A Mutant's Revenge

by ShadowKitsune77

An AU fic about what would happen if Zack had survived. After being saved from a grizzly fate, he was captured by the Shinra and endured further experiments at the hands of Hojo which scared him for life.

14. Meteor has Come

Chapter 14: Meteor Has Arrived

Chapter 14: Meteor Has Come

Just a warning before hand, this chapter does contain jokes of a sexual nature.

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"What happened…I don't remember anything beyond Weapon attacking…" Zack thought to himself as he looked around to find nothing but black. "What's going on? Everything's dark…I can't see anything…" Zack continued to scan his surroundings as he squinted in the hopes that he could see something, pricked his ears up so that he could hear something, anything had to be better than the eerie silence he was going through right now. The only sound he could hear was his own ragged breathing as his thoughts drifted to his friends in particular Aerith.

"Aerith!" Zack tried to yell out but for some strange reason his voice was muffled, in fact he wasn't sure if he had actually spoken out loud at all. "Aerith! Where are you?!" Zack let out another muffled yell as he looked around much more frantically for any hint of pink among this black void. "Aerith! Please answer me! Give me a sign that you're here! Give me a sign that I'm not alone!"

For a while there was no answer, no other voice, no one else was there, it was just Zack and not for the first time in his life he began to feel frightened. Zack sat down on the invisible floor, he lifted his legs up and rested his head in his knees and closed his eyes as he waited for his fate. "Zack…" A familiar voice suddenly spoke up causing Zack to suddenly lift his head up.

"Huh…" He uttered as he quickly got to his feet and looked around for the source of the voice. "Who's there?!" He called out.

"Zack…" The voice spoke again, Zack turned to his left and he saw Aerith in the distance.

"Aerith…" Zack whispered the woman's name as he rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't dreaming, "Aerith!" Zack called out the woman's name much louder this time as he was certain he was seeing her and he started to run towards her.

"Zack…" Aerith called his name out a third time.

"Hang on Aerith! I'm coming!" Zack yelled as he continued to run towards her but every time he got closer to Aerith the further away she seemed to slip. "Aerith!" Zack desperately called out to the woman as she drifted further away from him. "Please…don't leave me…"

"Wake up Zack…" Aerith whispered as she disappeared her words continued to echo in Zack's mind as he stopped running and fell to his knees and he yelled as loud as he could as he could no longer bear his anguish.

"Wake up…"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Zack screamed as he suddenly sat up dripping in sweat and breathing deeply.

"Take it easy," a familiar voice whispered to Zack, "you were having a nightmare."

Zack opened his eyes and turned his head to the right and he saw Aerith kneeling beside him dabbing a damp cloth on his forehead. "Aerith…" Zack uttered weakly as he squinted to get a better look at her.

"Yeah," Aerith answered as she continued to wipe dab Zack's head with the cloth.

Zack moaned slightly as he lifted his hand up and stroked the side of Aerith's face. "This is real…" he whispered as he smiled weakly. "I'm not going mad…" Zack withdrew his hand and tried to stand up but he stumbled slightly, however Aerith caught him.

"Easy…" The Cetra whispered to him as she continued to support him. "Take it a small step at a time ok."

"Ok," Zack replied as he let Aerith help him up, he slowly walked to the other side of the room with Aerith supporting him. Aerith helped him over to an uncomfortable looking bed and Zack slowly sat down on it his head flopped down as Aerith let go of him. "Uuuuuuhhhh…" Zack moaned again as he weakly lifted his head up and looked around, "where are we?" He asked as he started intently at Aerith.

"We're in the Shinra base in Junon," Aerith answered as she knelt down beside Zack. "We're in the lab area."

"Lab…" Zack repeated what Aerith said, "that can't be good."

"I know," Aerith agreed.

"How long was I out for?" Zack questioned not taking his eyes off Aerith.

"Three days," came the reply.

"What about our friends, the Meteor situation…" Zack continued to question Aerith as he stood up again.

"Easy…" Aerith said again as she eased Zack back on to the bed, "you need to regain your strength. I'm not sure where everyone else is and I don't know whether Meteor has arrived yet. We've been stuck in this room for three days no one has told me anything, besides, my only concern was you."

"Really…" Zack quizzed as he looked back at Aerith.

"Yeah," Aerith replied as she knelt down beside him again. "I thought you'd never wake up, I was so scared." Aerith admitted as she hung her head sadly.

"Hey…come on," Zack reassured the Cetra as he placed his hand under Aerith's chin and lifted her head up so that she was looking at him. "It's gonna take more than a giant monster to kill me."

"You were unconscious for three days…" Aerith reminded him, "I thought I was going to lose you."

"I know…" Zack stated sadly he then took a closer look at Aerith and noticed something he hadn't before. "Aerith…you're…in your…underwear…" Zack uttered as he pointed at Aerith who was wearing pink knickers and a matching pink bra.

"You are too," Aerith stated as she pointed at Zack.

"What?" Zack questioned as he suddenly leapt to his feet and looked down at himself to see that he was wearing nothing but a pair of black boxers. "I'm…in my boxers…and…" he looked at himself again and he saw that his skin colour was no longer purple, he looked behind him and he saw that his wings and tail were no longer there. "I'm…I'm human again…" He uttered hardly daring to believe what he was seeing, he then started to laugh and grabbed Aerith by the hand before he started dancing round the cell with her. "Can you believe it Aerith?!" He yelled excitedly as he swung Aerith round, "I'm me again!"

"I know," Aerith stated just as excitedly, "it happened while you were unconscious," she started to explain "one minute you were in your drag human form and the next, you reverted."

"Maybe I was shocked out of that form," Zack theorised as he stopped dancing, he wrapped both his arms round Aerith and brought her closer to him. "I don't care how it happened, I'm just glad to be human again!"

"I'd have loved you no matter what you looked like," Aerith whispered in Zack's ear.

"I know," Zack replied, "you look hot in your underwear," Zack stated as he smirked at Aerith.

"Oh you…" Aerith uttered as she hit Zack in the chest, Zack just laughed at her.

His laughter was cut short as the cell door opened with a loud creaking sound, Zack quickly released Aerith and they both turned round to see that Hojo had entered the room flanked by two guards. "Aaaaaaahhhhh…so you're awake…" Hojo commented as he walked closer to his captives.

"Hojo…" Zack uttered as he stared at the man that was walking towards him and Aerith, the man that had ruined so many lives. "I should've known."

"Let me take a look at you," the scientist replied as he started to pace round Zack. Hojo began to look Zack up and down and lifted the man's arms up so he could examine them, Zack let out a small gasp as Hojo prodded Zack's back with his pen. "Your injuries are healing up nicely," Hojo remarked as he made notes.

"Touch me again and I'll break every bone in your pathetic little body…" Zack whispered menacingly as he flexed his muscles. Hojo's guards were quick to react and they pointed their guns at Zack.

"I wouldn't threaten me if I were you," Hojo stated calmly as his guards continued to point their guns at Zack. "These guards were ordered to protect me from you, of course you are a valuable specimen and I'd hate for you to come to any harm so I'd just be a good experiment and obey me."

Zack glared at Hojo and a low growl escaped his throat, but he knew that Hojo was right, if he tried anything the guards would surely kill him. Zack sighed as his arms fell back down to his sides, "alright…I'll do what you say."

"A wise choice," Hojo replied with a smirk, "I see you've reverted back to your human form…almost…" Hojo remarked.

"Almost…what do you mean almost?" Zack questioned the professor.

Hojo took a small mirror out of his pocket and held it out in front of him, "see for yourself," was all he said.

Zack took the mirror from Hojo and looked into it and he was shocked to discover that his eyes were still yellow and his pupils were still black slits. "What the…" Zack uttered hardly daring to believe it, "my eyes…they're still…animal like…" Zack opened his mouth slightly and he saw two small fangs. "I still have fangs…"

Hojo laughed evilly, "It would seem that you have still kept some of your drag human traits," Hojo explained as he paced round the room. "You will never be normal again."

"Why are you doing this?!" Zack demanded, "what else could you possibly do to me?!"

"I want to create the perfect soldier," Hojo answered as he stopped and stared at Zack. "You and your girlfriend are going to help me."

Aerith stepped out from behind Zack and walked up to Hojo, "what are you going to do to us?!" She demanded as she stared at Hojo a hint of fear in gaze.

"I'm planning on breeding you and the mutant," Hojo explained placing more emphasis on the word mutant and smirking at Zack causing him to glare at the scientist. "By getting you both to mate I will be creating the ultimate super soldier, one with both Cetra and dragon abilities."

"Breed…mate…" Zack uttered as he bared his teeth at Hojo, "we're not just some animals in a zoo!"

"My boy, that's exactly what you are," Hojo stated coldly.

"I'm not gonna…it's not right…" Zack continued to utter as he glared at Hojo in disgust.

"You won't be able to help yourself and neither would your girlfriend," Hojo replied, "well, I better get a move on you two have a lot of work to do." Hojo laughed evilly as he said this, his guards also laughed as they along with Hojo left the room, Hojo took a remote out of his pocket and pushed a button on it before leaving the cell and his guards closed the door.

Aerith began to pace round the room, "he's planning on breeding us…" Aerith uttered in panic as she continued to pace round the room. "I didn't want my first time to be like this."

"Neither did I," Zack agreed as he tried to remain calm. "I was actually picturing something a little more romant…" Zack stopped in mid-sentence as he suddenly sniffed up and smelt something. "Aerith…Do you smell that?" He asked as he continued to sniff.

"Yeah," Aerith answered as she too sniffed up, "but what is it?"

"Hmmm…" Zack uttered as he sniffed up again, "it smells like fish…I think it's…" Zack sighed as he realised what the smell was. "Hormones, male and female mixed together," he answered.

"How can you tell?" Aerith asked.

"Well, I think the male one is mine, I recognise the smell," Zack answered as he sniffed again.

"So the female one must be mine…" Aerith stated, "I don't understand, why is Hojo pumping our hormones into the room?"

"Better yet, how did he get them?" Zack questioned.

"He must've taken samples from us at some point," Aerith stated.

"Hojo's been touching me…" Zack uttered slowly as his body shuddered at the thought, "he's pumping our own hormones into the room to get us in the mood so that we'd actually…damn…" Zack suddenly cursed as he looked down and quickly placed his hands over his lower regions.

Aerith turned round and saw him, "what's wrong?" She asked her voice was filled with concern.

"Aerith…errr…I'm in a bit of an awkward situation here…" Zack answered as he gave her a nervous stare, "I can't tell you what it is because it's a little embarrassing…"

"I'm sure it's not that bad…" Aerith stated, Zack sighed before removing his hands, Aerith saw his embarrassing situation. "Oh…right…now I see…"

"I know…" Zack uttered still embarrassed as he placed his hands back over his lower regions. He then noticed something about Aerith, "errr…Aerith…I think the errr…hormones are affecting you even though you don't want them to."

"What do you mean?" Aerith demanded as she stared at Zack wanting to know what was going on. Zack pointed at Aerith's chest area, she looked down. "Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!" She yelped as she quickly placed her arms over her chest area completely covering it. Aerith looked back up at Zack and she saw that he was staring at her completely transfixed on her chest. "What?" She asked.

