Hey this story is getting updated again! Yay! Finally back on the journey with Zack and Cloud now that they have been found. Let's see how it goes!

Chapter 20

The ride in the van was far more quiet than the helicopter had been, but Zack did his best to keep his mind from wandering too much. Though he still kept thinking about what was to come once they arrived at their location, wherever that was going to be.

Zack glanced over to Cloud, who was staring out at the window with the scenery flying back. Eventually Cloud let out a long sigh and leaned back.

"Don't tell me you are also motion sick here," Zack teased.

"Nah, just lost in thought. I can't believe we actually made it. Like we're back in Midgar, and we did it on our own."

"Well mostly," Zack interjected. "We did have some help here and there. Speaking of that…"

Zack looked up at the front of the van where Reno and Rude were. "Hey… so will Cissnei be at wherever this place is?"

"Oh? Worried about her?" Reno asked. "Yeah don't worry she'll be there. Bet you got some things to say to her right? I mean she did play a big hand in all of this."

"Yeah," Zack replied softly. "She helped me more than I thought she would. I need to seriously thank her big time."

"Cissnei…" Cloud murmured. "Name sounds familiar."

"She's the Turk that gave us the motorbike, if you can remember that early on in our journey," Zack answered.

Cloud hummed, thinking about it, but shook his head seconds later. "Can't really remember that far back. I remember the motorbike, but not how we got it."

"Yeah, we were freshly escaped. You were still out of it big time, but hey you'll get to meet her now at least."

Cloud nodded. "Sounds good."

They were driven a little father until they pulled into a garage of sorts. They went down a bit of a narrow passageway before coming to an area where Reno parked the van.

"Okay," he said turning off the van. "The ride stops here. We are now in the super secret totally not sketchy location Tseng wants to meet you."

Rude grumbled in annoyance, but chose not to comment. Even with no verbal comment, it seemed that Reno knew what Rude was thinking. "Aw come on, I'm just trying to lighten the situation. You guys get it right?" Reno looked back at Zack and Cloud with a hopeful glance.

Both Zack and Cloud looked at Reno and then at each other. They shrugged quietly before turning back to Reno, who sighed.

"Fine, guess I'll work on my stand-up some other time," Reno said before getting out of the van.

Everyone else followed and Zack took in his surroundings. It was some kind of discrete parking garage, and the only way out, aside from where they came, was a single door opposite the car.

Before they could get close, it opened up and none other than Tseng walked out. The first thing Zack noticed was that the man had grown out his hair, making him look a bit more mature and older.

"Oh yeah, I guess I keep forgetting about five years have passed…"

Tseng smiled slightly. "Zack. I'm relieved to see that you made it here safely."

"Well… mostly," Zack said gesturing to his injured arm. He chuckled slightly. "I tried my best to make it one piece, but I guess that's harder than it looks."

"Again, I wish we would have made it in time. I'm sorry about this," Tseng apologized.

"Well, I've just got to accept it right? Nothing I can do about it now," Zack answered shortly.

"I see. Well first thing is that we must take care of that then," Tseng replied.

"But how?" Zack asked, slightly shocked how casual Tseng was about it. "It's dead weight. I can't use it anymore, and I don't think there is any medicine or materia that can fix a dead arm."

"I suspected that you may have some injuries after your battle. At least your friend here is lucky that he made it through without many scrapes."

Cloud blinked before he realized that Tseng was talking to him. "O-Oh yeah. I guess I got lucky then. I don't really remember much of the battle…" Cloud trailed off as he stared down at the ground.

Wanting to prevent Cloud from thinking too much in case he remembered anything. Zack spoke up again. "So Tseng, what are you planning to do then with my arm?"

"It's obvious you can't use it anymore, but you can't keep going with it dead at your side. Besides, you'll have an infection, which could lead to worse possibilities. So there is only one real feasible option," Tseng said. He paused for a moment as if for dramatic effect. "A prosthetic replacement."

Zack's eyes widened. "You… you mean a mechanical arm? Like I would have a legitimate working mechanical arm as a replacement?"

Tseng closed his eyes and nodded. "We do have that possibility open if it's something that you would like to do. The choice is yours."

"Well I would like to get something done about the arm. There's no way to save it I already know. So… if you can do that then let's go for it. To be honest, it would be cool to have an arm like that," Zack chuckled, trying to remain upbeat about the situation.

"Only you would try to make light of things as they are. Come on you two. We'll get you both healed up, and I'll explain what's happened in the years you've been gone," Tseng spoke to them as he led both of them through the doors of the building they had just arrived it.

