FAR FROM THE TREE CHAPTER 30
Authors' Note: How many stories do we have planned? As of right now, we have five ALMOST complete stories. There are several more in the works because we LOVE our alternate universe, and there are MANY possibilities! We are really excited to start uploading chapters from other stories!
-TREACHERIES OF THE UNFAIR-
Lucifer, she will never stop.
(I know, Angel.)
She will keep attacking Cloud and the people he loves until she gets what she wants.
(What can we do?)
I will revive her and take her into myself. Then she will be mortal.
(No! You will die, Angel!)
I can't let her keep doing this, nor can I keep her out forever.
(There must be another way.)
No, there is not. If you defeat the person she controls, she will move on to another.
(I just found you, sister! I cannot lose you!)
If I revive her and let her in, she becomes mortal. Kill her and the Lifestream will reject her.
(I cannot allow you to do this.)
There is no other way, my brother. You must help the others to accept this.
(How can I help them accept it when I, myself, cannot accept it?)
You must. I've made my decision.
*FFTT*
Zack had to focus his complete concentration on keeping Jenova at bay as he ran down the street. He couldn't even stop to see where he was going, he just knew he had to turn away from people. Jenova was trying to steer him closer to populated areas, and he struggled to stay in control of his motor skills.
"No! You're not getting me that easily! And you're not getting away from me either."
You can't fight me forever, Zack. Eventually, I will take over... and then you will watch as your own hands take the lives of everyone you hold dear.
He felt himself momentarily stop and start to turn.
You're the one who invited me in. I simply took you up on your offer.
Zack huffed as he chuckled. "Yeah, I invited you in, like a trap invites a mouse with a slice of cheese. And you took the bait. You're trapped with me now. Unable to target anyone else, and Zack Fair doesn't break so easily. I didn't break in Nibelheim, I didn't break with Hojo and I didn't break on the day I died. There's no way in hell you're gonna do what those events couldn't."
He struggled some more before he regained motor control and headed towards the more rundown district closer to Midgar, aiming for a twenty-story building that had been abandoned. "Rattle the cage all you want, little mouse. I'm the one holding the key."
She chuckled inside his mind, the static increasing.
Yes, the day you died... you know, you left him broken on that ridge when you left the mortal world. He was so easy to control, a mindless puppet.
A picture of Cloud gasping as Zack laid on the ground, the agony shining in his eyes as he screamed into the sky, flashed in Zack's mind.
And poor Aerith... never hearing from you after you promised to return to her... it hurt her more than you know. Night after night, she cried herself to sleep... thinking you had simply moved on to another girl.
Another flash of Aerith, laying on her bed... crying quietly, grasping the pink ribbon in her hand and holding it to her heart.
Don't forget those long days in the laboratory, watching Hojo cut into Cloud's flesh while he shrieked. You couldn't help him... those awful screams still haunt you, don't they?
Yet another scene where Cloud lay face-down on the metal table, restrained... while Hojo sliced into Cloud's skin, his howls of anguish echoing in Zack's head.
When the visions stopped, Zack found he was walking back towards Edge.
"No!" Zack stomped his foot down hard, refusing to take another step. "Cloud's fine now! He doesn't even remember that..."
He was talking through clenched teeth as he struggled to stay in control. "He's stronger for overcoming that... Aerith knows it wasn't my fault... all that shit was because of you! You disgusting old hag!"
His eyes remained unfocused, but he fought to turn back around and strolled towards the building, pushing onward, though it was starting to feel like he was fighting a current. "I'm not letting you force me to go back so you can make me hurt anyone. It's not gonna happen!"
Oh, Zack... but it is going to happen. You are going to fight Cloud, and he will let you win... You are going to watch yourself kill him.
A sharp pain shot into his head as the static grew louder.
And... as for Aerith knowing... you mean, she knew. She's gone, now, Zack. She can't protect you anymore. I heard the snap of her neck as she hit the bottom of the stairs.
A flash of Aerith tumbling down those stairs and, indeed, there was a sickening crack as she reached the bottom. She lay in a heap, unmoving.
