Retreat! Retreat!-65daysofstatic
There was a burst of adrenaline pulsing in Lucka's blood. It was a real battlefield, like whenever they attacked her and Ryuu. The distinct aura of intended murder was evident in the air. These SOLDIERS were ready to assassinate them all. They were unimaginably strong, while her team didn't have superhuman power to compare. It sounded impossible to defeat them, but they'd instantly die if they didn't fight hard enough. It was 'killing first before getting killed' mode on her.
Her eyes roamed wildly between the thick smoke from the bullet flying everywhere. There were piles of dead infantrymen scattered on the ground. A pool of blood seeped into the dry soil while their body vanished into the lifestream one by one, slowly. Her right hand was busy dodging every bullet from the SOLDIER rifles, while her left didn't miss a beat shooting at every opening she had.
"Why are you here?!" Tseng called right behind her, their backs almost touching each other.
"She knows who they are!" Cissnei shouted from their right, running towards them while she swung on her shuriken to the SOLDIER nearby. And far behind, Lucka caught a fast movement of another Turk. She had short blonde hair looked so similar to Elena—though a little older—and was pretty preoccupied with the opponent.
"Later, Tseng!" Lucka added and parted herself from the party to get closer to the center of the fight. Shelke was there. If she had a chance to save the girl, she should use the time wisely.
Lucka rushed into the chaos. She almost reached the child when a flashing flare from a bullet caught the corner of her eyes. Before it could hit her, she stepped aside. Lucka grunted. One of the SOLDIERS who fired at her started a new battle.
She'd aimed the gun at her opponent's chest and shot it two times. But unfortunately, she missed it. The SOLDIER was fast like a bolt, though she didn't waste the chance to use her close-range combat skill against her. Lucka finally could unarm him. They pressed and struck each other with a fierce turn.
After seeing another opening, Lucka sprinted and trusted the heart with the Katana right away. Her eyes followed the motion of the lifeless body when it fell to the ground. Drenching blood spilled everywhere. Her dangling locks swung right and left when she shook her head to overcome the uneasiness on her stomach. It was always hard to kill somebody.
She inhaled a deep breath. A smell of mixed tangy, iron scent of blood and stifling smoke filled her lungs—it was the reek taste of death. The stuffy air brought her back from the briefly distracted mind. There wasn't enough time and clearly no time for grieving. Then she immediately ran to her track and spotted two SOLDIERS pulling Shelke towards the clearing area.
She had halfway reached them when her ear crashed by a blaring sound from a Chopper that parted the wind. Her eyes widened in panic. No, no way, not yet! Lucka picked up the speed. She was racing with destiny. Every leap she took, her blood ran cold. Both of her blades were slashing every SOLDIER in the way. They couldn't take her. Not right in front of her eyes like this! Lucka should make it. She'd be damned if she couldn't save her.
"SHELKE! SHELKE! SHELKE RUI!" she screamed, her voice cracked, her throat burning, and her chest pushing out all of her rattled breath madly. But it was too late. It all happened in a flash. They'd entered the Chopper, and it had already flown away. The last thing engraved in her sights was the child's teary eyes, with profound terror that stabbed her mind and soul deeply.
Lucka and the fellow Turks finally made it to the Headquarters. Tseng had escorted them straight to the infirmary. No one was seriously injured, just some cuts here and there, but they stayed perfectly in one piece. Lucka sat on one of the beds in the room. She observed the nurse who was treating the wound on her arm. The nurse was gentle with her. But she couldn't stop wincing when she cleaned her open flesh. She found watching her wasn't doing any good. Hence she took a look at her Boss across the room. Tseng was currently being treated, while the others were already left. They were busy now. She knew the Turks would have a lot of things to do after the ambush.
The damn ambush. And Lucka miserable failure. She closed her eyes, the child's image haunting her. The pain from her clenching knuckles seized off her trembled body. No, calm yourself. Shelke will stay alive. She still has a future, though the fate she'll face and the torture she should endure must be painful. Later, she'll think about this again, just not now. I have another thing that requires my full attention to be done.
