Cloud's Story
Cloud sat on one of the rocks scattered throughout Planet's Core. The swirling of the lifestream did little to ease his dizziness. He was tired and sleepy. It felt as though every inch of his body is rebelling against his will. His mind struggled to break free of his control. His eyelids relentless tried to close. But still he fought. If he were to fall asleep, who is to say whether he can still control that last sliver of his mind left when he wakes up.
Terra was stirring in her sleep. She should wake anytime soon now, and Cloud was desperately trying to decide whether he should keep her unconscious. He did not know whether she would remain still when she could not find any Cosmos Warriors nearby, or rampage the whole continent in search of one.
Just then, a ray of light struck an inch away from his foot. An ambush, he thought as he reflexively unsheathed his sword to face the assailant. He gaped at the sight of the Warrior of Light landing elegantly on a floating rock above him. He stared hard at the panting Cloud, evaluating him. Then, without any words or explanations, the enigmatic warrior charged forward at him.
Cloud blocked his first attack but his opponent was relentless. Again and again Cloud barely managed to block the Warrior of Light's slashes of sword. The throbbing in his head grew ever more violent with every blow the Warrior struck at him.
Is this a good time to give up? Cloud thought. But he paid dearly for that sliver of momentarily hesitation. With another harsh blow, the Warrior of Light struck him down. He fell on the ground and his sword feel about two feet away from him. Groaning in pain, he struggled to pick his head off the ground. There he saw the Warrior of Light, standing in front of him with his sword held high above his head, a beam of light shining with the sword at its core. As the light grew brighter and brighter, Cloud squinted his eyes until he could see no more.
As suddenly as it began, he found the Planet's Core back to the way it once was. The Warrior stood there silently, waiting for him to take the next move. Cloud got up, picked up his Buster Sword and growled at the silent warrior, "What the hell do you think you're doing!? Aren't we allies!?"
The Warrior gave a small smile and said, "We are now that you're sane again."
Cloud barely realized that the throbbing and whispering voices in his head were gone. He stood there dumbfounded, staring at his hand, moving his fingers, wanting to make sure that his body is willing to return to his control. And they did. His hands moved exactly as he willed them to, and so did other parts of his body. But before he could say anything to the Warrior of Light, a demented voice rang through the area…
"Warriors of Cosmos, I will destroy you!" Terra had regained consciousness, but not her sanity. Knowing that they have to act quickly, Cloud turned to the Warrior who nodded in response. They would have to work together to bring Terra back, before she unleashes unfathomable magic onto them.
Nimbly, Cloud jumped from rock to rock, catching Terra's attention as she unleashed a flurry of fireballs at him. The Warrior meanwhile unleashed a series of lightwaves which successfully hit Terra, knocking her back. But she was not down, in fact, she let out a deranged growl and in a flash of light, she turned into a purple Esper; a mystical cross between a summon beast and her usual form as a girl.
As an Esper, Terra's attacks grew more violent than ever, unleashing more than just magic spells but also swipes of her claws.
"We have to wait until it wears out," the Warrior of Light told Cloud as he blocked a series of Holy spells.
"The moment it wears out, I'll try to hold her down. You do whatever you do, fast!" Cloud howled back as he sent three fireballs in Terra's direction. She took the hit as though it was nothing more than bubbles.
The battle raged on ferociously. But it was not too long before Terra finally showed signs of wearing out. The Esper form had drained her magic powers most unceremoniously. With this encouraging sign, the Warrior prepared his move as Cloud drew closer to her.
What happened next seemed to happen in the blink of an eye. With another flash of light, Terra was back to her girl form and Cloud caught both her arms and pinned her back. Exhausted after her transformation, Terra could barely resist Cloud's strong grip even in her frenzied state. Swiftly, the Warrior of Light released the beam of light upon her and soon, she was limp in Cloud's arms.
"Cloud…" She whispered weakly, "Is that you? What happened?"
Cloud smiled at her and replied gently, "It's all right now. Just rest." And with that, Terra closed her eyes and fell asleep. Cloud then turned to the Warrior of Light, unsure of how to express his gratitude. "I… thank you… for this… everything."
"It's my duty." The Warrior said calmly, "But I'm afraid I must burden you with another assignment."
"Just say it," Cloud said.
The Warrior of Light then told him of his plans, requesting that he set off with Terra. Finally he told them, "For now, just rest. You'll need it." With that, he turned his back and left. Before he could contemplate the Warrior of Light's words any further, Cloud had fallen asleep.
…
Meanwhile, Firion was staring at the star-strewn heavens, unable to bring himself to sleep. He had noticed Lightning's absence and could not help wondering where she went. Deep in his thoughts, he had been oblivious to the approaching Tidus.
"Hey, Rosebud!" Tidus called out to him, "Can't sleep?"
"Umm… yeah," Firion replied, trying to sound as casual as possible.
"You worried about Lightning?" Tidus asked. His words pierced through Firion's deepest thoughts. "You like her don't you?"
Firion gaped at him, "I… I… It's nothing like that!" Who was he trying to fool? He could even feel his own face burning. Firion gave a deep sigh and finally relented. "Well… This is going to sound silly…"
"I promise not to laugh," Tidus said grinning broadly.
"Well, you see…" Firion began hesitantly. Even when Tidus promised not to laugh, Firion knew he was going to find his story incredulous. "This connection we have… through the rose… I can't help wondering if we come from the same world. Maybe even… related…"
"Like she may be your wife?" Tidus asked bluntly, for the second time scoring another bull's eye at Firion's thoughts.
Firion's cheeks grew even redder at Tidus's honest remark.
"You're so easy to guess Firion." Tidus said cheerfully, "Don't worry about it. You'll find out if we defeat Chaos!" And the sunny youth went back to find a comfortable spot to sleep.
"Easier said than done…" Firion quietly whispered to himself.
…
"Enemies of Kefka… Must… Destroy!" Terra said as she unleashed a huge glowing orange ball of fire at a silver haired woman wearing almost nothing but a red cape. This woman also had yellow tentacles which seemed to have a mind of their own aiding in her attacks. The sheer power of Terra's Meltdown immediately staggered her. Severely injured, she faces difficulty in hovering above the air as she usually does.
"We will destroy you…" Cloud added before raining down a series of meteors on the woman. She tried to block it with an aura ball, but her diminishing power served little to protect her.
"Hmph!" the Cloud of Darkness snorted, blood trickled down the side of her mouth, "So Kefka decided to turn his back on US and play his own games! I'm not taking these lying down!" And with another blast of purplish black energy ball, she was gone.
Once they were alone, Terra anxiously asked Cloud, "Did it go well?"
"Yeah, I think it did." Cloud assured her. And as though there was an invisible cue, the two began giggling.
"I was so nervous!" Terra said, "I can't help thinking what would happen if I laughed or screw up my lines!"
"Your only lines were 'enemies of Kefka' and 'must destroy'." Cloud said, smiling at her, "how could you screw those up?"
"I don't know," Terra said smiling shyly, "I've never done anything like this before."
"You can practice more with Kuja," Cloud teased her, "He's one hell of a drama queen… and he's our next target."