Chp.5 A piece of me
'I still haven't found out why the hell I'm here. I still haven't found Ramza or Mustadio or any other person who may have a small clue to their whereabouts. But...does that even matter anymore? This village that I found me, it so calm and peaceful. Like an entirely new world, separated from the church and all of it's unforgivings. But can I live here? Can I abandon everything that I have lost for a new life? Should I?'
This was the argument that had plagued Cloud's mind the moment he had regained consciousness from his deep slumber. That day in the city he had been severely injured and the only thing that had helped him was the gentle kindness of Jeremiah and his followers. But now that Cloud had arrived, and in the condition that he had arrived in, the village was divided. Half of them think he is just an ordinary young man, the rest think that he is some type of demon. Hell, for all he knows, he just might be this said demon. But that wouldn't explain the things he had been feeling as of late nor the fleeting pictures that darted through his mind. As if they were incomplete, they fluttered in his vision every so often. Some the image of a massive city flanked with towers and buildings of incredibly large machinery, the likes of which he had never laid eyes upon. Or had he?
And yet as mysterious as this city had seemed, it was flanked by a blanket of coldness and hurt. It seemed, as this city if it was a city, wanted to engulf him in a trench submerged with nothing but pain. So then why did he feel willed to progress into such a dark place? One of the fleeting images, a church, came to his mind. Then followed by a bed of flowers. Cloud had no idea what this meant, but it obviously had something to do with this city and his origin.
Finding himself walking down the same path that he had been walking down for the past three weeks, he shook his head tired of trying to find answers to questions that seem irrelevant. He was happy in the quaint little village. He actually found himself with a little bit more get up and go then usual. And now he had a little area to train himself without hurting anyone else. He had even been giving some pointers to the hunters of the village, teaching them capturing techniques, better ways to skin the animals they used for food, shelter, and clothing. His techniques, unlike theirs, were more refined by years of practice just to survive. So he had a little advantage compared to them. Yet, even he had learned a myriad of new things. He had helped construct houses and barns with stables for animals. He also had helped with little stuff as cooking, learning things as well as teaching some. And here contrary to what he had thought, they followed their own religion, separate from that of the Glabados Church. They used names such as St.Ajora and the Glabados religion to hide the truth.
This religion was the Religion of Shivon and with it came a new from of magic that had been springing up from certain people. It was strongest in Jeremiah's line with his daughter beginning the next successor possibly even stronger then Jeremiah himself. This magic was called, by Jeremiah, "Blue Magic." It features a variety of different spells that inflict either pain or warmth. It isn't even a direct offense, more like the ability of the "Bards" he had seen during his travels. It increased many different attributes as well as decreased them. It was a truly terrifying art to fight against. Speaking of who, Terra, Jeremiah's daughter, the next in line for the Blue Magic Art, had found an interesting place in Cloud's heart.
Terra was an enchanting person to begin with; her long shiny green hair and her soft dark ruby eyes complemented her slender and petite form. But that wasn't where she shined. She was quite possibly one of the gentlest people on this planet. She stood amongst side Jeremiah, protecting Cloud from anyone who tried to offend him. Even though he didn't need the help, he found it funny when Terra would try to get angry with another person and they would actually back off. She looked so funny when she got angry.
And yet, he knew one thing and it tore him apart. He knew that he couldn't stay, or that he couldn't get involved with her. Even though it seemed that she was feeling something for him. He could tell, it was the small gestures that verified his suspicions. And because of this, it tore him apart that he couldn't stay. The consequences of such actions would end up being the death of everyone here! And he wouldn't allow that to happen. Not again. So Cloud had planned for his soon-to-be mysterious departure.
Today, he headed for a lake for his morning swim, early in the morning light. With the rest of the villagers asleep, and only a handful awake to watch the villagers from prowling animals, he was free to flee. It hurt him to do this, but he had no choice. Any other choice, as he has already reviewed, would end up disastrous.
Reaching the relatively small lake, encompassed with a ring of boulders that seemed to serve as it's border, he walked to the edge of the lake where an old dirty walkway was crudely built. It extended only about 20 feet, so it was probably designed for small boats. But now it only served as a relic of whatever it was used for.
