Cloud - Chapter 20: Chapter 20

Darkness was everywhere.
It surrounded me. It was scary. Though, it was a familiar darkness. It was the same one that I was trapped in when I talked to the original version of myself.
I expected to see him but I did not. He did not appear like he usually did. So I just remained here, in the dark, unable to move nor act in any possible way.
What happened?
I remembered going out with Cloud then he told me about his story, about Eden. I got angry at him and asked him to take me home. I was hurt. Once at home, I quickly went inside and called out my mom. She did not reply so I searched for her.
When I finally saw her, she was..she was..she was tied to a chair, motionless, eyes closed. I tried to wake her up but I could not. I tried to untie her but once again, I could not do anything. Then a woman appeared out of nowhere and hit me hard across the face with a baseball bat. I fell unconscious.
God, my mom! How was she right now? I needed to know, I needed to get out of here and fast. But how? My body seemed heavy. Moving was impossible for me, I could not even open my eyes. It was like I was trapped inside my own body.
"Hello, pretty boy."
What was that voice?
"Wake up. I know that you can hear me."
True, I could hear you but it was the only thing that I could do right now.
"Open your eyes, Luffy."
If only I could, damn it!
I fought and fought and after what seemed like hours, I finally felt my eyes open slowly. My vision was a blur. My head was heavy and I could feel a wet sensation at one side of my face, it was surely blood dripping from the blow that I received. My vision became more clear after a few seconds and the first thing that I saw was my mom still unconscious on her chair.
"Mom," I exclaimed and then I groaned. I was having a headache. I tried to stand up to go to my mom but then I realized my position. Like her, I was tied to a chair, unable to get up. I heard a chuckle.
"Don't waste your time, she can't hear you. I sent your mom in a faraway land and I'm the only one who can wake her up."
Here, sitting on the couch was the woman that hit me. The baseball bat was placed beside her and we could see droplets of my blood on it. The woman was watching me with a tiny bit of amusement in the eyes.
"You know," she started before I could say something, "I thought that it would be hard to take you down but turns out, you are weaker than most humans that I have met."
"Who are you?" I asked her, completely ignoring what she just said, "And what did you do to my mom?"
"Instead of worrying for her, worry more about yourself," she advised me, "My name is Lindsay or at least, that's the fake name that I gave to your mom."
If I remembered correctly, Lindsay was the new friend of my mom that was supposed to come have lunch with her today. My mom was pretty excited about it but I should have been more careful. I should have guessed.
I should have been there instead of going out with Cloud.
"Mom, wake up," I tried again and Lindsay laughed.
"I told you she won't wake up," she said and then she smirked, "She is trapped in a dream, a beautiful one but don't let yourself get fooled, that dream will quickly turn into her worst nightmare, a bit like your dream coming true did."
"What?" I frowned in confusion. She stood up and advanced towards me. She leaned down so that her face was just a few inches away from mine.
"Don't act ignorant. We both know what happened," she whispered.
"I don't know what you are talking about," I informed her.
"You are a very bad liar, Luffy," she told me before stepping back. She looked down at me and said, "I am really surprised. While you were unconscious, I dived into your brain in search of that one thing that you desire the most on this earth. You can't imagine my surprise when I found out that all you want is Cloud."
"Shut up," I ordered her but I was curious. Did she know Cloud? Did they know each other? Did Cloud know that she was here?
"I created a little world in your head," she continued, "I made your dream come true, Cloud and you were happy together but it quickly became really bad for you. Funny thing, your worst nightmare is to lose him to somebody else. I would have never guessed it. You are really pathetic. How could you fall in love with him?"
"I am not in love with him," I protested and I lowered my gaze to the ground, "And whatever that dream was, it was not real."
"Of course, it's not real. I made it," Lindsay confirmed and I closed my eyes, the memory of the dream coming to me.
It happened before I found myself surrounded by darkness. I saw Cloud. We were alone in an unfamiliar room. He slowly walked to me and wrapped his arms around my body. He brought his lips to my ear and whispered in a soft voice, "I love you so much, Luffy. Don't ever leave me."
I felt good at that exact moment. I was happy, true happiness seemed to absorb me entirely. Then in the most passionate way, he started to kiss me and I kissed him back without an ounce of hesitation. This was too good to be true.
And guess what? It was really not true.
The air changed suddenly and Cloud pushed me away violently. I fell down and when I looked up at him, another boy was there. I never saw that boy before but I just knew who he was.
Eden.
