What Lies Beneath
Chapter 8
Battered and Bruised
"Cid!" Aerith called, running in front of Cloud, arms stretched out. "You know the rules. No one must be unarmed in battle."
"As if it matters!" he snapped back. "If Kadaj can make his own rules... so can I!" With that, Cid jumped in the air over Aerith in attempt to hit Cloud.
Without hesitating, Cloud grabbed Aerith and dove out of the way. He skidded to the ground, protecting the girl in his arms. Recovering quickly, he released Aerith and jumped back up. Cid was puffing on his cigarette as he watched.
"Get someplace safe," Cloud ordered Aerith.
"Cloud!" Aerith cried, "This fight does not have to happen. You are unarmed!"
Cloud did not look at her, still watching Cid. "I don't think I have much of a choice."
He gently pushed Aerith to the side and clenched his hands into tight fists, raising them in a defensive position. Aerith took several steps back, shaking her head at Cloud's foolishness. Cid dashed toward Cloud, but in mid-run he stuck his spear into the ground and vaulted high in the air. Cloud looked up, eyebrows knitting together, teeth clenching.
BAM!
Cloud skidded across the ground, only coming to a stop when he hit a sidewalk curb. He looked at his shirt and found a tiny little slit where the spear had actually touched him. Cloud got up as Cid puffed at his cigarette once more. After taking a long drag, he flicked the butt away; it landed on the street, leaving a trail of burning ash behind it before slowing dying. Cid lit another cigarette and began smoking, placing another behind his ear for later, and then lifted his spear from out of the ground. He spun it around gracefully before leaning it up against his shoulder.
Cid tapped off the ashes on his cigarette and placed it back in his mouth. Next, he spun his spear around before using it to vault high into the air. Cloud looked up, eyes scanning the darkening sky for the man, but it was the sound of something grinding him that alerted him to turn around. Upon turning around, Cloud was greeted by Cid's boot connecting with his face, smashing into him hard. Cloud stumbled backward and tripped over the curb, landing on the street. He sat up on his elbows, and, tasting blood in his mouth, spat it outupon the concrete.
Aerith gasped, covering her mouth. Cid looked up at her, a small grunt escaping from his lips.
Cloud mentally thanked Aerith and then swiped Cid's feet out from under him. Cid landed hard on his back.
"God-..." He began to curse but stopped himself, "Damn it!"
Cid jumped back up, landing on both feet, spear in hand. The speed the older man had was remarkable, especially since he did not seem tired, despite from what Cloud noticed that he was a chain smoker.
"Smoking is bad for you," Cloud said, hoping to distract him for a moment.
"You're as bad as Shera... shut the hell up!" Cid snapped.
Shera, Cloud repeated mentally.
Angry, Cid spun is spear around and then thrust it forward, forcing Cloud to jump back. He swiped again, horizontally, making a nice cut in Cloud's shirt. Cloud kept jumping backwards, trying to avoid Cid's attacks, when his back smacked into a wall. Cloud cursed and had to duck out of the way, landing on his bottom as the spear narrowly missed thrusting straight into his torso.
The spiky haired man scrambled out of the way before getting back onto his feet. He needed a weapon; there was no way to defend himself without one. Suddenly the spear crashed down on him, knocking Cloud off balance. Cid landed in front of him. He grabbed his spear and pointed at Cloud. Just then, Cloud felt the spear tip hit his leg and he yelled out in pain. Cid yanked it out forcefully and then backed away.
"This ends now, ya' little bastard!" Cid yelled, launching himself in the air.
The pain in his leg radiated. He could not run, he could not defend himself against a sharp spear. He was going to lose. Cloud closed his eyes.
I don't want to lose!
Suddenly, Cloud felt a feeling of warmth wash over him and bright light flashed before his eyes. Suddenly, he found himself in a vast field of flowers, as he did the first time he fought Kadaj. Again he felt a presence behind him, touching his arm gently.
"You cannot fight without a weapon."
"Aerith?" Cloud said.
"Quickly, take your sword!"
"I left Zack's sword in my apartment!"
He felt breath against his ear, a body touching his. Cloud stiffened, holding his breath. He heard a sad noise escape that caused a shiver go down his spine.
"Then I shall give it back to you." the voice whispered in his ear.
Cloud found his body being able to move. He turned his head to look over his shoulder when the same flurry of petals erupted, blinding him from viewing the person behind him. Cloud shut his eyes as the wind picked up and the petals fluttered wildly around him.
When he opened his eyes Cloud sucked in a sharp breath, there in front of him stood Zack sword. Scattered around him were yellow and white flower petals. Cloud eyes found Aerith hiding from the corner from which she had been, puzzling Cloud. Had it been Aerith who had done this? Yet, he did not dwell on it for long because just then, Cid came down with his attack. Cloud grasped the sword and swung it up to block the old man's strike.
