The Future Imperfect
AN – Wow, thanks for the reactions to the last chapter. Particularly the amazing review left by a guest, R – I love that you like that pairing, I've been having a lot of fun writing it (very slowburn, but still!). I hope you enjoy this chapter – it's one of the first things I came up with when I thought of the story, and I am both excited and nervous about sharing it now!
Chapter Ten
Tifa threw herself at the giant, humanoid monster that was swiping at Barret. They had been fighting it for some time now, having come across it in their search for Wedge. They had found Wedge unconscious in a large room, but as they approached the doors had lowered and locked them in. Barret had just enough time to roll Wedge out before being surrounded by strange entities. They walked on two legs but looked like a human crossed with a lizard, with glowing red lines covering their bodies. Their numbers had been almost overwhelming. Then, to really make everything better, a much larger variant had arrived. It seemed to cannibalise the smaller ones for strength and used them as lethal projectiles. Not to mention calling up more every time Tifa and Barret had begun to thin them out.
They had been fighting a long time and were tired. Luckily, it looked like this huge monster was finally going down. It tottered, sinking to its knees before roaring back upright. Tifa tiredly raised her fists again, prepared to go another round despite every muscle in her body complaining, when a new figure came sailing through the air with their large sword raised.
"Cloud!"
"About time, merc." Barret shouted gruffly, as Cloud's downward strike sent the creature careening backwards. It fell against a concrete wall, snarling and reaching forwards with clawed limbs.
"You're up," Cloud called, looking back up from where he had come.
There was a silver flash, and the monster was sent hurling backwards through the wall it had fallen against before dissipating into motes of green as the Lifestream claimed it back.
Tifa took a couple of shaky steps backwards as a vision from her nightmares was realised in front of her. Sephiroth stood there, long silver blade held out to the side, silver hair still drifting from his jump and long black coat flaring around his legs. Her breath shuddered, but then he turned to Cloud and the tension that caught her in a vice eased as he stepped towards her blond friend.
Barret exhaled, facing Cloud. "So how'd you manage to track us down?"
Cloud huffed. "Followed the trail of bullet holes. There's nobody else I know who would leave that kind of mess."
"The noise also." Sephiroth added, standing at Cloud's shoulder. "You were not discrete."
"Hmph." Barret stomped over to the hole in the wall, looking through. "What the-"
Tifa moved alongside him and peered through the hole into the gloom, stepping back in horror at the sight of human shaped bodies lying at the bottom of large glass tubes. "Oh god. Were those…?"
"People?" Barret finished for her, looking horrified.
"Yeah. That's the Shinra I know." Cloud said dryly, before staggering forward with his left hand to his temple.
"Cloud?" Tifa asked in concern, before a leather gloved hand gently grasped Cloud's wrist and pulled it away from his head. Sephiroth carefully turned Cloud around until they were facing each other, Sephiroth's hand still encircling Cloud's. The tall SOLDIER leaned forwards and murmured something to Cloud that Tifa couldn't catch, his silver hair falling like a curtain and hiding both his face and Cloud's from view. It was at once very familiar and strangely intimate.
"Oh hells." Barret muttered quietly next to her.
Sephiroth stepped away from Cloud, both snapping back into their normal positions as though nothing unusual had occurred. She shook the tendrils of thought away.
"Come, we should take your friend to safety." Sephiroth stated, gesturing to where Wedge still lay outside the room they were standing in. Large glass walls allowed them to see the unmoving body of the younger man.
"Right." Barret replied gruffly. "C'mon." He led the way, firing at the glass wall until it shattered in an explosion of tiny shards.
"Sephiroth," She heard Cloud say softly. She paused and turned to see him pick something from the ground and hold it out to the taller man. "Your cloak."
Sephiroth took the item gently and shook out the grey cloth Aerith had found at the train graveyard. He pulled it into position over his head and shoulders, tucking his silver hair carefully underneath it. Cloud watched with a slight frown.
"Here," Cloud said eventually, reaching up and tugging the hood straight, his hands almost cradling the SOLDIER's face. Sephiroth froze and Tifa found herself holding her breath, before Cloud stepped back with a dusting of pink on his cheeks.
