Darkness Rising
By Chibi Nataku
Disclaimer: In no way do I hold claim over any of the characters of Kingdom Hearts, who are currently owned by Square. Despite my attempts to grab hold of even a cardboard cut-out of my favourite characters, my efforts have fallen short so they will probably always remain under rights of Square (the world is so unfair :P)
HOLY CRAP! AN UPDATE! SORRY FOR THE WAIT! ENJOY!
AUTHOR'S NOTE: ' indicates a dream-like voice, and indicates the speech of Zax 'cause...well, only Cloud can usually see and hear him.
AUTHOR'S WARNING: This fic has been bumped up to a yaoi pairing between Sephiroth and Cloud. You have been warned so proceed at your own risk. So far, it is merely some shounen-ai, but it might turn a bit more in later chapters.
Chapter 11 - Continued Darkness
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Maniacal laughter echoed throughout the streets of Traverse Town, stirring all of the Heartless in the area to look up at the sound of one of their own. Feelers twitched as a straggled cry of pain followed after the laughter, black heads cocking to the side as the weakened cry was brutally cut short and silence reigned in afterwards. The Heartless were aware of the departing of a heart from the planet, convinced with their small minds that whatever was killing every creature in the town was much more powerful than any of them. To them, it was a good thought to have.
Another scream rang out, this one shrill and full of disbelief, a female's voice. "Why...?! How...how could you do..." The question was cut off with the sound of a sword cutting through the air then the body of cold dead flesh hitting the stone floor. And the silence returned.
And she stood in fear, unsure of what enemy had entered her beloved town and suddenly turned against the town's people. She felt her knees shake slightly as the flowers in her hand felt suddenly too out of place in the silence of the blood around her. The small blade in her other hand would be wielded clumsily for she had never wanted to learn to fight or kill another being. She knew that she would fall just like everyone else, and she suddenly feared that she was cursed to repeat the same fate as she almost had in Hollow Bastion as a child. Her eyes betrayed her fear of being the only one left in the town. "It's just like Hollow Bastion...I'm always left last..."
She pulled the blade closer to her body and the flowers suddenly slipped from her fingers as the sound of heavy yet casual footfalls began to make their way in her direction as if certain of where she stood. She remained standing beside the door of the First District, too aware that there was no where to run, that she would die to whatever creature had invaded Traverse Town. And the time seemed to stand still, the fall of feet much too in time with her heart beat, wanting nothing more than to wrap arms around herself and call for help that would never come for her. So, she stood, her knees bouncing against one another, her naked shoulders sagging as she looked down at herself, covered in too much blood to really recognize her favourite dress anymore. And the knife still seemed too out of place in her hands.
"I can smell your fear, sweetheart. I can hear your heart racing. I can see your body shaking. Does it please you that I take joy from your patheticness?" A cold, sinister voice spoke calmly, a cruel smile set upon elegant features of a twenty-one year old.
Aerith felt her gaze lift to where the voice had spoken, feeling her body grow cold at the sight of a man shrouded in shadow, four demonic wings that were so obviously made from the shadow that it made her feel ill. She tightened her grip on the small blade as glowing blue eyes slowly opened to regard her from the shadow of the rooftop. She took a step back when the Heartless jumped from the roof and landed gracefully in front of her, a small whimper escaping her at the intense smell of blood. Memories of dead guards and towns people threatened to consume her, but she forced them down in order to look her murderer in the face. She would be brave, just like Cloud had taught her.
Yet, as the man slowly climbed to his full height and the shadows pulled back from his elegant features, the blade in her hands was suddenly lazily falling, clattering noisily to the ground as Aerith found herself staring up at Cloud Strife, her adoptive father, her savior, her friend. "Cloud...?"
Cloud smirked cruelly and folded his wings against his back, reaching out a hand to brush the brunette's hair from her eyes. His smirked turned fond as she began to shake her head, slowly nodding his own to contradict her denial. He brushed away the tears that slipped from her eyes with a demonic finger. "Shh, there is no need to cry, sweetheart. I brought you a present, just like I always do when I come for a visit."
"A...present?" Aerith slowly shook her head, disbelief still shining in her eyes. All she could think was that this was a horrible nightmare, and it had not actually been her Cloud that had caused the death of all of her friends in Traverse Town. No, Cloud was much too nice and she felt that she had vaguely betrayed her trust in him in thinking that he might be capable of such vile acts.
"Oh yes, a very nice present, sweetheart. Hold out your hands just like always and close your eyes. Everything is alright if I'm near." Cloud chuckled softly when Aerith reluctantly did as she was told, slipping around the brunette and ran one hand down the length of her arm, causing Aerith to shiver slightly as his fingers left a trail of blood.
Slowly, he rested his chin on her naked shoulder and placed his wet gift in the young woman's hands. "Before you open your eyes, I think you should know something. It will add meaning to this gift." He smirked cruelly when she slowly nodded, indicating that she was listening. "Leon always wanted to have your heart, sweetheart." He pulled away and shifted so that he was facing the brunette. "But now you have his instead."
Aerith slowly opened her eyes, staring down at the blonde's gift to her. At first, she was confused, eyes following the trailing drops of blood that ran between her fingers. And when the tears flowed down her cheeks, she raised her eyes and choked on a sob of grief, her gaze meeting with Cloud's glowing blue eyes. "No...No, not Leon..."
Perhaps he had heard the crack as much as she did. Perhaps the horrible gift in her hands that still carried a sickly warmth to it had suddenly turned into a beautiful thing. Of course, Cloud would never give her a gift that she was not meant to like. This was obviously one of those abstract gifts that grew on a person over time. She admitted that she was already beginning to like it as she ran her fingers over the smooth muscle. "Cloud...it's...a wonderful gift."
Cloud stepped up to the brunette and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling their bodies close. "I knew you would like it, sweetheart. I ripped it still beating from his chest just for you." He placed a gentle kiss on the top of Aerith's head as the brunette disintegrated into sobs, casually calling his sword to hand and lifting it above his head. "Relish the pain. It lets you know that you are still alive." He brought his sword down, smiling at the sound of ripping flesh...
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Sephiroth flew upright in bed, breathing heavily until he forced himself calm again. He sighed and rubbed his face with a hand, wiping away the sweat from his forehead. He was beginning to grow weary of the dreams that were constantly plaguing him.
All of his attempts to reach back into Cloud's sleeping mind had ended with failure and him being shown various images of death and carnage. Such images did not bother him in the least since he had done just as bad in his time; rather, he was frustrated that he was being rejected so venomously. He wanted another talk with Cloud and being stuck in dreams of the demonic Cloud butchering entire worlds was not his idea of a great conversation. He simply could not push passed the images to get into the blonde's mind, always intercepted by the demon and rebuked with mockery.
And he had decided that he really did not like the demon in the least. Although he would simply love to have Cloud so destructive, he was not pleased with the fact that the demon was untamable and frustratingly stubborn to the point where he wished nothing more than to strangle the blonde. He much preferred a Cloud that would not lash out when he drew close and make attempts to dismember him when the demon ran out of dream targets. The demon was too unpredictable and much too different to be anything more than a shell of darkness filled with hate, anger, and pain. He would be able to do little with the demon, meaning that he would have to work with the planet to keep the demon from taking over and pulling Cloud from his reach.
Slowly, he settled himself back against the sheets and wrapped an arm around the blonde's relaxed shoulders, pulling their bodies close together until Cloud's face was safely nestled against his shoulder. He pulled his feathered wing up as a sort of protective barrier as the blonde continued to sleep soundly. He rested his chin on the top of Cloud's head, chuckling softly as the blonde's silky spikes tickled his cheeks. Gently, he ran his fingers down the blonde's spine, eyes narrowing as the skin beneath his touch shifted between warmth and cold, the dark veins radiating the difficulties that Cloud was having in fighting the hardest and most strenuous battle.
He felt that if he could draw the true form of the blonde closer to the surface Cloud would be able to free from the darkness' hold. However, he also feared that the obvious words for self-sacrifice were more than a little truthful, and he refused to lose the blonde after almost twenty years of pursuit. He would need to watch the blonde closely and not allow Cloud to throw everything away for the happiness of everyone else. Cloud had lived that life for many years as a Royal Guard, and Sephiroth was not pleased with a possible extreme shift that thrust the blonde into the role of martyr.
'Alright Wonderboy, time is up. I suggest you get out of there before Blondie wakes up. I needn't remind you what will happen if he sees you.' Hades voices echoed in Sephiroth's head, jarring the silver-haired man from his thoughts. The god grinned and pulled his consciousness away from the former General, his new plot already in place to void some contracts for his own benefit.
Sephiroth reluctantly pulled away from the sleeping blonde, shifting his bare feet so that they touched down on the cold stone floor. He sat on the edge of the bed for a few minutes as his mind seemed to cloud over and all the crisp clearness pulled back from his grasp. All he wanted to do was seize Cloud and drag the blonde away into the shadow where no other creature would be able to glimpse at his property. Yet, he could not and simply climbed to his feet, glancing back one last time before he would be forced to step back into the shadow of the blonde's life until the time came when he could force Cloud to submit to him. Just a little more time was all that he needed.
He snapped his fingers, feeling himself lift from the ground as his removed clothing swept around him and refitted to his body, all his buckles tightening around his ankles, waist, and wrists. The leather felt crisp and cool against his heated skin, and he pulled his long hair out from his leather coat before flexing his fingers and wing. With his sword at his side shifting in and out of space, he stepped away from the warm inviting bed and prepared to fulfill his final part of the bargain.
He teleported from the room without another glance back, aware of the blonde's mind shifting forward. However, he failed to notice when one of his black feathers slipped from his wing and drifted back to the bed, falling beside the rousing blonde. Despite this, he was aware of Hades nearby, but let the feeling pass with the god. He had a planet to destroy and blood to spill.
Cloud softly groaned as he stirred back to wakefulness. He blinked open his eyes before reaching up to rub the remnants of sleep from them, blurry vision quickly coming into sharp focus. Yet, he continued to lie on his side for a few more minutes as his mind adjusted to being awake again. He drew in a deep breath and ran a hand through his mussed locks of hair, finding the locks tangle free despite sleeping. However, he felt the most refreshed than he had in months, and he would not complain about that fact.
Slowly, he turned on to his back, letting a hand flop back onto the bed. After taking a few minutes, he forced himself to sit up and stretch out his muscles, pulling each one into wakefulness with him. His gaze traveled around the room before glancing down at the bed beneath him. However, before he could pick anything but blankets out, he was suddenly aware of a shadow moments before he was tackled back to the bed.
He clenched his teeth as his thoughts immediately drew to the conclusion that Sephiroth was attacking him. Yet, he was bear-hugged to a much slimmer chest than that of Sephiroth, and he looked up to find Zax gloping him like an overjoyed puppy. He tried to pull away from the dark-haired man's tight grasp, but Zax did not seem to wish to let him go so easily. "Hey, let me go. I just woke up."
No time for such small talk! We have an island to explore! Quick! Get dressed and let's get out the door! Zax piped loudly directly into the blonde's ear, noting that Cloud flinched and tried to pull away from him. He huggled Cloud close before shoving the blonde out of bed, laughing openly when the blonde nearly squawked and fell over. Come on, Spike. So many things to do! Some many people to annoy!
Cloud slowly picked himself off of the floor and rubbed his mildly injured bottom before scratching his head. "It seems like you only take pleasure from annoying me." He said as he turned to look around for his uniform, noting that he carelessly discarded it all around his room.
As soon as Cloud's back was turned, Zax grabbed the black feather and hid it behind his back, cursing Hades softly. He would not lose Cloud now that he was so close to success of getting the blonde back to Hollow Bastion, especially not now that Sephiroth was more or less on the side of planet. He needed to be rid of the guilty feather as quickly as he could without Cloud noticing any odd behaviour from him. If he could stomp out Hades' attempt to void Sephiroth's contract, he and the planet would be more than a little happy to keep Cloud theirs. All he needed to do was get rid of the feather, but he was unsure of where he could hide it so that Cloud would never find it.
While Cloud wandered about looking for various items of clothing, Zax examined the feather, feeling slightly uncomfortable with small traces of darkness biting at his fingertips. He was thankful that his fingers were callused from years of using a sword because he knew such darkness would hurt a lot more in sensitive areas, so he was sure to keep it away from his face.
"Oh Zax, I was wondering if...?" Cloud swiveled to regard the dark-haired man as he pulled on one of his boots, stopping in mid-sentence when Zax moved faster than he could follow. He felt his cheeks flush as he found himself staring at Zax with a hand down the front of dark-haired man's pants. The pained expression that immediately followed the movements made his jaw slacken slightly, and he couldn't help but stare for a few seconds. Eventually, he looked away. "I...I'm sorry! What...what the hell are you doing?"
Zax had to fight to urge to scream and jump around, and he knew that his face had turned an interesting shade of red. Not only had Cloud not been able to embarrass him like this before, but the blonde had also failed at forcing him to take one for the team. He now understood the true meaning of pain, and he was not happy over the fact that he could not remove the offending feather or lose Cloud to Hades. So, he forced his hand from his pants and tried to sit as comfortably as possible, wincing as the darkness continued to bite into his flesh, forcing him to blink back tears of agony and humiliation. Luckily, Cloud was no longer staring at him in shock.
