^_^'' Well, I somehow managed to keep this going...
And I thought of Mako poisoning more upon researching it...
Yep, that's right, I dove into the Final Fantasy VII wiki, looked it up again...
And here we have it! Fun, fun, fun...
Chapter 2
Artemis could feel her heart pounding as if it were literally ready to burst from her chest. She made attempts to examine the creatures, but just as she did so, one of them leapt into the air for an attack.
Artemis, move aside or you'll get hurt!
"That voice again…?"
Artemis swiftly moved aside just as the creature prepared to land on the ground, barely dodging, her eyes still fixated on the creatures before her. She slowly backed up towards the entrance only to feel her back suddenly collide with something. She froze for a moment and slowly reached out a hand, instantly feeling what she thought were… scales. She slowly turned around and spotted a creature that appeared almost human.
It had piercing cerulean eyes and long silver hair that touched the ground, yet and still… Artemis knew that if it had scales on its body, it wasn't human. An odd green liquid was oozing from its mouth, dripping onto the floor. The creature grinned at her, revealing fangs.
…Fangs. Yep, quite far from being a human all right; more like on the crazed freak-show type of scale.
Before Artemis could try to flee for help, the creature had lunged, digging its sharp fangs into her neck. Her eyes went completely blank for a moment before she let out an ear-splitting shriek of pain.
Ryuu heard the girl's scream from afar. He was frozen. "Arte…?"
Zack had just gotten up to the brick door leading to the inner caverns and was about to open it when he heard a muffled scream from the other side. Mako-infused eyes grew wide.
"ARTEMIS!" He began to pry the door open.
"Zack!" Sora called out once he, Riku and Kairi had raced in.
"Artemis is trapped inside of here, like I thought! Something's inside of there with her!" Zack looked to the three. "It locks from the inside, so I need all of you to keep this door open at all costs and wait for me to bring her back out!" Zack got the door open, and then Sora grabbed one side of the door while Riku grabbed the other.
"Got it!"
"Zack, please be careful!" Kairi said. Zack nodded, removing his Buster Sword from its sheath and charging forward into the caverns.
Zack skidded to a stop when he noticed Artemis being clung to by her neck, bitten by a creature. It reminded him of a vampire drawing blood from a human's soul. Artemis noticed Zack for a second, and then broke away, performing a roundhouse kick, throwing the creature backwards into the wall.
"H-Hey, Artemis, you doing okay?" Artemis winced in pain, slowly putting a hand up to her neck. Zack noticed the blood seeping through her fingers and got a bit concerned. She slowly glanced over at him.
"Y-Yeah, I'm… I'll be okay… It's just… It's just a graze…"
"Doesn't look like any old graze to-" Zack glanced back and noticed some of the creatures dashing for the entrance, then at the creatures surrounding the two. He growled under his breath.
"…Zack…?" Artemis breathed out.
"Hey, Sora, Riku, Kairi! You guys better brace yourselves back there!"
"Sure thing!" He heard Sora's muffled voice call back before hearing the sound of a weapon being drawn. Artemis moaned a bit, but managed to regain her composure as the enemies drew closer. Zack held the Buster Sword out in front of him.
"Dammit… Give me a BREAK!" He charged forward, hack-slashing the creatures into bits and pieces. Artemis braced herself, taking a few deep breaths.
What are you doing?
"Breathing…"
For?
"Because… this… is where being forced into cheerleading back in America… will come in handy…"
Artemis propelled forward. "Hey, Zack! Head's up, enemies coming your way a la Arte!" She flipped over and kicked some of the enemies backwards. Zack turned around and slashed each one of them off, finishing them completely. This process continued for a bit, but Zack nonetheless monitored Artemis's condition carefully.
Soon enough, all of the enemies fell at Zack's feet, and the SOLDIER man let out a breath of relief, putting his sword back into its sheath. Artemis glanced back at him and smiled.
"I see that… your sword isn't just for show… after all…"
"You're not so bad at hand-on combat yourself, kiddo," Zack joked. "C'mon, we should probably be getting back now. The others are waiting for us."
As Zack turned to leave, Artemis winced and slowly reached up, putting a hand to her still bleeding neck. She said that it was a graze, and she didn't feel any pain when she was helping Zack, so why was the wound beginning to sting so harshly so suddenly? She opened her mouth to call out, but couldn't find her voice.