Zack struggled to keep going...every step felt like an achievement now, as he fought against the needles piercing his head, and the assaulting visions. "Angel's there... Aerith will be fine! Don't tell me you forgot about her ability to revive people in your old age. What are you... over 2,000 years old? Maybe you're the one who fell down the stairs one too many times!"
He reached the doors of the gutted building, even its walls were missing in some spots, lasting effects of recent massive events over the years, surely. He gripped the door frame and held it as something to ground him.
"You're wrong about Spiky. He's stronger than that. If he needed to... if I asked him... he would end me. Especially if I had to force him..." He then stopped as he realized...it was what Angeal had forced him to do. He stopped that stupid idea then. That was different. Angeal was just overburdened with guilt; Zack really did have a real monster inside of him.
"I didn't drag him around for a year to kill him now. And besides, you're forgetting one very important thing. I'm unarmed. I left my weapons back at the bar. What could I hurt him with?"
Yes, you are right. The treacherous child can, indeed, revive people. Surely, you have noticed how tired she has become... how much weaker her power has grown. Have you seen how her healing works? She takes on the wound, herself. If she revives any more people, Zack, it will claim her own life.
She laughed as he struggled to maintain control.
Are you aware that your death will not mean my end? Foolish boy! Cloud will not take your life. Mark my words. He will falter when the time comes, and when he does, you will watch yourself strike him down... you will watch the life drain from his eyes... as he once watched the life fade from yours... as you watched the life disappear from your mentor's eyes.
Zack suddenly felt himself punch the door frame, causing it to warp beneath his strength.
And you don't need a weapon, Zack Fair. You are the weapon.
Another flash, this time of Cloud, Zack's hands around his throat... squeezing until his eyes bulged. As it faded, Zack looked down to see himself holding a pipe.
"You misjudge Angel..." he growled. "Just like you misjudge Cloud and everyone else...including me. Even if you do wrestle control...I will still fight. I'll fight every step of the way, but my opponent won't be my friend. I'll fight with him to stop you. I'll always support him!"
Zack shut his eyes tightly then, gripping the door frame, which served as his solid ground, and tried to send a mental thought through the connection... his was nowhere near as strong as her bond with Cloud, but he knew he had a good enough one to pass on one simple message.
"Angel...tell Cloud not to hold back. I'm sorry... but when he comes for me... I need him to kill me. He'll be doing me a favor."
Oh, isn't that cute? Passing notes like you're in high school. Cloud is already on his way to you, Zack. He will find you soon. You can fight me all you like, but you will lose.
Zack's limbs began moving against his will, and this time, control was not returning.
Ahh, there we go. Just sit back and enjoy the ride... watch your friends die. I'll do all the heavy lifting.
And in the back of his mind, he barely heard the whisper. Hold on, Zack. Please, don't give in...
After that, the static filled his ears.
*FFTT*
Fenrir howled as the bike tore down deserted city streets. it was late enough at night that he didn't have to worry too much about pedestrians. Still, he relied on the part of Zack that he had kept with him through the years. Knowing that the warrior would aim for less populated areas so if Jenova did take control she couldn't hurt as many people.
Selfless Zack, as usual.
He scanned each street as he blazed by, before coming to a stop at a four-way split. He didn't see dark spiky hair anywhere. Zack could have taken any path, and Cloud was running out of time to choose.
Slowly out of the shadows, walking towards Cloud was Zack, covered in dust... almost like the first time he found Zack in the wastes. He held a medium-sized pipe in his hand as he approached.
"You shouldn't be here," Zack told him.
Cloud's gaze instantly fell to the pipe in his hand before he focused on the warrior, and regarded him with wariness. There was a reason Zack had left his weapons behind. So why was he wielding one now like some common street thug? That wasn't like Zack, and the blond was willing to bet it wasn't him at all, but he tried to play along.
"Why not? We're friends, right?"
