Titanium Wolves

Title: Titanium Wolves
Author: Reichi
Rating: NC17
Pairing: Cloud/Kadaj, Vincent/Tseng and a little Cid.
Comments: @_@ I am really bored. So I wrote another chapter. Anything to prevent myself from shaving the sides of my head in a Miyavi Freedom Fighters cut. XD I’m growing out a mullet to cosplay Miyavi, stylized of hair and sliced up with a razor. Its actually really cute. ^_^;… but the con isn’t for another seven months, so I must restrain myself. BTW, If anyone is going to Anime Central in Rosement this May, then email me if your interested in joining my cosplay group. Basically… I want a Rufus [ Geo-stigma ver. ], Reno, possibily a Sephiroth, Elena or Tseng to have a ‘ ShinRa ‘ cosplay group. People hardly do the bad guys. X3 I just think it might be cool… I’m doing Kadaj, and someone else is doing Rude. Then that other person will do Loz, and I’ll do Tifa… then Miyavi freedom fighters ver. [ Oh, multi-colored hair dye will be the dead of me. X_____X ]. Anyway… next chapter. –shakes fist.-
Disclaimer: O_O ITS NOT MINE. FINAL FANTASY VII AND FINAL FANTASY VII: ADVENT CHILDREN DONT BELONG TO ME. NONE OF THIS IS MINE!!! NONE! I SWEAR! FFVII AND FFVII:AC BELONG TO SQUAREENIX. NOT MINE. ALL THEIRS. DISCLAIM DISCLAIM!! -passes out-




Chapter Two: Declaration.



“ Ruuude… “ A nudge. A pair of dark-tinted shades scratched against the glass, “ Hey, Rude! Something’s happening on this little panel Rufus had installed… “


Rude had been fast asleep. Little need to say, Reno wasn’t exactly the worlds most interesting person to be cooped up with for a couple of hours. Anyway; he’d gotten tired of watching the migrational flocks of Chocobo’s chase the shadow of the Helicopter until they came across water, probably warking loudly and flapping their little wings.


“ Huh? “ Rude straight his shades and sniffed, leaning forwards to inspect the luminescent screen. A spot on it was beeping loudly, with a big red circle highlighting the offending area and its movements beneath them.


Reno grinned, “ Is that what Tseng was talking about? “


“ I suppose so. “ Rude looked out the window and scratched at where his baldhead had leaned against the glass, “ Hey, go down a little bit over. It’s too overcast up here for me to see. “


“ We –are- pretty fucking low, Rude. “ Reno pointed at the gages. They must’ve been just a mere hundred meters from the ground, “ I don’t know what the hell it is, but it’s fogging up my mirrors. “


“ Then go up –higher-. Maybe we can see if then. “


“ Oh yeah? How the fuck do you know? “


“ I –don’t-. But I’m guessing. Just fucking do it. “


“ How about –fucking- no. We won’t be able to see shit up there. “


“ We can’t see –shit- down here. Go up. “


“ No. “


“ Just do it, Reno! Or I’ll call Tseng. “


“… You wouldn’t. “


“ Dare me. “


Reno sighed and pulled the joystick back, watching the gages boredly. They were climbing as rapidly as the helicopter was. All while Rude stared down, scrunching up his nose and wiping away at the fine mist appearing on the lower window.


Something grabbed the lower bars of the Helicopter for a moment, making the entire thing rock back and forth precariously. Reno caught to regain control, soaring upwards and staring over the side, eyes practically bugging out of his head. Rude was practically stuck to the ceiling like a cat.


“ What the fuck? “


“ Look! “ Reno pointed, smudging his nose against the glass and staring downwards. Down below were three drawn carriages, pulled by heavily gauntleted Chocobo’s, their chests, necks and heads coated with chain mail and beautifully crafted metal. They were pulling three carriages of varying colors; gold, green and red, with intricate silver lacing upon the roof’s. Small birds were circling above what appeared to be troops, all marching toward the coastline.


“ What the hell is that? “ Rude looked at Reno in awe.


“ I have no fucking idea. “ Reno quickly pulled out his phone and shakily begun dialing the numbers in. Putting it on speaker, he set it down in the center console of the helicopter.


Tseng only ever allowed his phone to ring twice, no matter where he was, before he answered it with an undignified ‘what?’ He had Reno’s number on his caller ID, and tended to answer like this whenever –he- called. He was genuinely polite most other times.


“ What is it? “ Tsengs deep voice drawled.


“ There is –really- something here that you need to fucking see. “ Reno said.