Once they were inside, Zack and Cloud were led to different areas of the building. Since Cloud only had some minor injuries, he was not going to need as much treatment as Zack did. But before that happened, Zack assured him things would be fine before Reno and Rude escorted him to another location. This left Tseng alone with Zack, who guided him towards the medical area where he would have his arm worked on.

"Now, there is much I wish to talk to you about, and I am sure you want to ask me quite a few questions. But first let's get your arm taken care of as much as we can. You will of course have to be fitted for a mechanical one, but that will be done after."

"Yeah I get it. Let's go ahead and get this started then," Zack replied shortly.

Zack opened his eyes slowly, the light that broke through his eyelids piercing through to his pupils. He blinked, trying to adjust to the brightness. He felt a slight dizziness about him as he started to become more aware. After a few minutes of trying to focus, he finally was able to see clearly again.

Currently he was hooked up to several IVs, with a monitor displaying his heart rate and other important vital signs. The first thing he thought of, aside from that, was his arm, which he noticed that he was not feeling any pain from it. Once he glanced down towards that area, he finally saw why.

There was no arm there any longer, which is what he had expected, but just seeing it now in real time was something different. It was almost surreal to see, feeling like he was dreaming it up, but he knew that everything he saw was real.

The former spot of his arm was thankfully wrapped up in some kind of medical bandage wrap, keeping it clean so that it could not get any infections. Besides, it would need to be cleared up before his prosthetic could be placed on him.

"Well it seems as though this surgery is done already," he said aloud.

"Yes it is. Good to see you're awake now," a soft female voice replied to him.

It was a familiar voice, but once that Zack had not heard in a very long time. Not since that night that he was on the shores of Nibelheim. He didn't realize that anyone else was in the room with him at the time either. He craned his head to the side and saw a very familiar face.

"Cissnei! That you?"

She still wore the same black Turks suit just as he remembered. Everything about her seemed to be nearly the same, including her distinct, auburn-colored hair. Though, it was longer than when he had last seen her, the hair now stretching down to the middle of her back.

"Of course, Who else did you think it was?" she replied sarcastically.

"Well, I… I was just making sure. You grew your hair out I see."

She nodded in response, not offering another word at the moment. Zack took the silence to continue talking as he closed his eyes.

"It's been a while. I didn't think I'd see you again actually. So it's good to-"

He didn't get to finish and felt a sudden impact. He opened his eyes to see that Cissnei had gotten up from where she was sitting and had thrown her arms around his neck, embracing him in a hug. Shock was on his face, as this was something that he didn't recall Cissnei ever having done before. At first he wasn't sure why, but then he thought about it and it all made sense to him.

He smiled. "I'm sorry I worried you, Cissnei."

"You idiot! You could have died. I was afraid we wouldn't find you. I… I thought I would never get to tell you my real name." Her words came out forced, as she choked back on her emotions.

"Hey… it's okay," Zack said in a soothing voice. He placed his left hand around her and patted her on the back. "I'm here now, isn't that what matters?"

"Yeah, I guess now it is. But still… damn, I said I wouldn't let emotions control me," she said, trying to not let herself get out of control.

Once she took a few deep breaths, she raised her head up slightly, still facing Zack. "Honestly, I would have blamed myself if you didn't make it here," she spoke with a more concise tone, just like she normally would.

Zack of course took notice of that. "There's that normal Cissnei demeanor I'm used to," he spoke with a chuckle. "But hey, no reason to focus on the ifs or ands or what-ifs now. We are here, now."

"I know that," Cissnei replied solemnly. "I'm just rather glad to see you again Zack, alive and well."

With that, she then started to move a bit closer towards Zack's face.

Zack was surprised at her sudden movement. "Hey, uh, what are you doing Cissnei?"

"Telling you what I almost didn't get a chance to," she replied softly as she reached right up next to his ear.

She whispered softly into his ears a few sentences. Even though there was nobody else in the room, it seemed that she was still being cautious. Once she was finished with what she was saying, Zack's eyes widened, clear surprise at what he had just heard.

"Wait what?! That's your name?"

Cissnei grinned at him slightly before finally stepping back from her bent over state. She breathed and and resumed her usually calm and straight composure. "Yeah, just don't say it aloud. Currently, you're the only person that knows besides me."

"Boy, don't I feel special," he replied with a snarky tone, catching a serious stare from Cissnei. "Okay okay I get it. My lips are sealed. But still, I guess I expected something more… elaborate."

"Yeah, it's nothing grand. But that's the way it is. But you don't have to call me by that if you prefer not to."