Cloud eventually managed to fumble his way into his clothing, his belt buckles being particularly stubborn on this morning, though he blamed most of it on his bumbling fingers. He occasionally glanced over his wing to see if Zax was alright, and he wondered what had happened to his friend to make the dark-haired man look like death was a preferred option. However, he dared not ask, though Zax's glares at the dark-haired man's crotch made him nearly voice his questions.
Zax gritted his teeth as the blonde seemed to not wish to turn around, probably out of both embarrassment and vague wonder. Cloud had always had too many questions running around in that blonde head, but the warrior rarely asked openly. So, he felt the need to diverge the discomfort with a sudden change of topic. Of course, the fact that the sooner he got Cloud out and moving, the sooner he could remove the stupid feather down the front of his pants. Have you...looked at that scroll yet? He watched Cloud hesitantly turn to regard him, noting the blonde's slightly pinked cheeks. Who knew that such things embarrassed Cloud so easily? You know...to find out the location?
"Well, I haven't as of yet. I suppose that I could look at it now." Cloud wandered over to his small table and picked up the scroll, blinking when the dark-haired man suddenly snatched it from his grasp as he unrolled the contents. He watched as Zax bearly glanced at the paper and suddenly forced a grin at him. "Are you alright?"
Just fine...I recognize this place. Zax shifted his weight and shivered as pain raced up his spine when the feather shifted. He thought this might be the silver-haired man's revenge for his death-threat the day before, though he would never admit pain to Sephiroth.
Slowly, Zax lifted a finger and pressed it to Cloud's forehead, sending the island's location to the forefront of the blonde's thoughts. Though he had bearly looked at the scroll, the planet had informed him of the proper location thanks to the shared knowledge that the planet held from long years of gathering. He smiled slightly when Cloud responded to the link between them, the darkness slipping back from the blonde's mind as they briefly united.
Yet, he pulled away quickly after he had given Cloud directions, under strict orders not to reveal his origin to the blonde just yet. He swore that he saw a brief flicker of disappointment on Cloud's face as he broke contact, but the blonde covered such emotions too quickly for him to be certain. Did you get that?
Cloud nodded and ran a hand through his hair, missing the connection between himself and Zax despite the fact that they had only briefly touched minds. He felt drawn to the warmth of the dark-haired man's mind, finding it strangely open and inviting to him, like the warm embrace of his mother. He had found a foreign comfort in the connection, a calling deep in his soul that made his back tingle as if extensions of his being were being pulled from his skin into wings. And in that calling, he had heard many voices whispering softly, a soft green light that drew him into warmth, secrets long since hidden away coming forward on green wisps that he could almost touch...
Then Zax had broken that connection, forced all the warmth from the embrace, pulled back all the secrets, ceased the voices. He felt cold and alone all over again, except for his back which had a much slower fading warmth. But like everything else in his life, it had faded away into the darkness of his mind.
Cloud managed to hide his angered disappointment behind a mask of neutrality. He felt the information given to him float forward in his thoughts, and he suddenly knew where he would be going and how to get there. He sighed heavily and turned away from his friend, bending to pick up his sword, looking into the reflection of the metal before angling it so that he could see Zax in the blade.
And he suddenly realized that he really did not know the man in the reflection of his sword. As much as he had pressed, he knew little about the dark-haired man except for the fact that Zax would appear only when the dark-haired man wanted to. In Zax's appearances, he had almost always been completely alone. Though he had grown up the years with the dark-haired man aging along side him, he had always sensed that Zax was beyond his years in every way. So, who was Zax? He really couldn't tell anyone because he both didn't know the truth and he had been sworn early on never to speak of Zax. So, even in his friendship, he stood apart, on one side of mirror that reflected everything of himself but never revealed his companion. Zax was as much of a mystery now as the dark-haired man had been the first day that he had met Zax.
'You know us, lovely. We will protect us from our pain...our loneliness.' Cool arms wrapped around the blonde's waist.
Cloud?
Cloud felt himself being drawn back into a cool but comforting embrace. 'They cannot hurt us if they are dead, lovely. Let them burn...hurt...despair...'
Cloud!!
Cloud looked up sharply from staring at his reflection in his sword, eyes widening slightly as his demonic self grinned a toothy grin and disappeared back into the blade's reflection. His gaze swiveled to Zax, noting that the dark-haired man's hand was on his shoulder. He glanced down at the blade as cool arms slipped away from his waist then looked fully at his friend. "Sorry, I was just thinking about if I wish to teleport to Atlantis or not."
Zax released his hold on the blonde's shoulder and slowly nodded, very aware of Cloud's small lie to cover up the surging forward of the demon. We should get there and back here quickly. The faster we get this task done, the sooner you beat Hercules, and the faster we get back to Hollow Bastion.
Cloud nodded and attached his sword to his back, taking his time to make sure that the blade was secure. "I suppose that I will meet you there then?"
I'll be hot on your trail, Spike. Zax flashed the blonde a toothy grin and lifted a thumbs-up. He shifted his legs and nodded silently to himself, finding the pain growing to only mildly uncomfortable. He could probably keep the feather for a bit longer seeing as it made him feel like jumping around like an idiot. However, he was not so sure that the planet would be pleased if he kept the feather around for longer than he had to.
Again, Cloud nodded silently and lifted a hand as he gathered some power to form a teleportation spell, his mind setting his new destination. He felt the energy wash over his body and pull his form into a different space and time until solid ground once more slipped beneath his boots, and he could open his eyes once more to look around himself.
He stood in the middle of glade, knee-length grass shifting around him with a warm breeze that smelled like the sea with rich salt. Some of the tallest trees formed a tense circle around the glade, somehow unable to block out the rays of the sun with their height. Vines with rich colours of flowers laced the branches of the trees and crawled lethargically over the trunks and pooled down between the massive roots. The air was alive with the sounds of birds and only a few clouds dotted the magenta skies. Nearby, the sound of water could be heard but only traces of it could be felt from the winds that slipped by his body.
Cautiously, he took a step towards where he heard water, eyes narrowing as the birds ceased singing and silence caved in around him, his hand going for the hilt of his blade. He waited tensely until the bushes directly in front of him shifted, his defensive stance dropping as a single unicorn stepped into the glade with him.
It was the first time he had ever laid eyes on such a magnificent beast, but the legends about them seemed to pale to the actual air that one carried. Its silver coat shimmered despite being shaded, a long red mane and tail shifting with the breeze that now carried the scent of flowers. A single golden horn rose from the beast's forehead and Cloud swore that he could see his reflection even from the distance that they stood apart. Cerulean blue eyes stared at him, its intelligence unquestionable.
And he had the urge to sink to one knee as he watched the beast in silence, but he did not and only nodded his head. He held his ground when the unicorn walked closer to him, their gazes meeting on equal terms. "Who are you, human?"
"Cloud Strife is my name, and I'm here on an errand for Hades, the God of the Underworld." Cloud replied softly, still ready to dodge any attack that was thrown his way. "Who are you, unicorn?"
If a unicorn could smile, this one did and shook its mane. "My name has no meaning for you, but if you must call me something, Loki is my name." It turned its head to the side to better regard the blonde human. It sensed a great power with this human, and it nodded its head in acknowledgement to that power as thousands of voices washed over its consciousness when it opened its mind. "I will not kill you, child of the planet. If you didn't have such an important task, you would already be dead."
Cloud narrowed his eyes at the beast, not keen on being threatened. He took a step around the unicorn and started to walk away, not interested in having his life threatened. He had a tree to find.
Loki watched the blonde pass and shifted to his human form, calling forward his polearm. He smiled slowly when the blonde stopped and regarded him. "You're going the wrong way, squish-sack. You'll only find the sea and mermaids in that direction." He turned and gestured to the north path, glancing back at the blonde before blowing stray pieces of hair from his face.
"How do I know that you are not trying to trick me?" Cloud asked wearily, wondering when Zax would show up to help him out.
Loki snorted. "I'm no pixie, squish-sack." He smoothed down his wild red locks and swished his tail from his long white robes. Idly, he pulled one of his fallen shoulder straps back into place. "I am the only thing that currently stands between you and death, child of the planet. If you leave my great presence, I guarantee that you will meet a terrible end. I will take pleasure from your death, so I suggest you not want to please me too much or I might do the honours myself."
Cloud sighed heavily and walked back to where the red-head stood watching him, eyes fixing on Loki's small golden horn. He lifted a hand and touched the horn, smirking when Loki's eyes crossed to follow his movements before slapping his hand away. "Not so tough."
"One rule, squish-sack: Don't touch the horn." Loki whacked the blonde with his tail when Cloud threatened to test the rule, glaring at the blonde. "Don't make me throw you to the mermaids. They would have fun drowning you and playing with your corpse."
What kind of play? The dirty kind? Zax appeared suddenly from behind Cloud, looking at the elegant young man from the side before straightening fully and stepping out from behind the blonde. He lifted a hand and wiggled his fingers in a greeting. Yo Loki, long time no see.
Loki snorted as a horse might and tossed his head to one side, crossing his arms across his flat chest. "Hmpt, not long enough in my books..." He glanced between the dark-haired man and the blonde, wondering if it would be easier to be rid of both of them at the same time and give himself some more peace. He doubted that the essence of Hollow Bastion would take rejection very well, so he held his hand from striking both down. He had lived with bigger idiots before. "So, what does a squish-sack and a fraction of the...."
We're looking for the Dios tree. Can you help? Zax interrupted before Loki could blow his entire cover. He grinned at the odd look that the unicorn gave him, and he was very aware of Cloud's hardened gaze on him. This was getting harder and harder to keep from the blonde, and he knew that if this kept up, he would force Cloud away from him.
Cloud looked between the red-head and his friend, suddenly unspeakably frustrated with the secrets that Zax was keeping. Perhaps it was just that he was old enough to recognize when he was being tricked and information was being kept from him, and he had been second commander of the Royal Guards for too long to tolerate insubordination. Yet, he was forced to allow the issue drop again for the sake of finding the Dios tree and completing his mission.
His gaze fixed on the red-head and he crossed his arms across his chest stubbornly. "I need a branch from the Dios tree to complete a mission set down to me by Hades."
Loki quirked a red eyebrow and glanced between the two men. "What an odd pair for a mission for the God of the Underworld." He rubbed his forehead as if pained. "And why should I help you soil one of the greatest trees in all of Atlantis?"
If you don't help us, I'll tell Hades where you hid his 'interesting' pictures of Peresphone. Zax grinned when Loki looked away.
"Unicorns do not steal." Loki stated matter-of-factly.
Of course not, but they do borrow with the intent of never returning. Zax knew that he was right when the red-head suddenly looked as though Loki may throw a fit of rage at him. Playfully, he raised his hands to settle the unicorn and grinned at Cloud who had remained a little too silent for his liking.
Cloud softly sighed and turned his back on the pair, looking around for the nearest path that may lead him in the direction of the tree he now sought. Without a glance back, he stalked towards the nearest dirt path, ignoring the red-head's mutters that he would only find death in that direction. He pushed into the path as Zax called to him, and he sensed the dark-haired man pursuing him despite not looking back. He also felt several pairs of unfamiliar eyes following his movements.
Yet, he continued to walk around in the foreign forest until he found Loki standing in front of him again. He glanced back to find that Zax had seemingly disappeared from behind him. His gaze fixed on the neutrally standing unicorn. "I don't need your help. I will find it on my own."
"You have something you wish to ask me." Loki replied neutrally, gaze locking with the blonde's before he slowly nodded his head. He waited for the question that he already knew.
Cloud felt himself draw a sharp breath before slowly nodding. "How do you know Zax?"
Loki smirked arrogantly and leaned on his elegant polearm. "I maintain the life of this planet, as its guardian. Your friend visited here just the other day trying to find the Dios tree for you. He was quite worried about you and spoke openly that he desired you to return to your own planet as quickly as possible." He shifted his weight and walked closer to the blonde, gaze still locked with Cloud's. "He would not give me details, especially not on himself. He left quickly to aid you, I should think."
Cloud set his shoulders as Loki stopped a few feet away from him and clenched a fist. He could not tell if the red-head was lying to him. "You two seemed quite friendly."
"I gave him my word that I would. Unicorns always stay true to their word, not that a squish-sack like you could possibly understand. Humans are too simple-minded to understand anything passed their own greed." Loki chuckled when the blonde stiffened at the insult and winked when a glare was shot his way. How he loved to play with the breakable people of other worlds, though he found himself slightly interested in this little one. He liked the feel of power from the blonde; curiosity was part of being an immortal unicorn. "However, you are not fully human. I can feel power in you, one that goes beyond a mere mortal."
"I live and die as a warrior of my planet. There is nothing special about me." Cloud replied coolly, crossing his arms in front of him. He was not certain why Loki was all of a sudden talkative to him.
Loki swished his tail at the blonde's response and grinned mockingly. "Your friend would beg to differ, I should think. If he could put you on a pedestal, he would from how he speaks about you."
Cloud felt his shoulders fall slightly. "Zax always says such things. He's just trying to be funny."
