We are back other another chapter! After all that fluff and good stuff from the last chapter, it's time to move on and get more things rolling!

Ch.9

Time passed once again, but Cloud and Zack never stopped their training. They kept at it every day that they could. The years passed and they could start to see the results. They felt stronger and could run faster than they could from when they were little.

Three more years had passed for them, and they made sure to never give up once. It had been five years in total now since the two brothers decided to start their dreams of becoming heroes. Five long years, but to them it felt like hardly anytime at all had passed. It never seemed like a chore to train or exercise because they always had fun doing it together.

Zack yawned as he woke early one morning. He stretched and looked out the window to see the sun had just barely started to rise. With a smile Zack jumped off his bed and walked over to his 11-year-old brother's bed and saw that he was still fast asleep.

"Hey Cloud," Zack whispered, as he didn't want to be too loud and possibly wake up his parents. "Wake up."

Cloud groaned and turned onto his side. He slowly opened one one. "What….." he asked only sounding half awake.

"Get up already. Today's the day," Zack replied.

"I wanna sleep…. Too early…" Cloud muttered.

"Don't you want to see me off though? Today's the day I leave to go to Midgar. To join SOLDIER, remember?"

Suddenly Cloud seemed more awake. He rubbed his eyes as he sat up. "Oh yeah. Is that… really today?"

Zack nodded. "Yup. There is a ship that is leaving for Midgar this morning, so I gotta get on it if I wanna get to Midgar as soon as I can."

"All right. Let's get going," Cloud said as he got out of bed.

Once the two of them were dressed, they quietly snuck out of the house and headed towards the docks area of Gongaga. Zack carried a large bag with him that was filled with clothes and other things he thought he would need. They continued their walk down to the docks as they tried to wake up more, but it was still rather early for them.

When they arrived Zack walked towards the dock that had the ship that would leave for Midgar. It was just a cargo ship, but he had talked to the driver about hitching a ride as long as he paid him, and the driver was cool with it.

Zack exhaled as he looked out at the sea, the sun still just barely over the horizon line. "I can't believe it. I'm getting closer to my dream now."

"Are you sure… you really have to leave now?" Cloud asked quietly from behind Zack.

Zack turned around to see Cloud looking at him with big, sad, eyes. He placed down his bag and walked over to Cloud. "You know I have to. I'm thirteen now which means I am old enough to try out and join SOLDIER."

"But that means I won't get to see you for two years…" Cloud said with a heavy sigh.

"Yeah but that also means in two years you'll be able to come and join me at Shinra," Zack replied optimistically.

"That's still a long time…" Cloud said. He paused for a moment before he lowered his head and continued. "Are you sure though you don't wanna tell mom and dad? They should know where you are going."

"I know, but I want to surprise them with what I am doing. But hey, if they get on you about it, it's okay to tell them," Zack said as he placed his hands on Cloud's shoulders.

Only a few moments passed and Zack heard sniffling coming from Cloud. "Hey Cloud… you okay?"

Cloud raised his head, to reveal tears in his eyes. "I don't want you to go… I don't want you to leave me…"

Zack pulled Cloud close to him and wrapped his arms around his head. "It's okay Cloud. I don't want to leave you either, but this is my dream. I want to help people."

"But… But you said…" Cloud started to say. "You said you would always watch out for me. That you would always be there for me, but now you are leaving..."

"Yes, I know that I said that Cloud, and I have been here for you…" Zack trailed off and let out a long sigh before he continued. "But, when we decided on this dream, I realized that we might not always be together. Even though I want us to be, right now we just have to be apart for a bit. I know I promised Mom and Dad that I would be the one to watch over you. But I feel like that you are good enough to be able to watch yourself now," he said calmly as he placed his hands on Cloud's shoulders.

Cloud lowered his head and rested his forehead against Zack's chest. He didn't reply right way, but soon enough he did end up saying something. "Y-You really think so? You think I can be on my own?"

