Edited as of 8/25/2016
Chapter Nine: Marked
Do you remember anything now?
"I really hate when you flirt with those women. It makes me feel like I don't belong with you. Like I'm not good enough for you." Aeris folded her hands in her lap, green eyes avoiding his face. "I understand; Tseng has told me about you, that you're a real 'ladies man', but I don't see how I fit. I'm not special or beautiful." One hand moved delicately from her lap to the flower basket beside her.
You seem to be getting worse with time.
Battlefields were never warm. There was a lingering scent of death to them, a scent of freedom snuffed out like a candle. Smoke billowed up from the trenches as the Shinra burned their dead. It was the one time that never changed from day to day, the cremating of the fallen SOLDIERs.
Grunts were not worthy of such an honor.
There was a moment of silence then the war-torn bodies glazed in kerosene would be lit.
The opposing side thought it was dirty.
I think a kid could do better than you. What do you think?
The room was dark and cold, the liquid from the glass spilled all over the floor, the glass scattered on the linoleum. There were red splotches in the corner of the small kitchen. A knife was lying haphazardly on the floor.
"I killed him," he whispered, fingers clenched.
"You didn't mean to," the second man stated, staring out at the blood-stained knife.
"Yes, I did." There was a moment of silence between the three men. "I did mean to."
"Don't feel sorry. I only wish I had done it myself. Get the bleach out from under the sink," the first ordered, his trained eyes never leaving the corpse.
"But.. fuck, I did it."
"Listen to him right now; this isn't something you're going to be able to deal with on your own. If we can get the body out of here then everything will be fine." A chaste kiss was placed on the horrified man's forehead. "It'll be fine."
The other kneeled, touching his fingers to the corpses neck.
"Is he...?"
"Dead?" he stated, wiping his fingers on the corpse's jacket. "Oh, I don't think you could have killed him any better, really."
"The end of the world is brought by the duel of the beasts. The Goddess shall fall from the darkest sky. Spreading her wings of light and darkness, she shall lead us to our paradise, along with her gift."
"Really, this isn't good time to be doing that."
I have to say, you are getting closer.
Zack woke with a headache. His mind was swimming with strange dreams that made no sense, memories he knew nothing of, feelings he'd never felt. His hands felt like they had held the entire world for an eternity.
The sun was rising from the east, coating the city of Midgar in a spectacular glow. There were so many scenes, all beautiful in their own way, but the look of Midgar in all of its polluted glory would be a haunting image in Zack's mind. The way the sun hit the clouds of grime turned the scene surreal, like the city was not a part of this world but the next. Surely ugly things could sometimes be considered beautiful, even coated by that foul light.
Tifa tugged down her skirt from where it had begun to hike up at the back. Her hair was mussed and dirt and grime ran in streaks down her face where perspiration had left its mark. Even looking like a warrior with bloodstains on her leather gloves, she still looked small.
"You ready to go?" she asked. "I thought we'd just stop for a little while but you kinda fell asleep. We need to get going or we won't get to the next town for a week."
Zack nodded. Tifa's words rang in his skull long after they had been spoken. She, the woman who had screamed of hatred toward Shinra, hatred toward Sephiroth, hatred toward himself, wasn't as strong as she made herself out to be. Still fragile, even if her fingers could crack bones and her legs could deal lethal kicks. She had killed dozens. nowhere near as many as he had, but she was afraid of losing the 'blue.'
'Blue'... what on the Planet was she talking about? Zack thought. He had never indicated that he thought of Cloud in such a way. It was Cloud, a twenty-one year old man stuck in a teenager's body with a personality to match. It was Cloud, someone who Zack was willing to lay down his life for, a boy who, insane at the time, had saved his closest friend from the same fate. Heroic Cloud.
Sure, I care about Cloud, but since when do I want to take him away from Tifa? Why would I do that? Cloud loves her, and I love Aeris. It's a simple as that.
"Yeah, we should get going soon," Zack responded as he stood, looking around. "Anyway, where's Aeris?"
Tifa touched her hair. "Er, I think she and Cloud are scouting for monsters."
The ex-SOLDIER jumped up, already reaching for his sword. "Which way?" He didn't mean to sound so worried.
The woman laughed. "Well, aren't you protective. They went north with Red. Don't worry about them. They aren't going to get eaten by any rogue beast."
Zack's violet gaze turned northward, eyes skimming the distance critically. "Hey, 'protective' is my middle name. Wouldn't be me without it, now would I?"
