Hello dear and very much appreciated readers! JI want to sincerely apologize for the LONG wait, the exams I had to take were quite time consuming and required my full attention. Anyhow, I hope you're eager for another chapter! Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own FF7, Crisis Core, Advent Children or any other works. Square Enix owns them only!

Chapter 29: Counter Plan


Tifa asked slightly uncertain:" Zack, are you sure this will work?" she looked questioningly at the grinning, former SOLDIER First Class as he lifted his heavy buster sword in the air.

He made a beckoning hand gesture as he said:" Come and see for yourself". Well, she couldn't back down from a challenge now could she?

Tifa took on a fighting stance and ran swiftly towards Zack, aiming a kick for his face. Zack blocked her powerful kick with the flat blade of his sword, pushing her back as she did a somersault in mid-air and landed on her feet before she immediately lunged at him again. Zack suddenly held up a hand to stop their fight, Tifa stopped as well.

She asked:" What is it?" Zack placed the buster sword against the wall of Seventh Heaven, he turned back around and grinned as he stretched his arms and cracked his knuckles, purely to mock his "opponent". Tifa asked with a raised eyebrow:" Oh? Hand to hand huh?"

Zack took his stance as he said:" Why not? That way we are fighting on equal grounds, more or less." He remarked with a wink, referring to his mako enhanced training as a former SOLDIER. Tifa smirked and said as she aimed a punch:" Trust me, it makes little difference."

Zack narrowly turned his head to the right to avoid her punch, his eyes widened a bit when he felt the air pressure from her powerful punch against his cheek. He jumped away to put some distance between them, he side stepped her advances as she dodged his own fast punch. They danced around each-other as Zack remarked while dodging her punches and kicks:" Well, well, well, Zangan was a pretty good trainer huh? You're good Lockhart."

Tifa grinned as she said:" Well, then you have seen nothing yet Fair." And then he regretted taunting her before, even if it was playful.

Tifa, at unnatural speed, turned around delivering a strong roundhouse kick to Zack's middle, accompanied by a flurry of punches and powerful kicks, mostly delivered to his torso. Tifa sent Zack flying by executing a bone crushing punch to his jaw.

Zack landed a few feet away on the ground but managed to land hard on his knees at the last minute, one hand balancing himself on the ground while the other rested on his knee. His gaze was fixed on the ground so Tifa couldn't see his expression but she stood on alert as he slowly reached a hand up to his mouth, wiping it.

Zack chuckled, slowly standing up with a smirk. He craned his neck, hearing something pop before he rubbed his jaw. He commented with a serious but challenging look:" Hm, not bad Lockhart. Not bad at all, in fact. I would have to take you on your word, about defeating a former First Class…"

That's when he attacked. Tifa shielded her face by crossing her arms, she was pushed a few steps away from her original spot, still in a defensive position from Zack's kick. He was strong, that was for sure. But she had a feeling that he was stronger than the normal First Classes, excluding the legendary trio of course.

As Zack and Tifa continued to train together, Yuffie was sitting on the steps of Seventh Heaven, watching the pair with Denzel and Marlene next to her. Denzel's eyes were wide in amazement and awe, intensely following each of their movements.

Marlene looked also mesmerized by the display, she asked Yuffie:" Wow, I can't believe it…they look so strong." Denzel cheered loudly:" Yeah! Go Zack!" Zack stopped and turned quickly to look at him, waving with a grin, before he ducked when Tifa tried to kick him in the face.

Marlene cheered:" Tifa, you deliver as good as you get!" Tifa smiled at her sweetly and called:" Thank you sweetie, I will!" she dodged Zack's punch and threw him over her shoulder but he regained his balance and swept her off her feet, literally.

Tifa fell down with a yelp but she was suddenly caught by two strong arms just before she made contact with the ground.

She looked up at Zack, they were both panting. They were at it for…an hour? Two? She lost count after half an hour… Zack smiled and said as he helped Tifa up:" Let's take a break for now." She nodded and smiled, dusting herself off.

She felt her cheeks heating up when Zack gently brushed his thumb against her cheek, at a small bruise. He winced in sympathy and said:" I'm sorry about that, I didn't think I-" but she cut him off firmly:" Don't worry Zack, I'm fine really." She sent him a reassuring smile.

He slowly smiled back, scratching the back of his neck. She grinned and said while playfully punching his arm:" Well, you aren't completely spotless either." She was right, in fact, he was covered in scratches and bruises here and there. She was pretty strong, almost as strong as a First Class at SOLDIER would be.

Maybe even stronger. He doubted she showed her true colors during their training, he could tell, no, feel, how she pulled her punches. She didn't make it obvious, but Zack had learned a thing or two from fighting on the front lines for so long, even if he did sleep for years…

Yuffie and the kids started clapping, with Yuffie bearing a shit-eating grin on her face. She said:" That was interesting to watch! Didn't know SOLDIERs knew how to fight." She teased playfully with a wink, Zack crossed his arms as he playfully joked back:" Really? I always thought there was a certain height restriction when you wanted to become a ninja…"

Oh, oh.

