X Hi! I didn't update because I have finals, so it took me some time to get this finished. I'm rather proud of myself, haha.

X Remember, I seriously altering the story line. If you don't like it don't read it. I would love if you gave it a try though. :D

Chapter 2- Materia

Zack walked around a path, looking around. He seemed to be alone.

"Claire! Cl-"Zack yelled. He was stopped by a grunt. Zack looked down to see he was stepping on a Shinra recruit. Zack immediately stepped away from him, muttering apologies. When he stepped forward, a mess of pink hair came at him. As Claire aimed to attack, she lost her footing and tripped into Zack's arms. It seemed to take a minute for Zack to process this was Claire.

"Hey I thought I told you to stay put. And you really shouldn't be walking with that knee." Zack said, pulling some twigs out of Claire's hair. Claire tried pushing away from Zack, but it only resulted in her slumping forward into his chest. Zack tried picking her up, but she pushed away from him. Unable to support her own weight, she fell backwards. Zack caught her easily. She pushed her arms out in an attempt to push Zack away.

"Why can't you Shinra fuckballs leave me be?" She said, exhausted. She was no longer fighting Zack.

"I'm trying to help you Claire. Come on, Cloud and Serah are looking around for you too. Let's go find them. Claire gave Zack a look.

"How can I trust you?" She whispered lightly, looking directly into Zack's eyes.

"You can't, but right now, I'm all you've got." Zack said lightly. He made his intention clear that he wanted to pick her up. She allowed him, and wrapped her arms around his neck. Standing straight, Zack broke into a run.

Xx

Zack stopped running and started to walk.

"Cloud! Serah!" Claire yelled from Zack's arms. Both Cloud and Serah whipped their heads around towards Claire and Zack.

"Claire!" They both yelled. They ran to Claire and Zack as Claire tried to get out of Zack's arms. When Cloud and Serah reached them, Zack put her down lightly. She took a step forward and fell the rest of the way into Cloud's arms. She broke into sobs.

"Cloud! I'm sorry I said I hated you! I'm sorry I got mad at you! I didn't mean all those things I said to you!"Claire sobbed into Cloud's shoulder. "I was so worried about you." She added, whispering.

"The look of relief on Cloud's face was unimaginable. He hugged Claire tightly.

"No, I'm sorry. I should've just talked to you first." Cloud said softly.

Serah gently nudged Claire's arm, before taking it and wrapping it around her shoulder, taking some of Claire's weight. Both Claire and Cloud smiled at her. Cloud gently wrapped his arm around her.

Their little family moment didn't last long. Gun shots were fired at them. Zack immediately took action and blocked the bullets with the Buster Sword.

"Claire! Serah! Take cover! You ready Cloud?" Zack yelled. Serah helped Claire limp over behind a rock as Cloud nodded. Zack and Cloud charged.

"Cloud!" Serah's small voice yelled. Zack and Cloud's heads whipped behind them too see Claire fighting Shinra recruits off. She wasn't doing terrible either. At once, they all tackled her and grabbed her by the waist and all of them started running away.

Zack immediately sprinted towards them, cutting down anyone in his path. He easily took Claire away from the recruits and cut them down as well. Claire leaned against Zack, desperately trying to stand on her own.

"Zack!" Cloud yelled. Zack's head turned around to see an explosion going off. Zack stepped in front of Claire, shielding her. The blast sent both of them flying off a nearby cliff.

As they fell, Zack reached for Claire, who gladly accepted his hand. He brought her up so he would fall first, and she would bounce off of him.

Zack let out a pain-filled cry as his back connected with the ground. An unnatural crack could be heard. Before Zack could process anything, Claire fell on top of him, and bounced directly next to him. More unnatural cracks were heard. Zack was beginning to lose consciousness.

Claire got up quickly and crawled towards him. She shook him violently.

"Don't you dare pass out on me!" She yelled. Slapping him, she managed to get him a little more awake, enabling him to speak.

"Pocket… potion…. Quick." He rasped. Claire cautiously reached into his pocket and pulled out a vile of green liquid. Forcing his mouth open, she dumped the contents into his mouth.