Cloud took his hand and gave me one of the most evil look that I ever saw on his face. And...and...unexpectedly, they kissed, right in front of me. It hurt so much to see that but I could not look away. I started to cry and scream for them to stop. It seemed to be an eternity before they finally pulled apart. Eden looked down at me, a smile on his lips, and he said the words that hurt me more than anything else.
He will never love you. It will always be me, only me.
It was just after those words that they both disappeared and darkness came before I woke up back into reality life.
"It was easy for me to find out your fears, your most secret desire, and making you see whatever I want was so much fun," Lindsay stated and I opened my eyes to glare at her.
"Why are you doing that?" I asked her.
"Isn't it obvious?" She asked me in response, "I'm here for you or to be more precise, for the being living inside of you. It's him that we want."
"You form part of the Vins," I realized but part of me already knew it.
"Bingo," she said and she turned around, giving me her back, "I am a witch and we can say that I was sent here to kidnap you."
This was not good. How was I going to get myself out of this situation? I was weak, I did not have any power to defend myself. God, I could not even move one inch because of those ropes.
I was completely alone in this case.
"If you are here to kidnap me, what are we still doing here?" I questioned and she hummed.
"No need to be in such a hurry," she told me, "We still have some time so let's have a little chat."
"I have nothing to say," I informed her.
"Oh but me I do," she said and she chuckled, "How is it to share your body with one of the most evil and powerful being on this earth?"
"Shit," I answered and she looked back at me, "Want to take my place?"
"I'm sorry but it's impossible," she told me, "The one that trapped him inside of you made sure that he can't leave your body, though, he can control it. If we succeed to free him, he will take your place and you will take his."
She seemed to know what she was talking about. She seemed to know more about the original. Maybe I could try to get some information out of her. I had nothing better to do anyway.
"You look exactly like him," Lindsay told me, "The resemblance is so troubling."
"Do you know him?" I asked her and she shook her head.
"I did not have that chance. Rare are the ones who met him before he disappeared," she explained, "Master Vance searched for him for years, decades, centuries even, and now we succeeded to find him in you."
"Master Vance?" I repeated.
"Yeah, he is the master of the Vins. He is the one who started the clan," She informed me and I remembered hearing that name when I met Cloud's little group. Vance was the oldest and the big boss, Storm had said.
"So Vance has been searching for the original all this time," I concluded and Lindsay looked at me with curious eyes.
"The original? That's how you call him?" She asked me and I nodded.
"He did not really give me a name. I think that he finds it more fun if I try to figure it out by myself," I replied before asking, "Do you know his name?"
"Of course, I do," she looked proud of herself, "I not only know his name but I also know what he is and what he did in the past. Master Vance made sure that his most loyal servants know about the truth and all the little secrets."
"Should I conclude that you are one of his most loyal servants?" I said and she huffed while walking around my chair. She stopped right behind me and wrapped her hands around my neck, like if she was going to choke me.
"Think whatever you want. I really don't care," she told me and I swallowed hard.
"What does Vance want?" I questioned, "Why does he want to free the original? What good will it bring to him?"
"You really want to know?" I nodded. Lindsay hummed and then murmured to my ear, "Don't take me for a fool. You won't get anything from me."
I kind of already guessed it. Of course, she was not going to spill out all of their secrets so easily. Her hands left my neck and went to rest on my shoulders.
"Master Vance will kill me if I tell you anything confidential," she said, "He doesn't handle betrayal really well and he believes that secrets among the family should remain among the family."
"You were one of his servants a few minutes ago and now you are telling me that you are family," I said in disbelief, "Are you sure that you are not just a puppet for Vance?"
"Shut your damn mouth," Lindsay exclaimed and she suddenly appeared in front of me. My eyes widened. How did she do that? She was so fast that I did not even see her move. She grabbed me by my neck with one hand and started to tighten her grip. Air was blocked immediately, "I think that you did not understand. I am in a state of power here so be careful with your words."
"L-L-Let go," I said with difficulty. Her hand around my neck did not help. She was so strong.
"I can't kill you," she informed me and then she smirked, "But I can surely as hell teach you a lesson."
She raised her free hand above my head and prononced one little word. In a matter of seconds, my eyelids seemed to weight a tone and my eyes started to close by themselves. It was like I was slowly falling asleep.
And fighting it was impossible.
***
When I opened my eyes, I was no longer in my living room. I was in front of a lake, the same lake that I went to today with Cloud. I was sitting on the ground, leaned against someone's chest and his arms were around me. I looked up to see who it was and I was surprised to see Cloud.