"I'm just lookin'…" Zack answered in a slow voice like he was in some sort of trance.

"At what?" Aerith questioned.

"At you…" Zack replied still in that trance like voice.

"Zack…my face is up here," Aerith stated a hint of annoyance in her voice as she pointed to her face.

"I'll just be a minute…" Zack responded in that same dreamy like voice as he waved a finger at Aerith. "Man…I can definitely tell you're a flower girl," Zack continued not taking his eyes off Aerith's chest area. "You've grown some big flowers over the years…"

Aerith scowled at Zack before slapping him hard across the face, "snap out of it Zack!" Aerith screamed at the man.

"Ouch!" Zack yelled in pain as he snapped out of his trance like state and held his face where Aerith had slapped him. "That hurt…" Zack uttered pathetically as he gave Aerith the puppy dog look.

"We need to think of a way out of this," Aerith told Zack trying to keep him focused, "and you're not helping a bit."

"Ok, ok," Zack responded as he threw his hands in the air. "I'll think of a way out…" He stated as he paced round the room and began to tap the walls. "Well, busting out of here is a no go," he told Aerith.

"Why's that?" Aerith asked.

"The wall is made out of reinforced titanium," Zack answered as he tapped the wall again. "My drag human form wouldn't be able to break out of this cell, Hojo's made sure of that."

"So how do we get out of here?" Aerith questioned still covering her chest.

"I'm thinking…" Zack answered, but he couldn't think properly as the hormones were starting to seriously affect him. "Shit!" Zack cursed loudly as he banged his head on the wall, "why…is it…so…hard…to come up…with…a plan…to get…out of here…" Zack muttered in between bangs, the uncomfortable feeling between his legs began to get worse. With a sigh, Zack pushed himself off the wall and walked back over to Aerith, he stood behind her and wrapped his arms round her. "You know…" Zack started to suggest the hormones having more and more of an affect on him. "Meteor could be here anytime soon and we may not get another opportunity so…"

"Zack stay focused!" Aerith snapped quickly interrupting Zack, "We can't give Hojo the satisfaction…"

"What about our satisfaction?" Zack questioned.

"Zack…please keep it under control…" Aerith begged her boyfriend, "We just have to hold out long enough to be rescued."

The two suddenly heard the sound of footsteps down the corridor, "that's probably Hojo," Zack stated, "coming to check up on us no doubt…" Zack sighed, "No privacy…"

Aerith stared at Zack in shock before she suddenly grinned, "Zack…I think I have an idea."

"Oooooooo…do tell," Zack replied intrigued.

"I don't think even Hojo would come into the cell while the hormones are circulating round the room," Aerith answered, "he'd probably just look in from the outside, so what if we just gave him the impression that we're actually…"

"When we're really not," Zack finished Aerith's sentence before grinning. "I love it when you talk dirty."

Aerith smirked before turning round and wrapping her arms round Zack's neck, "enough talk…" Aerith whispered in Zack's ear as the hormones started to affect her more. She suddenly kissed Zack passionately on the lips, Zack moaned as he passionately kissed her back. Aerith's arms moved slowly towards Zack's back and began to stroke his shoulder blades. Zack let out another moan of pleasure before two slits on his shoulder blades opened and his purple dragon wings emerged out of his back and wrapped themselves round Zack and Aerith. (A/N, even though Zack is in his human form at the moment he still has some dragon traits like the eyes and the fangs. Also his wings haven't disappeared when he reverted back to a human but they retracted into his back and two slits had formed on his shoulder blades. Zack can still fly and use other abilities like invisibility and shooting fire, ice etc out of his hands.) Aerith let out a pleasured moan as she started to drag Zack towards the cell door.

Meanwhile Hojo was outside in the corridor talking on a mobile phone, "yes I need a brain chip that can brainwash an experiment," Hojo spoke down the phone. "How soon can it be delivered?"

"It will take three days," the person on the other side of the phone answered.

"Three days…" Hojo repeated what he heard, "I don't have that much time!" Hojo yelled down the phone.

"Sir if you can just…" the person on the other phone started to say in an attempt to calm Hojo down.

"Do you know who I am?!" Hojo demanded interrupting the person, "I am Professor Hojo, the Head of Shinra's Science Development!"

"Professor, there's nothing I can do, the brain chip will be delivered in three days, I can't make it go any faster."

"Fine!" Hojo snapped, "but it had better be here!" Hojo hung up on the phone, "insolent fool…" he muttered to himself as he walked down the corridor. He could hear the sound of moaning coming from of the cells, "hmmm…" Hojo uttered as the moans grew louder, Hojo walked to the cell at the end of the corridor just in time to see the back of Aerith's hand hit the fogged up glass window on the door before sliding back down out of sight. Hojo smiled when he saw this, "the hormones must be working," he stated before turning round and walking off. (A/N, this is a parody of a part of the film Titanic where Jack and Rose were kissing in a car and Rose's hand hit the misted window and slid down. I don't own Titanic it belongs to its respective owner.)

Back in the cell Zack and Aerith heard that Hojo's footsteps were disappearing before they were eventually gone. As soon as Hojo had gone Zack and Aerith stopped kissing and smirked at each other. "I can't believe he bought it," Zack stated as he tried hard not to laugh. "I can't believe you came up with the idea."

Aerith grinned back, "I can't believe it worked," Aerith stated, she too tried hard not to laugh.

"But it did," Zack stated, "and it bought us some time, we can find a way out of here."

"But we don't know how to get out of here, the walls are made of reinforced titanium, remember?" Aerith reminded Zack.

"I know," Zack replied, "I just hope some of the others managed to escape."

"I'm sure they have, we just have to have hope," Aerith reassured Zack before yawning.

"I think we should get some sleep," Zack stated as Aerith walked over to the wall at the far side of the cell and sat down. Zack followed her and sat down next to her for a while before yawning himself, Aerith lay down and yawned again as she became more tired. Zack took one last look at her before lying down, he wrapped his wings round them both to help keep them both warm and he wrapped his arms round Aerith.

Aerith smiled as she lifted her head up slightly and saw Zack lying next to her, "thanks Zack," she stated gratefully.

"You're welcome," Zack replied, "my wings will keep safe and warm."

"I know," Aerith responded, "I'll always be safe with you around, night Zack."

"Night Aerith," Zack said back as he kissed her on the lips before the two of them fell asleep. Zack smiled in his sleep, he wasn't really sure why he was smiling especially in his current situation. But he knew that as long as he and Aerith were together Hojo couldn't break him so easily, little did Zack know was that Hojo was planning to finish what he had started.

The next three days were exactly the same as far as Zack and Aerith were concerned, each morning the guards entered their cells to bring them food. It was only basic food and wasn't exactly tasty but Zack and Aerith reluctantly ate it. Hojo often came by several times a day to check on their on their progress as Zack and Aerith found it harder and harder to fight their urges each day and they realised that if they didn't have a means of escape soon that they would eventually have no choice but to give in to what Hojo wanted them to do.

After those three days it had been exactly a week since the events that had taken place in Whirlwind Maze and since Zack and Aerith were held captive and there were several Shinra guards patrolling the prison area where Zack and Aerith were being held. The guards were so busy patrolling the area that they didn't even notice someone moving around in the shadows. The mysterious person continued to move through the shadows taking great care not to be caught by the guards. As the person got closer to Zack and Aerith's cell they could hear two guards talking.

"Why are we always on guard duty?" One of the guards complained as he stopped pacing round.

"Would you rather be on the frontline?" His comrade questioned him.

"No," the first guard answered, "but I don't want to spend my whole career doing guard duty."

"I think you should keep your head down and get to work before you get fired," his comrade replied growing more and more irritated. "This is what we're paid to do."

"I know, I know," the first guard stated with a sigh. The two guards were so busy arguing that they didn't see a gun barrel peering out of the shadows until two gunshots rang and the two guards dropped to the floor dead with a single bullet hole in the centre of their heads.

The gun withdrew back into the shadows and the wielder of the gun stepped out of the shadows to reveal Vincent. Vincent twirled the gun round twice in his hand before putting it back in its holster. He walked over to the two guards and began to search them until he found the card key to the cell door. Vincent then calmly stepped over the guards' bodies and walked over to Zack and Aerith's cell and placed the card key into the card reader. The card reader bleeped and the red lights flashed green as the cell door opened, Vincent stepped into the cell and saw Zack and Aerith lay on the floor at the far side of the cell asleep, Zack's wings were wrapped round the two of them to keep them warm. Vincent walked up to the two and knelt down beside Zack and gently shook him. "Zack…" Vincent whispered into the man's ear as he continued to shake him. "Wake up…"

"Uuuuuuuhhhhh…huh…" Zack moaned as he began to stir, he opened his eyes and turned round to see Vincent kneeling beside him. "Vincent!" Zack exclaimed excitedly, "Am I glad to…" The rest of Zack's sentence was muffled as Vincent placed his hand over Zack's mouth to keep him quiet.

"Ssssssssshhhhhh…you don't want to attract anymore guards do you?" Vincent asked in a hushed tone as Zack shook his head. "Good, I've come to rescue you both, wake Aerith up so we can get out of here."

Zack nodded and Vincent released him, Zack sat up slightly and turned round to face Aerith, he began to shake her gently. "Aerith…" Zack whispered in the Cetra's ear, "Wake up…"

"Uuuuuhhhh…" Aerith moaned as her eyes fluttered open, she looked up and saw Zack sat over her. "Zack…" she whispered, "why did you wake me up?"

"Vincent's here," Zack answered as he pointed to the dark man next to him. "He's come to bust us out."

"Really…" Aerith uttered as she quickly sat up, "are we glad to see you Vincent."

"Likewise," Vincent responded as he stood up. "We must hurry, more guards could be here any minute we must make our escape."

Zack quickly stood up and helped Aerith to her feet, Zack retracted his wings into his back before he, Aerith and Vincent ran out of the cell. "How did you get here?" Zack questioned as the three ran through the corridor, Zack and Aerith were finding awkward to be running around in their underwear.

"Me and Yuffie managed to escape and jump off the Highwind before it reached Junon," Vincent answered as he, Zack and Aerith ran round the corner and down the next corridor. "We formulated a plan to get into the city undetected, Yuffie is in the city right now trying to find the others."

"I hope she doesn't get caught," Aerith uttered clasping her hands together as she ran.

"Don't worry about Yuffie," Vincent reassured the brown haired woman. "She's a master of disguise…apparently…"

Zack snickered when he heard that but he stopped when Aerith scowled at him. "What about the others?" Zack asked his expression suddenly serious.

"Most likely still in Shinra custody," Vincent answered gravely. "It took me a while just to find you two, Yuffie said that she would find the others."

"Are you sure that's wise?" Zack asked.

"No," Vincent stated truthfully, "but she's part of the team and we must trust her."

"Do you like her or something Vincent?" Aerith enquired as she smiled at him.

Vincent turned his head round and glared at Aerith, "no…" he lied through his teeth.

Aerith just gave Vincent a knowing look, "you're not a very good liar Vincent." She merely stated seeing through Vincent's lie.

Vincent just glared at her, "this isn't the time nor the place to discuss my love life!" He snapped, "we have more important things to worry about, like finding clothes for you two."