"I do. You've come a long way since I first met you. You're growing up already. Not quite there yet with me, but you will be soon enough. Like I said, I don't want to leave you. But this is just something I need to do," he proclaimed with sincerity as he looked Cloud directly in the eyes.

Cloud didn't say anything back as he sniffled slightly. He didn't look back up at Zack either. He did listen to each thing Zack had to say though.

"Come on, I know you're strong. You can do this," he said, trying to reassure Cloud of his own strength.

Cloud nodded as he rested his head against Zack's shoulder. "Yeah… thanks Zack. I just… I'm going to really miss you."

"I'll miss you too buddy. I've gotta get going soon though," Zack said with a calm demeanor.

"Are you sure you have to leave now though? Can't you wait two years until I am old enough?" Cloud asked.

"Well I could wait, but I want to become a member of SOLDIER as quickly as I can. Besides, if I'm already in by the time you get there, then you'll have to work hard to keep up with me," Zack replied as he chuckled mildy.

Cloud ended up smiling a little. "I bet I'll catch up with you in no time!"

Zack smiled back at him. "We'll have to see about that then. I'll be working hard too. Just don't forget the goal here," he reminded Cloud as he ruffled his hair.

"I know I know. I'll keep training and exercising each day. So then I can join you in SOLDIER and we can become heroes!" Cloud said, seeming far more cheerful than he was a moment ago.

"That's right," Zack said as he continued to smile. "Take care of mom and dad while I'm gone, okay? I'll try to write as much as I can."

Cloud nodded. "Right. I got it."

The driver of the boat came over a moment later to tell Zack that he would be leaving, so now would be the time to board. Zack wrapped his arms around his brother one last time, hold him tightly. "Bye Cloud. See you in two years."

Cloud returned the hug. He tried his best to fight off the tears that were coming back, but he felt them fall down his face anyways. "Bye Zack. I love you big brother."

"And I love you back little brother," Zack said with a slight chuckle.

Zack then let go of Cloud and picked up his bag again. He walked towards the ship and started to board it. Halfway up the ramp he turned to look at Cloud one last time. He have a bittersweet smile as he waved. He knew it was his dream to head out to Shinra and become a SOLDIER, but it did pain him a little to be leaving his little brother. He almost couldn't believe that it only had been about six years since Cloud had become apart of his family. But Zack knew he wouldn't want it any other way.

Cloud waved back to Zack and then he finally made the way up the rest of the ramp and onto the ship. Cloud held his breath as long as he could until he could no longer see Zack. He exhaled as he watched the door to the ship close up. He watched as the ship pulled away from the dock and started out on the open waters. Cloud did not move from his spot until he could no longer see the ship.

Cloud was back at home and in his room, staring up at the ceiling blankly. He huffed loudly and threw a glance over to Zack's bed, which was now empty and would be for the remainder of Cloud's time there. He kept his eyes focused there for a few minutes and then turned back to staring at the ceiling. He wondered if he would ever get used to Zack not being there with him. He couldn't remember a time when Zack was not by his side.

The more that he became lost in thought, the more that he felt his emotions starting to rush back quickly. Soon, he felt his eyes were wet as tears starting to run down his cheeks. He turned to the side so that his pillow could soak up all of his emotions.

He knew why Zack left, and it's the same reason that he wanted to. He just wished that they could have gone at the same time. Zack had told him to train to keep up so that he would be ready in two years. He had agreed, but the truth is that he knew that he could not change Zack's mind; therefore, he did not bother trying. He hoped that he would be able to cope with being alone, but he was still not sure. There was plenty of time to think about it all though.

Cloud tried to stop thinking as he lay there, even though the tears kept coming. He closed his eyes tightly and thought that maybe if he went to sleep that he could just forget about it all. Soon, he felt drowsiness overtaking his being as the world around him faded out. The last thought on his mind, however, was how much he already missed his brother.

"Cloud. Hey, wake up."

Who was that calling him? He could not make it out at the moment. He wanted to just be left alone and be able to sleep for a while. If he had just a little while longer, then he would be okay.