Cloud then used all the force he could muster to throw him into the air. Cid's mouth gaped open and before he could even react, Cloud met him in the air and swung his sword. Both men landed on the ground. A moment past and all was quiet; the cigarette in Cid's mouth then fell to the ground and he slumped over, grabbing his arm.
Cid let out a string of curse words and Cloud simply strapped Zack's sword to his back. He looked over at Cid and shook his head.
"I don't understand why you want Aerith, but trying to cheat your way to a win won't work," Cloud said as he glanced over at Aerith.
"You're better than I gave you credit for," Cid said, using his spear to help him stand. "The kid said you were good... I guess to beat Kadaj you have to be. That bastard fought dirty though. I guess I'm not any better."
Cloud shook his head. "No, you're skilled and you may have tried to take advantage, anyone would I suppose, but I know if you did win... you wouldn't hurt Aerith."
Cid smirked and took the cigarette from behind his ear. "What makes you say that?" he questioned, lighting up.
"Shera... you said that name as you were fighting."
"Yeah what of it? It's the name of my ship."
Cloud smirked. "I don't think it's a ship that tells you smoking is bad for you. You must care a lot for Shera and likewise Shera must care a lot for you."
Cid snorted and took a long drag. "Don't think of me as a good guy. What good does hitting a girl do anyway, especially one so defenseless? Whatever, I'm out of here."
Swinging his spear over his shoulder, Cid walked away. Cloud watched him, still puffing away at his cigarette. Shaking his head, Cloud looked over at Aerith who was already rushing at him. Her face was full of worry.
"Cloud," Aerith said softly.
"I'm fine," Cloud said, pushing the pain away. "Nothing but a flesh wound."
Aerith touched Cloud's cheek and shook her head. Her eyes were now no longer on him, but looking past him.
"I'm sorry..." she whispered, before backing away from him. Cloud's eyes went wide as she ran from him. He reached out his hand to grab her when realization hit him. He whipped out his sword and spun around, only to be met with a large blast. Cloud went flying, smacking straight into a wall and then sliding down it.
"How many people am I going to fight in one day?" Cloud asked himself.
Cloud's knees were ready to buckle; he found that he could not stand up without using the wall for support. Pushing against it, he hauled himself up nonetheless and looked up, teeth clenching as he tried to push back the pain from the burns on his body. He looked around, spotting his sword a few feet in front of him.
Not a moment later, a large man crashed to the ground in front of him, breaking into the concrete ground. His skin was a dark chocolate brown, his hair was tied in tight dreadlocks, and he was wearing hunter green pants, paired with a white sleeveless jacket. His boots thumped against the ground as he walked toward Cloud, and as he neared, the blond imagined himself shrinking. This man was huge!
His body was adorned with thick muscles, with some showing off tiny veins. He towered over Cloud . Yet, what surprised Cloud more, even more so than Vincent's golden clawed hand, was that one of this man's hands was missing completely and replaced with a large Gatling gun.
Cloud swallowed hard.
"I'm guessing you're after Aerith too?" Cloud said, doing his best to hide the fact that his body was aching all over. The man chuckled, surprised that he was not hearing Cloud cowering in pain. He stood with his legs apart, arms out, and shoulders back.
"I was hoping Cid would roughen you up some. Give me a better chance. Surprised someone as puny as you could beat anyone."
"I'm just full of surprises," Cloud replied bitterly. "And you are?"
"You need to know everyone's name before you fight now?"
Cloud smirked, "It would be nice to know the name of the person I'm going to beat."
The man's eyes dark eyes narrowed. "Don't get cocky. The name is Barret, and I'm going to be the one who's going to kick yer sorry ass."
"Interesting. So, will you tell me why you want Aerith?"
He shook his head and then held out his gun. "Nope, now time to say yer prayers!"
Gunshots rang but none of them hit Cloud. Barret's eyes widened as he watched Cloud slide across ground between his legs, and slip behind him. Spinning around, he had just enough time to see Cloud retrieve his sword.
Cloud ducked as he heard more gun shots, feeling bullets whiz past him. He cursed mentally and began running, avoiding Barret's erratic gunshots. Unlike Vincent, who was more about accuracy and had only a few rounds of ammo, Barret seemed to have unlimited amount and was more keen on firing as many shots as possible, hoping to hit his target. Cloud noticed that Barret was not as elegant as the red cloaked gunman. However, that did not make him any less dangerous. If he was hit by any of those bullets, it would rip him apart and he was sure after the last couple attacks, he did not want to end up with anymore holes.
Cloud needed to end this fast. The bullets were getting closer and Cloud knew he would not be able to run much longer. His legs were trashed. The wound Cid inflicted hindered him greatly. Then it hit him. It was now Cloud realized why he was being attacked so viciously. They were trying to make him fall to fatigue. It made him briefly wonder if this is how everyone who previously possessed Aerith was forced to fall: fighting endlessly until they lost because of fatigue or maybe worse.