"Thanks." He breathed, before falling asleep.

Xx

When Zack awoke, the sun was setting in the distance, high above him. His entire body ached. It wasn't a terrible fall, but it would've been enough to kill Claire; that much he knew.

It took Snow a minute to realize he was able to hear what Zack had been thinking. He looked around to see if anyone else in the group could as well. He caught a glimpse of Lightning, who's eyes were intently staring at the sight before her, a smile slightly perturbing her lips.

"Claire!" Zack cried, sitting upright, wincing as pain overtook him. When he opened his eyes, Claire was in front of him. She was on her hands and knees, the Buster Sword next to her. Her head was cocked slightly to the side, studying Zack.

"It's good to see you're okay." Zack said quietly after a while. Neither of them had moved. She nodded slightly. After another silent moment, Claire spoke up.

"You're okay, right? You're not gonna pass out again, right?" She almost whispered. Zack nodded.

"I don't think I will. I mean, it doesn't feel like I will." Zack answered.

Smack.

Zack blinked, before reaching his left hand to his face, gently tracing the now-forming red mark shaped like a turkey.

"All right you Shinra bastard, you're gonna pay you hear me? I may not know how yet, but you're gonna pay." Claire seethed. Zack blinked.

"Me? What did I do?" Zack said lightly. He tried to stand, but only fell grunting. Claire pushed him the rest of the way. Zack let out a yelp, gritting his teeth. He sat up against a rock, wincing and clutching his side. He looked over at Claire, who stayed in her spot, gently tracing the outline of the Buster Sword.

"You shouldn't be on that knee like that." Zack almost whispered. Claire glared at him, before turning her head back to the sword. Gently Zack began to heave himself up. Claire looked back over, before gently crawling over to him. Zack smiled and sat back down and gently brought Claire's injured knee into his lap. His hand began to glow a greenish hue.

"What are you doing?" Claire said, trying to retract her knee from Zack's grasp. He gently took hold of her leg, keeping her still.

"Cure." Zack said simply. Claire began to kick and punch.

"No! No cure!" Claire yelled childishly, before wrenching free of Zack's grasp. Zack chuckled.

"No cure? Why not? Claire, it helps you, and it doesn't hurt. I promise." Zack said, trying to take hold of Claire's leg again. She shook her head.

"Because I said so, that's why!" Claire yelled. Zack chuckled again.

"Okay. No cure. But at least let me bandage it." Claire shook her head and backed away from him. Zack blinked.

"Claire, you're going to get sick if you don't treat it. It's getting infected." Zack said lightly. Claire turned away from him.

"Heal yourself." She said, turning back to the Buster Sword.

Zack studied Claire. Her pink hair stood on end at some places, dirt splotches here and there. It had been put messily into a braid on one side, her fringe covering part of her eyes. Her small body was only covered by a black tank top and some white shorts. Black boots up to her knees covered her legs.

Her azure eyes are what got to him. It made him realize what Cloud meant by she was too pretty for her own good. She could have you wrapped around her finger by just giving you a puppy dog look.

Zack immediately tried to dismiss all thoughts about Claire. This was Cloud's sister, whom he was very overprotective of. And even if Cloud was okay with him and Claire, he stands no chance of getting Claire to actually look twice at him.

He knew he was falling… hard. All he knew about her was she was Cloud's sister and they had gotten into a fight before he had joined Shinra!

"Is this heavy?" Claire asked softly. Zack snapped out of his trance with a "huh?" Claire looked at him.

"Is this heavy?" Claire repeated. Zack looked over at it, before shrugging.

"A little. Try it out." He said, motioning her to pick it up. She looked at it before hesitantly lifting the handle with both hands. She struggled with it, before placing it back down to its respective place on the ground. Zack chuckled lightly.

After a couple of attempts, Zack managed to stand and removed his shirt. He smiled inwardly as he watched Claire's eyes widen at his chest. He gently placed his hand that began to glow green on his abdomen. Claire intently watched him. Whenever his eyes would flicker up towards her she would turn away clearly embarrassed to be looking at him.

