the soldier, continuing light conversation as they walked. He figured if he was gonna be assigned to this day-long task with this newbie, might as well try to make it as entertaining as he could. "Hey man, if you don't like Spike I could think of something else. Spikehead-ass, spike-ass, spikeyfool-ass, dumbass-"
"You know what, they all sound good," Cloud cut him off and replied sarcastically. "I think I found a good name for you, too."
"Ahhh! Really, what is it," Barret asked, excitedly.
"Smartass," Cloud said, before walking away from Barret.
Barret let out a loud laugh, brushing off the soldier's comment like it was a fleck of dust. "Ahh, I knew there was a sense of humor somewhere down there under that cold armor! Looks like this is a good beginnin' to a wonderful friendship!"
"Sure…" Cloud said back with a smirk.
The two new comrades traveled down the grand steps that went from the castle's courtyard and led down into the gated gardens at the base of the castle at its' side. From there, there was a narrow bridge that led over a small moat that went to the tall stone wall that surrounded the castle ground. As the two traveled down the zig-zagging paths that led through the garden, they noticed the beautiful flowers, trees and flora that grew and blossomed throughout the garden. Every flower, ever carnation petal seemed more vibrant and unlike any other type found outside the castle grounds. It seemed almost ethereal, otherworldly and majestic – entirely different than what the rest of the town felt like.
Once the two reached the bottom of the descending ramp, Barret turned back Cloud, "So, what dragged you into this business?"
"Hm?" Cloud questioned, slightly taken aback when he'd been spoken to.
"I mean, how'd you get involved with bein' part of Ansem's guard," Barret re-phrased his question.
"Oh," Cloud thought for a moment, scratching the back of his head as he thought. "Well, I guess we never crossed paths then…which is probably a good thing."
"Fraid not, Spike," Barret said.
The twenty-one year old soldier continued down through the garden, "Hm, well, when I think back, the last few years have been a little hazy, but I've lived in this town as long as I can remember. Before this, I worked as a mercenary doing anything I could really just to scrape up whatever extra cash I could get…which usually meant I was being paid to chase after and take care of some of the more 'unsavory' characters our town has to offer."
"You got that straight," Barret said. "The East District where I live is a real slum compared to the resta the town. Could use some real cleanin' up, people-wise."
"Anyway, I'd spent a few years doing that gig and training myself in combat. They sort of worked hand in hand together," Cloud said with a small laugh. "Before I knew it, I received a letter with Ansem's royal seal on it…and well, I ended up here. When I saw the amount of munny I'd be walking away with, I couldn't necessarily say 'no' so easily."
Barret laughed, "Ain't it the truth. Ansem might be one elusive guy, but when it comes to keeping his people safe, he'll pay well to get the job done."
Cloud nodded and remained quiet. Truth be told, he felt slightly unnerved after talking so much. It was the first time he really spoke about himself…ever, let alone to someone who was more or less a stranger. He just felt strange and awkward; it was a big difference for him to be saying much about himself, let alone anything at all.
He figured it'd probably be best to change the subject. He was never quite fond of drawing attention to himself. "So, how 'bout you? How'd you get here?" His eyes then wandered down to the man's grafted gun arm. "And how did…you, erm, well…get th-" He stopped himself when he realized what he was going to ask about the man's hand might be too much of a sensitive, personal topic.
"AH! Well, aren't ya just the nosy type!?" Barret said, pumping his gun arm into the air. He stared coldly at Cloud, his voice deepening, "Why don't you jus' mind your damn business if ya know what's good for ya."
Cloud sighed and rolled his eyes, disappointed if he upset someone. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend y-"
"SPIKE, ya gullible ass! I'm jus' messin with you," Barret said, letting out a big laugh that echoed through the garden. "Man, you can't take things so seriously all the time…"
"It's how I am," Cloud shrugged.
Barret shook his head, "Anyway, I'm a lot like you, been livin' in this place forever and did whatever I could to keep on livin'. It was about fifteen years ago when I got this gun-arm after I lost my hand when I was a fighter defendin' the town in the Garden War."
The Garden War was a time of great upheaval for Radiant Garden, as the townspeople found themselves clashing with one another based on their social standing. At the time, the eastern and southern districts of the town were like run-down slums, occupied by the poor and those barely scraping by – barely able to live. On the opposite side of town, the northern and western districts were filled with nicer buildings, shops and restaurants – a nice area to live to those who had the munny to do so, of course.
