Chapter Seven
The Summoned
October 14th, [ μ ] – εγλ 2000
"We're coming up to the Nibel mountain range!"
They had been travelling through the entire night and the sun was rising over the Nibel Mountains, a glorious sight after the long journey. Zack was snoring peacefully the entire way, unperturbed by the loud whine of the engines and regular bumps. Even Cloud, despite his motion sickness, slept through much of the night — the Highwind serving as their base for much of the time they were chasing Sephiroth, there was little choice: it was either sleep despite it, or develop insomnia.
"Once you drop us off at the reactor, head to Rocket Town to refuel!" Cloud yelled back, his voice nearly drowned out by the roaring of the engines. "Then pick us up tomorrow at midday!"
"You got it!"
The plane lurched, jolting the passengers inside, the safety harnesses strapped to their chest the only thing stopping them from falling out of the plane. Zack snapped awake from his sleep, looking around wildly as the plane started shaking around them.
"Whoa! What was that?"
"Something hit us, I guess," Cloud replied.
Cloud stretched forward in his seat, trying to peer out the door but restricted by his harness.
He could barely hear the yelling of the pilot through the straining whine of the engines. "There's something on our tail!" The plane was shifting into evasive manoeuvres, banking severely sideways and throwing the passengers around in their seats. "It looks like a dragon!"
Zack grappled with his harness, pulling the buckles out and snapping several more under his enhanced strength. "I'll take care of it. Stay here, Cloud!" He jumped from his seat, grabbing the safety handle near the door and peering out of the plane. Before Cloud could react, he had leapt from the plane and out of sight.
"Zack!" Cloud yelled, struggling with his own harness. In his frustration he lurched forward, his seat buckling around him and harness snapping off, falling in tatters to the floor before being sucked out of the open door.
Following Zack's lead, he grabbed the safety handle and peered out, eyes snapping open when he saw the scene. It was no dragon, native to the Nibel Mountains and protecting its territory, but the summon Bahamut. The dragon king shone golden in the morning light as it twisted through the air with a broadsword stuck in its side, Zack holding on to the hilt for dear life as they spun over the jagged mountains.
Drawing on the power of his materia, Cloud jumped from the plane towards the dragon, blue fire engulfing his fist as he channeled energy into the spell. The energy trailed behind him even as it built up, wisps of cloud zipping past him as his jump turned into a free fall. Seconds later and he reached Bahamut, smashing his fist into the dragon king's massive jaw. The explosion was drowned out by Bahamut's roar, the shockwave throwing him back into the large spines running down the dragon's back.
"Zack!" he yelled as he caught hold of the spines, planting his feet into the thick scales for balance. He could see Zack's hold slipping as Bahamut wheeled around in pain, arching its back to try and throw the two humans off.
Grasping the thick spines as support, Cloud half-walked, half-slid down the dragon's back to its flank, reaching the sword just as Zack's hold gave out.
"Cloud!" The SOLDIER yelled as he flew through the air, barely managing to grab on to one of their enemy's solid wings to stop him from creating a Zack-sized splat in the scenery below.
"Hang on!" Cloud yelled back as he pulled the sword from the beast's skin, causing another desperate pinwheel. Sliding down the dragon's side, he hopped on to the wing, slicing the sword through a hard piece of bone to keep balance. Leaning down to grab Zack's hand, he hauled his friend up and with a single heave threw him towards the spines on the back. Spinning freely through the air from the throw, Zack grabbed hold of the largest spine he could, his grip pivoting his back into the dragon's side with an unhealthy crunch. He recovered neatly against the pain, holding on for dear life and nestling his boots where two other spines joined the dragon's body.
Using Zack's sword, Cloud was slicing through the thick muscles that ran through the wing he was standing on, Bahamut veering to the side as its wing started flapping uselessly in the wind. Pulling the sword from the bleeding appendage, he ran up the remains of the wing, leaping over the spikes to land on the wing opposite, only to shove the sword down as he landed, his momentum slicing through the leathery flesh until he came to a stop at the tip.
