I’m completely ripping off the armor sets from Mass Effect 3 for a lack of a better reference, so the design of course wasn’t made by mwah. Oh, and focusing on the 'stoic' characters in this chapter, just to give them a fair headstart.
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Yuffie had come to collect you from your room by morning, escorting you down to the food hall for a quick meal. It was rather quiet compared to yesterday’s escapades, you had noted. And when you expressed your mild concern to Yuffie, she only laughed, heartily slapping you across the back, consequently pushing you into a trivial stumble, “Of course it’s quiet! Everyone’s usually up before dawn. We are fighting a war, you know - there’s no time to sleep in.”
You nodded slowly, “I guess. Certainly does explain why everyone was asleep so early yesterday.”
Cereal sputtered from her mouth as she replied, and you leant back discreetly to avoid the projectiles of milk droplets and sodden food, “Unless we’re sent out on missions throughout the day, we’re in bed early getting our Z’s. Can’t do the job when you’re tired, otherwise we’d be dead on the battlefield.”
Her statement unnerved you, more than what you would consider normal, and you couldn’t figure out the reason behind it. You quietly shuffled in your seat while reaching for your last piece of toast, “That’s really morbid.”
She gave a dainty shrug in reply, solemnly serious compared to her usual disposition, “It is war, [Name]. People die, we can’t help that. Of course, if we could stop it without violence, we would. Unfortunately, we don’t have the luxury. We can only hope we’ll come out of this on top, so those who died wouldn’t have passed in vain.”
Nodding slowly, you began chewing on the buttered bread, mulling over your thoughts.
War. What a gut-wrenchingly horrific thing. As you stared down at the barren plate before you, focusing on the scattered crumbs, a small bout of nausea and a minor headache overtook your senses.
“[Name], look sharp! Here comes Ansem the Wise!”
Suddenly being yanked from your debilitated state, you had managed to choke on your bite of toast, swallowing in a way that had your throat clenching on the food. Yuffie had to stifle a bout of laughter, and you reached for a glass of water across the table, gulping water like you had been starved of the source for days. You turned to see with no surprise that yes, Ansem was approaching, with Hope beside him, both of whom were adorned in long white coats.
Yuffie stood to greet the two of them, “Hi there Hope. Sir.”
“Yuffie,” Ansem nodded his head in greeting, “[Name], I’m glad to see you haven’t lost your appetite.”
You gently placed the glass down on the table, glancing up with an awkward grin, “Still as hungry as ever, I suppose, sir.”
He nodded with a strict smile, “That’s very good, I would be worried otherwise. I was hoping you would both accompany Hope and I on a quick walk. We’ve gathered a few other Keys in the training arena, as we are running our monthly examination.”
He didn’t spare a second glance before turning, his demanding presence attracting the attention of most people in the room while he took his leave. The three of you left behind began to follow, and you glanced towards Hope with an anxious expression, “Is he implying I have to take this examination?”
The young man returned your glance, flashing you a quick and polite smile, “Not in the same sense as everyone else. We’ll be focusing on trying to coerce your abilities into action today.”
You let out a relieved sigh, “Good, because I’m afraid I don’t even know if I can fight.”
“Aw Hell, [Name]! The way you flipped Ventus yesterday has me thinking you’ve learnt how to fight.”
You turned to Yuffie, shaking your head with an apathetic shrug, “Even if I did, does it really mean I can fight now?”
“Well, we’ll find out soon enough. If we’re going to get any sort of reaction out of you, we’re going to have to put you into a situation that has you under immense pressure.”
“Ah, and you had me optimistic for a moment there.”
Hope’s smile turned into an apologetic one, “Sorry. There’s really no other way to go about it, since our abilities are activated by mental stimulation.”
“Don’t worry too much about it, [Name]. We’ve all had to go through it, and it’s not like we’re going to slice a limb off or anything.”
“Okay, now you have me worried.”
Hope gave Yuffie a disapproving gaze, “Yuffie, just leave the explaining to us Assistants. Please.”
“Alright, fine, geez. Shoot a girl down for trying to help, why dont’cha.”