There was a clear divide of social classes throughout the town – a divide which soon escalated to hatred, which then escalated to violent action. The lower class of the town felt injustice for the upper class who led easier, privileged lives where they'd never understand the daily struggles of those who could barely afford to eat. The upper class felt as though the lower class was draining the 'radiance' from their town and felt as though they had no place amongst Radiant Garden, even if they were secluded off to their own districts.
Soon enough, Radiant Garden didn't seem as radiant as it once was.
Slowly, violence began to break out, crimes were committed, burglary and theft ensued, people from both classes began to fight and before anyone knew it, the town became entirely unsafe for anyone and a war between the classes broke out sending defenders out to try and keep as many as they could safe. Many innocent lives were lost and the casualties were heart-wrenching. In nearly the past two decades, the town had been restored for the most part and the divide within social classes had become a thing of the past. It seemed as though the people of Radiant Garden had learned a lesson from their mistakes, though, even now, a few bad seeds still managed to slip through the cracks in town.
Barret let out a small laugh, "Though, you probably don't remember much about that war. You musta only been a kid back then."
"Yeah…" Cloud said quietly. "I was six."
"I fought to defend the town, but I lost my hand in the process," Barret said, shaking his head. "I do whatever I can to make our town a better place, but man, I gotta tell ya, sometimes the world we live in could be a real messed up place, man. People just fightin' and killin' each other over nothin'. Like they need to fight somethin' cuz they don't know how to jus' be happy." He sighed sadly, "Real messed up, y'know."
Cloud nodded, understandingly. "And…that's why you're one of Ansem's guards now, too, isn't it?"
"You got it," Barret said with a smile. "I'm gonna do anythin' I can to keep my town safe from anythin' that wants to cause it harm. Was like that fifteen years ago and I'm still the same way now."
Cloud looked over at Barret, almost confused. The heart inside Barret seemed to be a completely different fit than what Cloud expected. The blonde solider expected Barret to be the type to totally annihilate anything in his path, only care about his well-being and not give a damn about what happened to the world. Now, he felt like how he pictured Barret…would have better described himself. When Cloud came to the self-realization of how he behaved, he'd honestly felt sad and guilty for being so selfish and thinking about more than just himself or munny.
Cloud sighed, "That's pretty brave of you, to keep putting your life on the line to protect the town."
Barret nodded, "Well, it's what my heart tells me to do. I just want a better place for all us to live in one day in the future, someday at least. I don't give a damn 'bout the munny. See, that's the difference between you and I, Spike. I actually care 'bout what the hell happens to this damn place."
"You think I don't care," Cloud asked, almost softly.
"I think you care 'bout the munny." Barret said with a half-smile. "You gotta care 'bout more than just that, Cloud. The heart isn't made for only that. It feels a lotta things, but sounds like you're missin' out."
Cloud remained silent because, honestly, everything Barret was saying to him was true and Cloud knew it. The soldier knew then that, not only was Barret's will unbreakable, but that his heart was far more bigger than his outside could show.
"Come on," Cloud said, almost like a whisper, signaling a quiet end to their conversation.
They moved out of the garden and over the bridge that led to the tall stone castle wall. At the end of the bridge, there was a gated wall that was locked by a padlock, keeping trespassers away from the castle grounds. Retrieving a key from his guard uniform pocket, Barret unlocked the padlock and opened the gate so that the two of them could exit. Once through, he re-locked the gated wall behind him.
"Come on, let's get this town watch underway," Barret said, placing the key back in his pocket. "Yo man, you got a key, too?"
Cloud examined the several pockets of his uniform, before he found a small golden key. "Got it."
"Good, make sure you don't lose it," Barret said, as Cloud secured the key on his person. "Now then, let's hope these Unversed are behavin' themselves because messin' with me sounds like the wrong idea!"
The two moved away from the castle wall and right on the other side was the western district of the town, which was filled with small houses and shops. From the looks of things, it seemed like just another usual day in town. Nothing out of the ordinary or suspicious.
Cloud looked around, trailing a few steps further into the town past a few more buildings, "Hm, everything seems normal. No Unversed or anything."
"Gotta keep lookin'. We got a whole day of this," Barret said.
"Sounds like a whole day of finding nothing," said Cloud.
