Blind Soul
By BlueFox
~INTRO: OMG the Anaheim trip was AWWWWEEEEESSSSSOOOOOMMMEEEE! I've been in such a good mood about it, and details of the trip are in my deviant Journal if you want to know the details.
WHOOOOOO!!!!!! *spins around on a chocolate rush*
This chapter's got quite a few twists you may not expect! Even though I said all SCA, I decided to throw in a lil bit of AVALANCHE. I think you'll like it, and I hope this helps with a dream Zack had back in Blind SOLDIER. The one with the mysterious silver feather…
Ahem…
~MUSICAL MUSE: The sounds of Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth set the stage for this chapter. Just, seriously, it completely fit the atmosphere of this chapter, to me, at least. It could be different for you, but meh.
~ABOUT FLAMES: If you decide to flame this story because of the few OCs in it, or for some other reason, it will be commented on, and laughed at publicly. You've been warned.
~DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING!!! Keep your lawyers leashed.
Part I
Chapter Eight
"You don't have to fear."
"G-Going where?" Cloud asked, cringing when he felt Sephiroth looming over him, probably glaring down at him.
"The Gold Saucer."
When Cloud heard the bustlings of a small town around him, he felt his face heat up and he sucked his head even lower, wondering how he must've looked to them, holding onto the edge of Sephiroth's long coat as a means of staying close to him. He got the distinct feeling that people were staring at him, probably thinking something along the lines of: A grown man holding another grown man's coat? That's just not right. The thought made the blond's face flame-he felt the heat rush up.
Being blind had its downsides-a lot of them. The fact that you cannot see where you are walking is one. Being as such, the inevitable thing happened.
Cloud tripped, gave out a yell, let go of the cloak, and hit what felt like a tent. The tent collapsed as he heard people letting out cries of fear. Poor Cloud felt lost as he tried to claw his way out, but the tent had completely engulfed his form, and he couldn't hear anything but muffled cries. He curled himself into a ball, berating himself harshly for doing such an idiotic thing, delaying him and Sephiroth further progress into getting Aeris back, and trying to not hyperventilate at his situation.
He suddenly felt the rough feel of the canopy ripped off him and instinctively held his hands up in defense. Silently, the person who had taken the tent off him grabbed his arm and hoisted him to his feet. "…Are you all right?"
Sephiroth. Surprised, Cloud nodded at where he presumed Sephiroth was, and ended up nodding in the completely opposite direction. There were slight whispers around them, obviously the townspeople were wondering what was wrong with him. Cloud bent his head and hunched his shoulders.
Beside him, Sephiroth snarled at the whole lot of them. "He's blind! You have a problem with him, talk to me," he spat venomously, and all whispering stopped. Cloud heard the crowd that was around them suddenly scrambled over themselves to get away from them. Cloud smiled just a small bit and raised his head. Sephiroth took his arm. "Come. We cannot wait longer to retrieve Aeris." Suddenly, he was all cold and harsh again, but inwardly, Cloud felt some sort of happiness that Sephiroth had just helped him. He gave Sephiroth a nod and allowed the ex-General to take him to their next destination.
The six members of AVALANCHE-Yuffie, Red XIII, Tiffania, Zack, Barret, and Tifa-trekked across the construction site, oblivious to the winds which caused the old iron bars to creak and groan from age. Zack lead his team across the rusted railings, semi-aware of how the panels beneath him barely seemed to handle even his weight. He turned his head behind him to gaze as Barret walked indifferently across the scaffolding, as if unconcerned of his safety.
The gunman's face was screwed up in thought, his face a mask of uncertainty and emptiness that the ex-SOLDIER had never witnessed on him. Zack turned his head away, not wanting to intrude into what he assumed was a emotional moment for Barret, knowing exactly what had taken place here. He couldn't remember for the life of him when it was, but he knew it had happened. His thoughts were soon erased from a sudden piercing scream from behind and then the sound of Tiffania, Barret, Yuffie, and Red XIII simultaneously calling out Tifa's name.
Tifa?!
Zack pivoted around in alarm, unable to see anything due to the robust width of Barret's back who filled his whole vision.