You let out a small chuckle, slowing to a stop behind Ansem as he activated the lock on the door before you all. The metal door swirled open, and there was no hesitation as Ansem walked into an elongated hallway, the mouth opening up to a wide room, something you could liken to a high-tech coliseum. You eventually halted at the edge of a high railing that consisted of thick glass paneling. Yuffie and Hope flanked either side of you as you watched the group of fighters in the arena, recognizing them all in a heartbeat.
“We do this to analyze the combat style of each Key, and to give advice on how to better their individual styles. We can assume who will work better in a team and assemble them to suit particular missions.”
You nodded absently, a smile taking your expression as you watched the people down below flit about in combat. Lightning, Vanitas, Tifa, Zack, Axel and Demyx were giving their all on the field, everyone adorned in plated armor that reminded you of something out of a sci-fi videogame. It was breathtakingly exciting, watching them avoid strikes and counterattack with a variety of abilities. Lightning and Zack had been paired off, from what you could see, and the two were throwing punches and striking swords, sparks flying between the two grinding blades, Lightning occasionally shooting off a bullet. Your eyes slid over to Tifa and Vanitas, the latter striking with an odd blade that was embellished with black gears and cogs. Tifa was blocking a lot of the attacks with her forearms, where her armor thickened exponentially when compared to the others. It must have been to accommodate her style, you thought. Just as you were about to glance at the last two, though, the glass in front of you was engulfed with flames. Letting out a quiet squeak, you lurched back, accidently falling into someone else.
Hands came up to steady your unbalanced state, holding you by the shoulders from behind. Once you had regained your sense of stability, the hands disappeared, and you turned to see none other than Vincent behind you with a stoic expression.
“S-Sorry, Vincent. I didn’t know you were there.” He gave a curt nod in return, and you assumed you had received his swift forgiveness.
“Axel, you need to focus on your aim!” Hope shouted the advice, but was rebutted by an irritated remark, “Alright, alright! But just for the record, I can’t focus on my aim when Miss. Trigger Happy over there is firing bullets my way!”
“They’re only rubber bullets, Axel. Besides, you’ll be dealing with a lot more distractions on the battlefield than just gunshots.”
Axel turned, head tilted back to look at where your group was situated on the overhanging platform, his disposition lightening with a wink being sent your way, “I can think of a few."
You pursed your lips, breathing out deliberately to slow the blush from spreading on your cheeks. Surely that wasn’t directed at you, was it? A triumphant grin spread across Axel’s face, but before anyone could react, a billowing pillar of water struck him from behind, knocking the redhead to the ground in what looked like a miniature tsunami. You snorted in a sudden spell of laughter, pressing the palm of your hand against your lips to try and smother the amusement.
“It’s alright! I’ve put out the pervert, everyone!” Demyx waved his arms in the air before dramatically sweeping in a bow.
A small stream of water erupted from Axel’s mouth as a spat, sitting up on his knees, “Why you little -!!”
Another barrel of liquid struck Axel in the face, “Sorry, what was that? I couldn’t hear you over the sound of your egotistical tone.”
“That’s enough, you two. Everyone, please refrain from attacking and vacate the field. I’m going to need the arena for [Name]’s session,” Ansem’s voice was thriving over the speakers situated throughout the small stadium, his hand pressed to his ear, fingers touching the piece of technology hanging around its shell. He then turned to you once the people below had begun being brought up to the above landing through glass elevators lining the arena, “[Name], would you please enter the arena after you’re changed? We’ll send some of our Keys down once we decide who will be a good choice for you to fight.”
You nodded silently, hesitantly shifting your gaze to Yuffie as anxiety gripped at your chest. She supported you with an ambitious thumbs-up, before Vincent and Hope began walking away, the latter turning back to make sure you were following. The two led you into an adjacent room that served as an observation deck with electrical panels. They handed you a latex bodysuit and ushered you into another room to change, which you did before returning. By this time Zexion had appeared with your armor, which was a pleasant shade of gunmetal gray with blood red highlights stretching the length of your right arm and a dull metallic shine. The three of them directed you to a station where robotics attached the armor onto your form. From what you could tell, this style of armor was standard for the other female Keys, but the highlight on the arm differed in color.