"Don't try to change the subject Vince," Zack admonished playfully causing the dark man to glare at him. "Ok, ok…if my memory serves me right they normally keep their prisoners' equipment in a storage room." Zack informed Aerith and Vincent as they ran round the corner and saw an elevator. "Which is probably the next floor up," Zack stated as they got to the elevator and pushed the button. After a few seconds the elevator arrived and Zack, Vincent and Aerith got inside.

Fortunately there was no one in the elevator so there was no risk of them getting caught. The elevator made a dinging sound as it reached its destination, Zack, Vincent and Aerith stepped out of it and ran down the corridor being careful not to alert any guards. They eventually reached the storage room, Vincent looked at the cardkey reader before taking his gun out and shooting it, the cardkey reader bleeped as it was being continually pumped with bullets and the door it was connected to opened. Zack and Aerith ran into the room but Vincent stayed outside, "I'll stand guard," Vincent told them as he stood outside the door and kept a look out for the guards.

"Ok," Zack and Aerith responded in perfect unison as they began to look around for their clothing and equipment.

After a few minutes Aerith eventually found her pink dress, boots and jacket, "I never thought I'd see my clothes again," Aerith stated as she started to get dressed.

"Lucky for some…" Zack muttered under his breath as he continued to search for his clothes, but alas he found nothing. He walked over to one of the lockers on the far side of the room and using his dragon strength he ripped the door clean off and he gasped when he saw what was inside. "I can't believe it…"

"What?" Aerith asked as she walked up to Zack fully clothed.

"I can't believe it's still here," Zack answered as he pulled the object out of the locker to reveal a black sleeveless shirt with a golden dragon head broach on the left hand side. Black baggy trousers that were very similar to the trousers in Zack's old SOLDIER uniform, connected to the trousers was a black leather belt with a golden dragon head belt buckle in the middle. There were also some smaller belts which looked like they held a sword sheath in place, connected to the back of the trousers was what looked like a black cape trimmed with gold and decorated with a gold dragon head. Zack reached into the locker and pulled out a pair of jet black elbow length gloves which were buckled all the way down the glove up to the hands and a pair of black buckled boots. (A/N, I know this looks very similar to Cloud's Advent Children outfit but there are some differences, such as the dragon heads and the numerous belts.) "I thought they got rid of this."

"What's it doing here then?" Aerith questioned as she stared at the outfit that Zack was holding.

"They confiscated it because they said it wasn't appropriate," Zack answered. "Not that it matters now, ok, do you mind looking the other way?"

"You don't need to be shy in front of me," Aerith stated as she gave Zack a playful grin.

"Aerith!" Zack yelled as he scowled at the woman.

"Ok, ok…" Aerith stated quickly and defensively, "I won't look…" Aerith turned away and Zack was able to get dressed.

"You can look now," Zack told the Cetra, she turned round and saw that Zack was fully dressed in his new outfit.

"Wow…you look so sexy in that outfit," Aerith remarked as she gave Zack a flirtatious grin.

Zack grinned back, "thanks," he replied gratefully, "we just need to find our weapons now." Zack and Aerith walked towards the weapon area of the storage room after much searching Aerith eventually found her staff.

"I've found my weapon," Aerith informed Zack as she swung her staff round once. "Did you find anything?" She asked as she turned round to look at Zack.

"Nothing yet," Zack told Aerith as he searched through all the swords. He saw all kinds of swords that were either stored or confiscated from prisoners over the years. There were broadswords, long swords, short swords, daggers, even chainblades. Zack continued to examine the swords until he saw a katana, "ah ha!" he yelled triumphantly as he grabbed the katana from the shelf and connected the sheath with the katana inside it to the small belts that were connected to the main belt round his waist.

"You can use a katana…" Aerith asked as she gave Zack a questioning look.

Zack nodded as he looked up at Aerith, "all SOLDIERs are taught different sword techniques," Zack answered, "it's part of the basic training, besides, Cloud has my sword."

"I know," Aerith stated as she gave Zack an amused smile. "But doesn't Sephiroth use a katana?"

Yes, but knowing your enemy's style doesn't do any harm," Zack explained.

"When you're quite finished…" Vincent called out to them, "we have to get out of here before the guards figure out that you've escaped."

"Sorry Vincent," Aerith apologised as she and Zack left the storage room and ran down the corridor. They had just made their way to a flight of stairs at the end of the corridor as an alarm suddenly rang out. "What was that?!" Aerith asked in a panicked tone as she got closer to Zack.

Several SOLDIERs and guards were running round the facility barking orders and getting their weapons together. "Weapon is attacking!" A voice boomed down the intercom, "all SOLDIERs prepare for battle!"

"Weapon…" Zack whispered as he looked back at his two companions.

"Remember those monsters we saw at the Northern Crater," Vincent asked, Zack nodded in response. "One of them must've made their way to Junon, the Shinra are on high alert right now."

"With the SOLDIERs being distracted with Weapon, we can get out of here no problem," Zack stated. "Let's go," he told his two companions and they ran up the stairs.

After several flights of stairs they came across a door, Zack pushed it open and the group stepped out to find that they were in the city of Junon itself. "We're in the city…" Aerith uttered as she looked around the three of them found themselves instinctively looking up at the sky. "Meteor…" Aerith uttered as she continued to stare at the giant ball of death in the sky.

"It's here…" Zack added as he too continued to look up at the ball. "We really are doomed…"

"It isn't over, till it's over." Vincent uttered calmly.

Aerith and Zack both stared at him, "how can you be so calm at a time like this?" Aerith questioned.

"When you've been through as much as I have the only thing you can do is remain calm," Vincent answered.

Zack was about to respond but he didn't get chance as he heard screams, the group looked around and saw numerous civilians running round and screaming in panic. "Weapon must be getting really close…" Zack stated as a woman with two young children ran passed them. The ground suddenly shook and Zack had to quickly grab Aerith so that she wouldn't fall over, Aerith smiled up at Zack before she, Zack and Vincent looked up and saw a powerful beam shoot out of the giant Mako cannon and zoom across the sea and explode as it impacted against something.

For a while time seemed to stand still, no one dared to speak or move as they wondered whether Weapon was dead. A few seconds later however the alarm sounded again, "what's happening?!" Aerith asked in a panicky tone as the citizens resumed running round in panic.

"I think…Weapon's still alive…" Zack stated as he tried to hide the panic in his voice, the ground shook again but much more fiercely this time as Weapon approached Junon at a great speed.

"The cannon should've…" Aerith uttered as she found it hard to speak.

"The cannon runs off Mako," Zack began to explain, he folded his arms as he continued to look out at sea. "It's the most powerful weapon in the world, Weapon's armour must be extremely thick for it to survive that blast."

"That cannon runs off Mako…" Aerith continued to utter, "as in the stuff that's killing the planet…"

"Oh no…Meteor will do that…" Zack stated semi-sarcastically, Aerith scowled at him.

"But…they can fire it again…right?" Aerith asked the ex SOLDIER.

Zack shook his head, "the cannon needs time to recharge," he explained still with his arms folded. "But at the speed Weapon's moving by the time the cannon's fully recharged, it will already be too late."

"Until then they will be using ordinary weaponry to combat Weapon," Vincent added, the three then watched in silence as several turrets and SOLDIERs wielding rocket launchers opened fire at the fast approaching Weapon. However, the bullets and rockets either missed Weapon entirely or they didn't faze it, Aerith, Zack and Vincent braced themselves as the ground shook again much more fiercely as a giant blue squid like creature smashed itself into the edge of the city before submerging. A few seconds later Weapon resurfaced and removed its head armour to reveal a monstrous blue face with glaring yellow eyes, the monster opened its mouth and shot a beam out of it making a hole in the roof of one of the buildings. Weapon opened its mouth again ready to fire another beam but the Mako cannon had fully recharged and another beam shot out of the cannon and exploded as it hit Weapon's face. When the smoke had cleared Zack, Aerith and Vincent saw much to their horror that Weapon's head was blown clean off, green blood oozed out of the gaping hole where its head used to be before Weapon permanently submerged.

"Did you see that?" Aerith questioned as she looked from Zack to Vincent.

"Yeah," Zack answered, "that's one Weapon down and another four to go including the one that attacked me."

Vincent shook his head and rolled his eyes as he heard that but before he could respond the group could hear several guns clicking as they found themselves surrounded by several Shinra guards. "There they are!" The commander shouted as he pointed at the group, "they're with Avalanche! Arrest them!"

The guards started to advance on the group their fingers were quivering on the trigger, the guards were so focused on their prisoners that they didn't even notice that Zack had moved. Zack moved from guard to guard slashing at them with his new katana, Zack then skidded to a stop and smirked before sheathing the katana. As soon as the katana was sheathed all the guards' wounds opened up at once and they all fell to the floor dead. (A/N, the move that Zack used is a katana technique called Quick Draw, the style involves moving from opponent to opponent and slashing them with the katana before sheathing it. Once the katana is sheathed all the wounds open up and the opponents die.) Zack looked down and smirked at the dead bodies, "huh…no wonder Sephiroth likes using a katana so much…" he remarked as he walked back over to Aerith and Vincent.

"You're not going to go insane on us are you?" Aerith asked as she gave Zack a worried look.

"Sephiroth went insane because of a lie," Zack answered. "I'm not gonna go insane because I killed a few guards that probably would've killed us if they had the chance. Not bloody likely considering they were just crappy guards who would've been better off sticking with guard duty and I am a highly skilled ex SOLDIER…it wasn't a fair fight." Zack added as an after thought.

Vincent sighed, "let's just get out of here before it starts to get to your head," Vincent stated. The three moved away from the sea and made their way through the city being careful to stick to the back alleys to avoid suspicion.

As they passed one street, Zack saw a young kid that he instantly recognised. The kid turned round and saw Zack before giving him and evil stare, it began to look around for something and gave Zack a disappointed look as it realised that something was missing. "Ha!" Zack laughed out loud and did a little victory dance as he saw the look of disappointment on the kid's face. "Joke's on you! "I don't have my tail anymore!" He continued to yell at the kid as he slapped his ass for emphasis.

Aerith shook her head at him, "did you have to slap your ass in public."

Zack just stared at her, "Aerith…we could be days away from impending doom!" Zack responded dramatically as he pointed at Meteor. "So please…let me have my moment of unspoilt gloating." Aerith and Vincent both sighed and rolled their eyes before Aerith grabbed Zack by the ear and started to drag him off. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" Zack yelled in pain as Aerith continued to drag him off.

"I think it's starting to get to your head," Aerith stated a little irritably as she dragged Zack to another alley. Vincent shook his head again and chuckled quietly to himself before following them.

As soon as they were in the next alley Aerith released Zack, "what did you do that for?" Zack demanded as he rubbed his ear.

"You were making a scene," Aerith answered as she jabbed a finger in Zack's chest. "Do you want us to get caught again?"

Zack shook his head, "no…" he answered, he then looked around saw that Vincent was nowhere to be seen. "Where's Vincent?" He asked.

"I'm here," came a reply as Vincent suddenly appeared next to Zack and Aerith.

"Do you have to do that?" Zack complained as he scowled at Vincent, "it really creeps me out."

