* A/N: This chapter will reveal more of the plot and what's going on...so pay attention! By
the way, if someone could kindly tell me what program they use to get bold and italicized
words (and makes the words actually fit all the way across the screen) I would appreciate
it :). I don't want my next story to look like this one lol. *
## Cloud's POV ##
After falling through that second chute (which, by the way, gave me an unsightly bruise on
my butt) I fell onto the floor of a room. The walls were yellowish white and the door had
no coating on it but finished wood. I tried opening the door but it was locked. My sword
had gotten caught in the sword, and since I had been falling pretty quickly it was bent and
scratched in many places. I sat on one of the two dull gray couches in the room and tried
to fix my sword. I wasn't about to go out into the headquarters without my sword. Don't
get me wrong, I knew I could fight without it, but my sword's been a part of me since I
joined AVALANCHE.
"Come on, let's go!" I heard a familiar voice calling. I looked up from my sword and saw
Tifa standing in the doorway with a ring of keys in the hand that wasn't on the door knob.
"How did you find me?" I asked getting off of the couch.
"How did I not?" she said walking in. "I hope you've noticed by now that we've got a
strong connection. We know each other inside and out. We know when the other's in
trouble." She sat down beside me.
"Yes," I said quietly but still with a stern look on my face, "I have noticed."
"Kiss me," she said closing her eyes.
I leaned in to her. Right before I closed my eyes Tifa's facial features began to change. My
eyes widened and I jolted back. Her hair turned from its natural chestnut to a pearly white.
Her ruby eyes changed into emeralds. Her skin darkened. Her chest size shrunk, and
instead, she grew taller. "Hmm...You're not Tifa," I analyzed.
The man laughed. "Of course I'm not Tifa, you fool. It's Cloud, right? Your name, I
mean?"
"Yes..." I was still bewildered as to how he could transform. I didn't ask.
"I could transform because I'm special," the man answered.
I cocked an eyebrow. "You can read minds too?"
"Somewhat. I haven't completely mastered the art yet."
"Why am I here?"
"Well, it could have been you or any other of your friends. I was told to be prepared for
visitors, so I made sure one of you would be sent into this room. I presume you're the
leader?"
"Yes."
"Then I've gotten lucky today, huh?" The man circled around me. I turned to face him
every time he took another step to make sure he wasn't trying to do any funny business.
"Who are you?" I asked. It had just dawned on me to ask.
"Your enemy, Cloud. You can call me Prizmle," he told me.
"Prizmle? So you're the one with the gang," I said.
"Yes, that's me," Prizmle smiled.
I narrowed my eyes. "What's the deal with you?"
"The deal? This will take a while to explain so please," he motioned for me to sit down,
"have a seat."
I sat down without taking my gaze away from him. He took a few paces until he was
standing in front of me. He kept a couple of feet away from me.
"The whole story takes place seven years ago when I was twenty-five. I had just gotten
my master's degree in psychology. I was going home to my parents to tell them the good
news. I took a plane and then a bus to my hometown. When I had gotten home I saw a
huge Shanrya truck parked in my driveway. The truck was white with the company logo
painted on the side of it. I had heard of Shanrya and what they really did instead of making
computers. I walked up to the truck and saw tubes running inside of the house. I realized
my parents were in danger so I rushed inside of the house. 'Mom! Dad!' I called. I ran into
their bedroom and the sight I saw was horrifying. My mother had a tube ran down her
throat and a red liquid was running through the tube. A Shanrya employee was trying to
force another tube down my father's throat. My father was a great fighter when he was
young, but at that point in his life he was a bit rusty. I snuck up behind the employee and
kicked him in the back. My father then kicked the tube out of his hand. I watched the
employee fall to his side. In front of me I saw the tube burst with red liquid into my eyes.
I fell to the floor in pain. My degree had gotten soaked with the liquid. I blacked out."
I was leaning over on my elbows at this point of the story. My eyebrows caved in towards
my nose. The story was deepening and I couldn't afford to miss any of the details.
