LV: Well, here it is, the chapter in which Cloud truly appears!
Aya: *hiding under desk* He'll never find me here.
CL: *has his sword out* I wouldn't be too sure…
LV: Anyway, time for the reviews.
Mugs~ Don't worry. They'll kiss…sooner or later. But, uh, don't kill me. Oo;
Darkspider~ Oo; You're certainly enjoying yourself. But don't kill me for this chapter. Oo;
LV: All reviewers, whether I answered you or not, receive a box of tissues. Once again: trust me, you'll need it by the time this chapter's through.
Disclaimer: I don't have time for this. Look at the other chapters!
Notes: Same as always.
Darkness Strikes
~
Last Time:
…Tyson's eyes widened in both fear and recognition.
"Yes, BOY," It snarled, revealing a vicious set of blood-stained teeth, "I'm back. And NO ONE steals from Cloud and gets away with it…"
~
Kai had no idea what the wolf like creature was, but he could tell Tyson knew.
That would explain why he was scared of it.
Niyt, who had regained a certain level of consciousness again, took one look at it and did the same thing he had done on seeing Kai in a terrible, battered state.
"GODDESSES ALMIGHTY, WHAT THE HELL IS THAT WOLFOS DOING HERE!?!?!?!"
…Okay, so it was louder.
"That's none of your concern, fairy. What is of your concern," Cloud smirked, "is the safety of your charge."
Before any of them could make sense of what the Wolfos was saying, he lunged forward, teeth bared menacingly. Tyson yelped as he grabbed the collar of his jacket and shirt, pulling him roughly from Kai's embrace. He shook his head wildly in an attempt to knock him unconscious.
"Tyson!!" Kai ran forward but the Wolfos struck an oversized paw at him, sending him flying back.
"No one will touch my prey, human! Watch as your weak, pathetic mate is killed before your very eyes!"
With one final jerk of the head, he tore the cloth, before pinning Tyson down and snarling, the smell of rotten meat on his breath.
"You defeated me once, Boy. Now I'll return the favor… and then some."
He snapped his sharp jaws against Tyson's flesh, making him cry out in pain. Something snapped in Kai, and in a blind rage, he ran forward again, judgment clouded by his sudden determination to help his lover.
Perhaps then, even not knowing the nature of the animal before him, he would've known it was futile. Perhaps he wouldn't have tried it, no matter how much it hurt him to see the delicate yet brash angel fall from grace.
For Cloud saw this and maliciously bit into the back of his neck.
"TYSON!!!!!!!!"
"That's it; yer goin' down, Cloud!" A familiar female voice snarled as a silver blur tackled him off the bloodied boy, to whom Kai and Niyt immediately ran to.
Cloud took one look at who cheated him his victory and his eyes narrowed.
"Well, if it isn't the lone Wolfos who left the pack…" Shade snarled again, showing her shimmering white teeth.
"An' if it ain't Mr. 'I'm-too-good-fer-my-own-good', Cloud…" He gave a smirk only a lupine could pull off.
"How true. Do you still mess around with those pathetic forest failures?"
"I would kill ya slowly an' painf'ly like Haz' tends ta say, but I've got a job ta finish."
Before Cloud could act, she was on him, snarling and snapping with everything she had. He had barely enough time to react as she bit down on his ear and tore most of it off with a single movement. He howled in pain.
"You will pay!"
"Come an' get it, then, ya cucco!"
Their fight raged on.
~
"All righty, boys, she's ready to fly!"
"Wait!"
The four men turned around to see a young woman around eighteen with dawn-tinted, waist-length hair flowing freely behind her. At her heels were three very familiar kids.
"Sen? Hazel? Satu?" Rei blinked, "Where's Shade? What're you guys doin' here?"
"No time to explain. Kai and Tyson are in trouble!"
"WHAT!?!!"
~
"Oh Gods, Tyson, don't die on me…"
Niyt used what little strength he could muster to partially heal the fatal wound, making it not as life threatening.
But there was still the blood loss.
Tyson looked extremely pale, almost deathly so, causing both the guardian fairy and the red-eyed boy to worry about how much was lost.
"Need… energy… to pull… off… the healing…"
"Then use mine!"
"Would… if I could… Not… enough… strength… in me…"
"Well, you'd better make some!"
"Who do you think I am, the Energizer Bunny?"
"Oh, now you have enough energy to make a half-decent comeback…"
"Oh, shut it."
