A/N: Thanks to all who have reviewed and here's the next chapter and there's good news, I just watched a Catching Fire last night and it was such a brilliant movie. I now have the sequel to this fanfiction fully planned out!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Chapter 21: Searching

His breath came in heaving gasps as he ran down the cliff, skidding and jumping for all he was worth as the water fell down only a few metres away from him. His trousers were badly ripped and he had numerous small cuts and bruises all over his body however he didn't care, he just had to make it to the bottom of the falls immediately.

His foot slipped from beneath him again as he fell hard onto his back, the breath being knocked out of him. His body skidded down slightly as he felt some of the sharp rocks tear at his back however he managed to get to his feet, travelling smoothly down the last few metres.

"Yuna!" He called at the top of his voice, not caring about who or what heard him. He looked around frantically, trying to locate the girl he was searching for but all he saw was jagged rocks at the base of a waterfall. A sickening feeling settled in the pit of his stomach as his eyes ghosted over the rocks, wet and sharp. The roaring of the water was the only sound he could hear and it only made him feel worse. There was no way Yuna could've survived a fall like that, no human could survive a fall like that.

But he held onto the hope that she had. After all, she had hinted that she was more than human, saying that she had gifts and that there were others like her. Maybe she cast some last minute spell that saved her?

He listened for anything, any sort of reply to his call however there was only the rushing of water in his ears and then a small click.

A click?

He threw his body to the ground instinctively, covering his head as he heard the bullet hit the rock behind him. Cursing loudly, he jumped to his feet and rolled to the side, just as a lance embedded itself in the earth where he had just been.

His buster sword was in his hand in a second as he charged at the enemy who had tried to ambush him. There was a shout - something about the wind - and he immediately determined his opponent to be a man. The air around him suddenly changed as he felt a sudden burst of wind coming right for him, like a miniature tornado.

Dodging it by rolling to the side out of the way, he continued moving toward the source of the magic, cutting through the next burst of wind with his sword. The force of the spell slowed him down slightly and gave his enemy the chance to emerge from his hiding place in the bushes and make his own charge towards Cloud.

It only took the SOLDIER a second to look him over before he closed the distance between them. The boy was younger than him with light brown curly hair and blue eyes that shone with both determination and knowledge. His clothes were form-fitting, almost to the point that it looked like he was wearing tights. His blue cape blew behind him as he ran, his figure slim yet muscular at the same time.

A red sword appeared in his hand as he raised it to block the sword that Cloud brought down upon him and both men shot daggers at one another. Even though Cloud's face remained stoic yet fierce, the other kept his boyish cheekiness about him as he grinned through the glare.

"Bartz Klauser," he introduced himself through gritted white teeth. "Male tribute of Sector Five."

"Cloud Strife," Cloud replied as he put more pressure on Bartz's sword, forcing the other to break the block and jump back slightly. He didn't give him much time to recover though, lashing out in a horizontal strike with his buster sword. "Male tribute of Sector Seven," he said, striking out with every word.

After a series of quick and last-second dodges, Bartz's finally blocked the sword once more. The strain of holding back against the SOLDIER's immense strength was beginning to show on his face as a vein appeared on his temple. Cloud was surprised that he managed to hold him off though, not many people could.

"Ah... SOLDIER scum of the Capitol, eh?" His voice was strained and Cloud knew he was wearing him down.

"No, I'm just another tribute now, like you," he replied putting all of his effort into pushing down on Bartz's sword.

For a second he really thought he had the younger man however Bartz surprised him by leering go of his sword and hitting out at him in the stomach, shouting a quick wind spell. Cloud couldn't dodge or block the air as it crashed into his gut, all he could do was tense his core and prepare for the blow. It sent him flying backwards into the trunk of a tree, his neck snapping back painfully as his back collided with it.

His vision blurred for a brief second, black spots dancing in front of his eyes due to lack of sleep and energy. He really wished Yuna was here, she would've been able to cast a healing spell and restore his energy easily.

But she wasn't, he had to find her but first he had to deal with this boy who was acting as a thorn in his side. He had to get through him first so that he could resume his search for Yuna and he knew that time was running short, if she was even alive, she was probably, wet, cold and injured but worst of all; weaponless. He had to get to her, no matter what.

With that single thought in mind, he raised his sword and blocked the oncoming blow, a newfound strength rising within him.

Paine felt something disturb her in her sleep as she buried her head deeper into the pillows, a negative groan crawling up her throat. She was positive that it was not the morning time and therefore no one should be disturbing her. The possibility of another attack from SOLDIER crossed her mind however she found she didn't care, let them come, she was twice as lethal when her sleep was disturbed.