"What the hell!" I exclaimed, pushing his arms away to free myself. I immediately stepped away from him and he looked at me with confused eyes.
"What's wrong, Luffy?" He asked me, standing up from the ground.
"This isn't real," I told myself, shaking my head from side to side, "This isn't real."
"What are you talking about?" He asked me.
"Stop playing with me, Lindsay, I know it's you," I told her and fake Cloud stepped towards me, "No! Stay away."
He did not listen to me and soon, he was standing in front of me trying to touch me. I tried to push him away but it was like my own will to fight back wasn't strong enough, it was fading slowly and I just let myself fall into his arms.
"It's okay," he told me while he hugged me tightly, "You're okay. I'm here and I love you."
"Don't say that," I ordered him, "Because this is not real. None of this is real."
"It is real," he tried to convince me but I knew better.
"No," I protested.
"If it wasn't real, do you think that I would have been able to do that?" He started to leave kisses on my neck. "And that?" His hands went under my shirt, touching my back. "And that?" He looked at me in the eyes before leaning forward to kiss me on the lips.
This was fake, I knew it but his kiss, his hands on me, I could feel them so well that part of me thought that it was actually real.
Fake Cloud laid me down on the ground, his lips still on mine. I was not scared at all, I did not feel worried, I felt safe in his arms, I felt good, it was just what I felt in the last dream, before Eden appeared and ruined everything.
Where was Eden now? Did Lindsay plan on making him appear again?
My shirt was removed and fake Cloud started to leave kisses down my chest to my stomach. I let out a soft moan. He was just so sweet. I closed my eyes in complete satisfaction as he moved back up, he stopped just at my neck and bit my skin.
Though, without any warning, he stopped and said the words that made me freeze, "I love you, Eden."
What?
"Why are you calling me Eden?" I asked him in disbelief and he laughed.
"Well, that's your name. How else should I call you?" He asked me and I could say that he was amused.
"My name is not Eden," I made it clear to him, "It's Luffy."
"Come on, baby, stop joking," he told me, "You are Eden and I love you."
"Stop saying that," I shouted at his face but it just became worse.
I love you, Eden. I love you, Eden. I love you, Eden......
That single sentence repeated itself in my head over and over again without an end. Fake Cloud went back to kissing me and I tried to push him away but he was just so strong.
"Stop," I cried out, the tears falling down my cheek, "Please, stop, you're hurting me."
"Ah! Look at you!" Lindsay laughed, appearing out of nowhere, "You are so much in love with that boy."
"I am not in love with him," I protested, shouting. How many times must I say it for her to understand?
"Then why are you crying?" She asked me, "Are you sad because all of this time, for him you were just a replacement for his long lost love? Or are you sad because he will never love you like he loved Eden?"
"Shut up," I whispered in pain and I raised my voice, "What do you know about it? Do you even know Cloud or are just using the things that you saw in my head against me?"
"I have been around that bastard for years," she spat, the hate could be seen in her eyes, "He doesn't care about anyone, he doesn't fall in love, he just plays with you until he is satisfied then he goes in search of a new toy. For him, only love will exist and that is Eden. You, Luffy, you are nothing."
It hurt and she knew it. That was her goal after all, to hurt me.
"Get me out of here," I said, having enough, "Get me out of here!"
The tears continued to fall while she let out a long evil laugh. Soon everything around me disappeared, including her and fake Cloud, leaving me alone in darkness once again. There was a complete silence then. I curled myself into a ball and I did not stop crying.
I don't love him, I tried to convince myself.
I could not love him. I did not trust him. Deep down, I knew that he was going to help me, he was going to keep me safe but for the rest, I did not believe him.
Though, how much I wished that he was really there with me right now...
***
I slowly opened my eyes and I looked up to see Lindsay standing near my mom, touching her hair. She gave me a smile while I glared at her.
"Stay away from my mom," I told her harshly.
"Oh, someone is angry," she concluded and she was damn right, "Don't worry, it will be over soon."
I did not know what she meant by that but I did not ask. I had enough of her already. It remained quiet in the living room. Lindsay just walked around, looking at the window from time to time. Was she waiting for something? Or maybe it was someone?
"What's your true name?" I asked her after awhile and she looked at me, "You told me that you did not give my mom your real name, so what is it? Or is that a secret too?"
She stared at me. I thought that she was not going to reply but she finally did.
"My name is Azra," she told me and I nodded, having nothing else to say.
Suddenly, I heard the front door open and it was closed with a loud noise. I froze. Someone just entered and I could hear the slow steps of that person coming towards the living room. My heart started to race. Who was it? An enemy? Or an ally?