“ Enlighten me. “


“ Like a big –fucking- army heading straight toward Midgar. Three massive like, fucking chariots or something. Red, green and gold. Mean anything to you? “


The opposite line was silent for a moment, and then a shaky intake of breath was drawn, “ Is there anything on the roof’s that looked strange? “


“ Just some jumbled up shit. I don’t know what it is. “


“ Fuck. “ It sounded as though Tseng had placed something down on the counter, hard, “ It’s a Wutai warning battalion. They intend on waging war with Midgar, if their heading this way. “


“ A what? “ Reno looked up at Rude, who seemed equally as puzzled, “ You mean those things are going to attack Midgar? “


“ Probably. “


“ Why? “


“ Gee, I don’t know. Maybe it’s because of the Clones. They sent a messenger after Sephiroth went psychotic on Midgar; they claim that because of our use of Mako energy, the Planet has rallied against us. Kadaj and his gang only angered them more. “


“ So they’re going to attack us? “


“ Fuck, Reno. Just get back here as fast as you can. “


Click. Tseng hung up. Reno reached out and delicately flipped the phone shut, swallowing deftly, “ Well… this sort of sucks. “


“ Yeah… we don’t have SOLDIER anymore to back us up… “


“ There are still recruits in the city… maybe Rufus’ll round them up. “


“ Doubt it… “ Rude blinked, eyeing the red button on the control panel. It was closed off with a small clear plastic box over it, with words ‘ warning ‘ on it. “ Hey, what does that do? “


Reno blinked, and then grinned wildly. “ Missiles. I forgot this little fucker was packing heat. How about you say we launch a little warning shot at them?


“ I’m not sure if that’s a good idea. “ And Rude –really- didn’t look like he liked the idea. Instead he turned his back on Reno and peered down at the Battalion again, “ Lets see what they do when they reach the water. “


Reno grimaced a little bit but peered over the edge regardless, watching. The beautiful drawn carriages came to the edge of the water, the Chocobo’s able to smell it and cawing loudly; the birds were well known for their fear of large amounts of water. A blue flash appeared from the drivers leading the Chocobo’s and within seconds, the water was turned into ice for the next steps, repeating. They were taking an extreme short cut.


“ Well, We could always do it. “ The last carriage mounted the ice. Reno looked at Rude, flipping up the panel, “ Their on the ice; if we smash it in the middle, then they’ll all go crashing down. Stupid fucks. “


Against his better interest, Rude finally nodded, holding his forehead in the palm of his head with the slight throb of a building headache there, “ Fine, do it, Reno. Then Tseng can have a good, rock-solid reason to kick you out of the Turks. “


“ Well are we –supposed- to let it stomp on Midgar? “


“ Yes! “ Rude looked at him, suddenly very serious. Reno knew this mood by the way that his mouth drooped downwards at a heavy angle, his eyebrows above the glasses sewing together, “ if we think, we can make it back to Midgar with a plan for Rufus. “


The Redhead sighed and turned the joystick sharply, turning them around and toward Midgar once more. “ Fine. We’ll do it your way. Just because I don’t want to get booted out and back to the streets. “


Rude sighed in relief, watching the military troops fade into the distance.






Cloud awoke that morning, staring at the dimly shining window, body stretched on his side with a hand curled on his bare hip. Just… staring. He just didn’t –feel- like getting up. Everything seemed so… bland, disgustingly boring… and most surprisingly, empty. It made Cloud actually wish that Kadaj were still around.


Yes… incredibly boring. He stretched his legs out and spread out his toes, laying lax again on the soft, clean sheets. Today would probably be filled with Tifa ordering him around until Barret returned, who would then demand that he do some ritualistic male-bonding that Cloud hadn’t in the past three years been too interested in. Barret, though, didn’t seem to want to pay attention to that.


Breathe in, his mood changed suddenly, and shadows of birds flying overhead blocking the sun every now and then grew uninteresting, and his skin became overly-sensitive when it typically wouldn’t have sparked at the feel of the sheets floating around his lower extremities.


Kadaj… Cloud closed his eyes and turned onto his back with a deep sigh, watching the cracks on the water-stained ceiling and then closing his eyes, allowing his right hand to creep up and rest upon his hip.


Slowly, his hand traveled toward his lap, underneath the blankets, curling his legs toward himself and tossing his head against the pillow. Damn, when was the last time that he did this? It must’ve been… two weeks ago, if not more.


It just hadn’t crossed his mind.


Oddly enough…


Gripping himself loosely, the Blond emitted a low sound as he himself held himself there, feeling the flesh beneath his fingers harden, waiting until it was half-erect before stroking up and back down the length, slowly.


“ Mm. “ He stretched his arm above his head, eyes shut and breathing against his bicep. In such a short time, how could he have forgotten how good this felt? It practically was making his toes curl, and he could nearly get off with this slow and easy pace alone.


But his body craved more. He tightened his fist and stroked himself at a swifter pace, holding his breathe and tightening his chest before breathing it out in a heavy huff. He was getting close, he could practically taste it on the tip of his tongue, just beginning to pool into his lower stomach like warm water.