"Ignorance in denial is a quality that only humans possess." Loki brushed bangs from his forehead and pulled himself upright when the blonde growled and moved to walk around him. He allowed the blonde to do so, gaze following every moment until the blonde was behind him fully. "Perhaps your friend is merely your friend to further his own purposes. There's no good feeling like being used, is there?" He slowly turned to regard the blonde who looked more shocked than angry at his comment, but he smiled almost sadly when the blonde's jawline stiffened with anger. "Will you hide in your denial again, squish-sack?"
"Zax is not like that." Cloud replied coldly, clenching a hand at his side. How dare this arrogant unicorn question his relations with the only person that had wanted to be his friend. "He is my friend because he wishes to be, nothing more."
"I suggest you be perfectly certain of that before you put your foot in your mouth." Loki grinned when the blonde's hand leapt for the blade on the blonde's back. He shifted his polearm under one arm, indicating that he would not fight the blonde. "You fight a long hard battle and it will only get worse before it gets better. I hope for your sake that you pull through with your mind intact because you are losing control much too quickly. Sometimes it is better to stand and face what you are running from."
Cloud pulled his hand away from his blade, slightly surprised by the sudden air of sincerity in the red-head's voice. Slowly, he nodded his head. "I'm not running from anything."
Loki quirked an eyebrow and walked towards the blonde, locking their gazes. "Your eyes tell me what your mouth does not. You run, child of the planet, faster and faster until you will break yourself in your attempt at freedom." He placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder lightly. "I'm afraid that your freedom is in the direction that you are running from. How long will you let the past chase you, child of the planet? It is the worst thing to run from, but let me give you some advice, from one man to another."
"Advice?" Cloud asked quietly.
"You are more than what you have become. Stop looking to be hurt and you will stop hurting." Loki slowly brushed passed the blonde, their gazes still locked. He smirked when the emotions in the blonde's eyes recoiled and shifted unnaturally before a wall of neutrality washed over Cloud's face. He continued to walk through the woods, fully aware that his words had wedged in the blonde's mind.
Silently, Cloud fell in behind the red-head and trailed after the unicorn. He refused to think about anything, especially not the words that had been spoken to him for he felt like he did not fully understand. He needed time to think, to chew on the words of the red-head as the continually tried to creep into his thoughts. He refused them though and his feet moved more swiftly to keep pace with the now silent Loki who only glanced back at him knowingly, that arrogant gaze swinging to chuckle at him in their silence. And he knew in the back of his mind that the unicorn had wounded him in a way that would cause his walls to drop in order to ponder. He could not simply ignore the red-head's words, as much as he would have liked to. Now that the words were in his head, he would be forced to think about them.
But not at this moment in time.
Cloud stopped when he stepped out from the dense forest path into yet another clearing, glancing at the red-head at his shoulder. Yet, his gaze strayed back to the massive tree that climbed and twisted its way through the air, the top disappearing into the cloud cover. Rich foliage of a mixture of reds and greens seemed to shimmer with every ray of the sun that fell upon the leaves. The branches were covered in a bark that shifted colour with the breeze, a kaleidoscope of the clashing elements that made up the world exhibited in one tree.
Cloud felt his breath catch in his throat as he stepped passed Loki, eyes fixed on the enormous tree before him. Surely, he had no words to describe its magnificence and the peace that it brought to his soul just looking at it. "Is that...?"
"The Dios tree, most prized creation of Demeter. She put the beauty of the gods and goddesses in its creation." Loki walked towards the tree, beckoning the blonde to follow silently. He stopped when they stood beside the massive girth of the tree and gestured at its full height, both he and the blonde looking painfully small. "I will give you one small branch from the tree, one of only four on this island. What you do with that piece is completely up to you, but I suggest you use it wisely. Demeter has a way of showing her unhappiness at the mistreatment of her creations."
Slowly, Cloud nodded his head and blinked when Loki suddenly disappeared from beside him. His gaze turned upwards, scanning the branches that he could see in hopes of catching a glimpse of the red-head again. He shaded his eyes with a hand as he leaned and tilted his head up fully, sighing when he could not capture any sign of the unicorn.
Vaguely, he could hear someone running through the trees in his direction, soft curses indicating that Zax had finally caught up to his current position. He failed to be surprised by the dark-haired man's ability to track him down; Zax was always very good at it.
Cloud turned when Loki was suddenly beside him again, hands reaching out as a sizable chuck of wood was dropped into his arms, surprised at how light the wood was. He glanced between the wood and the red-head, nodding a thanks to the unicorn before hefting the wood over one shoulder and turning towards where Zax's curses were sounding. Sighing almost heavily, he walked towards where the dark-haired man would come barreling from the bush, stopping when a light hand grabbed his shoulder, turning back to regard Loki. "Yes?"
"Fight hard and you will find your peace. Falter and you doom more than just yourself. Keep that in mind, squish-sack." Loki pulled his hand away and turned back towards the Dios tree, the sun dancing over his golden horn, aware when the blonde began to leave him again, slipping off to another part of the forest.
Cloud stopped walking when Zax burst from the bush in front of him, raising an eyebrow as the dark-haired man's threats against the 'fiendish stupid' unicorn, Loki. When Zax finally regarded him, he gestured at the wood on his shoulder. "I've got what we came for. Let's go and get this over with."
Zax muttered a few more curses at the unicorn before turning his full attention to Cloud, walking over to inspect the branch in the blonde's hands. He smiled when Cloud relaxed slightly, finding the blonde's life force stabilize in the forest, a fact that captures most of his attention. If he can keep Cloud here for a little longer, the blonde's life force might grow stronger, and he can talk with Cloud, hopefully get the blonde to smile or laugh. Perhaps he can kill two birds with one stone by convincing Cloud to remain in the forest with him.
He smiled and reached out the ruffle the blonde's hair, not surprised when Cloud resisted the touch and pulled away from him. He grinned and took the branch from Cloud's shoulder, nodding to himself that he could do something with this piece of wood. Hey, let's stay here for a little while so I can shape this for you. It will be great, just like old times again!
"What happened to getting this mission over and getting me back to Hollow Bastion? I thought you were in a hurry." Cloud gently prodded Zax, hoping to figure out if indeed, he was just being used for some purpose. He would have never expected it from Zax, but then again, they have been separated for a long period of time. Things change with time, as much as he hated to admit it.
Zax waved a dismissive hand at Cloud and flopped down on the lush green grass, reaching into one of his pockets and pulling out knife. He sent an electrical pulse through the wood to prevent it from regenerating all of his future work and then set to work removing the bark from the branch. He smiled when Cloud eventually sat down nearby and noted that they remained in silence as Cloud began to work at sharpening the gigantic blade.
He glanced back at the blonde every few minutes as they worked before finally trying to strike up a conversation. Remember that time that you told your Uncle where to go. He smiled at the memory, noting that Cloud also seemed amused with it. You were so mad that you weren't allowed to go to the parade. You screamed at the top of your lungs and ran out of the house. Remember that?
Cloud chuckled and nodded. "I ran all the way to where the parade was taking place only to find myself too small to see anything from the back of the crowd." He worked the stone his blade, stopping to pay attention to a particular nick in the metal. "I wriggled my way to the front in time to see Lord Ansem and the General."
I swear, your jaw nearly hit the floor when you saw them. That was the first time for you to be out in such an event. Seeing those two made your hair stand up more, I think. You were such a funny kid. Zax laughed softly at the memory, his gaze flicking over the images that the planet had kept of the event. He played over to where Sephiroth's head had turned and the silver-haired man's gaze at found Cloud in the crowd.
Cloud looked over his shoulder at Zax, finding the quirky smile refreshing and their bond of friendship serge within him. The dark-haired man had taken care of him when no one else would, despite his claims otherwise in his adult life. In some ways, Zax had inspired him to show his uncle that he could be proficient with a blade, always encouraging him to try again when he stumbled, picking him up when he fell, wiping blood from his knees when he was injured.
Yet, at the mentioning of that particular memory when he was twelve and first disobeyed his uncle's order, he remembered so many vivid feelings about the situation, from his madly pattering feet to the seemingly loud noise from the crowd. He had shoved his way through to catch his first glimpse of the idol that everyone spoke of, felt his gaze lock with Sephiroth's for only a brief moment before his attention was pulled away by Zax yelling at him through the crowd. "That was the first and only time that you appeared when I was with a group of people, Zax."
Zax cocked his head to the side as his fingers continued to shape the log in his hands, gaze shifting to the sky before he finally nodded to himself, a warm smile playing over his lips. Yeah, I guess you are right. I didn't want you to get yourself into too much trouble with your uncle so close.
He sighed softly when silence fell between them again and risked a glance over at Cloud whose elegant profile seemed lost in thought. He found that the blonde looked so young despite Cloud's real years, and he was saddened to know that he was slowly losing the blonde to the darkness no matter how hard he tried. He found that he had been pulled away from the blonde much too quickly and probably too early given Cloud's lack of ability to express emotions anymore. He had left the blonde so vulnerable and Cloud had found a way to survive without him, and nothing that he did now would change the fact that Cloud had adjusted to a new path of survival, one that was dragging the blonde down.
He wondered why the planet had reabsorbed him right after Cloud joined the Royal Guards, ignoring his protests that he should remain for a little longer to make sure that the blonde could adjust to the new lifestyle. His words had been ignored completely, and the planet only stated that Cloud's light would now take care of him. He had protested to that as well, but his one voice had been silenced quickly and his consciousness dragged back into the lifestream where he joined his fellow voices.
Cloud casually glanced over at Zax who was mostly turned away from him. He wondered what the dark-haired man was thinking about so silently, Zax's hands moving wordlessly as if the project determined its own form. He looked down at his own sword, finding all of the nicks and blemishes worked from the metal and casually set the sword aside. "You almost done, Zax? We should get going back to the Coliseum to try and find Hercules. I'll finish my contract once and for all then I'll beat all the information out of Hades in regards to Sephiroth."
Zax couldn't help the smile that crossed his features at the image of Cloud smacking the god of the Underworld around. Slowly, he stopped his activity and grinned at his handy work, holding out the now shaped piece of wood. His grin only got bigger as Cloud's eyes widened and the blonde desperately tried not to smile at him. He gestured at the baseball bat in his hands as if it is the most normal item that he could give to the blonde. What's wrong with my gift? You don't like it?
"It's a bat, Zax." Cloud pointed out the obvious, not certain if Zax caught his drift that such a thing is not a proper weapon. It wasn't even a dignified one either.
No, this...this here is a weapon unlike any other in its design and curves. I call it the 'Nailbat' Zax grinned and forced the weapon into Cloud's hands, watching as the blonde turned to weapon over several times. He laughed when Cloud did find some of the nails he had bent into the wood, making swinging motions with his hands as if he were holding the bat in his hands. He stopped after a few moments when Cloud appeared to be silently mortified with his gift and faked sadness. You don't like it...do you? He faked a few sobs.
Cloud hastily hid his discomfort with the new weapon and climbed to his feet, tucking the bat into his belt and holding out his hands in an attempt to stop Zax from being upset. "No, I like it, Zax. It's...a wonderful...weapon. I was...uh...just trying to think of the best way to attack an enemy with it."
Zax wiped a non-existent tear from his eye and jumped to his feet, latching on to Cloud's shoulders before the blonde could try to escape. He hugged Cloud all too tightly, listening to the blonde's small grunts of embarrassment in regards to his treatment. He sniffled slightly, making the sounds seem much too real to be disbelieved. I'm so...happy!
Cloud closed his eyes in slight disbelief, now taking to try to disentangle himself from Zax's clutches. He eventually just grunted his disapproval and allowed the dark-haired man to cling to him when Zax refused to let him go. He could endure a little melodrama, turning his eyes to the sky above him until Zax finally let him go. He immediately crossed his arms to prevent the dark-haired man from flying at him again and sighed heavily, kicking lightly at the ground. "We...should be getting back. I want to find Hercules quickly."
Zax silently nodded his approval to finding their intended target, smiling warmly at Cloud's relaxed body language. He only wished that he could keep the blonde this relaxed all the time, but it was impossible and he knew it. Cloud would do what Cloud wanted to do, and Zax was aware that no words or actions could sway the blonde from any course. All he could do was stand by Cloud's side and hope that the blonde would follow him back to Hollow Bastion instead of after the crazed obsessive General.
He gestured with a hand that they leave, grinning from ear to ear when Cloud appeared to be studying the Nailbat again. He thought it would be a great weapon. Come on, Spike, let's go boot some head! He sighed lightheartedly when Cloud laughed softly, finding the sound so rare now that it saddened him. He would be sure to make Cloud laugh more now that their adventures were about to get much harder with impending battles and the chance of death or worse for the blonde. So, I'll meet you back in the Coliseum? You won't get into trouble if I leave you alone for a few seconds? He grinned merrily and knocked Cloud in the shoulder.
Cloud sighed and set a hand on his hip, shifting his weight so that he appeared to be very arrogant. "I will be good and be in the Coliseum before you even make an attempt to leave this island. I'm just that good."
Zax smirked and placed his own hands on his hips, leaning forward so that he and Cloud were looking at each other in a similar arrogant manner. Oh yeah, you really think so? You're just a kid, Spike. You couldn't possibly defeat the greatest person on the face of any planet... He pointed at his chest and lifted his chin. El Manifico, me! There's no way that someone with your hairstyle could beat someone as drop-dead gorgeous as me.