The intruder tried to pull the covers away from her however she fought back, bringing the sheets up over her head and taking secret pleasure as Zack's natural scent washed over her. Even though her leg was nearly fully healed and she could finally walk around again, Zack had insisted she stay where she was just to be safe. There wasn't much arguing she could do with a weak leg against a stubborn SOLDIER.

A hand crawled beneath the sheets from the side of the bed as strong fingers prodded her in the side, making her squirm away with an angry muffled groan. It attacked her exposed waist again and this time she could not contain the uncharacteristic squeak that escaped her at the ticklish sensation.

"Who knew Paine could squeak..." She heard Zack's boyish voice murmur as he tugged at the sheets, trying to get her to awaken.

He succeeded unknowingly as her eyes drifted open and she blinked blearily. Living in the Capitol had made her senses dimmer and lazier, if she'd have been in the games she would've been up like a shot.

"I do not squeak," she grunted as her fingers curled around a pillow, expertly chucking it at Zack to stop him from uncovering her completely. She sat up and looked around slightly dazed. It definitely wasn't morning, it was the middle of the night so why was Zack trying to get her up?

"What's wrong?" She asked, sobering up in an instant at the look on his face. Even though his expression was serious and a tiny bit concerned he managed to keep his boyish charm about him.

"Lulu told me to wake you," he said, ceasing his pulling of the covers and walking around to her picking up the television remote on the way. "Barrett's finished Yuna's staff and she went down to collect it but you may not need it at all."

The demoness' eyebrows slanted downwards in confusion at his statement but before her lips could form a question he had turned on the strange machina only to show a picture of Yuna lying face down on the ground near a river, still and unmoving. Her clothes were torn and damp, her hip was bleeding and bruises adorned her legs. Her short brown tresses covered her face but Paine had no doubt that her skin would probably be pale, void of any colour and eyes closed.

"She went over the falls after getting Cloud out of the water, their camp was attacked by elder drakes and she managed to save him but not herself," he explained softly, a hint of guilt in his voice. "I'm sorry Pai-"

"She's not dead," Paine said immediately, staring at the screen, at Yuna's battered and bruised body. This girl couldn't be dead, the fayth couldn't allow it, she had to be alive... They'd come so far and Yuna had done so well, she had become such a warrior... She couldn't be dead...

"Paine... The Turks are on their way in to remove her body," Zack said, softly taking her by the shoulders and making her look at him. "They couldn't detect any visible signs of life..."

"No..." She whispered softly, her stone expression faltering slightly. Yuna had been more than just a tribute, she'd been a summoner, she'd been like a sister to her, she'd been the people's hope... Just one girl had obtained so many sponsors and followers, so many believed in her, she gave those who were controlled by fear the courage to hope... she couldn't be gone...

"No," she repeated more firmly this time, her hard expression returning as she looked Zack dead in the eyes. Yuna could not be dead, it wasn't possible because she was the only hope. Zack didn't understand, he grew up in the Capitol, he was a part of SOLDIER, he didn't realise...

"Just wait," she said as she sat cross-legged on the bed, staring at the television while Zack watched her worriedly. "This battle isn't over."

And neither is this war.

The numerous cuts and bruises were beginning to take their toll on him as he found it hard to keep his sword up. He was sure that if he was tired then Bartz had to be ten times worse, considering he had advanced attributes thanks to his SOLDIER enhancements. The younger tribute hadn't landed too many blows on him and the ones he had were minor enough but the same could be said for Cloud, most of his attacks hadn't been that fatal either.

He had to keep trying though.

Charging with incredible speed he swiped horizontally, then diagonally and then vertically, keeping up the steady pattern and rhythm as he tried to wear Bartz down. His opponent merely dodged and blocked, morphing his sword into twin daggers so that movement came easier to him. When Cloud found him moving in sync with his attacks he changed his pattern, performing two horizontal swipes in a row and rolling to the side while striking out again blindly. He felt his blade connect and when he leapt to his feet, he could clearly see the red blood on its tip.

Bartz staggered slightly, his blue outfit now stained with blood at the hip. His daggers morphed back into his red sword and somehow he found the strength to come at Cloud again. His movement was sloppier though and Cloud easily blocked it before allowing the materia in his sword to glow dangerously.

"Fire!" Cloud yelled thrusting his sword upwards and breaking the block as he jumped back, allowing the fire to lick at Bartz's skin. The other teenager screamed in agony, blisters already forming from where the fire worked its magic.

