Thunderous sounds were everywhere. Pounding footsteps from the red head Turk that giving chase. Roaring screams from the sirens. The sounds of their escape echoed off the walls. Reno ran after the runaways as fast as his long legs could carry him but they were too fast. It's how they were built. They were built to adapt. A simple building like this would give them no trouble at all.
For a long time, the Turks had been working on their own new experiment. Synthetic warriors built to adapt to any terrain, any situation, anything…. They had just begun the testing stage when two of their three warriors escaped. Their reaction to waking up was vicious. Luckily, no one was killed in the ruckus.
Model TL-07 was the first to wake up. Its reaction was subtle at first, surprise and utter curiosity. A normal reaction. It examined itself thoroughly, trying to the gist of itself. However as soon as it was during the first training exercise that it actually caught a glimpse of its own reflection within the wall. It became rather incoherent and stiff. After many failed attempts at communicating, the Turks were forced to put TL-07 to sleep. It wasn't pleased by the idea. When the other model, TK-09, awoke is the same time TL-07 began to attack. That's when all hell broke loose. TL-07 reaction to the Turks is what drove TK-09 to attack as well. Now, all they wanted to do was run.
TL-07 moved the fastest. Built for velocity it was running past average speed of any human. Its bare body cut through the air like a hot knife to butter. TK-09 was hot on its heels. This model was made for intelligence, thoughts shifting like clockworks. Together, the two of them had destroyed most of the lower floor trying to get out.
Reno ground his teeth in frustration and pain. His body was giving out it could but it just wasn't enough. Instinct kicked and without thinking he lashed out the warriors. TK-09 took the full blow of the attack, howling in pain as it collapsed to the floor. TL-07 stopped hearing its cry. Both warriors locked eyes and knew their fates at once. TK-09 smiled grimly and gestured for his comrade to go.
There was slight hesitation but not enough for Reno to catch up. TL-07 turned back towards the exit. His legs were carrying him at top speed. Then, the entire building went into automatic shut down. Doors were beginning to close one by one. Although TL-07 was moving its fastest, it didn't come out unscathed. Only one hit was enough. As it was going through the last door its arm got caught in the auto-lock door. At the speed it was going the sudden jerk was powerful enough to wrench the deadly metal away from its humanly skin. The scream was bone chilling and pulled sharply at the eardrums. TL-07 fell to its knees in agony, collecting itself as he panted violently. Slowly, it stood back up and began to pull. The sound of tearing metal rang clearly as it drew itself away. It was the only trace of it left for the Turks to find.
"The clouds are getting darker…" Vincent mumbled. He sat in one of the various bedrooms of the mansion staring out a large window. A small storm was quickly approaching. The garden in the back would be grateful for the rain. It had been a while since he had went to check on the flowers. They were growing wilder than he'd ever seen them, crawling up the walls and trying to invade the courtyard. He thought he should trim them down before they went out of control.
The rain was soon splashing against the windowpane. Vincent's heart slowed as he became taken by the sound of raindrops killing themselves against his window. His red eyes scanned the courtyard below as lightning flashed dangerously. What he saw caught him by surprise. "Who's that?"
The figure he had seen from the window had collapsed in the courtyard. It wouldn't be long before the creatures came for it. It looked human. Vincent wouldn't forgive himself for leaving someone, defenseless and weak, to fend for themselves against the things in this place. He made his way quickly down to the first floor. The door to the courtyard was inside the kitchen. As he opened the door, rain pelted him in the face but he spotted the collapsed figure. He pulled his cloak over his head and ran out into the courtyard. It certainly did appear human when he went to pick it up. It was heavier than he expected but not heavy enough to hinder his movements.
Inside, Vincent carried his new, naked guest into his own bedroom. In the soft light of the candles, he was correct that it appeared human. There was a small injury on its left cheek from the impact of hitting the ground. It was bleeding but it wasn't blood, more like a dark green liquid. No, it wasn't human. However, it smelled as harmless as a child.
