Gah! I can't win the last few weeks! It's that bad I think I'm having withdrawal symptoms from not being able to write or even read much. Is that even possible?
Oh well, I am soooo sorry for such a delay in updating, and I have been trying to write but by the time I have had spare time to write I just can't seem to get the chapter as good as I wanted and have restarted several times... Sorry...
So without further adieu, let the chapter finally commence!
Slowly the darkness that began as an all consuming wave, died away to real a familiar bright field covered in beautiful flowers. Cloud knew this place well, even though when he woke up and put his mind to it he could never put an adequate name to it... It was simply that nothing he could come up with was fitting for such an ethereal, amazing place.
He had spent much time here over the years as he struggled with wars and battles from both within and without. Cloud strongly suspected that the main reason, or reasons, for his peace here came from the two who were often waiting to greet him.
Since returning to a time before Sephiroth went mad, contact with Aerith and the Life Stream had been limited. Still there, but limited. So this time upon opening his eyes to the bright fields of grass and flowers that faded to white, there was a dampened foreboding that crushed any sense of peace or comfort that he would usually have.
The moment that Cloud sat up he felt the presence of Aerith behind him, and turning his head slightly he was able to catch that small glimpse of the flower girl.
"Cloud... How are you?" Aerith asked, her voice more strained than usual, but still bright and welcoming.
"What's happening Aerith?" Cloud asked, not bothering to dance around the subject. If he was here then that meant that things had either gone incredibly wrong or he was getting some much needed answers that he had been seeking thus-far with no result.
"Things are not... going as She planned." Aerith said with a soft sigh. Cloud knew that 'She' was in reference to Gaia.
"What do you mean?" Cloud asked, already having a feeling that he knew this answer; after all, he had been thinking the same thing for a while now.
"You were suppose to come back unnoticed, and the Darkness was not suppose to be strong enough to move against you even if it had wanted too." Aerith said quietly, her voice taking on a tone that Cloud rarely ever heard.
"That doesn't matter now." Cloud said confidently, "My goal is still the same and I'm not willing to give up now Aerith..."
"Right now Cloud, you are in a very difficult situation..." Aerith said slowly, trying to think about how she could accurately describe Cloud's predicament without endangering him further. "You are-"
Whatever Aerith had been about to say was interrupted when a sharp, strong pain ran through Cloud, beginning in his chest and spreading outward at an alarming pace. Cloud soon found himself unable to hold his body weight up and he soon fell back onto the grass and flowers. Aerith was by his side in a flash, but Cloud couldn't even focus enough to look at her properly.
"Cloud, you have to get out of there..."
Those were the last words to reach Cloud before the green field and its comforts was literally ripped away for what had to have been the first time ever; leaving Cloud in a haze of pain as he drifted somewhere between consciousness and the realm of sleep that still kept a tight hold on him...
XxXxX
Vincent Valentine cursed himself mentally for allowing himself to be distracted. When the shadow beast had appeared in the middle of the court yard he should have recognised it for what it was; a distraction, but instead he had figured that it would be a trap to make him step out into the light where there would undoubtedly be a group of SOLDIER or Turks conveniently walking by. And now they were all paying for it.
The moment the sounds of commotion started in the large hall several floors above his hiding position Vincent had recognised exactly what had happened. He had been fooled not just once, but twice in the same instance. And looking back a moment later the gunman hadn't been surprised to see that the shadow beast that he had been debating over how to kill, was long gone.
Utilising one of the many advantages of having Chaos within his body, Vincent had launched himself up the side of the building like a bat out of hell.
But he had arrived too late.
The windows had been ominously dark, and the sounds from within spoke volumes about the carnage taking place inside. Knowing that rushing in would not be a very good tactic, Vincent had moved onto the balcony that, unbeknownst to him, Cloud had been standing on only moments before hand. Vincent then moved to the side of the door way and attempted to look through what could only be an unnatural darkness.
Deciding that there was nothing he could no but go in, Vincent very nearly took that one step that would put him into the middle of the fray as well, but as luck would have it a blinding light took over the room at the moment of his decision and he was able to safely pull himself into the shadows of the door frame before he was noticed.
