Author Note: I am so sorry I haven't updated this in a while. I've started working and I hardly get any time to sit down and think of something to write. This may or may not be short. I'll see what happens as it goes. Oh yeah, I got a tattoo of Cloud Strife a few days ago and it is so freakin' awesome! Link to my Facebook is on my page so if you want to see it just go and see the picture of it
Cloud looked at Serah. Serah looked at Cloud. They'd both said those four letters to one another. Cloud released a breath he didn't even know he was holding. God, he was so scared to say that to her. They'd been friends for a very long time and he'd never thought of her that way. Maybe it was just the hormones running through his body that he finally noticed how beautiful his friend was.
Serah stared at Cloud as he released his breath. She'd tried not to start laughing as his face got redder as he began blushing. His spikes bounced about his head as he tried to level his breathing again. Suddenly the urge to just wrap her arms around him emerged in her mind. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Cloud. His shirt smelled good, in fact he smelled good. Serah smiled as she nuzzled her head into his chest.
"You two, come on," laughed Kira leaning against the frame of the door which she used her thumb to point through, a signal to the pair that they had to go into the room. Cloud nodded and began walking as Serah released her embrace on Cloud. He gently took Serahs' hand in her own and she walked quickly beside him. The pair smiled as they walked side-by-side and hand in hand. Kira smiled at the pair as they walked past her and she turned around and began following the lovebirds.
The got into the room and quickly sat down. A blue hue shimmered from an orb in the centre of the room. Kira walked past the orb and swiped her hand over the orb. The orb erupted a bright blue light and suddenly a blue holographic screen came out from above the orb. Cloud and Serah looked at the spectacle in front of them, flabbergasted.
"Nice," commented Cloud smirking. Kira nodded and began swiping her hands over the holographic screen and images began popping up, showing symbols and a map of the area around the Las Vegas Eiffel Tower.
"We've traced the video feed link to here. The signal is coming from the top of the tower," stated Kira still swiping more images onto the screen, "it took a while to trace it through the many levels of encryption."
"So, we go in, kill the enemy and walk out with the President?" asked Cloud lifting his feet up onto the table in front of him.
"That's pretty much it," agreed Kira, "there's no way the kidnappers are going to let us waltz in and take the President out." She left the screen and walked towards the wall behind her. Pressing her palm against the wall caused the hissing of air being released and a small shelf started coming out of the wall. On the shelf, perfectly ironed and folded into the indents in the shelf, lay three sets of clothes. Kira lifted a dark, denim-like jacket with a pair of denim hot pants and a pair of cowboy-style boots. She sat them on the table and slid them towards Serah. Serah looked at them and nodded, standing up and walking out the room.
Next, Kira pulled out a black, cotton zip-up shirt and a pair of black, baggy combat trousers and a pair of sturdy, black boots. She slid them over to Cloud and he grabbed them, walking out of the room. He kept walking until he made it to the nearest bathroom. Inside he quickly slid into a cubicle and locked the door. He pulled off his black t-shirt and pulled on the cotton shirt. He gasped lightly as he felt how soft and comfortable the shirt was. He pulled of his jeans and slid into the combats, hearing a soft thud as he clipped the clasp on his trousers closed. He looked down to the floor to see a long black sleeve with a black, leather pauldron on the top which was decorated with a detailed, silver wolf with a ring in its mouth. He felt the pockets and pulled out a pair of black, leather gloves, one with a wrist sleeve longer than the other. He picked up his discarded clothes in a bundle and walked out the cubicle. He checked himself in the mirror, loving how his hair defied gravity and always stayed the way he liked it. Nodding to himself, he walked out of the toilet and back to the room.
Inside, Serah was already there sitting on her chair in her new outfit. Cloud noticed how it clung to her curves, making him blush. Serah smiled and patted the seat in front of her and he nodded, taking the seat beside her. A whooshing sound echoed in the room and a secret door in the right side wall slid away, revealing Kira. She wasn't wearing her normal clothes but now she was wearing a short skirt with a pair of black biker shorts underneath and a white shirt. She threw a pair of holsters at Cloud who looked at the funnily.
"One is for you and the other is for Serah," Kira said, clipping a holster over her shoulder. Cloud took a holster that looked like it would fit his gunblades. Serah also slid her holster on, letting it hang by the back of her legs when it's in sword mode.
"Thanks, I'm ready for this now," said Cloud, rising from his chair and bouncing lightly on the spot. A golden clawed hand landed on Clouds' shoulder, calming him in an instant.
"If you aren't careful then you will be in trouble," said Vincent, his voice sending chills down Clouds' spine, "you can't be a restless puppy on the battlefield." Cloud nodded and returned to his seat. Serah looked down at him and smiled.
"Vincent, I assume you are joining us?" chirped Serah. Vincent glared at her and nodded. His glare sent shivers through Serahs' body.
Kira looked at the pair and smiled. Cloud took that as a sign that it was time to go and finally save the President. She threw Cloud a small device which explained what Serah and Clouds' plan was. He'd read through the brief and quickly jogged to the parking lot. He found the bike which his key fit into.
The bike gleamed like it was brand new, the paint shining. It wasn't an expensive bike, just a regular dirt bike. Cloud lifted his leg over the bike and revved it. Serah grabbed the seat and launched herself onto the bike as Cloud shot out the door.
Kira and Vincent watched the pair speed off towards their destination.
"Do you think Etro chose wisely?" asked Kira, her mind racing with many questions that only the Goddess could answer.
"It wasn't just those two she chose, Kira, there are four more scattered through the universe," stated Vincent, calmly looking into the distance.
"You mean…?"