Lucka managed to control her breath when she hardly heard the nurse call on her. The nurse offered her a warm smile, gave some care advice then left shortly. After Lucka finished being treated, Tseng motioned her to follow him. They were headed into one of the empty hallways outside the infirmary.
"Please make a report of an earlier event, including your information on Deepground. And make sure it's well secured." Tseng ordered her with a level tone, his eyes locked into her, yet he sounded too strained.
"This is highly confidential information, sir. Even the Turks didn't know it," she said and eyed him cautiously, "what will the Turks do with it?"
"Nothing until all the evidence proved true," said Tseng, glancing over her.
Lucka narrowed her eyes, figuring the double meaning behind his words. She asked, "Pardon? What proved true, exactly?"
"It's obvious, doesn't it?" He tilted his head. His slanted eyes became smaller when he squinted them.
Lucka blinked. "Is it about the Deepground or about you trusting me alongside all of my intelligence?"
Tseng smirked. "Both."
Lucka shook her head. "Just don't be too surprised when my words really happen in the future."
"I'll prepare myself." Tseng paused. His expression grew thoughtful. "And about your mission today, you're being helpful despite you disobeyed the order."
Lucka shot him an incredulous glower, and her jaw stiffened. "If you must know Tseng, I'm fully aware what I did is the exact thing you've done in the past," she said, moving closer to him and whispering, "how you chose to save the life of a SOLDIER on the ship rather than to secure the company secret."
Tseng's clearly taken aback. By the look on his face, he must have determined that no one knew about this accident except him and Veld. "How do you know that?!"
Lucka stepped back. She stared at him sharply. "The vision, okay? And I've chosen my team life over the evidence you want. But, if I give you the report of Deepground, I think it'll be fair. What do you think, sir?"
Tseng shook his head, his eyes shut. "You should be more careful. I'll let you pass this time."
Lucka gave him a half-smirk and nodded slowly. "Roger."
"And about the lesson on your magic reserve, I should reschedule it for Monday. Considering we all will be pretty occupied with the current issue."
Lucka couldn't hide the disappointment when her face fell, showing a sign from her earlier smirk that was gone. She sighed. "Understood."
Tseng frowned, his eyes averted to the view outside of the window. He made that contemplative look again. "I know we shouldn't waste any time. Your physical ability is great, but magic is substantial in combat," he said and stared at her again, "the General can teach you on that."
Lucka's mouth gaped slightly. She was torn between hopeful and unsure about the notion. "Do you think he'd agree?"
Tseng tilted his head. "Well, we should check it." Tseng drew his phone and dialed a number. Not too long, the other line greeted him. He said, "General, I hate to bother, but I have a favor to ask… It's about my subordinate… It's Lucka, yes…. Would you like to teach her on magic reserve?" Tseng glimpsed at her. "Yes… sure. I'll send her over. I can't thank you enough."
Tseng put on a content smile. "He agreed. He said he's free this evening. You should go to his house."
Lucka raised her eyebrows. Despite who her teacher would be, she was excited she could finally have the opportunity to learn the magic soon. "Tseng, thank you!"
"Just don't make him grill you. And for your weapon, we'll also work on them soon." He smirked and patted her shoulder, striding off. "You're dismissed. Great work for today."
Lucka nodded at his back. She was about to follow him when her phone vibrated a few times. She drew out her phone from the back pocket's pants and unlocked the screen.
[General Sephiroth]
[Meet me in the 2nd Lobby at 6 pm. [02.13]]
Lucka texted back immediately, a small smile on her lips.
It was right at 6 pm by the end of the office hours. After helping the Turks clean up the mess and work halfway on the Deepground information, Lucka waited as the General ordered her to meet him in the 2nd Lobby. People had swarmed everywhere. The elevator was busy opening and shut-in turns. She finally spotted him from one of the elevators and was followed by the auburn-haired man in his distinctive red SOLDIER uniform coat. They didn't see her, so she hurried to greet them.
"General Sephiroth!" she said, nearly chirped.