He blinked when he felt dark energy rising in the area, gaze immediately snapping to Cloud, thinking that his teasings might have sparked the darkness to take the blonde over again. He felt his jaw drop open when he found Cloud grinning at him and waving as a teleportation spell wrapped around the blonde. Hey! No fair! I didn't get to finish my speech! Cheater!
Cloud chuckled softly and closed his eyes as the teleportation spell wrapped around his body, and he slipped from one location to the next. He opened his eyes again when a cool breeze ran over his face, blinking when he found himself standing atop one of the warrior monuments of the Coliseum. He sighed in exasperation. "I'm never going to get this teleportation thing right...."
With a small huff of frustration, he stepped from his position of the monument and slipped his wing from his cloak, gliding back down to level ground. He tucked his wing away again when his feet touched solid ground, immediately walking up the steps to the Coliseum and pushing open the doors, gaze shifting about to find his intended target now that he had a weapon that would be able to take Hercules down.
When he could find no sigh of his cowry, he walked swiftly through the small stone room until his boots crunched noisily on the loose gravel that lead out into the fighting arena, his glowing gaze announcing his mood and presence long before his body stepped from the shadows. He stopped and growled in slight frustration when he could not see Hercules anywhere, yet his gaze spied Hades near the door to the underground dressing room along with another man who he instantly recognized.
He would have turned and left the area immediately if both individuals hadn't regarded him. He put his chin more deeply in his cloak and set his shoulders before walking with a warrior's purpose over to Hades, gaze shifting to the brunette standing next to the god only briefly before returning to Hades who was grinning at him in that manner that just spelled trouble for him. "I have a piece of the Dios tree. Where is Hercules?"
Hades could feel his grin only getting larger as the seconds passed him by. He looked between the two warriors, immediately sensing a silent coldness between the two, but that failed to dampen his mood. His mind instantly began to form up plans for the upcoming tournament and the destruction of Zeus' illegitimate brat of a son. His day was only getting better and better, something that he liked very much.
Slowly, he folded his hands in front of him and smirked at the blonde across from him in a manner that was similar to a master praising their dog. "Well Blondie, I'm very glad to hear that you can do something right...you had me worried there for a few days. Here I thought I brought another failure on board, which you still are, just in a better way." He chuckled and wrapped an arm around the blonde's shoulders, snubbing the brunette completely as he pulled his blonde warrior to the side for a small private talk.
Cloud shifted his shoulders as Hades pulled him a few feet away from Leon, gaze shifting about suspiciously. It didn't seem like the god was about to give him the details on to where to find Hercules, making his patience shorten considerably. "Where is Hercules? I want to find him and show him the meaning of pain."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down the mental processes there, Spiky. You may hurt yourself." Hades patted the blonde on the top of the head before wiping his hand on the warrior's shoulder with a slightly disgusted look on his face. He immediately brightened though. "Now, I'm as eager to get rid of Jerk-ules as you are...probably more considering the amount of time I've been plotting his demise...but anyway, we have one thing to do before we trounce that dim-wit." He held his hands up innocently when the blonde's eyes flashed with anger. "Hey, anger management, Blondie!"
Cloud seized Hades by the front of the god's black robes. "I don't want to wait around for another one of your stupid plots to fail! Just tell me where he is and I will kill him. Our contract is over, and you are pushing me to the end of my tolerance. What is it that I have to do for you this time?" He growled angrily.
"Well, since you asked...I do have something for you to do...because heh, you still work for me my spiky-haired power-puff marshmallow." Hades dragged the blonde back to the other warrior watching them. "Clink, this is Lion."
"It's Cloud." Cloud replied heatedly.
"That's Leon." Leon replied just as heatedly.
Hades looked between the two warriors, studying them almost intently when he was really just giving them time to fume in front of him. He found the way they both pouted quite amusing and tormenting his nit-wit warrior's was one of the best activities to amuse himself. Eventually, he wiggled his fingertips together as if evilly scheming. "Riiiiight...Anyway, Spiky, this here is Peon."
"Leon!"
Hades looked at the brunette, appraising him silently before chuckling. "No, I think I was right on that one." He grinned when the brunette glared at him silently and set his attention back on the blonde warrior. "I'm arranging one more tournament...the tournament of tournaments...the best one in all the worlds and because it is the best, it is named after me, the best god in the worlds."
Cloud rolled his eyes and shook his head slightly until Hades batted one of his taller spikes. He could already tell what Hades wanted, and he did not like the prospects one little bit. "You want me to fight with him and try to kill Sora...again, right?"
"That's right, Blondie. You get to team up with that stiff-shouldered, no personalitied...is that even a word...well it is now, ha ha... dork and take care of the other spiky brat so I don't get another rash in a place that I will not describe to you because it might make you throw-up...actually, it probably will...But, anyway, just swat the brat and it will save me from getting my hands dirty." Hades grinned between the two warriors who appeared to be sizing each other up. His grin quickly faltered when the two seemed to just want to glare at each other. "Wow...there may be enough personality between the both of you to make up a comatose victim who has just been pronounced brain dead."
Leon kept his silence, merely grunting his slight approval to working with the blonde warrior standing across from him. He needed words with the General anyway, so this little set up worked out perfectly.
Cloud, however, was not so happy and was not in the mood to let things simply roll off his shoulders so easily. He wanted his contract to be finished, to get information on Sephiroth, and to get back to Hollow Bastion. This new little plan was only taking more time for all of his goals to be reached, and the longer it took, the more time his darker self had to take over again.
He growled softly. "Tell me where to find Hercules now, and I'll fight in your little tournament of champions, but after my fight is over, I'm going after my prize." He tapped his foot on the ground impatiently, waiting for Hades to stop joking around and just tell him what he wanted to know. He was growing weary of all these mind games. "And while we are at it, tell me where I can find Sephiroth." He noted Leon's narrowed eyes at the mention of the former General and stored it away to question the brunette later, if they were on speaking terms.
Hades chuckled softly and gestured at the blonde while looking at Leon. "See, look how eager some of my minions are to serve. Spiky is just chomping at the bit to serve my every desire...too bad you couldn't do the same, eh Squeal?" He grinned at the blonde's slight confusion and patted Cloud on the shoulder mockingly. "Oh, so Peon never did mention that he had a contract with me to track you down for 'ultimate revenge for the destruction of his life', did he? Well, you two can figure your differences out since...you know, his contract is now over and yours will soon be too...you hope."
"I'll deal with him later. I want to deal with you now. Where is Hercules? And where do I find Sephiroth?! He was with me, in YOUR realm, the night before, meaning that you know exactly where he is. Tell me what you know!" Cloud seized Hades' robe in one hand and ripped the Nailbat from his belt with the other, raising it in the air. "Or, I will see if this tree only works on Hercules...."
Hades chuckled softly and patted the blonde on the top of the head. "Heh heh, that's so cute. Puppy is getting nosy! Bad puppy." He growled when the bat was brought down on his arm, the warning obvious that his mockery was not wanted. So, his warrior was starting to fight back, meaning that the darkness was really taking the blonde over. He had to hold back a grin of pleasure to this news. "Alright, puppy, you win..." He leaned close before glancing around, whispering the coordinates where Hercules practiced before casually pulling away, a devious expression set on his features. "You find him, do what you do best...mindless fighting...and then you scurry your little butt back here to the Coliseum, have an nice bath or something...and your little pal will show up. You have Hades' stamp guarantee!" He reached into his robes and pulled out a stamp, smacking the blonde in the middle of the forehead, leaving an nice impression of himself in stamp form with a thumbs up.
He casually sent the stamp away while the blonde glared at him, a playful grin on his features. "Now, I have far more important people to deal with...you know, people with at least half a personality and some dumb wit to actually laugh at my jokes. You two have fun and be here tomorrow to fry me some duck soup, breaded dog, and wimp legs."
Cloud reached up and rubbed his forehead as Hades turned and wandered away, leaving him standing uncomfortably close to Leon, the man who had tried to kill him in their last encounter. He grunted softly, smirking when the brunette grunted back, the common warrior speak coming out in the both of them. His gaze traveled over to Leon, and he set a hand on the hilt of his sword to test the other man's desire to fight.
Leon slowly raised his hands away from his own hilt, not wanting to fight General Strife any longer. He felt slightly ashamed of his harsh actions and complete stubbornness when it came to ignoring Aerith's pleas that he stop fighting the blonde. He had desired nothing more than to find General Strife and put some semblance of revenge in the fight that they had, having waited so long for the chance to avenge those who died so brutally. He never realized, too blinded by his anger, that the blonde had been completely set up by General Sephiroth who sounded much loopier than anything Cloud could be.
He silently bowed his head slightly, feeling very uncomfortable at having to apologize for his actions. Yet, Aerith had begged him to make peace with the General, and he had given his words that he would if he ever met up with the blonde warrior again. "General...I must apologize for my actions at our last meeting. I...overstepped my boundaries." He fidgeted when the blonde's eyes shifted to him, those same battle-harden blue eyes that he remembered from his childhood staring at him. "Aerith explained...much of what I did not know."
Cloud looked the brunette up and down before silently nodding his head, grunting his acceptance of the apology. His gaze then moved around the fighting arena before wandering back to Leon. "You owe me then, and here is what you will do." He let their gazes meet on equal terms. "You have appeared to have finished your contract...against me..." He let those words sit heavily in the air before continuing on. "I am almost finished mine, but Hades doesn't seem to wish to let me go. The only way I can finish it is to find and kill Hercules." He gestured around the arena. "I'm wasting my time here with this worthless fighting against creatures that I can defeat with my eyes closed. I want to face Hercules so that I can move on to better things."
"Aerith said you were going to free Hollow Bastion of the Heartless there. She said that you had been dreaming of taking back your reputation since the day you stepped foot in Traverse Town." Leon rested a hand on the hilt of his blade, much too aware of Hades' little plots to prolong the ending of a contract. He could see that Cloud's contract was a lot messier than his own. "What is it that you want me to do, General?"
"Lose." Cloud turned to fully regard Leon when the brunette quirked an eyebrow at him. "We fight and lose to Sora. I don't have time to take out some punk kid who is my ticket home. He has the keyblade, and he will do us no good dead. If we let him keep Hades busy, I can get to Hercules and end my contract then...then..."
Leon leaned his head back slightly at the blonde's stall, shifting his hands to his hips. "Then you go back to Hollow Bastion."
Cloud nodded his head slowly. "After I find and kill Sephiroth. Hades said that he would arrive here after I defeated Hercules, and, as confusing as Hades can be, he never fully lies."
"Nor does he tell the whole truth...but I see your point. Having that madman after you could defeat the entire purpose of going back to Hollow Bastion. He could already be there and waiting to...kill you?" Leon tried to figure out if General Sephiroth would actually kill the blonde or just beat Cloud up.
Cloud slowly shook his head. "Capture me. He wants me under his thumb, his own and no one else's. I'm his...canary...with wings that fly me to freedom that he wishes to clip and cage me in a device of his own desires."
Leon crossed his arms across his chest and looked up at the sky, shaking his head slightly. "He actually said that? Geez, I wonder if he writes his own lines."
"I don't care to get close enough to him to ask as much as possible. I just have to find him and not let him get his chance to 'capture' me for himself. If he hinders me, I'll put him down again." Cloud shifted his footing as darkened laughter echoed in the back of his mind, and he could literally feel the black veins burrowing deeper, setting his jaw against any outside reaction. He could not show weakness, not now, not with him so close to all of his goals coming true. He had to be strong now, stronger than ever.
Leon sighed and nodded his head, lifting a hand to gesture at the fighting arena. "Alright General Strife, tomorrow we will lose, and I will keep an eye on Hades for his part in the tournament. If I can, I'll help Sora out as much as I can." He reached out a hand in a gesture that all bad blood was behind them, his gaze searching the General's face. "I owe you General, and I will do all that I can to help you free Hollow Bastion and to help Sora seal the keyhole there."
'Kingdom Hearts...' A dark voice whispered in the back of Cloud's mind. 'Our keyhole leads to the ultimate door....'
Cloud pushed the voice away harshly and slowly extended his hand to take Leon's, finding the other hand firm in its intent. He knew that Leon was a man of his word, and Cloud accepted it as such. He could probably use all the allies that he could get. "You take care of Sora, I'll take care of Hollow Bastion."
"Until tomorrow then, General Strife." Leon released his hold and began to turn away from the blonde.
"Cloud." Cloud responded softly to Leon's back.
Leon slowly turned back, quirking an eyebrow of slight confusion. "Pardon?"
"It's just Cloud now. I'm no General, and I have no rank above any of my allies. Just call me Cloud now." Cloud smiled behind his cloak and bowed his head slightly, turning away from the brunette before walking down the darkened hallway to the locker rooms, his glowing gaze not focused on anything in particular, though his demonic hand clenched in determination. "Soon...there will be the showdown of fate...Our showdown, General....
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Oh my good God, that took so long to write! I have to beg forgiveness to all of my readers for the amount of time that it took me to actually post this chapter. I had absolutely no inspiration! None! It was so horrible! I hope that the next chapter will be a lot better to write, especially now that the Showdown of Fate is so close by! I will try extra hard to work on the next chapter...or do a blooper chapter.
I thank everyone for reading. Your patience is also much appreciated.