"This fight is much bigger than we ever imagined. It's going to take the combined forces of them all in order for us to defeat our enemy."
"Vincent, who exactly are you?"
"I am simply Etro's servant. I am here to make sure they have the right guidance."
"You are a man of mystery, Valentine," said Kira, quickly walking towards a SUV and climbing into the car.
Cloud and Serah laughed as they sped through the streets, narrowly avoiding oncoming traffic and pedestrians. A large blast of energy surprised Cloud, causing him to press hard on the brakes and skidding to a halt. He looked around and noticed the tower right around the corner from them, the energy blasting a hole in the house beside them. He looked up the tower; seeing a large beast firing off beams of energy in all directions, visibly angered. Cloud scanned the area and smirked, realising a way up the tower. He reached into his back pocket and brought out a pair of goggles. He tightened them over his eyes and looked back to Serah, flashing her a large grin.
"Hold on, we're going up," laughed Cloud, turning back and revving the bike.
"Up!?" screamed Serah, quickly wrapping her arms around Cloud. He laughed loudly and shot up a run over car. The bike sped off the car and went straight towards the leg of the tower. He pulled the bike back and slammed onto the leg, speeding up the metal towards the platform at the top. Cloud lifted his feet onto the seat, pulling Serah up with him, and leapt off the bike. Serah let go of Cloud and the pair flew into the air. Both flipped and landed on the platform, unsheathing their weapons.
Sitting in the middle of the platform sat a man in a chair, behind the man stood the large creature which was firing beams of energy. Cloud stood up straight, his swords ready to deflect an attack. Serah remained crouched down, her bowsword in its bow mode, aimed at the beasts' heart.
"Slashed, strangled, and slaughtered. Beaten, stabbed, and crushed. Garrotted and impaled. Shot and executed without mercy. Nicely said, Weiss, I wonder if this will be a little more amusing than last time," echoed a feminine voice with a thick Romanian accent. Cloud gasped and quickly scanned the platform and surrounding areas. He grunted as his eyes landed on a woman, dressed in a red battlesuit with black outlines. She leapt off the beam she was on and the red cloth tied at the back of her flowed gracefully.
"Who are you," yelled Cloud, "and what is that thing?"
"I am Rosso the Crimson," smirked the woman, spinning her double bladed gun-like weapon, "and this is the Homunculi known as Sloth."
"What are Homunculi and who is Weiss?" shouted Serah aiming her bow at Rosso.
"Homunculi are beings brought forth from the seal and Weiss is a man who'll change this entire world!" laughed Rosso, her voice capturing the attention of the beast.
"She's insane," gasped Serah, looking at Cloud. Even through his goggles dark shades she still saw the determination in his eyes to get rid of the beast and woman to save the President.
"Serah, shoot a Flamestrike at the beam above that woman," whispered Cloud, loud enough for Serah to hear. Serah nodded and quickly shot the chosen attack at the beam. As soon as the Flamestrike hit the beam, it melted and caused an imbalance in the structure.
"Smart boy," laughed Rosso, managing to maintain her balance as the tower began shaking, "I would've tested your skills but I'll wait and see what happens here."
The beams above began snapping and falling towards the platform. Cloud sprinted towards the President, slashing apart any beams that fell in his way. Rosso flipped over the beams and darted from one beam to the other as the structure fell apart. Cloud slid one of his swords back into the holster and grabbed the chair with his free hand while blocking an attack from Sloth with his sword.
Serah dodged a falling beam and fired a Sparkstrike, hitting Sloths' eye. Cloud slashed the restraints and hauled the President over his shoulder. He sprinted, dodging and slashing the beams as the fell and stopped beside Serah.
"Let's go, this place is gonna be rubble in minutes," warned Cloud, moving Serah ahead of him. The pair leapt onto the building across from them and ran straight to the edge and jumped onto the next building.
"I should really thank you," shouted Rosso, "if it weren't for you then I'd have to go through the trouble of opening the seal myself!"
"What are you talking about!?" screamed Serah, angry at this strange woman.
"Sloth, of course. If you hadn't hit the weakest point in the tower, bringing it down upon the beast and ending its life then I would have to do it," replied Rosso, twirling her blade around her.
"You mean…" gasped Cloud.
"You catch on quickly, yes I mean the tower and Sloth were a seal. When we open the rest then this world will know pain and suffering," laughed Rosso, quickly darting over the rooftops, escaping the pair. Cloud sighed in annoyance and looked down to the President. The mans' face was badly beaten and bloody.
"Sir, are you okay?" asked Serah, preparing a Cure spell for the President. He nodded weakly as she cast the white magic over his body. The blood slowly drew back into the wounds as they closed up. He sat up slowly and looked at Serah and then Cloud.
"Etro's warriors?" asked the President.
"Yes, sir," replied Cloud, helping the President to his feet.
"We have to get away from here; may I borrow your mobile?"
"Of course," replied Cloud handing over his phone. The President pressed a few buttons and muttered a few words before ending the call.
"A helicopter will be here with your friends on it, we're going to the White House," said the President as a helicopter appeared out of nowhere. The door opened and Kira helped them into the cabin.
"Trust you two to destroy something," grinned Kira, heaving Cloud into the cabin.
"I like leaving my mark," winked Cloud taking a seat beside Serah. The helicopter flew past the remains of the tower and passed a burning building. Kira looked down and gasped, causing Cloud and Serah to look over beside her. Down below, their headquarters had been destroyed. Looking up and grinning was a large man, draped in blue wielding a large cannon.
"They've destroyed our home," growled Kira, staring at the man as the helicopter flew off towards Washington.
Author Note 2: Oh, God, I am so sorry this took forever to churn out! I promise I'll get newer chapters up sooner.