Terra ForceXIII – And this is where things pick up and some questions will be answered. Hold on tight, because it's going to be a bumpy ride! (I'm so overly dramatic) XD
I know you guys are probably tired of all the filler, so I decided to start things up now in this chapter. And Gahh it was difficult sorting this chapter…
I would like to thank all of you who have reviewed my last chapter; I especially like all the comments about Cloud's situation. Don't worry; he's not the type of bad guy who laughs mischievously with lightning striking behind him. X3
Four days ago
It was a clouded night; the sky covered in dark clouds that shifted above their human counterpart. The silent bounty hunter rested against a naked tree in a cemetery, the dark cloth on his waist and arm waving in the calm breeze.
He wore a dark sweater and a dark cloth covering his left arm, attached to a shoulder gauntlet that held a metal insignia of a lion's head on the front. Black boots and pants finished his dark attire, restricting his physical image of anything bright and wonderful.
A large buster sword was perched beside him with its tip stuck in the dirt, the red hilt practically reaching over the man's spiky hair.
His turquoise eyes glowed in the dark as they opened, meeting a stranger wearing a black cloak standing in front of him. The bounty hunter couldn't help but sense a feeling of pure darkness when he looked into the stranger's hidden face, turquoise orbs meeting only for an instant a pair of dark purple gems that resembled anything else but rightfulness.
"I have a job for you, bounty hunter," The cloaked man spoke in a deep voice. "There are two Unversed that I would like you to retrieve for me. A boy named Roxas Perso Tramonto, and the other is a girl named Xion Flos Oblitus."
"Children," Cloud huffed in disrespect. "You want me to hunt children?"
"Yes, they are an asset to my cause," The man spoke with a hidden grin. "I'll pay you half right here and now, and the rest is assured, after you bring me these two Unversed."
Writer: Terra ForceXIII
~*~ Hitomi no Tsubasa ~*~
Chapter Seven: Sinister Shadow
So many questions were popping up in her head, like how this man could predict her moves, how he could wield such a humongous sword, and who hired him for this job. All of these questions were aching in Xion's head, but none of it did any good. Her head ached from the stress, and her eyes were half open as they struggled to cooperate with her orders.
Xion's legs felt like jelly, causing her to fall to her knees and place her hands on the ground for support. She inhaled as much air as she could, but that action was harder to accomplish and resulted in several coughs.
Meanwhile, Roxas was fighting off the silent warrior. He held two swords in hands as he swung randomly at the bounty hunter. The tall dark blonde's bored gaze continued to annoy the twin swordsman, how unfazed this man could be, but what was mostly frightening about this man was his eyes, those two turquoise orbs that seem to stare deep down into his souls.
"Damn it, his sword is so large. I can't even get a scratch on him," Roxas thought.
The silent enigma swung his buster sword across his chest, his bare arm hiding his unwavering expression except for his eyes. Roxas saw his chance; he lunged at the man with both swords ready to slice in sync. But the man narrowed his eyes, his turquoise irises glistening a slit of blue light.
While his sword arm was still across his chest, he maneuvered his left arm under his right and palmed Roxas in the chest, sending him back. The little blonde gasped for air as he tumbled on the stone pavement, coughing fiercely.
The yellow eyed blonde directed his twitching gaze at the man walking towards him, the silent warrior's sword hovering only inches above the ground as he held it in one hand. The calm midnight breeze waved across the black cloth on his waist, his dark blonde locks brushing over his stone cold eyes.
"Y- You jerk…" Roxas muttered in a cracked voice, but his speech did little to nothing on the man's stern aura.
Roxas noticed one of his swords was laying right in front of him, his survival instincts quickly kicked in as he tried to drag his arm towards it. But as he almost reached it, a large dark boot casually stepped on the sword's hilt.
The injured blonde cringed as he looked up, his quivering yellow eyes meeting the man's stone cold turquoise ones. "It's over now, kid," Cloud spoke deeply, his turquoise stones narrowing.
Roxas's vision became blurry, seeing multiple dark blonde staring down at him. His yellow eyes descended down into a relaxed half lit state, his mind breaking away from consciousness. But before he saw nothing but blackness, he watched as the tall spiky haired man disappeared from view and was replaced by a familiar brunette.
"Roxas, you alright?" Terra's voice asked concerned.