Niyt looked at Tyson worriedly, "You said you wouldn't get in trouble… but now I see it's a lose-lose situation… if I hadn't healed Kai, he probably would've been finished off by Cloud as revenge for that day so long ago, anyway… But I did, and now I barely have enough strength to stay awake… which left an opening for Cloud to attack without worrying that you won't stay alive…" He let out a tiny sob, "I'm so sorry… I was supposed to protect you…"
Shade yelped in pain as Cloud tore her shoulder apart with a snarl, white stars dancing across her vision. She shook them away and returned the favor, snapping violently at his side. He bared his teeth and growled.
"You're pathetic, Loner. I expected more out of you."
"Yeah, well ya ain't a perfect figh'er, either!"
They lunged again, this time rolling like a furred ball of black and silver fur. Every blow would be returned with more force, every pain even more intense.
What started as an attempt to distract the bloodthirsty Wolfos turned into a fight for survival…
And Shade was beginning to doubt her chances as her vision began to blur.
Niyt saw this and feebly called out, "Shade…!"
"Dun distract me. Need ta stay focused!"
"Well, if I can't use what little magic I have left to heal Tyson," He snarled to himself as he shot towards the two fighting creature, "I'll just have to use it to stop the threat!"
With a final burst of speed, a shocking blue spark shot towards them, hitting Cloud squarely between the shoulders as he cried out in pain. Shade saw the opening and lunged at the exposed throat. Once she felt the skin she clamped down, her jaws a steel trap.
He realized too late what his opponent had done, and attempted to pull away. The skin of the neck tore, leaving a pool of crimson liquid forming on the ground, growing larger with every drip. He finally stopped convulsing as he slumped, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. A final shiver, and he was gone.
Shade had won.
She staggered to her feet, her once-luminous long silver fur now mottled and filthy with her dead foe's blood and her own.
"I-I-I-I w-won…?"
Out of a mysteriously appearing pouch, the mask dropped to the soiled earth. She forced herself into it as an explosion of light.
Before Kai's very eyes, the silver-haired girl he had seen the week before now stood before him, staggering to her feet.
"What the…?"
"Guess ya dun know 'bout magic too much, do ya?" She winced as she held her shoulder gingerly, not wanting to jar the wounds, "Those be magic masks. Niyt'll explain when he's wit' th' livin' again…" He glared at her.
"I don't really care about that now!" He snapped at her, taking the now unconscious fairy and putting him in his pocket, "We have to get Tyson out of here!"
"Let me wash th' blood outta my mouth first, buddy!" She replied hotly as she forced herself to kneel to rinse the drying coppery liquid out of her mouth.
Just as she finished, a familiar voice called out.
"KAI!!!!" The boy in question looked up, holding Tyson fragilely as the worry and fear from the past week's events eased with relief.
"Rei! Max!" He shouted back.
The airship was now hovering over the lake, the blond and black-haired Bladebreakers holding onto a rope ladder dangling over the railing. On the ship, Sen, Hazel, Satu, Flit, and Kenny were waiting anxiously. He and Shade looked at each other and nodded.
Max saw Tyson's bloodied state and screamed, "GOOD LORD, WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM!?!?"
"Shut it and let us on!" Kai snapped as he hurried past, going as quickly as he would allow. Shade hissed as she pulled herself up the ladder, her shredded shoulder almost blinding her with pain. The two uninjured Bladebreakers looked at her bloodstained clothes and wondered what happened to her.
As soon as Kai was on the deck, he bolted to the medical room, not even acknowledging Kenny. Shade pulled herself up and the other four quickly rushed to aid her.
"Sweet Farore, Shade, what happened?" Sen gaped, seeing the injuries over the girl.
She shrugged with her uninjured shoulder, "Cloud, that's what 'appened. He came right aft'r Kai was healed by Niyt fer bein' attacked by 'n elk. I 'ad ta interfere."
"Why that low-down, no-good, murderous fleabag…!" Hazel snarled, "He chose the perfect moment of weakness! Right when Niyt's helpless to do anything to help his charge!" He was elbowed by Flit.
"Keep it down, the others might hear us."
~
In the medical room, Kai's eyes were filled with heartache as he brushed a hair from the pale Tyson's closed eyes.
"Don't you dare die on me, Tyson…" He choked, voice thick with emotion, "Not when I never got the chance to say anything…
"Don't leave me…"
~End Chapter.
LV: ¬¬; You like giving them cliffhangers, don't you?
Aya: ^^ Yep!
CL: *nods* Action. I like.
Aya: But guess what? The next chapter's the last one!
LV: Followed by a blooper chapter, which also holds the trailer for the sequel. Be ready!
CL: --; Guess I have to do it again, since the characters are either dead, dying, or sobbing their eyes out. *clears throat* Cloud's finally been subdued, but for what price? Will Tyson survive? You'll have to find out in the last chapter of "Forever and Always".
Aya: *blinks* Why didn't you shout?
CL: Too serious a moment.
Aya: Ah.