Looking in, the gunman had felt like his heart stopped for a moment as he saw Cloud on his knees on the ground at he feet of Razor with none other than Sephiroth standing over him with sword drawn and pointed at the agent of Darkness.
Although the silver haired general was attempting to question Razor, Vincent found his attention drawn instead to the face of his blond friend.
Cloud was extremely pale in that moment, made all the more noticeable by the crimson blood running down the side of his face, but it was his eyes that truly concerned the gunman. The brilliant blue orbs were currently shining with an inner flame that if someone paid close enough attention would surely raise questions, but it was the haunted look that they gave off as they scanned the carnage around the hall that concerned him the most.
Vincent had only seen those eyes a few times in his long life, and only once had he seen them on the blond warrior. And that had been an experience he had no wish to ever repeat. After seeming to determine that certain people were safe, a form of strained relief washed over Cloud's face.
It was short lived though, when Razor focused his attention on Cloud and spoke seven small words that rang as a death sentence to Vincent;
"Remember this Strife; It is not over."
And then Razor was gone and seconds later Cloud collapsed. Zack and Angeal moved forward at the action, and indeed Vincent barely held himself back as he watched Cloud's form go limp and seem to fall in slow motion.
It was Sephiroth who caught the blond. It had been an almost casual action, but it spoke volumes for a man such as Sephiroth. Much like everything in this twisted parody of the past, the general was also... Different. Maybe not good, maybe not changed enough to completely alter the future; but different enough that he would actually catch the blond man.
That was everything that lead Vincent to this moment as he stood with bated breath and waited to see what would happen next. The room had fallen into a frozen silence once more as the normal lights once again flickered on and Genesis allowed his arm to slowly lower as the light materia dimmed out.
Zack and Angeal stood, each frozen mid-step as they looked at their friend. It was only those two who knew the significance of what had happened and they were doing extremely well to keep even that seemingly simple fact hidden.
Finally the silence and stillness was broken by none other than President Shinra.
"Some one better tell me what the hell just happened. Immediately!" His voice rang out piggishly in his fear and anger as he looked between the hand full of survivors in the room. When no once came up with an answer for him he continued; showing the ruthlessness of his nature that had allowed him to become one of the most powerful men on Gaia.
"You," He pointed to one of the Turks, "Get my son out of here now. Clean him up." When the Turk had left, a shell-shocked Rufus Shinra being led away, the President then turned his eyes to another group of Turks. "I want this... Mess. Gone immediately! I do not want to find a single trace of what happened here in the future. After that come up with a story that will not compromise the company and ensure it is the story that reaches the ears of the people."
The remainder of the Turks, minus two who stayed close to the President in case of further attack, moved to follow his orders.
Finally President Shinra turned to the SOLDIERs.
"Get that boy to the medical ward. Make sure he is fine. I want him detained though, with no chance of escape. One of you is to be there at all times, and I want to be informed the moment he wakes up. Whatever his role in this; good or bad, I want to know."
And with that final order the President of the Shinra Electric Company marched from the room as though he was not needlessly walking through the blood of his subordinates and the people he had invited to ensure his company got more funding.
Vincent had to watch with gritted teeth as Sephiroth calmly sheathed Masamune before picking up Cloud's limp form and promptly leaving the room to carry out his orders. A worried looking Zack and Angeal followed after him as soon as they could, soon followed by Genesis.
Vincent wasted no time in moving away from the door as more Turks and Shinra 'special' personal entered the room. Jumping from the balcony Vincent landed soundlessly on the ground far below, his mind was racing as he pondered exactly what he should do...
"My dear Host, there is nothing you can do." The voice of Chaos called mockingly through his consciousness.
XxXxX
Zack was panicking.
Well, he was panicking quietly and privately at least, but he was panicking none-the-less. What should have been a good night, and had indeed started fairly well considering everything, had turned into a living nightmare; and not just for the people who ended up being gutted by shadows come to life.
The way Zack saw it was simple;
They were all officially and totally screwed.
If Cloud was in custody then there was likely to be many questions that Shinra wanted answered. And while being in custody it would be all to easy for the blond to be targeted from both the demons within Shinra and without.
Zack was currently following Angeal and Sephiroth as the latter carried an unconscious Cloud towards the top level SOLDIER infirmary. From his position behind Angeal, Zack could just barely see the tips of Cloud's spikes past Sephiroth's arm, and it chilled his blood to see that many of the usually blond spikes were covered in a vibrant red.