He didn't stop there though, he felt a surge of power within him and let it loose, jumping high into the air. His blonde spikes ruffled in the wind created by the climaxing power, as he raised his sword high above his head.

"Stars! Rain down!" He shouted thrusting his sword downward and letting the power explode from it in the form of meteors hurtling towards the wounded tribute. The meteors travelled too fast for Bartz to either dodge or block and they collided with his body, cutting in deep and burning him. His screams of agony resounded throughout the forest, echoing through the trees as though thousands of souls were screaming at the one time.

However when Cloud landed on the ground once more, the screams had ceased along with the beating of Bartz's heart.

It was dark and cold and she could feel nothing but numbness. Worst of all there were flowers all around her and she could hear the faint whispers of pyreflies and water. A full moon shone down upon her but it cast little light. It was funny really, when she had come here when she was alive it had seemed so bright, but really it was quite dim and not as beautiful at all.

The Farplane.

"I guess the waterfall really did kill me," Yuna whispered quietly to herself as she looked around. The flowers made crunching sounds beneath her feet every time she took a step, it seemed to be the only sound in the silent glen, apart from the odd whisper of a passing pyrefly.

A figure appeared before her, one of a small boy that she knew so well. His hood covered his face mysteriously as he approached her silently. All the colour seemed to fade around him and what little light the moon cast down began to fade until nothing but pitch black was left.

Only she and Bahamut were visible in the gloom, that is until the other fayth began to join, making a full circle around her. Valefor, Ifrit, Ixion, Shiva, Yojimbo, Anima and the Magus Sisters, they were all there with Bahamut...

And none looked happy.

"That was a reckless move, Yuna," Shiva was the first to speak, her voice cold like her natural element of ice as she regarded her summoner with both disappointment and anger.

"You should not have put the human before yourself," Ifrit, the fayth of the fiery aeon, backed up his opposite. His voice came out in a growl, vicious and low yet Yuna found herself not flinching from it. Before she had entered the games she would have been cowering in fear however now was a different story.

"His life is worthless compared to yours," Yojimbo spat out.

Even though she was a spirit and had no actual body, she could still feel something stir within her, as if her blood was boiling. She could take the blame for what she did, she would allow them to take hits at her but not at Cloud.

"His life is not worthless!" She burst out, her feminine voice full of passion as it echoed through the empty expanse, silencing them. "No life is worthless, especially not his."

"It may not be to you, but to the rest of mankind, it is," Anima spoke firmly and matter-of-factly.

"You cannot allow your emotions to influence your decisions, Yuna," Bahamut spoke softly in his childish voice.

"But that's what makes me human," she argued desperately. Why was she even bothering anyway? It wouldn't make a difference, she was dead anyway.

"You cannot afford to be human and show emotions," Shiva said coldly.

"Can't afford?" She repeated slowly. "You mean I'm-"

"You cannot die in these games Yuna, you must live on and we will do everything in our power to make sure you survive," Bahamut cut her off, his words sounding more like a threat than a promise.

"You are the light, you saw what happened to Zanarkand," Valefor continued on from Bahamut. "We cannot let that happen again, but we must defeat Sin. Lady Yunalesca only managed to trap Sin for a short period of time, you must rid the world of her for good."

"But first you must survive these games," Yojimbo said seriously. "At all costs."

"Is this woman that you're talking about, the one Yunalesca said was Sin... is it Aerith?" Yuna asked hesitantly.

"No, but she will try to stop you Yuna," Anima said. "The girl is under the false impression that Sin is a protector of the planet, a Cetra, just like her and she thinks you are going to murder her so-called brethren."

"But why would she think that Sin is a protector of the planet?" Yuna asked bewildered.

"Because she is naive and has been given false information," Ixion answered her immediately. "She is much like you, strong-willed and kind-hearted but unlike you, she is fighting for the wrong cause. You must not hesitate to kill her should you cross paths."

"For she will not hesitate to kill you," Shiva took over, taking a step forward towards Yuna. "She will believe she is doing her job as a protector of the planet."

All of them flickered at once, their forms being to leak of pyreflies as the darkness began to fade. The numbness was slowly receding as she began to feel again, her senses sparking to life.

"Our time is running short Yuna, we must retreat into the depths of your soul," Bahamut said, his voice shaking slightly as his body became nearly completely transparent. "Remember, you are too important to die, Yuna, you must survive at all costs."

Dirt.

She woke up to dirt.