Yet, Cloud refused to lose Aerith. He made a promise, after all.
Suddenly, the bullets stopped and Cloud looked at Barret. His gun was glowing and at the tip was a large red ball of energy growing bigger and bigger. Cloud dove out of the way as the energy blast flew at the spot he had once stood, creating a small crater in the ground.
Cloud looked back at the smoking crater. His pupils shrank as he realized just how close he was from being blown to ashes. Cloud went to get up, finding his legs ready to give out completely now. He needed to heal, needed to rest; but Barret had other plans. A spray of bullets sped through the air at Cloud who brought his sword up in defense, which deflected any bullet that would have hit him.
Barret quickly charged his gun again. Cloud narrowed his eyes, holding his sword in front of him. He could not run any more. He could hear Aerith let out a cry for him to run. The gun charged into a massive ball of energy and when Barret could charge it no more he fired it at Cloud. The younger man did not move, instead he kept his sword out. His eyes flickered, and began to glow, his pupils thinning to mere slits.
Then, raising his sword, Cloud cut through the energy and charged straight into Barret. The larger man's eyes widened to the size of saucers as Cloud came flying at him. The sword came crashing down at him forcing the man to shut his eyes and prepare for his end.
And... it never came.
Barret opened his eyes and nearly had a heart attack as he saw the blade centimeters from the tip of his nose.
"Surrender?" Cloud asked.
Barret nodded furiously. Smirking, Cloud sheathed his sword and turned to leave. Barret slumped to the ground in defeat. A single tear slipped down his cheek as he whispered something to himself that only he could hear.
Cloud looked back at him, wondering what he had muttered, but it was not to him. No, his opponent was talking to himself. Whatever he was muttering, it was made Cloud feel slightly bad but again, it was his neck on the line and Aerith's safety.
Cloud walked a few paces away, finding Aerith appearing from her hiding place. She quickly returned to his side. Cloud was battered, bruised, and ready to collapse.
Aerith helped the injured man back to his apartment. Once again he was bandaged up but this time he was forced into his bed by Aerith, who refused to allow him to walk her to her own home.
"It's dangerous," Cloud said, trying to get up but she gently pushed him down.
"I'll be fine," Aerith replied calmly. "I'll ask Reno and Rude to take me home."
Aerith smiled and it made Cloud wonder. How did she know them? Well on the day they first met when she came to his apartment it seemed that they knew each other to some extent. Reno did not call her Ms. Gainsborough or something more proper for people who just met. Then Cloud wondered if that was just how Reno was. His curiosity though prompted his question.
"How do you know Reno and Rude?" he asked. "I barely know them and I live here."
Aerith laughed. "Oh, those two are always out and about. They don't own these apartments. They are just forced to work here for the time being. The owner of the apartment is a rich guy."
"Most likely," Cloud agreed.
"I know them because they used to escort me around... it was for my protection."
"Wait... those two aren't trying to possess you as well?"
Aerith shook her head. "No, they have no use for me..." She looked out Cloud's bedroom window, a sudden distant look in her eyes. "I guess that's lucky."
Cloud looked at her. "Lucky for you?"
Aerith smiled and then headed for the door. "Good night Cloud, try and get some rest. You seemed to have had a busy day."
She left, and Cloud suddenly felt confused.
"Seemed to have a busy day?" he muttered to himself, irritated.
Cloud wanted to argue about Aerith's sudden lack of care, but the girl was gone and sleep was calling to him. His head hit the pillow and within the next minute he was asleep. Every ache and pain seemed to disappear as he fell into a deep dream.
Cloud opened his eyes and discovered himself in the field of flowers once again. He stood there staring at the yellow and white flowers and watched as they bent to the wind. Cloud watched his hair shift in front of his face but he could not feel the wind, nor could he hear it. Everything was dead silent. It sent shivers down his spine.
He took a step and even though he was crushing flowers under the weight of his foot, he could not hear the sound of the delicate flora snapping beneath him. He continued to walk through the endless field, wondering if anyone or anything was here.
Then, as if on cue, a strange feeling overwhelmed Cloud: the feeling of something watching him. He turned around, scanning the field but saw no one; but he knew someone, or something, was there. Whatever it was, was right behind him.
"Who are you?" Cloud asked. He was surprised he could hear his own voice when he heard nothing else.
He turned around and behind him he saw a beast with flaming orange and red fur, with one eye, and the tip of his tail burning brightly. His fur was decorated with feathers and beads, weaved through his long red mane.