Prizmle continued. "When I woke up I was in a cell. I had noticed a darker tinge in my
skin. My hands were shaking violently. I got up and paced the cell. A Shanrya came to me
and reported that my parents were killed from the liquid. He told me that with the
proportions of the liquid I had, I would have abnormal problems and strengths that a
regular human wouldn't have. He told me because of this I would be a slave for Shanrya. I
was so angry. Angry at myself for not being able to save my parents. Angry at Shanrya for
giving me this poison, and I was angry at the world for everything that happened. I broke
out of the cell and was on the streets for a few years. I started this gang for people who
felt like they needed to vent or were physically strong. For seven years every time I've
tried to do something right I feel repulsed and do the opposite. I can't fight it. I hate
everything and everyone. I hate you." Prizmle narrowed his eyes at me.
"Is that it?" I asked. I sat up on the couch.
"That's the bulk of it," he replied.
"Why did you tell me all of this?" I inquired.
"Now that you know all of the facts, you won't be learning any more about me. You can
go ahead and fight me now if you so desire. After you're dead no one will know about my
past. I can't be wasting my time fighting a little boys and girls club."
I got up at this remark. "A boys and girls club?" I laughed before flipping my buster sword
into my right hand using my foot. I got into my fighting stance and then struck at his legs.
He jumped up and flipped onto the couch. I turned around and he kicked me in the face. I
fell backwards and hit my back on the couch.
Prizmle laughed. "What a weakling." He walked over to me with a demonic grin on his
face. I swung my sword at his feet. The sword bounced off and stabbed the wall. I jumped
up when his attention was fixated on the wall. When he looked at me again I punched him
and kicked him in the hip. He winced in pain for a couple of seconds. He lifted me up and
then threw me through the door. I fell over a banister and landed a couple floors down. I
landed on my already soar bottom. I cursed under my breath before scrambling to my feet.
I jumped a couple of yards in the air and held on to the banister I had fallen off of. I
climbed over and ran along the walkway to find Prizmle again. "Back so soon?" he asked.
I turned around to see Prizmle standing before me at the corner of the walkway.
"You cannot defeat me," Prizmle laughed, "without your sword." He swung both of his
arms out in front of him. I felt my sword pushing away from me. Prizmle was a human
magnet. I tried to force my sword back. I had gotten it facing horizontally. I leaned over it
and tried to walk in the opposite direction of Prizmle. I failed and flipped over the sword
as it flew to Prizmle. I got back up and turned around. Prizmle was in a fighting stance
with my sword in hand. "Do as I say or you know I will kill you."
I reluctantly followed him. He led me to a cell.
"This is the cell I woke up in when I was poisoned with the liquid. This is where I became
legally insane. If you don't listen to me you will suffer what I suffered," Prizmle said
pushing me into the cell. "Get it?"
"Got it," I said folding my arms.
"Good," Prizmle said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have other members of the boys and
girls club to deal with." Prizmle walked away and left me in the darkness of the cell.
"#$^#$%," I muttered, "I hope they'll be all right. I hope Tifa will be all right." I looked
around. "This cell is pretty small," I said to myself. It could only fit about four people in it.
"Just put my in a straight jacket, why don't you?" I sat down on the ground Indian style. I
let my head rest in my hands on my lap. "How am I going to get out of this one? Wait for
a guard to come by?" I looked around. It didn't look like anyone but maybe Prizmle came
down to the cells for a visit that often.
"Hey, are you new here?" a voice said.
"Y-yes?" I said turning to the sound of the voice. "Who are you?" I demanded.
"My name's Mary," the voice said. "I was captured a couple of months ago."
"Okay?" I said.
"Yeah, okay. You wanna get out don't you?" she had toughness in her tone. She sounded a lot like
Barret.
"#$^#^ yeah."
"Then I think we should work together."
"How do I know I can trust you?"
"You don't."
"Then what's in it for me?"
"Freedom."
"Okay, what do we do?"
"First, tell me a little about yourself."
This girl's voice sounded vaguely familiar. I knew I had heard it somewhere before. "My
name's Cloud," I told her. "I think I'm a couple cells away from you. I'm twenty-three and
trying to save the world from a bleak future."
"I see."
"No, you can't."
"You're right, I can't."
"So how do we get out?"
"I'll tell you in a couple of hours. My head is killing me and yours probably is too. Get
some rest and then we'll make a plan of attack."
"All right then," I said. I tried to get comftorable on the floor. I thought about the other
AVALANCHE members before I dozed off to sleep. "Tifa..." I mumbled before falling
into a deep sleep.