The injured blonde didn't answer, he finally closed his eyes and his body became limp. Unaware that the bounty hunter backed off when Roxas's adult friends came to his side. Terra and Aqua kneeled down next to the unconscious boy with their cloaks unraveled, checking his injuries while Xion frantically ran over.
"Roxas! Is he okay?" She questioned.
Aqua closed her eyes and spoke calmly. "He's fine… don't wor-"
She was cut off by an unexpected hug from the frightened girl, hearing soft sobs as the girl quivering in her arms. Aqua was stunned for a bit, but then she placed her arms around the poor girl. When Xion finally faced her, Aqua noticed the tears in her eyes.
"I- I'm sorry I disobeyed you," She whimpered. "I just... wanted to prove myself to you."
The blue haired maiden sighed as she embraced the girl in another hug, smiling warmly. "It's okay, I shouldn't have yelled at you."
Terra watched his two friends with serious eyes, his ember orbs directing towards the silent swordsman standing in the dark street. He walked silently on the street until he was facing the man only ten feet away, both staring at each other with hostile eyes.
"Who are you?" Terra demanded with a deep tone.
"That's none of your concern; I'm here for those two. I have no time to deal with any of you," The blonde man answered.
"Well I guess we do have a problem, because if you're trying to get to them, then you'll have to get through me."
The silent swordsman's eyes didn't even blink as he raised his large buster sword towards the brunette. Terra's eyes glowed in hostility as he removed his cloak and threw it to the side, his newly found armor shining in the street lights.
Cloud blinked his eyes, his vision directed down at the pavement for a second. "A brawler huh, kinda reminds me of someone?" He muttered.
Both warriors faced each other in silence for the longest time, wondering which one would strike first. After seeing no results, Terra grunted and decided to make the first move. He sprinted towards his enemy with his hands curling into fists, sparks of orange light appearing in his palms.
Terra roared as he connected his glowing fist with the large sword perched downward to protect its master, a loud echo shrieking through the dark streets. Cloud soon came around his perched sword and stretched his left arm out to Terra's throat, but the brunette quickly blocked his arm with his free one.
Both were in a standstill, the two warriors jumping away from each other in sync. But Terra didn't take this time to let his opponent rest; he called upon the hidden powers within his eyes and directed it towards his right hand.
"Fire!" He shouted, a swirling ball of flames appearing in his palm.
The sphere of flames burst out of his hand, colliding with the bounty hunter's shielded sword and exploding. Terra couldn't see him, nothing but clouds of smoke in his line of vision. But then the dark swordsman burst through the cloud of smoke and met the tip of his blade with Terra's armored wrist.
Cloud retracted his sword and swung it across, Terra's teeth tightening as he blocked the fierce blow with his forearms. But then the silent swordsman thrust his blade at the brunette, Terra quickly clapping his hands on the blade's tip, stopping it in its tracks.
Aqua watched in worry, silently praying for Terra's victory. She watched as they both struggled to hold each other off, Terra's muscles tensing as they tried to halt the large blade from piercing his skin.
Terra felt a bead of sweat cascade down the side of his head as he witnessed the blade's tip slowly getting closer to his forehead. The earth warrior roared as he jerked the blade to the side and lunged at the spiky blonde, his fist missing its mark as Cloud tilted his head to the side to dodge it.
But before Terra could retreat, Cloud elbowed him in the gut and slammed the side of his sword into Terra's shoulder, sending him back and tumbling on the ground. The earth warrior tried to get up, but he was then sliced across the chest by the bounty hunter's sudden strike.
Terra's eyes widened as he watched his own blood fly by his vision, the necklace of his star shaped charm sliced in half. The orange charm fell to the ground with a light twinkle, the earth warrior's body falling back along with it.
"Terra!" Aqua gasped, watching as blood flew in the air and Terra's body collapsing without a sound.
The bleeding male groaned as he tried to get up. "M- My chest... h- how can he..."
Terra slowly got on his knees as he clenched his bleeding chest, feeling his dark T-shirt soaking up the warm substance. Before he could think of a plan, he felt his throat being crushed by the bounty hunter's hand, lifting him up until he was hanging inches above the ground. Terra cringed as he tried to break free, blood dripping from his lips as it was squeezed out of his throat.
"Damn it... h- how does he know my moves?" Terra thought.
His flinching eyes met those stone turquoise orbs staring right back at him, Cloud's bored gazed witnessing the pointless struggle.