The General turned to face her, his eyebrows raised in doubt. "May I help you with something, Miss?"
Genesis moved closer as he blatantly stared at her. "Guess who's this hot chick hitting on Sephiroth."
Lucka glared at his discourtesy. Then she stared back at the General while removing her fedora hat. "It's me, Lucka. I haven't had the time to change from my earlier mission. Things were pretty hectic." She finished with a shrug.
"I have a hunch it was you. But you look so different. I'm afraid I was mistaken for someone else," the General said.
"You nailed this style, you know," Genesis smirked, giving her another rollover glance.
"Of course, I'm," she replied absently, then turned her full attention to the General. "We're off?"
"Huh? Where are you two going?" Genesis asked out of curiosity.
"My house," came the dry reply from the General.
Genesis wrinkled his eyebrows in suspicion, "What are you planning to do, in the name of Friday night, alone in your house?"
Lucka smirked at him. She answered with wicked eyes and said with a suggestive tone, "Doing something private."
Genesis's eyes widened. "So that's why you don't want to have a date with me!" Genesis snapped his head towards the General, his voice filled with pure resentment. "I hadn't thought my best friend would stab me in the back."
The General responded with a sharp, lower tone as his jaw muscle hardened. "Keep your fantasy to yourself, Genesis." He shifted to glare at Lucka. "Don't make me change my mind."
Lucka blinked with fake innocence. "I didn't lie, General. It'll be a private lesson, right?"
The General turned aside. He tilted his head, giving her a hint to follow him when he started walking away.
"Wait! I can't leave the two of you alone," Genesis called.
Lucka caught up and stared up at the General to ask silently. But he only hummed in response. It seemed he didn't really care. So she said, "Well, you can join." Lucka glanced over her shoulder at Genesis.
Genesis raised one of his eyebrows, his lips curled into a mischievous grin at the time his pace rejoined them. "Hmmm, like a threesome? Not my style, though, but I believe I can still enjoy it."
The bridge of her nose crumpled at Genesis' dirty jokes. She smacked his shoulder and quoted the General words, yet she put on a faint smirk. "Keep your fantasy to yourself, bro."
In your arms-sunbeam sound machine
Lucka was sitting on one of the General's couches on his rooftop, with Genesis reclined right beside her and the black wig inside her fedora hat lay between them (it's already nighttime. Lucka just couldn't wear it anymore). They'd waited for the General to change to more comfortable clothes and prepare the Materia for the lesson. One of Genesis' hands was resting casually on the back seat behind her head. She frowned at the gesture, but she said nothing in turn.
"Don't you feel cold?" Genesis tilted his head toward her, turning away from the beautiful sight of Midgar city night beneath them. A soft breeze moved the tip of his smooth-looking hair. From this proximity, the wind brought a faint, delicate fragrance perfume. It was the smell of assorted warm spice, leather, and woody hint, with a base note of amber.
"If only I don't have a pretty hot companion," she said.
What Lucka thought was Genesis nearly choked, and his expression became pensive. Lucka was, in fact, only teasing. She never teased him back. But somehow, she was in the mood now. Although she didn't think the man would believe otherwise.
Did she say it because she was unconsciously attracted to his scent? Or was it because the romantic city light messed up the atmosphere? Or both? Lucka wasn't entirely sure why. She didn't intend to bring any significant comment. Yet whoever heard it may misunderstand it. She immediately regretted what she'd said heedlessly.
"Are you hitting on me now?" Genesis shifted. He inclined his head and closed the gap between them.
It was too close. His eyes searched into hers. The scrutiny of them made Lucka's nerve shrink. It was just like the last time he took her home. Her frown deepened, but her face betrayed nothing.
"I'm joking," Lucka mumbled.
"Joking…" Genesis repeated slowly—Lucka swore she could hear his voice become huskier as if he was close to purring. Her lips twitched, and she drew a short breath to her sudden empty lungs—and he didn't miss it. His eyes flickered briefly to them before back again to her eyes. He continued, "Do you think the things I said to you were also a joke?"