The beast and Cloud stared at one another for a long time. Cloud expected it to talk because this was not the first time he saw this creature. No, on his first night in Midgar he had dreamed of this strange beast. This beast that rushed toward him and pouncedupon him as if prey. After what seemed like minutes of the two staring in silence at one another, the beast turned its back to Cloud and ran a few feet away. It stopped and turned around to look at him, seeing if he was following.
The beast quietly beckoned to Cloud to follow and the man could do nothing but oblige. He ran after the beast through the flowers, but as Cloud tried his best to keep up, he found himself unable to. The creature was yards ahead and did not stop to make sure the follower could keep up. The blonde man did his best to keep up, but when the creature disappeared over a hill, Cloud was sure he would lose sight of it for good once he reached the top.
Cloud climbed the hill, finding himself trying his best to hurry to the top. When he did, he found himself laboring for breath, finding it hard to breathe. As he stopped at the top to catch his breath, he bent down, placing his hands on his knees to take a moment to rest. As he crouched over ,a red petal fluttered past him.
"Huh?" Cloud said as he watched the petal fly by.
Looking up, he let out a soft gasp. Cloud scanned the field and found himself what seemed to be an entirely different field of flowers. While he was used to seeing the pure white and yellow flowers, these flowers were also yellow and white, but also red, with some speckled with red. Cloud eyes widened as he walked down the hill and into the sea of flowers, staring at the strange phenomenon.
When he stopped, he knelt down to the ground and looked at the flowers. The red ones were a deep crimson that looked so out of place. He then reached down and plucked one of the white and red speckled flowers. His fingers grazed over the petals as he studied the odd flower carefully.
Suddenly a loud cry echoed through the field. Cloud stood up spinning around, trying to decipher where the cry had come from. He could not pinpoint its origin: it seemed to be coming from everywhere. Yet, the sound of it made Cloud's heart clench. The anguished cry continued, becoming more intense, the sound of someone in pain.
Then, it stopped.
Cloud blinked, looking around. Suddenly, the flower in his hand began to lose its shape, becoming red liquid. All of the flowers followed suit, all of them melting into red liquid.
BAM! BAM!
Horror filled Cloud as he tried too get out of red liquid as it soon began to reach past his waist and quickly begin to rise.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Cloud tried to climb the hill again but everytime he tried to gather footing, his feet flipped and was sliding down deeper into the liquid until finally it engulfed him. Cloud found himself holding his breath, drowning in the red, as he tried to swim up to gather air into his burning lungs. However, no matter how far he tried to swim he could not get to the top. He was going to die... his lung were on fire... he was...
BAM!
Cloud jumped up from his bed, breathing heavily as sweat dripped down his brow and neck. Each breath he took in made him realize he had held his breath while he dreamed that he was drowning in that sea of red. It was then he also realized that someone was knocking on his door.
Cloud got up, and he immediately wished he had not ,for his body was still aching from the burns, the stabs, the cuts and bruises he had endured. He glanced out the window and came to realize that he got maybe an hour or two of sleep before someone decided to wake him up. The knocking continued and Cloud was apprehensive of opening the door, especially since after all that happened to him today.
"Hey new guy!" snapped a voice that Cloud vaguely remembered. "Open this damn door!"
Cloud opened the door and both Reno and Rude walked in. Both dressed the same as the last time he saw him making Cloud wonder if these two ever changed their clothes.
"What do you want?" Cloud asked, not hiding the fact that he was beyond irritated for being woken up.
"Shut up," Reno snapped. "and come with us."
Cloud's eyebrows knitted together. "I'm not going anywhere, not until you explain what the hell you're doing here."
Reno smirked as Rude slowly positioned himself behind Cloud. Cloud felt uneasy.
"You think we're giving you a choice? We can do this the easy way..."
In a flash, Rude grabbed Cloud from behind, wrapping his arms to the side. Thinking quickly, Cloud slammed the back of his head into Rude's face, smashing the sunglasses into him. Rude reluctantly let Cloud go. Cloud then went to attack Reno but the red-haired man proved faster than the injured Cloud, and he pulled out a metal rod the surged with electricity.
The second it connected with Cloud's chest a volt of electricity surged through. His body jerked as he felt his body become instantaneously paralyzed and all of his energy slipping away. When Reno pulled the rod away, Cloud slumped to his knees. Pausing for a moment, the room began to spin and then Cloud found himself on the ground, face down. The blond haired man looked up to see Reno's rod sparking as he grinned wickedly, while Rude adjusted a new pair of glasses on his face.
"But... I prefer it the hard way." Reno chuckled, bringing his rod down onto Cloud back, zapping him again. Cloud yelled out and when Reno released him again, his vision blurred before going black.
X, X, X,
Author Note- I wrote this while half asleep so trying to edit it was nightmare. I don't even recall writing some of the things I did. Ah well, enjoy. Thanks to MidnightSchemer for editing this.