12

Forgetting The Other Enemy

Isaac's duel Mako blades collided with Cloud's Buster sword.

They threw in all their strength into the blow, a massive amount of Mako energy and pulses of power just thrown back in waves across the main deck. Their arms trembled during the mighty strain of holding their blades, one trying to stagger the other back. The two men glared with only half a foot of tension in between their drenched faces, hair flying back and teeth clenched.

As the fighting occurred, I rushed over to Luca's body and knelt down beside him.

"Luca!" I rolled him onto his back, his closed eyes up to the black sky.

I smacked my fingers over his shoulders, shaking him lightly.

"Luca!" I shrieked again.

He held still.

My fingers dug for the piercing hole, and found barely a trickle of blood just four inches from his left collar bone. Isaac knew where to aim, a fatal shot through the heart with his laser. The wound was so tiny. If I hadn't known where to look, it may have taken me a minute to find it.

But Luca had to be alive. His spirit hasn't left the shell of his body yet. Where was Aerith? Was she still under a sleeping spell?

I was ready to jolt up and look for her, when a white gloved hand curled around my wrist. My chest tightened as I gazed down and found Luca squinting his good eye up at me with a struggled smile.

"Hey," he cracked, his body shaking as I imagined the blood pumping from his wounded heart was pooling into his chest cavity, filling up his lungs.

I cupped his hand into both of mine and gasped, "Luca, you're okay. You're going to make it! I will find someone who can help!"

"No!" Luca's voice gurgled, and pink froth slipped from his pale lips. He was wheezing, one hand gripping mine while his other dug deep into his jacket with weak effort.

Light glared off Luca's winced face, and I peeled my eyes away to take a glance at the battle. Isaac hurled a glowing ball of Mako up in the air towards Cloud, a tiny green sun up in the sky. Cloud swung his sword across his shoulders like a bat, and diverted the attack away, off to the sea to be swallowed up. The light vanished, only to send a tall explosion of waves, and it sprayed across the ship, mixed with the heavy rain. For a few seconds, the rain came in heavy salty sheets. Thereafter, it was a clear shut for a hit, and Cloud rammed the length of his sword right over Isaac's head.

Isaac threw his robotic arms up in time, and blocked the blade with barely a dent to his forearms.

"Rius," Luca coughed. I gave him my attention, and saw a locket lifted in the palm of his white glove.

"Corel… Gwen…" he whispered. He could barely lift it up. As soon as I took the small gold locket, his hand smacked across a puddle. I clenched the locket in my bare right hand, its little gold chain crunched together when I watched Luca close his eyes.

"Luca!" I shook his shoulders. "It's not too late. You still have Costal Del Sol! The babes in bikinis, remember?"

Luca grimaced, the number of his breaths increasing as he fell into shock from cardiac tamponade or respiratory failure. He tried to smile up at me, the rain appearing like tears on his face as it changed from tan to pale, with pink froth washed away from blue lips.

"Oh man…" he groaned, like he was trying to complain about missing out.

I held his face into my hands, the locket tangled into my fingers. Luca's smile faded, his chest stiffening until he fell into gurgles.

I leaned my face into him and shoved my lips over his, kissing him while my hot tears warmed my cheeks. The man deserved a goodbye kiss, at least.

Luca's grip let go of my wrist, and he took his last breath into my mouth before I felt his body go limp. His head became heavy in my hands.

Across his soaked Shinra marine uniform, green sparkles lifted through its fabric and from under his skin. My skin fell into goosebumps at the sparkles running up my arms and through my wet hair, cutting through its wet silver strands to fly away.

It was a good time. Have fun for me, okay? And, thank you for the goodbye kiss. I knew I would get lucky.

I heard his voice mix into the glowing glitter of his spirit, and watched it swirled upwards into the black sky. Looking up to see Luca fade, rain washed my face, seeping into my jacket till I shivered from the chill. I laid his body down, and shoved his broken chained locket in my pocket.

"I'll give it to your special person," I muttered to no one, standing. I looked over my shoulder, my position barely over the edge of Cloud and Isaac's battle. They were just getting started, neither of them breathless after they both jumped away from each other to make a recovery period. Isaac's split right shoulder still sparked, but he barely seemed to notice it when he clenched his fist and reeled it back.

