Cast Me Gently Into Morning
by Portrait of a Scribe

Chapter 11: Friends.

"Friendship is a marvelous thing. It can span age, gender, language, cultures, and even jail time. And a best friend is the one who'll be sitting next to you during that jail time saying, 'That was fucking awesome.'"
--Anonymous.

It's raining.

It's fucking raining.

And it's nighttime.

…How can my day get any worse…?

Sigh.

'Oh, suck it up and keep moving, already,' Griever grouses from the back of my mind. I grumble in return, and pick up my heavy foot to move it another pace in front of me.

My footing crumbles, though, and with a yelp of surprise I begin to slide down a crumbling slope before I manage to catch myself and pull myself to safety.

How the fuck is it raining on the fucking moon?!

Groan.

But my attention is suddenly grabbed by a feminine moan ahead of me. I strain my eyes to see through the gloom around me, but it's difficult even for my Mako-enhanced vision. There's a faint glow crackling some yards ahead of me. Nearing the source, I realize that it's Terra. She's hunched over, and she looks like she's in pain, with some kind of magical energy field sparking around her body. I pause on the ledge above her, observing for a moment.

As though she senses my approach, Terra turns and looks up at me, pain etched into every fine line of her face.

"Why are you here?"

I say nothing, just stare at her as I try to figure out what's happening to her. I'm suddenly reminded that she once told me that she's an Esperkin, and that she can't quite control her powers. Maybe that's what's wrong.

"Please!" Her voice brings me back to the present, and I see her shake her head. "You have to get away!"

But I know that, unless she relieves some of the pressure that her powers are building inside her, she'll get damaged herself. I should know, I've been in that position before. But I'm not really sure what I should do in this situation. I know that Tifa sometimes has to use force to knock some sense into me when I get in one of my moods… I pull the Buster Sword out of subspace and hold it before me, ready to fight. I don't know if I'll be able to help her, but I'll at least try my best.

"What are you doing?! Please, don't!" Is she worried that she'll hurt me? Ha! She's seriously underestimating me if she thinks I can't take a few punches just because I'm a dad.

I continue to stare at her. There's a second during which our eyes meet, and that's when I see it happen. Her pupils dilate, and then contract into something completely animalistic while fur erupts from her skin, pink and purple and blue in color. Golden talons sprout from her fingertips and toes as her clothing vanishes, torn to shreds by the force of her transformation. She howls in agony as the bones of her legs crack and rearrange themselves, becoming more lupine in design.

Our eyes meet again, and I'm surprised at the yellow-blue-violet hue that hers have taken on.

Then she releases a feral screech and rushes me with a speed, grace, and ferocity that I didn't entirely expect. I only barely manage to get the Buster Sword up in time to block a vicious swipe that surely would've taken my head off had it connected. My heart leaps into my throat when I feel the sheer power, that indomitable, crackling energy, behind the blow.

She's really trying to kill me!

But I can't blame her. She doesn't seem like she's entirely aware of her actions at the moment, and as I dodge a kick that she aims for my stomach, I realize that I'm actually scared. Not so much for my own life, since I know that almost any damage that she does to me will be healed quickly by the Mako in my body, but for her own well-being. She's always so fearful of her own powers, afraid that she'll hurt one of her friends if she loses control. I don't know what she'll do if she hurts me while in this state.

It's not a comforting thought.

She shrieks again, a hollow, feral sound, but this time, it's not a physical attack that she launches at me. No, this time it's a barrage of magical spells. I manage to block the Holy spell, as well as the Blizzard and Firaga chain spells, and I only narrowly dodge the Flood spell she comes up with before I have to dance out of range of her Tornado spell and fight to keep it from pulling me in. It's the Thundaga that gets me, though, zinging up the Buster Sword and through my arms, sending me into convulsions so severe that I hear something in my back crack before pain explodes in me.

When I hit the ground again, I'm gasping around the agony that's engulfed the lumbar region of my back. I can barely see through the torturous haze that has almost fully enveloped my world, but I can see it very clearly when she dives down toward me.

She impacts with my chest a second later, shattering several of my ribs and driving the air from my lungs.

I nearly black out from the pain.