"Get ready to jump!" Cloud yelled over the roar of the rushing wind. Swinging himself up to the thick bone along the base of the wing, he ran in a straight line up the mutilated wing until he reached Zack. "He's gonna go down, and fast."
Taking the broadsword in two hands, Cloud summoned up the energy for his Braver technique, flickers of blue and green flames lighting up around his shoulders, growing until the fiery light covered his entire body. Lifting the glowing sword above his head, he brought it down in a powerful blow, three equal lines of force bursting forward from the impact and shattering magnificent scales, each line digging deep into the summon's back, the cuts spewing blood and ruptured flesh into the air.
"Get ready to jump!" Cloud yelled, holding on to a ragged spine as they spiralled towards the mountain. "On three! One!"
"Two!" They narrowly missed a cliff edge as the dragon king squirmed its way around the mountain, diving lower in a desperate attempt to save itself.
"Three!" Leaping into the air at the same time, they launched themselves clear just as Bahamut smashed through a copse of trees, wood splintering around its powerful muscles as it burrowed into the snow. Pushing himself higher, Cloud ran energy along the sword blade, the metal glowing a bright blue before he slashed it down in the direction of the dragon king, the Blade Beam launching from the sword and smashing into the downed summon, which was already consuming itself in magical flames, returning back to wherever summons resided before being called by mere humans.
Zack landed in the snow with a grunt, rolling as he hit the soft surface until his momentum gave out. He leapt to his feet once he stopped moving, trying to get a bearing for where he landed. He looked up, stunned as he saw Cloud launching powerful energy blasts at their foe before dropping into a ball, sword to the side as he fell, flipping around until he landed in a graceful crouch before the dumbstruck Zack.
"Here's your sword." Cloud turned the sword backwards, hilt facing the SOLDIER as he offered the blade.
"Dude! I just… WHAT!" Zack stared at Cloud, his bottom jaw in danger of falling into the snow. "How are you a doctor? I haven't seen anyone fight like that!"
"Sorry," Cloud said with a sheepish grin, hints of red colouring his cheeks as he pushed the sword into Zack's hands. "You could have handled it, but I couldn't let you get hurt."
"I knew it!" Zack said excitedly, wrapping his arms around the smaller man in a tight bear hug. "You're totally a hero!"
"I'm not a hero, Zack."
"Come on, you saved my life!" Drawing away from Cloud again, he patted him on the shoulder. "Whoa, I want to see you fight Angeal… or even Sephiroth! Do you think you'd win?"
"We need to get out of here, Zack," Cloud said, abruptly changing the subject to avoid even the thought that the other SOLDIERs would find out about his abilities. He pointed to their destination in the distance, the foreboding Mt. Nibel, towering above the other mountains in the range. "I can't see the plane and we can't use our phones here."
Cloud trudged forward into the snow, cursing once again that he was wearing a stupid executive suit with ridiculous shoes. He could have danced to Nibelheim and back in his usual outfit, but the weak clothing was letting the snow and sludge seep through to his skin. Zack happily trotted ahead of him, warm in his reasonable combat boots and thick SOLDIER pants.
It was a summon, Cloud thought as he walked unhappily through the snow. So there must have been a summoner. He had thoroughly checked the horizon, but there had been no sign of any other life in the frozen peaks. Without the ability to search further, he would be stuck with guessing.
"So how did you get so powerful, Cloud?" Zack asked, turning to walk backwards and face Cloud as he did so. "How come I've never heard of you?"
"It's a… very long story, Zack," Cloud said in a low grumble, eyes downcast as he kicked through the snow. "It's… not something you should be dragged into."
"We're buddies, right?" Zack grinned, spreading his arms in an open gesture. "If you're dragged into it, I'm right there with you."
Cloud smiled as they marched through the thick snow together. Anyone else, and he would have been suspicious they were trying to get close to him for his power and new position. Not Zack, though. He could never be suspicious of Zack. "Ok, but there are some things I can't tell you."
"Hey, I'm military, right? Classified stuff and all that!" Despite the beaming smile, Cloud got the distinct impression that Zack had not done well on any Sensitive Information Handling courses.