After he was finished, he put his shirt back on and walked towards Claire. She immediately began to crawl backwards, unable to stand herself. He knelt down in front of her.

"Please Claire. Let me help you." He said, reaching out to her leg. She looked at his hand, which was gently placed on her injured knee. He eyes slowly moved back up to his face, before she gently moved away from him and said,

"I'm going to sleep. It's dark now anyway." She crawled over to the space where Zack was sitting before and curled up into a ball. Her azure eyes closed slowly. Zack sighed and took hold of the Buster Sword and sat down next to her. Placing the Buster Sword next to him but away from Claire, he nudged her leg.

"Claire, why do you want to keep this injured knee? It's got to hurt you." Zack realized Claire was shivering. It was hot outside. He was about to say something before she spoke up.

"Because it's not fair that my mother, Cloud and Serah died and all I got was a wounded knee. So let it get infected." Claire whispered, her teeth chattering. She sniffled and tried to wipe away tears before Zack could see them. Zack crawled in front of her and took hold of her hand. Her hand was freezing.

"Claire, I know Cloud. He's too stubborn to die. And I know he wouldn't let anything happen to Serah. And besides, we're the ones that got thrown off a cliff. They must be doing better than us." Zack gave Claire's hand a gentle squeeze.

"And for your mom," Zack paused, "You take it out on me, not you. Okay?" Claire nodded lightly fatigue getting the better of her.

"Thank you." She whispered, her eyelids drooping. Zack took his free hand and placed against her forehead.

"Oh, Claire. You're burning up. The infection got you. Please, let me help you." Zack said worriedly. Claire's brow furrowed.

"No Cure. Bandage it please." She said, trying her best to stay awake. Zack immediately got to work. Pulling out a first aid kit, he cleaned the wound as best he could. He looked up at Claire's face, which was now slightly damp from a cold sweat. She was losing consciousness. Zack immediately pulled a potion out of his pocket and took her head into his hands.

"Claire, here drink this. It'll help." She did as she was told, but she had some trouble swallowing.

"I know, it tastes bad the first couple times you drink it, but it can only help, okay?" He said lightly. Claire managed to swallow the liquid completely. Zack watched as her wound began to close up. It stopped leaving quite a gash, but she would be able to walk now. Taking the bandages, he wrapped her knee as best he could. He looked around to find something to help with her fever. He sighed when he couldn't find anything.

"As for your fever, you're just gonna have to rest, okay? Tell me if you feel any worse." Zack said, lying down next to her. She nodded and unconsciously scooted closer to him, thankful for his warmth. When she realized what she had done, she scooted farther away from him. Zack chuckled lightly.

"I don't bite Claire. If you're cold come here." Zack said gently. Claire's azure eyes were closed and her breathing even. Zack smiled before turning onto his back and began to fall asleep himself.

After a while, Zack felt a small weight on his stomach. His eyes snapped open and looked down. Claire had nestled herself close to him, using his stomach as a pillow. Her eyes were closed as she curled into a ball and wrapped her arms around Zack's mid-section. She didn't seem to notice Zack was awake. Smiling gently, Zack laid his head back down and closed his eyes.

Xx

It was now day and Zack put the Buster Sword back onto his back, Shinra recruits piled at his feet.

"It's okay now, Claire." He said, turning to a large rock. Claire stepped out hesitantly, before walking carefully over to him.

"Oh that's the fifth time you've had to save my ass! I'm tired of always having to hide. Can't I fight with you?" She said, "Don't you have a spare sword that isn't gargantuan?" Zack shook his head.

"Sorry." He said. Claire huffed. Zack cocked his head to the side. It straightened momentarily and a huge grin formed on his face.

"Hey! You can use these!" He said excitedly, pulling out materia. Claire immediately shook her head.

"No. No materia." Claire said, stepping away from him. Zack looked defeated.

"Why not?" He said rather childishly, "I thought you wanted to fight." Claire shook her head.

"Yeah but not with materia!" She claimed, stepping further away from Zack.