"Which sounds like easy work!" Barret cheered.
"Or boring work," said Cloud.
"Eh, whatever, man."
They made their way through the narrow alleyway between another set of buildings, which then opened to a path that brought them to a town square at the heart of a cluster of houses. The square was in one of the more residential areas of the town, just beside the castle and right off of the marketplace. The square had small patches of flower fields on all corners and was lined with trees in-between each of the buildings.
"Well, would ya look at that," Barret said, pointing his arm forward into the center of the square.
Cloud peered forward, squinting his eyes, and saw about half a dozen small, dark creatures scurry from one tree to another. The creatures were unlike anything either of them had ever seen. The skin of these creatures were so dark they almost seemed blue in color. They were small, almost like rats as they moved, but they traveled fast and in droves.
"The Unversed," Cloud breathed. "Those must be those creatures the others were talking about."
"Oh yeah!" Barret said, raising his arm and preparing his artillery for battle. "Let's get 'em before they get too far!"
"Right," Cloud said, chasing after the creatures alongside Barret.
The two quickly chased after the multiplying creatures that moved much faster than either of them expected. As they pursued them, they saw the creatures dissolve into the ground, almost like a puddle, which accelerated their agility and only helped them to move faster.
"Damn, those are some creepy, little freaks," Barret said, observing the creatures' behavior.
"What do you think drew them here," Cloud questioned, still in pursuit, as he reached for his Buster Sword.
Barret grunted as he ran after the creatures, steadying his aim. His artillery gun began charging for battle, an increasing high-pitched buzzing noise beginning to ring from the metal plates of the gun arm. "It's showtime!"
Once the two had cornered the creatures at a dead-end alleyway, Barret had opened fire on the creatures, hailing bullets through the alley like a machine gun. The bullets burst from the gun with a spark, shooting through the air directly at the target. When the string of bullets made impact with the creatures, the Unversed seemed to implode in air, disappearing into a smog of black smoke.
When the creatures had sensed the onslaught from the attackers, their purple eyes widened and their pointed ears perked up, before trying to flee the scene.
"Oh, no you don't," Cloud warned, before bringing the razor-sharp edge of his sword before him. The Buster Sword looked almost impossibly large and heavy enough for him or anyone to even remotely budge, but the blonde maneuvered it through the air with ease and skill.
To the creatures that tried escaping, Cloud sliced directly through them, his blade traveling through the creatures as if they were made of air. His moves were lightning-fast and matched and matched those of even the most skilled swordsmen.
Before they knew it, each of the creatures had imploded into dark smoke, leaving the two new comrades in the alley.
"Hell yeah! That's what I'm talkin' 'bout," Barret turned to Cloud and flashed him a smug smile. "I'd say the both of us make a pretty good team!"
"Of course you do," Cloud said as he rolled his eyes with a smirk.
"Man, Spike, You gotta be so damn serious all the damn time don't cha. How 'bout you let loose once in a while and learn to have some fun," Barret suggested.
"I think I'm okay," Cloud said with a shrug, as he scratched the back of his head.
In the silence of the town square now, the two turned back and walked down the alley. They stopped in their tracks when they heard another squeak, a scurrying of sorts, from what they could have only assumed were more Unversed creatures, wandering somewhere about the square.
"You hear that?" Cloud turned back to Barret with a questioning glance, still listening intently to the sound.
"Hell yeah, man," Barret said, already preparing his artillery gun.
"Looks like we got our work cut out for us," Cloud said with a smirk. "Castle guards? I get the feeling we're more like castle doormats."
Barret searched through the town square, trying to find the new creatures, "Welp, someone's gotta do the job, man, and that 'someone's' us!"
Cloud look around the square but found nothing, which was strange. The noises sounded so close. It wasn't until he lifted his eyes that he was clued in to the whereabouts of the new enemies. Traveling alongside the rooftops of the town buildings and houses opposite of them, he could make out another dozen of the small creatures leaping from rooftop to rooftop, quick and swift.
"There they are," Cloud called out. "Come on, let's go after them!"
Cloud and Barret quickly cut across the town square and ran to the base of the buildings.
"How d'ya suppose we get up there," Barret said, looking up at the rooftops.
