It's been a year and I'm pretty embarrassed but my stories always seem to be late. I wasn't really sure if I was going to continue this one but I did make a promise. I had actually planned to be finished with this story by now but here we are… I know a lot of you don't really care for the whole Nintendo twist but after this there is only one more chapter and then you can have a new world. So give your world suggestions now. I know for sure that I will be including Atlantis. As always thanks for the reviews. After this chapter my writing style may change a little bit. It's becoming a very serious story. I may have to change the summary. I probably shouldn't even be calling this a sequel.
Chapter 4
A Dividing Line
Yuffie stiffened and tried her best to fight the urge to look over her shoulder. Her hair swished forward as the creature behind her took each laboring breath. Shuddering in worry she looked to her friends and the fear in their eyes said everything. Taking a deep breath to steady herself; she took action. In a swift movement she bounded forward, whipped her arm back, and tossed her shuriken at whatever had towered over her. A loud roar of pain came from the monster just as her weapon returned to her hand. She hit the ground lightly then gawked in surprise when she saw what she had struck. Standing a near ten feet from her a large dinosaur-like creature scratched at its scales where a large gash ran across its face. Its golden yellow and green scales seemed to be made of iron judging from the way they shinned in the little light the forest had to offer. The blood red eyes glowered at them through narrow pupils and sent a chill through their very core. Jagged spines stuck up from its back that was similar to the shell of a turtle
"Yuffie…"Kairi whispered in a hushed voice, but the ninja didn't move. She just kept staring at the beast. The others hadn't noticed but she was certain she had heard the thing speak. In her daze she never realized how dangerous a position she was in. Her thoughts shifted back ten years to the fall of Radiant Garden when she was only a small helpless child. Yuffie didn't snap back to reality until she was suddenly yanked out of the creature's path and into Zack's arms. She blinked dimly when she saw the beast's clawed hand slash out and cut the air where she had been standing. She swallowed heavily and gave Zack a thankful smile only to wince as the beast gave another hideous roar. It stomped its feet and dug furiously at the ground. Was it throwing a tantrum?
"It's going to charge us." Vincent warned and loaded his weapon without a second thought. His words came a bit too late. The beast had already lunged and to their surprise began to spew flames from its gaping mouth. A small patch of ferns on the forest floor had been left dry despite the rain. The thick canopy of trees kept everything sheltered here. That was why it was no surprise when the fire leapt to the ferns and began to spread. It climbed the tree trunks like snakes shriveling in the wind. Cloud hurriedly fired a blast of ice magic at the flames but they only seemed to rise higher. He scowled at the thought of not having enough magic power to use one of the most basic spells. Had he really become so weak? The flames lurched forward and began to smother the ground with its embers
"Time to go." Sora whispered and urged the others to run. The others were in mutual agreement and ran off in various directions.
"Go west! We'll wait there!" Peach yelled over the commotion. At the same time, she managed to accidentally alert the creature as well. It made its way to them in a flurry of growls and stomps. Mario grabbed her hand and the two ran from the scene before the monster could register where they had gone.
Zack and Yuffie ran off through a group of small saplings. She gave a nervous chuckle and caught his eye. "You have to admit it's a lot more fun then restoring Radiant Garden." She had expected him to look bewildered but instead he smiled. She had completely forgotten how different he was from the Leon. Yuffie instantly found herself lost in her thoughts as she considered offering him the position of being her sidekick in her battle to forever annoy Leon. All thoughts of her previous encounter with the monster were forgotten.
Leon, Vincent, and Kairi Ran in the direction of the gummi ship without bothering to look back. Kairi was lead by the wrist as Leon steered her through the maze of trees as the leaves began to smolder only a few yards back. Her other hand clung tightly to his jacket. She did not want to get lost in this place. They could still hear the roars as the sounds vibrated through the air. Kairi bowed her head in dismay when she realized that the others hadn't followed them this way. "Be careful, Sora…" She whispered over her shoulder and let herself be dragged away.
