Connections | By : AngelicPhantom Category: Kingdom Hearts > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 1237 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0 |
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy or any of the characters. No profits come to me... I'm like atheism. |
Chapter Two.
Cloud gritted his teeth as he sat at his desk, pen poised over the report that was already a week overdue. In the ten years he had been working in Shardsvale as a member of Deliverance he had never seen anything like the scene in the Lee's household and he was having a hard time even starting the report without letting his emotions color is writing. Cloud had seen the aftermath of Axel's beating at the hands of his father, and he had also been present during the interview in the jail dungeon where the guards held Reno. The tall thin man had displayed no remorse for the almost-murder of his son and was currently swearing ceaselessly at anyone within hearing range. The only thing that seemed to be coloring his emotions was his lack of cigarettes. Clenching his fists until his nails drew blood Cloud scrawled an end to his report and threw it at his outbox. Even as the report flew through the air Cloud was on his feet and out the door towards the training room behind the main office. Deliverance knew that its members had to deal with the most brutal aspects of society and that no one could walk amongst such pain for long without being affected. As most of its officers were ex-soldiers, the controllers of Deliverance had deemed it necessary to provide a physical outlet for the frustrations and emotions of those charged with keeping the city's peace. Brushing past his fellow officers without missing a step, Cloud burst into the training room. He swept his busterblade off of the wall where it hung and in the same movement slammed his fist onto the button that started his own personal training program. Shaking his head to clear the horrible images of Axel's beaten body and Reno's emotionless face, the blonde fighter shifted his feet into a practiced battle stance. Scant seconds after the button was pushed, the room disappeared into darkness and the shadows reformed into new shapes - a dimly lit large warehouse. Echoes in the darkness hinted at large creatures moving around, but for a full ten seconds Cloud was left untouched straining his ears for any whisper of attacking motion. A slight smile tugged at the edges of Cloud's mouth, his program had been upgraded to elite and as unpredictable as possible. Out of nowhere a distorted shape flew out from behind him a slashed a short dagger across Cloud's leg. Biting his lip Cloud ignored the pain and inwardly blessed the reality of his personal training set. Even though the whole environment simulated, the swords were still sharp and the wounds still bled. Ignoring the fact that he could be attacked at any second Cloud spared a charitable thought for Squall Leonhart who designed the training technology specifically for Deliverance. A slight rustle to his left banished all conscious thought from his mind and Cloud whipped his sword around and blocked the slim blade that would have skewered him through the stomach. In a glance Cloud took the strange form of creature that stood before him and he realized he had fought a beast like this before. Trying to push his personal feelings about the original encounter aside, Cloud pushed his golden spikes of hair out of his face and started to advance on the shadow wolf-man that was his opponent. Acting like the part-beast it was, the wolfman rushed straight in slashing powerfully at him. Cloud knew not to stay at the edge of the ferocious chopping motions as the wolfman had a long reach and no trouble maneuvering a blade in a duel. Lifting his busterblade faster than should have been possible Cloud blocked his opponents blade and stepped in close within the hulking form's reach. Using touch alone Cloud separated the thinnest sword of the 6 interlocking swords behind his back and flicked it down to his side. Warily the wolfman circled as his pray now carried two weapons. This time instead of reacting to an attack, Cloud took the offensive and dived toward his adversary. Surprised by the aggressiveness of the move, the wolfman stepped back allowing Cloud the extra room he needed to swing both swords across his enemy's throat almost decapitating the creature with the power of the swing. Breathing only a little harder than at the beginning of his session, Cloud rejoined his sword together and then uncoupled the two even weighted swords each made of three components. Now that the first assault was over, there would be a huge increase in the numbers of attacking creatures thrown at him. Wiping away a grin, Cloud knew that this next lot would be a lot less humanoid than the original assailants. Apparently the program had taken into account the events of his day at the Lee's residence and calculated that non-human foes would be better than recognizable humans. Cloud had barely lowered into his battle stance when he heard the scuttle of sharpened claws. This attack had no direction as every way he turned he could see a type of creature he had not yet come across before. These animals if they could even be called animals stood tall on four insectile legs underneath an almost human torso. But only the shape of the torso could be called even vaguely human. The face of the new creature was like a distorted combination of a dog and a bird but melted together. Protruding from its face the thing had short razor sharp spines that grew longer and thicker, turning to a mane at the back of the head. On each side of the human-like torso were two thick arms that would have disgraced a strongman and they held weapons so twisted and bizarre that one could only tell they were meant to inflict pain. The largest of the attacking group attacked without even so much as a hint that it was about to move. One second the fiend was staring at Cloud through mesmerizingly smokey red orbs, and they next second it had bulled into Cloud knocking him from his feet and knocking one of his swords out of reach. Flat on his back Cloud frantically blocked three, five, more stabbing attacks from smaller creatures like the bigger one. Parrying the creatures' stabs in a blinding display of swordsmanship Cloud hooked his foot around a rock and dragged himself violently out of the melee. Unfortunately the 'rock' that Cloud had used as a lever turned out to be the razor-edged leg of the largest insect creature. The only thing that saved Cloud from the furious slash of the animal's leg was his inhuman speed and agility. He threw himself into a backwards roll and pushed hard with his hands vaulting to his feet. Tightening his grip around the one sword he still had hold of Cloud silently charged his enemy. Cloud's first blow was brushed aside like a feather and the creature flicked out its own twisted blade, slicing deep into his calf and spraying blood widely. Swearing explosively Cloud wiped the blood out his eyes and spun on his uninjured foot sending both his swords whistling through the air. The massive creature had thought its prey was downed and moved right into the path of Cloud's attack. There was no respite however as the smaller creatures that followed the larger monster swarmed together and all attacked at once. Slipping in his own blood Cloud leaped high above the horde of monsters slamming his sword into the wall for a handhold and called up all his remaining energy to unleash Meteo-rain in a hail of burning death. As he heard the screams of the last creature fading, Cloud hung limp from his sword. This program had been exceptionally draining and he couldn't wait to sheath his sword once more. As he dropped gingerly to the ground Cloud made sure he put no weight on his injured leg. Tearing a strip off his white t-shirt He wrapped it tightly around his leg just under the knee so he wouldn't lose too much blood before seeing a healer. Something however was not right. By now Cloud thought, the warehouse surrounding him should have dissolved into the nondescript interim room that the programs materialized in. Instead, the shadows remained dark and he could hear another set of footsteps making their way towards him.
***
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