"Let's just get out of here before we get caught," Vincent quickly changed the subject as he crept to the edge of the alley and looked around. "The airport isn't too far from here," he stated as he continued to search the area for any guards. "If we stick to the alleys and don't make any noise we should be able to get to the airport without being detected."

Vincent continued to scan the area for a few more seconds before gesturing for Zack and Aerith to move on. The three crept through several more alleys being careful to avoid the main street and they soon entered a building that looked very familiar to Aerith and Zack. "Hey, this is the area we came to so that we could disguise ourselves so that we were able to get on the ship to the other side." Aerith stated as she remembered that occasion well.

"Yeah…" Zack muttered quietly as he folded his arms, "it was also the time when I was shoved into that crate…and you still need to make it up to me…" Zack reminded Aerith of the promise she had made him.

"Let's just try to save the world from Meteor first," Aerith reminded him of the ball of impending death above their heads. "Then I'll make it up to you."

"Ok," Zack stated happily as he wrapped his arms round Aerith's waist.

"Ehem…" Vincent cleared his throat causing Zack to quickly release Aerith and both of them turned round to look at the dark man. "When you're quite finished…"

"Sorry Vincent," Aerith apologised, "come on, let's get out of here." The three ran down the corridor and hid in the shadows just as some Shinra guards ran out of the locker room. As soon as the coast was clear Zack, Aerith and Vincent ran round the corner and ran outside to find themselves at the airport. Everyone looked around trying to figure out where to go next.

"Now where do we go?" Zack asked as he looked around, "I don't really see any way out."

The three continued to look around, Aerith looked straight ahead of her and saw three people stood near the Highwind. "Look, there's people over there!" Aerith shouted as she pointed towards the Highwind, Zack and Vincent looked in the direction Aerith was pointing in. Aerith squinted so that she could see the people more clearly and she instantly recognised them. "It's Barret, Yuffie and Cait Sith!" She exclaimed excitedly, "they're ok!" Aerith started to run towards the Highwind, Vincent and Zack followed slightly behind her.

At the Highwind, Barret and Yuffie were panting heavily as they tried to get their breath back. Cait Sith was sat on Barret's shoulder. "You sure this is the right way?" Barret asked the cybernetic cat as he looked to his right at him. "It's a dead end..."

"Errrr…" Cait Sith started to utter as he tried to think of what to say. "Did I make a wrong turn?" He asked as he gave Barret a nervous stare.

Barret growled under his breath as he grabbed Cait Sith and shook him violently, "you mother fuckin' good for nothin' fuzz bag!" Barret yelled as he continued to shake Cait Sith, "what the hell are we gonna do now?! They'll all be comin' soon!"

"So there was a little snag in the plan…" Cait Sith uttered his voice vibrating slightly due to him being constantly shaken by Barret. "It's nothing we can't fix."

"So fix it then! Or I'll fix you!" Barret threatened the cybernetic cat, "and by fix I mean tear ya apart limb from limb!"

"Please don't…" Cait Sith begged, Barret just grunted before dropping Cait Sith on the ground.

Yuffie sighed to herself as she looked around for any guards, she saw three people running towards them. "Someone's coming!" She yelled as she pointed at the three people running towards them causing Barret and Cait Sith to look in the direction she was pointing in.

"Enemies…" Barret questioned.

"I don't think so," Yuffie answered.

"Barret, Yuffie, Cait Sith!" A familiar voice called out to them.

"It's Aerith, Vincent and some guy!" Yuffie exclaimed as Aerith and Vincent stopped in front of them.

"Thank goodness you're ok," Aerith stated happily as she smiled at her friends.

Barret then saw a third person stop next to them, he walked up to the man and pointed his gun arm at the man's head. "Who the hell are you?!" He demanded not removing the barrel of his gun arm from the man's head.

"Whoa hey relax Barret, it's me Zack." Zack told Barret as he stared nervously at the gun arm.

Barret eyed Zack suspiciously, "you don't look like Zack," he stated sceptically as he continued to point his gun arm at Zack.

"It is Zack!" Aerith exclaimed in a panicky voice as she grabbed hold of Barret's arm and tried to get the man to lower his gun arm. "He just figured out how to become human again that's all."

Barret, Yuffie and Cait Sith stared at Zack for a moment before smiling, "so where have you been?" Yuffie demanded as she folded her arms.

"You don't want to know," Zack answered a little sadly.

"Wait a minute," Barret spoke up, "you look similar to that guy we saw in those illusions that Sephiroth was showin' us."

Zack was about to respond but he heard several clicking sounds, the group looked around and saw themselves being surrounded by Shinra guards. "That's as far as you go!" The commander yelled at the group as the guards continued to point their guns at the group. "Attack!" The group merely smirked at each other as they readied their weapons and got into fighting stances.

---

Meanwhile in another part of Junon, Tifa had escaped from her impending death and was currently climbing down a tall building after climbing out of a hole in the roof that Weapon had made earlier. She was half way down the building when Scarlet and some of her guards climbed out of the hole in the roof and saw Tifa making her escape. "There she is! Don't let her get away!" Scarlet ordered as she and the guards gave chase, however they were unsuccessful as the guards had lost their grip and fell passed Tifa and landed with a thud on the ground.

Tifa just shook her head when she saw it, "amateurs…" she muttered to herself before jumping off the building. She landed stomach first on the Mako cannon. Tifa lay there for a few seconds before picking herself up and dusting herself off before running along the cannon.

Tifa had reached the barrel of the cannon just as Scarlet approached her, "our little game of hide and seek ends here," Scarlet stated as she sauntered closer to the raven haired woman. "The execution may have been unsuccessful," Scarlet continued as she pushed a strand of hair out of her face. "But your death by falling from here and crashing into the water below might be pretty exciting."

Tifa sighed as she just stared at the blonde haired woman in shock, "what is it with you and executing people?" She demanded not in the mood for Scarlet's games. "Just leave me alone!"

Scarlet suddenly slapped Tifa hard across the face causing her to wince in pain and hold the area of the face where she had been slapped. However she didn't cry out in pain, she didn't wish to give Scarlet the satisfaction. Scarlet however smirked evilly at Tifa, "stuck up to the end," she spat bitterly as her smirk turned to a scowl.

Tifa glared at Scarlet for a moment as she slowly removed her hand to reveal a red mark on her cheek. Tifa balled her hands into fists and they shook violently as anger welled up inside the raven haired woman. "You…bitch…" Tifa uttered slowly before punching Scarlet square in the jaw knocking her backwards.

Scarlet stared at Tifa in shock as she relocated her jaw, she staggered slowly to her feet just as Tifa had advanced towards her. "You'll pay for that!" Scarlet screamed as she tried to slap Tifa again but Tifa was much too quick for her and she grabbed hold of Scarlet's hand and began to press down hard on the pressure points on her hand.

"I can do a whole lot worse to you if I really wanted to," Tifa whispered threateningly to Scarlet as the blonde haired woman struggled against Tifa's strong grip. "I'm not going to because unlike you I'm merciful," Tifa continued refusing to let go of Scarlet's hand. "But if you continue to treat me this way then I'll have no choice, understand?"

Scarlet nodded and Tifa released her, however before Scarlet could react Tifa punched her in the face again knocking her to the ground. "Uuuuuuhhh…" Scarlet moaned as she slowly picked herself up and rubbed her face. "I can't take much more of this!" She complained loudly just as two Shinra guards stepped up behind her. "Take her away!" Scarlet ordered as she looked at the guards before turning back to look at Tifa. "Now it's time to pay up," the blonde haired woman continued as she glared at Tifa. "I'll really drop you if you don't settle down!" She threatened as she gestured to the edge of the cannon, "ha, ha, ha!" Scarlet laughed evilly as Tifa started to back away as Scarlet and her guards advanced towards her.

---

Meanwhile, Zack, Aerith, Vincent, Barret, Yuffie and Cait Sith had managed to dispatch the enemies and all of them except for Vincent who went inside were currently stood on the deck of the Highwind as it took off. That was five minutes ago and the Highwind was flying through Junon, Zack, Aerith and Barret were looking out at the scenery around them. "What a wonderful view," Aerith stated happily as the breeze blew her long and untied hair back.

"Yeah," Zack agreed as he continued to look out. He saw that they were now close to the Mako cannon and he looked out and saw several people on the cannon. "Hey!" Zack called out to his friends causing them to run over, "there are people on that cannon!" Zack exclaimed as he pointed at the cannon.

Barret placed his hands over his eyes to get a better look and he saw Tifa walking backwards away from Scarlet and her guards. "It's Tifa!" Barret yelled, "She's in trouble!"

"We've got to do something!" Zack yelled desperately as he peered over the railing.

"Hang on tight!" Cid's voice boomed through an intercom attached to the wall near the door which led to the inside of the ship. "I'm headin' to the cannon so we can save Tifa's ass!" Cid explained as he steered the Highwind closer to the cannon.

The Highwind reached the end of the cannon and hovered there, Barret, Zack and the others saw Tifa backing closer and closer to the edge. "Run!" Barret called out as loud as he could causing Tifa to look around for the voice she could hear. "Run to the end of the cannon!"

Tifa quickly turned round and ran to the edge of the cannon as fast as she could, she saw Barret, Zack and Aerith stood at the edge of the deck waving to her before Barret and Zack lowered a rope. "Grab on!" Aerith called out to her friend, Tifa nodded and she leapt off the edge of the cannon and reached out for the rope. Unfortunately she missed the rope and she fell towards the sea clawing desperately at the air. Fortunately she managed to catch the rope as it swung towards her. Zack pulled the rope back up and as the rope got closer to the deck he reached out and grabbed hold of Tifa's hand helping her on to the deck. Tifa collapsed on the deck panting as soon as she was safely on board the Highwind pulled away from the cannon and flew out of Junon. Barret, Aerith, Zack and Cait Sith were stood over Tifa.

"Are you ok?" Barret asked his voice was filled with concern.

"I'm fine," Tifa answered as she nodded. "My cheek hurts a bit," she told her friends as she rubbed her cheek. "Anyway, forget about that, what's this about?"

"You mean the fact that I'm human again or the fact that we managed to commandeer the Highwind right under the Shinra's nose?" Zack asked as he smirked at Tifa.

Tifa stared at Zack, "so you stole it…" she questioned.

Zack was about to answer but he hesitated for a moment, "commandeered…" he reminded her, "we commandeered the Highwind." (A/N, this is a parody of Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl where Jack Sparrow and William Turner are going to steal the Interceptor, I don't own this film it belongs to Disney.)

Tifa gave Zack another questioning look, "it's just another way of saying you stole it," she stated.

Zack sighed, "fine…" he replied, "we stole it, does it matter how we got it? The point is we have an airship."

"I guess not," Tifa answered as Aerith helped her up, she then took a closer look at Zack. "You're human…"

"Well…I would've commended you if you said that a minute ago," Zack muttered sarcastically. "But the fact that you were a little slow on the uptake kind of makes me question your intelligence a little." Tifa scowled at Zack before punching him in the face. "Ow!" Zack yelled in pain as he put his hand over face.

"I don't need this right now Zack!" Tifa snapped, "I've been through enough as it is."