He didn't even dash, more like teleport across the deck. Cloud was almost caught off guard, Issac's speed too quick to follow, and raised his sword up in time to block a powerful punch that may have smashed his knees beneath him. Loose energy uncoiled, bouncing back from the blow into sparks. Lamps shattered, rails and port guns rattled. While Cloud was distracted trying to push back the powerful punch, Isaac's left hand snatched one of his small Mako blades, and tried to sneak a stab for the femoral artery. But Cloud pushed him back in time, the blade only grazing his pant leg, though it was enough to make him wince and bend at the knee. A glowing green line appeared across his thigh behind ripped fabric.

Isaac smirked, pulling his blade back over his shoulder to mesh back into his suit.

"Be careful getting cut with the Mako blades. It's toxic to touch," he warned with pleasure.

Cloud lifted his heated, glowing eyes up at him, too furious to speak. They stared at each other, Isaac patient enough to wait for Cloud to rise, as though giving him the handicap. This seemed to only aggravate the ex-SOLDIER, enough so, that he lifted his sword high-up over his head with both hands, and with a battle cry, he slammed the sharp side of it down, bending the metal floor. The blade's impact created a glowing blue beam, and it charged towards Isaac in a blink, surprising him.

He crossed his arms over his suit just before the blade beam crashed into him, and he was pushed back a few feet as bits of his suit tore, flying behind him like ash. Tiny cuts appeared along his arms, revealing shiny pockets of metal.

I hugged myself, watching the two men I love, try to kill each other. If I had to choose, who would I pick to live? The terrible thought shoved both of my hands over my mouth to keep me from screaming every time I saw either of them take damage. I wanted them both to live, but will either of them let that happen? At the end of the night, will only one of them be left standing?

"Aqua!" I turned to Aerith's voice, and saw a couple of shadows sprint along the edge of the deck towards me. In the faint light of a few lamps that were left intact, Aerith's brown hair glowed, followed by Barret's bright white sailor outfit, and blotches of red fur behind black paint on Red XIII.

"Guys!" I gasped, and Aerith flew into my arms, her hands gripping the back of my coat.

"Oh, thank goodness!" She cried. I held her tight. "I woke up and brought help as soon as I could!"

I blurted, "I'm so sorry Isaac did that to you. Are you okay?" I asked just as we pulled apart, and I got a look at her face to see noting but a red smudge on her cheek from sleeping on it.

"I'm fine, but…" her eyes fell to Luca's body, and she bit her lips together.

Barret noticed the body too, and his dark eyebrows scrunched up.

"No fucking way," he growled.

Red settled his depressing yellow eyes at Luca, and then up at Barret.

"Barret, what is it?"

But Barret was quiet, kneeling beside Luca to brush his dark fingers across his white face, swiping the dark wet hair away to reveal his scar.

"You knew Luca?" I asked.

Barret blinked, and rammed fingers into his steaming eyes. Rain water collected and trailed down his bulging forearm, all the way to his elbow, to drip over Luca's lifeless gaze.

"Yeah… We're both from Corel. He left before I did, to join Shinra and well…" He pulled his fingers back, eyes steaming.

"Poor Gwen. What am I going to say to her?" He quivered. That was the most I've ever heard of Barret talking about his past, amazed at his collected look as he rose, eyes closed.

Red and Aerith were busy watching the battle happening before us, Cloud brushing the tip of his blade over Isaac by just an inch from his nose, the cyborg bent backwards so far to just have it barely miss. He counter-attacked by kicking Cloud square in the stomach with his metal foot, throwing him back.

Aerith gasped, her grip holding me tighter just as she shoved her face into my shoulder, unable to watch.

"We need to help him!" Red cried, ready to charge, but Barret stomped a heavy boot in front of the creature.

"No, man. This is Cloud's fight. He wants to do it alone," Barret muttered.

Lifting my chin over Aerith's head, I gravely watched Cloud get his back slammed against a railing. My fingers clawed into her back as Isaac was ready to shove him overboard when the opportunity presented itself, already teleporting. A second later, Isaac appeared inches from Cloud's face, about to blast him into the water. Cloud gasped and quickly dipped his gloved hand under Isaac's visor, his palm smacked over his face. Green Materia glimmered from his sword, and suddenly, a ball of fire lit up the deck.

