Regalia pulled in. In an instant Noctis climbed over. The others followed suit in equal concern. Cloud felt horrible, making them worry. His attempt to put up a brave front wasn't well received.
"How long have you had the pain?" Noctis was a mix of emotions. Cloud read fear, panic and a hint of anger at the blonde for playing down the pain.
"... A few weeks now." Cloud admitted.
"Then why the hell didn't you say something sooner!?" Gladio let out a burst of anger so intense Cloud took one step back. After the time Gladio was suspicious of him, Cloud didn't think he really cared.
"I don't like making people I care about worry." His words hit a cord with them.
"Caring for the people you love is a two way street. We care about you, too. It hurts us when you didn't let us know sooner, which cuts down the time you have left. And in turn it leaves us with less time with you." Ignis explained gently, and Cloud bowed his head.
"You're right. I'm sorry." Really he should have learned from when he had Geostigma.
"Where is it? The marks?" Noctis asked.
"My left shoulder." He carefully removed the shoulder guard. The previous day it hadn't exceeded past the vest. When he woke up this morning it had grown in the night. Despite how careful he was it hurt and he grimaced.
The black like bruise had gotten darker. Cloud could feel as the disease seeped deeper into his skin as it spread. His veins were the darkest of all. Unlike Geostigma where it would spread and leak black goo from the pores, this stayed under the skin.
"Your neck." Prompto pointed. Cloud blinked, realizing it was beginning to reach the left side of his neck, too.
"You're taking a break from work, lad."
Cloud looked at the elder with a frown.
"But my project - "
"Can wait. Unless you wanna teach them how to help you, you're not doing a damn thing."
"Sorry Cloud. What he says, goes. Besides, wouldn't want an accident to happen should you have an episode from Starscourge." Cindy felt for him.
The blonde swordsman looked at the floor. He had been really looking forward to finishing it. Sensing his disappointment Prompto perked up.
"Can we see this project?"
"It's unfinished. But... Sure." Cloud lead them to the corner of the shop. The shape of it wasn't like any car they had seen, but soon as he pulled the cloth off they realized it wasn't a car at all.
"Whoa! Sweet ride!" Prompto grinned ear to ear.
It was a huge bike. Almost the entire thing was assembled. All that was left were the headlights and a paint job.
"Usually bikes aren't the norm because they offer no protection against a daemon." Ignis commented.
"It's why she's built for speed and can go on all terrain. And," Cloud pressed a button, both sides in the front opened up as a storage compartment for weapons. "She's battle ready."
"You've had something similar back home, didn't you?" Gladio was impressed.
"Er... Yeah. I built that one too. I was given the heads up that the headlights would be hard to come by to fit a bike and be bright enough to ward daemons off. Cindy and I have been trying to find leads to locate anything that would work."
"Why all the space for weapons? Don't you have only one sword?" Gladio studied how many compartments there were.
"Actually, my sword can - " Cloud was about to reach for his blade when Ignis stopped him.
"How about you instruct one of us?" His concern made the blonde a little mad, he wasn't that weak. But he saw the point and looked over at Noctis.
"You seem to know how to handle a variety of weapons. Wanna give this a try?" Cloud offered.
"Uh, sure. Let's go outside." Noctis was honored. He had to resist wanting to take a few experimental swings with it right here in the garage.
The five of them moved outside a safe distance. Noctis started with a few simple exercises. He was impressed. The blade looked heavy, but to his surprise it was light. He could see why Cloud treasured it.
"See the ridge to your left of the blade? The one that's about the size of a hand? Grab it and pull." Cloud couldn't wait to see their reactions.
Noctis did so and to his surprise he pulled off a smaller blade. He couldn't help but stare. His friends were just as amazed. It wasn't a wonder why Cloud asked Noctis for this. The prince did a few strikes in the air with the two blades. When he was done he flashed a grin at the blonde swordsman.
"This is so cool!" Noctis exclaimed.
"How many pieces makes up the blade?" Gladio turned to the blonde.
"Seven in total. The pieces are held together by a magnet. So in a situation that requires fast reaction means I won't have to fiddle with a button or an unlocking mechanism." Cloud explained with pride.
"Impressive. You know, you would make a good kingsguard." Gladio commented, taking a glance at Ignis.
"Like... One of you guys? But I would slow you down." Cloud didn't have to go into detail why.
"If we get him to Princess Lunafreya in time, she would be able to reverse the Starscourge. She's the only one able to cure it." Ignis sent a knowing look at Gladio. "However, getting to her has been met with a lot of obstacles as of late."
"I don't know if you would want me as a kingsguard." In truth Cloud wouldn't mind, but there was one problem.
Always thinking of others. Sephiroth commented, suddenly appearing behind Cloud. The blonde stiffened, knowing full well this was nothing more than an apparition.
Tell me, Cloud. When will you start thinking of yourself first?
Cloud couldn't breathe. He couldn't move. But he wanted nothing more than to punch Sephiroth in the face. Doing so would be futile, he knew he would simply be punching air.
"Cloud? Hey, snap out of it." Noctis now stood in front of the blonde swordsman.
Cloud breathed and suddenly his body felt heavy. His head was dizzy and he staggered and he felt a hand steady him, choosing his dominate arm instead of the one affected by Starscourge.
"What the?" Noctis could now see Sephiroth.
Cloud ripped his arm out of the prince's grasp and stumbled backwards when he tried to get away. His body went through Sephiroth, and just like that the figure disappeared. Cloud hissed in pain when he used his left arm to stop him from falling on his face.