* A/N: OoOo, I sense some more romance coming even though this isn't primarily
romance. Just wait until you see the future chapters, heh. Review, please! Thanks to those
couple of people who have been keeping up. I really appreciate your reviews :) *
the way, if someone could kindly tell me what program they use to get bold and italicized
words (and makes the words actually fit all the way across the screen) I would appreciate
it :). I don't want my next story to look like this one lol. *
## Cloud's POV ##
After falling through that second chute (which, by the way, gave me an unsightly bruise on
my butt) I fell onto the floor of a room. The walls were yellowish white and the door had
no coating on it but finished wood. I tried opening the door but it was locked. My sword
had gotten caught in the sword, and since I had been falling pretty quickly it was bent and
scratched in many places. I sat on one of the two dull gray couches in the room and tried
to fix my sword. I wasn't about to go out into the headquarters without my sword. Don't
get me wrong, I knew I could fight without it, but my sword's been a part of me since I
joined AVALANCHE.
"Come on, let's go!" I heard a familiar voice calling. I looked up from my sword and saw
Tifa standing in the doorway with a ring of keys in the hand that wasn't on the door knob.
"How did you find me?" I asked getting off of the couch.
"How did I not?" she said walking in. "I hope you've noticed by now that we've got a
strong connection. We know each other inside and out. We know when the other's in
trouble." She sat down beside me.
"Yes," I said quietly but still with a stern look on my face, "I have noticed."
"Kiss me," she said closing her eyes.
I leaned in to her. Right before I closed my eyes Tifa's facial features began to change. My
eyes widened and I jolted back. Her hair turned from its natural chestnut to a pearly white.
Her ruby eyes changed into emeralds. Her skin darkened. Her chest size shrunk, and
instead, she grew taller. "Hmm...You're not Tifa," I analyzed.
The man laughed. "Of course I'm not Tifa, you fool. It's Cloud, right? Your name, I
mean?"
"Yes..." I was still bewildered as to how he could transform. I didn't ask.
"I could transform because I'm special," the man answered.
I cocked an eyebrow. "You can read minds too?"
"Somewhat. I haven't completely mastered the art yet."
"Why am I here?"
"Well, it could have been you or any other of your friends. I was told to be prepared for
visitors, so I made sure one of you would be sent into this room. I presume you're the
leader?"
"Yes."
"Then I've gotten lucky today, huh?" The man circled around me. I turned to face him
every time he took another step to make sure he wasn't trying to do any funny business.
"Who are you?" I asked. It had just dawned on me to ask.
"Your enemy, Cloud. You can call me Prizmle," he told me.
"Prizmle? So you're the one with the gang," I said.
"Yes, that's me," Prizmle smiled.
I narrowed my eyes. "What's the deal with you?"
"The deal? This will take a while to explain so please," he motioned for me to sit down,
"have a seat."
I sat down without taking my gaze away from him. He took a few paces until he was
standing in front of me. He kept a couple of feet away from me.
"The whole story takes place seven years ago when I was twenty-five. I had just gotten
my master's degree in psychology. I was going home to my parents to tell them the good
news. I took a plane and then a bus to my hometown. When I had gotten home I saw a
huge Shanrya truck parked in my driveway. The truck was white with the company logo
painted on the side of it. I had heard of Shanrya and what they really did instead of making
computers. I walked up to the truck and saw tubes running inside of the house. I realized
my parents were in danger so I rushed inside of the house. 'Mom! Dad!' I called. I ran into
their bedroom and the sight I saw was horrifying. My mother had a tube ran down her
throat and a red liquid was running through the tube. A Shanrya employee was trying to
force another tube down my father's throat. My father was a great fighter when he was
young, but at that point in his life he was a bit rusty. I snuck up behind the employee and
kicked him in the back. My father then kicked the tube out of his hand. I watched the
employee fall to his side. In front of me I saw the tube burst with red liquid into my eyes.
I fell to the floor in pain. My degree had gotten soaked with the liquid. I blacked out."
I was leaning over on my elbows at this point of the story. My eyebrows caved in towards
my nose. The story was deepening and I couldn't afford to miss any of the details.
Prizmle continued. "When I woke up I was in a cell. I had noticed a darker tinge in my
skin. My hands were shaking violently. I got up and paced the cell. A Shanrya came to me
and reported that my parents were killed from the liquid. He told me that with the
proportions of the liquid I had, I would have abnormal problems and strengths that a
regular human wouldn't have. He told me because of this I would be a slave for Shanrya. I
was so angry. Angry at myself for not being able to save my parents. Angry at Shanrya for
giving me this poison, and I was angry at the world for everything that happened. I broke
out of the cell and was on the streets for a few years. I started this gang for people who
felt like they needed to vent or were physically strong. For seven years every time I've
tried to do something right I feel repulsed and do the opposite. I can't fight it. I hate
everything and everyone. I hate you." Prizmle narrowed his eyes at me.
