Title: Not Giving Up
Fandom: Final Fantasy: Advent Children
Characters: Cloud
Prompt: 008 - Weeks
Word Count: 392
Date finished: 09/25/2006
Rating: PG
Summary: Cloud fights a monster, and wishes for mercy for himself.
Author's Notes: Someone mentioned I needed more action, so I tried to bring it in.
Disclaimer: Characters are owned by Square Enix and Sony Pictures as far as I know.

Not Giving Up

Cloud felt the shock as the sword met the armor of the beast he faced, and grimaced. His left arm was getting worse; if he didn't end this soon, he'd be the loser, and he wasn't quite that ready to give up.

It had been weeks since he'd felt up to anything like this, but the monsters still came, pulled by his scent - likely the smell of eminent death - and the roar of his motorcycle. Granted, there were times (almost all of them) he could simply avoid or out race the monsters…

But where was the fun in that?

Not to mention that it sounded like a much better alternative than dying from the Stigma. If he was going to die, let it be doing this.

The monster reared back and struck again, this time with claws and teeth, and he decided to get out of the way. Crouching, he leapt up, twirling his sword in his right hand, and brought it and his feet down on the thing's back - he'd never seen it before; he'd have to check with someone (right. Who? Maybe he could leave a message with Tifa to ask around) to find out if it was a new species or a mutated old one - and snapped the thing's spine.

It didn't seem to notice. But at least here he was relatively safe….

He realized he was wrong with the tail swept him off and he landed hard on the ground again. His left arm flared in pain, and he barely made it back to his feet. Set in a stance for optimum balance, he waited for the next attack -

Only to have the beast convulse and collapse, twitching as if he'd broken its back. Which, he supposed, he had. He straightened with some effort, managed to get close and lop off its head; it might have been a monster, but it had put up a good fight, and it didn't deserve to die that slow a death.

He rubbed his left arm as he started back toward Fenrir. Like as not, he'd need a nap before he could finish this leg of his deliveries; he could already feel the fatigue pulling at him. He wished, vaguely as he put his sword away, that someone would end his life as quickly and efficiently as he'd just ended the monster's.

Advent Children Table | Challenge Main

Home | Stories | Links | Contact me