Chapter 10

Run to You

"God damn you, Barrett!" Tifa was pounding her hands on his chest, tears streaming down her face. They stood in the underground access tunnel between Sector 6 and 7, the acrid smell of smoke and mako burning her nostrils as she sobbed. "We have to go back! We …have to go back…"

Barrett silently took the brunt of her fists, face stoic and arms unmoving at his sides. "Tifa… Tifa we had to! Otherwise we woulda been toast! You saw the firepower those Shinra assholes had!"

"We can't just leave him there! We can't, Barrett!"

"Tifa we can't go back for him! What's done is done!" Tifa released her fists and sank to her knees, Barrett catching her in his arms and kneeling with her. She sobbed into his shoulder. "He can't be.. he can't be! He just came back into my life, he can't be dead! We have to go back!"

Sighing, Barrett tried another strategy. "What makes you think he's dead Teef? Ain't he got that superhuman SOLDIER shit going on? What's to say he ain't survived? All we do by going back is put ourselves in danger." He gently pulled away, hand and gun-arm on her shoulders, pushing her off his shoulder to look her in the eyes. "We gotta keep going. Cloud'll be fine. No dumbass fall is gonna be the thing to take him out. But for now, you gotta keep goin forward."

Tifa sniffed, then looked down at her clenched fists. After a moment of thought, she nodded. "You're right. He was a SOLDIER. He can survive what you or I couldn't…he'll come back. Right? He came back once … he'll come back again."

Barrett nodded, looking sternly at Tifa. "You know I'm right. And we have to move." He looked around. "We gotta get back to the bar and regroup. Shit's done hit the fan tonight and we're gonna have a lot of fallout from it.

He knew from the moment he laid eyes on that hair. He knew the moment he saw the sword. But his heart was in disbelief.

"Cloud?!"

Zack dropped the makeshift spear he had grabbed, the piece of wood clattering to the floor as he rushed to his friend's side, putting a hand to his shoulder and gently shaking. "Hello?!"

Nothing. But he saw the rise of his chest-breathing! He's alive! Excitedly, he shook a bit harder, and saw Cloud's left hand twitch ever so slightly.

Come on man, wake up! He gently patted the side of Cloud's face.

"Hello! Hello in there!"

Cloud's eyes shot open, mako blue meeing mako blue. Holy shit. Zack lunged forward, wrapping Cloud into a bear hug.

"Cloud! You're alive! Oh man… after what happened, when I woke up, and you were gone, I thought you were a goner. You have no idea how relieved I am to see you!"

Cloud shook his head drowsily, the haze on his brain lifting. He felt aches and soreness all over his body from the fall he had just taken, but so far, nothing seemed to be broken.

Back then… you got by with just a couple of scraped knees.

Zack let go of his friend, looking at his face. Cloud felt a flicker of recognition, then a sharp stabbing pain in his head. Zack frowned as Cloud reached a hand up to grasp at his temple, face twisted in agony.

"Hey, man, that was a pretty bad fall, are you hurt? Maybe I shouldn't have hugged you. Shit, is your neck ok? I remember in SOLDIER training that we weren't supposed to move victims with neck injuries…but hey, you're moving your head now, so that means you're ok right?"

Cloud opened his eyes and looked down. Flowers? He frowned then scanned the room, his breath hitching when his eyes land on the pew several feet away.

Pink dress. Brown hair.

A memory of warmth, hands on his skin, a gentle kiss on a humid summer night.

Cloud stood up quickly, walking towards her and kneeling in front of the pew, Zack hot on his heels.

"Who is she?"

Zack looked at him, frowning. "Aerith. I never got the chance to introduce you to her before we left back then, but she's just…" he smiled, "She's just great, man. She got knocked out during that last quake, I was letting her sleep it off when I saw you laying there." Zack knelt beside Cloud, placing a hand on Aerith's cheek, her face looking more peaceful and sleeplike than it had a few minutes before. Cloud felt a sharp pang of jealousy rise up his throat and he shook his head, dismissing the feeling.