"Hmm… well it is a nice name. But I'm so used to calling you Cissnei that I'm not sure I can break that habit," he chuckled.

"Then we'll just leave it at that. I'm just glad I finally got to tell you."

An awkward silence fell over the two of them after that. Both of them averted their eyes from one another. Zack didn't really know what to say to her next, but he knew he had to try something.

"Umm, so where is Tseng? I haven't seen him yet."

"He's actually on business right now. He will be back a bit later though. But that's why I'm here. At least while I can be…"

Zack noticed the change in her tone, causing him to cock his head to the side. "What do you mean by that?"

Cissnei wrapped her arms around herself, like she usually did. She sighed before glancing to the floor. "Because of my actions in all of this, I need to try and hide for the time being. Until it is safe to come back."

"Wait what?"

He shook his head quickly, making sure that he heard Cissnei correctly. Zack positioned himself a bit more upright in the bed at that point, making sure not to pull any of the IV tubes or cords too much. His eyes focused long and hard on Cissnei then, staring endlessly as he tried to find the right words to say. But eventually, his mind started working again.

"So… what exactly happened? It sounds like you're in some trouble now. Tell me."

"I can't really go into too much detail, but I'll say this… What I did, you know to make sure that there was a chance you could be saved, it was really risky. I put a lot at stake to get Tseng to have all of this set up. Now I have to take the fall for what I did, and I understand the consequences," Cissnei said with a serious tone to her voice.

A look of shock and confusion slowly etched its way onto Zack's face. It seemed life had a way of surprising him at every turn lately, and this was no exception. Though, what he had just heard was something that he was having trouble processing.

"You mean, you went out of your way, and risked yourself… all for me?"

"It was something important to me, so yes. I did. I ju-"

"But why?!" Zack cut her off as he allowed his emotions to show clearly now, though his voice was louder than he intended. "Why go through that for me? I… I already had enough on my plate. You already helped me before too. It's just… do you know what you're risking for this?" he ended, trying to control himself as best he could.

"Of course, I knew I had to do this," Cissnei replied calmly. "Nobody else would. Every choice I made, I knew exactly what I was doing. It had to be done in the end, if I wanted to make sure you could live and survive this."

After a brief pause, she continued before Zack got a chance to respond. "Besides… if you hadn't made it, how could I ever face your parents again," she added, her response having a bit more emotion in her voice.

"That's not the point. I just… what if you get yourself killed? To know that someone, no not just someone, you put everything on the line like that…" he trailed off, not knowing how to finish what he was saying.

"Well what's done is done now though. No going back now. We're both here right now, so I think it was worth it," she replied bluntly.

Zack started to speak, but he caught himself before he did. He was about to yell again, and he knew it. Now was not the time for that, and he knew not to let himself get out of hand. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, slowly moving air in and out. Once his mind was more clear, he opened his eyes back up and looked back at Cissnei, who was still staring a hole right through him.

But he noticed something. Her eyes gleamed slightly, which is something he didn't see often from her. He could tell that she was meaning everything that she was saying, and the emotion was clearly drawn on her face, even though she tried hard to hide it. A wry grin inched onto his face.

"You know, you have always been the one that just does whatever she wants. I guess I shouldn't have expected anything else from you, huh?"

She stifled a small grin. "Nope, you really shouldn't have," she replied shortly. She walked a bit closer to Zack and sat back down on the chair next to his bed where she had been earlier. "Besides, didn't you say one time before you liked that about me?"

"Oh did I? Well, maybe I did," he began to chuckle at her response. "I guess I can't say much since I'm the same way. I suppose we're quite the troublemakers."

She simply nodded and held his gaze. Nothing needed to be said between them, each knowing clearly what the other was thinking. Years of working together and knowing each other brought that sense of assuredness between them. And even though Zack would have liked to continue the fun and games, he knew the matter at hand was a serious one, and he was still worried.

"Cissnei. Tell me exactly what happened. And don't tell me you can't say. We're in a secure location right? So it shouldn't matter. And besides, if this concerns me, I have a right to know," Zack said with a hint of firmness in his voice again.

"It's simply just my sense of duty. It's what I had to do. I couldn't let you get captured again or worse killed. I had to at least try. There was that and maybe…" Cissnei quickly looked the other way, not letting Zack see her face.

"Maybe what?" Zack asked as he cocked his head slightly to the side.

Cissnei ran a hand through her hair. "It's really nothing that meaningful."

"It's gotta be something, otherwise you wouldn't have brought it up," Zack replied.

