A/N: This is my first one-shot fanfiction so I hope it's not too bad. Enjoy!
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A World Lost: Part II
A rumbling.
Sounded like rocks falling.
But where?
Doesn't sound too far.
Where am I?
Groaning tiredly, Cloud forces his eyes to open and finds himself staring up at the roof of a cave. Sitting up, he looks down at himself to see that he still wore Vincent's cloak and claw as well as sporting a demonic wing on his left shoulder, most likely a remnant of his friend's Chaos form. At his right side lay the bandaged Buster Sword, the last remaining piece of his world.
Still confused by what happened to him, Cloud gets up with Buster Sword in hand and looks around. He stood between two opposite stone doors that most likely led to different connecting caverns. Around him were odd-looking torches that burn with blue flames. The land bridge that he was on connected the two stone doors and lay on a sea of smoky violet. Cloud didn't know what to make of the strange violet-colored sea-like thing. He strolls over to the edge of the rocky platform and looks down. Suddenly, a ghost swims by and Cloud stumbles back in surprise. He stumbles back far enough to accidentally bump into someone from behind.
"Whoa-ho, hey there!"
The blonde-haired swordsman quickly turns about to apologize until the sight of the stranger stopped him in his tracks. The man before him, if he was a man at all, had sharp teeth and wore a foreign, and perhaps cultural, attire that Cloud could not identify. The most interesting part about the stranger overall was his hair. If you could call a burning blue fire hair anyways.
"You're… not from around here are ya?" asked the odd man.
"Uh…" exclaims Cloud, not able to take his blue eyes off the strange face and hair.
"Yep, tourist; I thought so," confirmed the man.
"… Who are you?" wondered Cloud.
"What?! You don't recognize me? The great god of the underworld? The one whom so many fear that they shake at the sound of my name? The one, the only, Hades?!"
Cloud's silence earns an exasperated sigh from the odd man.
"Well, nobody's perfect so don't feel too bad," exclaims Hades with disappointment written all over his face.
"…So, I'm guessing this is the underworld?" exclaimed Cloud.
"Ding, ding, ding! Folks, we have a winner!" vociferates the demonic god. Seeing that Cloud was not even slightly amused by his antics, Hades began looking him over. "Interesting sword you got there. I'm thinking you know how to use that thing, correct?"
Not knowing what the god was up to, Cloud looks down at his sword and then back at the man. "Yes."
"Ah, interesting," responded Hades, putting his hands together. "So what's a guy like you doing in a place like this?"
That's what I want to know, thought Cloud. He thought about what to do now. His home was gone and he had no knowledge of how to get back. In addition to that, he was worried about what had happened to his friends and about why Sephiroth had returned. What did he mean that I couldn't let go of the darkness?
"Hey, have you seen a guy with long, silver hair and a black wing on his right shoulder?" he asks Hades.
"Nope, doesn't ring a bell," answered the god. But, this guy could prove quite useful, thought Hades. Suddenly, an idea pops up in his flaming head.
"Tell you what," exclaim the god of the underworld as he puts and arm around Cloud's shoulder. "I'll help you find who it is you're looking for if you're willing to do a little something for me."
Cloud looks the guy over. Something told him that this Hades can't be trusted, but he's in a completely different world with no way of getting home or finding his friends. If he could just find Sephiroth, things could go back to the way they were. Maybe he could exploit the powers of darkness using this Hades guy.
Why not? He thought. I've got nothing to lose, really.
With his mind made up, Cloud looks up at Hades. "What do you want?"
"Okay, so there's this guy I want killed," began the god. "His name's Hercules and he and a little goat man run a series of tournaments upstairs in their little coliseum."
"And in return you'll help me find who I'm looking for?" affirms Cloud.
"That's the deal!" exclaim Hades. Suddenly, a glowing piece of paper pops up in his hand. "Just sign the contract and let's get this party started!"
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After Hades gets Cloud up to the world of the living, the blonde-haired swordsman makes his way to the coliseum lobby. As he saunters along, thoughts kept rolling in his head. He's not sure if Hades will stick with his word, but he's got to do anything he can to find Sephiroth. Vincent sacrificed himself for a reason and Cloud won't stop until he finds Sephiroth and defeats him. Tifa, Marlene, and everyone depended on him and he let them down. With nothing to lose, he'll stop at nothing to regain what he had lost.
Once in the lobby, he registers his name on the roster and steps out into the coliseum. On the way he passes by a strange group consisting of a teenage boy with a giant key, a wand-wielding duck, and a shield-holding upright dog.
Things just get weirder and weirder, thought Cloud as he passes by, looking eye-to-eye with the boy. He looks to be around my age when I first entered Shin-Ra to become a SOLDIER. I hope he's not here to enter the games.
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Cloud was stunned to see that little boy manage to beat one enemy after the other with that giant key weapon of his. He crosses his arms in disbelief; he had never expected to have to go against a mere kid during this whole deal and now he was getting second thoughts.
Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all, he thought. I don't want to have to mess up a little kid just to find Sephiroth. That's not right.
However, his belief was not shared by Hades, who excitedly commands him to defeat the boy. Cloud couldn't figure out what the big deal was with the god and the boy.
"The great god of the underworld is afraid of a kid?" he exclaims his thoughts. "Sorry, but my contract says—"
"I know what the contract says! I wrote it! You think I don't know what the contract says?" replied Hades angrily. "I know it requires that you beat Hercules and that's it, but you need to fight that kid in order to get to him! C'mon!"
He's right, thought Cloud. A deal's a deal. I can't back out of this.
Not entirely happy that he would have to fight a teenage boy, Cloud saunters off to the arena field.
Standing on the arena facing off against the boy and his friends, Cloud couldn't help but think of how determined and unfaltering the boy looked in winning the games. He remembered a determination he once had to become a member of SOLDIER, to follow in the footsteps of his hero, and become a famous hero himself. All those dreams of being strong, of being able to protect the people he cared about. He couldn't help but feel that the boy felt the same way. To fight for what you believe in and protect those close to you. In a way, Cloud felt as if he was fighting himself.
The match began and Cloud starts out strong, dashing fast and holding his sword in a manner meant for piercing through his enemy. The boy readily deflects his onslaught with his strange key and strikes back with a series of hammers and slashes. Cloud was taken aback by the boy's willpower and strength. There was a chance he could actually be beaten by this kid! A frown forms upon his face as he jumps up and stabs the ground with the Buster Sword, sending immense shockwaves that damaged the boy and his animal friends. Cloud didn't want to defeat the boy and crush his dreams of being hero, but he wasn't about be beaten by the kid either.
Summoning all the energy he could, the blonde-haired swordsman attacks with a series of dashing slashes that hit their mark on the boy, finishing it off with his earth-piercing shockwave. The kid was weakened, but not ready to give up just yet. He swings his key around to slash at Cloud, who blocks the attack with his Buster Sword. The boy continues his onslaught, hacking and slashing until he manages to knock Cloud off balance. Taking advantage of the situation, the boy quickly releases a series of attacks upon the opened swordsman, who was unable to get his sword in position to deflect the attacks. With one final blow, the boy slams the head of the giant key down Cloud's head, finally defeating him.
Cloud couldn't believe it. The kid actually beat him! And not only that, he had the courteousness to offer a friendly handshake afterwards.
Great fighter, nice guy, and good sportsmanship, thought Cloud. He sort of reminds me of—
He couldn't finish his thought as he turns around to find a dark shape come down on him and knock him unconscious.
To Be Continued…