Disclaimer: Will include MxM eventually.
"Cloud…We need to talk."
Oh gods above, what was it this time? Honestly, sometimes…no, make that all the time, this little brown-haired brat gets on my nerves. Not only him, but his little redheaded girlfriend…Were they together? They seemed pretty close, after all. It's a wonder that they aren't already a couple…and why am I even thinking that?! My golden brow arched, even more than it did naturally, as my bright blue eyes narrowed into dangerous slits as I glared at the two opposite of me. They had waited until the one moment, the split second of every day where I let my guard down…I had seated myself on a couch and had taken up an old book I had borrowed off of a friend I no longer knew. Just as my fingers pulled apart the waves of pages and my eyes rested themselves on where they had left off, I was being dragged away from the chapter containing the climax of the story. Not only that, but my book had fallen carelessly to the floor and I could practically hear it crying out for help as the edges of its pages slowly yet surely began to bend underneath the pressure from above! Curse these two…Curse them to a fate worse than death!
"Uh…Cloud…A-Are you listening?" The stuttered had my mind stagger back into reality as my eyes came upon a slightly tanned face with rosy cheeks. At first, I couldn't understand just why the boy was making such an expression of fear until I realized that my stare must have intensified underneath my mind's wandering. I let out a small grunt to alert the two that, while I prayed for some instance that would tear me away from them, I was indeed listening to them. "Good. Anyway, me and Kairi have been thinking…For a while now…A long long long long long long long long long—"
"Would you get on with it?!" I heard myself growl, causing the two opposite of me to jump. They knew the risk they were taking by disturbing me during my daily read, and now they must face the consequences for doing so.
"Okay okay!! After watching you for a while…we decided that…you need a new…How'd you put it, Kairi?"
"Means of transportation?" the redhead piped in, tilting her head slight as if to recall this so-called discussion they had of me. When the boy nodded, she continued on taking his place. "Yeah, Cloud. No offense or anything but…your car right now…It's, err…well…"
"IT SUCKS!"
"Sora!!" Kairi's eyes widened at the boy's sudden blurt of opinion. Obviously she had been trying to let me down gently. Nice girl. "Sorry Cloud…But, Sora and I were just thinking that it would do you some good if you had a new car, was all…"
"Oh?" I asked, leaning forward now across the table that separated us. "If you two hadn't noticed, I don't exactly have the Munny for a new car. Kids these days…Don't even know how much cars cost…"
"We do so know how much they cost!" Sora retorted and I had to withhold myself from cringing as he grammatically destroyed his protest. "But this was after we had planned to ask people to donate to get you a new car…But anyway, that's why me and Kairi decided to sign you up—"
"Sign me up for what?!" Weren't there laws established that were supposed to prevent this sort of thing from happening? Just what were these two planning to do with my name and information?
"Geez, Cloud. Lemme finish a sentence, please. When we're done, then you can blow up in our faces, alright?" The blue-eyed boy let out a small sigh before he picked up from where I had cut him short. "Okay, as I was saying…we signed you up for this contest that we heard on the radio. The person whose name gets picked wins a one-of-a-kind car, free of charge, from Paragon Automotive! You know, that car company with those really sleek cars that go Neeyohwwww!! And Bbbrrrryyyoooowwwnnn!! And—" Gods above, Sora was trying my patience. If it hadn't been for Kairi interrupting, my beige carpeting would have been stained a dark crimson.
"Anyway, the DJ said to call down to the station and so we did. He told us to listen in at exactly 6:15 P.M three days from when we signed up to see if we had won or not."
"So, you're telling me that this happened three days ago?"
"Yep!" The both replied with wide grins on their young faces. Somewhere inside of me, something snapped. I could feel my fingers twitching, itching to wrap themselves around one of their necks. My vision was beginning to tint to a bright red as I continued to stare at both of them. Who to kill? Well, I honestly couldn't hurt Kairi because, after all, she was a girl. However, that only left Sora open for an attack. Well…beggars can't be choosers or so the old saying went. Before I knew what was going on, I was flinging myself across my small kitchen table and tackling the boy out of his chair and down onto the ground. I heard Kairi shriek, but I didn't even cast a small glance in her direction. No, my eyes seemed locked on the target who was trying to wrestle out of my tight grip I had on his shoulders. Had it not been for his arms bending and his hands wrapping themselves around my wrists, my hands may have traveled straight to his smooth neck. Instead of fighting against his rather impressive strength for control of his neck and his breathing, I settled for shaking his violently back and forth by his shoulders.
"You're! Going! To! Pay! For! This!!" I yelled, stopping with every word to not only emphasize my words, but also the force at which I was shaking this boy beneath me who was making undulating groans every time his head was whipped back and forth.
