Shadows
"It won't be long now, precious..." A soft voice whispered into an unmoving figure's ear.
The figure, cloaked in darkness said nothing, did nothing.
"It's okay.. You needn't say anything.. I know you're excited... They tried to take you from me, but I have you back now, don't I? I went through so much to do so, but you're mine now, and we're together again. All I need is one more thing..."
Leaning in, the other figure, shorter than the first, kissed the first deftly on the lips, drawing on the other's warmth. "It won't be long.." He promised, standing back up. "I have to leave now, but I'll be back, same as always." He whispered, and walked away, long black coat flowing gently as he opened the door to a cool summer night's breeze.
The figure continued to sit in the darkness, still as death itself.
Fire. He was staring at a dying fire, watching it burn itself down. Things phased out. Suddenly the fire was smoldering, nearly dead. He heard shuffling, someone approaching. Suddenly two arms wrapped themselves around him gently. He didn't move, simply watched the fire, feeling flesh rest on his bare flesh- he was naked. Out of nowhere the voice belonging to the arms spoke, softly, pleadingly.
"Don't make me destroy you, Forte..." He could feel the breath warm on his back.
Forte?
"Don't we sound confident..?"
A wet warmth suddenly trailed down his back. Slowly, he turned to look at the person belonging to the arms.
A boy. A young teenager, with a face so hauntingly similar, so alike...
"I don't want to fight you..."
A flash of anger, eyes narrowing, hatred overtaking several emotions.
"You're weak, Rock. I'll fight you, and I'll win."
...Rock? That name... He knew no one by that name.
"I can't... I don't want to.. Forte, I... I'm in-"
He leapt to his feet, grabbing this 'Rock' by his shirt collar, threateningly, with arms that were not his own.
"Don't!!! Don't say it, Rock!! I don't want to hear what you have to say. Get ready to fight."
Threats. Screams. A sudden wave of blood-lust so strong he could hardly control it. And the he couldn't.
"NOOOO!!!!!!!!" Large emerald eyes opened, wide with fear, fear of his lost control. Fearful he had killed the small boy laying beneath him, whose throat he had been squeezing. Instead his eyes met the ceiling. He shot up quickly, staring at the far wall of the room, yet not seeing it.
"X?"
His eyes returned to their normal size, panic draining out of him. Just another dream. It had all been a dream. What was going on? He gripped his blanket tighter.
"X?" the voice repeated. Suddenly a hand fell into his line of vision, waving itself back and forth in front of his face. "Earth to X!"
Starting, X glanced in the direction of the voice, belonging to a very agitated Zero. "Yawning slightly, he rubbed his eyes. "oh... ohayo, Zero..." he mumbled. He smiled dreamily, still half asleep. "Why're you here?"
Zero sighed, rolling his eyes slightly. "Me. You. Time off, remember? I thought we could go out for a morning jog, have a little breakfast, then decided what we're going to do, today."
X yawned softly, flopping back onto his pillow. "Yeah, but at five in the morning?" He groaned, burying his face in it. "I'm tired. Go away." He grumbled, something uncharacteristic of him. He was normally a morning person.
The bed shifted slightly, as Zero flopped down next to X, arms behind his head. "I thought you like taking a nice early jog." He rolled onto his side, staring at X, puzzled. "This have something to do with whatever dream you were having when I came in?" He raised an eye slightly.
X spoke through his pillow, muffled. "How do you know about my dreams?"
"I could hear you yell from down the hall. Geez, X, you'd think a maverick was attacking you." He blinked slowly, thinking over what X had just said. "What do you mean dreams? This isn't the first?"
X turned his face toward him slightly, half on, half buried in his pillow. "You could hear me that far?" He asked, sheepishly.
Zero nodded slightly. "You didn't answer my question yet!" He demanded, in mock sternness. Noting the silence that followed, Zero's face dropped back into a serious look. "X?" He put a gentle hand on X's arm. X was his best friend, and he loved him, in more ways than he really should. He knew him better than anyone, and could tell this was seriously bothering him.
X, seeing the worried look Zero was giving him, simply passed it off with a light laugh. "Oh, it's nothing, really! I just have strange dreams every once in awhile. Must be from all those thrillers I've been watching with you lately."
Zero sighed, disbelieving. "I.. guess so. No more midnight monster marathons for you anymore!" He joked, patting his back.
X smiled weakly up at him. "I guess I can handle that." After a few moments of comfortable silence passed, X yawned again. "So I'll just take in a little more shut-eye, and we can go jogging later, okay?" He nestled under his blankets, curling up.
Zero simply grinned. "Not a chance!" He cried, pulling the half asleep hunter to his feet. "Let's go!"
X ran steadily down the long, deserted road he and Zero jogged nearly every day. It wasn't that he had to jog, he never aged, never gained or lost weight, being a reploid. However, he loved the feel of the wind in his hair, and that liberating feeling that went along with it. He also... Loved watching Zero run, always beside him, staring ahead determinedly, never noticing the quick glances X would cast him.
Admittedly, X liked Zero, more than anyone else. They were best friends, after all. He also had other feelings for him, feelings he couldn't classify as of yet. Sometimes, he'd almost get lost, staring into those deep blue eyes, or watching those long strands of gold Zero called hair billowing gently in the wind, especially as he ran. But not today. No, today, Zero was watching him, more then usual. He knew Zero was still worried about the events of that morning.
However, what could he possibly say to him? That he'd been having dreams off and on since he'd been created, of a strange boy? It sounded so ridiculous, a waste of time, hardly worth keeping secret, but there was something strange about those dreams. They were never the same, always something different, but haunting. Could they possibly be him in the past? Perhaps Cain wasn't the first to activate him...
He looked away quickly, realizing he had been staring at Zero for quite awhile, Zero's eyes had passed over him several times already and now he was staring at him, worried again. He looked away, pretending to read the sign they passed, cheeks bright. Yep, he sure liked Zero a lot. However, he couldn't bring himself to tell Zero that. He was too shy, and now that he was having these dreams again, so frequently, it just seemed wrong. He would feel too guilty, waking after sometimes erotic dreams about someone else and facing him.
Besides, Zero wasn't interested in hi--
His eyes widened as he passed someone, clad completely in black, a long coat completing the ensemble, despite the hot summer weather. That wasn't what brought him to X's attention, however.
It was his face.
He skidded to a stop, turning on his heel to face the figure.
No one was there. No. No! He had seen someone, he was sure of it! The face had been so familiar, where had he seen it before?! His eyes softened as he felt Zero's hand wrap around his shoulder gently, pulling him in slightly, protectively.
"What's wrong, X?" He whispered. "What do you see?"
X shook his head slowly. It must have been his imagination. Smiling meekly, he simply told Zero the truth. "N-nothing... Come on, let's go." He added, nervously, and continued running up the road.
Zero sighed. X had always been a little uptight, far too serious, and even a little strange at times, but nothing like this. 'X... What's going on?' He continued jogging, sticking closer to X than usual, and casting him worried glances frequently.
As soon as they were out of sight, the figure stepped out of the shadows slowly. That had been close, they had nearly seen him. Yet, it had been worth it. "I've found you..." He whispered, grinning madly.