Light reflected off his sword as Zack fended off another swipe of claws. They were cast all around the cavern, sometimes hitting the surface of the mako and casting even more arrays of light. Normally, even caves with mako pools would tend to be darker than sunlight, but this cave yet again showed off its uniqueness with its illumination.
Under normal, non-life-threatening circumstances, Cloud might've wanted to linger and appreciate the stunning beauty. Currently, though, he gave little mind to his surroundings, instead watching nervously as his friend tried to fight off a dragon all by himself.
He winced, watching as Zack barely managed to dodge a snap of the dragon's teeth.
Damn it all, he was useless! Worse than useless! He wasn't enhanced, he didn't have a weapon - he couldn't even run outside on the slim chance of finding Commander Hewley! They were cornered, with the dragon blocking the only entrance and no other way out except find a way to kill it.
Well, Zack was trying to kill it. Meanwhile, Cloud was hiding behind a slab of rock like a fucking coward and trying not to draw attention to himself. What else was he supposed to do, weak and defenseless like he was? The least he could do would be to not distract Zack, and if the dragon focused in on him instead, what the hell was he supposed to do then?
Cloud stopped, forcing himself to take deep breaths. Panic. . . panic never helps in situations like these. Slowly, he unclenched his fist, wincing slightly. If he hadn't been wearing gloves, his nails probably would've drawn blood with how hard he kept them. Calm down, he needed to calm down. His heart was damn near beating out of his chest, but he could calm down. He had to.
Focus, Cloud, and think. What to do, what to do, there's got to be something he can do! His only friend's going to get himself killed soon if he does nothing! Something, something, Gaia, anything! He's too damn weak to act directly, but maybe. . . maybe. . .
He gulped, ignoring the rising desperation and trying to think.
The dragon was blocking the way out of the cave, so running is a no-go. Zack was trying to kill it; Keyword being "trying". As it was, it looked more like he was just barely hanging on by the skin of his teeth. A commendable achievement, seeing as a whole squad of Seconds would probably find difficulty in taking down a dragon, and this one was mako-crazed. Commander Hewley might even have trouble taking it down. So: killing it was also out of the picture. . . Lure it, maybe?
Cloud inhaled sharply - now that's an idea! He could act as bait to draw it further into the cave. Meanwhile, Zack could do. . . something. Cloud seriously doubted he'd miraculously find a way to kill it from behind (especially since its scales were probably sturdier than the Shinra Issued Broadsword he was using), but maybe he didn't need to. There was, after all, a pool of mako sitting right there. They could find a way to push it in! Maybe with materia? Did Zack even have materia? Cloud feels like he would've used it by now if he did, but maybe he just forgot, or had low mana, or something. It didn't matter; They'd find a way to push it in even without materia.
Probably.
Now he just has to get Zack's attention and tell him the plan. Easier said than done, most likely. How to get Zack over here safely without the dragon following. . . He scanned the cave, looking for something to serve as a distraction, and his eye was drawn to the sword in the middle of the pool. The angle he looked at it from, though, had light reflected directly in his eye. He cursed, rubbing his eyes, when an idea struck.
He dug through his bags (gratefully, he took them when they went to explore the cave) and let out a thanks to the Gods when he found his flashlight. He grinned humorlessly at the thought that he managed to keep track of a flashlight when he couldn't even keep hold of his sword or rifle. After checking it to make sure the avalanche didn't kill it, he crept in front of his hiding spot and waited.
Eventually, Zack spotted Cloud from the corner of his eye. He made a strangled sound that, while not forming any actual words, probably meant he did not approve Cloud being anywhere close to out in the open. With the foreknowledge that he'll have to get over that for the plan to work, Cloud ignored his frantic hand-motioning to take cover. Instead, he signalled for Zack to use his sword to block and prayed that his flashlight was strong enough for what he was trying to do. Confused, Zack held his up his sword, with the flat of his blade facing up, and Cloud aimed and switched the flashlight onto its highest setting.
With a roar that shook the ground, the dragon stumbled away, furiously shaking its head. It tossed and turned, stumbling around and blindly attacked its surroundings. Cloud mouthed 'hurry' to his friend, motioning him to run back, and Zack just narrowly avoided getting stomped on. They met back behind Cloud's original hiding spot, and before Cloud could so much as blink, Zack exclaimed:
"What the hell was that?!"
Cloud sighed. It was going to be another fight in itself to get him to agree to the plan. "One of the reasons dragons roost in caves is because their eyes are sensitive to light. This one's been exposed to mako, so it's gonna be even more sensitive, because, y'know, enhancements." He waved his now-off flashlight. "Even the reflection of this is enough to blind it, at least temporarily. Though it can still hear, so, maybe don't yell?" He ended his explanation with a slight scowl.
Zack sighed, well aware by now that being loud causes more harm than good. "Well, thanks for the break, but I don't think that'll keep it occupied for long. . ."
"I know, which is why I've got a plan." Cloud said, and crouched down.