"That's for sure."
"You know, this walking is really boring," Cloud commented, scratching his head.
Zack continued to push forward, not looking behind. "Aw, I dragged your ass through this place. The least you could do is walk it. Has anybody dropped dead yet?"
A muffled reply came from Tifa, "So tired. Need water."
"Water. Food," Aeris answered. "Sleep."
Barret grunted.
Red, who was the only one besides Zack and Cloud who didn't look about to pass out, didn't say anything, but he was panting lightly.
"This has gotta suck for you. Your race doesn't have sweat glands, now do they?" Zack joked, jumping up a little. There hadn't been much talking - even teasing made some type of sound. The quiet, open road was haunting and… Cloud was right. It was boring.
Red glanced up. "Correct. Our race does not have said glands, thus we do not sweat."
"So what exactly is your race?" this was Cloud.
"We are a select few, a dying race. A mix between human and Gi, a neighboring tribe in Cosmo Canyon of ferocious monsters who took human women and men as their slaves. In my great country, we answer to nature. Our ways are very different from city dwellers." The red-furred beast took in a deep breath and let it out with a single pant. "Our race has dwindled... I am, as the Professor has stated, the last known of my kind."
The air was stagnant, heavy with the knowledge Red had just imparted on AVALANCHE.
Red sniffed the ground. "Oh, pity is one thing I need none of. You questioned and I answered. It isn't as important as you seem to think. Maybe I will end up mating with a human, and siring children. Probably not... The Gi race has ended and I... I am the last of their torturous deeds."
"So, you can have, you know, sex, with humans?" Tifa's voice was squeaky.
Zack snickered.
Red rolled his one good eye. "It isn't too hard to believe, is it? I don't ask you about your sexual encounters." Tifa had the decency to splutter an apology. Red continued, "Cross-species are nothing new, I might tell you. Aeris herself is a halfbreed. SOLDIERs are not completely human. Still, you do not consider your friend Zack a fiend. You should hold a belief that, even when one would look different than yourself, they are not different underneath. Blood should account for little in this world."
To prove a point, Barret snorted and said, "Yeah, an' your gramps ain't so differen', now is he?"
The red-furred beast growled, causing Zack to laugh. "Ignore big-head over there."
"'Big-head'? Wha' you talkin' 'bout, ya lil' punk? I'm the leader here and your ass better follow my rules."
Zack stopped walking, a small smile planted on his face. "You weren't voted in, Boss-man."
The rest of the travelers stopped. Aeris managed, "Zack's– huff– right– puff– need– huff– vote–"
"Votes?" Cloud questioned.
"Zack," Tifa mumbled.
"I wish to have no part of this," was Red's vote.
Aeris followed Tifa's example, "Zack," she said after taking in a few more deep breaths.
"Barret, I kinda think you lost." Zack took a few steps toward the older man, reaching to pat the man on the shoulder. "Do you take this as a graceful defeat?"
The AVALANCHE leader spat onto the ground. "Aw, shi'! Even you, Tif? Damn, gotta keep my cool; whateva', do what ya wan'. Don't come complainin' when Spiky gets your asses eaten by somethin'."
Kalm was a town in what seemed to be a far-away nation to Midgar. The outside of the town was fields of vegetation, a nearby river feeding fish into the town. It was one of the bigger towns considering the dozens of small villages nestled between each city. Housing thousands of people, it was the biggest place within a few hundred miles and a mountain range.
"This place is so small," Aeris smiled, putting her fingers to her lips.
Zack nodded. "Oh yeah, this place hasn't grown at all. Still got the Academy but otherwise... Still as small as it was back then."
"'Back then?'"
"Sephiroth," Cloud answered monotonously, his booted foot tapping on the ground, "The last time you were here it was because of Sephiroth, right? I want to know... I want to know what happened at Midgar. I want to know why the president was killed and what Sephiroth has to do with it."
"I agree wit' Chocobo-head. I wanna know what the fuck is goin' on 'round here. Fuckin' presidents dyin', swords shoved in people's backs, I don't know what to do anymore. You've all gone fuckin' quack on me."
"I know," Zack said softly, "I already have an idea. We better get to the Inn, I think it isn't too far away." He motioned to a rickety building a dozen or so meters away.
"You're going to tell us everything?"
"Yes, Tifa, I'll tell you guys whatever you want."
Sometimes, being Zack Fair sucks.
Cloud is going to hate me.
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