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"So what'd you do to end up on this poor excuse for a planet?"

It was a few hours into the night now. After contacting his team and telling them to go back to the ship and wait for further orders, he and Cloud had made themselves comfortable in the middle of the clearing. Vincent had suggested to pick him up, and he had seriously considered it, but in the end he had decided against it. He wanted to know more about his new compagnion. And short of sedating him, Zack was sure there was no way he could get him to board the shuttle. So he had taken the middle ground.

He had opted early on to start a fire, but Cloud had shot that idea down before it had even been properly formed. He reasoned that in order to get enough firewood to last the night, they would have to venture into the forest again. And they had no way of knowing if the creature from before was still out there.

"Excuse me?"

"The uniform's kind of obvious. The other guys in the research facility were wearing the same one."

For a moment, he saw what looked like relief flicker through the blonds eyes, but it was gone too soon to be sure.

It was the only explanation he could think of. The dark blue longsleeved shirt and baggy trousers were the same as he had seen on the corpses, albeit a little too big for the kid. Even the leather gloves and teal scarf covering the lower half of his face were identical.

That left the problem that there was one too many. The mission report had said seven and if Zack had done the math right, there had been seven bodies at the facility. So how did Cloud fit in? Was this a case of misinformation or was there more going on?

Argh, too many questions!

Breaking out of his musings, he realised that the other had never answered the question.

"Spike?"

"I … I'd rather not talk about it." came the mumbled response.

"Okay. Well, you don't have to if you don't want to. I was just curious, is all." Cloud threw him an incredulous look, as if he couldn't believe Zack wasn't going to force him.

"Really, I'm serious! It's none of my business. Heck, I don't even know the life stories of half my crew."

"Thanks."

He briefly entertained the thought to ask him about what happened at the facility, but decided against it with a shake of his head. He had a feeling Cloud would clam up just like he had done before. But he did want to talk to the blond, partly because he wanted to know more about his new compagnion and partly to fill the silence of the forest around them.

"…. Could you at least tell me where you're from?"

Cloud gave a soft laugh. Still smiling he answered "Nibelheim."

Zack couldn't help it. He snorted.

"Nibelheim? That sounds so backwater!" And oddly familair. The thought left his mind just as soon as it had come.

"Oh yeah? And where are you from then?" the other man asked defensively.

"Gongaga." There was obvious pride in the response. And just like Zack had done before, Cloud snorted. And then burst out laughing.

He threw the blond an irritated glance which made the other laugh even louder. Rethinking the last few moments, he suddenly started joining him.

"Yeah I admit. They both sound backwater." He got out inbetween the laughter.

They eventually pulled themselves together and sat in compagniable silence, occasionaly broken with small talk.


"… I don't know what happened, you know."

"Huh?" It was a few hours further and Zack had started to nod off. The sudden confession had pulled him from the edge of sleep.

"To the people at the facility, I mean. I know you've been wanting to ask. Two weeks ago I woke up and everyone was dead. It's just been me and a friend after that. I have a vague idea though."

Zack wasn't sure what he should be more worried about. That Cloud had apparently slept through the whole thing or that the people who had attacked the complex had left him alone. Then something else registered from what he had said.

"Wait, friend? So there was someone else who survived?" That meant there was one more that hadn't been on the report.

So Cloud started explaining that, when he had woken up, his friend had been there. According to the friend, a ship in the area had experienced engine trouble and had had to make a crash landing on the planet. Unfortunatly the crew turned out to be bandits and they stormed the research facility thinking they would have the parts they needed. They killed everyone there without mercy, yet for some reason left Cloud and his friend alive.

"So they left?"

"No, they're still here. They couldn't find the parts they needed to fix the problem. They used the long-range communicator in the building and arranged a rendez-vous with one of their ships. From what my friend told me, their nearest ship was a little under three weeks away, so they could be here soon. It's the reason I was spying on you. I thought you were from the ship sent to rescue them."

"Damn. And where is your friend now?"