Meanwhile, Cloud, Reno, and Sora tore through thick bushes whose thorns tore at their clothing and snagged their skin. With scratched arms and scraped faces, they broke away from the bramble using fierce tugs and tumbled over themselves. Ducking through vines and weaving in and out of the trees, they ran as fast as they could. A wayward tree root stuck awkwardly out of the dirt and decided to interfere in their escape. As Reno leapt over it, his ankle snagged in the nook and sent him tumbling to the ground. He gasped as the air was knocked out of his lungs; his electro-mag rod rolling away. He rolled his eyes at his own stupidity and flicked the hair from his face as he regained his breath.
Sora skidded to a halt noticing that Reno was no longer with them. "Cloud, Hang on!" He called ahead and turned around. Cloud grabbed a gnarled tree to slow himself down. He could see the inferno steadily catching up to them. He followed Sora closely but when they reached Reno, he was already brushing himself off. He tucked his EMR into it holder and smiled.
"I didn't know you guys cared."
Cloud didn't answer only stared over Reno's shoulder with a look of surprise. "Oh…no." Sora gasped and spun Reno around to see. There it was again the great beast following them through the forest. It moved unsurprisingly slow but it was still striking. It lumbered forward and rammed itself into a smoldering tree. "Watch out!" Sora yelped as a bright light entered his vision and jumped to the side as the tree landed just between cloud and Reno; separating them. Sora's look of distress caused Cloud to take a soft tone of voice.
"Just follow the sun and go west. We'll regroup with the princes there."
"Right!" Sora nodded as the flames grew too high and no longer allowed him to see the swordsman.
Cloud turned away from the flames and wiped the soot from his eyes. If anything, he was more worried that Reno and Sora would get themselves lost than he was for himself. On the other side Reno tugged Sora away from the fire and steered him toward the edge of the forest.
Far ahead, past the edge of the forest, Yuffie dropped to her knees and coughed into her hands. Peach stood beside her and flicked ashes from her dress while Mario stood on guard. Leon and Vincent watched as the many trees smoldered and erupted into flame. Kairi shook the soot from her hair and rubbed at her stinging eyes. Yuffie didn't bother to get up. As she adjusted her headband she watched Zack in wonder as he ran off and traveled around the edge of the trees.
"Where is he off to?" She asked anyone who would listen.
Vincent answered her. "Haven't you noticed? We're three people short." Yuffie scowled realizing that Zack was more like Leon than she thought. Always the hero. She thought to herself.
Zack raced as close as he could get to the trees without entering the forest. All the while, his eyes scanned every burning ember and every movement for any sign of his friends.
"Zack!" He slid to a swift halt when he heard Sora's voice calling his name. "Zack!" Sora called again and tumbled out of the trees with Reno close behind. Zack sighed in relief and helped Sora get steady on his feet.
"Where ya been yo?" Reno asked cheerfully and smiled as if nothing had happened. Normally Zack would play along but he simply ignored him and turned his attention to more important things.
"Where's Cloud?" He traced his gaze back over the trees.
"Don't know." Sora said still panting from their run. "We got split up."
"Right…" Zack muttered and left the two of them standing there on their own. He took a turn around the outer edge of the forest and leapt over a fallen log. The wind lashed at his face and seemed to be trying to slow his progress. Ignoring the bright setting sun and the burning in his lungs he continued to search. Just up ahead, he could see a black blur standing out amongst the tall grass just a stones throw from the forest. "Cloud," Zack whispered and quickened his place. When he reached his friend he dropped down next to him and caught his breath. Cloud said nothing to him. All he did was clutch his arm and scrunch up his face in pain.
"Cloud, you okay?" Zack asked with concern deep in his voice.
Cloud shook his head and swallowed heavily. "It's nothing. Just give me a second." He grit his teeth together and suppressed a gasp of pain.
"Are you sure?" Zack had that look on his face. It was rare but he was acting the roll of panicked Tifa.
"Yeah, I just…" A chill that burned greater than a flame seared through Cloud's blood before he could finish. His lungs ached and his muscles stiffened. The world before Cloud began to fad and his voice with it. Images flashed before his eyes. Images he couldn't place but at the same time knew very well. The last thing he saw was Zack reaching out to him as he fell to the wet grass. Everything was going silent, but he could still hear the rapid beating of his heart.
The world seemed to change in that moment. It felt as if nothing mattered. Everything stood still and yet it felt as time was racing by. Zack had acted on instinct and grabbed Cloud's infected arm to keep him from falling. Cloud hissed at his touch and Zack had to fight the urge to loosen his hold. Gently, he lowered Cloud down to the wet grass. "Cloud, can you hear me?"
