Welcoming Party
As Lightning grew closer to the meeting place she'd asked DeFluo to report to that afternoon, her grip on the large case she carried tightened. Her meeting with Amodar the evening before did not go as she had planned. In fact, as soon as she'd brought up the idea of her recruits going through T-FA training, he'd firmly said 'no' almost immediately.
"What's your sudden interest the T-FA devices, Farron? Why do you want the SwitchBlades for your recruits?"
"It's not the SwitchBlades I'm interested in." Lightning admit with a sigh, refusing to beat around the bush anymore. It was never really about the SwitchBlades. A perplexed look appeared on Amodar's face, "Alright so maybe the recruits aren't ready for T-FA training quite yet; let me train DeFluo."
"Your training assistant?" Amodar's eyebrow shot up.
"A Lance Corporal, a ranked officer."
"Even if I were to allow this, you just said you weren't interested in the SwitchBlades."
"I'm not." Lightning stated simply, staring the General in the eye, "I want the A-L prototype." She saw disbelief in Amodar's eyes first; followed by realization; then shock.
"Farron, you're the one that insisted the prototype wasn't ready yet-"
"I'm saying it's ready now." Lightning interrupted, her patience wearing thin once more. Amodar picked up on this. He also knew the look he was giving her was not one to take lightly. No matter what he said, she'd probably get what she wanted, one way or the other. Shaking his head, sighing heavily, Amodar began rubbing his temple again.
"I don't like this, Farron."
"You don't have to like it," Lightning responded quickly, "You and I both know I have enough authority within CRYSIS to make the decision myself—you may still be my superior officer but I came to you as a friend." Amodar couldn't argue, Lightning had the influence of a two star General at least.
"Why didn't you just ask me then, Farron?" Amodar pulled one last counter, "Why the pretense with the SwitchBlades?" The Sergeant Major didn't answer right away. She seemed to be attempting to find the right words.
"I was... trying subtlety." Lightning's simple, honest answer was met with a hearty laugh.
"Ah Farron, the day you pull off subtlety getting what you want is the day you start going by your real name." The unamused look on the Sergeant Major's face did nothing to quell his own mirth, "Alright, take the prototype—but understand that you are held fully responsible for both it and Lance Corporal DeFluo."
"Yes sir." Lightning answered with a quick salute before the General could change his mind. She exited the room with equal haste.
Lightning gently placed the case on the ground upon reaching the meeting place. Her determination to test the contents of said case with DeFluo wasn't completely without doubt. She realized the risk but could not ignore her instincts, the feeling in her gut. She'd learning not to. She'd learned that from F-
"Officer Farron." A voice cut through her thoughts. Lightning watched DeFluo walk up the street toward her. She also noted the Lance Corporal and come from the main gate. "My apologies, I had a... lunch engagement." DeFluo continued, as if reading the pinkette's mind.
"No need to apologize DeFluo," Lightning raised a hand. While it was rare for any CRYSIS personnel to leave the district merely for lunch, it wasn't against protocol, "What you do out of training is your business." Steeling against the vexing sense of nostalgia whenever she looked at the Lance Corporal, Lightning didn't miss Defluo's glance down towards the case at her feet, "I'll warn you once more, this training with be difficult and dangerous, different from anything you've seen or heard of at CRYSIS." The pinkette observed the expression of the Lance Corporal closely, anticipating the suspicion—or at the very least, hesitation, "Are you ready?"
"Yes." Came the immediate answer. Scanning the dual-colored eyes, Lightning found only determination, resolve and... excitement? The pinkette immediately looked away, suddenly recalling darker eyes that had always held the same look.
"Good, come with me-" Before she could even reach of the case at her feet, the ground jerked violently, sending both her and DeFluo to the ground. The split-second of stillness that followed was not enough for Lightning to recover as another tremor began to shake the street. No, this was no tremor—it was growing too violent, too fast, Lightning thought as she got to her feet but remained low to the ground. This was a full-on quake.
