When You and I Collide

26) The Needle

~Cloud's POV~

Lighting stares blankly at the wall in front of her while Hope restlessly rocks back and forth on his feet. The sound of cicadas outside buzzes through our ears nonstop. Stupid bugs, I think, kicking at the trunk of a tree in bored frustration. Light raises an eyebrow at me and Hope jumps.

"What're you doing?" He blinks at me.

"Kicking a tree, what does it look like?"

"... Why?"

"Because I'm bored," I shrug.

"How bored?" He cocks his shaggy head to the side.

"Very. So bored that I'm frustrated enough to want to punch through a wall, scream, and repeatedly hit my head against a building." Lightning scoffs silently.

"Okay then," Hope blinks at me.

"Come on then," Lightning unsheathes her weapon. "I'm bored too."

"Um... What exactly is happening?" He furrows his eyebrows.

"Boredom," I shrug, drawing my sword. "Good thing we're outside, huh?"

"I wouldn't mind indoors either," she smirks before charging toward me.

I parry her blows, surprised to find her giving her all for once. I block a fired bullet and dodge a few fire spells directed toward me. Gathering up my own magic power, I cast Big Guard and use Matra Magic, probably the weakest spell I have. She skillfully moves around the missiles, but the last one manages to give her upper left arm a shallow cut. Her mouth twisting into a scowl, she rushes toward me and slashes three times. Once, aimed at my head with her blade vertical, once with a slice aimed for the back of my right thigh, and once she sweeps her sword low at my feet. I jump over it easily and spin around with my sword out to hit her. She blocks with a cringe at the strength behind the blow; then her eyes flicker with some sort of idea that makes her smirk.

Spinning quickly, she swivels around behind me and shoves her hand into my back pocket. Freezing in confusion, I feel her fingers close around something before she grips my arm tightly and holds up an object with a taunting look in her eyes. At the sight of a syringe, my body goes rigid. I can't relax around lab coats, needles, or test tubes. I go pale, clammy, and shaky. Vincent, with the same irritating fears, only looks uncomfortable until he go to far. He'll give you that really scary glare, but if you're his true friend and you can read his eyes, you see a wild panicky feat glimmering in those crimson irises. Strange, no one would be guessed how much me and that creep have in common.

"Don't," I say just over a whisper. Stupid, I know. But ever since Hojo... Since Zack... I can't do it. She just smirks wider and brings the tip near my skin.

"What's wrong? This isn't poisoned, is it?" I can tell my face is whiter than snow by my reflection in a nearby window. Both my hands are shaking and I'm trying so hard not to shove her back and run.

"Light-t-tning, please," I practically beg, weakly pulling on my arm. She blinks at me in confusion, just like Hope, before tossing it down.

"Sorry, geeze," she furrows her eyebrows and puts her blade away. Even with the stupid thing gone, my involuntary panic doesn't subside. Memories... Painful living nightmares I didn't want to return...

The screams of people as they burn alive, their houses caving in on them. Zangan runs to help people in the nearest house escape and ends up dying himself. A mountain path, flying beneath carelessly sprinting feet as I run to the reactor. Carrying Tifa a few feet away to safety. Confronting Sephiroth. A sword piercing through my body, the excruciating pain alone nearly killing me as I bite back a scream. Throwing Sephiroth to his death. It's all fading...