Chapter 45: Isle of The Skye Pt. 9

Cloud dodged a blast of fire, feeling the heat of the fire as it passed by him.

"You aren't half bad..." The Arcadian said, spinning around Hunter and slashing at his back with his claws.

The fiery wings on Hunter folded over his back, blocking the devastatingly sharp claws of Cloud as he jumped back, dodging yet another small beam of fire.

"I can say the same about you," Hunter said, his and the Pheonix's voices overlapping as he burst forward, catching Cloud in the chin and making the Arcadian slide back on the concrete.

"The only problem is..." Cloud said as he leaned back, standing on one foot as his torso was nearly all the way to the floor. "You're extremely inexperienced," He finished, stepping with his other foot and slingshotting back up, punching Hunter square in the face and sending the Pheonix awoken boy flying across the room.

"My My Theriault! You got some monsters this time... Not as great as the one before, but still goo-"

Hunter recovered quickly, appearing in front of Cloud in the next second, his fist covered in fire as he dug it into the white-haired Arcadian's stomach, steam coming out of his mouth as Cloud felt the searing heat of The Pheonix.

Cloud gritted his teeth, the pain too much to handle as he jumped back, sliding on the floors as Hunter continued to rush him, his firey wings pushing him faster and faster with each step.

"Rising Sun," Hunter said, bursting past Cloud and landing on a nearby wall, cracking it as he crouched and gathered divine flames around his midsection.

'Tighter...' The phoenix said in his head as he condensed the energy, getting it tighter, hotter. Finally, Hunter pushed off the wall, his momentum sending him flying at Cloud at hyper speeds as the Arcadian widened his eyes.

The mini sun burst off of Hunter, flying toward Cloud and melting the floor as it passed. It expanded to twice its size, then three times, then four.

Cloud jumped out of the way of the growing sun as the heat blistered his skin. The sun crashed into him despite his attempt, causing an involuntary yelp to escape his slips as the sun exploded, the heat wave passing over everyone in the room.

The silence was deafening as the smoke cleared. Hunter tried to control his heavy breathing, it was only a matter of time that he could hold this form.

"That was... impressive," Cloud said, wiping the sweat from his brow as the dust cleared, revealing his scorched form.

Cloud breathed in holding out his hand as Hunter groaned inwardly. The boy rushed Cloud, moving sluggishly after throwing out so much power at one time.

"Cyclone."

Cloud's form blurred before he reappeared behind Hunter, his face blank as Hunter looked back at him in confusion.

"You... Missed?" He asked, gritting his teeth and quickly turning around to attack Cloud, flames gathering at his fist as he brought it down on Cloud's face.

*Tch*

Hunter felt a solid hit to his face, causing him to lose his focus and his attack missing.

Hunter felt another hit to his chin, then another to his back.

Finally, Hunter was subjected to dozens upon dozens of attacks all around his body as Cloud just stood there, looking at him pitifully.

Hunter's rage grew, but he couldn't use his powers right now.

"I'm sorry... I can't let you have that key..." Cloud said, dodging another strike and stepping back.

The Arcadian breathed in sharply, "Sky..." He started dodging a punch from Hunter, who rushed him immediately.

Hunter punched again, missing as he turned and kicked at Cloud to no avail as the Arcadian grabbed his leg. "Shatter..." Cloud finished.

Instantly the flames surrounding Hunter died away, leaving him in his normal form. "W... What did you do?" He asked, his voice shaky as a sudden pressure erupted onto his body.

Cloud held onto the boy tightly as Hunter slammed into the ground, his body condensing as his bones shattered, blood practically pouring from his mouth.

Once Hunter stopped convulsing Cloud finally let go of his leg, looking down on the mangled boy who was barely breathing.

"What happened? Couldn't keep up boy?" Cloud said, a smile coming to his face as he raised his leg, quickly stomping down on Hunter's chest. "What's wrong! I thought you were strong kid! Come on! Bring out the flames now! Hurry up!" Cloud yelled, each worried accompanied by a well-aimed stomp.

Cloud laughed crazily, stomping down repeatedly, blood splashing to the side as he continued.

"Hah..." The Arcadian sighed calmly, taking his boot off of Hunter and stepping away from the body. "Little bitch," He finished, flipping Hunter's body off as he turned to see Theriault looking at Hunter's body with a blank expression.

"Done with ol blue so quick? Makes sense, that bastard clearly didn't have what it takes-" Theriault interrupted Cloud with a punch to the face, sending the Arcadian flying back.