Fire engulfed Isaac's face, and he screamed, the flames digging into his human face. He twirled away, the visor shattered into pieces as bits of smoke and char lingered where his eyes squinted. He growled through his teeth, half his face black as he tried to see through squinted eyes.

Cloud took his chance, and with all his strength, he jumped into the air, his Buster sword over his head, and swung it downward towards Isaac's back where his personal reactor glowed. The impact created a wave, tossing wind and rain into my eyes as I watched. Aerith barely looked, while Red and Barret watched silently with squinted eyes.

Isaac gasped, his eyes wide from the hit, and globs of Mako spilled everywhere, a direct hit to his weak spot.

He staggered forward, grunting as he left a glowing trail of his life support behind him. Before Cloud took another hit, Isaac twirled around with narrowed eyes, and said through his teeth, "I'm done wasting time."

He caught Cloud right in the throat, and squeezed, stopping all of his oxygen, but then blowing him backwards with a Mako blast.

"Isaac, stop!" I screamed, having enough of watching them hurt each other.

"Aqua," Aerith whimpered, holding on to me when I tried to run. "Don't. You'll get hurt or worst, he'll use you against Cloud."

I gave her a look, trying to determine what I should do. Listen to Aerith and stay, or try to find a way to stop them from fighting?

"Don't, kid," Barret said, a hand on my shoulder when he noticed how distressed I was. I shook my head as I watched Cloud crash backwards into a crane, bending it.

"Cloud will win," he told me with confidence.

I looked up into Barret's warm brown eyes.

"How do you know?" I whispered, wrapping my arms around myself.

Cloud quickly got back up, the anger in his eyes never faltering. He leaped back just as Isaac dropped straight down from the sky, crashing his metal foot into the crane till it collapsed into pieces under him easily.

Having his hand stay there on my shoulder, Barret gave me a squeeze while flashing a gentle smile.

"Because he knows what will happen to you if he doesn't win."

I lifted my brows, stunned at his words.

"Barret, I'm so sorry about Tifa," I suddenly confessed, still feeling like it was all my fault. There was no pretending no one noticed her distress, how the love triangle stressed out our group.

Barret's hand fell back, and he lifted his gaze back to watching Cloud fight. For the first time, Barret presented himself serious, suddenly appearing a lot older than I thought he was.

"It's not your fault, kid. She'll find her way, don't you worry," he replied soberly, his tired gaze out there on the battle like it pained him to just stand back and watch.

Isaac received another blow to his reactor, staggering him to his knees till he dropped onto his hands.

"Fuck," he stammered, the Mako in his eyes fading. The lines in his suit were beginning to flicker before they flashed to red. The metal of the deck began to crumble under his hands as he channeled his anger into them, squeezing metal sheets in between his fingers while growling through his teeth. The cyborg flashed in red, all the lines of him swirling in the violent color.

Cloud charged, ready to ram his blade straight into Issac's back.

I blinked, unable to catch up to Isaac's speed. In one blink, he took his two Mako blades out, and in another, he twirled around.

And shoved them into Cloud.

I sucked in a breath and thought I just died. I couldn't breathe, a jumble mess in my throat to occlude my airway while my chest held a sharp pain, like inhaling broken glass.

But that wasn't the only attack that succeeded. Through Isaac's back, a few inches of the Buster sword poked out and glimmered under a flickering deck lamp. The blade barely brushed against the reactor, a miss, but a damaging blow nonetheless.

I buried my tears into Aerith's wet shoulder, and sobbed, "Please, I can't stand this! We need to stop them! I want them both to live!"

Aerith held me as tight as she could as I squirmed and threw an emotional breakdown, screaming words into the sky I couldn't even define. Magic swelled up inside me, growing hot, even for Aerith as she grunted from the building of my uncontrollable power.

Barret and Red remained quiet, pained look in both their eyes as they continued to watch the brutal show. Through globs of tears, I watched.

Despite the heavy wounds, Cloud kept his face furious, no matter how much he grunted. He bit through the pain and shoved his sword deeper, all while Isaac plunged his Mako blades in further until all the way through. It appeared, from my point of view, Cloud grew two small green wings. Glowing green lines spread across his torn shirt, expanding like tiny tree branches up across his pale skin, up to his throat and down to his belly. Dark red blood then began to ooze from the two sites, mixed with the rain till it was all a diluted mess at their feet.