Cloud walked up to the edge of the walkway and sat down for a moment to gather himself. It seemed that every time he approached water he had sudden chills, and not the ones you get when you're cold. These were tremors that made his insides ache with some dormant fear. He didn't understand what this probably was, but he had found ways to get around it. Standing back up, he proceeded to strip himself of his new black shirt, tailored by Terra herself, and then placed his newly refurbished Buster Sword on the ground. Now it had a wondrous sheen to it, recreated with a layer of a new mixture that he had created, with the help of Terra and Jeremiah's Blue Magic. This mixture was a combination of Diamond and Rune plating, two of the strongest materials in the land. Then a special coating of Blue Magic, courtesy of Terra and Jeremiah, will add a reflective ability of most magic. Now armed with a more powerful Buster Sword, he has a better chance of survival.
About to take off his steel clad boots, he suddenly stopped. Looking back up slowly, he felt a sudden chill in the air. But it wasn't like cold air just came in and brushed against his bare torso. This was a feeling that unnerved him, made him apprehensive to continue movement. This was the same feeling that he got when an enemy was nearby.
Carefully and still crouched, he reached for his Buster Sword, and latched onto it with a reverse grip. But he didn't move it. Instead he just watched the trees on the other side of the lake. Something told him that someone was watching him, most likely to attack him from a distance or the feeling would have been more alerting. This was more like trying to hide and hit him from safety.
Silence, to surround him. A forest to hide from him. And only a close range weapon to arm himself with, Cloud suddenly felt naked. Then that's when he saw it. It was just a sparkle at first but from that sparkle came an arrow that seemed almost invisible. The only thing that saved Cloud was his own nearly inhuman speed. He threw his Buster Sword up and blocked the arrow. Watching it bounce through the air, he suddenly heard a war cry and saw a figure jumping up in the air from across the lake straight down on top of him.
Cloud rolled backward with only his sword, off the dock just as the figure came down on the dock. Now, had Cloud not seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed it. The figure, guessing in their downward momentum, had crashed right through the pier, causing an eruption of water and pieces of wood. Cloud had a haphazard smile as he watched the oddly interesting spectacle. But it only lasted for only a few seconds. He suddenly found himself nearly reeling back in shock as the figure was still standing despite the fall they took and the rubble that surrounded them. And it wasn't a male fighter either. It was a female. And a very familiar female.
"You!" Cloud yelled out in surprise. It was that female Archer that he had fought before. He could tell just by the Perseus bow she wielded in her hands. That and that dark ruby glint in her eyes.
The female archer grinned with pride, whipping her wet deep brown hair to the side, and shouted happily, "Cloud Strife. At last I found you!"
Cloud groaned in disbelief and yelled in anger, "What the hell is your problem! What do you want with me! I didn't do anything to you!"
The Archer grinned again and said while walking up to him through the rubble and water, "That's not what the 5 million Gil bounty on your head says."
That surprised the mess out of Cloud. He didn't know that they had put a bounty on him, let alone 5 million! That's a lot of money for just one person. But it made sense. The Church really wants him dead.
But he didn't want to fight, not here, not so close to the village. Cloud flipped his weapon up and held it with both hands, upright. Then he ran forward with the blade ready.
The female Archer didn't think he would try a head on attack so she placed her bow up in a defensive move but Cloud had then bolted to the side and ran at top speed around the side of the lake. She cursed out loud and ran after him, arming her bow with a silver arrow. Letting it fly at extremely high speeds, the only thing that protected Cloud was the fact that he had dashed behind a large boulder and then into the forest. It was just enough time for her arrow to miss its target even if it ripped through the boulder.
"Damn it Cloud, you're only making this harder on yourself!" She yelled as she turned into the forest after him and ran at top speeds through the maze of trees and twigs. This is when she realized that she should have worn her long pants and long shirt with some armor. These twigs and branches were beating the crap out of her! Her short black jeans and white top wear not helping.