A literally earth-shattering crunch filled the air as the street began to split, a crack shooting down it, branching off towards the building lining the sides. Following one of the smaller branches zipping towards her, Lightning noticed the case near her feet sliding away along the uneven ground.
"Damnit-!" She jumped at it as it skid toward the gaping division of the street but it'd gained too much momentum along the unnatural slope of the ground. Before it could disappear into the split, the pinkette saw DeFluo jump, landing on her side but close enough to where she was able to grab it, "DeFluo!" Lightning ran the short distance between them but as soon as she reached the Lance Corporal, both officers were thrown backwards a good few feet.
Using the momentum to roll onto her feet, Lightning spotted DeFluo a few feet away, sitting up, the case still in her grasp. Before she could even begin to consider a plan of action, Lightning caught a glimpse of what had thrown her and DeFluo. It hadn't been part of the earthquake—in fact the powerful convulsions in the ground had now been reduced to intermittent shudders. No, whatever had flung DeFluo and herself had turned crack in the ground into a small fissure.
Protruding out of the division was what resembled a large limb of a creature of some kind. Lightning found herself rooted in place as she watched the limb begin to thrash desperately, dragging out the body it was attached to. And what pulled itself from the crevasse was like nothing she'd seen before.
The creature was twice the size of the average human and looked as if made of an almost thick, gelatinous goo—caked in dirt, stone, scale and crystal shards. As it became free, raising itself up off the ground, it revealed two other limbs—legs—giving it a humanoid form. But that was where the similarities ended. An array of appendages, all at least 3 feet long, protruded from where one shoulder should have connected to an arm. The other arm was disproportionally large—so much so that the creature's fist rested on the ground while it was standing more or less upright. The creature had no head, and out of its chest protruded a blood red crystal.
Upon completing her quick assessment of the creature, Lightning came to a realization that the creature that stood before her was in fact, something she had seen before. Something she thought she'd never see again.
"Cie'th." The very sound of uttering the word left sickening taste in her mouth. She hesitated only long enough to swallow the lump that'd formed in her throat before drawing her gunblade and launching herself at the creature. Wasting no time, she directed her first attack at the pulsating red crystal jutting out of its chest. She felt her blade deflected by something a split-second before it reached her target.
Jumping a good distance away, the pinkette noticed the creature hadn't moved. But her attack hadn't connected, something had stopped it. Clenching her jaw she rushed toward the entity, aiming another attack at its center. Again, her blade never reached the target and still, the creature did not move. More frustrated than bewildered, Lightning shifted her weapon into gun-mode and let loose half a dozen rounds into the creature's chest.
Or so she thought. This time, the creature had moved. The appendages on its shoulder had stretched in size and were curled over its chest, forming a protective barrier around the crystal. Upon shrinking and moving away, the crystal was revealed to be completely unscathed. But Lightning didn't have time to be in awe, the appendages suddenly shot out at her, extending themselves. She evaded most of them and parried a few but the last one managed to wrap itself around her forearm, limiting her weapon mobility.
"Sergeant Major!" DeFluo's voice caught Lightning's attention. Busy with the unknown creature, Lightning had forgotten about DeFluo. She saw the Lance Corporal out of the corner of her eye. She still held the case.
"DeFluo, the case, open it." The pinkette instructed, never fully taking her eyes off the creature that still had her forearm. As she switched her gunblade to her free hand, she saw the remaining appendages fly toward her again. It was much more difficult and it strained her arm and shoulder but she managed to evade the second round of attacks. She made a note that the creature had to retract the stretchable limbs before 'firing' them again—similar to reloading a gun. It explained why there was a constant pull from the extremity around her forearm.
"This weapon isn't loaded!" She heard another yell from the Lance Corporal. Glancing over long enough to see DeFluo grasping a uniquely large assault rifle, Lightning brought her own weapon down on the hold around her forearm. Slicing her blade across it, she found it too touch to cut through.