Zack stopped then, the pipe sliding from his grip as he shut his eyes tightly. "Cloud, Get away from me! If you're not here to kill me then run! I can't fight her back anymore. She wants to force me to kill you!"
Cloud's eyes widened then. "I'm not going anywhere. Let's fight her together!"
Zack felt himself losing control again as he struggled to hold on. "Stubborn Chocobo, RUN!"
Grasping the pipe again, Zack's eyes glowed a brilliant bright green,
"Yes, come on, chocobo!"
He brandished the pipe, getting within striking distance Cloud. "Time to fight, puppet. And if you decide not to, I'll kill you anyway."
Cloud smirked at Jenova then. "Don't make me laugh. You can't kill me this way. You may have Zack's body and you may even have his strength, but without the heart, there's no way you can win. That's where Zack's true power lies!"
Cloud ducked under Zack's swing as the side compartments of the bike sprang open, allowing him to grab the two blades he had split his main sword into and pulled them free of the bike before rolling to the side and connected them together, readying himself for a defensive fight. He refused to swing offensively at Zack.
"Zack, if you think I'm going to even humor the idea of killing you then she's really messed with your head. I barely lived with the guilt of what happened that day, you really expect me to live with an entirely new level of guilt? I know you're not that stupid."
"You see? He does remember that day" Zack laughed.
Zack pressed the offensive, swinging the weapon relentlessly at the blond warrior. He took every cheap shot available, moves that Zack knew yet never used out of honor. The fighting style was no different than before.
"You'd better fight..." he warned, "If you don't, I'll take away your heart..."
Cloud's eyes widened as he blocked the hits, not expecting such dirty blows from his friend, but then he pounded it into his head, he wasn't fighting his friend. He realized what Jenova was doing to Zack, throwing past regrets and failures in his face to weaken his focus. He knew what he had to do to support his friend.
"Zack, I remember that day, not very well, but not for reasons you or Jenova think I do. I'm not tormented by guilt anymore. You forgot your time in the Lifestream!"
He ducked low and rolled out of the way, only to do a backflip to avoid a series of swings before continuing.
"You often visited my dreams and even helped me when I fought against Sephiroth the last time he came back to destroy the world. On that day... you passed on the torch, and I gladly took it up and continued the fight! Without what you did we never would have brought down Shinra, stopped Hojo, or protected the planet."
He lifted his sword to block a stab aimed at his throat. "Zack, what you did... your sacrifice... it saved the world!"
"It's not going to work, puppet," Zack sneered, as he drove another hit towards Clouds gut. "I've got a good grip, now. I'm not going anywhere."
He stepped forward, twisting inward to place himself in the blind spot, attempting to drive that pipe up and under Cloud's chin. At the same time, he launched a punch into the warrior's gut. Cloud took the blow to the stomach and his eyes flashed with fear as the pipe came at him, locking eyes with Zack and for a split second he saw the green glow flash blue and the pipe missed, grazing his cheek instead, allowing Cloud to roll back and rest on one knee, holding his middle. He looked back over at his friend and the green glow was back, but he knew, for that split-second, Zack was there.
"A good grip, huh," the blond taunted. "Not from where I'm standing. I see me on one side and Zack on the other, and you... you're just the poor monkey in the middle."
Cloud then smirked with a sly grin. "You also failed to realize, Jenova... I've been leading you even farther away from the populace. We're purely in the ruins of Midgar now, just like Zack was aiming for."
"Once you're dead, I'll simply go back" Zack growled.
He quickly ran towards Cloud, raining down attack after attack... abandoning any mercies. Zack's eyes flared even brighter, and the familiar static once again wormed its way into Cloud's mind. Each strike seemed angrier than the last. They just kept coming...
Cloud struggled to keep her from taking over his mind again. He knew her main focus was keeping Zack in check and it really showed how hard the warrior was fighting her if the majority of her concentration was keeping her hold on him. The attacks were getting hard to defend against.
There were several openings, but Cloud ignored them, He absolutely refused to strike back at his friend. He kept countering with the blows until one managed to knock his grip loose and another sent his sword flying out of his hands.