Zack was about to respond but Cait Sith cut in, "I hate to break up this happy reunion but we have a lot of work to do." Cait Sith stated, "in any case the Highwind is now ours, so feel free to explore." Cait Sith told Tifa as he slowly went inside the airship, Barret followed him.

"We're glad you're safe Tifa," Aerith stated happily as she hugged her friend.

"We were so worried about you," Zack added as he too hugged Tifa. "Me and Aerith are gonna go inside feel free to come in when you're ready," Zack told Tifa as he and Aerith made their way to the door which led to the inside of the airship. "You coming Yuffie?" Zack asked as he and Aerith walked passed the ninja who was currently leaning over the railing.

Yuffie lifted her head up and looked at Zack, her face was pale. "Uuuuuhhhh…no…I think…I'll stay here…in the…fresh air…" Yuffie moaned as she tried hard not to be sick, she hung her head over the railings again.

"Please yourself," Zack stated and he and Aerith went inside. Tifa stayed outside for another minute or two looking at the scenery that was speeding passed her before she decided to go inside.

Tifa walked down the steps and she saw Barret, Cait Sith and Zack gathered on a bridge, "shit! Why didn't you tell me you could fly an airship?!" Barret demanded as he stared at Cait Sith before turning away and shaking his head. "I thought…Tifa was gone for good…" He added an air of sadness in his voice, after a few seconds he turned back to face Zack and Cait Sith again.

"Sorry," Cait Sith apologised to Barret as he bowed his head. "I had to do something to trick the enemy," Cait Sith explained.

"Does it matter?" Zack cut in as he stared at Barret, "Tifa is safe, we all managed to get out of our situation alive. Come on, we better get to the bridge, everyone's waiting." Barret, Zack and Cait Sith walked across the bridge and entered the main room.

"Everyone…" Tifa asked herself as she jumped up and down excitedly as she thought of Cloud in that room with everyone else. Tifa quickly ran down the steps and across the bridge, she entered the main room and saw her friends stood in the room. They all looked up and smiled when they saw her.

Cid ran up to Tifa, "welcome to my airship, the Highwind!" Cid greeted his friend enthusiastically as he gestured all around him. Tifa said nothing but she looked around the room and she saw much to her dismay that there was someone missing. "What's wrong!?" Cid demanded when he saw the disappointed look on Tifa's face, "yer should be more excited than that!"

"Cid…" Aerith spoke up as she stepped forwards, "please be more tactful."

Tifa smiled weakly at Aerith before shaking her head, "there's not enough crew," was all she said before she walked to the window at the front of the Highwind and looked out.

Everyone in the room looked at each other before Zack, Aerith and Barret walked over to Tifa. "Tifa," Zack spoke softly to the raven haired woman. "I know you're worried about Cloud, we all are."

"If you need someone to talk to, you can always talk to me." Aerith offered kindly as she patted her friend on the back.

"Thank you," Tifa replied gratefully.

Red walked over to the four, "do you think that we're not strong enough without Cloud?" The beast questioned.

"What?" Zack asked as he gave Red a questioning stare, "of course we are, right Tifa?"

Tifa sighed sadly to herself, "Meteor is coming, and Weapon is on the rampage…" Tifa stated sadly, "at a time like this, I don't know what I'm supposed to do." Tifa shook her head as she said this, "no idea at all…"

"Get a hold of yerself Tifa!" Barret yelled as he tried to talk some sense into Tifa. "Come on, think about it, no way we're gonna get offa this train we're on!"

"Barret's right," Zack agreed, "you can't give up so easily."

Tifa sighed again, "if only Cloud was here…everything would be fine," she started to say as she thought about what would happen if Cloud was there. Would she be feeling like this now? "Cloud would…stand that cocky little way he did, and tell us what to do." Tifa smiled slightly as she closed her eyes and thought about the days when Cloud was in charge, when their goal was more simple and the very survival of the Planet wasn't on their shoulders. Tifa opened her eyes again and nodded, "he'd say 'everything's under control Tifa,'" Tifa continued she felt a tear escape her eye and she quickly turned away from her friends.

"Shit Tifa! When did you become such a wimp!?" Barret admonished.

"Barret!" Aerith yelled at the man with the gun arm as she scowled at him.

"I was just sayin'…" Barret stated in a defensive tone.

"No…you're right Barret, and I'm sorry," Tifa apologised. "I'm kind of shocked myself…I feel so depressed…" She admitted as she turned round and looked at the group.

"And Tifa…" Red started to say as he hung his head sadly, "the reason why we all thought it was Cloud was because…"

"I know…" Tifa answered as she walked over to Red and scratched behind his ears. "That's why I have to be sure…that's why I have to see him again."

"Yeah, he's got a lot to answer for," Zack replied as he folded his arms. "Getting us all worried like that."

"Zack…" Aerith admonished, "I'm sure Cloud will be fine," Aerith reassured her friend.

"Tifa…" Cid started to say as he looked at the dark haired woman. "I just want ya to know that I didn't dislike him, gotta admit, he was a strange dude. Just when you thought he was cool he'd go and do some damn foolish thing! And you thought he was smart, he'd show how stupid he was," Cid explained, he then rubbed his chin as he thought about it some more. "Everythin' about him from his movements to his speech was kinda odd," Cid continued. "Knowin' what I do now, I can see why he was that way. Well, as long as ya stay alive you just might see him again, so cheer up sis!" Cid advised Tifa as he laughed.

Tifa smiled weakly as she nodded, "…I'll be able to see him someday…" Tifa repeated what Cid said as her heart was filled with renewed hope.

"But we don't even know where he is," Zack stated realistically, "I don't wish to burst your bubble Tifa but Cloud could be anywhere."

"Zack's right," Cid agreed with his friend. "Cloud could be anywhere, but if we can find out where he is the Highwind will get us there in no time."

"Hmmm…" Aerith mused as she looked out of the window, "what if Cloud was actually still stuck in the Northern Crater, buried deep underground?" Aerith questioned as she turned back to face the others.

"Buried under the Earth…" Tifa repeated, "are you talking about the Life Stream?"

Aerith nodded, "yes," she answered. "Cloud must be in the Life Stream."

"While the Life Stream is normally underground it sometimes gushes out to the surface from cracks in the ocean floor," Red added as he explained the patterns of the Life Stream.

"How did you know that?" Zack asked as he gave the beast a questioning look.

"I read about it," Red answered, "besides, I've heard that such a place exists, maybe…just maybe Cloud's…" Red started to muse but his train of thought was interrupted by the sound of an alarm going off.

"What the hell?!" Zack cursed as the group looked round wondering what all the commotion was.

"Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhh! Captain Cid!" One of the pilots yelled in panic.

Cid sighed irritably, "sorry about this everyone," Cid apologised as he ran over to the pilot that was panicking. "But I've gotta show this numbskull how to fly the ship, don't worry, it shouldn't take too long. You guys should prepare yourselves in the meantime."

"I think I'm gonna go outside for a while…" Tifa told the group before leaving the main room.

"Cloud going AWOL has seriously affected her," Zack stated sadly as he watched Tifa leave. "I haven't seen her like this before."

"I know," Aerith agreed with Zack as she walked up to him. "I wish there was something we could do."

"I'll go talk to her," Zack volunteered and he started to walk off.

"I'll go with you," Aerith offered as she started to follow Zack.

Zack stopped and turned to look at Aerith, "I think it's best if I just go." Zack told Aerith as he took hold of her hand. "Me and Tifa, we have an understanding," Zack continued to explain, "besides, other than Tifa I know Cloud better than anyone so I should be the one that talks to Tifa." Zack released Aerith's hand before turning round and walking off, Aerith sighed sadly before listening in on Red and Barret's conversation.

Meanwhile Zack walked back onto the deck and looked around, he could hear the sound of Yuffie retching as she threw up. However, Zack just ignored her as his main concern at the moment was Tifa, he saw Tifa stood at the back of the Highwind looking out. Zack walked up to Tifa and stood next to her. "You doin' ok?" He asked.

Tifa turned her head round and saw Zack, "yeah…" she answered unconvincingly, "I just needed a little fresh air."

Zack gave Tifa a sceptical stare, "who are you tryin' to kid Tifa, me or you?" Zack asked, Tifa sighed sadly as she turned back round to look out again.

"How did it get to this?" Tifa questioned half to herself.

"Cloud wasn't himself," Zack answered, "you know that."

"I know," Tifa replied, "I'm just afraid, what if…what if Cloud's dead?"

"You don't know that for sure," Zack stated as he placed his hand on Tifa's face and gently moved her head so that she was facing him. "For all we know, Cloud could've surfaced. It's just a case of finding him."

"You think it's that easy?" Tifa demanded as she folded her arms, "you think that we'll find him and it'll be ok…"

"Sometimes…we just need to have faith," Zack answered as he tried to reassure the raven haired woman. A single tear escaped her brown eye. "Hey…" Zack called to her as he wiped the tear away from Tifa's face, "come on…cheer up, Cloud could be waiting for you right now."

"Really…" Tifa asked.

"Really," Zack answered as he smiled at Tifa. "We're gonna find Cloud and we're gonna save the world from Meteor, you'll see. It'll turn out alright in the end, it has to, so please cheer up ok. We don't know what's happened to Cloud but he's alive I'm sure of it."

"How can you be so sure?" Tifa questioned as she gave Zack a sceptical stare.

"Because I know in here," Zack answered as he put his hand on his heart. "I know in my heart that Cloud's alive, and I'm sure you do too." Tifa closed her eyes and concentrated as she listened to her heart, it was at that moment that she knew the answer. "You feel him don't you?" Zack asked, "You feel him in your heart. Because he's never left it."

Tifa opened her eyes and nodded, "yeah," she answered. "Cloud's alive, I know he is." Tifa smiled before hugging Zack. "Thanks Zack," she whispered in his ear, "you always know exactly what to say."

"You're welcome," Zack responded as he hugged Tifa back. "That's what friends do, I'll support you in anyway I can and so will everyone else. And Tifa, if you ever need to get something off your chest, you can always talk to me."

"I know," Tifa answered, "and thanks again."

"Any time," Zack replied as he let go of Tifa. "We should head back inside and get ourselves ready," Zack advised, "besides, we need to know where we're going but we could always ask Red, Cait Sith or Cid."

Tifa nodded and she followed Zack back inside the airship again, Aerith greeted them as soon as they entered. "Are you ok?" She asked Tifa.

"Yeah," Tifa replied as she smiled at her friend. "Zack helped me out."

"Yeah, he's good like that," Aerith remarked. "Anyway, me, Red and Barret were talking and Red seems to believe that there is a Life Stream geyser near a small town called Mideel," Aerith informed the two.

"Mideel…" Zack repeated the name, "I've heard that name before. That town is on the southern continent, if there is a Life Stream geyser down there it's more than likely that Cloud has resurfaced there."

"We're heading there now," Aerith told Zack and Tifa. "Cid said we should be there in five minutes."

"Thanks Aerith," Tifa stated gratefully. "We should go back to the navigation room." Zack and Aerith nodded in agreement and the three returned to the navigation room.

Five minutes later the Highwind landed on the beach not too far from the local town, "there it is," Zack remarked as he looked out of the window at the town. "This is just a search and rescue mission, right?" He asked as he looked back at the group.