"Don't tell anyone about me either, I get enough questions as it is!"
Zack laughed, draping an arm over the smaller man's shoulder as they approached the mountain pass. "Yeah, I heard Sephiroth talking to Angeal about you today. I don't think anyone's got him interested before!"
"Yeah, great," Cloud muttered dryly. "I'm thrilled."
"Hey, maybe he'll ask you on a date." Zack grinned, only barely managing to hold back a laugh.
"Wh- what?" Cloud spluttered, nearly tripping over his own feet.
"Relax," Zack drawled, his arm not budging from Cloud's shoulder. "I'm kidding… although that blush tells me you like the idea."
"It's the freezing wind!" Cloud yelled, shoving the SOLDIER to the side.
"Ack!" Zack yelled as he found himself flying several feet into a nearby snowdrift. "Ouch, I've gotta remember how strong you are." He grinned, brushing off the snow as he stood up. He rejoined Cloud, flicking some of the snow that had stuck to his uniform at the blond. "It's that suit, you need something badass like Sephiroth's coat."
"You think a giant sword and leather coat would go down well in the Science Department?" Cloud asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Ok, maybe not that." A gloved hand reached up to his chin, stroking it contemplatively. "Why did you join them, anyway?"
"It's the experiments they do. That Hojo did, mostly. I'm just hoping I can shut them down before they realise I'm not a scientist."
"You're not?" Zack looked at Cloud as if he'd grown two heads.
Cloud shrugged. "I was a soldier, then a… well, then a mercenary. Then, all of a sudden I had a family. I tried being a delivery boy for a while, but then I became a… well, kind of a doctor, more a medic."
"Family… Denzel, right?" Zack queried. "What about your wife?"
"I'm not normal enough to have a wife," Cloud said with a sardonic laugh. Now he had lost that chance too. "I found Denzel in the ruins… slums. He was sick, so I took him in."
"I thought you looked too young to be a dad, especially to a teenager."
"I'm older than I look."
Zack smiled, clasping a hand on Cloud's shoulder. "Yeah, you look my age. I would have expected the new head to be like… a hundred, at least." Zack stopped, suddenly looking very seriously at Cloud. "Cloud, you gotta tell me. Are you, like, a hundred?"
Cloud rolled his eyes.
They found a track just as the sun had reached its zenith, weak though it was in the icy region. The path through the Nibel Mountains wound before them, treacherous and disused, but far faster than trying to make their own path through the snow. Leading far past the reactor and village and into the mountain range itself, the path was used by few but the most desperate hunters and treasure seekers, willing to risk the most dangerous monsters in the region for exotic pelts, or even more profitable, natural materia.
"You grew up around here?" Zack asked as they trod over the frozen ground.
"Yeah, Nibelheim is just at the base of Mt. Nibel."
"So, are names like Cloud common there?" he asked with a cheeky grin.
"It's my ma's sense of humour," Cloud grumbled, running a freezing hand through his spiky hair. "In the old language, Nibel means 'cloud' or 'fog' and heim means 'home'… it's probably 'Home in the Fog', 'cause of all the mist we get. But she decided it was 'Cloud's Home'."
Zack leaned his head back and laughed, the sound reverberating through the empty valleys. "Oh, that's brilliant," he said. Cloud did not share in his mirth, lightly thwapping the back of the dark spikes. "You were named because of a pun!"
Cloud sighed, ignored him, and kept on walking.
"It'll be dark, soon," he said once they had trekked further away from the valley. "We won't make it to the reactor today. We're gonna need to find somewhere to sleep."
"This is your neck of the woods… or mountains. Any suggestions?"
"We should find a cave and sleep there." Cloud looked around, trying to see if he could spot any suitable sites. "Better get a fire going too, it's gonna be cold."
Zack nodded, searching the horizon himself for any suitable caves. The snow had been particularly heavy recently, covering the slopes in uniformly thick sheets of powder. Even their superhumanly keen eyesight was not enough to distinguish the gaps in the blinding white landscape, to tell the difference between a cave and a bare cliff before they were close enough to touch it. Any they could see in the distance were too far to reach that night. They continued walking along the mountainside, hoping that the next winding turn would find them a hospitable cave, bundling into their arms the stray twigs and branches they could find.