Cloud tried to retrieve it, but pain erupted through his shoulder and the edge of the pipe soon followed. Cloud forced himself free and tried again to reach for his sword.
Stepping quickly in towards Cloud, Zack swung the pipe as hard as he could, finally connecting across the blond's jaw and sending him to the ground on his back. Kneeling on Cloud's chest, Zack reached down and grabbed his throat, squeezing tightly.
Unable to recover from the heavy blow, Cloud was powerless to stop the vice-like grip as his airway was cut off. He kicked out, trying to make contact, but it was pointless. The blond tried to pry the hand free, but it was useless. All he could do was grab feebly at the wrist.
He saw the gaze staring back at him, the green eyes were trying to flicker blue, but the green kept a dominant footing. As Cloud's strength faded, he tried to choke out something, but the sound wouldn't form... instead, he looked up at Zack, his vision swimming with dark shadows at the edge of his sight and spreading towards the center. He managed to mouth the words...
"Not... your... fault..."
"Here it comes, Zack," Jenova said out loud, tightening the grip on Cloud's throat. "I warned you."
Suddenly, out of the sky swooped Lucifer, who knocked Zack over by ramming into him. It caused the vice-like grip to release and the ex-SOLDIER to fly backwards. Lucifer set himself on the ground between Zack and Cloud.
"Jenova. Relinquish your hold on Zack. We will give you what you want," Lucifer said. Cloud heard Lucifer's voice in his head:
Just go with this. Angel and I have a plan.
Cloud sat up, choking and coughing, as he held his throat, rubbing it from the assault. He looked over at Lucifer, trying to catch his breath.
"That's twice I owe you now..." he rasped. And then what he said both out loud and in his mind registered.
"What-" he choked again. "What are you doing?"
Lucifer looked at Cloud. "Angel has agreed to revive you, Jenova... but that means you must leave Zack and return to your place in the Lifestream."
Zack narrowed his eyes at Lucifer. "If this is a trick, I will skin you alive."
"It is no trick," Lucifer replied, and then he directed his attention "It is the only way, Cloud."
Cloud's eyes widened, realizing what would happen. "No! There has to be another way, she doesn't deserve that fate! No one does!"
"Good," Zack said, and his eyes suddenly stopped glowing as he fell to the ground.
"I have already argued with her," Lucifer told Cloud, "She will not change her mind."
He walked closer to Zack, checking him over for injuries and trying to help him stand. Cloud got up and made his way over to Zack as well. Lucifer had helped him to his feet, and he was conscious, so when Cloud approached the last thing he expected was for Zack to punch him.
"Idiot! I told you to kill me or run!"
Cloud glared right back. "And I told you that wasn't gonna happen!"
Zack suddenly got right in his face and then pulled him into a hug. "Gaia, Spike. I tried... I tried to break her control. She told me exactly how she wanted me to kill you and she almost succeeded!"
"And I told you, it wasn't your fault," came the blond's muffled reply as he was forced to speak into Zack's shoulder.
Cloud pulled out of the hug then and turned to Lucifer. "No offense, but you have tried, I haven't. and I'm not letting her throw her life away!"
Lucifer nodded. "I was hoping you would say that. But if you are unsuccessful, I... I have a second option. It will require a bit of deviance on your part, but it will prevent Angel from doing this."
*FFTT*
Fenrir pulled up to the front of the bar, Cloud didn't even bother parking in the garage as he dismounted first, leaving Zack to sit there, which he stopped and turned around to study his friend's demeanor. Zack looked over at his friend and the tears were sitting on the corners of his eyes, not yet falling.
"Zack?" the blond asked.
The ex-SOLDIER shook his head. "I couldn't hold her after it happened. I had to get as far away as I could... and now... she's probably back in the Lifestream... since Angel is still alive."
"What are you talking about," Cloud was completely confused.
"Aerith is dead, Cloud," Zack barked. "And Jenova told me Angel can't revive anyone else because if she does it'll kill her!"
The tears did fall then as the warrior's shoulders quivered with his sadness.
