Chapter 11
"You're a fool Cloud!" Zack said. Before Cloud had a chance to respond, there was the sound of an explosion. Seconds later, the roof collapsed as a mass of fire and metal crashed through it. Cloud looked up just as he saw Tifa fall through the hole.
"Tifa!" He yelled, as he started run to catch her.
"Not so fast Cloud!" Zack said, moving to intercept him. Cloud had to jump back to avoid the arc of Zack's sword. "You're not getting away that easy."
Cloud watched in horror as Tifa fell, and fell, and fell until finally slamming into the the hard floor. "Tifa!" he yelled again. He saw her barely move, and was relieved to know she was alive.
"Enough!" Zack yelled, charging at Cloud. Cloud lept back as the massive sword slammed down where he had been standing seconds earlier. He countered with a vertical cleave, Zack rolling out of the way at the last minute. Circling each other, Zack charged in again. Cloud parried the attack, and swung one of his own, cutting into Zack's arm. Zack managed to get his sword up to avoid any massive damage, and kicking Cloud in the groin. Falling to his knees in pain, Cloud dropped his sword. Zack glared at his former friend as he lifted the sword over his head. Just as he was preparing to deliver the finishing blow, the doors of the warehouse burst open, and Barret and the others ran inside. Barret shot at Zack, forcing him to shield himself behind his sword.
"Help Tifa!" Cloud yelled, tackling Zack. To the ground. The gunfire ceased, and Cloud saw the group rushing to Tifa's side.
"Sloppy Cloud!" Zack yelled, taking Cloud's distraction as an opening and throwing Cloud off of him. He jumped up to his feet, and ran for his sword. Cloud caught him by the shoulder, and kicked at the sword, causing it to slide away.
"Your mistake!" Zack said, tripping Cloud. He mounted him, and threw a punch into his face. "You could never take me in hand to hand combat." he taunted, throwing another punch. Cloud felt the blood begin to pour from his nose. Desperately, Cloud lifted his leg into Zack's groin. Zack grunted from the force of the blow, and fell sideways off of him. Groggy from the repeated blows to the head, Cloud climbed to his feet. He was just barely able to get his hands up as Zack grabbed him from behind, and attempted to stab him with a small knife. Struggling to hold the blade away from him, he grunted as he pushed at Zack's arm.
"Give it up Cloud, you can't win." Zack said, pushing harder. The blade slowly lowered, cutting into Cloud's chest. Suddenly, gun fire echoed in the burning warehouse. Cloud managed to push Zack's arm away, as Zack fell to the ground dead.
"You forgot that you were fight Avalanche and not just Cloud." Barret said from across the room. "come on Spikey, let's get out of here."
Grabbing his sword, Cloud stumbled over to everyone else, and they managed to escape the burning building, there great foe vanquished, but there fight for the planet far from over.
The End
A/N Well, I started writing this and then I stopped writing all together. When I finally came back, this and many of my unfinished work remained unfinished. I'm glad that I finally managed to finish this one, almost a year after it began.