White blood and Mako dribbled around the Buster sword upon Isaac's back, cutting a large incision into him until he grew a large shark fin.

The two men stopped, neither of them ready to yank their weapons free. It was a stand still, both of them fatally injured.

"I've already been exposed, so it's not going to work on me," Cloud grunted to Isaac through his teeth.

Issac coughed up artificial blood and Mako, letting it drizzle down his chin till the rain took care of it for him.

"And you think just one cut will be enough…," he took a shallow breath, "…to end me?" He struggled. With the two men able to detect any movement in non-human speed, they knew when the other was going to pull their swords, and did so at the same time. Isaac draw his Mako blades out just as Cloud pulled his Buster sword back, and they were both free.

Cloud limped forward, using his sword to help him stand up straighter, while Isaac stagger back, a long vertical hole cut into him. No bone. Nothing but metal, cut wires, and tiny tubes of Mako dribbling out.

Isaac lifted his palm, already about to fire, but the energy flickered, leaving him with nothing as he leaked more of it through his new deep wound.

"Shit," he hissed, unable to throw any more energy attacks. He switched to his duel wielding once more, and flew forward to plant a double vertical slice. Cloud was breathing hard, his shirt torn to shreds from all the times Issac's blades cut him. His bruised chest revealed two clean stab wounds, continuously gurgling blood, but he ignored it when he lifted his sword to block the blows. Issac's speed was slower than before, the workings of his suit shutting down from losing too much Mako. The suit kept flashing in between Mako green and red, as though unable to decide what it was detecting.

For the first time, Cloud's arms trembled. Holding Isaac's locked attack, his sword pushed back towards his neck with struggle, but he risked a move, and withdrew a hand. That gave Isaac an advantage, able to push back the Buster sword's sharp edge into Cloud's neck till blood trickled.

Cloud groaned as he endured it, and planted his hand right at Isaac's chest. Green Materia glowed, a light of forest green across the deck from where it settled into his sword.

Channeled from the dark heavens, lighting crashed into Isaac's body, shaking him into violent seizures. The workings of his suit was weak, unable to ward off magic, which is what Cloud had hoped for. The Mako infused blades fell at Cloud's feet like heavy metal pieces, and Isaac screamed through chattered teeth, his arms wrapped around himself to somehow smother away the shocks that traveled through his metallic body.

"Ah! Stop!" He screamed, stumbling away until he fell onto his hands and knees, the water from the rain only worsening his condition as it prolonged the electric currents of the lightning spell. With wide eyes, Issac stared at the spasms in his hands with fear, crying endlessly until the heated energy finally faded. It left his arms collapsing beneath him, falling his broken body into the puddles with eyes shut tight, grunting. The reactor faded, a flickering weak light bulb on his back, and Isaac knew, it was over for him.

I gazed at Cloud walking slowly towards a crumbling Isaac, Mako washing away from the tip of his blade when he held the sword away from himself.

He had that look, one that I've seen only a few times, the spirit of his eyes gone, his soul consumed by the Mako that dwelled inside him, ready to bring death to anyone in his way. Battle damaged, eyes lifeless, blood and rain on him in a clear glaze film across his body, Cloud appeared like a ferocious nightmare, walking slow with only one goal in mind. When my vision altered, I could see Mako energy dripping off him, his body swimming in it while leaving a small trail of its flares behind him.

I shook in Aerith's arms as I watched the countdown from his sword trailing towards Isaac like an executioner's axe ready to engage.

"I don't want one or the other to win," I trembled to the others. "I care about them both."

Red bent his ears back, and he let out a dog-whimpering wine. "Well, it looks like the fight is about over."

Again, I had the urge to run, but Aerith held on tight to my arm. Her voice was strong when she told me, "No! You can't go out there!"

I gave her a hard look. "He's going to kill Isaac!"

Aerith's eyebrows went up, distressed. "I know…. But I'm scared having you stop him when he's like this. Cloud isn't himself anymore." Even she could tell Cloud was gone, blinded by a thick fog of the war machine in his blood. I, then, had a thought, was he any different from Isaac?