Cloud quickly scanned the area to formulate some plane. To their luck, the building must have been some sort of shop and stacked up next to it, were a series of filled crates toppled one on top of the other. Without another word, Cloud lifted himself up onto the wooden box and slowly made his way on top of the next, followed closely behind by Barret. Within a matter of seconds, the two of them found themselves slowly scaling the building and setting foot on the rooftops.
"Now, where'd those brats go," Barret questioned.
Cloud and Barret quickly ran across the slanted rooftops, racing forward until they were stopped in their tracks. They had found the small Unversed creatures, but had lured them to something else entirely.
Standing at the edge of the rooftops stood something the two of them didn't anticipate – a huge scorpion beast.
"Damn," Barret breathed out when the creature let out a threatened roar.
The scorpion bore an Unversed insignia on the shell of its' back. It had sharp pincers and several long legs supporting it, almost like a centipede. Behind it, its' long tail whipped and looked as though it could snap someone's neck in a single blow. Worst of all, the creature seemed larger than both Cloud and Barret combined. When it let out another ferocious roar, the two of them could definitely feel a chill race down their spine.
"If we let somethin' like this wander through town, it won't be pretty," Barret asked Cloud, preparing for the battle. "Think we can take it?"
"Only one way to find out," Cloud said, charging towards the scorpion, his Buster Sword raised high above his head. The blonde leapt up into the air, raising his sword up and bringing it down hard on the scorpion's shelled back. Cloud shot a victorious glare at the beast when it let out an agonizing, pained cry…but the battle was far from over.
Not even a moment later, the scorpion charged towards the two, raising its' pincers at them, swiping and thrashing. Cloud successfully flipped backwards to dodge one of the attacks, but was met with a heavy blow to his back that sent him down to the roof top hard.
"Ugh, son of a bitch…" Cloud gritted through his teeth, as he felt a searing pain in his spine.
"Aww hell no, you ain't taking out my buddy," Barret said, pointing his gun at the creature and sending a hail of bullets down at the creature. The scorpion tried to deflect the bullets with its' claws, but it didn't hold up well given the bloodied holes in both of its' pincers. Barret's attack gave just enough time for Cloud to recover and get back up on his feet.
Cloud charged back towards the scorpion then, letting out a cry when, with a single blow from his sword, he chopped through one of the scorpion's pincers and severed it from his body. The monstrous limb clattered to the floor where it sputtered for a brief moment before becoming still.
"You got it, man," Barret cheered on his friend.
With its' limits of being threatened reached, the scorpion let out another loud roar that echoed across the town square, as it wailed its' body in the air. Slowly, it's metallic-like, almost flexible tail rose up into the air above the creature, pointing directly at the two of them. The creature shook and stood still, almost coming across as a threat to attack them at any sudden move.
"What the hell's it doing," Cloud glanced between Barret and the scorpion.
"I got no clue," Barret said, "but this Unversed is definitely not like the others."
The two of them prepared for an attack and readied themselves to prepare for the brunt of an attack. However, their mouths dropped open when they saw the tip of the scorpion's tail begin to spark, summoning up a supernatural, dark powerful energy at its' tip. The energy grew a bright bluish-purple, almost like a laser beam, burning with a bright heat at its' core.
Only one word came to Barret's mind.
"Shit."
The energy continued to build up and sear within the scorpion's tail, preparing for an attack regardless if the two fighters fought back or fled.
"Run!" Cloud called out to Barret, before turning back and racing back across the rooftop in a futile attempt to flee from the powerful blast.
Only a moment later, the scorpion let out a mighty roar and ejected the powerful beam of energy forward, as it ripped through the air with a powerful force.
"God damn!" Barret cried, before leaping in the air to dodge the attack. While scraping up his arms, Barret watched as the beam of energy flew over his head, missing him entirely.
Cloud, on the other hand, wasn't as lucky and was met with the powerful beam hitting him directly in the back, where the energy seemed to engulf over his form. The blonde soldier let out a pain cry from the searing burn in his whole body, before he felt the powerful attack whip through him and blast him off of the rooftop, sending him falling to the ground of another cluster of buildings, where he crumbled in a heap.
He opened his eyes. For a brief moment, he thought he was dead until he felt the searing pain tear through him. He didn't know what hurt more – the scorpion's attack or the high, hard fall from the rooftop. Either way, he felt like the wind was taken out of him, but he was at least happy to still be alive.