Disclaimer: In no way do I hold claim over any of the characters of Kingdom Hearts, who are currently owned by Square. Despite my attempts to grab hold of even a cardboard cut-out of my favourite characters, my efforts have fallen short so they will probably always remain under rights of Square (the world is so unfair :P)
HOLY CRAP! AN UPDATE! SORRY FOR THE WAIT! ENJOY!
AUTHOR'S NOTE: ' indicates a dream-like voice, and indicates the speech of Zax 'cause...well, only Cloud can usually see and hear him.
AUTHOR'S WARNING: This fic has been bumped up to a yaoi pairing between Sephiroth and Cloud. You have been warned so proceed at your own risk. So far, it is merely some shounen-ai, but it might turn a bit more in later chapters.
Chapter 11 - Continued Darkness
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Maniacal laughter echoed throughout the streets of Traverse Town, stirring all of the Heartless in the area to look up at the sound of one of their own. Feelers twitched as a straggled cry of pain followed after the laughter, black heads cocking to the side as the weakened cry was brutally cut short and silence reigned in afterwards. The Heartless were aware of the departing of a heart from the planet, convinced with their small minds that whatever was killing every creature in the town was much more powerful than any of them. To them, it was a good thought to have.
Another scream rang out, this one shrill and full of disbelief, a female's voice. "Why...?! How...how could you do..." The question was cut off with the sound of a sword cutting through the air then the body of cold dead flesh hitting the stone floor. And the silence returned.
And she stood in fear, unsure of what enemy had entered her beloved town and suddenly turned against the town's people. She felt her knees shake slightly as the flowers in her hand felt suddenly too out of place in the silence of the blood around her. The small blade in her other hand would be wielded clumsily for she had never wanted to learn to fight or kill another being. She knew that she would fall just like everyone else, and she suddenly feared that she was cursed to repeat the same fate as she almost had in Hollow Bastion as a child. Her eyes betrayed her fear of being the only one left in the town. "It's just like Hollow Bastion...I'm always left last..."
She pulled the blade closer to her body and the flowers suddenly slipped from her fingers as the sound of heavy yet casual footfalls began to make their way in her direction as if certain of where she stood. She remained standing beside the door of the First District, too aware that there was no where to run, that she would die to whatever creature had invaded Traverse Town. And the time seemed to stand still, the fall of feet much too in time with her heart beat, wanting nothing more than to wrap arms around herself and call for help that would never come for her. So, she stood, her knees bouncing against one another, her naked shoulders sagging as she looked down at herself, covered in too much blood to really recognize her favourite dress anymore. And the knife still seemed too out of place in her hands.
"I can smell your fear, sweetheart. I can hear your heart racing. I can see your body shaking. Does it please you that I take joy from your patheticness?" A cold, sinister voice spoke calmly, a cruel smile set upon elegant features of a twenty-one year old.
Aerith felt her gaze lift to where the voice had spoken, feeling her body grow cold at the sight of a man shrouded in shadow, four demonic wings that were so obviously made from the shadow that it made her feel ill. She tightened her grip on the small blade as glowing blue eyes slowly opened to regard her from the shadow of the rooftop. She took a step back when the Heartless jumped from the roof and landed gracefully in front of her, a small whimper escaping her at the intense smell of blood. Memories of dead guards and towns people threatened to consume her, but she forced them down in order to look her murderer in the face. She would be brave, just like Cloud had taught her.
Yet, as the man slowly climbed to his full height and the shadows pulled back from his elegant features, the blade in her hands was suddenly lazily falling, clattering noisily to the ground as Aerith found herself staring up at Cloud Strife, her adoptive father, her savior, her friend. "Cloud...?"
Cloud smirked cruelly and folded his wings against his back, reaching out a hand to brush the brunette's hair from her eyes. His smirked turned fond as she began to shake her head, slowly nodding his own to contradict her denial. He brushed away the tears that slipped from her eyes with a demonic finger. "Shh, there is no need to cry, sweetheart. I brought you a present, just like I always do when I come for a visit."
"A...present?" Aerith slowly shook her head, disbelief still shining in her eyes. All she could think was that this was a horrible nightmare, and it had not actually been her Cloud that had caused the death of all of her friends in Traverse Town. No, Cloud was much too nice and she felt that she had vaguely betrayed her trust in him in thinking that he might be capable of such vile acts.
"Oh yes, a very nice present, sweetheart. Hold out your hands just like always and close your eyes. Everything is alright if I'm near." Cloud chuckled softly when Aerith reluctantly did as she was told, slipping around the brunette and ran one hand down the length of her arm, causing Aerith to shiver slightly as his fingers left a trail of blood.
Slowly, he rested his chin on her naked shoulder and placed his wet gift in the young woman's hands. "Before you open your eyes, I think you should know something. It will add meaning to this gift." He smirked cruelly when she slowly nodded, indicating that she was listening. "Leon always wanted to have your heart, sweetheart." He pulled away and shifted so that he was facing the brunette. "But now you have his instead."
Aerith slowly opened her eyes, staring down at the blonde's gift to her. At first, she was confused, eyes following the trailing drops of blood that ran between her fingers. And when the tears flowed down her cheeks, she raised her eyes and choked on a sob of grief, her gaze meeting with Cloud's glowing blue eyes. "No...No, not Leon..."
Perhaps he had heard the crack as much as she did. Perhaps the horrible gift in her hands that still carried a sickly warmth to it had suddenly turned into a beautiful thing. Of course, Cloud would never give her a gift that she was not meant to like. This was obviously one of those abstract gifts that grew on a person over time. She admitted that she was already beginning to like it as she ran her fingers over the smooth muscle. "Cloud...it's...a wonderful gift."
Cloud stepped up to the brunette and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling their bodies close. "I knew you would like it, sweetheart. I ripped it still beating from his chest just for you." He placed a gentle kiss on the top of Aerith's head as the brunette disintegrated into sobs, casually calling his sword to hand and lifting it above his head. "Relish the pain. It lets you know that you are still alive." He brought his sword down, smiling at the sound of ripping flesh...
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Sephiroth flew upright in bed, breathing heavily until he forced himself calm again. He sighed and rubbed his face with a hand, wiping away the sweat from his forehead. He was beginning to grow weary of the dreams that were constantly plaguing him.
All of his attempts to reach back into Cloud's sleeping mind had ended with failure and him being shown various images of death and carnage. Such images did not bother him in the least since he had done just as bad in his time; rather, he was frustrated that he was being rejected so venomously. He wanted another talk with Cloud and being stuck in dreams of the demonic Cloud butchering entire worlds was not his idea of a great conversation. He simply could not push passed the images to get into the blonde's mind, always intercepted by the demon and rebuked with mockery.
And he had decided that he really did not like the demon in the least. Although he would simply love to have Cloud so destructive, he was not pleased with the fact that the demon was untamable and frustratingly stubborn to the point where he wished nothing more than to strangle the blonde. He much preferred a Cloud that would not lash out when he drew close and make attempts to dismember him when the demon ran out of dream targets. The demon was too unpredictable and much too different to be anything more than a shell of darkness filled with hate, anger, and pain. He would be able to do little with the demon, meaning that he would have to work with the planet to keep the demon from taking over and pulling Cloud from his reach.
Slowly, he settled himself back against the sheets and wrapped an arm around the blonde's relaxed shoulders, pulling their bodies close together until Cloud's face was safely nestled against his shoulder. He pulled his feathered wing up as a sort of protective barrier as the blonde continued to sleep soundly. He rested his chin on the top of Cloud's head, chuckling softly as the blonde's silky spikes tickled his cheeks. Gently, he ran his fingers down the blonde's spine, eyes narrowing as the skin beneath his touch shifted between warmth and cold, the dark veins radiating the difficulties that Cloud was having in fighting the hardest and most strenuous battle.
He felt that if he could draw the true form of the blonde closer to the surface Cloud would be able to free from the darkness' hold. However, he also feared that the obvious words for self-sacrifice were more than a little truthful, and he refused to lose the blonde after almost twenty years of pursuit. He would need to watch the blonde closely and not allow Cloud to throw everything away for the happiness of everyone else. Cloud had lived that life for many years as a Royal Guard, and Sephiroth was not pleased with a possible extreme shift that thrust the blonde into the role of martyr.
'Alright Wonderboy, time is up. I suggest you get out of there before Blondie wakes up. I needn't remind you what will happen if he sees you.' Hades voices echoed in Sephiroth's head, jarring the silver-haired man from his thoughts. The god grinned and pulled his consciousness away from the former General, his new plot already in place to void some contracts for his own benefit.
Sephiroth reluctantly pulled away from the sleeping blonde, shifting his bare feet so that they touched down on the cold stone floor. He sat on the edge of the bed for a few minutes as his mind seemed to cloud over and all the crisp clearness pulled back from his grasp. All he wanted to do was seize Cloud and drag the blonde away into the shadow where no other creature would be able to glimpse at his property. Yet, he could not and simply climbed to his feet, glancing back one last time before he would be forced to step back into the shadow of the blonde's life until the time came when he could force Cloud to submit to him. Just a little more time was all that he needed.
He snapped his fingers, feeling himself lift from the ground as his removed clothing swept around him and refitted to his body, all his buckles tightening around his ankles, waist, and wrists. The leather felt crisp and cool against his heated skin, and he pulled his long hair out from his leather coat before flexing his fingers and wing. With his sword at his side shifting in and out of space, he stepped away from the warm inviting bed and prepared to fulfill his final part of the bargain.
He teleported from the room without another glance back, aware of the blonde's mind shifting forward. However, he failed to notice when one of his black feathers slipped from his wing and drifted back to the bed, falling beside the rousing blonde. Despite this, he was aware of Hades nearby, but let the feeling pass with the god. He had a planet to destroy and blood to spill.
Cloud softly groaned as he stirred back to wakefulness. He blinked open his eyes before reaching up to rub the remnants of sleep from them, blurry vision quickly coming into sharp focus. Yet, he continued to lie on his side for a few more minutes as his mind adjusted to being awake again. He drew in a deep breath and ran a hand through his mussed locks of hair, finding the locks tangle free despite sleeping. However, he felt the most refreshed than he had in months, and he would not complain about that fact.
Slowly, he turned on to his back, letting a hand flop back onto the bed. After taking a few minutes, he forced himself to sit up and stretch out his muscles, pulling each one into wakefulness with him. His gaze traveled around the room before glancing down at the bed beneath him. However, before he could pick anything but blankets out, he was suddenly aware of a shadow moments before he was tackled back to the bed.
He clenched his teeth as his thoughts immediately drew to the conclusion that Sephiroth was attacking him. Yet, he was bear-hugged to a much slimmer chest than that of Sephiroth, and he looked up to find Zax gloping him like an overjoyed puppy. He tried to pull away from the dark-haired man's tight grasp, but Zax did not seem to wish to let him go so easily. "Hey, let me go. I just woke up."
No time for such small talk! We have an island to explore! Quick! Get dressed and let's get out the door! Zax piped loudly directly into the blonde's ear, noting that Cloud flinched and tried to pull away from him. He huggled Cloud close before shoving the blonde out of bed, laughing openly when the blonde nearly squawked and fell over. Come on, Spike. So many things to do! Some many people to annoy!
Cloud slowly picked himself off of the floor and rubbed his mildly injured bottom before scratching his head. "It seems like you only take pleasure from annoying me." He said as he turned to look around for his uniform, noting that he carelessly discarded it all around his room.
As soon as Cloud's back was turned, Zax grabbed the black feather and hid it behind his back, cursing Hades softly. He would not lose Cloud now that he was so close to success of getting the blonde back to Hollow Bastion, especially not now that Sephiroth was more or less on the side of planet. He needed to be rid of the guilty feather as quickly as he could without Cloud noticing any odd behaviour from him. If he could stomp out Hades' attempt to void Sephiroth's contract, he and the planet would be more than a little happy to keep Cloud theirs. All he needed to do was get rid of the feather, but he was unsure of where he could hide it so that Cloud would never find it.
While Cloud wandered about looking for various items of clothing, Zax examined the feather, feeling slightly uncomfortable with small traces of darkness biting at his fingertips. He was thankful that his fingers were callused from years of using a sword because he knew such darkness would hurt a lot more in sensitive areas, so he was sure to keep it away from his face.
"Oh Zax, I was wondering if...?" Cloud swiveled to regard the dark-haired man as he pulled on one of his boots, stopping in mid-sentence when Zax moved faster than he could follow. He felt his cheeks flush as he found himself staring at Zax with a hand down the front of dark-haired man's pants. The pained expression that immediately followed the movements made his jaw slacken slightly, and he couldn't help but stare for a few seconds. Eventually, he looked away. "I...I'm sorry! What...what the hell are you doing?"
Zax had to fight to urge to scream and jump around, and he knew that his face had turned an interesting shade of red. Not only had Cloud not been able to embarrass him like this before, but the blonde had also failed at forcing him to take one for the team. He now understood the true meaning of pain, and he was not happy over the fact that he could not remove the offending feather or lose Cloud to Hades. So, he forced his hand from his pants and tried to sit as comfortably as possible, wincing as the darkness continued to bite into his flesh, forcing him to blink back tears of agony and humiliation. Luckily, Cloud was no longer staring at him in shock.
