a/n Having a work day while my mom wraps gifts for strangers. I would help but I'm not talented and most of the people who ask to have their presents wrapped are rich people who expect perfection and I'm just not willing to put up with that kind of attitude. And for anyone who's curious, Xegis is my friend's OC. I'm starting to get more comfortable with putting OCs in stories.
"Cloud! Hurry up!"
The blond looked up at the sound of Tifa's voice. The girl was waiting with his other housemates at the sidewalk. It was the first time in a week the children had been able to convince Marluxia and Vexen to allow them to go to the park alone. Sephiroth had really shaken up the adults, and to be honest it had shaken up Cloud himself.
"I'll be there in a second!" He called back. "I have to find Yuffie!" He pushed through some bushes, trying to locate his small friend. They'd been playing hide and seek, something she was amazing at. Cloud was going to be furious if she'd just turned herself invisible.
As he stepped further into the bushes he began to feel a pulsing pain in his head. He gripped it tight and whimpered, eventually falling to his knees. His eyes shut tight and he bit his lip.
Bright lights shown around him. He was running as fast as he could through the night, paired with street lights that illuminated his path like lanterns on the road to hell. He could hear someone running behind him and he growled, turning. He pulled forward his energy and held up a large...sword?
Sword...when was he able to summon a sword?
"Cloud!"
"Cloud...?"
"Cloud! Are you okay?!"
He shot up off the ground, looking around wildly and accidentally knocking someone down. He looked down to see Aerith, who stood back up and brushed off her dress.
"Sorry..." He muttered.
"Cloud, are you okay?" Tifa asked.
"I'm fine." He said. "Let's just...go find Yuffie, okay?"
"I found her." Leon said from some bushes in front of them. The kids moved to walk to where he was, but stopped when he put out a hand. "I don't think you want to see." Aerith stopped, but Cloud and Tifa ignored him, walking to where he was. Tifa gasped, and Cloud felt his blood run cold.
Before them, lying dead on the dirt with her throat slit open, was Yuffie.
"Who would do such a thing?!" Tifa cried out. "She was a child!"
"Cloud, do you think it was Sephiroth?" Leon asked. Cloud nodded numbly. "Maybe Aerith can-"
"You can't heal death, Squall!" Cloud shouted, turning on his friend. He immediately regretted it when he saw the hurt and anger in the other boy's stormy eyes. "Sorry but...Yuffie is gone...we can't bring her back. We just need to tell Marluxia and Vexen."
"So, why aren't we trying to rehabilitate this one?" Reeve asked, standing on the balcony looking down on Zexion's book signing. It all looked very professional, with an audience set up and a podium. People were quietly chatting with each other while the young illusionist set up at the podium.
"Well, we don't really need this one's power." Scarlett responded, snuffing out her cigarette on the railing. "Besides, perhaps if we kill one of their own, they'll be a little more willing to...negotiate."
"Well, yes, but isn't this a little extreme?" Reeve suggested. "I mean, maiming could easily get the same results."
"Less garuntee though." Scarlett said. "Now get ready to summon your walking garbage cans." She summoned her weapon at her side, a machine gun. Reeve had always something more subtle would suit her. Like needles filled with tons of rattlesnake venom.
"Scared you can't keep up?" He said with a small smirk. Scarlett shot him her middle finger and aimed.
Zexion had just opened his mouth when the shots began. Suddenly there were screams everywhere, and a sharp pain in his arm. He quickly ducked behind the podium and covered his wound, applying pressure. He hissed in pain and tried to drown out the screams of the people around him.
He sent out several illusions of himself, all running in different directions. He hoped people were getting out alive, but he began to hear the sound of crunching, scraping metal, and even more bullet fire. He looked out with wide eyes to see robots tearing people apart.
"What the hell...?" He muttered. Admittedly he'd seen a lot of shit in his life, but he never expected that killer robots would be something he'd see in real life. He continued hiding till he heard a break in the fire, and bolted toward a door. He was about to grip the handle when he felt himself being lifted off the ground in strong robotic arms. He was turned to face a blond woman and a black haired man. "Who are you?!"
"Scarlett and Reeve." The woman said. "Respectively. We're here to take care of a little business for our boss, Rufus Shinra. You know, the man behind Hojo?"
"You... You support him?!" Zexion yelled. He thrashed, attempting to escape the metal cage. "How could you?!"
"He helped create us." Scarlett said. "He's the one thing we've ever known. The only home to mutants like us. We'd like to take your friends home. Unfortunately, some sacrifices must be made." She began pulling a pistol from the belt of a nearby dead security guard, and Zexion felt the grip begin to loosen. He looked to the man, Reeve, and saw his hand beginning to open. Zexion quickly slid out of the metal arms and ran.
"What the hell was that?!" Scarlett yelled. "Are you a fucking idiot?! We had him in our grasp!"
"I know that." Reeve muttered. "I just..."
"You what Reeve?" Scarlett seethed. "Hm? Did you pity him? We've had that beaten out of you! Or do you need to go through a reconditioning like Reno did before he died?"
"No! I lost focused!" Reeve finally snapped back. "I was just thinking!"
"Well I hope it was important cause no one is paying you to think about anything but your stupid fucking robots." Scarlett spat. "Now let's go before you fuck up again." She stormed out the building.
Reeve moved to follow her, but stopped. He looked down at his hand, curling his fingers. He then looked around at the destruction, waving his hand to dissipate the robots. They...they had really created all this destruction. This is what he'd been born to do. Why didn't it feel right anymore? He looked back down at his hand, and then followed his friend out.
Whoop! Hour and a half! Not bad. And I feel pretty okay about this chapter.