He slowly rose to his feet, seeing his body covered in cuts, dirt and scorpion blood. Just rising to his feet seemed like a challenge, but after another moment of total haziness, his vision finally cleared and he could stand straight. He sighed out, "On second thought, maybe I'm not getting paid enough for this."
Barret's voice called out from the rooftop, "Yo, Cloud! You alright, man!?"
"Yeah, I think so." Cloud rubbed his backside with a wince. "Damn thing kicked my ass…"
Cloud's attention was pulled when he saw a couple walking down the street next to him. There was a tall brunette man with a very serious expression on his face as he held hands with a raven-colored, long-haired young woman. Cloud could only here small exchanges within their quiet conversation.
"Even more of those…'creatures' appeared. What are they?"
"I don't know, but we should head back and make sure that the others are okay."
Cloud turned from the conversation. 'Even more of those creatures,' he thought to himself. 'And here I thought these Unversed were a small problem…'
The blonde was taken out of his thoughts when Barret called down to him. "Yo man, that crazy ass thing got away and raced down opposite here. I'm gonna go catch up wit' that thing!"
"You go on ahead, Barret. I gotta take a quick breath," Cloud acknowledged the man with a nod. "I'll catch up."
"Don't take too long, Spike! That thing looks bad," Barret said, before making his way off the roof and disappearing somewhere into the town square.
Cloud took a deep moment to breathe and recover, shutting his eyes for just a brief moment as he walked forward down the alley and towards the open street. It was only day one on this new job and at that moment, he felt like it was too much trouble than it was worth.
He rose a hand to cover his eyes as he rubbed his forehead and thought, 'So much for a boring day of work.'
Just then as he was crossing out of the alley and into the open street, he found himself colliding with another person and instantly regretted not watching where he was going. He felt the smaller person steadily walk into his solid form, before hearing a young woman's light voice give out a yelp of surprise.
"Oh!"
When Cloud removed his hand from his face, he looked to see what had happened and saw he had bumped into a young woman in a pink dress and sent her falling onto her behind from their unexpected collision. The basket she had carried that was once filled with flowers was now toppled over with her carnations strewn about the street.
"I'm sorry!" He instantly apologized and knelt down in front of her. "I'm so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going."
She shook her head and rubbed her back. "It's okay, neither was I, to be honest." She gave a small light giggle which seemed to ease the situation instantly.
When he heard her light laugh, his lips couldn't help but twitch upwards.
It was only then that he really saw her.
She looked about his age and had a long braid of brunette hair tied back behind her head in a pink bow. The short red jacket worn over her shoulders modestly covered up her womanly figure and contrasted with the long pink dress that concealed her long legs.
But most noticeably, he thought, were her eyes. They were the most radiant green he had ever seen and when he looked into them, he felt his heart burn and his stomach fill with this light, fluttering feeling. Staring into them filled his heart with a sense of yearning and warmth, a feeling he couldn't entirely explain or understand. All he knew, in that moment, was that her eyes were impressive and beautiful and unlike anything he'd ever seen.
It was a moment longer before he realized he'd been staring at her and instantly felt himself become flustered, his cheeks reddening when he caught himself.
The flower girl didn't even realize though, as she, too, had been doing the same exact thing to him and found her own cheeks blushing when she had to pry her eyes away from his strong, yet boyish and handsome appearance – scars and dirt and all.
He cleared his throat and looked at her sincerely, "I really am sorry. I didn't mean to ruin your flowers."
She playfully shook her head, "Oh, no, don't worry. You didn't. The flowers are quite resilient." She stayed crouched on her feet as she went to collecting each of the flowers scattered about around them.
"Oh….Here, let me help," Cloud said shyly, as he stayed kneeled across from her, slowly collecting each of the flowers he had accidentally caused her to drop and placing them lightly in the basket. It was a strange feeling being there in that moment. He didn't know why, but he watched her ever move so closely and contently, as if she was the most fascinating thing he'd ever seen.
"Thank you," she said to him with a grateful smile as the two of them finished collecting the scattered carnations. "You didn't have to help me, it's really kind of you."
"Of course, I did. It was my fault, really," Cloud said, outstretching his hand out before him to offer her a lift up.
She looked up at his hand for a brief moment and she could feel the burn in her cheeks again. She gingerly placed her hand in his.