From Aerith, I threw my appalled look back to Cloud, seeing him as the bringer of Death when he stood up on his toes and hovered his sword high behind his head, his distant eyes to a fallen Isaac.

I buried my eyes into my hands.

Aerith was right. A part of me wanted to prove that Love could concur all, that perhaps me charging in front of Cloud would stop his blinding rage, but how was I to know?

This wasn't a fantasy. He may kill me.

I knew I will have to choose between him and Isaac, and I may already have for quite some time, but not like this. I didn't want Isaac to die.

Aerith held me, both of us barely able to watch as Cloud dropped his sword, the storm encouraging him to finish with a flash of lightning in the background.

Through his clenched teeth, Cloud growled, and pushed his sword in a downward slice even faster, as though too impatient to let the weight of his heavy weapon do it for him.

And then he froze.

All four of us, Barret, Red, Aerith and I, sucked in our breaths. Even Isaac, ready to accept his fate, gasped. And it seemed the whole ship went still. Only the tapping of rain made us aware that time didn't freeze.

Cloud's Mako eyes widened, his hands shaking his sword over Isaac's body.

From his deep wounds, blood trailed down his pants legs, onto the floor beside Isaac in a red puddle, reflecting the fighter's troubled look.

We all waited, holding our breaths as Cloud struggled, water leaking from his faded eyes, either as rain or his tears.

"I…" he choked.

Slowly, the light of his eyes returned, and the Mako glow cleared, leaving behind a broken man.

"I can't..."

He dropped his sword, and it slammed beside Isaac, the blade dented into the floor.

Isaac relaxed, and threw out a long sigh. "Jesus, fuck," he grunted, relieved, and he stopped tensing for the death sentence that didn't happen, but only to fall into a fetal position with a painful groan.

Cloud looked down at his hands with shock, palms up to the rain. Quickly, rain water pooled into his hands, dripping out between his fingers. He just stared at it as though the water was the blood from his fallen enemies. Silently, his jaw dropped, his lower lip shaking as cold breath escaped from his cracked lips.

"I am a monster," he whispered to himself.

He slammed his knees into the blood and rain, the look in his eyes lost. And then he rammed his fingers into his wet hair, palms shoved into his eyes as he broke down silently, his mouth moving, but no cries came out.

I slipped out of Aerith's grip, and she gasped as I tried to run through the slippery deck.

"Aqua!" She followed.

Barret and Red joined, and I could hear all their steps behind me as I wiped the rain away from my eyes.

Cloud needed me. He was having another one of his episodes, and I wanted to be there. He was broken, struggling through internal obstacles I still didn't quite understand. But, hero or not, I still loved him.

Like many of us, for a long time, Cloud had been a lost soul, struggling through this rough world just to feel worthy enough for love, hoping it would make him feel whole for the first time in his life. I had no idea that it was this moment, when I reached for him instead of Isaac, that it opened something in him that's never been open before. I could see it in his eyes when I knelt down beside him and wrapped my arms around his crippled form. He lifted them up to me, hands hovering nearby in case he wanted to hide them again.

They were dark and yet glowing, but not from the Mako, but from someplace deeper, something new.

I wanted to tell him he wasn't a monster, but no words came. It didn't feel like Cloud needed reassuring words of a cliché. He just needed someone to hold him. So instead, I just said his name.

"Cloud..." it was a gentle whisper, so soft, no one but him heard it. But behind that whisper, I was really telling him with my voice, that he was okay, that I loved him, and I was here for him. For a few seconds, everyone, and everything around us faded, leaving only Cloud and I in our world.

He pushed one of his trembling hands forward, and brushed away wet hair from my face, to see all of my eyes to search them intensely. He then just settled his wet gloved hand on my wet cheek, chilled to the touch. I cupped it in both of mine to warm it.

"You're so cold," I gasped.

Cloud could barely smirk, his eyes closed like he was about ready for sleep.

I wasn't even aware of how Isaac watched us. The cyborg struggled to his knees. For a brief moment, he and I shared a look across the deck. I'd expected Isaac to look back at me with the same hate in his eyes he's done so before, but I only found pain. Before our eyes lingered too long, he looked away, and coughed up more white blood. He was quiet, lost in his troubled thoughts while trying to fade in shadow.

Aerith's tired sigh pulled my attention away from Isaac, and then Cloud dropped his head into my shoulder heavily, grunting from his heavy wounds. Red shook the rain off his fur, more black paint flaking off.