Cloud eventually managed to fumble his way into his clothing, his belt buckles being particularly stubborn on this morning, though he blamed most of it on his bumbling fingers. He occasionally glanced over his wing to see if Zax was alright, and he wondered what had happened to his friend to make the dark-haired man look like death was a preferred option. However, he dared not ask, though Zax's glares at the dark-haired man's crotch made him nearly voice his questions.
Zax gritted his teeth as the blonde seemed to not wish to turn around, probably out of both embarrassment and vague wonder. Cloud had always had too many questions running around in that blonde head, but the warrior rarely asked openly. So, he felt the need to diverge the discomfort with a sudden change of topic. Of course, the fact that the sooner he got Cloud out and moving, the sooner he could remove the stupid feather down the front of his pants. Have you...looked at that scroll yet? He watched Cloud hesitantly turn to regard him, noting the blonde's slightly pinked cheeks. Who knew that such things embarrassed Cloud so easily? You know...to find out the location?
"Well, I haven't as of yet. I suppose that I could look at it now." Cloud wandered over to his small table and picked up the scroll, blinking when the dark-haired man suddenly snatched it from his grasp as he unrolled the contents. He watched as Zax bearly glanced at the paper and suddenly forced a grin at him. "Are you alright?"
Just fine...I recognize this place. Zax shifted his weight and shivered as pain raced up his spine when the feather shifted. He thought this might be the silver-haired man's revenge for his death-threat the day before, though he would never admit pain to Sephiroth.
Slowly, Zax lifted a finger and pressed it to Cloud's forehead, sending the island's location to the forefront of the blonde's thoughts. Though he had bearly looked at the scroll, the planet had informed him of the proper location thanks to the shared knowledge that the planet held from long years of gathering. He smiled slightly when Cloud responded to the link between them, the darkness slipping back from the blonde's mind as they briefly united.
Yet, he pulled away quickly after he had given Cloud directions, under strict orders not to reveal his origin to the blonde just yet. He swore that he saw a brief flicker of disappointment on Cloud's face as he broke contact, but the blonde covered such emotions too quickly for him to be certain. Did you get that?
Cloud nodded and ran a hand through his hair, missing the connection between himself and Zax despite the fact that they had only briefly touched minds. He felt drawn to the warmth of the dark-haired man's mind, finding it strangely open and inviting to him, like the warm embrace of his mother. He had found a foreign comfort in the connection, a calling deep in his soul that made his back tingle as if extensions of his being were being pulled from his skin into wings. And in that calling, he had heard many voices whispering softly, a soft green light that drew him into warmth, secrets long since hidden away coming forward on green wisps that he could almost touch...
Then Zax had broken that connection, forced all the warmth from the embrace, pulled back all the secrets, ceased the voices. He felt cold and alone all over again, except for his back which had a much slower fading warmth. But like everything else in his life, it had faded away into the darkness of his mind.
Cloud managed to hide his angered disappointment behind a mask of neutrality. He felt the information given to him float forward in his thoughts, and he suddenly knew where he would be going and how to get there. He sighed heavily and turned away from his friend, bending to pick up his sword, looking into the reflection of the metal before angling it so that he could see Zax in the blade.
And he suddenly realized that he really did not know the man in the reflection of his sword. As much as he had pressed, he knew little about the dark-haired man except for the fact that Zax would appear only when the dark-haired man wanted to. In Zax's appearances, he had almost always been completely alone. Though he had grown up the years with the dark-haired man aging along side him, he had always sensed that Zax was beyond his years in every way. So, who was Zax? He really couldn't tell anyone because he both didn't know the truth and he had been sworn early on never to speak of Zax. So, even in his friendship, he stood apart, on one side of mirror that reflected everything of himself but never revealed his companion. Zax was as much of a mystery now as the dark-haired man had been the first day that he had met Zax.
'You know us, lovely. We will protect us from our pain...our loneliness.' Cool arms wrapped around the blonde's waist.
Cloud?
Cloud felt himself being drawn back into a cool but comforting embrace. 'They cannot hurt us if they are dead, lovely. Let them burn...hurt...despair...'
Cloud!!
Cloud looked up sharply from staring at his reflection in his sword, eyes widening slightly as his demonic self grinned a toothy grin and disappeared back into the blade's reflection. His gaze swiveled to Zax, noting that the dark-haired man's hand was on his shoulder. He glanced down at the blade as cool arms slipped away from his waist then looked fully at his friend. "Sorry, I was just thinking about if I wish to teleport to Atlantis or not."
Zax released his hold on the blonde's shoulder and slowly nodded, very aware of Cloud's small lie to cover up the surging forward of the demon. We should get there and back here quickly. The faster we get this task done, the sooner you beat Hercules, and the faster we get back to Hollow Bastion.
Cloud nodded and attached his sword to his back, taking his time to make sure that the blade was secure. "I suppose that I will meet you there then?"
I'll be hot on your trail, Spike. Zax flashed the blonde a toothy grin and lifted a thumbs-up. He shifted his legs and nodded silently to himself, finding the pain growing to only mildly uncomfortable. He could probably keep the feather for a bit longer seeing as it made him feel like jumping around like an idiot. However, he was not so sure that the planet would be pleased if he kept the feather around for longer than he had to.
Again, Cloud nodded silently and lifted a hand as he gathered some power to form a teleportation spell, his mind setting his new destination. He felt the energy wash over his body and pull his form into a different space and time until solid ground once more slipped beneath his boots, and he could open his eyes once more to look around himself.
He stood in the middle of glade, knee-length grass shifting around him with a warm breeze that smelled like the sea with rich salt. Some of the tallest trees formed a tense circle around the glade, somehow unable to block out the rays of the sun with their height. Vines with rich colours of flowers laced the branches of the trees and crawled lethargically over the trunks and pooled down between the massive roots. The air was alive with the sounds of birds and only a few clouds dotted the magenta skies. Nearby, the sound of water could be heard but only traces of it could be felt from the winds that slipped by his body.
Cautiously, he took a step towards where he heard water, eyes narrowing as the birds ceased singing and silence caved in around him, his hand going for the hilt of his blade. He waited tensely until the bushes directly in front of him shifted, his defensive stance dropping as a single unicorn stepped into the glade with him.
It was the first time he had ever laid eyes on such a magnificent beast, but the legends about them seemed to pale to the actual air that one carried. Its silver coat shimmered despite being shaded, a long red mane and tail shifting with the breeze that now carried the scent of flowers. A single golden horn rose from the beast's forehead and Cloud swore that he could see his reflection even from the distance that they stood apart. Cerulean blue eyes stared at him, its intelligence unquestionable.
And he had the urge to sink to one knee as he watched the beast in silence, but he did not and only nodded his head. He held his ground when the unicorn walked closer to him, their gazes meeting on equal terms. "Who are you, human?"
"Cloud Strife is my name, and I'm here on an errand for Hades, the God of the Underworld." Cloud replied softly, still ready to dodge any attack that was thrown his way. "Who are you, unicorn?"
If a unicorn could smile, this one did and shook its mane. "My name has no meaning for you, but if you must call me something, Loki is my name." It turned its head to the side to better regard the blonde human. It sensed a great power with this human, and it nodded its head in acknowledgement to that power as thousands of voices washed over its consciousness when it opened its mind. "I will not kill you, child of the planet. If you didn't have such an important task, you would already be dead."
Cloud narrowed his eyes at the beast, not keen on being threatened. He took a step around the unicorn and started to walk away, not interested in having his life threatened. He had a tree to find.
Loki watched the blonde pass and shifted to his human form, calling forward his polearm. He smiled slowly when the blonde stopped and regarded him. "You're going the wrong way, squish-sack. You'll only find the sea and mermaids in that direction." He turned and gestured to the north path, glancing back at the blonde before blowing stray pieces of hair from his face.
"How do I know that you are not trying to trick me?" Cloud asked wearily, wondering when Zax would show up to help him out.
Loki snorted. "I'm no pixie, squish-sack." He smoothed down his wild red locks and swished his tail from his long white robes. Idly, he pulled one of his fallen shoulder straps back into place. "I am the only thing that currently stands between you and death, child of the planet. If you leave my great presence, I guarantee that you will meet a terrible end. I will take pleasure from your death, so I suggest you not want to please me too much or I might do the honours myself."
Cloud sighed heavily and walked back to where the red-head stood watching him, eyes fixing on Loki's small golden horn. He lifted a hand and touched the horn, smirking when Loki's eyes crossed to follow his movements before slapping his hand away. "Not so tough."
"One rule, squish-sack: Don't touch the horn." Loki whacked the blonde with his tail when Cloud threatened to test the rule, glaring at the blonde. "Don't make me throw you to the mermaids. They would have fun drowning you and playing with your corpse."
What kind of play? The dirty kind? Zax appeared suddenly from behind Cloud, looking at the elegant young man from the side before straightening fully and stepping out from behind the blonde. He lifted a hand and wiggled his fingers in a greeting. Yo Loki, long time no see.
Loki snorted as a horse might and tossed his head to one side, crossing his arms across his flat chest. "Hmpt, not long enough in my books..." He glanced between the dark-haired man and the blonde, wondering if it would be easier to be rid of both of them at the same time and give himself some more peace. He doubted that the essence of Hollow Bastion would take rejection very well, so he held his hand from striking both down. He had lived with bigger idiots before. "So, what does a squish-sack and a fraction of the...."
We're looking for the Dios tree. Can you help? Zax interrupted before Loki could blow his entire cover. He grinned at the odd look that the unicorn gave him, and he was very aware of Cloud's hardened gaze on him. This was getting harder and harder to keep from the blonde, and he knew that if this kept up, he would force Cloud away from him.
Cloud looked between the red-head and his friend, suddenly unspeakably frustrated with the secrets that Zax was keeping. Perhaps it was just that he was old enough to recognize when he was being tricked and information was being kept from him, and he had been second commander of the Royal Guards for too long to tolerate insubordination. Yet, he was forced to allow the issue drop again for the sake of finding the Dios tree and completing his mission.
His gaze fixed on the red-head and he crossed his arms across his chest stubbornly. "I need a branch from the Dios tree to complete a mission set down to me by Hades."
Loki quirked a red eyebrow and glanced between the two men. "What an odd pair for a mission for the God of the Underworld." He rubbed his forehead as if pained. "And why should I help you soil one of the greatest trees in all of Atlantis?"
If you don't help us, I'll tell Hades where you hid his 'interesting' pictures of Peresphone. Zax grinned when Loki looked away.
"Unicorns do not steal." Loki stated matter-of-factly.
Of course not, but they do borrow with the intent of never returning. Zax knew that he was right when the red-head suddenly looked as though Loki may throw a fit of rage at him. Playfully, he raised his hands to settle the unicorn and grinned at Cloud who had remained a little too silent for his liking.
Cloud softly sighed and turned his back on the pair, looking around for the nearest path that may lead him in the direction of the tree he now sought. Without a glance back, he stalked towards the nearest dirt path, ignoring the red-head's mutters that he would only find death in that direction. He pushed into the path as Zax called to him, and he sensed the dark-haired man pursuing him despite not looking back. He also felt several pairs of unfamiliar eyes following his movements.
Yet, he continued to walk around in the foreign forest until he found Loki standing in front of him again. He glanced back to find that Zax had seemingly disappeared from behind him. His gaze fixed on the neutrally standing unicorn. "I don't need your help. I will find it on my own."
"You have something you wish to ask me." Loki replied neutrally, gaze locking with the blonde's before he slowly nodded his head. He waited for the question that he already knew.
Cloud felt himself draw a sharp breath before slowly nodding. "How do you know Zax?"
Loki smirked arrogantly and leaned on his elegant polearm. "I maintain the life of this planet, as its guardian. Your friend visited here just the other day trying to find the Dios tree for you. He was quite worried about you and spoke openly that he desired you to return to your own planet as quickly as possible." He shifted his weight and walked closer to the blonde, gaze still locked with Cloud's. "He would not give me details, especially not on himself. He left quickly to aid you, I should think."
Cloud set his shoulders as Loki stopped a few feet away from him and clenched a fist. He could not tell if the red-head was lying to him. "You two seemed quite friendly."
"I gave him my word that I would. Unicorns always stay true to their word, not that a squish-sack like you could possibly understand. Humans are too simple-minded to understand anything passed their own greed." Loki chuckled when the blonde stiffened at the insult and winked when a glare was shot his way. How he loved to play with the breakable people of other worlds, though he found himself slightly interested in this little one. He liked the feel of power from the blonde; curiosity was part of being an immortal unicorn. "However, you are not fully human. I can feel power in you, one that goes beyond a mere mortal."
"I live and die as a warrior of my planet. There is nothing special about me." Cloud replied coolly, crossing his arms in front of him. He was not certain why Loki was all of a sudden talkative to him.
Loki swished his tail at the blonde's response and grinned mockingly. "Your friend would beg to differ, I should think. If he could put you on a pedestal, he would from how he speaks about you."
Cloud felt his shoulders fall slightly. "Zax always says such things. He's just trying to be funny."
