zA/N: Woah! How long has it been? Sorry for the very late update. I got writer's block this time. Can't think of any fresh ideas for this chapter. So, because of that, please forgive me for any random parts in here. Plus, the drop down menus in Firefox won't work. Anyway! Belated HAPPY NEW YEAR! HAHA
Thanks so much for the reviews! I'm so happy! XD
Chapter Eight
.Booby Traps are Not Cool.
Thirty minutes had past sine they decided which path to go. In the end, it all went Lightning's way. How, you ask? Well, they had a few more arguments for ten minutes –and another glare challenge between the two which lasted for another whole ten minutes. Annoyed, she stormed off to the right path. And of course, Zack and Noctis –and also Cloud- had to follow her because they were afraid of what might happen to the female SOLDIER.
At the moment, they are crossing on a hanging bridge. It was not just any awfully constructed bridged created years ago; it was DESPICABLY and HORRIBLY made. Every time it swings side to side, it feels like it's about to fall apart any minute. The wooden planks, that are supposed to be the things you need to step on, had many missing parts. The rope looked like it's going to snap any minute. Oh, the worst things that happen in a SOLDIER's life just got even worse. Zack looked down. It didn't took him long enough to realize that they were so high up. He could see a thick wavy line of blue which seemed to be a river. But with this high up, you could never survive a fall even with water present down below.
"Eessh... I feel like I'm about to fall any minute now." He said as he carefully walked. Each step they took had a creaking sound. Slowly but surely, they were now in the middle of their way to safe land.
Suddenly, a shrill sound of a bird echoed throughout the forest. A large black bird, similar to the one last night, flew its way across the sky. It swooped down and flew pass the bridge. The flapping of its big wings had caused the bridge to sway sideways in a dangerous way. The four took hold of the ropes to avoid themselves from falling off. The next thing that happened was something that they didn't want to happen.
SNAP! The bridge was falling apart. The rope from their starting point had broke. "Uh oh. Not good."
"RUN!"
They started running fast towards the other side as they could and at the same time, trying to avoid the missing planks. Cloud and Noctis were the first to step on the edge of the cliff. Zack was next. Before Lightning could finally reach them, her foot was caught by one of the ropes. Instantaneously, she grabbed a hold of the rope that was securely tied to a wooden pole on land. Or so...
"Lightning!"
The rope started to break strand by strand. Not only that, gravity was ready to pull her down too. "Grab my hand!" Zack said as he stretched out his hand to her. Snap. "Light!" She tried to grab his hand. But then, another strand had snapped, slowly making it harder to reach his hands. With more effort, she tried to reach for his outstretched hand.
SNAP!
"LIGHTNING!"
The bridge fell down rapidly until a faint splash! could be heard. One by one, each part of the bridge fell to the river below and got carried away by the current. There was an air of silence between the two SOLDIERs. It was solemn. Nobody spoke a word. Zack opened his eyes. It was like he couldn't breathe because of this scenario.
Lightning was dangling in the air, hands holding Zack's. Like Zack, it was like she couldn't breathe as well since she had a fifty-fifty chance of surviving. He decided to let out a little laugh to break the tense atmosphere. "You okay?" He asked.
"Ya think?" She spat. Chuckling, he pulled her up and helped her get to safe land. She looked at him as she sat safely. His expression was mixed. It was puzzling. She couldn't describe whether it was joy or sadness... or something else. It was strange.
She turned to the other two SOLDIERs who were walking towards to the two. "Are you guys okay?" She nodded. "Yeah. Quite an experience, I guess." Zack said as he scratched behind his head before smiling sheepishly. "Just...don't do that, okay~?"
"My feet was caught!" She replied. The two laughed. "Well, if everyone's fine, then it's alright." Noctis said. "We got work to do, remember?" Zack stood up straightly and started to do several squats. "Of course, I remember. I'm ready for some action!"
Before the group could go, there was another two-way path. They paused.
...
"Right."
"Left."
And so the battle begins...again.
"OH NO! SOMEONE GOT MY MONEY!" A troubled woman in her thirties said as tears streamed in a dramatic way. "MA! SOMEONE STOLE MY DOLLIES!" A girl screamed as she ran her way to her mother."
"HUN! SOMEONE STOLE MY WIG! I'M NOW BALD FOR LIFE!" A man came running. He showed his bald head and suddenly it shone in its shininess. "ARRGGHH!"
"Who could have steal our beloved STUFF?"
"Fear no more, dear citizens!"
"Who's that?" The woman asked, shocked at the random voice. "All you need is a Shinra Trap Kit!"
"A what?"
"Yes, the Shinra Trap Kit!" Suddenly, ropes, shovels and other D.I.Y. Trap set appeared out of nowhere in a split second. The family were shocked and amazed. "Guaranteed to catch burglars, cats and whatever who try to steal your valuables. Order now for only 4,000 gils!"
"But the stuff is already here."
...
"That'll be 4,000 gils. Plus two hundred for instant delivery. The total is 4,200."
...
"Oh... okay."