She spat some of the grainy substance out of her mouth, hoping to get rid of the horrible taste as she slowly sat up. Pain flared in her side as she looked towards her injured hip, blood staining her beautiful blue skirt and the bruised skin of her leg. She raised a hand to cast a cure spell on it but paused, realising that she was very low on energy. One more spell, even a simple one could send her back into unconsciousness.

Sighing as she tried to ignore the pounding in her head, she got to her feet, careful not to put pressure on her bad leg. Her hands automatically went for her guns in her back pocket however they came up empty as memories from the night before came back to her. The elder drakes, the chase, the river, Cloud...

She hoped he was ok but then caught herself, mentally scolding herself for caring for the enemy. As much as she hated to admit it, that was what Cloud was, her enemy and the fayth were right, she could not care for him. Or Tidus for that matter. She had to look out for herself now because things weren't looking too bright at the moment.

She had no guns, no magic, no food, no potions, no equipment, no partner and many injuries that would slow her down. She couldn't stay where she was because it was dangerous to stay in the one place but she had nowhere to go. What was her next option?

"I guess I can think while I'm walking," she whispered quietly to herself, beginning to make her way into the trees.

No sooner had she taken a couple of steps into the forest, she heard the bloodcurdling screams. Her heart leapt within her chest, beating hard against her ribs as she instantly leant against the trunk of a tree, trying to remain hidden despite the pain in her leg. She listened carefully, hearing a man shout and then the ground shook as though some giant force had just crashed to the earth. More screams of agony resounded and she covered her ears in a desperate attempt to block them out. She didn't want to be here anymore, she wanted to go home and get away from all this...

A package landed in front of her suddenly, the parachute falling to the ground beside it. Joy entered her heart as she practically leapt onto it, undoing the packaging eagerly and picking up the note with shaky fingers.

Don't ever scare me like that again,

Paine.

A smile graced her lips as she placed the note in her back pocket before opening up the rest of her present. A sense of nostalgia washed over her as her hands wrapped around the cold metal of handguns, remembering the first time she had gotten a package in the games. A new pouch came with them, fully stocked with ammunition. Reloading her guns as though it was second-nature to her, she placed them carefully into her back pocket before finding the last part of her package.

An elixir.

Her shaky fingers wrapped around the cork-topped bottle as she popped it open and downed the potion, chugging it faster than a chocobo that had been roaming around the Bikanel desert. She knew she must've looked so barbarous and unladylike however she found she didn't care, the effects of the potion made her feel so much better.

"Curaga," she whispered softly, feeling the healing energy pour into her leg. It only stopped the bleeding though and despite the fact that she just drank an elixir she still needed to rest before she could try cast another powerful healing spell.

Back against the trunk of the tree, she allowed her tired body to slide down. As an extra precaution she kept her guns in her lap as she looked towards the river that had nearly been her death. It was funny how she considered water to be so close to her home and yet it had also nearly made sure she would never return home again.

As she stared at the water now, she could've sworn she saw something move beneath the surface. Even though her eyes were practically level with the surface of the waters she just knew she saw something.

A bump in the current, she saw it again, this time however instead of disappearing beneath the water it moved upwards, crawling out of the river on its tentacles. She raised her guns, ready to take it out with a single bullet considering it was quite a small monster however she paused as she watched the fiend grow in size, dragging its full body out of the river.

The head came first, round and swelling and oozing some slimy green form of puss, next came its slick purplish-blue body, supported by its long tentacles. The water fell off it, splattering the ground and she prayed to the fayth that it would wash away the blood she had left on the river bank. It was that thought that made her look at the forest floor and made her notice the small trail of drops of blood she'd made over to her current position.

Her whole body froze as she became very tense and very still. Her lungs seemed to just stop working as she held her breath, watching as the fiend sniffed the ground, like a dog, before raising its grotesque head. It's numerous eyes seemed to lock on her as it let an excited shriek rip through its throat and began to move towards her.

That's when she went trigger happy.

Her body snapped into action as she tried to get up, unloading her clips in quick succession at the rapidly approaching fiend. She was surprised how fast it could move on land, silently complaining to herself that she could never catch a break in these games as she moved backwards.

Her guns began to click, signalling their emptiness as she released their current clips and exchanged them for new ones before continuing to fire. She took out a few eyes with her bullets, making the fiend roar in agony and also damaged a few tentacles but that only managed to slow it down slightly. She wasn't doing any proper damage.

Gritting her teeth she moved further backwards, knowing she could never outrun it due to her weak limb and lack of energy. She didn't notice the tree root behind her until her heel hit it and she tumbled backwards, falling painfully on her bad hip. She sat up immediately though, her fingers never ceasing to pull on the triggers as she tried to shuffle backwards.