Eventually you were sent on your way, and you were immensely surprised to find that the armor was quite comfortable to move in. Well, you supposed it would have to be, for obvious reasons. By the time you were in one of the elevators, you could see a two people standing in the bowl of metal, chatting amongst themselves quietly. When the elevator halted and opened once reaching the ground, you tilted your chin up, striding forward with as much courage and dignity as you could manage, because you weren’t sure that you’d leave the arena with both of those two things intact.
The closer you got, the more you could recognize the two as Neku and Vanitas. The two turned to see you approaching as Ansem’s voice enveloped the arena once more, “I assume that everyone’s ready? [Name], we’ve decided on your opponent to be Vanitas.”
“Why’s Neku here, in that case?”
A grin split across Vanitas’ visage in reply to your question while Neku crossed his arms.
“Vanitas tends to get a bit . . . unnecessarily violent, when it comes to fighting. I’m here to make sure it doesn’t go too far,” Neku explained with a specifically monotonous tone that had you grimacing on the inside.
Vanitas cleared his throat, squinting his golden hues in exasperation with an accompanying eye roll, but you couldn’t help but notice the simper still playing on his expression, “Don’t worry too much about it. I promise I won’t break more than a few bones.”
Neku slapped the man upside the head in reprimand, “He won’t break anything, and my job’s to make sure he doesn’t. Vanitas is just going to rough you up a bit to coax you into a state where you’ll need to call upon your abilities.”
Vanitas ‘tsk’ed in tolerance before outstretching his arm, the weapon you had seen him carrying before materializing in his grasp. Wait, if he had a weapon, didn’t you have the right to carry one too? Otherwise you weren’t going to get a hit in . . . unless that was the point.
“Don’t I get something to counterattack with?”
Neku shook his head while stepping back, waving an arm in the air to indicate everyone was ready, “He can’t rough you up if you’re constantly blocking his attacks. Just get into the mindset that this is a dire situation where you’ve lost your weapon and you’re fighting an enemy for the right to live.”
“Well isn’t that just dandy,” you muttered under your breath as you shifted into what you deemed was the most comfortable position for throwing punches, Vanitas copying your motives.
“Alright, Ansem and the Apprentices are ready. Go for it.”
There wasn’t a moment’s hesitation as Vanitas leapt forward, his blade swinging in a small arc aimed towards your shoulder. And then something happened, something that gave you to urge to move your body in a certain way, your feet shifting to turn you around on the spot. A breeze ruffled the tips of your hair, the blade’s edge swiftly dipping beside your shoulder as you swiped your left forearm to strike at the back of Vanitas’ armor across his shoulder blades. He was sent into a stagger, turning with a surprised expression, one which quickly turned into amusement, “Well, I wasn’t expecting you to fight back. But that just means I have an actual opponent now, doesn’t it?”
You couldn’t help the determined smile that slipped onto your features, “I suppose it does. But that doesn’t mean I have one.”
“Oh, ouch, how mean of you to say that, [Name].”
You could hear an amount of cheering from the overhang where the rest of the Keys gathered, and with a quick glance as you avoided another strike, you could see so many more people than were previously in the room. After that, Vanitas picked up the succession of his attacks, agilely avoiding your counters and landing a few assaults on your torso and limbs. Each time he hit, you could feel the armor around you take the brunt of the force, but send you tumbling. From the ground, you managed to roll to the side and flip onto your knees, avoiding the blade by a hair’s breadth. It had been a good amount of the time the two of you had spent fighting, and your face was adorned with many thin slices, the salt of your sweat stinging the cuts in an oddly satisfying way. Throughout the sparring session, you had felt the fear and anxiety slowly ebbing away to reveal a buzzing warmth of excitement and adrenaline. It was satisfying every time you landed a blow, and the feeling was so familiar it had you smiling, one the Vanitas was all too happy to mirror in a more menacing way.
He managed to quickly fling his blade up, catching it by the hilt before swinging at you with a rapidity that had the top half of it pressing down on the palms of your armored hands before you could even get to your feet. His face neared yours as he renewed the strength he used to push the blade towards you, his eyes burning with something you couldn’t quite make out, “Come on, [Name], I know you’re not that strong.”