"…Z-Z… Za…ck…" Zack immediately turned around to face her, and Artemis took a step forward, reaching out for him while still keeping one hand to her neck. She blinked a few times, and all that she could see after a while… was green. {A/N: Well, thank YOU, Final Fantasy VII: Last Order OVA!}
"W-What's going on…? Why do I feel so… out of it…? And my voice is… My GOD, my voice…!"
"Artemis, what is it?" Artemis opened her mouth to speak again.
"…I… I feel… fu-" Zack sprang forward, catching her in his arms as she lurched forward.
You went and left yourself vulnerable…
"Artemis! Artemis, stay with me here!" Her breaths were slow and rough, and she nearly clung to Zack for warmth, her form trembling. Zack shook his head a bit and then stood up, holding her close.
And now you're going to pay the price for your weakness…
"…The creatures that attacked you… that attacked US… they had to have been experiments of Professor Hojo's that went wrong… And the one that bit you in the neck… it had to have had Mako energy inside of it… I really hope that I'm wrong…"
You shouldn't have listened to Ryuu, Artemis. You should have just stayed home, safe in your bed.
"How was I supposed to DO that…? Ryuu is my friend…"
Is he really? Would a friend lead you to a mansion, stating that it was 'cool', and would he come along if he's blind and wanted for YOU to have a break? Face it. He's nothing but low, low, low. He clearly knows something about what's going on.
"STOP IT! HE'S NOT LIKE THAT!"
It's fairly obvious, because guess what? Now you're going to die a slow and painful death at the hands of SOLDIER experiments.
"I-I'm gonna DIE? Aah, but I never even got to have my first kiss, or-or my first tattoo, or my graduation, or my first-" {A/N: 0.0 First WHAT now, Arte?}
You heard Zack for himself. This 'Hojo' person created those monsters, and now you have loose Mako energy flowing through your veins because you let your guard down to them. You're stupid.
Artemis whimpered a bit, clinging to Zack's shirt. Zack glanced down at her, and could easily see the pained expression on Artemis's face
"Artemis… Don't worry… I'm going to keep you safe…" When Zack left the caverns, he saw that the younger trio was standing over one of the now defeated creatures lying before them.
"Huh, nice going, Sora, you managed to kill it…" Riku mumbled.
"What the heck IS this thing? It surely doesn't look like anything I've ever faced before…" Sora asked.
"It WAS a test subject created by the head of the Shinra science department, Professor Hojo," Zack called. Only then did the three look his way.
"W-What happened to Artemis?" Riku exclaimed.
"One of those creatures attacked her from behind, but that's a story for another time. Right now, we need to try to stabilize her before she ends up getting any worse." Zack gently laid Artemis's weakened form on a nearby bed, pulling the covers over her. When he had gently rested a hand on her forehead, she had cringed from his cold touch. "Hm, a slight fever… Riku, I need you to find a towel and some water, or anything that could be used to bring her temperature down."
"Okay," Riku ran off.
"Sora, you're a skilled fighter, right?"
"Yeah!"
"I need you to be my infantryman. You have to hunt down the enemies that managed to escape from the caverns and destroy them on pinpoint."
"Does that mean that I get to be a part of SOLDIER if I do?" Sora beamed. Zack shrugged, deciding to boost the boy's esteem a bit more, if it were even possible.
"Sure. This is your first assignment, so don't let me down."
"Sir, yes sir!" Sora ran off as well.
'Um, Zack… Is there anything that I can do to help?" Kairi asked, feeling a bit left out compared to her two companions.
"Hm… Kairi, how about you monitor the weather conditions outside and keep your eyes peeled for any suspicious activity? Oh, and you can try to hunt down Ryuu too, for Artemis's sake."
Kairi grinned. "Yes, sir!" Then she ran off as well. Zack slowly reached out a hand, moving some hair from over Artemis's eyes. Her eyes slowly opened and she stared up at him, sight still emerald.
"Z-Za…ck…" Her voice was coarse.
"Shh… Don't say a word, save your strength…" He began to scan through his item supply, finding two potions, an elixir, and a Phoenix Down. He assumed that he would need the Phoenix Down later on, so he reached for the elixir, holding it out to Artemis. "Hey, Artemis, do you think you can stomach this?"
"A-Ah…?" Zack took this as a yes and brought the liquid up to her lips.
"It might taste kind of weird, but trust me, it might help you regain some of your strength after some time." Artemis coughed slightly once Zack had pulled the elixir away, both from the God-awful taste and her now burning throat from her neck injury.
"O-Ow…! That hurts…!"
Get used to it, because you're going to be feeling that pain for a while.
It didn't take very long for Artemis's cough to become brisk. "Ouch…!" Zack immediately came to her aide.