The sun had barely gone down when they found a suitable cave, a shallow grotto with a large overhang of thick rock protecting the entrance from the overflowing snow. Cloud walked inside, dropping his armload of branches to the rocky floor to inspect the area. The cave itself was mostly dry and free of snow, protected as it was by the surrounding rock formation.
"One of the few caves not formed by mako streams," Cloud said as he pressed his hand against the back wall, trying to feel the telltale heat. He pulled his hand back, shaking it in the air. It was just as freezing as the rest of their surroundings.
"That's good?" Zack asked, dropping his own pile of firewood on the cave floor.
"Less chance of falling into a mako pit." Something that Cloud had no intention of ever repeating. "Monsters also tend to gather close to mako."
Zack nodded, bending down to shake off the snow that had gathered on the branches. "This isn't going to be enough," he said after a few shakes. It seemed like they had gathered more snow than wood.
"How sharp's your sword?" Cloud asked as he peered around the entrance of the cave.
"Huh?" Zack turned his head, shooting him a puzzled expression.
"Well, there's a tree not far from here." Cloud pointed back the way they came, though he could have pointed in any direction on the heavily forested slope.
With a quiet click of the magnetic holster, Zack pulled the broadsword from his back to look at it mournfully. "You want to cut down a tree with my sword?" he asked, puppy eyes widening and voice taking on the hint of a whine. "But you could damage it."
"No more than cutting through dragon scales," Cloud said, ignoring the pathetic looks as he took the sword from Zack's reluctant grasp. "I'll be careful with it. Come on."
The pair walked out from their brief shelter, Cloud swinging the blade experimentally as Zack followed behind. It really did feel good to have a sword in his hand again, he mused. It may not have been First Tsurugi, but he could appreciate any finely crafted sword, especially one that Zack valued.
"It's snowing," Zack said with a wistful smile as he looked up, a few snowflakes burying themselves in his hair.
"Then we need to get that wood," Cloud said, quickening his pace. "We don't want to get snowed in."
Cloud passed the first tree he had noticed, deeming it too large, in favour of a young pine that only reached a few feet over Zack's head. Crouching down and with a single low swing, Cloud cut through the thick trunk at the base, leaving the tree to topple over into the snow. Standing the tree upright, he took the sword and sliced through the thin branches, stripping the ones bearing leaves and throwing the larger pieces for Zack to pick up.
"Use brings about wear, tear and rust," Zack sighed as he took the sword back from Cloud.
"Huh?"
"Nothing."
Pulling his two belts off, Zack tied the larger branches to the trunk and they hoisted the tree between them, carrying it over their shoulders back to the cave.
They piled up the branches at the entrance of the cave, small twigs and easily burnt branches at the bottom, followed by the thick chunks of wood that Zack was quickly carving off the trunk.
"If I remember survival training, the wood'll be too wet to burn properly," Zack said as he turned a hunk of particularly sap-soaked wood over in his hands.
"The benefits of materia," Cloud replied as he reached his hand towards the pile, a soft orange glow enveloping the branches moments before they caught fire, the damp wood sending thick plumes of black smoke into the air, surrounding the overhang before being caught by the breeze and sucked away into the open air.
"We need to get as much sleep as we can," Zack said after a particularly wide yawn.
Cloud nodded, lying down on his side against the hard rock floor, his arms joining to form a pillow for his head. Zack lay down behind him, one arm wrapping around the smaller man and pulling him closer to his chest.
"We'll finish walking tomorrow?" Zack murmured in askance against the blond hair.
"If we can go before sunrise, we should be able to get to the reactor about midday," Cloud answered back, shifting himself to get more comfortable… a nearly impossible task when sleeping on rock and dirt.
"Good. Had enough of cold," Zack muttered quietly, moments before he lay his head down against his arm and fell almost immediately asleep.
Cloud marvelled at the teenager's ability to fall asleep instantly almost anywhere while he lay staring at the fire, waiting for sleep to come.