Cloud.
Was it him? I hoped so. No matter how angry I was at him, I just wanted him to come and rescue me.
God, I sounded like a lady in distress!
I looked at Azra, trying to catch the emotion on her face. Instead of seeing her worried like I was expecting, she seemed...happy? I frowned as I saw her smirk and walked to the entrance of the room.
It was not long before the person's face was revealed to us and that was definitely the last person that I expected to see here.
"Alexandro," I said in disbelief. Just what was he doing here?
"Well, well, well, just the person that I was waiting for," Azra said, "You sure took all your time, Alex."
"Sorry, I was hiding the dead body of the messenger that you sent me," he told her and he threw one glance at me.
"I did not expect any less from you," Azra sighed in satisfaction and pointed at me, "As you can see, I captured the boy. You who tried so hard to prevent us from finding him, it's a complete failure for you."
Alexandro tried to protect me from the Vins. I was surprised. I knew it, he could be trusted. I planned on searching for him to get some of the answers that I wanted but I guessed that Azra found both of us first. What was she planning?
The expression on Alexandro's face was unreadable. He glanced at the door frame of the living room and tried to step inside but he couldn't. I was confused. He could not even place one feet in. Why couldn't he enter?
"I see that you cast a spell around the place," Alexandro stated, his eyes fixed on Azra and I understood at last.
"You like?" She asked him with a smile, "I cast a spell around the entire house. You can no longer leave."
This was definitely not good.
"Master Vance is searching for you," she continued, "He really did not appreciate your betrayal. You hurt him badly, Alex."
"So he sent you here to come find me," Alexandro concluded.
"You are not so stupid, after all," Azra smirked and she went to take the baseball bat that was still on the couch. "I have no idea what he planned to do to you but I hope that it will be painful."
One snap of her fingers and suddenly, a layer of smoke surrounded the baseball bat. When the smoke finally dissipated, it was no longer a baseball bat but a sword, a black and rusty one. With widened eyes, I watched Azra walked to Alexandro. She stopped right in front of him. For one second, I thought that she was going to use the sword against him, but instead, she threw it at his feet.
"Let me tell you a little story, pretty boy," She said suddenly, "A long time ago, Master Vance came upon a house. There, he found a little boy, completely bloody, crying over the dead bodies of his whole family. My master took pity of this little boy so he decided to take care of him."
"He feed him, gave him clothes, a shelter, love. That boy basically became a son for him. Though, Master Vance had a lot of enemies and he couldn't always be there to protect the little boy. So he went in search of a sword, you see, it wasn't an ordinary weapon. It was one that holds great powers."
"Once found, Master Vance took the sword and transferred all of its powers to the little boy, making him stronger than he was before," Azra concluded the little story and then she added, "Does this story sound familiar to you, Alexandro?"
"I can't forget my own story," he replied and I was not sure what was going to happen next, "I'm guessing that you want me to return the powers that I received to the sword."
"You're damn right," she exclaimed, "I know that you are stronger than me and I can't take you down when you have your full abilities."
"And who said that I am going to do what you want?" He asked her.
"I know that you won't listen to me. That's why I found a method of pressure," she informed him, "I can't kill the boy but I can do whatever I want with his mother."
"What?!" I exclaimed in disbelief, the fear starting to build up inside of me, "Don't you dare touch her!"
"Shut up, you have no right to talk," Azra scolded me and she came to stand beside my mom, raising one hand above her head, like she did with me earlier. She said to Alexandro, "You decide now. Lose your powers or the woman is dead."
"Don't do anything to her!" I shouted but I was completely ignored.
"How can I know that you won't kill her once I transferred all my powers to the sword?" Alexandro asked her.
"You can't know," she replied and she glanced at my mom, saying one little word under her breath.
My heart seemed to have stopped beating for one second. I did not know what to expect. For a short amount of time, nothing happened, my mom's eyes remained close but then suddenly she started coughing really loud. She was coughing blood out.
"Mom!" I shouted, fearing for her life.
Blood started pouring out of her nose. She looked like she couldn't breath. I tried to get up, to move that damn chair but it was useless. I was too weak, so I did the only thing that I could, I cried. I was feeling hopeless.
"Hurry up, Alexandro. Transfer the powers," Azra ordered him but he looked indecisive.
"Please," I begged him, "She can't die. I'm begging you, do something. I can't lose her."
I did not trust Azra. I was not even sure if she would let my mother live if Alexandro did what she asked. But I did not have any other choice. I needed to try anything in order to save her.