"Is that it?" I asked. I sat up on the couch.
"That's the bulk of it," he replied.
"Why did you tell me all of this?" I inquired.
"Now that you know all of the facts, you won't be learning any more about me. You can
go ahead and fight me now if you so desire. After you're dead no one will know about my
past. I can't be wasting my time fighting a little boys and girls club."
I got up at this remark. "A boys and girls club?" I laughed before flipping my buster sword
into my right hand using my foot. I got into my fighting stance and then struck at his legs.
He jumped up and flipped onto the couch. I turned around and he kicked me in the face. I
fell backwards and hit my back on the couch.
Prizmle laughed. "What a weakling." He walked over to me with a demonic grin on his
face. I swung my sword at his feet. The sword bounced off and stabbed the wall. I jumped
up when his attention was fixated on the wall. When he looked at me again I punched him
and kicked him in the hip. He winced in pain for a couple of seconds. He lifted me up and
then threw me through the door. I fell over a banister and landed a couple floors down. I
landed on my already soar bottom. I cursed under my breath before scrambling to my feet.
I jumped a couple of yards in the air and held on to the banister I had fallen off of. I
climbed over and ran along the walkway to find Prizmle again. "Back so soon?" he asked.
I turned around to see Prizmle standing before me at the corner of the walkway.
"You cannot defeat me," Prizmle laughed, "without your sword." He swung both of his
arms out in front of him. I felt my sword pushing away from me. Prizmle was a human
magnet. I tried to force my sword back. I had gotten it facing horizontally. I leaned over it
and tried to walk in the opposite direction of Prizmle. I failed and flipped over the sword
as it flew to Prizmle. I got back up and turned around. Prizmle was in a fighting stance
with my sword in hand. "Do as I say or you know I will kill you."
I reluctantly followed him. He led me to a cell.
"This is the cell I woke up in when I was poisoned with the liquid. This is where I became
legally insane. If you don't listen to me you will suffer what I suffered," Prizmle said
pushing me into the cell. "Get it?"
"Got it," I said folding my arms.
"Good," Prizmle said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have other members of the boys and
girls club to deal with." Prizmle walked away and left me in the darkness of the cell.
"#$^#$%," I muttered, "I hope they'll be all right. I hope Tifa will be all right." I looked
around. "This cell is pretty small," I said to myself. It could only fit about four people in it.
"Just put my in a straight jacket, why don't you?" I sat down on the ground Indian style. I
let my head rest in my hands on my lap. "How am I going to get out of this one? Wait for
a guard to come by?" I looked around. It didn't look like anyone but maybe Prizmle came
down to the cells for a visit that often.
"Hey, are you new here?" a voice said.
"Y-yes?" I said turning to the sound of the voice. "Who are you?" I demanded.
"My name's Mary," the voice said. "I was captured a couple of months ago."
"Okay?" I said.
"Yeah, okay. You wanna get out don't you?" she had toughness in her tone. She sounded a lot like
Barret.
"#$^#^ yeah."
"Then I think we should work together."
"How do I know I can trust you?"
"You don't."
"Then what's in it for me?"
"Freedom."
"Okay, what do we do?"
"First, tell me a little about yourself."
This girl's voice sounded vaguely familiar. I knew I had heard it somewhere before. "My
name's Cloud," I told her. "I think I'm a couple cells away from you. I'm twenty-three and
trying to save the world from a bleak future."
"I see."
"No, you can't."
"You're right, I can't."
"So how do we get out?"
"I'll tell you in a couple of hours. My head is killing me and yours probably is too. Get
some rest and then we'll make a plan of attack."
"All right then," I said. I tried to get comftorable on the floor. I thought about the other
AVALANCHE members before I dozed off to sleep. "Tifa..." I mumbled before falling
into a deep sleep.
* A/N: OoOo, I sense some more romance coming even though this isn't primarily
romance. Just wait until you see the future chapters, heh. Review, please! Thanks to those
couple of people who have been keeping up. I really appreciate your reviews :) *