A solemn look appeared on Cloud's face, almost making Zack feel sorry he asked. Almost.

"We got …. trapped a few days ago. I managed to get out, but my friends wasn't as lucky. They took him to their camp. I haven't seen him since.

"Hence the spying. Cloud, that would have been suicide. There's no way you could take on an entire crew on your own!"

"Well, what else am I supposed to do? I can't just do nothing! And I'm not leaving him either!"

"Hey, don't worry. I never said you shouldn't save him. I'm just saying you shouldn't do it alone. You've got me now! Well, me and my crew."

If the topic hadn't been so serious, he would have laughed at the surprised expression on Cloud's face. Apparently the idea hadn't even crossed his mind yet.

"You'd really help me? A stranger you've only met today? Why?"

"Well …. a few reasons really. One, I owe you. You saved me from that monkey AND you tried to pull me to safety back on that cliff. Two, I know you're not a bad person and by extention that means your friend isn't either. Besides, nobody deserves to be captured by bandits. And three, it's the right thing to do. Plus, with me there, you are guaranteed to succeed."

"Why's that?"

"Because I'm a hero! And heroes never lose." He replied with a grin on his face. The following laughter was well worth the red creeping up from his neck as a result of the bold –but true! – statement.

Not long after that Zack fell asleep. The last thing he saw before closing his eyes, was Cloud keeping a watchfull eye on their surroundings. For some reason, the small smile on his face made him smile as well.


The following morning Zack called his crew and explained the situation. They had initially protested against it, saying that they didn't know enough of the situation. But they knew him well and quickly started creating plans, knowing that he wouldn't change his mind.

In the end they had decided that Zack and Cloud would go to the camp and watch their targets closely, looking for things such as the number of men, what kind of weapons they had and where they were keeping Clouds friend. In the meantime, Vincent would take a team and bring the shuttle down to where they had landed yesterday. Aeris would be going along to guide them, assuming she could make contact with the planet again.

And so began the long trek through the woods. Cloud infront and Zack keeping an eye on the back.


"So …. Your friend. What's his haircolour?"

"Excuse me?"

"I'm just curious. I'd like to know more about this mysterious friend of yours. And just asking for his name is boring."

"Oh. Uh, it's red." Like Reno.

"And his eyecolour?"

"….. Red." Like Vincent, rare but not impossible. Zack could swear he saw a grin, but it was gone before he could comment.

"Okay. What about his skin? You know, does he have a tan, or is he as pale as you are, or maybe even brown."

"Red." Yeah, definitely a grin.

"What, next you're going to tell me his name's Red too."

"…"

"You're joking, right?


"Hey Spike …"

"Yes?"

"How old are you anyway? You seem a little young to be a private guard."

Not expecting Cloud to stop at the question, Zack walked straight into the mans back, sending them both stumbling. He threw the other man a questioning gaze.

"Ah, sorry. I'm …. uh, I'm twenty." He mumbled. He added something under his breath, but Zack must have heard it wrong because it sounded like 'I think'.

"Huh, really? You look younger. Hate to break it to you, buddy, but you have a real babyface."

"Um, thanks?"


"So your mechanic is called Cid?"

"That's right. Man's a genius when it comes to machines."

"And he's a chainsmoker."

"Unfortunatly. Cid without his sigarettes is like a fish without water. No, actually it's worse, because a fish can't talk."

"Does he smoke all the time?"

"Yes."

"In the engine room?"

"… Yes."

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"…"


"…. for over an hour! I swear, we all thought the guy was dead. And then he …."

"Sst!"

Coming to a quick stop, Zack cast a glance at Cloud to see the younger man watching the area in front of them intently. His hand had traveled to the sword at his side. His eyes were darting around the whole area, never lingering for more than a second. Understanding dawning, Zack copied the actions.

They were coming up to the area where Cloud thought the pirates' camp to be. He mentaly cursed himself for not paying attention to his surroundings. It made sense for them to have lookouts. Stupid, Zack.