"Zack, run." Marlene said as she slowly backed away from the small ninja, Denzel following her example. Tifa only looked on in amusement as she watched Zack being chased by Yuffie, who kept screaming at him for insulting her height.

"I'm NOT short, I'm compact!" she kept shouting over and over. At the sound of a deep, male voice chuckling she turned to look at Aaron leaning against the wall with a large grin on his face.

Tifa smiled warmly and said:" Oh, hello Aaron. How are you doing?" the elderly man smiled and nodded saying:" Hello to you too young lady. I'm alright thanks and yourself?" Tifa giggled and said:" Oh, fine I guess. Just finished training with Zack."

The old mechanic nodded and said:" I saw. The boy's got pretty amazing skills…as do you. You sure can take care of yourself if you need something." He ruffled Denzel's hair and Tifa smiled at that, she asked:" Would you like anything to drink or eat maybe?" the old man shook his head and politely said:" No, no thank you Tifa. I still have work to do at the shop, I just came by to give you this."

He gave her what looked to be a letter, she looked at it confused until Aaron said:" It's from Cloud." She froze. She looked up at Aaron, who nodded in confirmation. He continued:" He came by early this morning, said he couldn't risk being seen near the bar so instead he gave me the letter. It's a miracle the kid even remembers me from all that's happened."

Tifa smiled sadly and said softly:" Zack told him…" Aaron nodded, he left with a wave as he said:" Just call if you need anything, tell Zack he's free today." Tifa called after him:" I will! Thank you a lot Aaron!" he nodded before he continued on his way.

Tifa said:" Zack." The man paused from running away from Yuffie, looking at Tifa with a concerned expression as she read a piece of paper. A letter? From whom? She looked troubled…

"Just what's going on? Tifa looks worried…" Zack thought as he approached Tifa, who was biting her lip in worry.

Zack asked:" What is it?" he moved next to her so he could read the contents of the letter as well. As he read the first sentence his eyes widened.

Zack

It's me Cloud. I'm sorry I'm not able to contact you directly, the remnants are carefully watching my movements so I can't go near Seventh Heaven without them questioning my loyalty.

Sephiroth's still controlling my mind, I can't shut him out, I tried.

Zack, you need to get Jenova's head before the remnants do. If they get their hands on it that means that Sephiroth will be revived and that he will plunge Gaia into chaos again just like Jenova. I don't know when we can meet but I'll try to call when I'm sure I'm not being watched.

For now just make sure to not get involved with the remnants, they are planning to ambush you and Seventh Heaven. They want to capture Zack when he's on deliveries and storm Seventh Heaven, they said something about Geostigma and the kids but they wouldn't tell me anything further. That's all I can say for now.

Take care of Tifa and the kids Zack. Make sure the bastards don't get their hands on either of them. Take care of yourself too.

Cloud.

Zack and Tifa looked at each-other. An ambush? Capture Zack?

What the hell?

"You're not going out on deliveries alone. In fact, you won't go on any deliveries!" Tifa immediately made that clear, Zack gaped at her for a second before he said:" W-what? But I have to! We still have two children to worry about! Besides didn't you read what Cloud wrote? He said the remnants plan to ambush Seventh Heaven after they captured me! I'll head out and hunt them down first before that happens."

Tifa's fist tightened around the letter as she said right in Zack's face:" Zack, don't you even dare. We will be fine, we have plenty of savings and I'm still working the bar after all. I'll tell AVALANCHE about this now and we will formulate a strategy."

Zack and Tifa stared each-other down, willing the other to back down. Well…both were pretty stubborn. Yuffie looked between the two back and forth, biting her nails anxiously. Tifa snapped at her lightly as she said:" Yuffie, this isn't a drama scene for god's sake!" Yuffie retorted bluntly:" Sure looks like that to me."

Zack sighed heavily, he rested his hand on his hip as he said:" How about this. I'll stay with you at Seventh Heaven, we will form a plan with the others, I'll call Cloud to find out about their next moves and we will take them by surprise if they decide to ambush us."

Tifa narrowed her eyes and asked suspiciously:" How comes you backed down so easily?" Zack crossed his arms and asked teasingly:" Who said I backed down?" Tifa playfully slapped his chest as he chuckled and lightly bumped her shoulder.

They both headed back inside the Seventh Heaven, just as Zack was about to enter the bar his sharp hearing picked something up.

The moment Zack turned around, his blue eyes widened in shock. He shouted in alarm:" Tifa!" and quickly pushed Tifa and the kids down to the floor, covering them with his body and using his wide sword as a extra shield.

They coughed heavily from all the smoke, Zack and Tifa slowly stood up and turned around to look at what happened.

Zack's eyes widened as he said:" What the…."

"Hello there Zack. Did you miss your fellow SOLDIER?"


Cliffhanger! ^^ Hehe…sorry about that. I know…haven't updated in a long time and then I come with a damn cliffhanger? Well…I like to build up some drama and anticipation! Please write me some reviews I hope you guys enjoyed reading this chapter! I'll try to update more frequently! Thanks for reading! ;) BTW: Who do you think just arrived? A new enemy? An old friend? It's someone from SOLDIER but whom? And does Zack know him personally? Please write your thoughts in the reviews or PM me!