"Aerith…" Cloud looked at her, face unreadable. As if on cue, Aerith stirred, fluttering her eyes open and coughing. She picked her head up, looking at the two boys. "Zack, what happened…"

Zack jumped up from his kneeling stance, moving to sit next to her on the pew, helping her sit up. "Another quake. Possibly another explosion, but it felt a lot closer than the one yesterday." He cupped her face with his hand, concerned, and momentarily forgetting about their new audience. "Are you ok, Aer?"

Aerith frowned. "I felt…" She stopped herself, and shook her head. "I think I was just in shock, that's all. I feel fine now." She lied. Her heart felt like it was on fire, her head was a cacophony of confused voices lost in the valley between life and death. She closed her eyes, then opened them, looking around the room and stopping as she met a second pair of glowing, mako-blue eyes. "Oh!."

Cloud felt a swelling pressure in his chest as they locked eyes. Aerith smiled softly. "Hi, there. Who are you?"

Zack answered for him before Cloud could even open his mouth. "Aerith, this is Cloud. I, uh…" Zack pointed up at a second hole, directly over her flowerbed. "I think he fell."

Aerith sat up straight and leaned forward, carefully examining Cloud, taking his arm into her hand. "Hm." She looked him over and Cloud felt his skin becoming hot under her touch, his face reddening. This, thankfully, went unnoticed by Zack, who was focused on Aerith. Aerith, thankfully, had closed her eyes to work a gentle healing spell. Cloud felt the gentle brush of a curative magic sweep over his superficial wounds and soothe his aching bones. He closed his eyes, losing himself in the feel of it, sighing. His mind felt clear…what was happening?

Zack's voice returned to his ears, his senses coming back from the fog. "…house. Man, her mom can cook. I bet she wouldn't mind if you came by too, especially if I tell her that you were with me when everything went down. I can't believe you're here, you're ok." Zack stood up, patting Cloud on his shoulder gently, then walking back to the flowerbed, his eyes landing on the Buster Sword.

Carefully, Zack reached out to grip the handle, lifting it out of the dirt and exhaling as he did so. Honor… dreams… He smiled, latching the sword to his back, feeling the familiar weight press against him. He turned around, grinning at Aerith and Cloud. "Those hedgehog pies don't stand a chance, now! I guess we'll have to get you a sword of your own, Cloud. I bet we could find a weapons dealer easily enough. It won't be any Buster Sword, but we can get you your own bonafide Cloud Special! I'll pick up some merc jobs and save up some money for us. I know we have to lay low for now, but at least..." Cloud shook his head, Zack's rambling words fading as he looked back at Aerith, who sat before him with a gentle warmth on her face. The uneasy, tumultuous feelings swirling inside him came to a crashing halt when he looked at her. Memories of this girl filled his mind, yet he didn't really remember her. She, obviously, did not know him, yet here she was, welcoming him like an old friend.

He turned, feeling a wave of anger rising as he saw the sword—his sword—on Zack's back, and he stood up, staring daggers into his face. "Give me back my sword."

Zack stopped short mid-sentence, looking at Cloud. "Buddy, you barely say two words to me since you wake up, and you say that? Do you remember anything that happened?"

Cloud shook his head, "Nope. Can't say that I do." A pained look came over Zack's face.

"Cloud, what do you remember? Do you remember anything from Nibelheim?"

A flash of memory. A young girl sitting beside him on the water tower. An endless ocean of stars above them. A promise.

Cloud grasped his temple again, wincing in pain as the uneasy presence snaked its way around his brain. A town covered in flames. The man in the black cape.

He felt a heavy hand on his shoulder. "Hey, man, you ok?"

A softer hand on his other shoulder. The flames dissipate. He opens his eyes, seeing both Zack and Aerith looking at him with concern.

Aerith spoke first. "I think we should get him back to my place, Zack." Zack nodded, standing up and offering Cloud his hand. Cloud silently stood up, turning towards Aerith, as Zack slowly let his hand fall to his side. Aerith gave Zack a look over Cloud's shoulder and Zack shrugged.

"Ok…" she looked up at Cloud, who had his eyes fixated on her. "Well, let's go. The streets may be rough after that last explosion, but…well, I have two SOLDIER bodyguards with me now, so I think we can manage."