"What's wrong with materia?" Zack said, still keeping the childish tone. Claire bit her lip.

"You'll laugh at me." She said looking down at the ground beneath her. Zack shook his head.

"I won't I promise." He said giving Claire an honest look. Claire looked at him, before mumbling something incoherent. Snow tried his best to figure out what she said. Zack caught on.

"You're scared of materia? Claire, it's nothing to be scared about. Here" He said, and took a single stride over to her and gently took her arm. Realizing what he was about to do, she struggled to get her arms free, eyes wide.

"No! It will get stuck in my arm!" Claire yelled, trying desperately to break free of Zack's grip.

"Claire, it won't get stuck in your arm. Here, I'll show you." Zack said, releasing his grip on her arm. He gently placed the materia onto his own arm, before the orb melted into his skin. The orb glowed through his arm momentarily, before going out.

"Fira materia." He said, and the orb started to glow in his arm once more. Then it slowly came out of his skin and back into his hand. He showed it to Claire.

"See? It comes out." He said, gently taking Claire's arm again. "Your fear is easy to overcome Claire; you just have to trust me. Okay?" Claire bit her lip as she watched as Zack pushed the orange orb into her own skin.

"This is Fira." Zack said, the orb glowing in Claire's skin.

"Fira." Claire repeated. A burst of flames came out and burned Zack. He let out a grunt.

"I guess I deserved that." He said, watching Claire giggle.

"You want to know the funny part? I wasn't even tying to burn you." She said giggling some more.

"Oh yeah, fucking hilarious Claire." He said sarcastically before giving her a wide smile. Claire smiled sheepishly. She held her arm out for Zack, and said.

"Okay I won't attack you anymore. What's next?" Zack smiled brightly at her.

"This is Thundara." He said, placing the orb on her arm.

"Wait." She said extracting her arm. Going into her bag, she pulled out an identical yellow orb. Zack looked at her confused.

"Cloud gave it to me as a birthday present. He didn't know I was scared of materia. You're the first person I told, to be honest. I've never been expected to use materia." She said, placing the orb into Zack's hand. She held out her arm again. Zack smiled and placed her materia into her arm. She watched it glow, before going back into her bag again.

"This one too."She said. It was apparent her fear of materia was coming back as she bit her lip.

"This from Cloud too?" Zack asked, before taking the blue Watera orb and placing it into Claire's arm. She shook her head.

"My best friend. Her name was Kimberlynne, she loved water. Before she died she gave it to me to remember her by." She said.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, before placing a darker blue orb in her arm. "Blizzara." He told her. Gently taking the last orb in his hand, he held it above her arm.

"This is Cura. I'm not going to let anything happen to you, but if I die and you're left alone, you'll be able to heal yourself." He placed the green orb into her arm. Claire looked at the five orbs now in her arm that were still glowing. She looked at him, clearly distressed.

"Why haven't they stopped glowing yet?" She said worriedly. Zack chuckled.

"You need to calm down," He said, "The materia thinks you're in battle." Claire looked at her arm, before placing back at her side. She took a couple of deep breaths and the orbs began to fade. Just as they almost completely stopped, they glowed bright again and Claire freaked out.

"I don't want them anymore!" She sobbed, shaking her arm. Zack gently embraced her.

"Claire, are they hurting you?" He asked calmly. Claire shook her head lightly.

"Do you even know that they are there?" He asked in the same tone. Claire shook her head again.

"Do you think I would let anything bad happen to you?" Claire shook her head once more.

"Then you have nothing to worry about." Zack finished. The orbs in Claire's arm stopped glowing, and Claire significantly calmed. Claire backed away slowly.

Smack.

Zack winced, her arm was getting better. He looked down at her. She was facing away from him, arms crossed over her chest.

"I know you enjoy the pattern of a turkey on my face, so I'll be sure to get it tattooed for you the next town we hit. But for now, can you tell me why you just slapped me across the face?" He said rubbing the mark Claire had left.

"You said I could." Claire said. Zack recalled when he had told her took take her mother's death out on him. A quiet "Oh yeah." came from his mouth.