Zack felt gross. Like really gross. He sat disguised, hidden amongst the cargo, in the smelliest, itchiest Shinra uniform of all time. Sneaking onto the ship in order to get to the western continent was great, but smelling like a foot was not. If Zack had his way, he would just strip every stitch of clothing off of his body, dive off the side of the boat and swim back home to Gongaga.
Zack lounged against a wooden crate, scratching at his neck and blew out a sigh. The past week seemed to have flown by in a whirlwind of events. He and the gang had made good use of the chocobos they had rented and continued to sniff out Sephiroth's trail. Unfortunately, leads became even more scarce the further they traveled away from Midgar. But in a strange turn of events, the most unlikely person appeared before them bearing the much needed gift of information. Tseng.
Zack tried to scratch underneath his helmet as he thought this over. Tseng had told them that Sephiroth was headed towards Junon so he could cross the ocean, which confused Zack greatly. Why had he helped them? Zack was sure that the Turks had been given orders to recapture them and they could have done so easily. But Tseng had let them go, pointing them in the right direction.
And why did Sephiroth want to cross the ocean? What was his goal? Was his mind still warped by the information he had digested in the Shinra mansion? Was he still trying to fulfill his self-proclaimed destiny to become the ruler of the planet?
Echoing footsteps threw Zack from his thoughts. He tensed, sensing the movement nearing his position. A Shinra soldier appeared moments later in the maze of boxes where Zack hid. Immediately, he stopped scratching, scrambled to his feet and saluted.
"Sorry, sir! I-ah-got lost! So many boxes-uh, sir!"
The soldier tilted his head to the side, his expression a mystery hidden behind his helmet. Zack feared that his cover had been blown but, instead of a stern reprimand, the soldier began to giggle innocently.
"At ease soldier. It's me, Aerith."
Zack let out a sigh and relaxed. "Don't sneak up on me like that! I thought I was done for!"
"Maybe if you weren't taking a nap, you would have heard me!"
"I wasn't napping! I was-uh-thinking about stuff!"
Aerith shook her head and smiled. "Well at least now I know that my disguise is convincing." She removed her helmet and let her hair cascade down her shoulders.
"Yeah, well my disguise is laced with itching powder and smells like butt," lamented Zack as he resumed scratching.
"Take a breather then. There are no soldiers around. Not any real ones anyway. They're all on deck."
Aerith closed the distance between the two of them and gently removed Zack's helmet. Cool, fresh air flowed over his skin and along his neck refreshingly. Aerith moved her lips closer to Zack's but hesitated just before they met. She scrunched her nose in disgust.
"What?" whispered Zack.
"Oh, you're right. You DO stink."
Zack flung his arms up in the air. "Oh just great. Not only does this uniform itch and smell, it's messing up my game too!"
Aerith chuckled and placed her helmet back over her head. "You're game is fine. I'd be with you always. Even if you do stink. Just make sure you take a bath when we get to Costa Del Sol, okay?"
"Yeah. Thanks. I think."
"C'mon let's join the others. Barrett is trying to eavesdrop on Rufus."
Zack reluctantly stuffed his head back into his helmet and followed Aerith out of the maze of cargo. The ship's hold was immense, holding hundreds of wooden crates and boxes. Zack could feel the subtle sway of the ocean rock the ship steadily as it chugged along. He was in no way a sea-faring man, preferring the predictable and stable feel of dry land. He found it unnerving that his balance was a slave to the water.
Aerith led him up a long flight of stairs and out into the ship's deck. The air tasted of salt and the sun beat down onto them ferociously. Zack scanned over the deck, looking for the others members of the group.
Zack spotted Tifa immediately. Not only did she still have her gloves on but the fabric on the vest of her uniform was stretched out within an inch of its life. Tifa never hid the fact that she had been blessed with an ample chest but today that blessing was turning out to be a curse. However, she was playing smart, patrolling high up on the mast in the bird's nest where no one could bother her or see what was straining to escape her uniform.