"We goin' or what?" Barret called out loudly. He'd managed to pick up Wedge in a one shouldered lift but even he was struggling under the boy's bulk.
"Of course," Tifa replied, making her way to his side and resting her hand gently against Wedge's cheek. "Let's get him out of here."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Bringing Wedge out into Sector Six caused a flurry of activity in the playground. Biggs was there checking him over, leaning heavily on Wymer as he did so. Wedge had been a popular figure in the Sector Seven slums, as part of the watch that used to patrol the Sector to keep the monster incursions down. This meant that the people in the playground were pressing close, trying to help in their own way but completely underfoot.
Eventually, Barret had to intervene, chasing them away.
"We need to get him somewhere safe." Tifa said, having had a chance to check him over. "He'll be ok, but he needs some rest."
"Take him to the Leaf House in Sector Five." Biggs suggested. "I know it's a school, but I used to help out there. Do you know it?"
"I do." Cloud spoke up from next to her. At Tifa's questioning gaze, he shrugged. "Aerith showed me around Sector Five, I helped the kids out a bit. They'll look after Wedge."
"I don't fancy takin' him back through the old road." Barret said as he hefted Wedge back onto his shoulder.
"You shouldn't need to," Biggs replied, pointing in the opposite direction. "I think they've managed to clear a route through to Wall Market now."
"Right." Barret hefted Wedge up a bit higher. "I'd best get going then."
"We'll come with you," Tifa offered. "In case you run into any trouble." She looked at Cloud, trying hard not to pay attention to his tall, grey shadow. "Coming?"
Cloud didn't answer but gave her a quick nod. Tifa started to walk, but soon stopped when she saw a familiar figure walking towards her. A brunette, wearing a red bandana and a metal chest piece flanked by two tall figures Tifa had come to recognise very well despite their ridiculous outfits.
"Jessie!" Tifa called, running over and gulfing her friend in an embrace. "I'm so pleased you're ok."
"Well, I couldn't let the side down," Jessie winked at her, before cocking a thumb over her shoulder. "Though I think tall, red and handsome over there had a bit to do with it."
Tifa followed the line of Jessie's hand to find herself staring straight into startled blue eyes that shone softly in the dim light under the plate. The startled look quickly gave way to a cocky smirk. She smiled warmly at Genesis, not noticing how his smirk faltered slightly at the warmth in her gaze.
"Come on," Jessie said, tugging her hand. "I wanna see Wedge." She made a beeline for Barret.
"Jessie…" Tifa's brow drew together. "Your parents…?" Jessie's parents had lived on the Sector Seven plate, her father bed-bound in a coma with mako addiction after an accident in a reactor.
The bubbly girl paused, flashing Tifa a pain filled gaze. "I don't know. But… I can't worry about them right now. One thing at a time." She took a deep breath before plastering a smile back on and turning around. "Barret!" She skipped over to him, looking at Wedge fondly and squeezing Barret's arm. "Shinra couldn't take you down then?"
"Hell no." Barret replied, engulfing Jessie in a hug.
"She's remarkably strong." Angeal commented as he stepped next to Tifa.
"Always the actress." Tifa murmured. "I hope they'll look after each other." Biggs had now hobbled over to them and was standing with Jessie and Barret, all three talking animatedly while Wedge bobbed around over Barret's shoulder.
Cloud came up to Tifa. "Come on, let's start heading to the Leaf House. We can let them know we're bringing Wedge to them."
"Sure," Tifa replied, smile not quite reaching her eyes. "Time to head back to Elmyra's anyway."
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Cloud opened his eyes, peering into the darkness of the room around him. On the other side, Marlene was sleeping in the bed with Barret resting up against the side of it, mouth hanging open while he snored loudly. Cloud himself was propped against the wall by the door, one leg stretched in front of him while he napped. They were in one of Elmyra's small bedrooms, sharing due to the lack of space.
Cloud shook his head slightly, wondering what had woken him. Movement in the hallway made him come alert, the sound of boots tromping down the stairs unmistakeable. But he had no idea who it could be, it sounded too heavy for Tifa and Barret was in front of him. He stood up and quietly left the room, peering over the bannister rail. He couldn't see anything, but he heard the front door open and close down below.