"Cloud…?" My name had been spoken so softly, it had been a wonder I was able to hear it in my state of rage. My head slowly creaked enough for my eyes to take in the sight of Kairi sitting upon my couch with the small portable radio set upon the coffee table, its volume turned up as far as it could go. It was the energetic voice from the radio that cut the sudden silence that fell upon the three of us.
"Hey guys and gals, DJ Demyx here, the most favorite and lovable of all disc jockeys." Automated applause break. "Anyway, I think you all out there know why I'm here. That's right, it's time to announce the winner of our latest contest. You remember the one, right guys and gals? That's right! Paragon Automotive's contest to debut their newest, fastest, glossiest, coolest, most awesome car to date!! Representatives have explained that this car will introduce, like always, a one of a kind engine! Specially customized for the driver of said car! So, let me stop the teasin' and just let you know who won? Alright, drum roll please!" Automated drum roll before cymbals clashing together. "Woohoo!! It looks like the winner of this car is…Cloud Strife!! Congratulations, Cloud Strife!! You have the next three hours once I go off the air to come on down to our radio station, WHUT, to claim your new car! Oh, and if you have an old clunker set of wheels, make sure you bring that down with you, too! We'll take care of that old sucker for you!! So once again, congratulations to Cloud Strife and for the rest of you guys and gals out there, who entered, better luck next time!!"
Kairi was jumping up and down now, her hands high above her head as a wide smile was painted on her face.
"Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! We won, we won!!" She was exclaiming as she began hopping all around my small living room, clapping her hands.
"Better start thanking us, huh Cloudie?" Sora chuckled beneath me, finding a momentary lapse in my grip to slither out from underneath me and joined Kairi as they started a little victory dance. They clasped hands and were jumping up and down in a circle laughing to themselves.
I sat there on my linoleum floor, not believing that these two brats had actually caused me to win something. A brand new car…It was unthinkable, too good to be true! The proof was there though; it had just been spoken to everyone who was in earshot of a radio. They had all heard my name over the speakers and were either applauding in my victory or envying my win. Time seemed to freeze just for me to calm myself. It…was difficult to take something such as this all in at once. I hadn't even been aware that these two had been plotting something such as this, after all. I let out a deep sigh as a hand went to one of my temples and delicate fingers began to rub the skin there. I needed to lie down…But with these two balls of energy in my home, I doubt my wish would have been realized…
"Cloud c'mon!! We gotta get down to the station so we can claim your car!!" Sora was shouting in front of me as Kairi was still jumping up and down. "C'mon, c'mon, we only got three hours!!" He began tugging on my free hand to haul me up onto my feet. Somehow he managed this by himself. I found myself constantly forgetting just how strong this boy was. "Kairi, grab his old car keys so we can go!!" The next thing I knew, I was being forced out of my own apartment while the faint jingling of my keys accompanied me.
---
The drive over to the station had been a blur. Lost somewhere among the rattling of my old, dark blue compact and the cheers of the daring duo behind me. When we pulled up the dull, short, brown building's parking lot, there was a crowd waiting, some of them armed with cameras and microphones. Just what I wanted on what was to be a quiet evening at home. As soon as I pulled my keys out of the ignition and opened the door, I was assaulted with the seizure-causing lights of camera flashes. Sora and Kairi seemed to be enjoying the limelight seeing as how they were posing for almost every flash that came their way. I merely groaned before a tall, tanned man with wild silver hair approached me and outstretched his hand for me to shake which I did.
"Congratulations on winning our latest achievement in automobiles." He said to me, a tone hinting with arrogance that apparently came with the dark red suit he was wearing. No doubt he came from Paragon Automotive with that attitude and air of an assumed regality. "I do believe you will find this model to your liking." He then led me away from my clunker of a car and through the sea of paparazzi. It was almost biblical the way his merely standing in front of them was enough to part the sea. Beneath the sea was a strip of red carpet leading to a platform consisting of four ramps in each direction with a matching red sheet shrouding the car that I had won. A little overdramatic, wasn't it? This was just a car I was winning…How great could it be? I found myself following this man down the red carpet leading up to the car and I felt Sora and Kairi press themselves on either side of me. We all came to a stop before the platform which the man ascended alone. He turned about face towards us and the crowd of unwavering cameras. There was a smirk on his face as he spoke again, this time for the microphones. "I, Xemnas, am proud to present to you, Cloud Strife, a car like no other. A car in a class of its own." He reached a hand out to grip a section of the red sheet as he continued to speak. "Behold! I give you…!" He trailed off as his hand yanked the sheet up and away, the sound of it whipping through the air followed by a collective gasp was the precursor to a break of silence. "…The L.E.O.N Edition!"