A noise made him turn around, but all that met his gaze was the surrounding vegitation. Warily, he cast his gaze over the area. Next to him, Cloud moved closer to close the distance between them.

A sudden "Look out!" followed by a loud zipp of a faser was the only warning he got before something hit him hard, sending both it and him crashing to the forest floor. Again with the tackling? A grunt of pain came from above him. Realising that it was Cloud laying on top of him and that he wasn't moving, he tried to look the younger man in the eye. A hiss of pain released with the movement, making him worried.

"Cloud?"

"Just give me a minute." The blond said through clenched teeth. Following his gaze, he noticed Cloud's hands pressing down on a rapidly growing patch of red on his thigh.

"We don't have a minute."

As if to prove the statement true, a new voice boomed across the area. It was followed by the sound of moving branches and heavy footsteps.

"Well, look what we got here! Looks like we caught ourselves a pair of trespassers, boys. Now what should we do with you?" The last was aimed at Zack and Cloud.

For the first time, Zack had a clear view of the instigators of all his current problems. What he saw made him swear internally. Hard enough to make Cid proud, which was saying something.

Besides the two who were obviously humans, there were two pirates who were not. Zack had never seen a live Bangaa before, but the humanoid species was nothing like he had imagined from Vaan's stories. When the Rabanastian had said 'walking and talking crocodile', he had laughed at the mental image of crocodiles trying to walk on those short little legs. It had made him laugh at the time.

Now though, he was beginning to regret not asking Penelo or one of the other Strahl crewmembers for more information. He should have known Vaan wasn't the best source of information.

Their large form hovered over him and the animal-like snout was pulled up in a sneer. Their presence surprised him, to say the least. You never saw one this far out of their solarsystem. They were a very territorial species, despite living together in peace with dozens of other his luck to find the ones that did.

"Trespassing? Oh, I'm sorry. We didn't know. If you'll just get out of the way, will be on our way." He said, pulling Cloud up with him and slinging the other's arm around his shoulder. Another hiss of pain escaped Cloud's mouth.

He was pretty sure he could take one of the Bangaa on his own, but two might be a stretch even for him. Not to mention he had to take note of the humans and Cloud's obvious injury. He was confident Cloud could handle himself in a fight, but his injured leg would complicate things. No, best to go the non-violent way. At least for now.

A chorus of laughter met his words. The man who had spoken before – who seemed to be in charge – spoke up again.

"You hear that, lads? This one thinks he's funny!" turning to Zack, he spoke with a hiss "You're not going anywhere."

Zack knew then that there was no way they were getting out of this. So he took the only way they would have a chance, however slight it was. He took Cloud's arm from around his neck, hoping that Cloud would catch on quick.

With a quick step forward he punched the man square in the face, sending him stumbling back. He felt the bone moving on impact, telling him he had broken the mans nose. Turning he faced one of the Bangaa's, pulling the Buster sword of his back in the process.

It seemed Cloud had gotten the message just as he'd hoped and was currently attacking the other man. Even with his wounded leg it seemed to be an even match. At the very least, he would be keeping the man busy while Zack delt with the others.

Ducking under one of the Bangaa's swings, Zack maneuvered his sword so it made contact with the others arm. The Bangaa screamed out in pain and anger, swiping at Zack with a blind fury that would make lesser men surrender. It also made him reckless, giving Zack more time to see through the attacks and act accordingly.

He was able to hit the Bangaa again – this time on the chest – before a hit on the back of the head sent him crumbling to the ground.

Looking up, he had just enough time to see the second Bangaa brandishing a treebranch the size of his arm. The makeshift weapon came down a second time and hit him right on the temple. For a second time in just as many days Zack's world went dark on accounts of a treebranch.

The last thing he saw before darkness decended was the second Bangaa making his way over to Cloud.


Let me know your thoughts!

Oh, and as a side note: I have nothing agaist Vaan, I actually like him. He's just a bit ditzy when it comes to certain things. (which makes him funny)