Cloud was a little harder to find. Having been an infantryman before, Cloud was in his natural element. He knew how to blend easily; it was he who had come up with the idea to dress in enemy clothing. Zack wouldn't have found Cloud at all if he hadn't have know him so well. He gave himself up subtly, with that cocky pose that he and Zack used to practice in their down time. Shifted weight, hand on the hip, the perfect stance of superiority.
As Aerith and Zack traveled towards the rear of the ship another soldier intercepted them. Zack thought he was seasick at first, as he was stumbling and weaving along the deck precariously. It was only when he saw a flash of orange poking out from the back of his uniform did he understand what was going on.
"It's me…Red XIII."
"Red? What are you doing?" Zack said.
"I'm a little woozy, but I shouldn't get caught," whispered Red.
"Are-are you trying to walk on two legs?"
"Yes. Humans only look at appearances anyway. Anyway you look at it, I'd say I make a fine human being."
"But your tail is out!"
"Oh is it? I wondered why it felt rather cool."
"Come here silly," chuckled Aerith. "Zack you go on ahead and find Barrett. I'll fix Red's wardrobe malfunction."
Zack turned and headed towards the rear of the ship. He could see a large man dressed in a sailor suit that could only be Barrett. He looked ridiculous in the white uniform, complete with bronze buttons and a crisp white hat. Barret hadn't even bothered to cover his face and his gun arm was out for all to see. Zack wondered why he had been so afraid of being caught when clearly Barrett wasn't.
Zack had only taken two steps in Barrett's direction when a loud alarm began to go off.
"Emergency alert! Reports of a suspicious character found! Search the ship! Emergency alert! Reports of a suspicious character found! Search the ship!"
Zack dived off to the side, his reflexes immediately kicking in, and hid behind a row of steel barrels. Were they on to them? He looked around to see if any of the others had been caught. Aerith was safe along with Red. Tifa was still in the birds nest. Barrett and Cloud were still crouched underneath the window, eavesdropping on Rufus.
Zack relaxed a bit and withdrew from his hiding spot. He sprinted towards the center of the deck, as did the others.
"Is everyone okay?" said Cloud.
"Yeah, we're all here," said Tifa.
"So what was all that 'suspicious character' nonsense then?" asked Barrett.
"I don't know," spoke Zack.
"Do you think maybe…it's him?" whispered Cloud.
"Sephiroth?"
"Yeah…I just have this creepy feeling."
"There's only one way to find out," said Zack, removing his sword from it's sheath. "Let's have a look around."
Besides the six of them, the deck was deserted. Rufus was long gone, having probably been escorted to a secure position. Zack also noticed that the ship had stopped moving forward. The only motion left was caused by the gentle waves of the ocean.
Zack looked over to Cloud. "Engine room?"
"My thoughts exactly."
Zack made his way back to the stairs Aerith had led him to earlier and descended them cautiously. Silence pressed on his ears which unnerved him. He should have heard a scuffle or shouts and yells. But Zack heard nothing and he did not like it.
The group came to the bottom of the stairs and saw why the ship had fallen into silence. Several guards lay sprawled out on the floor in front of the engine room door. They were all dead, victims of deep cuts and slashes.
"What happened?" gasped Aerith, covering her mouth with her hands.
"It's Sephiroth," said Cloud.
"How do you know?" asked Tifa.
"I've seen these cuts before."
Zack stepped around the bodies and pushed open the engine room door. His heart hammered in his chest. Could it really be him? Zack had been conflicted on what to believe after the ordeal at the Shinra building. He had seen Sephiroth die all those years ago, hadn't he? So how, after five years, could he be alive?
More bodies littered the ground inside the engine room. However, standing right in front of the huge coal furnace that powered the ship stood a lone man. His long silver hair stood out against his black cape that bellowed behind him.
"Sephiroth?" said Zack shakily.
"The time…has come…," said the figure.
"Turn and face me Sephiroth. You owe me at least that."
Sephiroth began to turn but his figure slowly faded into nothing. Zack sprang forward, trying to grasp him before he disappeared. But when Sephiroth disappeared another form appeared in his place. A giant, monstrous shape, with hundreds of tentacles and horns. Zack leapt back, just missed a blow the creature had aimed at him.
"Everyone watch out!" he yelled. "It's a trap!"