"That weapon has two modes." Lightning further instructed DeFluo as she continued to struggle against the grip she was in, "Like my gunblade, it has two forms." Lightning paused in her attempt to get free when she saw the creature step towards her, dragging its large arm by its side. She was certain the arm was as dangerous as it looked heavy, and was confident she would have little trouble keeping out of its way. However, her maneuverability was limited by the creature's hold on her forearm.
Suddenly, taking her off guard, the appendage with a grasp on her jerked her forward. She didn't react fast enough to be able to counter the force and soon found herself within reach of the creature's monstrous arm. In the middle of forming a defense strategy, a flash of metal crossed her line of sight. As she felt her arm become free, she was shoved aside—out of the path of another barrage by the shoulder appendages.
Steadying herself, Lightning looked up to see DeFluo finish parrying the last two extremities, now wielding five-foot long lance. The pinkette felt a subtle sense of gratification as she realized the younger officer had successfully shifted the prototype weapon into mode two—without prior knowledge of it no less. The feeling quickly wore off when Lightning caught movement behind the other officer.
"DeFluo-!" The warning came too late. Preoccupied by the smaller limbs, the Lance Corporal hadn't noticed the creature swing its arm. Her reflexes enabled her to attempt a block but it did little to prevent her from being sent a good half a dozen feet away.
Confirming the younger officer was still alive—seeing her already crawling back towards the lance she'd evidently lost her grip on—Lightning's gaze returned to the creature. The swing of its arm had pretty much forced its back to the two officers. Its sluggish movements were an attempt to swivel itself back around.
Multiple limbs that provided both offensive control and defense. An additional limb that provided offensive power. Skin tough enough to withstand a full-body thrust with a heavy blade—well, for the most part. Lightning unwrapped the dead extremity from her forearm. It's only weakness so far was its slow recovery from using it's arm. Lightning felt a flicker of frustration begin to burn in her chest. It slowly spread through her arm to her clenched fist. If DeFluo were any closer, she'd have heard a faint crackling sound coming from the pinkette's hand—the sound of a series of small electrical discharges.
"Well, ain't you just the ugliest thing." The voice halted Lightning's thoughts; it ceased the sound in her fist; it even stopped her heart for a second or two. She recognized the voice. She knew it as well as she knew she couldn't have been hearing it, "Borrow your toy for a sec, kid?" Lightning's eyes darted toward DeFluo. There was a flash of silver before all she could see was DeFluo kneeling, the lance no longer anywhere near her. Returning her focus to the creature, Lightning struggled to believe her eye.
The creature still stood, but its shoulder appendages were now either limp or hacked off. Its massive arm was stopped mid-swing. Lightning watched as a blade cut clean through it. The severed limb hit the ground and the creature began to thrash around violently. Lightning's view of the one wielding the weapon was still skewed as the creature was between them.
A reflection of light in the crimson crystal caught Lightning's attention. Her grip on her own weapon tightened. Without all its limbs gone the creature was totally exposed. Before she had a chance to take advantage of the obvious opening, a blade shot out through the creature's chest, shattering the crystal from behind. As the blade was pulled back out, the creature fell forward. It hit the ground, limp, lifeless.
"See, now that is how you use a lance." The latest arrival examined the weapon before tossing it to DeFluo. The Lance Corporal barely managed to catch it, she looked completely overwhelmed. Lightning couldn't say she felt much different. She remained frozen in her spot as she confirmed the identity of the fallen creature's executioner.
"Sunshine..." The smooth, silky, heavily-accented voice felt like both music to Lightning's ears and a punch to the gut, "Fancy meeting you here."
A/N:
My writing skills... where has they gone?
Terribad... terribad... terribad...
HECTIC RL STUFF SUCKS SOMETHING FIERCE!
Can't write for sh** anymore T_T
*goes over there somewhere to throw a tantrum*