You let out a strangled grunt in reply, feeling the sharpened edge of the blade begin to pierce through the layers of protection encasing your palms, the tip nearing the throbbing pulse on your neck.
<i> “[Name]! [Name], honey, where are you!?”
The crackling of timber burning under the heat of fire engulfed the yard, smoke billowing from nearby suburban properties smoldering your senses. Heaving cough after cough, you yelled for your parents as you ran towards the home, “Momma! Out here, mom, I’m here!”
A screech resonated from the burning home, only encouraging your sprint to the front door. You didn’t think you could ever run as fast as you had been that very moment, leaping through the door and barreling into the living room in a hurried lurch. What you saw would haunt you for years to come.
[H/c] ringlets were spread across the floor, cascading around your mother’s form. Her skin tone was paler than what one would consider normal, droplets of clear, bubbled liquid splattered her torso, and you glanced to the being hovering above her, eyes wide in a blatant stare of horror. The alien form was coal black with blue highlights. Elongated limbs supported its lithe body above your mother, flawless, circled eyes of rich yellow snapped up with the turn of its head, meeting your quivering body. The pinpointed, rotting and jagged teeth were suddenly bordered with an animated, open-mouthed grin. Without a moment of hesitation, the extra-terrestrial presence had lifted from your mother’s body, skittering across the floorboards towards you, zigzagged antennae wobbling with every movement. You didn’t know if it was the utter rage and anguish you felt at your mother’s limp form, or the outlandish feeling of immortality that accompanied being a young teen, but you took a step forward while throwing a meager fist to meet the monster halfway, screaming with a swell of fury. Although your fist connected with what you assumed was its shoulder, the sheer force produced by its weight pushed you back, sending you into a tumble into the hallway of the house. Your back bounced against the floor, neck snapping back in a painful backlash. The shadowed being let out what sounded like a gruesome chuckle, spittle splattering your face as a hand was pressed against your chest. A mix of terror and adrenaline sent you into a fit of squirming, legs thrashing in an attempt to land a kick to its torso. Your hands came up to wrap around its lithe wrist, pushing with all your might to keep the damned being away.
However, you paused as your heart throbbed. Inhaling sharply, a pain so immense it felt like your body was being torn apart at a molecular level wracked your frame. The monster’s grin widened and you glanced down, watching as its hand began to phase through the folds of your shirt. Your eyes squinted, beads of sweat gathering on your skin as spots of black began to gather at the edges of your vision. You were dying.
A loud snap and crackling resounded across the hallway, and you managed to barely turn your head to spy what had caused the sound. A thick piece of wood lay beside you, the end closest to your side burning with ember light encased with soot. And that was all the incentive you needed to keep trying. Letting go of the alien’s wrist, you reached for the wood, holding back a screech as the ember burned the skin of your palms. And with one mighty heave, you had managed to fling the wood at the monster, whacking it on the side of the head hard enough to have the rectangle splinter on impact. The being stumbled back and you had to act quickly if you wanted to get away. You managed to crawl onto all fours, burnt hand shying away from the floor, but it had already gathered its senses and was once again intent on pouncing. Its muscles flexed as it leaped, and you closed your eyes. However, a loud, booming succession of cracks filled the house. All was quiet for a few moments, before the hustled sound of footsteps came towards you, “I’ve got a survivor!”
Your weak and timid body was lifted into strong arms, and you opened your eyes to see a man in military uniform holding you to his torso with one arm, the other carrying a large firearm.
“Well bring them here! We have to evacuate the area now, more hostiles are inbound.”
One last glance was cast towards your mother’s form before the doorway disappeared down the hall as the man retreated to a military-grade truck outside, leaping into the back in such an orderly fashion it was almost eerie. He had put you down on the grating at the back of the truck, holding your jittery form to him in comfort as the engine roared.
“You’ve done well kiddo. You should get some rest, you’re safe now.”
Blinking rapidly, you felt the tracks of freshly spilt tears running down the fullness of your cheeks. Staring at Vanitas’ stunned expression, you could see steam venting from where you were holding the blade above your neck, keeping it from splitting your [color] skin out of your peripheral vision. With his moment of hesitation, you managed to gather up the rest of your physical power and push him back with vigor. Your hands weren’t burning, but you could see the plain marks of soot and rotting metal that gathered around your hands and began seeping into the beginnings of the armor lacing your forearms.