Zack hummed, and copied him. "Can't be any worse than one of my plans," he said almost petulantly, then brightened up. "Hit me."
"I can use myself as bait to lure it closer to the mako pool."
"And I lied, that is worse than one of my plans. Cloud, you can't just -"
"No, no, there's no way in hell you can make a better one, so just listen, okay?"
Zack huffed, but given his track record with plan-making, conceded.
"Okay, so, the first thing we need to do is get it away from the exit. That way, even if we can't kill it, we can still get the hell out. If I go out there, I can lure it closer to the mako pool. You can't be the bait because you're the only one that even has a smidgen of a chance to do something to it. Then we can, I don't know, push it in? Run like hell? Something more productive than what we're doing now, at any rate."
"Push it in how, exactly?"
"Got any materia?"
Zack blinked, as if only just realizing that that was an option. He patted himself down, checking pockets, and frowned. He shook his head.
Cloud sighed. "Damn. Run like hell it is."
"Do you know how crazy this is?" Zack asked, still very much against it. "This is so half-baked, it barely constitutes as a plan."
"I'm surprised you even know that word." He ignored Zack's indignant sputtering, and asked "Do you have any better ideas?"
Zack frowned, visibly put out. The ground shook as the dragon gave out another roar, and they could both feel that they didn't have much time left to talk it over. Zack clenched his fist, and through gritted teeth, ground out, "Fine. We'll do it your way. I'll stick somewhere between the pool and the exit. Get it as close to the mako as you can - without putting yourself in more danger - and then blind it with your light again. Make a break for it, and I'll watch your back."
Cloud nodded, relieved that he seemed to be going along with it despite his displeasure. The relief soon turned to nerves, though. All that's left to do now is to put the plan in motion. Easier said than done, but what else is new?
Cautiously, they crept from their hiding place. The dragon's blindness wore off at that point, so it was now warily watching the cave for any sign of movement from its prey. Careful not to make a sound, Cloud slowly made his way to the end of the cave opposite of the entrance, ducking behind rocks and keeping to the shadows. He counted his breaths, trying and failing to slow down his heart. In the silence of the cave, his heartbeat seemed loud enough to be heard for miles.
The ground he crawled on grew greener the closer he got to the mako pool. Shards of mako became more and more prevalent, and it took great concentration to avoid stepping on them. He didn't think they'd be fragile enough to break if he did, but he also didn't think they'd be very quiet.
Eventually, he reached a point where it was too bright to hide in the shadows and there was nothing left to hide behind. He gulped nervously and looked behind him, fidgeting with his flashlight. The dragon stood as a sentry at the entrance of the cave, and he could see the glow of its eyes even from the distance. He searched the rest of the cave, looking for Zack, and almost sighed in relief when he met a pair a purple eyes. Logically, Cloud knew he would've heard it if the dragon attacked him, but a part of him still worried.
Faintly, he could see Zack nod, and then raise his fist in a thumbs-up. He nodded back, and took in a deep breath.
Show time.
Cloud left the safety of his spot and stood right in the dragon's line of sight. With the glow of the mako right behind him, there's no way he went unseen. Just to make sure, though, he put his fingers in his mouth and whistled as loud as he could. He saw the dragon whip its head towards the source of the sound. Its growl shook him to the bone, and its eyes pierced right through him, but he prided himself when he didn't flinch.
"Hey!" He cupped his hands to his mouth and yelled, "Over here!"
The dragon stalked towards him, finally leaving its place at the front of the cave. Cloud stayed right where he was, though, and kept his eyes on the monster. He waved his hands above his head, trying to agitate it and get it to move faster, damnit. The sooner it was on his side of the cave, the sooner they could run for it and get the hell out. He didn't let himself get too caught up in his impatience, though, and focused on watching the monster's every move.
It prowled closer, and Cloud got the distinct impression of a cat stalking a mouse. He just hoped the saying about cornered mice scratching back was true.
Even as slow as it was moving, it was a large beast, so despite his earlier impatience it seemed all-too-soon that it was almost right in front of him.
"That's right. . . just a little bit closer. . ." He said under his breath, gripping his flashlight. He breathed carefully, and widened his stance, preparing to run.
The dragon stopped in front of him and growled. Cloud resolutely did not flinch. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered why it seemed so cautious of him when it attacked Zack almost on-sight, but watching as it reared back in preparation for an attack he shooed that thought away and aimed his flashlight.
He switched it on its highest setting, a pained roar filled the air, and he ran.
He had only taken a few steps when he realized he forgot two things: One, that the beast would absolutely retaliate to being blinded a second time, and, two, that he was just as close to the mako as it was. As it was, the giant scaly tail that swung towards him served as a very good reminder of both of those facts.
Pain exploded as he was knocked back, and distantly he could hear Zack yell out his name. He squeezed shut his eyes, bracing himself for the acid burn of mako, and instead collided with something very solid (and painful). He had a half-second to wonder if he was somehow thrown all the way to the other side of the mako pool when the burn he was expecting finally came.