Click. Click. Click.

There was no time to reload her guns as a tentacle reached out and grabbed her ankle, wrapping around her tightly and jerking her forward. A scream tore through her throat as her guns fell from her hands and she was dragged towards the slimy creature. Her foot kicked out at the tentacle instinctively however another tentacle caught it in a firm grasp and refused to let go.

Her bi-coloured eyes widened in fear as the head seemed to swell even further, she was afraid it might explode. From beneath the folds of infected skin and fat, the mouth appeared and began to open, exposing yellow saliva and extremely sharp teeth. She couldn't help the scream of terror that escaped from her vocal cords as she tried to grab onto anything to stop herself from moving any further.

Her fingers clawed at the earth but nothing held as she came only a metre away from the fiend. The stench of its breath was overwhelming along with the pure heat of it. Bile rose in her throat but she swallowed it down, if she was to die she would not do it ungracefully.

Her hands rose and she tried to gather power to cast a spell but nothing came. Her fear and pain was clouding her thoughts as she screamed again, the muscles aching in her legs from her struggling. Tears stung her eyes as she stared into the throat of the huge fiend, picturing herself being swallowed, feeling its slick, gummy throat tighten around her, her oxygen cut off as she descended into the darkness of its stomach...

Another roar emerged in the forest but this time it wasn't from the fiend. Her heart missed a beat as she looked towards the side, afraid of the hope that rose within her as she saw the buster sword descend upon the two tentacles and cut off their hold on her.

She squirmed away from the amputated pieces of tentacles, feeling bile rise in her throat again while more tears flew down her cheeks. Despite everything, she smiled as she watched Cloud, raise his sword to the fiend and strike out at the approaching tentacles. His sword began to glow dangerously as he whipped it around, another roar tearing through his mouth like a battle cry. With one last quick motion he sent a tornado of sorts at the fiend, knocking it up into the air and away from them. It burst into pyreflies in the distance, reminding Yuna of the fireworks in the Capitol.

Cloud turned around and looked at her, his face not as stoic as it was before but had something akin to relief plastered on it. She had no clue how he had found her, perhaps he'd heard the bullets and came running, blindly thinking it was her. She wondered if the huge earthquake she had felt earlier was generated by an attack of his, or the screams she'd heard...

She found she didn't care though, she focused solely in him, blinking repeatedly to make sure she wasn't watched as he - sword still in hand - began to power-walk over to her as she dragged herself up from the ground, half-running, half-limping over to him. She practically fell into his arms, her legs giving out beneath her as the tears flowed freely once more. Relief, tiredness, fear, gratitude, happiness, they all washed through her at once as her arms wrapped around him.

Her shoulders wracked with sobs as she buried her head in his shoulder, his familiar scent of leather and iron washing over her. He tensed at her touch, but after a moment of hesitance he let his sword drop to the ground beside him and he wrapped his own arms around her, gently stroking her hair and shushing her. She whispered his name over and over through the tears and choked gasps, hating herself for appearing so weak yet not caring in the least, just happy to be back with him.

The guilt came next, as she remembered she had thought of him as her enemy, her opinion changed by the pressure the fayth had put on her. How could she have ever thought of him as her enemy, after he had just saved her like that? He could've left her to die, it would've been one less tribute to kill for him but he didn't...

"I'm so sorry... I'm... I'm sorry," she gasped out in to his shoulder, her shoulders shaking with each word.

"You're sorry?" He repeated, surprise lacing his tone as he held her by her shoulders and put some distance between them so that he could see her face. "Why are you sorry?"

"I... I..." she didn't know what to say to him, she couldn't tell him the truth, she'd feel too guilty. Instead she tried to get her emotions under control, calming her breathing and wiping at her cheeks.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," he said firmly, as his mako eyes met her bi-coloured ones. "So don't apologise to me."

A smile managed to appear on her lips as more tears flowed down but there were no sobs this time. He let her hug him again, his arms around her as she took her time trying to calm herself down. She wasn't sure how long they had stayed like that, Cloud simply holding her as she shook off her tears and fear. She was sure he had been slightly uncomfortable with the contact yet he hadn't said a word and had even relaxed his posture. She couldn't thank him enough for comforting her the way he had, especially since they were on camera and probably had millions of people watching them. He never pushed her away, just let her hold onto him for support until she was ready.

When they broke apart, she nodded in a silent response that she was ok to the question in his eyes. He collected his sword and she picked up her guns as they began walking through the early hours of the morning, shoulder to shoulder, watching the sun rise together. In those moments, she felt safer than she ever had before in her life with just him by her side.