I would be lying through my gaping mouth if I said I didn't want this car. It was a shimmering onyx underneath the setting sun's rays. It was low and long with tinted windows of black. Its headlights were wide and bright, almost as if they were eyes all their own. There were hollow strips on metal on its sides that ended before it reached the trunk. Upon the trunk was could have been mistaken as its wing…there was a specific name for those fanned out pieces of metal upon a car's backspace, wasn't there? The name escaped me in my awestruck state. There were no handles on this car which could only mean its doors were automated. However, there was a small white circle where a keyhole would have gone had it been a car of today. Along the windows edges was a clear strip of material that would occasionally flare up with dim yellow lights chasing after one another. On the very front edge of the car's hood was Paragon Automotive's signature symbol: A circle encasing a capitalized 'A' with a lower case 'p' hanging like a hook from the bridge in between the two slanted lines that made up the capital letter. Needless to say that my previous car was far from my mind as I continued to stare at this mastery of a vehicle.
"Completely environmentally friendly, this car releases little if no emissions into the air. Friendly, yet fierce. This car has over 330 horsepower and can go from 0 to 90 in 2.5 seconds flat." Xemnas explained as he traced a light hand over my car and I couldn't help the twinge of fury that ran through my body. How dare he lay a hand on my car! "The L.E.O.N Edition, the Leading Electrical Optimized Nitro Edition. Yes, this car comes with nitro just for that extra rush of adrenaline. So, what do you say?" He held up a single golden key with his corporation's symbol hanging from it by a chain. "Care to take it for its first drive?" He stepped down from his pedestal and firmly pressed the key into my hands. He gave a final nod and as if it was some cue, the cameras began shuttering and flashing once more.
I merely glanced down at the key in my hand, only for a moment before I was interrupted.
"Cloud, you gonna drive it now?" Sora asked, his tone more questioning that it should have been. No doubt he was expecting a ride seeing as how he and his friend were the cause for my success.
"Why not? But…" I turned around to the man who had handed me the key. "…what about my old car?" The man merely turned with the smirk still on my face before he waved his hand as if to dismiss the matter. I felt my brow furrow, but my mind turned my attention back to the vehicle in front of me. I ran a hand over its cool surface and I swear I could have felt a pulse beneath my fingertips. I shook the feeling off before my eyes fell to the small white circle upon my car. Puzzled a bit, I reached a finger up and pressed the button-like surface. Something warm and the color of morning grass lit up the underside of my fingertip and I immediately jerked it back with a gasp leaving my lips. The entire car lit up once before all of its doors opened, allowing me my first look at its interior. The seats, the dashboard, the roof…All were the color of a dark cream yet still retained a sort of light. There were no dials within this car which puzzled me at first until my eyes spotted a screen in place of where these knobs usually were. Licking my bottom lip I allowed myself to sink into the car's interior and watched with astonishment as the door closed itself for me. I felt the car sink even closer to the ground with the two sets of extra weight in the back.
"Whoaaa…" Sora breathed leaning forward between the driver and passenger seat to closely inspect the dashboard and all, or rather none, of its controls. "…whoaaa…"
"How do you start it, Cloud?" I heard Kairi ask and it was then that I realized that there was no ignition for this car. I leaned forward and backwards and upwards and downwards, but I could not spot anything remotely close to a key slot.
"I'm…" I drew out this word as I rest a hand upon the smooth black steering wheel. Just as my fingers gripped the wheel, a small 'beep' sounded from somewhere in the car. My ears couldn't pinpoint exactly where. Before we knew what was going on, a genderless computerized voice addressed us.
"Welcome to the newest invention of Paragon Automotive, the L.E.O.N Edition. This vehicle has been synced with its driver's fingerprint and now only the driver's fingerprint will be able to activate any of this vehicle's functions. All devices in this vehicle have the option of being voice controlled. The touch screen to the driver's lower right will display a variety of information and can be customized to the driver's personal preference. Spoken commands will be displayed upon the touch screen. Driver, would you care to learn how to operate this vehicle?"
"Uhh…" the fact that a car was speaking to me was rather odd and awkward. Normally I would lock my eyes with another individual's, but…any simpleton could point out that cars had no eyes to gaze into. "…yes…?" There was a resounding beep before the computerized voice addressed me again.
"Manual or Pilot mode?"
"Uh…manual…?"