Cloud rolled onto his feet, grabbing a piece of loose marble as he stood up, "That wasn't very nice..." He said, glaring at Theriault.

Theriault didn't answer though, he just kneeled next to Hunter, a disappointed look on his face.

"Hey, Theriault, how about you look at me!" Cloud yelled, throwing the piece of marble at the kneeled boy.

Theriault didn't even turn to look as he snatched the rock out of the air, crushing it in his hands as he raised his other hand.

"Cloud... You really... Are an idiot," Theriault said, a smile coming to his face as he noticed something on Hunter.

"W-What do you mean?" Cloud said, standing up and facing Theriault.

"What I mean is... I didn't need to kill the blue kid."

*Boom!*

Sky Trotter slammed into Cloud at sonic speeds, breathing sharply as he punched his commander in the face again and again, over and over as Theriault scooped up Hunter's body, Shen Yi and Scathach behind him.

"We should go, Cloud isn't used to fighting so long, he'll get serious soon-"

A sickening sound cut off Theriault as Sky flew up into the air, slamming against the ceiling.

"What the hell?" Theriault asked, looking at the ceiling as he saw that it was melting, pieces of it falling to the ground as Sky's body fell toward Cloud.

"I love defectors!" Cloud yelled in glee, a crazed smile on his face as he kicked Sky out of the air.

"Damn... We need to leave. Now!" Theriault said, quickly moving down the hall.

"How did you do that Theriault?" Shen Yi asked, an almost frightened look on her face as Theriault didn't answer, knowing exactly what she was talking about.

(Ten minutes before)

Theriault smirked at Sky as the Arcadian rushed in, kicking at his face. He easily dodged, ducking under the kick and grabbing Sky by the leg, sending him to the ground with a loud crack.

"I thought you were going to prove yourself? Is 15% of true Arcadian power this weak?" Theriault taunted, jumping quickly and dodging the wide arc of claws aimed at his chest.

"How pathetic, and I had high hopes," Theriault said, spinning in the air as a condensed beam of air flew past him, narrowly dodging the attack.

"Quiet down, do not count me out... I am the 2nd lieutenant for a reason..." Sky said, gritting his teeth as he rushed at Shen Yi, reaching her in half a second with his claws aimed at her face.

"The fuck? I thought this was just a one-on-one?" Theriault said, appearing right in front of Shen Yi and stopping Sky's claws.

"I even said her grandma's nickname to make it all heartfelt and stuff... Why are you ruining it, ugly bastard?" Theriault asked, a serious expression on his face as he twisted Sky's hand, sending the Arcadian flying to the side, skipping on the marble floor.

Shen Yi didn't say anything, but a small smile did reveal itself just as Theriauklt rushed toward Sky again, his smile wide once again.

Sky barely dodged the powerful kick from Theriault, spinning on the ground and kicking the boy in the face. "Hah!" He said in triumph, jumping up and raising his hands vertically.

Sky sliced down, his razor-sharp claws coming down on Theriault's shoulder, cutting into the cold pale flesh.

"Seriously? You're celebrating over one hit?" Theriault asked in disdain, glancing over at Hunter and Cloud's fight.

Sky followed his line of sight, knitting his eyebrows as anger washed over him.

They say angry people make stupid decisions. Had Sky not had so much pride and anger, he might have been able to realize none of his attacks had fazed Theriault in the slightest.

"Don't ignore me!" He yelled, crouching low as the irises of his eyes disappeared, replaced by white as the ground around him cracked.

His form changed again. "I can even go 50 percent!" He yelled as his body shined. The blinding light shone in Theriault's face as Sky began to change again.

"Oh, I get it now..." Theriault said as the light immediately disappeared, Sky's face stuck in a shocked and pained expression.

He looked down at Theriault's hand, which was plunged into the middle of his chest.

"U-Uh..." Sky groaned. "You know we don't have hearts?" He asked.

Theriault just smirked, ignoring his words as he dug his hand deeper. "I was wondering why your awakened form was nowhere near that of Che's... I killed him as well by the way, but I get it now. It's that you're so weak... That your 15% is less than Che's 5% haha."

Sky widened his eyes as Theriault's hand ripped through his body, finally breaking through his back.

"Just die, I can't believe she made you any rank besides foot soldier..." Theriault said disappointedly, whispering something to himself.

As Sky fell back he felt a searing on his shoulder, as if he was being branded.

"Even a weak Arcadian can make a great distraction, know that your body will be used for purpose..." Theriault whispered. The last thing Sky saw being Theriault's gleefully cruel smile.