Blind Soul
By BlueFox
DO NOT COPY MY STORIES!!
If anyone wants to post my stories anywhere else, please just ASK and then give me credit for writing it. PM with any requests.
~INTRO: You demanded an update. The update has happened. Finally. I'm sorry this update took SO long. A month. I hate disappearing for a month. *growls*
Ahem.
Yes, I took the scene with Zack in the beginning from Get Smart. Don't hurt me…
~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 Ten
"Don't tear me down."
'Remember your destination, Cloud!' The screams were getting louder. 'The City in the North. Remember!'
The silver and navy blue man flickered away, and Cloud was alone.
Prison again. Lovely, Zack thought sarcastically, his mako violet eyes tracking the poorly hidden young man trailing along behind him. On either side of him was Tifa, who also looked annoyed, probably sharing the same thoughts as his, and a bouncing, energetic robotic cat, Cait Sith. He remembered seeing the cat around once or twice in the Shinra Building, and he had an inkling of who it was, but he wasn't going to jump to conclusions.
But still, was there a real reason why they had been thrown down here? No, they had been framed, and all evidence pointed to Barret. Wherever he was.
"Ahh! Lech!" Tifa suddenly spun and punched the stalker-guy square in the nose. Blood spurted out of the wound as the guy fell over, dead out. Cait Sith rubbed his head.
"Remind me never to get on your bad side," he told Tifa.
Zack had been oblivious to this entire situation, walking off without his comrades, pondering what Cait Sith had said to him for his fortune.
What you pursue will be yours. But you will lose more than one that you hold dear.
Zack got this nagging feeling that the fortune was talking about Aeris, at least, in part. But how? He already had lost her, to Sephiroth. But who would the other one-
A flash of pink surrounded by brown pricked the corner of his eye. Immediately, Zack looked over, hoping it was Aeris, but he saw nothing and no one there. Probably just a reflection of the sun's
SMACK!
Zack stumbled back from where he had walked straight into a building. He rubbed the entire left side of his face while giving the building a death glare. Behind him, he heard Tifa and Cait Sith trying to smother their laughs. He turned to them and gave them a sarcastic glare, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," he told them.
"No, no, not that way!" Aeris nearly cried, grabbing Sephiroth's hand. "Zack's that way!"
Sephiroth stopped and sighed, glancing back at her. "We must get back to Cloud, Aeris," he told her impatiently. "That means going back up that elevator."
Aeris glanced both way before looking at him. "Zack'll go berserk if he finds us. Even more so that Cloud isn't with us!" She tugged on his arm, but he did not relinquish his ground, he just continued to stare at her. "Oh no! I think he saw us!"
Sephiroth was momentarily distracted by this and turned his head to look at Zack, who sure enough was heading their way, though his eyes seemed distant, like he was deep in thought. Aeris was suddenly in front of him and she shoved him away, pushing him to the other side of the building, where Zack wouldn't
SMACK!
Sephiroth sucked in a breath, instinctively reaching for the back of his head as Aeris slammed her hands over her mouth in an effort to not burst out laughing and give away their location. Sephiroth rolled his eyes at her. "Laugh all you want. We have to get to get to that elevator." Sephiroth turned to stalk around the building and Aeris stepped around the beam support she had unknowingly run Sephiroth's head into.
Zack could've sworn he saw a flash of black around the corner of the building he had unknowingly run into, but he was too busy chasing after Barret to really care. He, Tifa, and Cait Sith were chasing after the gunman, and Zack was dismayed to find out, that just after clearing the gate beyond the annoying building, Barret was nowhere to be found. With a sigh, he headed for the nearest shack that was by the perimeter by the vast desert. It turned out to be an old, run-down house that had easily seen better days. He flopped down on the couch with an exhausted sigh as Tifa began to fan herself in the corner.
"Sure is hot here," she muttered.
Cait Sith turned to her. "Well, it is a desert prison, Tifa," he told her. "No one's gotten out of here before." Then, as an afterthought, he added, "Well, it happened once, but I don't remember how…"
Suddenly, the door burst open and in the frame stood Barret. Zack instantly shot to his feet and Tifa stumbled to his side. Cait Sith took refuge behind them as Barret raised his gun arm. "Didn't I tell you not to come here!?" he yelled at them, and everyone raised their hands. Zack's inched toward the handle of Basara.
"Calm down, Barret," he said, and felt his whole body go rigid when the gun on his arm clicked.
"Ju……just hold on for a second!" Cait Sith began. "We just want to talk! You'll understand if you just hear us out!"