But something holds me there, something warm that grounds me in the conscious realm and won't let me fade.

"Cloud…"

That voice… So familiar…

"C'mon, buddy, you can't give up now!"

I can't even think of his name right now. But strength fills me for a split second, long enough to see past the pain and register that Terra's coming in fast for the killing strike. I manage to roll out of the way of her punch, which would've speared right through me had I been a hair slower. With adrenaline surging through my veins in place of my blood, I swing the Buster Sword around and hit her in the back of the head with the flat of my blade. I don't use my full strength, but it's more than enough to knock her out.

A second later, Terra hits the ground, back to normal though unconscious and naked, and I slump to my knees, shaking and panting and in a lot of pain, using the Buster Sword to hold myself up. Groaning, I just barely manage to summon my other set of clothes from subspace, as well as the blanket that I nicked from Zidane before we all got split up.

Needless to say, I haven't let him know about it, yet- I'm waiting until the opportune moment to throw it in his face that he's been robbed.

I only have seconds left before I pass out. I'm able to stagger over to Terra and spread the blanket over her. Then the spare clothes hit the ground with a faint rustle as I collapse beside her, unable to hold myself up any longer. The Buster Sword lands beside me with a clank of steel on stone.

I'm gone a second later.

When I wake again, it's to a throbbing ache that's filled my whole body and the sound of a familiar voice complaining about wimpy best friends.

"Shut up, Zack," I growl, and then it finally registers in my head who, exactly, I'm talking to. I sit up rapidly, groan at the pain that erupts from my innards and bones, and then struggle to my feet, using the Buster Sword as a crutch.

"Hey, he's awake." I follow the voice to a crater in the pockmarked surface of the moon that we're on, and carefully descend into the depression. It causes my ribs and spine untold agony, but I ignore it. I have to find Zack.

So imagine my surprise when I come upon a red Materia, instead. Slowly crouching next to it, I bite back a groan and pick it up, holding it in the palm of my hand.

"Zack, is that you?" I ask. "Please tell me I'm not having a hallucination."

"You're having a hallucination." The deadpan tone in his voice tells me he's being sarcastic. I'm so glad to hear his voice that I almost cry, but I force the emotion down and grin instead.

"I'm going to absorb the Materia, now," I explain. "Brace yourself."

I wait for his affirmative before I assimilate the orb. It hurts more than Fenrir and Griever did, but then again, I wasn't injured when I found them, either. Soon enough, I feel Zack's presence settling into the back of my mind, and I watch as the Materia dissolves into my skin.

'Hey, buddy, if you summon me, I'll help you back over to your new friend,' Zack tells me. He seems a little disoriented, but that's to be expected. I take a painful breath, nod, and summon him.

Zack doesn't appear with any real theatrics, not like Fenrir and Griever do. All there is is a swirling column of Lifestream, and suddenly he's there, looking as hale as the day I first met him. He's still got that carefree grin on his face, and a sword made of pure energy is harnessed on his back.

"Hey, spike," he greets. "Good to see you in the flesh, again."

I grunt as my ribs twinge. "Same to you, Zack. But I don't think I can chat much right now."

Zack nods, and then comes over and loops my right arm across his shoulders, his other hand supporting me from my left side. The position puts a lot of pressure on my ribs, but I can't do anything but groan as he and I start making our way out of the crater. We're quiet for a long moment until we get to level ground again, and then Zack helps me hobble back over to where Terra is still unconscious. He's keeping strangely silent- I would've expected him to be chatting up a storm by now.

"I'm surprised you aren't talking my ear off." He looks at me, surprised, with wide violet eyes that glow with the Mako that still hasn't left them even in death. Then he laughs and lowers me to sit beside my unconscious companion.

"Well, it's not much fun to talk when you're not going to reply, is it?" he counters. I grunt, but it's an amused sound. We're quiet for a long time as I strip off my shirt and Zack examines my midsection.

"You wimp," he jibes a few minutes later. "It's not so bad."

"I'd forgotten how much I missed your absurdity," I mutter, and hiss when he presses his leather-gloved fingertips into my lower back. "That fucking hurts."

"Pansy," he counters, but it lacks his usual cheerful tone. He probes again. I gasp in pain, lights flashing in my eyes, and slump over with a groan, fisting my hands in the dark fabric of my pants.