"Ignorance in denial is a quality that only humans possess." Loki brushed bangs from his forehead and pulled himself upright when the blonde growled and moved to walk around him. He allowed the blonde to do so, gaze following every moment until the blonde was behind him fully. "Perhaps your friend is merely your friend to further his own purposes. There's no good feeling like being used, is there?" He slowly turned to regard the blonde who looked more shocked than angry at his comment, but he smiled almost sadly when the blonde's jawline stiffened with anger. "Will you hide in your denial again, squish-sack?"
"Zax is not like that." Cloud replied coldly, clenching a hand at his side. How dare this arrogant unicorn question his relations with the only person that had wanted to be his friend. "He is my friend because he wishes to be, nothing more."
"I suggest you be perfectly certain of that before you put your foot in your mouth." Loki grinned when the blonde's hand leapt for the blade on the blonde's back. He shifted his polearm under one arm, indicating that he would not fight the blonde. "You fight a long hard battle and it will only get worse before it gets better. I hope for your sake that you pull through with your mind intact because you are losing control much too quickly. Sometimes it is better to stand and face what you are running from."
Cloud pulled his hand away from his blade, slightly surprised by the sudden air of sincerity in the red-head's voice. Slowly, he nodded his head. "I'm not running from anything."
Loki quirked an eyebrow and walked towards the blonde, locking their gazes. "Your eyes tell me what your mouth does not. You run, child of the planet, faster and faster until you will break yourself in your attempt at freedom." He placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder lightly. "I'm afraid that your freedom is in the direction that you are running from. How long will you let the past chase you, child of the planet? It is the worst thing to run from, but let me give you some advice, from one man to another."
"Advice?" Cloud asked quietly.
"You are more than what you have become. Stop looking to be hurt and you will stop hurting." Loki slowly brushed passed the blonde, their gazes still locked. He smirked when the emotions in the blonde's eyes recoiled and shifted unnaturally before a wall of neutrality washed over Cloud's face. He continued to walk through the woods, fully aware that his words had wedged in the blonde's mind.
Silently, Cloud fell in behind the red-head and trailed after the unicorn. He refused to think about anything, especially not the words that had been spoken to him for he felt like he did not fully understand. He needed time to think, to chew on the words of the red-head as the continually tried to creep into his thoughts. He refused them though and his feet moved more swiftly to keep pace with the now silent Loki who only glanced back at him knowingly, that arrogant gaze swinging to chuckle at him in their silence. And he knew in the back of his mind that the unicorn had wounded him in a way that would cause his walls to drop in order to ponder. He could not simply ignore the red-head's words, as much as he would have liked to. Now that the words were in his head, he would be forced to think about them.
But not at this moment in time.
Cloud stopped when he stepped out from the dense forest path into yet another clearing, glancing at the red-head at his shoulder. Yet, his gaze strayed back to the massive tree that climbed and twisted its way through the air, the top disappearing into the cloud cover. Rich foliage of a mixture of reds and greens seemed to shimmer with every ray of the sun that fell upon the leaves. The branches were covered in a bark that shifted colour with the breeze, a kaleidoscope of the clashing elements that made up the world exhibited in one tree.
Cloud felt his breath catch in his throat as he stepped passed Loki, eyes fixed on the enormous tree before him. Surely, he had no words to describe its magnificence and the peace that it brought to his soul just looking at it. "Is that...?"
"The Dios tree, most prized creation of Demeter. She put the beauty of the gods and goddesses in its creation." Loki walked towards the tree, beckoning the blonde to follow silently. He stopped when they stood beside the massive girth of the tree and gestured at its full height, both he and the blonde looking painfully small. "I will give you one small branch from the tree, one of only four on this island. What you do with that piece is completely up to you, but I suggest you use it wisely. Demeter has a way of showing her unhappiness at the mistreatment of her creations."
Slowly, Cloud nodded his head and blinked when Loki suddenly disappeared from beside him. His gaze turned upwards, scanning the branches that he could see in hopes of catching a glimpse of the red-head again. He shaded his eyes with a hand as he leaned and tilted his head up fully, sighing when he could not capture any sign of the unicorn.
Vaguely, he could hear someone running through the trees in his direction, soft curses indicating that Zax had finally caught up to his current position. He failed to be surprised by the dark-haired man's ability to track him down; Zax was always very good at it.
Cloud turned when Loki was suddenly beside him again, hands reaching out as a sizable chuck of wood was dropped into his arms, surprised at how light the wood was. He glanced between the wood and the red-head, nodding a thanks to the unicorn before hefting the wood over one shoulder and turning towards where Zax's curses were sounding. Sighing almost heavily, he walked towards where the dark-haired man would come barreling from the bush, stopping when a light hand grabbed his shoulder, turning back to regard Loki. "Yes?"
"Fight hard and you will find your peace. Falter and you doom more than just yourself. Keep that in mind, squish-sack." Loki pulled his hand away and turned back towards the Dios tree, the sun dancing over his golden horn, aware when the blonde began to leave him again, slipping off to another part of the forest.
Cloud stopped walking when Zax burst from the bush in front of him, raising an eyebrow as the dark-haired man's threats against the 'fiendish stupid' unicorn, Loki. When Zax finally regarded him, he gestured at the wood on his shoulder. "I've got what we came for. Let's go and get this over with."
Zax muttered a few more curses at the unicorn before turning his full attention to Cloud, walking over to inspect the branch in the blonde's hands. He smiled when Cloud relaxed slightly, finding the blonde's life force stabilize in the forest, a fact that captures most of his attention. If he can keep Cloud here for a little longer, the blonde's life force might grow stronger, and he can talk with Cloud, hopefully get the blonde to smile or laugh. Perhaps he can kill two birds with one stone by convincing Cloud to remain in the forest with him.
He smiled and reached out the ruffle the blonde's hair, not surprised when Cloud resisted the touch and pulled away from him. He grinned and took the branch from Cloud's shoulder, nodding to himself that he could do something with this piece of wood. Hey, let's stay here for a little while so I can shape this for you. It will be great, just like old times again!
"What happened to getting this mission over and getting me back to Hollow Bastion? I thought you were in a hurry." Cloud gently prodded Zax, hoping to figure out if indeed, he was just being used for some purpose. He would have never expected it from Zax, but then again, they have been separated for a long period of time. Things change with time, as much as he hated to admit it.
Zax waved a dismissive hand at Cloud and flopped down on the lush green grass, reaching into one of his pockets and pulling out knife. He sent an electrical pulse through the wood to prevent it from regenerating all of his future work and then set to work removing the bark from the branch. He smiled when Cloud eventually sat down nearby and noted that they remained in silence as Cloud began to work at sharpening the gigantic blade.
He glanced back at the blonde every few minutes as they worked before finally trying to strike up a conversation. Remember that time that you told your Uncle where to go. He smiled at the memory, noting that Cloud also seemed amused with it. You were so mad that you weren't allowed to go to the parade. You screamed at the top of your lungs and ran out of the house. Remember that?
Cloud chuckled and nodded. "I ran all the way to where the parade was taking place only to find myself too small to see anything from the back of the crowd." He worked the stone his blade, stopping to pay attention to a particular nick in the metal. "I wriggled my way to the front in time to see Lord Ansem and the General."
I swear, your jaw nearly hit the floor when you saw them. That was the first time for you to be out in such an event. Seeing those two made your hair stand up more, I think. You were such a funny kid. Zax laughed softly at the memory, his gaze flicking over the images that the planet had kept of the event. He played over to where Sephiroth's head had turned and the silver-haired man's gaze at found Cloud in the crowd.
Cloud looked over his shoulder at Zax, finding the quirky smile refreshing and their bond of friendship serge within him. The dark-haired man had taken care of him when no one else would, despite his claims otherwise in his adult life. In some ways, Zax had inspired him to show his uncle that he could be proficient with a blade, always encouraging him to try again when he stumbled, picking him up when he fell, wiping blood from his knees when he was injured.
Yet, at the mentioning of that particular memory when he was twelve and first disobeyed his uncle's order, he remembered so many vivid feelings about the situation, from his madly pattering feet to the seemingly loud noise from the crowd. He had shoved his way through to catch his first glimpse of the idol that everyone spoke of, felt his gaze lock with Sephiroth's for only a brief moment before his attention was pulled away by Zax yelling at him through the crowd. "That was the first and only time that you appeared when I was with a group of people, Zax."
Zax cocked his head to the side as his fingers continued to shape the log in his hands, gaze shifting to the sky before he finally nodded to himself, a warm smile playing over his lips. Yeah, I guess you are right. I didn't want you to get yourself into too much trouble with your uncle so close.
He sighed softly when silence fell between them again and risked a glance over at Cloud whose elegant profile seemed lost in thought. He found that the blonde looked so young despite Cloud's real years, and he was saddened to know that he was slowly losing the blonde to the darkness no matter how hard he tried. He found that he had been pulled away from the blonde much too quickly and probably too early given Cloud's lack of ability to express emotions anymore. He had left the blonde so vulnerable and Cloud had found a way to survive without him, and nothing that he did now would change the fact that Cloud had adjusted to a new path of survival, one that was dragging the blonde down.
He wondered why the planet had reabsorbed him right after Cloud joined the Royal Guards, ignoring his protests that he should remain for a little longer to make sure that the blonde could adjust to the new lifestyle. His words had been ignored completely, and the planet only stated that Cloud's light would now take care of him. He had protested to that as well, but his one voice had been silenced quickly and his consciousness dragged back into the lifestream where he joined his fellow voices.
Cloud casually glanced over at Zax who was mostly turned away from him. He wondered what the dark-haired man was thinking about so silently, Zax's hands moving wordlessly as if the project determined its own form. He looked down at his own sword, finding all of the nicks and blemishes worked from the metal and casually set the sword aside. "You almost done, Zax? We should get going back to the Coliseum to try and find Hercules. I'll finish my contract once and for all then I'll beat all the information out of Hades in regards to Sephiroth."
Zax couldn't help the smile that crossed his features at the image of Cloud smacking the god of the Underworld around. Slowly, he stopped his activity and grinned at his handy work, holding out the now shaped piece of wood. His grin only got bigger as Cloud's eyes widened and the blonde desperately tried not to smile at him. He gestured at the baseball bat in his hands as if it is the most normal item that he could give to the blonde. What's wrong with my gift? You don't like it?
"It's a bat, Zax." Cloud pointed out the obvious, not certain if Zax caught his drift that such a thing is not a proper weapon. It wasn't even a dignified one either.
No, this...this here is a weapon unlike any other in its design and curves. I call it the 'Nailbat' Zax grinned and forced the weapon into Cloud's hands, watching as the blonde turned to weapon over several times. He laughed when Cloud did find some of the nails he had bent into the wood, making swinging motions with his hands as if he were holding the bat in his hands. He stopped after a few moments when Cloud appeared to be silently mortified with his gift and faked sadness. You don't like it...do you? He faked a few sobs.
Cloud hastily hid his discomfort with the new weapon and climbed to his feet, tucking the bat into his belt and holding out his hands in an attempt to stop Zax from being upset. "No, I like it, Zax. It's...a wonderful...weapon. I was...uh...just trying to think of the best way to attack an enemy with it."
Zax wiped a non-existent tear from his eye and jumped to his feet, latching on to Cloud's shoulders before the blonde could try to escape. He hugged Cloud all too tightly, listening to the blonde's small grunts of embarrassment in regards to his treatment. He sniffled slightly, making the sounds seem much too real to be disbelieved. I'm so...happy!
Cloud closed his eyes in slight disbelief, now taking to try to disentangle himself from Zax's clutches. He eventually just grunted his disapproval and allowed the dark-haired man to cling to him when Zax refused to let him go. He could endure a little melodrama, turning his eyes to the sky above him until Zax finally let him go. He immediately crossed his arms to prevent the dark-haired man from flying at him again and sighed heavily, kicking lightly at the ground. "We...should be getting back. I want to find Hercules quickly."
Zax silently nodded his approval to finding their intended target, smiling warmly at Cloud's relaxed body language. He only wished that he could keep the blonde this relaxed all the time, but it was impossible and he knew it. Cloud would do what Cloud wanted to do, and Zax was aware that no words or actions could sway the blonde from any course. All he could do was stand by Cloud's side and hope that the blonde would follow him back to Hollow Bastion instead of after the crazed obsessive General.
He gestured with a hand that they leave, grinning from ear to ear when Cloud appeared to be studying the Nailbat again. He thought it would be a great weapon. Come on, Spike, let's go boot some head! He sighed lightheartedly when Cloud laughed softly, finding the sound so rare now that it saddened him. He would be sure to make Cloud laugh more now that their adventures were about to get much harder with impending battles and the chance of death or worse for the blonde. So, I'll meet you back in the Coliseum? You won't get into trouble if I leave you alone for a few seconds? He grinned merrily and knocked Cloud in the shoulder.
Cloud sighed and set a hand on his hip, shifting his weight so that he appeared to be very arrogant. "I will be good and be in the Coliseum before you even make an attempt to leave this island. I'm just that good."
Zax smirked and placed his own hands on his hips, leaning forward so that he and Cloud were looking at each other in a similar arrogant manner. Oh yeah, you really think so? You're just a kid, Spike. You couldn't possibly defeat the greatest person on the face of any planet... He pointed at his chest and lifted his chin. El Manifico, me! There's no way that someone with your hairstyle could beat someone as drop-dead gorgeous as me.