"A-Are you okay?" Artemis covered her mouth, coughing harshly into her jacket sleeve. "I-Is something caught in your throat?" Artemis calmed for a moment, and Zack noticed blood on her sleeve—the same sleeve she had just coughed into. His eyes grew wide. "Blood…? Oh, damn it… Mako poisoning!" {A/N: Yeahhhhh, that's right, I went on ahead and added my own symptoms of Mako Poisoning, so sue ME.}
Riku returned only seconds later, and his eyes widened when he stumbled upon Zack rubbing the girl's back as she broke into another coughing fit. Riku noticed some blood slip through Artemis's lips. "W-What's going on?"
"She has Mako poisoning and it's causing her to cough up blood," Riku raced over, aquamarine eyes filled with concern. "I don't think that it's gotten to an extreme point, because she's still able to move a bit…"
"…I-I…" Zack gently laid Artemis back down on the bed, and she took a few shallow breaths. Zack put a hand to the girl's cheek.
"Aw, damn it, she's burning up…!" Zack shook his head. Riku dipped a cloth into a bucket of cold water and then placed the cloth on Artemis's forehead. "How the hell did I get myself into this mess!"
Artemis cringed from the cool texture, weakly staring up at the two, particularly at Zack for his comment. "…I'm… sor…ry…"
"Don't apologize, this isn't your fault!" Zack half-yelled at her. "It's… It's MINE for not getting to you in time! It's my fault for not warning you about the caverns sooner, and… And it's my fault for not being a hero!"
Artemis opened her mouth to speak, not caring if it would damage her any longer, "…No… you really… you ARE… a hero, Zack… You really… are…" Zack was stunned by her words, and she slowly closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep.
You're just wasting your time trying to convince him of something so foolish. He's never going to be a true hero.
"He's strong enough to be one and he's got the attitude for it. And in addition, he's got the right look for a hero, so why shouldn't he be a hero at this rate?"
Zack stood up, eyes still locked on Artemis's now still form. "…Riku… Could you… Could you watch her a bit…?" Riku blinked, looking to the man.
"Of course I can," Then Zack left the room. Riku looked to Artemis. "…You know, you're really getting in over your head… I just hope that things start to go better soon, and that we can all get the hell out of here…"
. "…Hi there..."
"Hiya…"
"Ah, I see. I'm Artemis, by the way. Artemis van Hughes."
"Riku Tamohara. Nice to meet you."
"…This is all so strange… Why would those creatures just appear out of nowhere…? Could someone be controlling them, maybe this Professor Hojo?" Riku got up, looking towards the cavern entrance. "…I wonder if I can see the laboratory for myself and try to get some answers…"
"Don't… do it…" Riku glanced down at Artemis. His eyes widened a bit when he saw that her once café-colored eyes retained a hint of green along the iris. "If you do, I'll put an end to you myself, Riku," Now Riku was more stunned, for the voice he was hearing didn't belong to Artemis, even if it was coming from her mouth.
"…Artemis…?" She got up from the bed and looked to him.
"I would like to make a suggestion to go. Leave the girl be, and allow me to have control for this moment," She examined herself carefully. "This little girl's body… It suits me quite well indeed…"
"W-Who ARE you if you're not Artemis?"
"…You don't need to know any of that," Emerald eyes appeared almost malevolent. "All that you need to know at this moment… is that you and your friends need to keep her alive at all costs, at least until she finds Ryuu again."
"Okay. Sure. No problem."
"…Now, take a walk. I have something I need to do," She went through a drawer and found a combination bow and arrow set, seven arrows in the carrying case. "Ah, my old friend Shashu… Just where I left it…" {A/N: Shashu is the Romanji word for shot, as in a marksman}
"W-What are you gonna do with that…?" She held the position of an archer, arrow now pointed at Riku. Riku froze.
"That… was a stupid question…"
"…I gotta go pee," Then Riku fled. Artemis's eyes narrowed a bit and she looked to her bow and arrow.
"…Well, Shashu… Guess that after all this time… we finally get to go back to taking matters into our own hands, thanks to Artemis. Are you ready for the madness?" She grinned. "Stupid question to a bow…"
Zack sat on the second floor staircase, his head in his hands. All of these years, he had longed to become a famous hero like Sephiroth, even going so far as to leave his parents behind at a young age just to become a SOLDIER… so why was it that when he was addressed as a hero by a child like Artemis, he was unable to embrace it?
Wasn't that what he wanted all of this time?
Was he really a hero?