Blinking away the shock Cloud rubbed his face and nodded. The look of worry on Zack's face made him wince. He rubbed the ashes from his cheeks and coughed. "Don't look so worried. I just breathed in too much smoke." He wasn't sure if what he said was a lie or not but judging by Zack's doubtful expression he wasn't going to be able to convince either of them. He knew there was no point in fighting it so he simply turned away from Zack and watched the forest melt to ash. The smoke swirled up towards the sky and clouded out the sunlight. Cloud lost himself in a daydream and didn't realize the shadow that fell over them. Leon's voice reached his ears and a feeling of dread crept over him.
Leon's voice was gruff. He seemed tired and his tone was impatient. "It happened again didn't it?"
Seeing no way out of this, Cloud hung his head and didn't even bother to respond.
"No," Zack interrupted, "It was the smoke." Cloud had to keep himself from gawking at what Zack said. He knew that Zack hadn't believed his excuse and yet here he was lying for him. Leon's icy look pierced into Zack's calm face. It seemed he had caught Zack's fib and he wasn't going to stand for it. The two locked eyes and both refused to back down.
"So what are you all standing around for?" Yuffie's merry voice called to them as she and the others raced over. "We didn't even get to catch our breath and you just decided to ditch us!" She was joking of course but her face turned to a pout when she realized that none of them were paying her a bit of attention. Their presence forced Leon and Zack to break their focus on one another. Cloud moved to his feet before any of them had the chance to notice him.
"Excuse me," Peach asked quietly, "but if everyone is here, then we should get to the castle before he finds us again."
"She has a point." Kairi added in agreement. She smiled innocently. "After all, if I wasn't there you may all have been crushed." They rolled their eyes and looked to Mario who leapt into the air and pointed in the direction of the castle.
"Then let's-a go!" He charged forward and led the way.
As the others followed, Kairi took the chance to ask the question that was bothering her. "So what was that monster?"
Peach was the only one who could answer her. "That was Bowser. He rules over the land that's far from here."
"A monster ruling a castle? So was he the one you were hiding from in the forest?"
"Yes. Bowser has kidnapped me many times and I'm afraid he has become a bit tired of me getting rescued."
"But why is he after you anyway?" Kairi was only becoming more confused.
"He has had plenty of excuses but lately he wants me to marry him."
"Sounds like a problem to me." Yuffie chimed in.
"Yes," Peach sighed. "And I'm sorry for bringing you into it."
As the others talked, Leon fell behind in order to speak with Zack. "Why did you lie?"
Zack stiffened and looked at Leon with a look of surprise. "I didn't lie."
"Lying is not going to get us anywhere. If something happens to him we have to be ready to help. We can't just pretend that everything is fine." He practically hissed his last words to keep himself from yelling.
"I'm not pretending. I know. I know this is serious, but all you do lately is treat him like a kid. He'll never make it through this if he thinks that he's alone."
"Alone…" Leon whispered and stopped walking so that he could face Zack head on. "And how would you know how he feels? The last I checked you've been off chasing after Sephiroth while the rest of us have been trying to rebuild our lives. We were all together again and then you came back expecting everything to be the same. If anything, you're the one who abandoned us. He's alone because of you"
"I just…" Zack didn't know what to say. Had he really been so selfish? He understood that Leon was only saying these things because he was worried about Cloud. It was nothing against him but still… Zack wondered if Leon really did feel that way. Maybe he had abandoned them. He looked away from Leon. It was his only way of saying that he was finished with their talk. Seeing this Leon walked away and his face became void of all emotion. Many of the others had not even noticed their discussion and they never would.
Zack remained rooted to the spot and voiced one of his many concerns. "Whatever happened to Squall?' His voice was swallowed by the wind and the crackling of the burning forest. He was surprised to see that Vincent had come back to see what was taking so long. The dark man gave him one of his usual silent looks. The others were glancing back at them curiously while Leon just looked distant. Zack caught a short glimpse of Cloud's concerned face before Vincent stood between them.
"Squall is gone." The dark man said calmly and motioned for Zack to follow.
There! I have more conflict now. I hope you enjoyed it. Should I still continue this? It is really up to you guys.
Disclaimer- I only own the plot.