"What I mean is, it doesn't really matter if I say it or not. I already know where your feelings lie."

"Just what-..." he stopped and thought for a moment, and then it came to him. "Oh I see…"

"Oh, you do?" she asked suspiciously.

"Yeah, I do. I'm used to all the ladies being after me," he stifled a chuckle, but saw the deadpan look that Cissnei gave him. So he dropped the act. He sighed and then looked back at her. "You know, it might seem strange, but I've always known there was something there."

"You really think there could have been something…" Cissnei started to ask before breathing in deeply. "I don't want to sound selfish when saying this, but… I feel I need to get it off my chest. You think there could there have been something… if it wasn't for… her?"

"You mean Aerith…" he started. "Well you're not making this easy now are you. I thought that you were always too into business to worry about things like that."

"Sorry, but I just needed to ask. What's your answer then?"

"I think you and I both already know the answer. We've been close for a while you know. You know how I am too, so of course I wanted something. But you were-"

"Always focused on the job or on Shinra. Didn't seem to leave much time for anything else," she interrupted, finishing his sentence for him. "I figured I knew what you would say. And it's the truth too. My work always did come first. But…"

"But…" Zack repeated, waiting for her to finish.

"It wasn't until after you left that I realized. But it was too late by then. I wished I could have done more back when I first found you and Cloud, but my hands were tied."

"You did the best you could, you really did help us out with doing it. Oh… sorry I wasn't able to return the bike though. Kind of ran out of gas and everything," Zack chuckled slightly, hoping to lighten the mood from damping too far.

"Don't worry about the bike. But I do wonder though… if I wasn't so attached to my job. If all that hadn't happened to you. Could things be different…"

"This is a side of you I can say I've never seen before…" Zack started. "But, that's not a bad thing. I'd like to think it all could have been different as well. I think about those things all the time, but I never tell anyone."

"Then why don't you tell me?" Cissnei asked as she moved closer to him.

Zack chuckled. "Fine. But same goes for you too. Seems we have the time anyways. Deal?"

She nodded slightly as they began to talk some more. It started off a little awkward between them while they both tried to find their grounds again, but eventually things started to go back to how it felt before. They started to talk and laugh once more as if nothing had happened.

Zack couldn't have felt more relieved. After how much he endured, being able to just sit and talk to someone felt real nice, especially when it was someone like Cissnei. She had always been a close and helpful friend to him, and he wasn't sure if he would ever get to repay her for all of the nice things she had done. Either way he was happy that no rift had formed between then and they could keep going on as close friends.

Before too long, a couple of hours had already passed, time seeming inconsequential to the two of them. The conversation was winding down for the most part, but the last bits of it were interrupted by a sudden ring on Cissnei's phone. She looked to see who it was and then answered it, standing up and pacing around the room as she talked. She was done in only a few seconds though as she put the device away and turned back towards Zack.

"Well, Tseng will be back soon. And I will have to be leaving. Unfortunately."

"I see. Why don't you just stay though? It wouldn't hurt you to stay here right?" Zack asked curiously.

"I'd like to stay. But as we both said before, business seems to always interrupt us."

Zack let out a long sigh. "Would it be selfish of me to say I didn't want you to go yet?"

"A bit, but I wouldn't mind," she smiled slightly at him.

"Good, cause it wouldn't matter if you did," he chuckled. "But I assume you're going no matter what though, like you always do…"

"I'll be back someday though. Have to keep all these boys in line anyways."

"Where are you going?"

"Can't say. I'm on the run remember? If you knew, that would just be another person at risk. You've… been through enough already."

"I still feel bad, I caused all of this after all. I know I can't stop you though… but…" Zack grinned like he usually did. "I'll be happy to see you when you return."

"Like you said, what's done is done right? I'm glad I was able to get all of that off my chest anyways…" she trailed off. "Well, best to leave on a good note then right?"

"Yeah I suppose so."

The two of them shared another look with each other for a few seconds before she walked towards the door of the room. Once she was there, she turned back around and looked. "Goodbye for now Zack."

Zack gave her a smile back. "I'll miss seeing you. But take care… Rei."

A look of surprise found its way onto her face, but was soon replaced by a fair grin. "You know, it sounds good coming from you," she replied as she opened the door and walked away.

Zack stared after the door, wondering if she would ever come back. But he was glad things were finally settled between the two of them. It was a nice and welcome distraction from the more pressing matters at hand. He looked back over at where his arm used to be, a reminder of all that had happened.

Cissnei returned and some feelings were talked out, but don't worry, there is still more to come! And Zack will get his new arm soon!