Barret opened fire and Zack, Tifa, and Cait Sith all ducked down, bracing for the hits that would end their lives. But they never hit. There was a muffled grunt and a man slumped down from behind the couch, riddled with bullet holes. Barret lowered his arm, and Zack, Tifa, and Cait Sith all straightened, breathing a unified sight of relief.
Barret sighed and looked away from them. "Didn't want none of ya to get involved…" he muttered in answer to their silent question.
The door leading to another room burst open and in came Tiffania, Yuffie, and Red XIII came in. The redhead stomped right up to Barret and poked him hard in the chest, a condescending look in her eyes. "Hey that's Zack's line! …It's too dangerous, I can't let you get involved…' blah, blah blah…" She looked at Zack and made the mouth motions with one of her hand, rolling her violet eyes at him. He rolled them back.
Tifa put her hand on Barret's arm. "Yeah. We're already involved in this," she told him gently.
Tiffania's eyes softened. "We saw you and hurried here." She dropped her arms and bent her head slightly. "Barret, just tell us what's going on," she quietly requested.
Barret put his large hand over his face. "You guys…" he muttered.
Red XIII sat on his haunches and regarded Barret calmly. "I heard that the murders at the Battle Arena were done by a man with a gun-arm. …Was that you?" he asked.
Barret shook his head. "There's another…another man that got a gun grafted inta one of his arms. It was four years ago…"
An Hour Later…
Sephiroth fumed. The aura seeping off him reeked of anger and malice toward a singular, chocobo-haired man, who was currently MIA in the Chocobo Racing wing of the Gold Saucer. Aeris was glancing left and right, looking for Cloud, who she couldn't see, either.
"I told him to stay right there," Sephiroth growled, and Aeris actually jumped a little at his harsh words. "After all of the trouble I went to get you, he runs off."
"Maybe he didn't do it on purpose?" Aeris ventured, and instantly regretted it when Sephiroth rounded on her.
"HE DIDN'T DO IT ON PURPOSE?!" he shrieked at her and she shrank down. All noise stopped in the room, just as a familiar voice echoed in the room from the riders' waiting area.
"Yeah, I got it."
Sephiroth and Aeris' eyes met, both wide. Zack! Sephiroth grabbed Aeris' hand and rushed out of the automatic doors just as Zack realized how quiet it was in the room. He looked around and noticed the doors close. "Huh?" he muttered, scratching his head.
Ester smiled at him. "Then, good luck," she told him sincerely, and he turned his attention back to her.
"Yep."
Outside, Sephiroth ran straight into a random tunnel that ended up leading them to the Battle Arena. Once they came out of the tunnel, Aeris let out a cry and fell directly to her knees. Sephiroth tugged at her.
"Aeris! What is it?" Sephiroth seemed genuinely concerned as Aeris ripped her hand from his and covered her ears with both of them.
"C-Crying," she mumbled to him. "The Planet is crying…"
Suddenly, Sephiroth heard it. A shriek, not the Planet's Cry, because he had heard this shriek before, back when he had destroyed Nibelheim.
It was Cloud.
"Aeris, stay here," he told her, and not staying around to see if she heard him or not, he ran up the stairs three at a time, ran through the lobby in a black and silver blur, and ran into the arena just in time to see Cloud, surrounded by blood-his own blood-pitch forward onto the floor.
All around him he heard gasps and the crowd quieted. Cloud's opponent, the Turk Cissnei, watched him with shocked hazel eyes.
"Sephiroth?" she asked in wonder. "I thought you were dead."
Sephiroth narrowed his eyes at her. "I get that a lot," he snapped, seeing her grip tighten on her shuriken. "Did you do this?" He gestured to Cloud.
Cissnei didn't seem very afraid of him, only wary. "Yes," she answered him. "He was my final opponent."
Sephiroth stalked over to the unconscious blond and lifted him up. Cloud's head lolled back, revealing his extra pale face and neck, and closed eyelids. He turned his gaze back to Cissnei. "Couldn't you see he was blind?!" The crowd gasped in unison.
Cissnei looked surprised, taking a startled step back. "He…he fought extremely well," she told him. "Three hours straight, I watched." She shook her head in denial. "He can't be blind!"
"Well, he is," he snapped at her. "And thanks to you, he could very well die!" His anger mounted, and a spark caught the pools of Cloud's blood on fire. Instantly, the crowd flew into a panic and began to scatter. "You listen to me, Turk," he spat the last word. "If I ever see you near Cloud, Aeris, or I ever again, you won't live to see the next day." And with that, he turned on his heel and walked through the flames he had caused, exiting in a most beautiful and ethereal way.
Cissnei stared after him, her entire body numb.