She finally reached the edge of the forest and slowed down as it emptied out onto a cliff that only extended 30 feet. It definitely was constricting fighting room. Especially for her and her bow, but she had other skills. It's just that she wasn't one hundred percent sure if Cloud was here or not. She only caught sight of his pale back around here. Speaking of which, how does someone of that small and feeble looking stature carry a weapon as heavy looking as that? It seemed odd. But he did look nice with his spiky blonde hair and his funky green eyes. It was definitely something different. Still, it all didn't matter, she had a job to do, and that cool five million was hers to take. This would be easy.
Suddenly, she heard a weird whipping sound as if something big was moving through the air. She turned to the direction of the sound and then looking up she saw the massive sword she was just thinking about come swinging down on her position. She jumped to the side dodging the thing barely and watched it axed its way a good solid four feet into the ground handle up at an angle.
"What in the-" Then out of the blue, a fist came in and hit her in the side of the face. The impact was great and the pain that came afterwards was hell. She flew back completely caught off guard by the attack and found herself skidding back a good couple of feet back near the edge of the forest. Clutching the side of her face, she looked up and it was Cloud that hit her! But the pain she felt and the size of his arms didn't for some reason equal out. It felt like her jaw was broken.
Cloud nearly collapsed. His fist hurt so much just from hitting her iron clad jaw! So much for the nice and delicate looking type. Hitting her face was like hitting a brick wall! But now wasn't the time to complain about pain. Pushing it aside, he reached out for his buster sword and with ease yanked it out of the ground. Cloud noticed that that had startled the hell out of his opponent. It was a shame too that he had to fight her. Unless he could convince her otherwise. She was a beautiful woman, a nice even tan that covered her head to toe, long slender legs moving an adequately proportioned body. But there was something else about her that irked him. It seemed to nag at his mind like a lot of things recently. But he didn't get a chance to dwell on it for long. The female Archer jumped up and charged her blindly. Cloud had already had immense close range combat experience before he had entered this world and the time here training as a Monk had only increased his devastating power. This was going to be over very soon.
Yelling out a battle cry, she swung at Cloud with her left fist but Cloud caught her hand with his left so he could then swing with more momentum with his right. However just before he swung he noticed a particular glint in his opponents eye. Suddenly, she opened her left hand and locked with his hand, and then with the speed of a Cuar, she spun backwards and cracked her other fist against the back of his head making him lean forward with nothing but pain coursing through his head. Then with the same lighting quickness she just displayed, she swung her left foot backwards, catching the bridge of Cloud's nose knocking him back again also causing him to drop the sword.
Now in a daze, unarmed, and unable to protect himself, she decided to Finnish it. She swung her leg again forward and up this time and slammed it with incredible force to the back of Clouds head practically burying him into the ground face first. Cloud nearly blacked out from the pain. He just couldn't believe that she could move that fast, it was painfully incredible. But lying on the floor like this was hazardous to his health. He rolled to the side gaining several feet between him and her but the moment he got to his feet, she was already on top of him with left kick. Cloud jumped back with the tip of her steel tipped boot grazing his bare stomach. Cloud thanked whoever was watching him for that one but didn't catch the other foot coming.
The female Archer's second kick came in and with the heel caught him on the side of the head. Then with the same speed that she had been displaying throughout the fight, she caught his arm as he was falling to the side and pulled him back just to deck him in the jaw.
Cloud stumbled backwards and tried to put up a guard but she was just too fast. She came in, then down and sweep kicked him then still spinning into a circle, she flipped and just as Cloud fell on his back, she brought her foot down on his stomach. Cloud lost all the air in his lungs as he nearly collapsed on the floor.
The Archer suddenly decided to pause and rolled backwards then flipping to her feet. Smiling with a hint of pleasure in the beat down in her soon to be five million Gil, she walked up to Cloud and placed her foot on his chest.
Cloud on the other hand, still couldn't do anything. He felt slightly paralyzed from the attacks he had received and could sense the dizzying vertigo that overshadowed his eyes. He couldn't tell what he was looking at anymore. He constantly saw five of everything.
"You men are all alike," The Archer said not even showing a hint of tiredness. "The moment you start fighting a woman, you think she's weak and have to go easy on her." She then leaned down and whispered to him, inches away from his face, "But that's fine with me. The more you do that, the easier this is for me."