Zack stewed quietly in his own thoughts for the remainder of the trip up to the infirmary and it was only when a gloved hand came to rest on his shoulder from behind that he remembered the presence of Genesis.
"Stop worrying so much." The elder said gently, showing an uncharacteristically soft side. "I am sure the young man will be found completely innocent in all this."
Zack just nodded and kept his eyes forward. His mid was already chaotic with worst-case scenarios, and he didn't need any more.
It wasn't long before Cloud was administered into a room, and as soon as he was deemed unharmed but for severe bruising around his throat, he was then tied down to the bed as though he was some mental escapee or perhaps a lab experiment... Zack quickly shook the thought from his head; it would do no good to think like that now.
"Although it seems pointless, I will take the first watch." Sephiroth said. His voice completely blank as he looked as the other SOLDIERs in the room. "Angeal, you and your pup will take the second, and Genesis; the last."
No one argued.
No one moved.
Zack didn't want to move from his friends side. Didn't want to leave him here with people who didn't, who couldn't, know what was happening. There was just so much going through Zack's mind at the moment that it was amazing that he managed to keep it all from showing in his face.
Not that it helped to convince anyone that there was nothing wrong; after all Zack's usual smile and joking manner was no where in sight.
"Come on Puppy. We will need to rest and organise ourselves."Angeal said, making sure to use a voice that would broke no arguments from his student. While Angeal was able to easily cover his thoughts and emotions, it wasn't as easy for the younger raven-haired man. They would need to figure out exactly what they needed to do as well.
Zack finally gave a small nod of acknowledgement, but other than that his eyes stayed on the slumbering blond.
How many times had he seen Cloud like this? Thinking back he could only really remember when Angeal and himself had found the blond in the forests around Wutai. But there had been no blood then. Just an unconscious man that looked far to vulnerable to leave there.
And yet Cloud had proven to be stronger than probably any of them...
With a small sigh, Angeal grabbed Zack's shoulder and led him from the room. He knew it was hard on the young man, but he also needed to get Zack somewhere where they could talk freely about the events that had just occurred.
Genesis soon left the room as well, planning on doing some investigating of his own for a while. Sephiroth, once alone, took up a position against the wall of the room. Intent on destroying any threat that may or may not enter the room.
XxXxX
"What are we going to do 'Geal?" Zack all but pleaded the moment the door was closed behind them. They had ended up going to Zack's room, as it was the closest at the time and the most practical if either of them was needed.
"I don't know Pup." Angeal replied with a sigh. He had also been wracking his brain for some time now in an attempt to think of a way to help their blond companion. However, aside from simply vouching for him from a SOLDIER standing there seemed to be nothing much they could do.
"Damn, can't we just... I dunno, break him out?" Zack asked, his voice admitting that he already knew they couldn't do that.
"No. If we do that then it will only make things worse. Shinra would likely hunt him down..." Angeal replied, "That option can only be considered if we have no choice whatsoever."
"It may yet come to that." Both SOLDIERs jumped at the unexpected voice and spun around to see Vincent standing against the wall by the surprisingly open window.
"Don't... Do that!" Zack said, the look on his face almost comical if not for the fact that he had been ready to attack only seconds before. The gunman seemed entirely unaffected.
"What do you mean?" Angeal asked, quickly getting over his own shock.
"There has to be more going on here than what we have seen." Vincent replied simply, his own mind had been nagging him about it for a while, "For a full on assault, the enemy backed off too easily. I believe the aim of the attack was for Cloud to be brought to the notice of Shinra."
Angeal nodded, his own mind racing as he took the information in.
"And of course, Shinra would act as he did. By viewing Cloud as a threat and making sure he was restrained." Angeal continued, realising the truth of his own words.
"But, even now Cloud isn't alone. He is under constant guard, and that guard is SOLDIER, so it wouldn't be that easy for him to be attacked, right? So... What next?" Zack asked, once again displaying a thoughtfulness that many thought he lacked.
"That is true." Angeal agreed, "An infiltrator perhaps?"