Not wanting to leave it at that, Barret aimed his gun arm at Isaac, and with threat, he hissed, "go tell your boss it's going to take more than your lucky robotic ass to mess with us. I hope he turns you into a fucking can!"

"Barret," I muttered, upset at how he seemed to always want to aggravate someone.

But instead of firing back with words, Isaac did so with his stare, pulling himself up by the railing.

He may have been ready to say something, but instead he froze, eyes widened with terror. The air suddenly felt toxic, sickening my stomach. I gasped, feeling intense darkness swirling around me, choking my neck with its disturbing presence like someone taking a wire to my throat.

I haven't felt this since…

"Oh, Cloud. You really are a monster," a silky voice purred.

Cloud instantly pushed away from my arms, barely able to stand as he pulled me up and shoved his back against me. I easily noticed the two deep cuts in his back, still bleeding fresh bright red blood down to his pants where it left a dark red stain, some pooling under my boots. Even badly wounded, Cloud still managed to hoist himself up to protect me, his eyes searching for that voice. I recognized such a voice anywhere, and gladly curled against him, feeling safe as long as he was with me. Aerith also afraid, huddled up next to me, the both of us protected behind a wounded Cloud.

All heads turned, searching.

"That's something we have in common," the voice whispered. It was crisp, and as sweet as honey, with an unstable threat behind it.

And then he appeared. I first noticed his glowing aqua eyes when they stared so pleasing at Cloud.

"We are both monsters. Though, that isn't something to be a shamed of, is it Cloud?" Sephiroth asked as he approached smoothly from the shadows. I could feel Cloud's body quake against me when I laid hands against his back, and peered over his shoulder. I watched those aqua eyes flash to Aerith, and then to me, like a snake plotting its next mouse to catch. His silver hair, wet, still glimmered, its great length falling across his pale chest and black cape. Sephiroth's eyes shifted, pass Barret, Red, and then they found Isaac. His smile widened. He had found his mouse.

With slow steps, and his cape dragging Cloud's blood across the puddles with him, Sephiroth approached a frightened Isaac, and just cocked his head.

"Remember me?"

I was surprised to hear Isaac hiss, even if his face turned white at the sight of the powerful man who took his human arm on their last encounter.

"How could I?" He grunted, still unable to fully get up with a hole through him.

Sephiroth lifted a long arm, his black gloved hand trailing fingers across Isaac's left robotic arm. There were traces of his suit gone, with gaps of shiny metallic skeleton underneath. Isaac shivered.

"What good is it to remove another arm or a leg, when you can easily get a new one? Just like a doll, your parts replaced to stay useful for your owner. I wonder if your head can be replaced as well?" Sephiroth mused, his long eyelashes almost touching his white cheeks. Isaac recoiled away from the touch, probably too low on his Mako to even teleport, so instead, he used the railing to drag himself away.

"Sephiroth," Cloud began, grabbing his attention.

Sephiroth gave Cloud an empty smile, and dropped his hand away from Isaac, waiting. The rain was thinning, no longer a downpour to fade out Cloud's voice when he asked, "I need to know why now? How are you alive? What happened in Nibelheim?! What are you planning-!"

Sephiroth must've lost patience with Cloud's tower of questions because quickly, he plowed through us with speed and energy to push us all back. I stumbled with Aerith, and we held on to each other while Cloud cried out, his wounds stretched before he landed by my feet. Barret stammered, landing on his back, while Red easily tossed like a wet rag. All because Sephiroth simply rammed through us. His soulless body was saturated with power, and yet I couldn't even see it, only feel it pulse off him.

"Ah, Nibelheim..." Sephiroth exhaled, and then he closed his eyes and took a long inhale, as though still remembering the scent of the tiny town's Mako mixed in with the heavy smoke and flames.

Slowly, like in an old sci-fi movie, I don't know how he did it, Sephiroth sank himself through the floor. First his feet, and then slowly, the rest of him was disappearing, like the floor was eating him away.

I just stared, propped up with one arm while I laid a protective hand over Aerith.

Sephiroth's unique aqua eyes fell to Cloud, who was on his hands and knees.