Frowning now, Cloud quietly stepped down the stairs and out of the door. He looked around the garden, trying to find where the person went. There – a shadowy figure standing on the far side of the stream. Cloud stalked across the bridge, only vaguely aware of the eyes of a SOLDIER watching him from the passageway to the village that the trio had requisitioned as their campsite for the night.
Cloud wasn't sure what he was expecting to find, but there was no one waiting in the flowerbed. The gentle breeze lifted the flowers and for a moment he could close his eyes and forget that he was under the plate, revelling in the sweet scent in the air. It was peaceful, in a way that he hadn't felt for a long time. Longer than he could remember, although that wasn't saying much with the way his memory had been working recently.
He walked to the edge of the garden and sat down on a patch of grass, one leg stretched in front of him and the other bent up so he could hug his knee to his chest. He startled when a weight settled down behind him and pressed against his back. Something told him to stay, so despite stiffening in response he didn't move straight away.
"Hey there, Spike."
The voice, once forgotten but suddenly painfully familiar, almost robbed Cloud of the ability to speak.
"Zack…" Cloud breathed, closing his eyes and pushing back a little into the contact. Memories flashed into his mind; of Zack and his easy smiles, happy nature and genuine desire to be friends with a simple trooper from a backwater town. "I'm sorry."
"Hey, what do you got to be sorry for?" Zack sounded amused as he met Cloud's contact with his own, mirroring his pose.
"I forgot you…" The guilt coloured his tone as his head bowed towards his chest.
"Yeah… but that's hardly your fault." Zack shifted against Cloud's back, and Cloud could feel how he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly with his hand. "When I said you should be my living legacy and all… I didn't actually mean to give you my memories. So yeah, oops. Sorry about that."
Cloud let out a whoosh of air. "It's a bit confusing."
"What with that and the mako poisoning I think you are doing pretty well, all told. That stuff really messes with your mind. So nice work, Spike. You've come through it pretty well."
The last time he saw Zack flashed through Cloud's mind. Bleeding out on the rocks overlooking Midgar, having faced down a huge number of Shinra forces sent there to kill both him and Cloud. Taking them out, almost to the last man, but paying the ultimate price for it.
"I got you killed."
Zack shifted uneasily. "No, don't do that. Don't take that on yourself."
"It's true though." Cloud's head dropped until his chin rested on his knee.
"I didn't choose to do it for you alone, Spike. Yeah sure, part of it was that I wanted you to be safe and all, but I also did it for me you know? And for Sephiroth, Angeal and Genesis; and for every other poor sap who ended up being one of Hojo's experiments somewhere. It was my choice, don't take that away from me."
Cloud sighed again. "I'll try not to."
"Thanks buddy." There was silence for a while, while Cloud looked up at the plate above them and just enjoyed the companionship.
"Can you do me a favour?" Zack asked eventually, twisting slightly towards Cloud.
"Of course." Cloud replied, half a smile on his face.
"Can you look after the guys for me? Y'know, Angeal, Genesis and Sephiroth. I think… something happened that shouldn't have happened. It's hard to explain but when you are in the Lifestream, you hear bits and pieces of the planet. Kinda like Aerith does I guess. Anyway, I think the planet had something to do with them being here. Wanting them to see the future so they can try to do something about this mess."
"Wouldn't that erase us? Or at least… stop us being here? How does that even work?"
"That's way more in depth than I'd know about, Cloud. But I don't think so… might be something to ask Aerith."
Cloud nodded and they fell back into silence. Zack eventually sighed. "I think it's time for me to go, Spike." Cloud just nodded again, feeling a hand ruffle his hair. "If I get a chance to come and chat again, I will. In the meantime… I think there is someone else who needs a word. Remember what I said about looking after him, alright?"
There was a soft sigh, then Zack's presence disappeared from behind Cloud. A few moments later, the sound of footsteps alerted him to the fact that someone else had decided to come out to the garden this night.
"Cloud." The newcomer greeted, and Cloud felt his heart sink. Of all the people it could be, it just had to be him. The one he felt most conflicted over, had had a breakdown in front of earlier and had subsequently not-so-subtly been avoiding ever since they had left the labs.
"Hey Sephiroth."