Cloud couldn't help but take in the feel of her hand in his, her light touch, the gentleness as she moved, it seemed like everything she did, everything she was completely held his attention and stirred a foreign sensation within him. Without another moment passing between them, he gently pulled her up to her feet.
She smiled as she swiped off the dirt that had collected on her dress and collected her flower basket from off the ground, "See? No harm done."
Cloud nodded and grinned, "Good."
She looked back and forth down the street, "Is everything okay over here? I came down this way because I heard a loud crashing noise."
"Erm…" Cloud paused for a moment, as he scratched the back of his head. He thought that it probably wasn't the best idea to cause any more worry or concern to this innocent young woman by telling her that there were several creatures roaming about their town and that he, himself, had just lost a battle against one of them. He decided it would probably be best to be honest, but keep her safety in mind.
Cloud nodded, "Everything should be okay. There were some monsters roaming around the town, though. You should probably get to some place safe or head on home."
She nodded, understandingly. "Oh, I see. Well, you take care of yourself, too, then. Okay?"
He nodded and then there was another moment of silence between the two of them, both of them taking in so much of the other that the need to even fill the silence almost seemed unnecessary. They didn't need to talk, nor did it feel awkward to either of them. There was just a comfort of being there together, which felt so strange since it was their first meeting.
She gently dipped herself in front of him and thanked him again, "I should probably get home and try to sell as many of these before calling it a day." She gestured to the flower basket.
His eyebrows raised in realization, "…Oh, you're selling them?"
"Mhm! I'm the only flower girl in town. The kids love them, husbands get them for their wives – it's a really good business if you know who to sell to. Makes a lot of people happy," she said with a sense of accomplishment in her work.
Cloud nodded, "Sounds like you really enjoy it."
"I do." She looked down at the basket and then up at him again, a small smile on her face as she leaned towards him, "Would…would you like one?"
"Me?" Cloud thought the idea of him, a grown man and soldier, walking away with a flower for himself was a bit silly, but when he saw the sparkle and kindness in her eyes, he couldn't bring himself to decline. If anything, the flower would be a remembrance of her. Finally, he smiled. "Sure."
"Really?" She questioned with a grateful smile.
"Of course. How much?"
She placed a finger to her chin and feigned deep thought for just a small moment, "Hmm, how about…just one munny?"
"Only one?" Cloud asked with a hint of surprise. He reached into his pocket and dug around for the cash and change he kept in his uniform. He finally found a coin and retrieved it, before handing it to the flower girl. "That's a steal."
"Thank you," she said, before reaching into her flower basket and retrieving a carnation. The flower was beautiful, both yellow and white in color, with full, blossoming petals. It was her favorite kind, the only one she had in her basket and she wanted him to have it.
"Thank you," he returned his gratitude as he gently took the flower from her. He looked up to see her radiant, genuine smile – what he considered one of the most beautiful sights he had and would ever see.
"Have a good rest of your day, sir," she said to him with a bright smile, almost unable to look away as she moved past him to continue her walk down the street.
"You, too," he said back to her, as he slowly watched her walk away from him – all the while, this strange feeling beginning to build within his heart. A warm feeling, a good kind of feeling. Something he wanted more of.
She looked back over her shoulder and saw him still standing there, unable to register everything he was feeling and found himself frozen there. She playfully laughed before offering him a gentle wave goodbye.
Cloud's cheeks reddened when she turned back to him and he smiled sheepishly, before waving back at her, watching as she disappeared within the town.
He looked down at the beautiful blossom within his hand and couldn't help but smile down at it, thinking about his first encounter with the mysterious flower girl and what he hoped…wouldn't be his last.
'It's not too big of a town, I'm sure we'll run into each other again soon,' he thought to himself, hopefully.
His mind continued to replay everything that had just happened and as he looked down at the flower, he found himself smiling, more-so than he had ever done before in his life. 'She was right. I guess flowers do have a way of making people happier…' he thought to himself, feeling a tad cliché when he felt his smile grow.
He began his walk down the street to continue his day, unable to stop thinking about the flower girl, her eyes…her smile.
He stopped and looked down at the flower.
'The flower's nice, but if seeing her smile only costs one coin, then it was a good purchase.'
Thank you all! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of the story! It's really just an intro for everything else to come, as with everything I have planned for the story, it's going to be quite long, but I'm enjoying writing it. Please read and review, I appreciate it very much!