"What? Tifa? What happened?" Zack called out in alarm as he attempted to look over the burly gunman. It felt like it occurred in slow motion. First he saw her face, and then it disappeared and out of sight, as the rung she stood on gave way causing her to fall through the gap.
"Barret move!" Zack all but growled out, pushing around the startled gunman in attempt to make a grab at Tifa's outstretched arms. However his hands barely brushed her fingers, watching in mute horror as she mouthed out his name before downwards at an alarming rate through the scaffolding.
"Tifa! NO!" Zack shouted, his eyes wide in , as he saw her fall lower and lower, faster and faster.
His mind acted on impulse.
It was only when he felt the air rush past his face, the blurred images of the iron bars rushing past him and the faint cries of his friends that he knew that he too was falling. Narrowing his eyes in determination, the ex-SOLDIER stretched his body straight as he viewed Tifa's falling directly beneath him.
I'm not going to make it!
He closed his eyes, as the tension in his body suddenly realized itself and it was in that moment he let go. Pain burst from his back, and filled his eyes with a violet flame as he lost the memory of falling, of danger. His thoughts only upon reaching Tifa in time...
There was a flash, and something light brushed her cheek.
Glowing purple locked onto fearful burgundy, watching in awe the way its pupil dilated and enlarged, long black lashes fluttering within the breeze. Tifa stared, gasping at him, her heart pumping frantically in her veins, silent. He continued to look at Tifa, his lungs panting out their exertion. Violet eyes blinked once, then twice before slowly falling shut, unaware of the silver feathers that spiraled outwards into the air...
They both continued to pant.
They stood there and as Tifa looked downwards from her embrace in the black haired man's protective arms, then back towards Zack's face, which was perspired with sweat, she realized one thing....
They were floating.
Zack's body quaked. His lips murmured slowly before his arms went slack. The last thing he felt was the rush of falling with Tifa in his arms before falling into the water beneath.
Later…
"What happened, Tifa?" Zack groaned, looking around in confusion before realizing that he was lying on a bed in some form of tent. Tifa said nothing as her gaze moved from the gap of light that filtered through the holes inside the damaged green fabric. Garnet eyes slowly moved upwards, turning towards her side where Zack was sitting up beside the makeshift bed inside the North Corel Inn, feeling apprehensive and, above all else, fatigued.
"I-I don't know. I fell and…you...." Tifa gulped as her gaze fell back into her lap.
Zack furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he gazed at the fightress who was sitting in the wooden chair beside his bed.
Tifa's voice tightened, as she furled her hands tighter into fists. "...fell off the scaffolding. And then…"
The rush of to her brain...The feeling of strong and gentle arms wrapping around her...Violet orbs looking down deeply into her soul as a beautiful silver wing stretched out behind him like a fallen angel.
"...fell into the lake," she finished, unable to say what really happened. She wasn't sure herself. She stood up slowly and turned away to face the entrance of the tent, unsure whether to tell Zack the truth or not.
He nodded, accepting her answer. He looked down at himself, surprised to note that he was lacking his SOLDIER top and armor. "Uh..." He slowly rose from the bed and stretched his arms above his head with a satisfying moan, wincing lightly when he tested the muscles in his back that felt somewhat sore.
"Where are the others?" he asked, realizing for the first time that the other four were not in the tent.
"In town looking for supplies," Tifa replied quietly, although she kept her eyes from looking in her leader's direction.
Zack nodded again, before turning to rummage across the bed. "Uh... Tifa?"
She turned. "Hmmm?"
"Where is my top?" Zack questioned as he pointed down at his chiseled chest, lightly bronzed and void of all hairs. Even in the lack of light in the room, Tifa could easily see the sight of his firm pectorals down to every last bulge of muscle. Her face burned when she knew that Zack realized that she was staring. Turning her head away to hide her embarrassment, the fightress moved to find the item he asked for as he grinned at her.
"Here..." Tifa said quietly as she reached down beside her chair to pick up the purple cloth and the silver pauldrons and belts, before pointing to the large Basara Blade which laid on its side on the floor. Zack quickly picked up the black top, about to put it on, before pausing when he felt his hand penetrate from one side of the material to the neck in a place where he knew that there should not be an armhole.