Before he knew it, a young body filled his mind. Previously, he’d been getting off the feelings alone, but his mind finally kicked back into gear. Trim, obviously, graceful and sooth and sleek like the weapon he bore, Kadaj appeared in his mind with a menacing stare and snide smirk that he usually bore when he was feeling –particularly- evil.


- Oh… oohh… -


Surprizingly, making Cloud chest ache with some sudden compassion and pain, it hadn’t decreased his lust yet rather increased it suddenly, powerfully, causing his hips to suddenly jut upwards and almost knock the blankets away, groaning out deeply against the pillow, muffling it, as he came. So quick and hard that for a moment he couldn’t hear properly, simply laying in the aftermath and catching his breathe.


Nothing before like that had been so –powerful-. At least, not by his own hand… Cloud opened his slightly glowing cobalt eyes and blink at the walls, flexing his eyes around the corners and the little pieces of dust littering the floor. But… but it didn’t make sense. The Teen had, undoubtedly, given him a rise while he was alive, but Cloud never thought…


Oh… gods…


Cloud eased around onto his stomach and wrapped his arms around the pillow, embracing it, seeking some sort of comfort. He’d just… just, gotten off to a dead man. A –fucking- dead man… Cloud would never see him again, speak to him again, or even be close enough to –touch- him, and he’d just gotten off to the very mental image of him.


“ Damn it… “ He whispered, “ Whats wrong with me? “


Silence met him. He clenched the sheets tightly… he just couldn’t –stop- thinking about Kadaj. Hell, he was practically mourning the little bastard, even after everything that he had done. Sent Bahamut to savagely attack the people of Midgar, took the children, almost killed Cloud… there was a careful restraint there that prevented it, but the notion still existed.


Its just… -everything-. He couldn’t ignore what he was feeling; and what he was feeling felt more and more like a high school crush that almost made his stomach lurch. Not at the thought of the Teen, but the fact that he was…


“ Cloud! “


The Blond’s eyes snapped open, hastily yanking the heavier comforter up around his shoulders just before the door cracked open a tad bit; enough for a deep brown eye to peek through.


“ Y-yes? “


“ Are you awake? “


“ … Yes. “


Marlene poked her head through, smiling brightly at him, “ Tifa sent me up here to see if you were going to get up today! “


“ Yes, I am. “ Cloud remained laying through, intent on staying this way until Marlene left. It drew the young girl further into the room.


“ Come on then! Papa is downstairs and Tifa is making everyone breakfast! “


“ A-ah… I see. Well, I’ll be down in a moment all right? I just need to get a shower, and I’ll be down in a moment. Will you tell Tifa that for me? “


“ All right! “ Marlene nodded happily, giving him a little wave before shooting out the door, leaving it wavering open in her wake. Damn, he thought she would never leave…






“ Damn Strife, taking your damn time up there? “ Barret grumbled from his plate, his dark eyes watching the Blonds progression to the table, “ We got business to talk about, and I’ve been waiting all morning for your lazy ass you get up. “


“ Barret. “ Tifa warned him, giving him a rather stern look from the stove. She gestured with her eyes to Marlene, seated at the table and completely oblivious to the conversation.


“ Er… sorry Marlene, honey… “


Cloud leaned his elbows on the table, tentatively taking the icy glass of water Tifa put out for him and drinking from it deeply; until his lips went numb. Barret clanked against his plate and sat back, drawing Clouds mild attention to him.


“ So what was it? “ He finally asked, since it seemed that he was practically –waiting- for that, wiping his mouth on the leather sleeve. Barrets eyes flecked to him, arm crossed with his new mechanical one, almost making him look like a whole man again, and then across the room with a loud sigh.


“ Theres a problem. “ he grunted, “ I picked up on it through airwaves downstairs. – Apparently -, the Turks have come across a Wutai Battalian on a war path to Midgar. Probably piss off at Rufus. Hope they cut his head clean off… Anyway. These guys mean business. Looked up on it, ya know, asked Vincent ‘bout it… he claimed it was like firing a warning shot, but a little bit more –extreme-, if you catch my drift. “


“ No. “ Cloud held the chilly cup between his hands, eyeing Barret, “ What does that mean for us? We’ve done enough to save Midgar; let it get blasted to pieces. Its not my problem. “


Just then, Barrets false hand slammed down on the table, nearly breaking it in half. His cup spilt over into the remainder of the food, and Marlene reached out delicately to catch her own. Cloud rose a disinterested eyebrow.