It must have been male from what Vincent could see but it seemed more like a female. Pale creamy brown skin covered its entire body that looked very frail and breakable since it lacked muscle. Metal plates were screwed into the side of "his" face, along the jawbone, right behind the corner of the eye and half of the back skull. This led to the metal curve of his spine, leading all the way down to the tailbone. The tubing – five on each side of his back – was a dull neon green. The right side of his face was hidden by the long hair grew where the metal plate stopped. It was so black it was blue.
Then, there was the one arm, the left. Metallic, angular, vicious… From the elbow down, it was least inhuman of him, the most deadly part. Four curved blades tipped with a blood red point flashed at Vincent crudely. His fingers were same.
When Vincent reached to turn him over to see if this "man" was like him, he saw nothing. The entire right arm was gone. Nothing but circuits and wires remained. He winced at the thought of what could've done something like this.
His eyes drifted back out the window and then back to the sleeping man. "Who are you?"
TL-07 awoke to the sound of a dry screech. He jumped and dug his fingers into the sheets of Vincent's bed, tearing them in the process. He looked down sadly as he heard the sheets tear. The very sound made him want to cringe. He surveyed the area carefully. His vision was in black and white which made everything incoherent. Where was he? What had happened last night? He wanted to know.
He tried to pass his right hand over his face but only felt an empty sensation. His eyes traveled warily to take a glimpse at what was left.
There was none.
His stomach began to turn just looking at it. He felt pathetic. Now, he was truly starting to hate emotions. They could be so vulgar and violent.
He struggled to sit up and gazed at the down feathers scattered about. He must have been tossing and turning in his sleep. His entire body was wrapped in blankets, all quilts of multiple colors, all handmade. His eyelids began to drop slightly.
Then, he spotted something just out the corner of his eye. It was propped up on the nightstand. Careful not to destroy the bed any further, he crawled to the other side of the king sized bed and grabbed the piece of paper. TL-07 flipped it open so he could read but as he tried to read the letters he found that he just couldn't. Feeling strangely helpless he put the paper back where he found it. Then he rolled over, stayed in the comfort of the bed, and drifted back to sleep.
Cloud walked into 7th Heaven, ready to get some rest from an early morning ride. As he stepped a little ways past the bar he noticed something was different. He turned his head to see Vincent. Yeah, there was definitely something up. Vincent barely stepped into the bar for fear of being attacked by Yuffie. Their eyes locked as soon as the blonde had turned around. Vincent was sitting at the bar with a plate of steak in front of him.
"Something up?" Cloud asked, pulling his goggles up from his face. He took the seat next to his acquaintance.
"Last night, I found somebody in my courtyard." Vincent said blandly, staring at the plate of food. The steak seemed slightly unappetizing as he stared at the cooked piece of flesh.
Cloud seemed a bit shocked by the idea. Even he had had trouble getting through all those creatures. "How? It's close to impossible to get into your house without being attacked by something."
"He wasn't human really human… not all of him anyway. I let him sleep in my room for the night but I doubt he'll leave."
The blonde pictured some deformed demon wolf creature covered in fur and claws. Without thinking, he cringed. "Well, what do you want me to do Vincent? I can't exactly stray from my obligations right now." Cloud said as he too stared at the plate of food. "And aren't you going to eat that? Tifa will definitely kill you if you waste her food."
"It's for my guest…. Do you think he'd like meat?" Vincent asked out of pure curiosity.
"Honestly? Why are you asking me?" Cloud asked in return. The older man did not reply. He sighed and called Tifa over so she could get a container for Vincent's food. "You'll find out when you try and feed him." He said to Vincent. As blonde watched his friend approach the door another word of warning came to his lips. "Oh, and Vincent," The man turned at the sound of his name. "Don't get killed by your new guest." This statement was said in more of a joking manner than a serious one.
Vincent had been correct. His guest hadn't even left his bedroom. The man lay among a pile of fluff and feathers underneath the thick quilted blanket. After finding the tattoo on the side of his neck and because of the arm, Vincent had named him Talon. He found it to be quite fitting. He sat on the edge of the bed and opened the container of food.
There was a sudden jolt of movement as Talon sneezed into the pillow. The intoxicating smell of meat was too much for his nose to bear. He sniffled quietly and peered up at Vincent blankly. His sky blue iris was surrounded by a dark red violet pool of innocence. He was greeted with a tight lipped smile.
"Good morning, Talon."