He blinked when he felt dark energy rising in the area, gaze immediately snapping to Cloud, thinking that his teasings might have sparked the darkness to take the blonde over again. He felt his jaw drop open when he found Cloud grinning at him and waving as a teleportation spell wrapped around the blonde. Hey! No fair! I didn't get to finish my speech! Cheater!
Cloud chuckled softly and closed his eyes as the teleportation spell wrapped around his body, and he slipped from one location to the next. He opened his eyes again when a cool breeze ran over his face, blinking when he found himself standing atop one of the warrior monuments of the Coliseum. He sighed in exasperation. "I'm never going to get this teleportation thing right...."
With a small huff of frustration, he stepped from his position of the monument and slipped his wing from his cloak, gliding back down to level ground. He tucked his wing away again when his feet touched solid ground, immediately walking up the steps to the Coliseum and pushing open the doors, gaze shifting about to find his intended target now that he had a weapon that would be able to take Hercules down.
When he could find no sigh of his cowry, he walked swiftly through the small stone room until his boots crunched noisily on the loose gravel that lead out into the fighting arena, his glowing gaze announcing his mood and presence long before his body stepped from the shadows. He stopped and growled in slight frustration when he could not see Hercules anywhere, yet his gaze spied Hades near the door to the underground dressing room along with another man who he instantly recognized.
He would have turned and left the area immediately if both individuals hadn't regarded him. He put his chin more deeply in his cloak and set his shoulders before walking with a warrior's purpose over to Hades, gaze shifting to the brunette standing next to the god only briefly before returning to Hades who was grinning at him in that manner that just spelled trouble for him. "I have a piece of the Dios tree. Where is Hercules?"
Hades could feel his grin only getting larger as the seconds passed him by. He looked between the two warriors, immediately sensing a silent coldness between the two, but that failed to dampen his mood. His mind instantly began to form up plans for the upcoming tournament and the destruction of Zeus' illegitimate brat of a son. His day was only getting better and better, something that he liked very much.
Slowly, he folded his hands in front of him and smirked at the blonde across from him in a manner that was similar to a master praising their dog. "Well Blondie, I'm very glad to hear that you can do something right...you had me worried there for a few days. Here I thought I brought another failure on board, which you still are, just in a better way." He chuckled and wrapped an arm around the blonde's shoulders, snubbing the brunette completely as he pulled his blonde warrior to the side for a small private talk.
Cloud shifted his shoulders as Hades pulled him a few feet away from Leon, gaze shifting about suspiciously. It didn't seem like the god was about to give him the details on to where to find Hercules, making his patience shorten considerably. "Where is Hercules? I want to find him and show him the meaning of pain."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down the mental processes there, Spiky. You may hurt yourself." Hades patted the blonde on the top of the head before wiping his hand on the warrior's shoulder with a slightly disgusted look on his face. He immediately brightened though. "Now, I'm as eager to get rid of Jerk-ules as you are...probably more considering the amount of time I've been plotting his demise...but anyway, we have one thing to do before we trounce that dim-wit." He held his hands up innocently when the blonde's eyes flashed with anger. "Hey, anger management, Blondie!"
Cloud seized Hades by the front of the god's black robes. "I don't want to wait around for another one of your stupid plots to fail! Just tell me where he is and I will kill him. Our contract is over, and you are pushing me to the end of my tolerance. What is it that I have to do for you this time?" He growled angrily.
"Well, since you asked...I do have something for you to do...because heh, you still work for me my spiky-haired power-puff marshmallow." Hades dragged the blonde back to the other warrior watching them. "Clink, this is Lion."
"It's Cloud." Cloud replied heatedly.
"That's Leon." Leon replied just as heatedly.
Hades looked between the two warriors, studying them almost intently when he was really just giving them time to fume in front of him. He found the way they both pouted quite amusing and tormenting his nit-wit warrior's was one of the best activities to amuse himself. Eventually, he wiggled his fingertips together as if evilly scheming. "Riiiiight...Anyway, Spiky, this here is Peon."
"Leon!"
Hades looked at the brunette, appraising him silently before chuckling. "No, I think I was right on that one." He grinned when the brunette glared at him silently and set his attention back on the blonde warrior. "I'm arranging one more tournament...the tournament of tournaments...the best one in all the worlds and because it is the best, it is named after me, the best god in the worlds."
Cloud rolled his eyes and shook his head slightly until Hades batted one of his taller spikes. He could already tell what Hades wanted, and he did not like the prospects one little bit. "You want me to fight with him and try to kill Sora...again, right?"
"That's right, Blondie. You get to team up with that stiff-shouldered, no personalitied...is that even a word...well it is now, ha ha... dork and take care of the other spiky brat so I don't get another rash in a place that I will not describe to you because it might make you throw-up...actually, it probably will...But, anyway, just swat the brat and it will save me from getting my hands dirty." Hades grinned between the two warriors who appeared to be sizing each other up. His grin quickly faltered when the two seemed to just want to glare at each other. "Wow...there may be enough personality between the both of you to make up a comatose victim who has just been pronounced brain dead."
Leon kept his silence, merely grunting his slight approval to working with the blonde warrior standing across from him. He needed words with the General anyway, so this little set up worked out perfectly.
Cloud, however, was not so happy and was not in the mood to let things simply roll off his shoulders so easily. He wanted his contract to be finished, to get information on Sephiroth, and to get back to Hollow Bastion. This new little plan was only taking more time for all of his goals to be reached, and the longer it took, the more time his darker self had to take over again.
He growled softly. "Tell me where to find Hercules now, and I'll fight in your little tournament of champions, but after my fight is over, I'm going after my prize." He tapped his foot on the ground impatiently, waiting for Hades to stop joking around and just tell him what he wanted to know. He was growing weary of all these mind games. "And while we are at it, tell me where I can find Sephiroth." He noted Leon's narrowed eyes at the mention of the former General and stored it away to question the brunette later, if they were on speaking terms.
Hades chuckled softly and gestured at the blonde while looking at Leon. "See, look how eager some of my minions are to serve. Spiky is just chomping at the bit to serve my every desire...too bad you couldn't do the same, eh Squeal?" He grinned at the blonde's slight confusion and patted Cloud on the shoulder mockingly. "Oh, so Peon never did mention that he had a contract with me to track you down for 'ultimate revenge for the destruction of his life', did he? Well, you two can figure your differences out since...you know, his contract is now over and yours will soon be too...you hope."
"I'll deal with him later. I want to deal with you now. Where is Hercules? And where do I find Sephiroth?! He was with me, in YOUR realm, the night before, meaning that you know exactly where he is. Tell me what you know!" Cloud seized Hades' robe in one hand and ripped the Nailbat from his belt with the other, raising it in the air. "Or, I will see if this tree only works on Hercules...."
Hades chuckled softly and patted the blonde on the top of the head. "Heh heh, that's so cute. Puppy is getting nosy! Bad puppy." He growled when the bat was brought down on his arm, the warning obvious that his mockery was not wanted. So, his warrior was starting to fight back, meaning that the darkness was really taking the blonde over. He had to hold back a grin of pleasure to this news. "Alright, puppy, you win..." He leaned close before glancing around, whispering the coordinates where Hercules practiced before casually pulling away, a devious expression set on his features. "You find him, do what you do best...mindless fighting...and then you scurry your little butt back here to the Coliseum, have an nice bath or something...and your little pal will show up. You have Hades' stamp guarantee!" He reached into his robes and pulled out a stamp, smacking the blonde in the middle of the forehead, leaving an nice impression of himself in stamp form with a thumbs up.
He casually sent the stamp away while the blonde glared at him, a playful grin on his features. "Now, I have far more important people to deal with...you know, people with at least half a personality and some dumb wit to actually laugh at my jokes. You two have fun and be here tomorrow to fry me some duck soup, breaded dog, and wimp legs."
Cloud reached up and rubbed his forehead as Hades turned and wandered away, leaving him standing uncomfortably close to Leon, the man who had tried to kill him in their last encounter. He grunted softly, smirking when the brunette grunted back, the common warrior speak coming out in the both of them. His gaze traveled over to Leon, and he set a hand on the hilt of his sword to test the other man's desire to fight.
Leon slowly raised his hands away from his own hilt, not wanting to fight General Strife any longer. He felt slightly ashamed of his harsh actions and complete stubbornness when it came to ignoring Aerith's pleas that he stop fighting the blonde. He had desired nothing more than to find General Strife and put some semblance of revenge in the fight that they had, having waited so long for the chance to avenge those who died so brutally. He never realized, too blinded by his anger, that the blonde had been completely set up by General Sephiroth who sounded much loopier than anything Cloud could be.
He silently bowed his head slightly, feeling very uncomfortable at having to apologize for his actions. Yet, Aerith had begged him to make peace with the General, and he had given his words that he would if he ever met up with the blonde warrior again. "General...I must apologize for my actions at our last meeting. I...overstepped my boundaries." He fidgeted when the blonde's eyes shifted to him, those same battle-harden blue eyes that he remembered from his childhood staring at him. "Aerith explained...much of what I did not know."
Cloud looked the brunette up and down before silently nodding his head, grunting his acceptance of the apology. His gaze then moved around the fighting arena before wandering back to Leon. "You owe me then, and here is what you will do." He let their gazes meet on equal terms. "You have appeared to have finished your contract...against me..." He let those words sit heavily in the air before continuing on. "I am almost finished mine, but Hades doesn't seem to wish to let me go. The only way I can finish it is to find and kill Hercules." He gestured around the arena. "I'm wasting my time here with this worthless fighting against creatures that I can defeat with my eyes closed. I want to face Hercules so that I can move on to better things."
"Aerith said you were going to free Hollow Bastion of the Heartless there. She said that you had been dreaming of taking back your reputation since the day you stepped foot in Traverse Town." Leon rested a hand on the hilt of his blade, much too aware of Hades' little plots to prolong the ending of a contract. He could see that Cloud's contract was a lot messier than his own. "What is it that you want me to do, General?"
"Lose." Cloud turned to fully regard Leon when the brunette quirked an eyebrow at him. "We fight and lose to Sora. I don't have time to take out some punk kid who is my ticket home. He has the keyblade, and he will do us no good dead. If we let him keep Hades busy, I can get to Hercules and end my contract then...then..."
Leon leaned his head back slightly at the blonde's stall, shifting his hands to his hips. "Then you go back to Hollow Bastion."
Cloud nodded his head slowly. "After I find and kill Sephiroth. Hades said that he would arrive here after I defeated Hercules, and, as confusing as Hades can be, he never fully lies."
"Nor does he tell the whole truth...but I see your point. Having that madman after you could defeat the entire purpose of going back to Hollow Bastion. He could already be there and waiting to...kill you?" Leon tried to figure out if General Sephiroth would actually kill the blonde or just beat Cloud up.
Cloud slowly shook his head. "Capture me. He wants me under his thumb, his own and no one else's. I'm his...canary...with wings that fly me to freedom that he wishes to clip and cage me in a device of his own desires."
Leon crossed his arms across his chest and looked up at the sky, shaking his head slightly. "He actually said that? Geez, I wonder if he writes his own lines."
"I don't care to get close enough to him to ask as much as possible. I just have to find him and not let him get his chance to 'capture' me for himself. If he hinders me, I'll put him down again." Cloud shifted his footing as darkened laughter echoed in the back of his mind, and he could literally feel the black veins burrowing deeper, setting his jaw against any outside reaction. He could not show weakness, not now, not with him so close to all of his goals coming true. He had to be strong now, stronger than ever.
Leon sighed and nodded his head, lifting a hand to gesture at the fighting arena. "Alright General Strife, tomorrow we will lose, and I will keep an eye on Hades for his part in the tournament. If I can, I'll help Sora out as much as I can." He reached out a hand in a gesture that all bad blood was behind them, his gaze searching the General's face. "I owe you General, and I will do all that I can to help you free Hollow Bastion and to help Sora seal the keyhole there."
'Kingdom Hearts...' A dark voice whispered in the back of Cloud's mind. 'Our keyhole leads to the ultimate door....'
Cloud pushed the voice away harshly and slowly extended his hand to take Leon's, finding the other hand firm in its intent. He knew that Leon was a man of his word, and Cloud accepted it as such. He could probably use all the allies that he could get. "You take care of Sora, I'll take care of Hollow Bastion."
"Until tomorrow then, General Strife." Leon released his hold and began to turn away from the blonde.
"Cloud." Cloud responded softly to Leon's back.
Leon slowly turned back, quirking an eyebrow of slight confusion. "Pardon?"
"It's just Cloud now. I'm no General, and I have no rank above any of my allies. Just call me Cloud now." Cloud smiled behind his cloak and bowed his head slightly, turning away from the brunette before walking down the darkened hallway to the locker rooms, his glowing gaze not focused on anything in particular, though his demonic hand clenched in determination. "Soon...there will be the showdown of fate...Our showdown, General....
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Oh my good God, that took so long to write! I have to beg forgiveness to all of my readers for the amount of time that it took me to actually post this chapter. I had absolutely no inspiration! None! It was so horrible! I hope that the next chapter will be a lot better to write, especially now that the Showdown of Fate is so close by! I will try extra hard to work on the next chapter...or do a blooper chapter.
I thank everyone for reading. Your patience is also much appreciated.