"Do you have any Materia on you?" he asks. I grimace again.

"Yeah," I grit out. "Fire, Ice, Lightning, and Cure."

I sense Zack's concern more than I see it in his face. "Better get out that Cure Matera, then."

I huff out an affirmative and pop the aforementioned Materia into existence from my subspace pocket. Zack lets out a low whistle behind me.

"Nice trick," he quips, and then I feel his hand on my lower back. "This is going to hurt."

I just barely manage to get my tongue out of the way before he does something that makes my vision go white with pain, and my breath leaves my lungs in a rush. I can't tell if I'm screaming or not, but hey, cut me some slack. It frikkin' hurts.

Thankfully, the pain fades a second later, and I slump forward, exhausted, feeling Zack probing my ribs and spine again. It still hurts enough to make me stiffen in more than a little discomfort, but it's definitely not excruciating like before.

I sigh in relief and feel the muscles of my back loosen as I finally relax.

"Thanks," I manage to remember to say. Zack chuckles and, coming around to sit down in front of me, hands me my shirt.

"Got any bandages?" he asks. I nod, and produce my med-kit from my subspace pocket, handing the items to my best friend. As he moves back around to my side, I chuckle, finding his motions so familiar, so intrinsically Zack, that it feels like I've stepped back in time.

I tell him as much when he inquires about my humor a second later. Then he laughs, too.

"Hey, you remember that time when we got drunk and started singing folk songs?" The sudden question startles a faint grin out of me when I recall the incident he's talking about.

"I was trying to teach you a song from Nibelheim," I remember. "You couldn't pronounce any of the words right."

Zack rolls his eyes and shoots me a Look. Yes, it's a Look. One of those ones that are a combination of exasperation, amusement, and you-know-that-isn't-fucking-true-so-you'd-better-take-it-back-right-now-or-I'll-get-you-back.

"Well, excuse me for speaking a different native language than you do," he says, jabbing me lightly in my still-tender ribs. I wince. "As I recall, you could barely pronounce any words to my folk songs, either."

I manage a strangled grunt. "Two backwater boys with backwater backgrounds speaking backwater languages and singing backwater songs." I pause thoughtfully. "But we had fun."

Zack laughs as he ties off my bandages, and I take the opportunity to slip my shirt over my head with some difficulty.

"That we did," he agrees. I send him a smile and set about tucking my sweater into my pants as Terra begins to stir beside us. I glance over at her, and then to Zack.

"Terra's waking up," I murmur. "Turn away in case she somehow dislodges the blanket."

Deciding to practice what I preach, I pointedly keep my gaze off of Terra until I hear her fully wake up.

"You're awake," I greet. I hear her begin to get up. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. Your transformation shredded your clothes. You're naked, right now."

Terra squeaks, and I catch a flurry of movement out of the corner of my eye.

"Do you have any spare outfits?" I query.

"Uh…" Her hesitance makes me want to roll my eyes. "No, not right now. It'll take me an hour or so to make a new one."

I nod. "Then you can borrow mine for now. They're sitting next to you."

I can see Terra shake her head. "No, I couldn't—"

"Yes, you can." My voice is firm, uncompromising. "And you will."

There's a pause. I think she's looking at Zack, but I'm not entirely sure. Then I see her grab my spare clothes and dive under the blanket again. She emerges a few minutes later, clad in my black fatigues and sweater, each of which have had their legs and sleeves rolled up several times to expose her feet and hands. She's cinched my belt down around her waist far enough that she's long since run out of belt holes and she's simply had to tie it. Overall, it's a rather ridiculous look on her, but that's understandable. She's much slighter of form than I am.

There's another pause.

"You alright?" I ask at length, finally turning to face her head-on. I can see Zack watching us, but I ignore him. This is between me and Terra.

She looks at me with confusion in her eyes, but I know that she knows what I'm talking about.

"Why didn't you run?" she asks. I briefly close my eyes, thinking back to the minutes before our catastrophic battle.

"I didn't wanna leave you there struggling," I answer at last. "But I couldn't think of another way."

There's a pause as she absorbs this admittance.