If he were, he could have gotten to Artemis long before she was attacked and stricken with Mako poisoning from that experiment.
"…This has gone on for far too long… There's a chance that Artemis could die because of me… Maybe I can call Tseng and let him know my situation, and then he can probably-" But when Zack had opened his cell phone, he noticed that the battery was completely dead. "Wha-DEAD? Damn it, but I charged this thing right before I left, how can it be dead now? What the hell!" Zack groaned, putting his phone away. Then there was a sudden scream and he flinched. "K-Kairi?"
He got up, Buster Sword drawn, racing down the stairs and through the halls, where he found Sora standing in front of Kairi with his Keyblade drawn, eyes locked on the experiment before him.
"T-This one is WAY different from the last one I fought…!" Zack took note of the minor cuts and bruises on Sora's body. The experiment charged at Sora, scythe drawn. Sora immediately blocked the attack, trying to counterattack only for the experiment to apply more pressure onto the Keyblade.
"Sora!" Kairi exclaimed. Sora glanced back at Kairi in the corner of his eye.
"Kairi, get to safety, quickly!" Kairi froze for a second. "GO!" Kairi snapped out of it and then ran past and up the stairs, noticing Zack.
"Wha-You're not going to help him?"
"He'll be fine," Zack replied, Buster Sword still gripped tightly in his hands in case that he needed to take a preemptive strike into his own hands. "Besides… if he's anything like I was when I was his age, then he's fine-"
Out of nowhere, an arrow flew past Zack's face and struck the experiment in the back. It let out a painful roar and then Sora pushed it off of him, leaping back and holding his Keyblade up in the air.
"HOLY!" Multiple beams of light emanated from the Keyblade, raining down on the experiment and disintegrating it completely. He let out a breath of relief.
Zack had glanced back to see who fired the arrow, noticing Artemis at the top of the stairs. She was extremely pale, dripping with sweat, and her breaths were heavy, but nonetheless, she held the bow as if she were prepared to strike again if she had to.
"A-Artemis!"
And my part is done for now~
Artemis stumbled a bit, feeling faint. Zack ran up to her, grabbing her by the arm, pulling her close so that she wouldn't accidentally fall down the stairs. Her face reddened immensely and she weakly glanced up at him.
"What the hell were you THINKING?" She gripped his shirt a bit.
"…I… wasn't… I don't… know… what happened…" Zack blinked. "I just… knew that I had to go and… find Ryuu…"
"…You knew…?" Kairi breathed out.
"…Ryuu is… MY responsibility…"
Zack sighed. "Okay, Artemis, I'm gonna try to see if I can put you at my level right now," He lifted her up. "You need to learn to put yourself before Ryuu right now so that you can regain enough strength to find him. You're suffering from a moderate case of Mako poisoning, and I know that you don't have idea what that is, but it's not a good thing to test. You're too weak to try and find Ryuu all by yourself. You can't try to go around fighting like the rest of us like that again."
Artemis's eyes began welling with tears, and Zack blinked. "B-But…"
"…A-Aw, no, not with the tears…! C'mon, please don't start crying, please…?"
"Aw…" Sora mumbled. Kairi glared at him.
"I wanna go home…" Artemis choked out, hiccupping afterwards. Zack's eyes saddened, for he knew that he could never resist a young girl in tears before him—yet another of his frivolous hero instincts.
Zack gently pressed his forehead up against her, eyes locked on her. "Artemis… I promise you, I will do everything in my power to help you find Ryuu…" He looked to Sora and Kairi. "I'll do everything in my power to get ALL of you back home safely, no matter what," Artemis seemed relieved and rested her head on his shoulder, drifting off to sleep. Zack grinned a bit. "That's a good girl…"
"She's taken by you, Zack~" Sora joked.
"Aw, no one can resist Zack the Puppy at his finest," Zack replied, knowing that Sora was only half-serious about that statement. "C'mon, let's get out of here before more of those experiments start popping up."
"Right!"
Soon enough, Artemis was back in bed, sleeping. Sora was having his wounds tended to by Kairi, luckily they weren't serious or had injected Mako into him as well. Zack was practically cursing Riku out for letting Artemis out of bed, to which the silverette interjected that he had only left for a minute to use the restroom. When asked if he knew where the archery material had come from, Riku lied and stated that he had no idea where she had found it.
He never once mentioned Artemis temporarily losing control of her body as not to worry the elder man. The thought stuck in his mind, however.
Just who was the one controlling Artemis in the first place?
Well, who IS the one controlling Arte? THAT is another tale for another time, of course!
^_^ Review!