"It's torn? Must have ripped it falling," Zack mused as he calculated the damage in his mind, and the wide hole that was upon the upper left back of his SOLDIER uniform.
Tifa reshuffled her weight from one foot to another as she picked up a cotton bag by the side of Zack's bed that he had not noticed from awakening. "Um…I bought this out of town. It isn't anything overly special or fashionable, but I thought you would find it a suitable substitute," she said as she handed the bag to the black haired ex-SOLDIER, who pulled out the garment with mild interest. The description was pretty much what Tifa had explained, and could have been close to the original SOLDIER uniform if it weren't for the fact that the top had a zip down its front, and was more blue than black in color. Regardless, Zack was pleased with the top and expressed his gratitude with a soft smile in Tifa's direction.
"Thanks Tifa. It looks like it will fit." Zack looked at the 'SMALL' label on the shirt with a barely concealed frown.
Tifa's thoughts wandered back to the fall.
Was I dreaming, or was Zack a one-winged angel?
~END: I bet you weren't expecting that! I'm not stopping the chapter here, just thought I'd mess with ya! XD
No, wait! Come back! I said come back! The chapter's not over yet! *runs after leaving readers*
Cloud was overwhelmed. His ears and his head were both throbbing, he struggled to keep up with Sephiroth, unable to hear fully what he was asking those they came across, though he heard the words 'Black Materia' spoken a lot. He asked Sephiroth once what it was, and got no answer. It just made Cloud more curious.
Finally, it seemed as though they hit a reliable source, and found out that Aeris was down below in the Corel Prison. Apparently, the only way out was for one of them to win a Chocobo Race.
Sephiroth was not happy.
"We'll enter the next race," he told Cloud, leading him none too gently away from the person named Dio. Just from the harshness in the ex-General's voice, Cloud could tell he was absolutely disgusted by the man.
"Where?" Cloud asked softly, trusting Sephiroth's good hearing to pick his voice up.
"Chocobo Racing wing." Just as he finished saying it, Cloud heard a dramatic change of scenery. Instead of random game winnings and such, he now heard a bunch of chocobo calls and announcers as to who was winning and people's happiness at winning a bet, or losing. He shivered, before he felt Sephiroth press him down onto a bench.
"Stay here until I get back. Do not move, do not let other people take you somewhere. Understand?"
Cloud nodded and felt Sephiroth leave. The blond, uncaring that he was in public, brought his legs up onto the bench and curled them to his body, wrapping his arms around him. He'll be back soon, he'll be back soon… he told himself. He'll be back soo-
A heavy weight smacked into his head and he passed out.
"Hey, kid, get up."
Cloud felt foggy haziness shift around him and he became more aware of his surroundings…kind of. This place was almost ly silent, if it weren't for the screaming fans he could hear beyond a door somewhere. He shook his head a bit, felt himself blink, but the blackness never changed. "You ready?"
"Huh?"
"You gonna fight?"
Fight?! Cloud's foggy eyes widened in surprise. "Wh-What?"
"Well, ya wanna save that , eh?"
Cloud could only sit there, on a cold tiled floor by the feel of it, wondering what the hell was going on, why he wasn't in the Chocobo Racing wing anymore.
"Well, lessee if ya can pull your weight 'round here. Show me what ya got, kid."
He was none too gently yanked to his feet and a sword was shoved into his hands. It was not the Buster; distantly, Cloud remembered he had left it behind in Sector 7…and that Sector 7 had been crushed.
Suddenly, the doors opened. "Welcome to the Battle Arena, kid," said the person, and shoved him out into the arena.
The audience burst into huge applause when he came out, and Cloud didn't know what to do. He swallowed hard and held his sword at a comfortable stance, hoping he didn't look stupid.
…Help?
~END: BlueFox is cruel. BlueFox is mean. BlueFox requests reviews!
Things to look forward to in the next chapter: some more of Flame and Cloud FIGHTS! O.o Oh, and a return of a character who 'disappeared' after CC. A bit cruel, that character is…