"You're probably wondering how I know your moves and fighting style, how I'm able to dodge and block every one of your strikes," The dark warrior spoke in monotone.
Terra noticed the man's turquoise eyes flickering a string of light.
"My eyes can see everything; they read and examine my opponent's moves, and predict the next logical attack you're going to make. I can read your fighting style, your movements, body language, and your strength and speed..."
"W- What?"
"In the end, I can see the logical outcome of every one of your moves," Cloud finished.
The injured brunette groaned as he began to lose consciousness because of the lack of air, his ember eyes struggled to stay open. His thoughts were beginning to ache as well, all the sounds around him beginning to fade away until nothing but the sound of his rushing heartbeat was heard.
"I… I can't… I won't let it happen… I won't die here… not… yet…"
Then his mind became clear and his vision was replaced with soft images of memories rushing back into his brain.
~ The soft multiple sounds of steel strings being lightly tapped by a hidden hammer was heard, the sound of a piano. The sounds of many different voices conversing with one another almost shrouded out the piano, but only almost.
He walked by the many people in silence, strolled up the shiny stairs of the city building. His vision was fixed on the bright chandler hovering above the large guest room of the tower, noticing every little twinkle made by the chandelier's glass reflecting off the numerous other bright surfaces of the room.
He was at a guest party in a skyscraper building, with the view of the night city being visible outside the glass walls surrounding the building.
Finally, he made it to a level where there were hardly any people, the many voices subsiding down into only a few conversations. His bored eyes darted between each guest, seeing men in suits and women in dresses. But then he saw something that caught his eyes, something that made his heart stop and his throat tight… something that seemed to be the most beautiful shade of blue.
"Welcome… I didn't expect to see you here…" She spoke. ~
Terra's eyes shot open, revealing the radiant red gems that substituted his usual orange orbs. The sheer opening of his eyes sent a shockwave of energy that surged through the stunned bounty hunter, making him lose grip on the brunette's throat and back away.
Terra's limp form quickly turned as he landed on one knee and fist the ground, his brown locks drooping over his unknown expression. He opened his mouth and let out a deep animalistic groan, slowly standing up on his feet without lifting his head.
Meanwhile, Aqua watched in shock with the kids. Her ocean blue eyes watching in fright as her friend began to lift his head, revealing his dark crimson eyes. "T- Terra…?" She stuttered.
Her soft voice went unheard, as the dark brunette began to radiate a dark aura around his body. The haunting clouds of dark smoke swirled around his feet and melted the stone pavement below him, sending hazes of steam to flow over his body.
His breathing became deeper and more cracked, becoming growls then pants. He flexed his gloved hands, the crackling of his knuckles sent shivers down the blue maiden's spine. Finally, his dark gems fixated on the silent swordsman and narrowed in pure anger.
Blood dripped from his wound, small drops smearing the orange surface of the star shaped charm below him. The astounded bounty hunter's eyes widened, trying to figure out how this person is able to still stand with that injury.
"That's impossible…" He thought.
Terra's teeth clenched and his lips shook from the sheer force of his jaw muscles, his words echoing into multiple voices. When he spoke, Aqua felt her heart crack from the fear she was brought upon by her own friend.
"I'm… gonna… kill you!"
The blonde haired girl continued her calm sketching over the art book on her lap, her mix-matched eyes examining every detail of the picture before her. It was a picture of a tall brunette character, the quiet girl replacing the brown pencil with a darker one.
But right as she was about the add the finishing touches, her mix colored eyes shot open in shock and her pencil accidently skidded across the character's form, creating a dark scratch that ruined the picture.
But the girl's attention was focused on something else, something more important and terrifying.
"H- He's awoken…"
Huh oh, somebody's angwy. :3
Well how do you like that, finally some good development huh? Well for now at least. So tell me what you think of it, in other words, REVIEW! Because reviews feed my soul. :3
Just to let you guys know; I'm going on a nine day vacation to Indiana tomorrow. So I won't be able to update for a bit, but I'll still be reviewing and reading other people's stories so don't worry, I'm not completely gone. :)
Oh, and this week's shout out goes to the story challenge "Virtuoso Come Prima" By MonMonCandie. Seriously! If you're a Terrqua fan, you should already have this story in your favorite list by now. Because if you don't, you should be ashamed of yourself! XD
Well, that's all I got for now! See you guys later when I come back!
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy, characters and original story belongs to their original owners…