Cloud just smirked and slapped his hand against Zack's shoulder lightly. "You fell for the hag's lies? Come on, you're smarter than that. Aerith's gonna be fine, Zack. I checked her over before I followed you. She was out cold, but her pulse was strong."
Zack flew off the bike and charged inside hearing that, leaving Cloud to hurry inside to catch up. Aerith sat on the couch, her eyes bright and alive as Angel sat beside her, tending to a nasty gash on her forehead.
The door flew open and a dark blur rushed inside, only to skid to a stop and stare at Aerith with wild, relieved eyes before he launched himself into the room and picked her up. "Oh thank Gaia! Aerith! I was so...I thought you were..."
He buried his face into the side of her head as he struggled to control his panicked breathing. She gave a startled cry before descending into a giggle. "Zack Fair, you're always sweeping me off my feet."
She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm okay."
She gave him a sweet kiss on his cheek.
Angel watched the two of them, smiling warmly.
Zack struggled with the choice of breaking into laughter or tears. In the end, he went with both before he kissed her back. "It's my job! I gotta show the woman I love that I care somehow, right?"
Cloud watched the two from the doorway before he caught Angel's attention and motioned her over with a nod. Angel stood up and walked towards Cloud, tilting her head quizzically. Her hair had been pulled back into a lovely style, most likely Marlene's doing... she loved playing with Angel's hair. As she approached, a slight frown marred her features.
"Are you all right?" she asked, reaching up to touch his face in the familiar gesture.
For once he didn't return her smile, if anything he looked angry. "How could you do that? If you think I'm going to stand by and let you throw your life away so that stupid witch can come back, you're dead wrong! I refuse to let you do that Angel. You know what's going to happen after you let her take you over? How can you expect me to accept that!"
Pulling her hand back, she sighed sadly. "Cloud, I can't let her keep attacking you and everyone you love. The protection I am giving everyone is failing. The only way to finally be rid of her is to make her mortal. Once that happens, you can end her... and she will never return from that. When the Lifestream rejects her, the essence that is Jenova will disappear."
Her eyes pleaded with him. "If you had the ability to do this for the people you love, you would do it without hesitation... wouldn't you?"
Cloud glared at her, his resolve unphased. "Angel, by ending her, I'd be ending you, and I won't do it. You've done so much for me, even if you beg me to, I can't do it. This family doesn't do sacrifices."
Angel shook her head. "The moment she took me over, I would be gone. It wouldn't be me anymore."
She looked back into the house. "She will keep attacking your family... Denzel... Marlene... Tifa... because she knows it will hurt you. Do you want Denzel to keep going through that? Do you want to take the chance that she could make you hurt Tifa? Or Denzel? Or Marlene? What about any future children you may have? She would be able to reach them as well..."
She took a shaky breath in. "I need to do this, Cloud. We have to end her. There is no other way to do it... I think you know that."
He reached out to grab her by the arms and pulled her into an embrace, placing his hand against the back of her head.
"Please," he begged, "Don't make me do this."
His voice was shaken. "All I will see while I'm fighting her will be you. I can't... I'm not strong enough to go through with it."
She embraced him, a sob escaping her. "I don't want to, Cloud... but I need you all to be safe from her."
She tightened her hold on him. "Promise me you'll take care of Lucifer..."
"He'll be part of the family... just like you are."
He pulled her out of the embrace before he acknowledged the painful role he had to play in ending Jenova. "It'd... be best to leave now... and get this over with before the others suspect anything. The kids and Tifa especially wouldn't let you leave, and Jenova will strike on her own if we don't act now. She won't wait forever. I'm surprised she let Zack go when she did."
Angel nodded, drawing in a deep breath.
"O-okay." she agreed, taking one more glance at the house.
"Goodbye," she whispered. She took Cloud's hand.
"We should go somewhere where there are no people... just in case something happens," she suggested.
Cloud nodded as he led her towards Fenrir. "Already planned on it. I was going to head in the same direction Zack was going. That way if they come searching, he'll probably think to check that way."
