A lovers gift
Authors note:
Hi guys, Misaki here. I just wanted to say I'm so excited to get this chapter out for you all. I apologise that chapter 6 was only a filler chapter, I wanted to get something out and when I finished the last sentence I had writers block again (no excuse I know) I hope I've been able to redeem myself. A big thanks to everyone that is following the story and enjoying it so far.
Also to Ragnarokxiii, I could never be offended by any criticisms, good or bad, it helps me develop myself as a writer. I appreciate your review and I just hope that it hasn't affected the story poorly for you.
Anyway, onto the story. Same old, same old. Characters are being borrowed for entertainment, no money is being made yada, yada. Enjoy everyone.
Chapter 7
As the car arrived outside the main entrance of the Guardian Corps base, Fang wasted no time jumping out of the still moving vehicle and rushing towards the entrance.
"Hey!" Sazh called out. "Might wanna wait until the cars stopped next time!" The older gentleman got out of the car and shut both the drivers and rear passenger doors. "That girl's in one hell of a rush." He turned to Snow, who had just exited the vehicle.
"She's just worried about Lightning Sazh. It's understandable that she wants to protect her." The Blonde man linked his fingers behind his head, making his way quickly towards where the huntress had run off to.
As the brunette got closer to the gate, a sudden "Halt!" stopped her in her tracks. There stood a Guardian Corps soldier guarding the barrier, a rifle was aimed at the huntress. "No unauthorised personnel have access to this area. I suggest you turn around and leave before I make you leave by force."
Fang didn't even bat an eye. She strode over to the soldier, towering over him. The soldier made an audible gulp. "I don't think you wanna be puttin' that gun in my face. I've faced bigger, scarier enemies than you that have tried to rip my face off on more than one occasion." The brunette pushed the end of the gun away from her chest with an index finger. "Lets get one thing straight. I will make your life a lot more painful if I don't speak to the big guy here. Where is he?"
Snow put a hand on the brunettes shoulder. "Come on Fang. You're going to give the poor guy a heart attack if you carry this on."
"What seems to be the problem here?" That question made everyone look to where it had come from. General Amodar strode confidently to the commotion that had started by the perimeter of the base. "Stand down private."
Sazh made his way over to stand next to Snow and an incredibly pissed off Fang. "Well sir, you see-"
"I take it you're the boss man here?" After a nod of confirmation, the huntress strode past the guard and stood as close to the General as possible. "You sent a team down to Gran Pulse led by Lightning Farron. Am I correct?" Another nod. "You don't know what creatures live there and I demand that you speak to a pilot to fly me down there. Right now!"
A tense silence filled the air. Snow, Sazh and the soldier just stood there, wide-eyed and looking between Fang and the General. The huntress's demand was a big ask and at first glance the older man didn't seem to react. Gradually a smile appeared on Amodar's face and he rubbed his chin. "Hmm...you got guts kid, I'll give you that." He turned to the soldier. "Open the barrier soldier!" He commanded and the barrier was opened with a salute and the press of a button. "Care to inform me about what creatures could be lurking down there?"
The caves extended for what felt like miles. Every step got the group closer to the location where the rest of the team were. Lightning made sure that her team was on their toes, rifles aimed at any and all dark corners in case of any hidden enemies lurking in the shadows. Everything seemed quiet. Too quiet. The pinkette kept a hand on her gunblade, something didn't make sense. Remembering from her time as a L'cie, there was always the Fal'cie Atomos creating tunnels in the surrounding area, but there was nothing. It was unnerving, just the sounds of their footsteps echoed through out the cave systems.
They finally made it to the Twilight Cavern and spotted the rest of the team tucked away in a hidden cubby, out of direct view of the open area. Lightning rushed over. "Lieutenant!" Two soldiers made their way over to where their comrades had emerged. "We managed to find everyone and administer first aid."
"What do we know?" The pinkette asked, her cool façade not breaking.
"They have confirmed about being attacked by a wild animal but so far it hasn't been identified yet."
'Damn!' Lightning thought to herself. 'This keeps getting better and better.' "Ok. We'll get these guys out of here and back to base, then we can try and get them to describe what happened."
A salute and a 'Yes ma'am' were all of the confirmation the pinkette needed. After gathering the injured men they started to make their way back towards the entrance to the Mah'habara Subterra. As soon as they set foot into the central cave, Lightning felt on edge. The air felt different, as if something had been watching them. Why hadn't she sensed this before?
The pinkette haulted her team and tried to listen to something, anything, that would identify who or what was lurking in the darkness. A soldier stepped forward. "Lieutenant? What seems to be the prob-"
"Shh!" She lifted a hand, straining her ears. "Listen. Do you hear that?"
The team listened, then they heard it. Quiet at first, a slow tap of a wild animals claws on the metal platform followed by a low growl. The team raised their rifles as more footsteps could be heard behind them and the first creature made its way into view in front of them.
The muscles of the creature rippled under its greyish silver fur with each step it took. It owned long, sharp claws that could tear an unlucky victim to shreds. It opened its jaws with a snarl, showing the razor sharp teeth that resided there and its eyes glowed in the semi darkness.
Lightning locked eyes with the creature that was slowly stalking towards them. She braced herself and laid a hand on her gunblade. 'Shit.'