Vincent nodded, but there was no one he could immediately think of that would have the clearance to make a move whilst Cloud was in this position. The only ones that had access to the blond at this time was the four SOLDIERs and the President himself, and somehow, Vincent doubted the President would be a threat by himself.
"Who then?" The gunman said, voicing his thoughts and seeing that the other two had also been pondering this as two pairs of mako eyes met his own with the same unsure look.
They could only hope that whoever was planning on making a move was also planning on waiting for the blond to wake up.
XxXxX
There were images.
There were always images.
Memories.
In the darkness they became points of light that he couldn't take his eyes off of. The flew past him and spun around him, making him dizzy but not allowing him to look away.
They came one after another, never stopping.
Familiar faces that he had lost, their eyes in death staring at him with accusing ferocity.
Faces that he still held close became twisted and mauled as though he had lost them.
And then he was alone.
Only the darkness was his companion as it entwined around his body in a twisted caress. It offered freedom from pain, and a chance to break away from the cycle of death around him. It offered the power to determine the fates of others. To destroy the people the way he had been destroyed.
It was a lullaby that Cloud had heard before. A sweet whisper against the mind. Only this one was different from last time, there was no efflorescent green tinge to the thoughts; no tendrils of light that threatened to consume his body in raging fire that would have him thrashing against his bonds. No, this was a subtle darkness that had been worming its way in ever so slightly each time it broke through his mental barriers when he slept. It had began as nightmares, and now it offered peace instead of pain.
Could he take it?
Could he truly end the suffering he had felt for so long?
Reaching out he tried to find the light that usually guided him. But a pain that bloomed in his chest reminded him that the light, like everything else, had been ripped away from him.
"Rest..." The voice was deep. It carried with it alluring, dark promises.
"No." He responded. He had wanted to rest once; but now he desired more than rest, he desired safety for not just him, but those around him. Even those he had yet to meet.
"Let go of pain..." Again the voice held such promise, and already his mind wanted to waver. Wanted to accept the unseen hand outstretched to him.
"I can't." There was more fighting to be done, more pain to endure before he could do such a thing.
"Turn from fear..." The power behind the words struck home. He was scared. He was always so scared. But it was not his own life he feared for, no, he feared more than anything that it would be his own blade that would pierce the heart of those he loved.
"End their pain and fear..."
This time the voice had lost some of the grip it held over his mind. The words were wrong. They held an empty promise, and even in a weakened state of mind he could see the true lethal intention behind the words. He could see the twisting of what would usually be a comforting promise, a contortion of the true intent designed to take him.
Finally Cloud realised that what he had thought was a comforting blanket of kind blackness, was really sharp chains digging into his skin; trying to break him with sweet promises. Trying to lure him in the larger cage that was far to close for comfort.
Once more the voice called to him, promising an easy way out for everything he could ever want. It
took everything he had not to be drawn under again.
"Aerith." Cloud called, he knew that the seek of darkness planted in his mind was what had prevented him from reaching her. But with that one word, the chains binding him loosened.
"Zack." Before him the darkness conjured the image of his best friend lying in a pool of blood, taking his last breaths. Cloud simply swiped it away with his mind and replaced the image of his broken friend with the images of Zack's smiles; of times when they had been unburdened by this unseen war.
"Angeal." This final name surprised even him slightly, but the taller SOLDIER had become a constant point of strength for him. A tower of wisdom and comfort that held tall and strong despite the flow of dark waves that attempted to rip it down.
"Vincent." The final name. A friend that had suffered just as much as he had. A silent guiding hand that both helped pull him from, and relied on him to be pulled from, the darkness of memories and pain in times past to help face the future and breach the walls that contained the brightness of the days to come.
They were relying on him.
With each word the sharp binding surrounding him loosened just that little bit, until there was nothing but weeping holes where they had once tainted his skin. This infection was soon cast aside with a final vow;
"I will not lose."
And then Cloud broke through to the surface of both the darkness in his mind and into consciousness where only more demons from both past and future awaited him...
This chapter required a lot of thought in the end, as there are a lot of pieces that need connecting soon. I hope you like it, and once again I am beyond sorry for such a delay in updating, but as I mentioned before; life has not been kind to me lately.
Oh well, I hope to have the next chapter up soon, but again I can make no promises; especially with my mid-year exams fast up coming. :/
I hope to hear everyone's thoughts!