Lucka froze. She wasn't ready for anything like this being thrown right at her face. She didn't come from Gaia, and any futile relationship—especially romance—would complicate everything.
Ah, goddamnit.
"I feel bad for interrupting, but I don't have all night," said a voice.
Lucka turned her head quickly to the voice that almost sounded bland. The General had already changed into a pair of long sleeve cotton black clothes with sweatpants, and one of his hands clutched on a medium-sized carton box.
Lucka shot him a grateful look, which was only returned with one of his arched eyebrows. She said, "Yes, let's start." Lucka rose on her feet and dared to glance at Genesis. His expression was already smooth back.
The General put the box on the coffee table before them, then grabbed the bright green one. "This is ice, but too bad. I don't have Materia except the mastered one."
"Shows up already, huh?" Genesis slyly remarked.
Lucka ignored him and got closer to look at the Materia. "By other means, are you telling me I'll need more energy to activate it?"
The General handed it to her and led her into the free area of the rooftop. "Partly. We still don't know if your mana will come directly from yourself or mine." He said, staring right into her eyes.
Lucka nodded. That was true. She was here because, basically, her existence depended on her summoner. She tightened her grasp on the orb. "Okay… so, how does it work?"
"Concentrate, you may better close your eyes at first,"—she closed her eyes as he suggested—"feel it, the power that tries speaking to you, and read the spell they've told you… "
Lucka couldn't hear the rest of his words as soon as she closed her eyes. She was immersed in a sweet taste of energy, a warm and pleasant tingling sensation that coiled inside her chest. The strange feeling… yet, somehow she'd experienced it before. Deep down below her unconsciousness. Though she didn't know where and how. Her breath hitched when something cold seeped out from her body. She slowly opened her eyes and found a spark of ice coming from her fingertips. She peeked up to meet the General eyes. He gave her a pleased nod.
The General stood closer. He said, "Good, now try to pull out deeper." He held one of her free hands and pointed it at the sky below them. He murmured, "And pushed it out, slowly."
Lucka did what he ordered and barely realized Genesis had already joined them. She concentrated on pushing out the power from her, then a burst of sparkling ice fell into the sky. Lucka nearly cried out in joy when she saw it. A half-gaped smile and eyes full of wonder brightened her face. She looked up at the General as he mirrored her faint smile and looked satisfied.
"You're pretty good at magic, huh?" Genesis crossed his arms in front of his chest. He stood behind the General and displayed a thoughtful expression. "With a little practice, you'll do great in no time."
"You're flattering me, Genesis." Lucka shifted timidly.
"Genesis is right. Magic is a natural gift. Not everyone possesses the same mana force. Your above average," the General said, "and it appears the mana is coming from yourself because I don't feel any drawback from mine."
Lucka stared at him and nodded lamely.
Genesis opened one of his bangles and drew his green orbs. "This is fire. Mine is special." He extended his hand towards her.
"Genesis, don't. It's too soon. Her mana will drain quickly." The General object with a deep frown.
"You're worrying too much. You're not her dad." Genesis dismissed him with annoyance.
Lucka looked back and forth between the two of them. Genesis waved his hand dismissively and flipped her wrist. Then, he replaced the orbs on her palm with his own Materia.
She barely listened to the words from the orbs when she was the one being devoured. It was far, way distinctive from the ice Materia. She was overwhelmed by the power that slammed into her flesh. That tingling sensation was more significant now. It was blooming and whirling like a hail of blaze inside her body. The endless energy ran in her blood, called her, and awakened something buried in the darkest place of her soul. The longing, old hunger of predominance, fairly blinded her senses. She raised her hands to the sky while the Materia slipped off from her finger, a massive typhoon of fire twirling with no end, striking the hazy-greenish air of Midgar's horizon. Her body became hot; her feet, her arms, her eyes. And her hair was wrapped in flames. They were blaring like an angry gale, ready to wipe out everything passing by.
"We should stop her," the General called, his tone sharp.
"No, wait." Genesis extended his hand to hold him in place, watching her closely in excitement.