"Are you saying," she begins, "that you fought me just so you could calm my powers down?"

I can't look her in the eye as I try to hide my smile. She's reminding me a lot of Aerith.

"Sorry," I say. "I should have said something first." I pause, thinking, feeling my ribs ache in real and remembered pain. "But I didn't expect that kind of power."

I snort with some amusement, and shake my head. "Maybe I should've just run."

There's a long moment of silence. I can sense Zack wanting to talk, but he's keeping his mouth shut while Terra and I work this out. I'll thank him later.

"Thank you." The quiet sentence draws my attention back to Terra.

"I don't deserve your thanks," I counter, keeping my voice neutral. "I wasn't sure if I could save you." I pause, a memory flashing to the front of my mind. "To be honest, I didn't know what to do."

"But you did end up saving me," she muses. "And I wanted to let you know that."

I give a slightly rueful smile and look away.

It seems that, even though I sometimes doubt myself and my abilities, there are still some things I can handle.

"Is something wrong?" The gentle question draws my attention back to Terra even as it reminds me strongly of Aerith.

"No. Just remembered something that happened before," I reply. Then a thought hits me, and I look around. Right. Onion Knight is missing. "Anyway, where's the kid? Wasn't he with you all this time?"

Terra gasps and looks away, her eyes glazing as she reminisces.

"What happened was…" She trails off, and then scowls slightly. It's a foreign emotion on her normally placid face, and startles me a little to see it there. "Kefka happened. He kidnapped the boy when Onion Knight tried to protect me. I don't know where they are. I've been looking for him, but…"

I hum. "Alright. Let me help."

She looks over at me, looking vulnerable. "Are you sure?"

She has to ask? Shit, I must not be doing my job right.

"Just my way of thanking you," I say instead, "for letting me realize that even I can help someone."

She grins at me, and it's like the sun coming out from behind the clouds. Seriously, she's so much like Aerith in that moment that I do a double-take, and I see Zack do the same. Nodding to myself, I get to my feet and look around.

"How long will it take you to make yourself a new set of clothes?" I ask again.

"About an hour."

"You make yourself a change of clothes," I instruct her. "There's no sense in walking right now. We'll move out in the morning. I suggest you get some sleep."

Terra nods. "Right."

I see her gaze flick in curiosity to Zack.

"Terra, this is my best friend, Zack Fair," I state, motioning to Zack, who waves. "Zack, this is Terra Branford, one of the Warriors of Cosmos."

Zack nears Terra, takes her hand in his own, and shakes it heartily.

"It's nice to meet you!" he chirps, grinning so broadly and genuinely that Terra can't help but return it. That's Zack for you.

"It's nice to meet you, as well," Terra returns. Then she scrutinizes him a little more closely. "Hey… Didn't Cloud say you were dead?"

Zack nods, and I look over at him.

"You know, I was wondering about that," I tell him. "How were you in a Summon Materia if you're a dead human?"

Zack shrugs. "I think it had something to do with my proximity to you when Cosmos called you to her world."

I blink. "Meaning that you were mistaken for a summon and sealed upon arrival?"

He nods. "Yep."

Blink. Blink. "Huh."

I shake myself out of my stupor.

"Zack, if you want to stay up, you can," I tell him. "I'm getting some shuteye while we're waiting. Wake me up when you want to go to sleep."

When Zack nods, I lay myself down, pillowing my head upon my arm, and slide the Buster Sword over near me, in reach in case we get attacked.

"Goodnight, Cloud," Terra says. I grunt, my eyelids drooping.

"G'night," I mutter.

The last thing I hear before I drift off is the laughter of my best friend and my traveling companion.

It's a nice sound.

Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII, AC, CC, DOC, or Dissidia.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

And I'm very sorry for the long, unexpected wait. I just finished this chapter today after a lot of struggle. Things've been a bit difficult lately despite it being spring break- I have to study for my last midterm and read Macbeth, as well as learn to use Microsoft Expression suite 3. It's a lot to juggle. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, though.

A big thank you goes to Calenlass Greenleaf1 for reviewing the last chapter. You rock, Cal! And I'm really glad you're enjoying the battle scenes.

Next chapter should be posted 3-20-10.

-Portrait of a Scribe