Neku had raised both his arms to indicate the end of the fight, and a myriad of applause filled the hall. You quickly shook your head, remembering the instructions given to you from the three Apprentices and unclasped the locks holding the armor on your forearms, watching as they clattered to the floor in hissing mess of steam. You quickly palmed your face, discreetly wiping away the warm tears as they mixed with beads of sweat.
“Incredible, it seems that your levels of acidic radiation have the ability to intensify by unimaginable quantities. That was beyond exemplary; I’m very happy with the outcome of this session. You should be too, [Name]. More often than not, Keys will have to go through more trauma before their abilities are awakened.”
You spared a glance at Vanitas, who was watching you carefully, his strange weapon nowhere to be found, “I think she already has.”
You coughed into a fist rather awkwardly as Ansem continued, “Whether she has or not in her past shouldn’t particularly affect her present self in relation to awakening her powers. In any case, I think we’ve gathered all of the data we need. Please take this time to rest, [Name]. I’m sure the other Keys are eager to congratulate you; they sound rather rambunctious.”
You jumped as the armguards below you phased into thin air. Hurried footsteps resounded from behind, and you turned to meet Aqua and Kairi rushing towards you, the bluenette a little mellower than the redhead.
“[Name], that was amazing! I didn’t think you would be able to hold your own against Vanitas, not to mention without a weapon. I’m next to speechless, honest!”
A laugh bubbled from your lips and you caught Kairi as she hugged you, Aqua coming to a stop behind her with an approving smile, “You did very well, [Name]. We’re all very proud.”
“Really? I didn’t think I was very impressive, what with me flailing all over the place.”
Kairi leant back, gently pinching your cheeks as her hands began to glow a distinct shade of bright green. You almost leapt back in alarm if it weren’t for the stinging spots on your face disappearing.
“No need for thanks. Now come on, we have to get you ready for today’s conference before it’s too late.”
“Conference?” You queried as Aqua patted you on the back, gently pushing you to follow the both of them to the arena.
“Yes, conference. We have to present you to the public before we can take you on any missions.”
You feigned a pout, “You make it sound like I’m nothing but a trophy. Aren’t I even allowed to rest? ”
“I’m sure we’re going to show you off that way, too. Besides, you’ll have to get used to the regime of a Key; we have a strict lifestyle you know.”
“It’s not too tough, and the interesting missions we get make up for it!” Yuffie piped in once you had stepped onto the overhang, Zexion and Vincent quick to get on your tail.
“Before you go meet the others, [Name], I’d just like to explain your ability in greater depth,” Zexion addressed you as he kept his stare fixated on the holographic clipboard clasped in his hands, “I’m sure you’ve already recognized your ability as a lethal one. It seems that you can produce a field that incurs acidic properties. It can quite literally eat away at many types material.”
“We can’t determine the extent of its strength, all we can tell at the moment is that it is powerful enough to eat through the ablative ceramic plates of your armor without any trouble.”
Zexion nodded, tapping away at the clipboard, “Yes, we’ll have to deal with creating a new set that can withstand corrosive fields within the next few weeks. In the meantime, you’ll have to refrain from using the ability as much as you can, lest you completely burn through the entirety of your gauntlets.”
He glanced up from the technical pad, flashing you a smile before Ven appeared, “Well look at what we have here, two of the most apathetic men in this building are trying to be charming.”
Almost in sync, both men in mention gazed at Ven with disapproving scrutiny, “We’re not apathetic.”
Ven raised his hands in mock defeat as Yuffie laughed, “Wow, and yet you don’t refute to trying to charm her.”
You let out a bitter sigh, “Alright you two, I don’t need others digging into business that involves my non-existent love life.”
“Fine, fine. Ven, back that truck up so [Name] can follow me. We have to suit her up in uniform before the public relations conference in an hour.”
“I’d be more than happy to help-“
"Axel, don't even start," Aqua's bitter amusement had you laughing.