"What are you waiting for? Go and use Shinra Trap Kit. Available at all leading stores nationwide." The family smirked as a dark aura appeared around them. "Now it's time to kill a certain monkey...heeheehee."
Meanwhile, a blonde haired boy with a tail sneezed. "Did somebody talk about me?"
Later...
After the decision was made, they went right -which was Lightning's choice. She did the same thing. Storming off the right path and letting them follow her, simple as that. But what they did not know that this path held so many booby traps. Pits covered with leaves, the hidden looped ropes that when you step on it you'll be hanged to the tree, you name it. It was as if there were traps set everywhere! "I knew we should go to the left."
"Shut up, blondie." She said. Cloud groaned as they cautiously take one step at a time. There seemed to be no traps falling down on them or whatever. Well, it wasn't until...
Beep, beep, beep, beep
Zack sneezed and stepped on a hidden button. "Oooh snap..."
...
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
"WHAT DID YOU DO, ZACK?" Cloud yelled as they started running for their lives. "HOW THE HECK AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW?" He replied. Noctis was both dodging and running at the same time. Due to this, he wasn't aware that there was a looped rope. His foot stepped on it and he was dragged all the way up in the tree. "Noctis!"
"D-Don't worry about me! GO!"
On the other hand, Zack wasn't listening to Noctis. He ran to help the raven-haired guy. "Don't worry, Noct!" He said. "I'm comi- Oh!" Zack bent down as he saw a squirrel look at him with its big shiny eyes. To Zack, it was really cute. "Hello there, little fella." He reached out his hand to touch it. Suddenly, the squirrel went berserk and launched itself to scratch the poor SOLDIER in the face. "AAAHHH! Get it off me!"
Meanwhile Cloud and Lightning were fighting off some flying robots that were attacking them. Lightning dodged as one was about to attack with a laser. Cloud was also slashing several robots that were after them. But there was one robot that they didn't notice. It was so much faster than the robots that they were fighting. "What the-?" It swirled around the both of them and tied them together with a rope.
"NA NA NA NA NA~" The robot stuck out a tongue and left. In the background, Zack as still struggling to free himself from the deathly grasps of a squirrel platoon. Noctis still got his feet tied to a tree. In the middle of the commotion, they could hear footsteps from behind the trees. They could hear someone chuckling too. Little by little, footsteps grew louder and louder until it stopped.
"Cloud?"
The four turned their heads to this person. It was Vincent Valentine in his usual red cape, long hair and long pointed shoes. There was an eerie silence in this awkward meeting. The only sound there was the jungle noises and the flapping of the birds' wings.
Pfft.
Suddenly, this usually silent man chuckled. The chuckle turned louder until it was a big laugh. Cloud and Zack who really knew about Vincent had their eyes wide as saucers. "Well," He said slightly recovering from the comic situation. "What do we have here?" A smirk was placed in his lips. Cloud was obviously not amused and so is Lightning, who hates being laughed at.
Later...
"So... all these booby traps are yours?" Zack said as he pulled out Cura from his pouch. The green material let out a small glow as it was pulled out. Lightning, on the other hand, was busy shining her gunblade. "Yep." Vincent replied as he fixed up his traps. "I decided to try out this new trap kit Shinra had on sale."
"Oh, that." Cloud tried to untie the rope to free the dangling Noctis. "I guess the price speaks the quality." Unfortunately for the hanging SOLDIER, Cloud was too busy talking that he was barely paying attention to untying him. As a result, he fell down with a loud thud! "What are you guys doing here anyway?" He asked.
Splash! All eyes turned to Zack. "Ehehehehe... Let's say I drop the material by accident."
"ZACK!"
"What? It was an accident!" He shrugged. Noctis slowly stood up from the fall. He went to his small brown bag and pulled out a green materia. "Here ya go." He tossed it to the injured SOLDIER. Zack began curing his injuries. "Thanks, Noct." He said. Vincent cleared his throat before going back to their own topic. "So, what brings you here in this miserable forest?" He said before setting up the traps.
"We're on a mission," Lightning said. "To find and observe Sephiroth." The word Sephiroth seemed to have caught his attention. He faced her, though he was still having the usual expression on his face, with curiosity. And then it hit him. "Was it anything related to what had happened last night?" The female SOLDIER closed her eyes. "I'm afraid so."
Suddenly, the earth began to shake. But this was not an ordinary earthquake. There was also a loud THUD! accompanied by it. It sounded like huge footsteps. The group were keeping their balance as the quake began to become more intense by the minute. They pulled out their weapons.
"It's a King Behemoth. It must be awake." Vincent said as he readied his guns. The trees in front of them were torn down as a huge behemoth appeared before them. It let out a very loud roar that echoed throughout the forest. "Be careful! The traps I've set are already ready."
"I can see tha-" Before Zack could continue, the King Behemoth took another gigantic step and the ground cracked, causing it to break into a large deep pit. The group fell down into the hole, escaping from the battle.
A/N: Nothing special going on this chapter but hey, I was taking an exam (and had writer's block at the same time).