"Yeah," Barret answered. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, if that's the case then we won't need everyone there." Zack answered before walking away from the window. "Alright, me, Tifa and Barret are gonna go into town and look for Cloud. The rest of you stay here," Zack ordered.

"I want to come to," Aerith demanded.

Zack sighed, "Aerith, I know you're worried about Cloud," Zack stated as he placed his hands on Aerith's shoulders. "Hell we all are, but I don't think we're gonna be fighting any monsters, we're just gonna find Cloud and come back to the Highwind."

"Ok…" Aerith gave in she couldn't help but sound disappointed.

"We'll try not to be too long," Zack reassured Aerith.

"Just find Cloud," Aerith told Zack.

"We'll try," Zack promised and he kissed Aerith on the lips before turning to Barret and Tifa. "Alright, let's go." Zack commanded, the three were about to leave the navigation room when Cid suddenly spoke up.

"Hey, who kicked the fuckin' bucket and put you in charge?!" Cid demanded.

"No one," Zack answered without looking at the pilot. "But if we're to find Cloud then we need good and competent leadership." Zack then smirked as Cid scowled at him. Zack just ignored Cid as he, Barret and Tifa walked out of the navigation room leaving Cid to think about what Zack had said.

The three went on to the deck and climbed down the rope to the beach, they walked along the beach and entered Mideel when an old man approached them. "Ahoy!" The man greeted enthusiastically, "ain't you a beaut…" the old man stated as he stared at Tifa.

"Hey watch it…or you'll be getting my sword up your ass…" Zack threatened as he grasped his katana tightly.

"Sorry buddy, I don't want any trouble," the old man apologised. "This here's Mideel," the old man quickly changed the subject and Zack loosened his grip on his katana. "It's a quiet little hot springs town, just the perfect place for old folks like us to live out our lives. I hear that things aren't so peaceful on the outside but here it's still nice and quiet."

"We're not here for a vacation," Tifa told the man. "We're here on some important business."

"I see…" The old man stated as he smiled at the group, "Well, I won't keep you."

The old man moved out of the way and the group walked further into the town and looked around. "Shit! I thought Corel was small," Barret remarked as he scratched his head. "I don't think it's even worth splittin' up."

A couple walked passed the group and Zack followed them, "excuse me," he called out to the couple causing them to turn round and look at him. "Have you seen a man named Cloud Strife?" He asked the couple, "He's under six feet about five foot seven, he has spiky hair kind of like mine only blond and bright blue eyes." Zack described.

"Sorry," the man answered as he and his girlfriend shook their heads. "We haven't seen anyone who fits that description."

"Oh…" Zack stated trying to hide his disappointment, "well thanks anyway." He thanked the couple as they walked off, Zack walked back to Barret and Tifa. "They haven't seen him," Zack told his friends as he sighed deeply.

"But, this is a small town," Barret stated, "someone's bound to have seen him."

"Let's just keep looking," Tifa suggested as she walked off, Zack and Barret followed her. They entered every building and asked every person they could find if they had seen Cloud. However after half an hour of fruitless searching the three were back outside again.

Zack sighed as he leaned against the wall of the weapon shop, "this is hopeless, we're not getting anywhere."

"But…we can't give up now," Tifa told her friends as she gave them a pleading look. "Cloud's got to be around here somewhere and I'm not gonna give up until I find him." Before Barret or Zack could say anything Tifa walked off, Barret and Zack sighed before following her. As Tifa got further into town she could hear the sound of whining, she looked down and saw a dog sat there looking up at her. "What's the matter?" Tifa asked the dog, "Are you all alone?" The dog whined again and Tifa knelt down beside it and stroked it behind the ears. "You got lost didn't you? Separated from someone you love…silly thing…" Tifa admonished as she continued to stroke the dog.

"Guess it's been about a week now since he washed up here on the shore," a voice suddenly spoke up. "Poor pokey headed young thing."

"It was really sad…but weird," another voice added. "He was holding this really long sword, I dunno, the whole thing feels unlucky to me. But the amazing thing was those weird blue eyes."

"Huh…" Tifa uttered as she overheard the conversation, she stopped stroking the dog and stood up just as Zack and Barret walked up behind her.

"There you are," Zack stated as Tifa turned round to look at them. "You had us worried…what's wrong?" Zack asked as he saw the look on Tifa's face.

"I think someone's seen Cloud," Tifa answered.

"What?" Barret questioned, "Are you sure?"

"Not really," Tifa admitted, "but it's something I have to find out." Tifa told her two friends and they walked down the path to see two men stood outside a house talking. "Excuse me!" Tifa called out to the men causing them both to stop their conversation and look at the group as they approached them. "That young person you were talking about?" Tifa enquired as she stared hopefully at the men.

"A villager found him a little ways off the coast," one of the men explained. "It was about a week ago I think."

"Yeah, poor kid…" The second man added as he gave the group a sad look. "He must've drifted from somewhere far away."

"Cloud…" Tifa whispered as she thought about what the men were saying and what had happened to Cloud. "It must be…It's Cloud!" Tifa exclaimed excitedly as she jumped up and down on the spot.

"Way to go Tifa!" Zack yelled enthusiastically as he grinned at Tifa and gave her a thumbs up sign.

"I knew ya could find him!" Barret yelled just as enthusiastically as he grabbed Tifa in a one armed hug for a moment before releasing her.

"So where is he?" Tifa asked quickly as she turned her attention back to the two men. "Is he safe? Where is he now?"

"Yeah," one of the men answered, "he's over there at the err clinic." The man told the group as he pointed towards a building at the far side of town.

"He's alive! Cloud…Cloud's alive! Cloud!" Tifa yelled happily as she ran towards the clinic as fast as she could.

"Tifa wait!" Zack called after Tifa but the raven hard woman wasn't listening. Zack sighed, "I have a bad feeling about this…" Zack whispered before looking at Barret, "Come on." Zack and Barret ran towards the clinic and caught up with Tifa and the three of them entered the clinic.

"Cloud!" Tifa called the man's name as she eagerly looked round the room for any sign of Cloud. A doctor looked up from his desk and when he saw the group he approached them.

"Here now," the doctor spoke as he smiled at the group. "The way you're running around here anyone would think that Meteor fell or something."

"I'm sorry," Tifa apologised as she bowed her head slightly. "But we heard that a friend of ours was being taken care of here."

"Friend?" The doctor asked as he gave the group an intrigued look.

"Yeah," Zack answered as he ruffled his hair. "His name is Cloud, he has blond spiky hair, glowing blue eyes."

"Ah yes," the doctor replied as he realised who the group were talking about. "A young fellow fitting that description was brought in a few days ago. Don't worry he's next door, but I'm afraid his condition is…" The doctor trailed off.

"What do you mean?" Zack asked the doctor, "how bad is he?"

The doctor sighed but he said nothing, he moved a curtain to the side and Tifa looked in to the room and saw a nurse taking care of someone in a wheelchair. "Here?" Tifa asked as the doctor nodded, Tifa ran into the room and stood in front of the nurse and the person in the wheelchair. "Cloud?!" Tifa called out, the nurse looked up at Tifa before moving out of the way. Tifa gasped when she saw that the person in the wheelchair was indeed Cloud, Zack and Barret came running into the room and saw Cloud. "Oh Cloud I'm so glad you're safe!" Tifa exclaimed happily as she ran over to Cloud. The blond haired man lifted his head and stared blankly at Tifa before falling back down again. "Cloud…" Tifa whispered the man's name as she gave him a questioning look.

"Uh…ah…" Cloud moaned as his head bobbed up and down again.

"Wh…what's wrong Cloud?" Tifa stammered as she gave Cloud a concerned look.

"A…gurk…" Cloud moaned again as he lifted his head up and looked round the room with a blank expression on his face.

"Cloud…what happened to you?" Tifa whispered half to Cloud and half to herself.

Zack walked over to the doctor, "what's wrong with him doc?" Zack asked as he pointed at Cloud. "How did he end up in this condition?"

The doctor sighed sadly as he folded his arms, "Mako poisoning…quite an advanced case. It appears this young man's been exposed to a high level of Mako energy for a prolonged period of time." The doctor explained gravely as he pointed at Cloud, "he probably has no idea of who he is or where he is now…Poor fellow, his voice doesn't even work. He is literally miles away from us, some place far away where no one's ever been…all alone…"

Zack sighed as he folded his arms, "I knew there was something wrong…" He whispered sadly, "As soon as those two men mentioned clinic I knew there was something not right…I just…didn't think it would be this bad."

"No way!" Barret yelled as his hand was balled into a fist, "you must have it wrong!"

"No he doesn't," Zack stated gravely as he gave Barret and Tifa a grave look. "The signs are all there."

Tifa knelt down beside Cloud and placed her hands on top of his, "Cloud…" Tifa called out his name hoping that it would snap him out of his comatose state. However Cloud continued to stare blankly at Tifa as his head bobbed up and down. Tifa kept on trying to reach out to Cloud but still nothing happened, in the end Tifa rested her head on Cloud's lap and started to cry. "Why…" Tifa questioned tearfully as her hands shook, "what do you want me to do? Please Cloud…talk to me…tell me you see me…that you can hear me…tell me please…" Tifa begged the blond haired man as she continued to cry.

Zack and Barret looked sadly at each other and then at Tifa. "Wow…I haven't seen Tifa cry like that since I found her wounded in the Nibelheim reactor…" Zack thought to himself as he walked over to Tifa, he knelt down beside her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Tifa…" Zack called out the woman's name causing her to look up at him with her tear stained face.

"Oh Zack…" Tifa cried as she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "What am I going to do? I can't get through to him…"

"These things take time," Zack stated encouragingly as he patted Tifa's shoulder. "I know you're upset right now, it's upsetting for me and Barret as well. But you can't give up."

"I know," Tifa agreed as she nodded. "Can you try for a while?" Tifa requested, "Maybe if you try it as well it might bring him back."

"Sure," Zack replied, Tifa moved out of the way and Zack knelt in front of Cloud. "Cloud…buddy…" Zack spoke to Cloud in a soft voice. "It's me Zack, please say something, we're all worried about you. Especially Tifa so please…talk to us." Zack waited for a moment, Cloud continued to stare blankly at him. "Come on Cloud," Zack tried again to reach out to Cloud. "Come back to us…come back to Tifa…" Zack tried to reach out to Cloud for five whole minutes but still he got nowhere. Zack sighed as he stood up and walked away from Cloud, Tifa returned to Cloud and cried into his chest.

"I think it's best if we leave them alone for a while," the doctor suggested. "Besides, I need a word with both of you in private."

"Sure," Zack replied, the doctor walked out of the room and Zack and Barret followed him.

Tifa looked up at Cloud again her face was still tear stained, "I came this far believing in the memories we had together…" Tifa stated sadly as several tear drops landed on Cloud's lap. "This isn't happening…this is too cruel…" Tifa sobbed as she shook her head. "Cloud I…" Tifa started to say but she hesitated wondering if it was even the right thing to say. She sighed sadly as she resumed crying into Cloud's chest.

Meanwhile, Barret and Zack were talking to the doctor outside the clinic. "Be honest with us doc, will Cloud…will he ever get better?" Zack asked wondering about how bad Cloud's condition was.