He waited for her to wrap her arms around his waist before taking off down the road.
She leaned into him. "I don't know if I've told you... but thank you so much... for taking me in and making me a part of your family."
Cloud kept his gaze focused ahead, but he took one of his hands and gripped hers. Just as he had done for Denzel when he first found him. "Thank you... for giving my family back to me."
As Cloud pulled up to the 20-story building in the ruins of Midgar, Angel still held tightly to him. The moon cast a silver sheen across the scenery, glinting off the steel girders. In another few hours, the sun would peek over the horizon, bathing everything in a brilliant red hue.
Cloud suddenly felt a presence... not quite in his mind... more like right outside it, as if someone were knocking. After which, Cloud heard Lucifer's voice:
"I will tell you when to do it."
Cloud cut the engine a far distance away from the building. as he dismounted and heard the message clearly. "Right."
It was a confirmation, but he also timed it so Angel wouldn't be the wiser. He then looked up at the building and read the sign before chuckling. "This was the office where I first went to register my citizenship into Midgar, back when I joined the cadet program."
It was so much easier to recall those memories now. Between what Angel had done for him and ironically the memory wipe machine of Licer's which forced him to go all the way back to his early infantry days... some of those forgotten memories were back.
"You know..." he said as he held out his hand for them to start walking to the building. "This whole time... I've thought of you as a little sister."
She took his hand without hesitation, looking up at the building thoughtfully. "That's what Zack told me... that you thought of me almost like you think of Yuffie... only you... baby?... me?"
She shook her head. "What does that mean?"
He couldn't hide the smile or the huff of amusement. "That's what big brothers do. They make sure their younger siblings are safe and happy, no matter what."
He stopped then, looking at the ground, all humor gone. "Considering what I'm about to do...I feel like I'm betraying that definition."
"I know," she replied, pain clouding her features, "I'm so sorry, Cloud. I hope you can forgive me for putting you in this position."
She threw her arms about him and embraced him, trembling severely. He hugged her back, trying to keep it together... for her.
"You know... I have an answer to the question you asked me before. You're right. I would do this in a heartbeat for my family. And I would willingly take your place right now. I don't want to leave the others and I know they don't want to lose me, but I've lived such an amazing life. It's not fair that you only got a small taste."
She whispered in his ear. "But I am so grateful for the time I've had with you."
A few moments later, she drew back, releasing her contact with him.
"Be ready..."
With that, she closed her eyes. Tendrils of energy began flowing out from her, like cyan-colored fire, glowing brighter with each passing moment.
Do it now! came Lucifer's urgent voice in his head.
"Angel... forgive me..." The Thunder Materia he had kept at the ready charged up and he unleashed a powerful (but not deadly) Thundaga attack on her. The shock was quick and sudden as she collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Cloud stopped the moment she hit the ground and rushed to her aid, taking her in his arms. "Angel!"
Thank you, Cloud... Lucifer's voice sounded, Take care of her for me... Tell her I'm sorry.
He then looked around for Lucifer, confused by what he just said, "What? But why wouldn't you be there for her, unless..."
His eyes widened, realizing what was happening. "Lucifer, no! What I said goes for you too!"
I know it does, Cloud. I'm sorry, but I couldn't let Angel do it... but she was right. This is the only way. I'm on the 12th floor. Don't hold back... goodbye... and thank you.
His voice faded away.
Cloud took Angel in his arms as he carried her back over towards his bike and set her beside it so she would be protectively shielded, both from the battle and from sight.
"Take care of her, Fenrir." He turned back towards the building, narrowing his eyes as he gazed at the 12th floor.
He faced a deadly opponent. And magic attacks would only strengthen her. However, he had learned something valuable from Sephiroth that would still allow him to use his materia effectively.
Cloud pulled out his phone and texted only one friend an urgent message.
Reeve, keep everyone away from the west side of Midgar. Things are about to get ugly.
With that, he left his phone with Angel and headed off towards the building to finally finish Jenova, and to avenge a selfless brother.