"Listen to the boy, Alex," Azra said, "You know how it feels like to lose a mother. You know how it's like to watch your own mother die without being able to do anything to save her."
Alexandro sighed at last and looked down at the sword. It was like he was scared of it. Slowly, he leaned down and took it in his hand.
"Stop it, Azra. I'm going to do whatever you want but leave her alone," Alexandro told her but she shook her head.
"You have one minute before she is dead," she stated. How could she be so cruel?
"But it will take more than one minute," he informed her.
"Then act fast," she advised him, "Cause I really don't care."
Alexandro cursed her under his breath before taking the sword in both hands. He closed his eyes, breathing in and out slowly. At that moment, the aura around him seemed to change. His veins appeared and I could see a sort of dark light travelling through them in the direction of the sword which then started to change.
But it was not fast enough.
"30 seconds," Azra chanted and I panicked more than I already was before. I needed to do something. But what?
Why was I so weak?
As time went by, blood started to come out of my mom's closed eyes and out of her ears. She was not conscious yet but her body seemed to be suffering. Her body was dying without her own knowledge.
"Please stop," I begged her and she ordered me to shut up once again.
"15 seconds left," she said and my heart beat speeded up.
No, no, no...
"Give me more time," Alexandro exclaimed. The sword was different now, part of it seemed to have been regenerated, "I need more time."
"And you need to understand that you will have none," Azra said and I wondered how someone could be so heartless. Alexandro was doing what she wanted, she could at least slow down her torture process on my mom.
Alexandro fell down on his knees, sweats ruining down his forehead, he seemed tired, drained out of energy. I was thankful to him. He wasn't forced to obey to Azra. It was not his mother but still, he was doing what he could do to save her.
"8 seconds left," Azra counted down.
"Please, stop, please," I cried out.
"Listen, part of my powers are already in the sword, take it," Alexandro tried to convince her but she did not listen.
"I need all the power, not part of it," she forced her own way. "6 seconds."
My heart was aching.
"5 seconds."
This was my fault. I brought the danger into her life.
"4 seconds."
I was so angry at myself. Angry for just sitting on this chair and watching my mom die.
"3 seconds."
Alexandro sent me a sorry look. My mom hasn't gotten any better.
"2 seconds before the end."
"No," I whispered, my eyes leaving my mom to stare at the ground. My whole universe was being destroyed right in front of my eyes.
"One second," Azra said slowly before adding, "And she's dead."
It just clicked in my head at her words.
"Leave her alone!" I screamed at the top of my lungs and I felt something dark built up inside of me.
Something changed suddenly.
Azra was projected in the air and slammed hard against the nearby wall. All the windows, the vases, even the bulb which was in the living room broke into pieces. I felt the ropes which were at first tightening around my body loosened and I was free to move. I rose to my feet without even realizing and the ropes fell to the ground without much effort.
I was confused but seeing my mom motionless made me act fast. I ran to her and grabbed her face, shouting her name, though, I did not get any response. I quickly searched for her pulse then, silently praying that she was okay. I nearly shouted in excitement when I felt something, her pulse was weak but still, it was something.
I grabbed the ropes around her and pulled them down. They fell easily without any problem. I quickly took her in my arms then. Her clothes were bloody as well as her face but I did not care. She was okay. Just then, Alexandro entered the room.
I frowned.
How did he enter suddenly?
He walked to Azra's laying body on the floor. The sword was still in his hand but something was different. The flow of power which was leaving his body before was getting back in. The sword was returning to its black and rusty appearance.
"Alex," Azra whispered with difficulty as she opened her eyes, "What happened?"
"You played with fire," he replied, "And now you are going to get burned."
He raised the sword in the air and I immediately averted my eyes. I could not do anything for her. After everything she put me through today, I did not care about her sad fate. She deserved it.
I hugged my mom tighter, scared of letting her go. I needed to get her out of here to somewhere safe. Someone needed to treat her wounds. Maybe Cale and Calum could help. I looked around and saw Alexandro walking to me, blood dripping from his sword. He stared at me in the eyes.
"What did you do?" He asked me and I was lost.
"I did not do anything," I replied.
"You did something," he protested and he grabbed me by my arm harshly.
"What are you doing?" I exclaimed as he pulled me to his level, "Let me go."
"Since when do you have powers?" He questioned and I was more lost than before.
"I have no powers. I'm completely human." That I was sure of it but the way Alexandro looked at me made me doubt my own words.
"Sorry to inform you, Luffy," he started, "But I can literally feel the power flowing inside of your body. It seems like you are no longer human."
No.