Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy and all its characters

Chapter 5

A loud gasp was heard within the dim room when she saw a black slimy thing under her feet. It moved slowly at first, squirming their feet. She tried to kick them off, but it was sticky and had strong grip. They were like moving roots. While some black roots grabbed Denzel and hung him upside down, some other roots winding her body, squeezing her. From down his throat, he cried her name, "TIFAAA!".

Her anger built inside her chest once she heard his cry. With her body squeezed, she shot her eyes open only to see her torch had set fire on those alien thingies. She gritted her teeth, painful memories showed up once again. She let out a scream and a powerful strength had filled her. Unbeknownst to her, she had her body free from the roots grasp and started to approach Denzel. Her dress had caught a small fire, but she didn't care at all. She didn't know why, her heart told her to keep the boy safe, the urge kept her courage, her eyes fixed on her little boy.

But suddenly, she was grabbed from behind by those damned root again and banged to the hard wall far in the corner of the room. Her back ached, her eyes shut tight while the flames had Denzel engulfed within. A scream was heard from the chaos. She ran for Denzel's sake, all through the fiery roots, no, it's more like a fiery tree now. She tried to find Denzel, but there were only fire and fire everywhere, is he..?

No, he is not dead. A shock was seen in her eyes, Denzel was free from the 'tree', and was, hung from the rooms ceiling? Unreadable expression on his young face. She ran to him but he was gone to thin air in split second as her body was taken away from the chaos. She shrapened her vision only to see the fire chaos down her feet, 'What?' something at his back. It couldn't be...

Wings?

He can fly?

oooooo

His eyes widen from a trickling sound from a distant. His feet stopped abruptly, making the walking Marlene bumped into him. "What is it, Cloud?" asked Marlene, his grip on her little hand became stronger, brows furrowed while his flashlight scanning through the narrow corridor. Marlene's hand was tugging his trousers, "What's wrong?"

Not long, a loud scream came over, it was unclear, but it sure was not a usual scream, it was a scream of fright. He pulled both his little girls and ran back to the descend set of stairs. Not long, a hard bang was heard, just under their feet! Marlene shrieked, "What was that?" she said as she clutched on Cloud's trousers.

He remained silent, his feet didn't stop. But a growling sound from the dark corner of the corridor had made them stop. The sudden movement had made his dizziness worse. His vision blurred, but he could see the furry monster was on their way. "Run!" he said while giving Selene his flashlight. "Go away!"

"But, Cloud..."

"Now!"

Not skipping a beat, the big wolf charged him and banged him hard on the floor. Its claws tattered his clothes, its teeth was grinding, its eyes shone with yellow streak. He grunts, knowing his lighting has gone, he blindly kicked the thing away from the top of him. He pulled out his gun and shot into the darkness, believing his shots got into the thing's brain. Not wasting any time, he move backwards, still aware of the thing's assault. A single growl was heard, he shot another bullet, again, and again.

But from behind, another furry thing attacked him. He fell face first, adding a new injury on his forehead. He landed close to the fallen wolf, unfortunately, the fallen wolf still had the strength to bite his leg, and bang him to the ground. His teeth grinding in pain, his finger pulled the trigger and shot the beast dead.

The new wound made its stream of fresh blood. The previous injuries had much of him, now that the new ones stinging like small thunder, he couldn't take it. He grunted between pants, he let his body flat on the dirty floor, trying to relieve the pain. Next to him, a wolf was growling slowly. In the dark, he could see its blue eyes, they were just like his. His whole body ached, his eyes were heavy, he could barely move his finger, he lost his very strength and senses. But the wolf just stared at him, until the injured blonde lost his consciousness.

oooooo

His hand was supporting his chin, his elbow was on the table. His fingers were tapping unpatiently. Violet eyes were shut, he listened to the silent music of his office. A creak from his front door interrupted his silent eternity as a beautiful lady entered his office. Her grace and unique accent lingered all over her curves as she walked towards him.

"I'm afraid they are such stubborn people. That handsome blondie wouldn't let go of our children." She said as she sat on his desk, her smooth legs crossed while her hand supported her weight.

"Hn." He leaned into his chair, his brows furrowed in a deep thinking. "Such a nice AND persistent person we have." He said with a smirk. "Well, if he doesn't want our children to be our arsenal, then..."

oooooo

Fast footsteps echoing in the dark, hand in hand, they ran aimlessly searching for a set of stairs towards the previous floor. The older girl led their way. Suddenly, the younger girl stopped her running, craned her neck to see the path they've been through. But her pale eyes saw nothing but darkness.

A hand grabbed hers, and not letting it go. Their little feet were moving fast through the dark corridor.

"But, how about Cloud? Will he be alright?" she said. Worry was clear in her tone.

She knew Selene wouldn't answer her question, but the pull from her hand didn't pause even in a mili second. Their footsteps slowed, and Marlene could feel Selene's hand got off from hers. Their breaths became heavy, but a silent gasp made her alerted. Her small hands clasped, "Selene?"

Suddenly, there were none around her. Her little arms went up, shielding her from the sudden aura of loneliness. She took the dropped flashlight from the floor. She couldn't help but shiver, her knees went weak. She scanned through, she called her name, "Selene? Selene, where are you?"

She knew she wouldn't find Selene alone, she needed help. With a big gulp to start, she tried to search for Cloud. She turned around, only to see the identical corridor, the light from her flashlight didn't reflect anything on her way. She took her first step, then the second, then the third, each steps she took was not without awareness. She bit her lower lip in fear, but she won't cry. 'Crying is just a waste of energy, you'll fall after you cry.', that's what she believe anyway.

The brave little girl walked and walked. Finally, she found something peculiar, two blue sparks was seen from a distance. With no warning, she ran towards the blue sparks. "Cloud!" she called him with a grin.

But no, it was not Cloud she ran into. She felt something big, warm, and furry, her eyes shot open, realized that the thing she ran into was a monster, a wolf. "No..."

To Be Continued

I'm sorry for the long update... School is too hectic, and look, what's that? A pile of homeworks! Haha, okay, I'll try to write more, but I don't think I'll update it soon. I'm sorry!