Cloud choked up some blood but spit it to the side. As much as the comment itself stung his pride, she was right. He wasn't fighting to his fullest because he had completely underestimated her but it wasn't just that. It was also the fact that she made him feel weird in a way that he had never felt before. It was as if he had known this person all his life, but he had never see this dark-haired beauty before. Could it be that he had seen those eyes before? It was the eyes that stuck him the hardest. Those fire-filled jewels mesmerized him with a feeling of nostalgia.
"Hey dimwit!"
Cloud suddenly felt himself literally lifted off of the ground and being held quite forcefully by his neck. He looked at the Archer and for some reason she was visibly angered.
"Were you listening to anything I had just said?" She yelled.
Cloud could do nothing but stare at her. Aside from her earlier comments, he didn't catch what else she was saying, if anything at all.
"I said, you thick-headed Neanderthal, that now because you decided to run from me in that city instead of dying like a good little boy, that village you decided to stay in is going to be wiped out."
That caught Cloud's attention. He grabbed her hand trying to gain some air to speak but only managed a slight, "Wha-?"
The Archer laughed with a sense of amusement, "Yeah, I already notified the Church on your location. I also mentioned the Village as well considering you was hiding there for so long. Little did I know but there was a huge bounty on the whole frigging village itself. So now I get two for the effort of one. Thank you for making this so easy for me."
Suddenly an explosion was heard form the distance and several plumes of smoke erupted from the direction of the village. Cloud turned around and felt his whole world shrink from around him.
The Archer sighed and said, "I tried to convince them otherwise but apparently they really don't like those people. So I accepted despite my own wishes. At least I made a quick buck."
The moment she had said that, Cloud felt something inside him snap. It was small at first but it quickly grew into something he had never felt before. Next thing he knew, he had reached back with one hand as far as he could and swung screaming, "Burning anger rising! Wave Fist!"
The Archer's eyes got big as a torrent of energy came and hit her whole body flinging her back like a rag doll. She couldn't stop herself for nothing as she continued to slide all the way to the edge of the cliff. Nor could she stop herself from slipping just enough to fall off the cliff. She reached for the edge as she felt a weightlessness cover her. She couldn't though and felt herself go in slow motion farther and farther from the cliff. Then the craziest thing happened. She saw a pale hand come in from the shadow of the sun and grab her hand. Closing her eyes as she was jolted form the sudden drop she couldn't help but look down and see what would have been her grave. It was a shear drop about a couple hundred feet to what looked like nothing but sharp rocks and what resembled bones.
She looked back up to her savior and saw that it was Cloud!
"But-!"
Cloud pulled her back up with no effort and dropped her on the ground away from the cliff.
The Archer landed, ungracefully, on her feet and found her land legs again. Still shaking from that close brush with Death himself, she looked at Cloud with confused eyes and just as she was about to say something, he merely started walking by and past her. She was beyond shocked but then realized why he did it.
She spun around and yelled, "I'm not going to stop hunting you just because you saved my life! I'm a mercenary, I won't stop till you're dead!"
"I know." Was the simple answer.
Now even more puzzled then before, she yelled even louder, "I'm not going to be indebted to you either! I could care less about you or any one else!"
"I know." Was the simple repeat.
"Then WHY!?" She screamed, tears welling up in her eyes from all the yelling.
Cloud stopped by his Buster Sword and easily lifted it to his shoulder. He sighed and turned to her with the mostpacified look. "Someone I once used to be didn't want to see you die like that. He didn't want to see you die at all really."
Completely confused, She had no choice but to listen.
"I on the other hand would have gladly watched seeing as how you damned those innocent people. I would have smiled as you fell hopelessly into that pit. But the part of me that is the real me wouldn't let me do it. You're lucky." And with that he started jogging to the forest.
The archer watched him as he near the forest and just as he was about to disappeared into it she yelled, "I, Sonia LockHeart, will get you Cloud Strife."
Cloud stopped for a moment and looked at her for a moment.
"I swear it!" She stated proudly.
Cloud smiled and said, "I'll be waiting." He turned back around and headed for the village. By now it was already over, but it didn't matter. He would do something other then run.