The doctor folded his arms as he looked at Zack and Barret. "I'll say it again…" he replied a little irritably. "He's got Mako poisoning, I've never seen a case this bad…An immense amount of Mako-drenched knowledge was put into his brain all at once…"

Zack sighed, "brings back memories…" he muttered to himself barely above a whisper so that Barret and the doctor couldn't hear him.

"No normal human could've survived it," the doctor continued not hearing Zack's remark. "It's a miracle he did."

"No wonder…after fallin' into the Life Stream an' bein' washed up…" Barret commented as he gave the doctor a grave look.

"That would screw anyone's head up," Zack added as he agreed with Barret.

"Just remember the light of hope can be found anywhere," the doctor stated reassuringly before sighing. "Listen, if you give up hope…what's going to happen to him?"

Barret sighed and he turned away from the doctor. "Hope…" Barret repeated in a frustrated tone, "Hey, honestly man! Do I really want Cloud to come back?" Barret questioned a little nastily.

"Barret!" Zack yelled at his friend as he glared at him. "I'm sorry about my friend doc," Zack apologised to the doctor as he looked at him. "He's really worried about Cloud, he's just not very good at showing it…" Zack finished through gritted teeth as he glared at Barret again.

Barret sighed and he looked at Zack. "Think about it Zack! What has Cloud done for the world huh?" Barret questioned with a hint of vehemence in his voice. "What can he do for us for here on out? He may be nothin' more than Sephiroth's shadow…"

"Is there something wrong?" The doctor asked as he gave Barret a concerned stare. Barret turned round to face the doctor.

"No…nothin'," Barret answered lying through his teeth, "nothin' at all doc…"

Zack scowled at Barret and was about to speak when Tifa walked out of the clinic. The three men turned round and saw her. "Tifa…" Zack uttered as the raven haired woman walked over to them. "You doin' ok?"

"Yeah," Tifa answered as she nodded. "I'm sorry I had you both worried," she apologised to her two friends. "There's something I have to tell you," Tifa stated as she walked back into the clinic. Zack, Barret and the doctor followed her and entered the room that Cloud was in, Tifa walked over to Cloud and she had her back to the group. She sighed before beginning, "right now…I don't care about anything else, only Cloud." Tifa told her friends as she turned round to face them a few tears in her eyes. "I…I want to be by his side."

"That's understandable Tifa," Zack stated reassuringly as he smiled at her. "I'd be the same if I was in your position."

"Yeah…that's probably for the best…" Barret added as he agreed with the raven haired woman, "for you and for Cloud."

Tifa said nothing but she nodded sadly, however she refused to lift her head and she stared at the floor trying hard not to cry again. "I'm sorry everyone…at a time like this…" she apologised sadly as she looked up at her friends.

"You don't have to apologise," Zack told Tifa kindly as he walked up to her and took hold of her hand. "You just do what you have to do and we'll come by and visit." Zack promised as he hugged Tifa before moving away.

Barret also walked up to Tifa and hugged her, "just take care of yerself kiddo, and take care of Cloud too." Barret stated as he released Tifa and stepped away from her.

Tifa nodded as she smiled weakly at Barret and Zack, "right…" she replied before turning round and tending to Cloud.

Zack and Barret were about to walk out of the clinic but something was eating away at Barret's mind and he stopped. "Tifa…" Barret called out the woman's name causing her stop what she was doing and look at him. "I don't like askin' this but…" Barret continued to ask choosing his words carefully. "Is he really your childhood friend and not Sephiroth's shadow?"

Tifa sighed before looking at Cloud, "well…that is…" Tifa stammered as she tried to think about what to say, about what to believe. In the end she shook her head, "no, I'm sure of it!" She answered more confidently as she smiled at Cloud.

Barret nodded, "yeah…ok then…sorry for askin' that." Barret apologised.

"It's ok," Tifa answered as she continued to tend to Cloud.

"We better head back," Zack told Tifa. "And don't worry, we'll take care of Meteor you just focus on Cloud." Zack advised before he and Barret left the clinic and made their way back to the Highwind.

Back on the Highwind everyone was gathered in the navigation room when Barret and Zack entered. "What happened?" Aerith asked, "Is Cloud alright? Where's Tifa?"

Zack sighed sadly as he shook his head, "Cloud has Mako poisoning," he told the group. "And it's really bad as well, Tifa stayed behind to look after him."

Barret sighed as he walked over to the window and looked out, Zack leaned against the wall. "What are we gonna do?" Barret asked half to himself. "What can WE do?" Barret continued to question as he turned round and stared at the group. "Ain't there anythin' we can do? And don't go tellin' us to wait until Cloud gets better!" Barret yelled as he glared at Zack in particular.

"I wasn't gonna say anything," Zack stated as he pushed himself off the wall. "I just think we need to look at our options and decide what's the best thing to do."

"Well, I've got some news," Cait Sith told the group as he stood up on the control panel he was on.

"What… you're gonna tell us you're a spy…" Barret muttered sarcastically causing Cait Sith to scowl at him.

"Yeah…I already told you I was…" Cait Sith retorted, "but anyway, Gya ha ha and Kya ha ha are up to something?" Cait Sith informed the group, "Wanna eavesdrop…" Cait Sith asked as he grinned.

"I do love a bit of gossip, especially at a time like this…" Zack muttered sarcastically as he and the rest of the group approached Cait Sith.

"Why don't we just listen?" Vincent suggested as he folded his arms. "It might tell us something useful." Static rippled through Cait Sith and some voices began to talk on Cait Sith's inbuilt radio.

---

Meanwhile in the Shinra building Rufus was holding a meeting with the executives, Heidegger and Palmer were sat at the table and Reeve was stood in the corner leaning against the wall. Rufus was stood at the head of the table flipping his hair. "Now then…" Rufus began as he looked at his executives. "We're faced with two issues…one, destroy Meteor and two, remove the barrier round the Northern Cave and defeat Sephiroth…any ideas?" Rufus asked as he pointed at the executives.

"Gya haah hah hah!" Heidegger laughed loudly, "We already solved the first problem! Meteor will soon be smashed to bits, the plan has already been put into action. Namely collecting Huge Materia from each region." Heidegger explained his plan.

"Well…" Rufus started to say, unsure about Heidegger's plan but before he could really voice his concerns Scarlet entered the room.

"Huge Materia is a high density special type of Materia made through a special compression process in Mako reactors." Scarlet explained as she spread her arms out wide for emphasis. "The energy extracted from it is 330 times the strength of normal materia, ha, ha, ha! How about that?" Scarlet laughed loudly as she folded her arms and grinned at the others. "We will gather all the Huge Materia together and ram it into Meteor," she proposed as she looked at Rufus. "That will cause a huge explosion! Reducing Meteor literally to bits!"

"You're going to ram Meteor?" Rufus questioned as he stared at Scarlet in shock. "Do you think we have the technology to do it?"

"Don't worry about that!" Scarlet scoffed as she put Rufus' worries to rest. "More importantly we've got to collect Huge Materia from each area."

"We've already collected materia from Nibelheim," Heidegger added. "All that's left is Corel and Fort Condor, I've already dispatched troops to Corel, Gya ha ha!" Heidegger laughed loudly.

---

The group stared at Cait Sith in shock when they heard the whole conversation, "Corel…" Barret uttered hardly daring to believe what he had heard. "What else can they do to Corel?!"

"And the Huge Materia…I've heard of it, when our small materia is near the larger one something should happen I'm sure of it." Red explained.

"And that's why we're using the power of materia in our fight," Aerith added as she clasped her hands together as though she was in prayer.

"Well, we can't let the Shinra get their paws on it," Zack stated as he folded his arms. "Who knows what would happen if they do…"

"Yeah, and I can't wait to see the look on Cloud's face when we show him that Huge Materia," Barret added as he banged his gun arm on the railing near the window. "He's sure as hell gonna be shocked."

"So…you really want Cloud to come back…" Zack asked as he gave Barret a questioning stare, "even though you're always bad mouthin' him…"

"I ain't sayin' nothin' about nothin'!" Barret yelled as he glared at Zack. "So just shut the fuck up!"

"I was just asking…" Zack stated in an offended tone. "Look, we're gonna need a new leader, at least until Cloud gets better."

"And that leader should be me," Barret cut in as he pointed at himself before sighing. "At least…that's what I wanna believe, but I ain't cut out to be a leader…and I didn't realise that until recently." Barret sighed as he hung his head.

"How about Cid?" Zack suggested as everyone looked in the pilot's direction. Cid was slumped on the floor asleep and snoring loudly. Zack sighed and rolled his eyes before kicking Cid in the stomach.

"Huh...what, who, what, where?!" Cid yelled in panic as he woke up suddenly and looked all around him.

"Congratulations Cid, you're the new leader," Zack cheerfully told the pilot as he shook his head to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

"Pain in the ass forget it!" Cid yelled as he leapt to his feet and glared at the group.

"But Cid if we're to fight we need the Highwind," Barret argued as he tried to persuade Cid. "And you're controllin' the Highwind, this airship is gonna save the planet."

"Hmmm…" Cid thought as he rubbed his chin, "I haven't thought of it that way…but…no…I can't it's too much responsibility. You guys can use the Highwind but I ain't gonna be your leader…" Cid stated stubbornly as he folded his arms. "No…what we need is someone who's had experience bein' a leader…what we need is an ex SOLDIER…" Cid continued before looking at Zack. "Zack, why don't you be the new leader?"

"Me…" Zack uttered in surprise as he took a few paces back.

"Sure, you can do it!" Aerith reassured Zack as she wrapped her arms round Zack's neck and kissed him on the cheek. "You've had so much experience of being a leader in your SOLDIER days."

"But I…" Zack started to say.

"No arguments boy!" Cid interrupted as he pointed a finger at Zack, "you're our new leader and that's the end of it."

Zack sighed, "Fine…I'll do it…" Zack gave in as the group cheered. "Alright…we need to think of how to do this."

"Why don't we go to Corel first get the Huge Materia there and then go to Fort Condor," Barret suggested but Zack shook his head.

"No," Zack replied as he paced round the navigation room. "The Shinra will have no doubt dispatched troops to both places, by the time we get the Huge Materia in Corel they may have already got the Huge Materia in Fort Condor." Zack told the group, "No…we need to kill two birds with one stone."

"Are you suggesting we go to both places at the same time?" Red asked intrigued by Zack's decision.

"It makes perfect sense," Zack answered as he looked at the beast. "Ok, me, Barret, Cid and Aerith will go to Corel, the rest of you will go to Fort Condor." Zack ordered, "The Highwind will drop everyone else off at Fort Condor first then it will drop us off at Corel. Don't let the Shinra get hold of the Huge Materia whatever you do." Zack warned.

"Alright you lowly maggots!" Cid yelled at the pilots, "Y'all heard the man our next destination is Fort Condor and then Corel!"

"Yes sir!" The pilots shouted in unison and the Highwind made its way to Fort Condor, the airship hovered over the grass near the mountain and Vincent, Yuffie, Cait Sith and Red got off the Highwind and made their way up the mountain.

The Highwind then took off and headed for Corel, when it arrived it landed at the bottom of Mount Corel. The remaining members of Avalanche got off the Highwind and climbed up the mountain. After a while they reached the old reactor. "Phew…" Zack heaved a huge sigh of relief, "we made it."