"Gaia, what the hell are you doing there?!" Both men snapped their heads to the source of an angry and shocked voice across the balcony. Angel basically ran and jumped off from the barrier between their rooftop house. His eyes were wide open. He landed in with a loud thud beside them.
Lucka didn't bother looking. She was busy being submerged in the destructive fire. Her fingertip twitched, and somehow the flames glared more intense while a wide area of the rooftop floor started burning.
Sephiroth immediately noticed the situation had already gotten out of control. He snapped almost angrily at Genesis. "I told you!" He quickly cast ice and aimed at her. Lucka stepped out of his reach, and one of her hands pointed at him.
His eyes widened slightly. "Lucka, stop." He caught the glimmering vehemence of her eyes. And it was bright golden. He was stunned. The dragon. Their eyes were the same color. Sephiroth could instantly recognize a glimpse of familiar uneasiness within him. His heart beat faster while he dodged a fire wind that nearly touched his body. He threw a strong cast of ice at her. Shortly her body went rigid inside the block of the crystal frost.
"Gaia, that was close!" Angeal's palm tapped his temple.
Sephiroth sighed. His hands fell to his side. The three men stared at each other for a long moment, then a loud crack from the glaze attracted their attention.
"Oh, shit…" Genesis gapped. His eyes widened. The three men watched the ice melting, and the fire roamed again from her body—a thick whorl of smoke came from the ice against the rising flames. Genesis quickly raised his hand to cast ice. Sephiroth joined him to thicken the frosty layer. They worked to extinguish her until she stopped burning and her body soaked in water. The girl collapsed when the last flames died down. Sephiroth hurriedly caught her before she slammed to the ground and brought her inside the house.
"That's crazy." Angeal was pacing in the living room. Deep frowns made his face stiffer. "Did she use a mastered Materia?"
Sephiroth came from the hallway, brought a pile of towels, and wrapped them around her wet body. She was unconscious. Her eyes were tightly shut while he glanced at her and Angeal in turns. He said, "Yes, it's Genesis'. "
Genesis ticked his tongue. He spared a thoughtful gaze at his friends. "But, it shouldn't come out like that."
"It wouldn't. It's her, right?" Angeal agreed. "Sephiroth, who the hell have you brought to this world?"
Sephiroth's eyes narrowed. He stared at his friend with deep thought and drew a steady breath. "She's the one who owns the explanation. Let's wait until she wakes up."
Lucka stirred, but her lid seemed to be glued down. She opened them slowly and drew a heavy breath along the way. Then, her eyes caught a silver strand from the man who hovered over her. She squinted her eyes when she said, "General?"
"She's up." He straightened up and then sat on his gray armchairs.
"Oh, finally." Genesis moved closer to her. He sat on the edge of the sofa near her leg.
"How long since I've fainted?" Lucka mumbled while trying to sit. Angeal came from the kitchen and handed her a glass of hot chocolate.
"Not too long, less than an hour," Angeal replied. He settled himself on the other armchair on her right side.
She sipped the drink and sighed at the warmth from it. "Is everything alright?" Lucka scanned everyone in the room.
"Except for the rooftop, all is good," Genesis smirked playfully.
Lucka grimaced. "I owe you an apology for what happened, General."
Sephiroth only waved his hand dismissively, but his eyes hardened. Without beating around the bush, he said, "You said the magic among the men in your world no longer exists, yet you wielded one. How's that possible?"
Lucka frowned. Her expression was also torn, her hands on the glass tightened. "That's right. How's that even possible?"
"You don't have any idea? You can inherit it from your ancestor, perhaps." Genesis offered.
Lucka looked more troubled. Her voice sounded weak when she said, "I don't have the faintest idea. I've been cut off. I… I'm the last one."
The three of the men shared a glance. It seemed their hope to know her further had vanished because she didn't know any better about her lineage.
Sephiroth shifted in his seat. As he found a deadlock in the discussion, he switched the conversation. "You should make the report later. I'll also inform Tseng about this."
Lucka blinked at the sudden business tone he used. "Sure."
"I'll take you home," he said, standing from the armchair and storming to the hallway.