“ Still acting like a little… jerk! “ Barret side-glanced Marlene, “ Don’t you care at all about this place? The people here? “


“ No. “ Cloud breathed, eyes hardened and entirely certain, “ I don’t care anymore. I never did; Sure, I was in SOLDIER. But I was MP, I hardly contributed to what happened at the Reactors, or even here. Whats gone wrong is at the fault of the people here and not me. “


“ So that’s what you think, eh? “


” Yeah. “


Barret stood, grabbing his place harshly and thundering it over to the bar politely for Tifa, “ Then I guess we’ll ward off the city on our own. Unlike you, we’ve made a home here. And we actually –care-. “


“ Then you fight off the Wutai; see how far you get. Their all ruthless and cutthroat. “ Cloud set his cup down and stood, turning and heading for the door.


“ Cloud! “ Marlene called from the table. He paused at the open door to look back at he slightly stressed expression, the fork jutting out of her small hand, “ Your not going to help my Daddy? “


“ I cant. “ Cloud’s eyes flashed, staring down Barret until his eyes wore dry and turned, disappearing out the door.




The room was dark; the shades have been drawn so only sparse pieces of sunlight passed through and reflected onto the ceiling. The shadows was something that was befitting to Tseng, he’d grown used to it, with only the warm light of a candle to read with, going over document after document, tracing it now and then with his finger when the subject was important enough.


Metal clicked behind him, causing the Turks dark eyes to blink once, stopping at the most recent line he read and leaning back into his chair slowly, “ I was expecting you’d come when you heard the news. “


The presence behind him moved. It was unthreatening, yet merely tense at the moment, as he mostly tended to be. And when the shadows finally spoke, glittering gold for an arm, it was a deep, throaty masculine voice addressing him in return, “ I didn’t want to believe it. “


“ They’re sending threats. “ Tseng inclined his head toward the ceiling, narrowing at the stagnant fan while handing the paperwork over his shoulder. It was scrawled in the romantic, intricate hand of the Wutai language, which was snatched away with a piece of metal brushing the Turks finger.


Silence, “ Why are they blaming us? “


“ We harnessed Mako energy to begin with. They’ve always protested it. “


“ What if we spoke with them? “ The voice offered, moving around him like a phantom, “ We’re a part of them; why shouldn’t they listen? “


“ Because we’re traitors: we both sold our innocence to ShinRa when we were young. Remember? “


“ Naturally. “


“ We’ve lost their respect. It’ll passed into one ear and out another. “


The shadow finally slipped into view; the moist red of his eyes stared at the flame thoughtfully, bouncing between there and Tseng’s face. Usually, Vincent greeted him with a hard and dead stare, passionate with years of grief and agony. It was rare to see him in a state of discomfort.


“ What do you propose we do? “


“ None of my family remembers me… its futile to speak with them. “


“ Mine refuse to believe I exist. “ Tseng rubbed is forehead and then pinched between his eyebrows, hiding the small dot there for a moment, “ I don’t know what I should send my men to do… You know what’ll happen if Midgar doesn’t surrender to them immediately. “


“ Another war. “


“ I don’t think I could survive that, Vincent. “


“ Neither could I. “


For the first time that evening, Tseng’s and Vincent’s eyes met; the red eyes captivating the deeper ones with a shock of Mako power. Vincent’s collar was open, hiding the rest of his elegant features, causing the Turk to narrow his eyes.


“ Why do you still hide yourself, Vincent? “


“ Why did you for two years. “


“ I didn’t have a choice… “


“ Neither do I. “ Vincent reached toward the flame with his metallic claw and passed it through the flame, “ I am no longer human, Tseng. People stare… they don’t understand. “


“ Well removed that damn collar around me; I wont judge you. “


Vincent’s index finger was held over the flame for a moment, and then reached up along with the human hand and undid the buckles, revealing his face to the pale golden light, flickering on his neat, clean and sharp features.


“ Pleased now? “ Vincent sounded mildly annoyed.


“ Fairly. “ Tseng leaned back in his chair and watched Vincent examine the flame again, “ About our Wutai tribe… what shall we do? We cannot hurt them, but we also cannot allow for them to attack Midgar. “


“ Hmm. “ Vincent rounded the table again, those startling eyes of his focusing on Tseng and almost glowing, like the vampire he was often claimed to be, “ I will attempt to speak with them; they cannot hurt me if they shoot. You, on the other hand… “


“ At times, I can see inhuman as well, my friend. “ Tseng’s lips curled at the corners for a moment, watching with interest as Vincent drew closer to him, his slim body practically gliding across the floor, “ Might I remind you of the Temple of the Ancient incident? “


“ I was there, if you remember correctly, “ Vincent’s expression didn’t change. Tseng couldn’t remember a time when it ever did, either, “ It seems as though we have more in common than we both let on… “


“ I can surprise you, “ Tseng leaned forward in his chair, completely entranced, under the vampiric spell Vincent could cast over people in a whim. They were mere centimeters apart when Vincent’s metal hand snuffed the candle, leaving the room hauntingly cold and silent in his leave.



To be Continued...