The group suddenly heard a noise, they quickly hid behind some rocks and looked in the direction of the reactor just in time to see the reactor doors opening and a coal train coming out of the reactor and going down the track. "That's a train…" Aerith whispered as she pointed at the train. "And there's the Huge Materia…"

Barret sighed, "we're never gonna get it now…" he stated pessimistically.

"Never say never Barret," Zack replied before turning invisible. Zack crept out of the group's hiding place and silently made his way to the reactor. Several guards were patrolling the entrance, Zack crept up to the guards patrolling the door being careful not to breathe too loudly. He crept up to one of the guards and quickly took his katana out of its sheath and quickly struck the guard with it. The guard stood there stunned for a moment before his head fell clean off and his body slumped to the floor lifeless. The other guard saw this and he ran towards his dead comrade trying to figure out how he was decapitated. Zack crept behind the second guard and stabbed the guy in the back. The man looked down to see a gaping hole in his stomach before slumping to the ground dead. Zack removed the katana from the man wiped the blood onto the guard's uniform. Zack quickly disposed of the other guards before turning visible again, "ok guys, the coast is clear!" Zack called out to his team mates and they all ran over to him.

"Did you have to be so violent?" Aerith asked as she saw the headless body and the body with a hole through it plus several other maimed bodies.

"I couldn't resist," was all Zack said as Aerith rolled her eyes.

"Come on!" Cid called out to his friends, "we gotta find somethin' we can use to catch up to that train!" Cid with the help of Zack opened the Reactor doors and Cid ran inside. A minute later Cid came out of the Reactor inside a steam train. "Jump on!" Cid yelled to the group as they jumped onto the train. The train sped down the track.

"Are you sure you can drive this thing?" Barret asked as he stared at Cid.

"I'm sure," Cid answered, "I can handle this sort of stuff…two levers…one on the left, one on the right…" Cid uttered as he examined the two levers and began to pull on them alternating between levers. This caused the train to go faster, "I see…I just alternate between the levers," Cid explained as he continued to alternate the levers. "Now…judgin' by the enemy's speed, I'd say it will take about ten minutes." Cid predicted as he looked at his watch.

"We've got ten minutes to get the Huge Materia," Zack stated as he stood up. "No problem." Cid continued to alternate between the levers and the train moved faster and faster and it wasn't long until the group saw the other steam train speeding along on the track below them. "This is it!" Zack called out to his friends as the wind blew passed him. "We gotta jump on the train and get the Huge Materia!"

"We won't make that jump!" Aerith yelled as she looked at the distance. Zack grabbed hold of Aerith's hand and the two jumped to the other train with Barret and Cid following suit.

The four of them landed safely on the back of the other train, they were about to run on to the next carriage when several guns were pointed at them. "Freeze!" A Shinra commander yelled at the group.

"Sure…whatever you say…" Zack mocked as ice flared in his hands and he fired two beams of ice at the guards freezing them. Zack then charged at the frozen guards causing them to shatter into a million pieces. (A/N even though Zack is currently in his human form he can still use some of his drag human abilities.) The group moved on to the next carriage and the ground under them shook as a giant robot wielding a giant sword approached them. "My what a big sword you have…" Zack mocked the robot as it lifted its sword up and slammed it down, fortunately Zack rolled out of the way just in time. Aerith used a lightning spell on the robot completely short circuiting it. Zack then took his katana out and quickly slashed the robot cutting it in half. The two halves fell off the train, "nice," Zack complimented Aerith.

"Thanks," Aerith replied gratefully.

The group jumped from carriage to carriage and destroying any enemy that got in their way. They eventually reached the front of the train where a lone Shinra guard was driving the train. "Stop the train!" Barret ordered as he pointed his gun arm at the guard's back.

"What the…" The guard uttered as he turned round and saw the group, "y…you guys!"

"You heard the man," Zack stated calmly as he grinned showing the man his fangs. "Stop the train and hand over the Huge Materia."

"No way!" The guard refused, "my bosses would kill me if they found out I gave you guys the Huge Materia."

"Well, I guess you didn't realise that we'd kill you," Zack retorted. "Go ahead Barret."

Barret smirked, "it would be my pleasure," he replied and he pumped the guard full of bullets. The guard fell to the floor dead and Cid threw the guard's body off the train before jumping down to the controls.

"I must admit we've got a lot of guts…jumpin' on a runaway train," Cid remarked. "I guess all that's left to do is stop it." Cid looked at the controls before pushing both the levers forwards. However that didn't work and the train began to gain speed.

"Cid!" Aerith yelled as she and the others tried to hold on tight. "We want to stop the train not speed it up!"

"Make it stop Cid!" Zack yelled at the pilot.

"Shut the fuck up and let me think!" Cid snapped at the group as he looked at the levers. "Hmmm…maybe if I pulled them the other way…" Cid thought and he pulled both the levers back as hard as he could. Unfortunately he pulled them so hard that the levers snapped.

"You fuckin' asshole!" Barret cursed as he glared at Cid, "you broke the levers now there's no way we're gonna stop this train!"

"We're going to crash into North Corel!" Aerith yelled as she continued to hold on for dear life.

"We can't crash into Corel!" Barret shouted desperately, "if we do the town would be even more destroyed than it already is!"

Zack looked out in front of him, "I guess it's up to me," he stated.

"Zack…you're not gonna stop the train yourself are you?" Aerith asked her voice was filled with concern.

"I don't have any other choice," Zack answered. "If I don't then hundreds of people are gonna die, including us."

Aerith continued to protest but Zack was beyond listening he closed his eyes and remembered what Vincent had told him before. "The first transformation is always the hardest," Vincent's voice echoed in Zack's mind. "But after that it is easy to switch between forms at will." Zack closed his eyes even tighter and focused all his energy, his skin changed from flesh coloured to purple and his muscle mass grew slightly bigger. His wings emerged out of the slits and folded into his back and his tail grew out of his backside.

Zack opened his eyes and he saw that he was in his drag human form again. "Zack…" Aerith called out to Zack, "don't even think about it…"

"Never do…" Zack stated with a slight smirk as he leapt off the train, he opened his wings in midair to increase his jumping distance. (A/N, this part is a parody of Fantastic Four when Susan tells her brother Johnny not to think about jumping off a building to which he replies "never do" before jumping off said building. I don't own this quote it belongs to its respective owner.) Zack landed feet first on the train track and watched as the train sped towards him. "I hope this works…" Zack uttered as he closed his eyes and held his hands out ready to stop the train. "I think I'll be feeling this for a while…" Zack continued to talk to himself as he waited for the train.

Zack's body jerked slightly as the train sped into his outstretched hands. Zack took in a deep breath as he used all his strength to push against the train to slow it down. It was hard work as the train was incredibly heavy and beads of sweat poured down Zack's face, the drag human had to keep digging his feet into the track as the train kept pushing him backwards. Zack kept looking back with a worried expression on his face as the train got nearer and nearer to North Corel. "Damn…I don't think this train's gonna stop…" Zack thought sadly to himself but he kept on trying nevertheless.

After a while the train began to slow down and screeched to a halt just at the entrance of North Corel narrowly missing the town. Zack opened his eyes and saw that the train had stopped before sighing with relief. Aerith, grabbed the Huge Materia out of the front of the train before she Barret and Cid jumped off. "Zack you did it!" Aerith exclaimed excitedly as she hugged Zack and kissed him on the lips. Zack breathed deeply as he stepped away from the train and reverted to his human form, Aerith was holding on to Zack to stop him from falling. "We got the Huge Materia," Aerith told the drag human as she showed him the giant orb.

"Nice…" Zack muttered as he gave Aerith a thumbs up sign.

The four walked into town when the people of Corel approached them. "Aren't you the guys that stopped the Shinra train?" One of the men asked.

"That's right," Zack stated as he continued to breathe deeply.

"We're eternally grateful to y'all," the man replied as the people of Corel cheered. "The Shinra were tryin' to destroy our lives again. I know this place is nothin' but a pile of junk but it's the only home we've got."

"Of…of course…" Barret stated as he gave the guy a sympathetic look. "We're all born and raised in the coal mines, no matter how tough it gets our hearts burn bright red like coal."

"To hell with Meteor!" The man yelled and all the townspeople yelled and cheered in unison as they raised their spades. "We're coal miners ain't we? We'll dig a deep tunnel and hide from Meteor!"

A small boy holding a glowing green stone approached the group, "I…I found this down a well," the boy told the group as he held out the piece of materia. "Isn't it an amazing rock?"

"It sure is," Aerith stated as she looked at the materia.

"You guys can keep it, my way of saying thanks for saving the town," the boy stated as he held the materia out to Aerith.

Aerith knelt down and the boy gave her the materia, "thank you," Aerith replied gratefully as she accepted the gift. "We'll take good care of it." The boy nodded and he moved away from the group, Aerith stood up again and put the new materia into her materia pouch.

"You all look exhausted from your battle," a woman spoke up as she examined the group. "Why don't you rest at the inn, free of charge."

"Thanks for the offer," Zack stated kindly. "But we've got a lot of work to do and some friends to pick up." The woman nodded to show that she understood and the townspeople waved the group off as they made their way back to the Highwind.

The Highwind took off and made its way back to Fort Condor to pick up Vincent, Yuffie, Cait Sith and Red. The four returned to the Highwind triumphant. "We got the Huge Materia!" Yuffie yelled excitedly as she showed the rest of the group the Huge Materia from Fort Condor.

"So we now have two Huge Materia in our possession," Red stated as he stared at the two giant stones. "What now?" Red asked as he stared at Zack.

"Well, the Shinra will be on high alert for a while," Zack stated as he rubbed his chin. "I think it'll be a good idea if we lay low for a while. I think it's time we paid an old friend a visit."

"You mean Cloud…" Aerith questioned as she stared at Zack.

"Yeah," Zack answered, "I promised Tifa that we'd pay them a visit and see how Cloud is. Besides, I'm worried about Tifa as well. Looking after Cloud has probably started to take its toll on her," Zack stated as he grew increasingly concerned for the friends they had left behind. "We should go to Mideel and see how they're both doing."

"Alright you jackasses!" Cid yelled at the pilots again. "We're headin' to Mideel to visit some old friends so step on it or I'll step on you!"

"Yes sir!" The pilots yelled again and rushed about the navigation room and fiddling with the controls. The Highwind took off again and made its way to Mideel.

Zack was stood at the window at the front of the navigation room and stared out in front of him. "I hope Cloud and Tifa are ok," Zack thought to himself as he sighed and he couldn't help but think that danger might be waiting for them at the peaceful coastal town. But he put that thought to the back of his mind as his main concern was Cloud and Tifa. Zack hoped against hope that they were safe as the Highwind flew closer and closer to Mideel.

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Finally chapter 14 is complete, sorry it's been a while I've just been busy with other things. It's not as long as the previous chapters but I decided to type a shorter one. Chapter 15 will be on the way as soon as I can find time to type it. Just a reminder that Final Fantasy VII and its characters and contents don't belong to me they belong to Square Enix. The film Titanic belongs to 20th Century Fox, the film Pirates of the Caribbean belongs to Disney. Fantastic Four belongs to Marvel comics.