It being expected didn't make it hurt any less, though. The pool was surprisingly shallow, but Gaia, it was excruciating. He let out a choked whimper. It felt like millions of needles were working to peel off his skin, like hot coals were being stuffed through his pores and into his blood. He couldn't even tell which parts of him were actually touching the stuff; the pain spread throughout his body and increased tenfold with every throb of his head. He couldn't even tell if he was breathing or not, he couldn't hear anything over the ringing in his ears and if he was taking in any breaths then it was not enough, not when he was surrounded by liquid fire that soaked through his clothes and into his body, into his lungs and blood and -
There was a sound apart from the ringing. It was important and even if he couldn't tell what it was he knew he needed to find it. He didn't know when he opened his eyes, or how long he'd been staring at the green-tinted reflection below him, but with a great, painful effort, he blinked and turned his head to look in front of him.
Zack. Zack was in front of him, far away and on the bank of the pool. He was yelling, probably yelling Cloud's name, but it just sounded garbled. Behind him, the dragon shook its head and stumbled around.
Cloud wanted to yell at his friend to get away, to just leave him and escape, but then he blinked and suddenly they were fighting. Again. Again, his friend was locked in a hopeless fight with a monster that was probably pissed at getting blinded twice now and it was all his fault. His own dumbass planning and weakness. Was this how Zack felt, he wondered? When the avalanche happened and they got stuck in this damn cave, did Zack feel as awful as he did right now?
He was getting distracted. His mind was foggy, thinking was getting harder, and he knew he was running out of time.
Out of time for what, though? What the hell could he do?
Cloud looked behind himself and was met with his own reflection. For a moment, he didn't know what to think of it. He wasn't even sure he wasn't hallucinating already. Rock wasn't reflective. Oh, but the sides of the pool was actually crystallized mako, and that was reflective, right? That and -
His eyes widened.
The sword. The sword! He could use the sword! His body was somehow both numb and in the most pain he'd ever felt, focusing was getting harder and harder as the seconds rolled by, and he'd probably get himself killed the moment he entered the fray, but what did he have to lose? The mako alone would probably be enough to kill him anyways, and if it didn't he'd have a hell of a case of mako poisoning, which was almost just as bad. Jumping into the fight would at least distract the dragon long enough to let Zack escape, so why not?
Cloud grabbed the hilt of the sword with both hands, and used it to pull himself up. His muscles burned, and his knees were wobbly and weak, but he managed it. He panted from the effort, not even having the energy to be embarrassed, and leaned on it. With great difficulty, he stood straighter and tried to focus on his breathing. He swallowed, and took hold of the handle.
Besides, he thought, dying to save his friend from a dragon sounded way better than dying in a pool of mako that barely even reached his knees.
He pulled the sword out of the ground.
Smoke was everywhere, it filled his lungs and burned his throat and eyes and covered up everything. Smoke smoke smoke and if it wasn't hidden by the smoke it was illuminated by the fire. Everything was on fire and the heat was unbearable and he choked on the smoke and smell of the blood and the only thing he could hear over hid ringing ears were the screams. It was all familiar and he felt he should know the place and the people but everything felt so distant and far away and he was in denial, no doubt, but there was no way any of this was real. He couldn't believe it, he didn't even know what it was but there was no way it was happening. His eyes stung and it wasn't smoke
but instead it was tears, he was crying or maybe it was the rain that he could barely feel that was washing away the blood on the ground and on his face and stole the warmth away from the body beneath him. He was being held and he felt that if he tried to look he'd recognize the body beneath him but everything hurt and did he even have a body, really? Everything was tinged green and he could hardly hear himself scream
as the sword came through her stomach and others screamed out too, and he might've remembered whose sword it was if he thought about it but all he could think about was blood staining pink, blood blood too much blood on his hands and clothes as he held her and not even a cure could help at this point oh Gaia she was going to die, she was dying and it was his fault he was too slow he should've seen it coming. How was he going to explain this to the others, they were all coming up here and
His name was being called.
Cloud blinked and everything washed away, leaving behind the carcass of a dragon laying right in front of him. He blinked again, confused, because how'd he get all the way here? Wasn't he just at. . .
Where was he again?
Someone called his name again, and through his confusion he could sense the urgency in the person's voice. He knew that person, didn't he? It was. . .
Zack?
"Cloud. . .?" He turned, and lo and behold, Zack was there, face filled with worry. He had his hand raised, half-reaching out, unsure of himself. It was an odd look on him. "You good, bud. . .?"
Cloud was confused at the question. Then, he noticed the weight in his hands, and looked down. He held a sword, bloody and heavy in his hands.
Ah, he remembered now. He killed the dragon, didn't he? How'd he manage that, huh? He could've sworn the mako messed him up. Maybe it did? That would explain that . . . hallucination. What was that about, anyways?
As if brought on by the thought, his head pounded and his knees buckled beneath him. Instead of meeting the ground, though, Zack dove and caught him. He looked near panicked, scared to death for his friend, but Cloud didn't notice. At that point, his vision had already went black, and he passed out.