"You don't remember? I wonder why," Sephiroth sounded dryly sarcastic when he said that, and then his face disappeared under the deck, followed by his forehead, and then, lastly, strands of his silver hair.

He disappeared.

Unable to keep himself up any further, Cloud finally collapsed, face up to the sky.

"Cloud!" I gasped, cradling his head into my lap while Aerith knelt beside him. She hovered her hands over his gushed wounds, and sighed with dread.

"I can heal him, but I won't be able to remove the scars," she whimpered, her hands glowing green. Cloud's body sparkled, Aerith's healing magic turning the two large gouged wounds into nothing but bright red raised lines. The branches of Mako across his body, faded away, leaving only pale skin behind.

Cloud stopped grunting, and his breathing relaxed. With no time to waste, he opened his eyes, first noticing me upside down, and then he closed them again, lost in thought for a few seconds. When he opened his eyes again, he frowned up at all of us. Slowly, Cloud pushed himself up, and rose, appearing fresh. He had a depressing determination in his Mako eyes, glowing once again.

"I need to go after him," he started. I wasn't surprised, and yet, scared. Aerith stayed on her knees, her eyes blinking into the puddles, silent.

"What?!" Barret grumbled. "Dude, you almost died. Give it a rest for a while, will ya?"

But Cloud shook his head, and then lent out his hand for me to take. Before considering it, I shifted my attention to where I thought Isaac would be, hoping he was still where I last saw him, but he was gone. Nothing but diluted puddles of Mako and artificial blood, leading all the way back towards the bridge.

I wish it was better than this with Isaac. I didn't want each encounter to be one of battle, with more arguments and regrets. It was slightly soothing that we got some words off our chest earlier, but still, I felt unfulfilled, and wondered if I would ever resolve that.

"Aqua," Cloud woke me from my disappointment, and I avoided his gaze. For the first time, I didn't take his hand.

"Cloud, Barret is right. You should rest. Just because Aerith can heal you, doesn't mean you should throw yourself into the next heavy battle. I'm..." I was too afraid to say I was scared for him. Yes, he was strong, but Sephiroth felt unlimited, a strange man with extraordinary power he has yet to reveal.

I swallowed the fear down, a discomfort at the bottom of my throat, and finally looked up at him. Cloud was quiet, trying to read me as his hand lingered close to my head, waiting.

"Let me go with you," I asked firmly, offering my hand to him. But his fingers curled away, knowing too well that taking it was suddenly more than just helping me to my feet; it was a sign of agreement, and he didn't agree.

Cloud stepped back, shaking his head. "No."

"Cloud…" Red brushed his head under my hand, letting my arm settle over his paint chipped back while he gazed up at the ex-SOLDIER strongly.

"We're all going with you," he grumbled firmly.

"Well, except Tifa and Yuffie, of course," Barret corrected. "Poor Tifa has a bad hangover. And Yuffie, that kid gets terrible sea sickness. They're just going to have to miss more cool shit."

Cloud seemed upset by the idea, his head shaking at all of us. Aerith held her uniform's coat tighter around herself, shivering while standing in the light drizzle.

"We at least know Sephiroth is on board. We should see if we can just talk to him," she suggested, pursuing Cloud to take all of us with him.

But Cloud threw a hand down.

"And if he doesn't?!" He argued, outraged.

Barret marched in, and shoved a rough hand against Cloud's chest, making him wince from the fresh scars. "We coming. Get over it!" Barret growled, and then he turned his head to the rest of us and added, "Let's go."

I finally stood up, on my own, feeling soaked from head to toe. I wanted nothing more than to shower, and dry off, lie in a soft comforter bed with firm thick pillows, wearing nothing but a soft cotton towel, and go to sleep with a heavy weighted blanket. Letting out a long sigh, I tiredly watched Barret disappear down the steps to A deck, Red following him.

Only Cloud, Aerith and I remained, and I gave Aerith a questionable look. Like she could read me, she gave off a weak smile, and took my hand with hers.

"This will be over soon," she reassured, feeling the same as I was. We both turned to Cloud as he picked up his sword, and swung it into place. He closed his eyes, clearly irritated we were all going with him, and just pointed his soaked head towards the steps.

"Go ahead. I will stay in the back," he grumbled.

Aerith and I went on ahead down the stairs, and tried to keep up with Barret and Red.

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