"Please place both hands on the steering wheel." I did as I was told, though I felt as if I had been reduced to a teenager who had just received a permit and was now driving for the first time. "Please place one foot upon the brake. Please press one finger to the center of the steering wheel." Once this action had been done, the face of the wheel separated into two pieces which slid away to reveal a circle almost identical to the one on the outer side of the driver's door. "This is your vehicle's ignition. Press and hold the button in order to initiate the engine. Perform the same action to power down the engine." No sooner than when I had set my finger upon the "ignition," did a roar from underneath the car's hood sound before dying down to a mere purr. "Enjoy your L.E.O.N Edition."
"Can we take the long way home?" Sora asked still leaning between the two front seats as he stared at the previously blank screen that now displayed the weather, the time, the electrical gauges, the speed, and the status of the engine. "Check it out, Cloud!" the boy exclaimed in wonderment before I shoved him to the back of the car.
"Seatbelts, you two." I ordered them and, despite the grumbling from the brunette behind me, I heard them obey. I myself strapped myself in before I gripped the wheel in front of me. "Let's see what makes the L.E.O.N so great." I turned an eye to the touch screen and noticed that there was a large, white 'P' set in the top left hand corner of the screen. "Hmm…Set L.E.O.N to Drive…?" I had no idea if such a command would have even worked, but seeing as how just advanced this car was…It wouldn't hurt to try. To my surprise and glee, the car had heard me and the 'P' morphed itself into a large, white 'D'. The engine gave a small roar as its gears shifted and I could not hide the small smirk that began to work its way onto my face. I set my foot atop the accelerator and added a little weight, causing the car to ease itself down the one of the four ramps it sat upon. As soon as I felt its wheels introduce themselves to asphalt, I applied more pressure and the car took it upon itself to spin its wheels even faster. As we cruised further and further away from the cameras and questioning microphones, I could honestly say that I felt as though I was hovering. The feel of the car was so…tranquil, so even. My body began to relax itself in the cushiony seat behind and beneath it. I almost felt as if I didn't even need to control this car…That if I had asked, then it would have been more than happy to oblige to my request.
Once again, the drive had been a sort of blur to me. I almost scolded myself for my murky mind losing the last minutes I had spent in this magnificent car. It was still a wonder to me that I was now the sole owner of this unique thing. My finger reached up, pressing and holding the button that had been hidden beneath my steering wheel. By my finger the engine's purr diminished into nothing and the car itself seemed to die. I had dropped off Sora and Kairi at their respected homes, and now I sat alone in front of my apartment building. I let out a small sigh, knowing the eventually I would have to slide myself out of the L.E.O.N and make my way grudgingly upstairs. Better do it now than later…Any longer and I might have found myself to be asleep in this car of mine.
I pushed open the door and shut it just the same way. As if knowing that there was no one else inside, the locks sounded and the car beeped twice. Smart thing, it was I had to say. Hard to imagine it even existed. Though, I couldn't exactly give all credit to the vehicle. No, most of it belonged to that engine underneath the twinkling hood. Ah, curiosity was such a strange thing and could cause a man to make one a many a mistakes. Needless to say that my curiosity was peaked and I could not resist even the tiniest glance at the power source of my new car. I crept up to the front of my car, such as a young child would do to tiptoe past their slumbering parent. I took in a breath and held it as both of my hands found the front latch of the hood. What could be underneath it? A monster of an engine with pistons that pumped up and down when the car was running? A compact little thing that was the same size as my fist? I couldn't make myself wait anymore so I merely threw the cover open.
My eyes widened at the sight of my…engine. It was…It was…uhh….a… man?!? A…naked…man…?! I blinked once, twice… and then I had to tear my eyes away from the man before I slowly turned them back. He was still there. I wasn't imagining things. I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but nothing would dare find its way up my throat. The still setting sun took care of any words for me, better than words even. The dastardly thing shone its rays right into the man's shut eyes and to my astonishment they twitched!! Slowly I stepped back from my car, my entire body freezing after that. My eyes were widened with horror as I watched the man raise his head of wild chocolate brown hair and glare with stormy eyes towards me. He lifted an arm that had been imprisoned in a sort of navy blue gauntlet with neon blue markings that ran up to his elbow. He was able to grip the front edge of the car and lift the top half of his body up, his glare upon me only intensifying. I was able to spot a few cables attached to this gauntlet of sorts leading back into the normally hidden compartment. As if I wasn't in such a dangerous state of shock, this man, or rather my engine, only added to my shock. By speaking…
"Just who do you think you are, disturbing me like that?"
My world faded to black and began to float away as my mind decided to shut down, my body could only follow…
Author's Note: So this is a little bit of a crazy concept I've had for a little while now, but haven't found the time to write. I decided to start it and see if I receive some positive (or negative) feedback to continue it (or not). Let me know what you think and if this should go on or not?
Grazi.