After Zack's Race…
Zack wiped his brow and flopped down on one of the chairs in the riders' waiting room. He wondered what had happened just before he and Ester had come up into the main lobby of the Chocobo Racing wing, but all the answers he got had the same gist to them, "lovers' spat."
Ester walked in, smiling at Zack. "Congratulations!!" she crowed. "Now you're home free!" Zack grinned and stood up. "Oh yeah, the owner told me to give you this letter to you when you won." She handed him a folded up piece of paper.
Boy, if you're reading this letter, then you must've won. And won a victory that I am sure you earned. I heard Dyne from Ester. Now that you are victorious, I promise that you and all your friends will get a full pardon, and you all will be set free. And also, by way of apology. I prepared a little gift for you to use on your journey. Sorry I couldn't be there to tell you this in person, but I'm a very busy man. Sincerely, Dio
Zack blinked at the note. "Gift?" he muttered, wondering what it could be. In his pocket, his cell phone buzzed. He absently reached in and pulled it out. "Zack here," he answered.
Tiffania was on the other line, and she sounded exuberant. "Zack, isn't this great!?" she cried through the phone. "The assistant manager just stopped by and dropped off a buggy for you! Now you can go over deserts and rivers no problem."
Zack's violet eyes brightened at this. "All right, no more camping out!"
"Okay, Zack. I'll be waiting outside." He could hear the smile in his "sister's" voice. He smiled, too, as he hung up. He turned to Ester again. "Thanks, Ester. I'll assumed you'll be my manager if I ever come back to do this for fun?"
Ester smiled and nodded. "You're a very promising rider, Zack. I'll always be happy to be your manager whenever the chocobo racing spirit strikes you."
Zack winked at her. "Glad to hear it."
With Sephiroth, Cloud, and Aeris…
Beads of sweat trickled down Aeris' brow as she worked to heal Cloud's horrendous wounds. She already had gotten one sealed together with her magic, and it had tired her absolutely out. She was trying her best with Cloud's other one, but she wasn't making much progress, and it was still bleeding a little. Sephiroth paced in the corner of the room.
"Can't you work faster?" he demanded, and Aeris' concentration broke. She pressed a large pad of gauze to Cloud's wound and turned her head toward Sephiroth with a huff.
"Thanks to you, now I'm all out of my reserves!" she berated him. "It'll have to heal naturally." Sephiroth's glare didn't intimidate her. "Don't try to get me to use my life force or something to help him! I can't continue to try this, or I'll overwork myself to the point of passing out! Do you really want two unconscious allies on your hands, hmm?"
Sephiroth's eyes narrowed, but he turned and laid down on the other bed in their room in the Haunted Mansion Inn. Aeris grabbed the roll of gauze and wrapped it firmly five times around Cloud's stomach before tying it up. She sat back on her heels with a sigh, before fully falling onto her back. "There. That's the best I can do."
She got no reply as she hefted a large yawn and suddenly realized that it was very comfortable, laying on the floor of the hotel room. "It's been quite a long day," she murmured softly, blinking slowly as the ceiling above her began to get fuzzy. "So tired…" She closed her eyes in another blink, but they did not open. She was fast asleep.
Sephiroth, worried a little by Aeris' sudden silence, rolled over and looked down, only to see her fast asleep on the floor. A slip of the moonlight from outside fell upon her, giving her skin an ethereal glow to it. For a moment, Sephiroth found himself entranced by the glow on her skin, how her brown bangs were gently laying on her cheek, her chest gently raising and lowering with every breath she took…
"Aeris," Zack said, relieved. "We made it." Aeris raised her head from where she was praying. Slowly, she drew her gaze up Zack, before finally meeting his eyes. She gave a small, apologetic smile, before Masamune burst through her stomach.
Sephiroth drew back from the vision with a harsh snap, staring wide-eyed at Aeris, who slept on peacefully. Shaking the vision, he swung his legs out over the bed and dropped quietly onto the floor beside Aeris. Quickly, he picked her up and lay her on the bed he had only just occupied, before grabbing Masamune on the way out of the door.
He felt sorry for any monsters that dared cross his path that night.
~END: Yeah, I feel sorry for them, too. Sorry (again) for the horribly long wait for this chapter, I had Finals, and then when I went to update before the end of the schoolyear, the Library across the street was closed for Inventory and cleaning. So, to my dismay, I had no way to update until today. And just because you guys have been so very patient with me, I'll be updating tomorrow, too! Cause you deserve it.
What to look forward to next chapter: Zack is reunited with his parents! Aww, aren't I sweet? Hee hee. That, and there's a little celebration in Gongaga for Zack…that Zack isn't too happy to go to.
Demand updates. Updates happen.