The voice he heard continued to grow louder and more clear. "Cloud. Cloud! It's mid-afternoon. Why are you still sleeping?"

He slowly opened his eyes and wondered where he was. It felt like his head was cushioned, as was the rest of his body as he seemed to be sprawled out. He was in his bed. Sleep must have overtaken him some time ago, though he had recollection of wanting to doze. Slowly, Cloud sat upright in the bed and blinked a few times as the haziness disappeared from his eyes. He glanced around the room slowly to take in everything and his eyes fell upon the bed beside him.

Thoughts came back to Cloud that Zack had left that morning and was no longer there as he felt a slight twinge in his gut. The facts were that Zack was gone and he, Cloud, was going to have to carry on alone. He wanted to focus more on that, but he then felt a tug at his shoulder and turned to see his mother staring right at him.

"Cloud, dear. Are you okay?"

It was her voice that was heard earlier and had awoken him from his slumber. Upon hearing her ask that in such a caring manner and realizing the situation that he was in with Zack no being there, Cloud began to tear up again. He fell forward into his mother's arms

"I...I guess I'm okay," he said quietly, sniffling slightly after speaking.

His mother was unconvinced. "Are you sure? You don't sound okay, nor do you look it. By the way, did Zack leave to go into town early this morning? I haven't seen him all day."

Cloud slumped his head lower upon hearing her questions. He knew Zack had told him that he could tell their parents why he had left, but he was unsure if he should immediately say anything. Though, he also felt like that he could not keep it all to himself and needed to lean on someone. After playing with the notion and remaining silent for a few minutes, which made his mother worry even more, his voice finally broke through.

"Zack did leave, yeah," he answered quietly.

"Okay so did he say when he's coming back? I was planning to fix a big meal tonight."

"He...he's not going to come back."

"What do you mean he's not coming back? Of course he is."

"Mom...he left. I saw him leave but I…" he trailed off, unable to tell her what really happened.

"Well did he say where he was going Cloud?"

"Yeah...h-he's going to join SOLDIER so he can help everyone…" he spoke quietly once again.

His mother leaned back with a look of bewilderment on her face. "Did I hear that right? He's...going to join the army?"

Cloud assumed that she would break down over hearing this, and as much as he wanted to be there for his mother, this situation was hard for him as well. He decided to let her sort through her emotions at that moment, just as he was still sifting through his own.

"Well...it's not entirely unexpected," she began slowly. "Zack always has had these ideals, even more so though since he met those soldiers that time. I remember he kept going on about them. But," she paused for a moment to think, "I didn't think it would be this soon."

Cloud was surprised to hear these words from his mother. Had she known the whole time? Or was it just her intuition that was driving her on this revelation. "You...you knew he wanted to?"

"Oh yes. Your father and I had seen it for a while. It's a good way to help people of course. And to make money. I remember he told us one time before how he was going to support us one day. But he could have at least said goodbye first…" she trailed off as she lowered her head in thought.

Cloud continued to sit on his bed as his mother stood in front of him, both lost in their own thoughts. Suddenly, his mother reached out and embraced him in a hug. "It's going to be okay though Cloud. I'm sure he'll come back to us one day. We will get through this, okay?"

Her calmness and reassuring manner surprised Cloud once again, but he accepted it because at that moment, it was what was needed. Though, he allowed a thought to enter his mind, wondering if his mother was just being strong for him. But it felt genuine what she was saying. He did feel a bit better, knowing that she was not upset and that he was still there with them.

"Okay mom," he simply said. Though, he did have more on his mind than just those words. Soon, his mind wandered to the thought of him leaving two years down the road. When he thought about it, he wasn't sure what he would do or how his mother and father might take the news. He attempted to push the worries to the back of his mind, however, so that he could try to move on with things. He knew that life would not be as easy without Zack there with him, but he wanted to try his best for the future.

So Zack has left now and Cloud is on his own. How will he manage? Will anything else happen? Find out next time!