Disclaimer: All Final Fantasy 7 characters, places and things all belong to Squaresoft and other involved companies. I own none of them. This fanfic is purely for the fun and enjoyment of others and myself. I make no money from it.
SHARDS COLLIDE
CHAPTER 5
Cloud yawed exhaustedly as he stood in the main lobby of the inn. Aeris stood next to him, equally tired. Cloud glanced her way then scoffed in annoyance. It was beginning to be the start of a very annoying day. Cloud had awoken somewhere around noon only to find that he had slept in while both Aeris and Zack were apparently already awake and dressed. Aeris was the only other person in the room. Cloud had asked her where Zack had gone but she simply told him he said he was going to take care of some business and that they should wait for him in the lobby by 2:00pm.
Again Cloud scoffed. 'Zack is so irresponsible! The least he could do is tell me where he's going before he just sets off and tells us to blindly wait for him.'
Cloud turned to face Aeris. "Aeris, are you sure Zack didn't say anything else? Any hint at all regarding the location to where he was going this morning?"
Aeris raised her head in thought for a moment then turned back towards Cloud with an apologetic look in her eyes. "Nope. Sorry Cloud, all he told me was that he was going to run some errands. He didn't state what they were."
Cloud grumbled under his breath and looked at his watch. It was 2:15. "He's already 15 minutes late. I wonder what he's up to."
Suddenly, as if on cue to Cloud's comment, the doors to the inn opened and in walked Zack. His arms were full of traveling items; armor, potions, traveling foods, new weapons, etc.
Cloud shot his partner a confused look. "What are you doing with all of that? Are you planning on heading out already? We never discussed this!"
Zack gave Cloud a sheepish look. "Uhh yeah sorry about that. It was one of those spur of the moment kinda things, ya know?"
Cloud gave Zack an angry look. "I told you already how low our funds were. What possible reason could you have for going out on a spending spree? Have you completely lost your mind?"
Zack brightened. "Actually I was meaning to talk to you about that. Our spending funds, I mean. I got a job offer last night. I was going to tell you about it when I got back but you were already asleep and I didn't want to wake you up."
Cloud eyed his partner wearily. "Job offer? Didn't we agree that we wouldn't accept any jobs unless the other was present so that we could discuss the proposition together?"
"Yeah, I remember but that's just it. I didn't accept. Last night I was training and some woman approached me telling me that she was looking for mercenaries. Apparently she's part of something big. She gave me this card talking about the name of the group but as far as I know, I've never heard of them."
Cloud took the card from Zack but said nothing. Zack took this as a sign to continue.
"Well anyway, she told me if we were interested, to meet her in Midgar sector 7 in three days, which means we gotta leave now if we want to make it there in time."
Cloud's eyebrows rose rapidly at the mention of the location. "Midgar!? Zack you know how I feel about that area. That's the capital of Shinra. How do you know its not just some Shinra organization trying to hire mercenaries to weed out more civilian rebels?"
Zack shrugged nonchalantly. "I guess I don't really know, but I just got this feeling that we should take this job. Besides, she told me they'd offer us 200,000 gil per mission!"
"200,000 gil per mission!?" Cloud exclaimed in shock. "They must really be desperate for help if they're offering that much!"
"Yeah I know. But anyway, with that kinda gil pilling up, I think the job is at least something worth checking out don't you think?"
Cloud said nothing but nodded uncertainly.
Zack patted his partner on the shoulder reassuringly. "And besides, once we get there we'll ask what it's about. If it has anything to do with helping Shinra, we'll drop the whole thing immediately. How's that?"
Cloud shrugged. "Yeah I guess so. 200,000 gil per mission is a lot of money."
"Its too good an offer to pass up!" Zack encouraged. "Wouldn't you agree Aeris?"
The black haired mercenary turned towards the brunette woman only to notice she was extremely pale and staring at them with wide eyes.
"Aeris… are you ok?" Cloud asked in concern.
Aeris broke out of her trance and offered them an apologetic smile. "Oh I'm sorry. Umm yeah, 200,000 gil does sound like a lot of money."
Zack noticed the hesitation and uncertainty in her voice but said nothing as he slowly nodded his head. He mentally reminded himself to talk to her about it next time they had a chance to talk in private. But for now, Zack donned his famous grin and turned towards Cloud once more. "So it's settled then?" He asked hopefully.
Cloud nodded his head. "Yeah. We might as well get going now then, since you already bought all the supplies we'll be needing for the trip. Oh and by the way, were you able to catch the name of the woman who was the contact?"
Zack nodded vigorously. "Yep sure did! It was… uhh…hmmm…"
Cloud smacked his head in frustration. "Don't tell me… You forgot her name didn't you?"
Zack shot Cloud an offended look. "Hey cut me some slack ok? I was really tired from my workout when she approached me! Hmmm… Now let's see… I think it was… Tina! Yeah that's it! Tina Lionheart!"
Cloud regarded his friend with an unconvinced expression. "Are you sure that's what she said her name was?" He asked tiredly.
Zack nodded vigorously. "Yep!… I think so."
Cloud let out a sigh. "Fine, whatever. Anyway lets just get going. We need every second we can get if we're going to make it there in time. Right Aeris?"
Aeris gave him a weak smile and nodded but he caught the distant look in her eyes. Cloud felt concern for the young woman but didn't say anything. If she didn't want to talk about it then he would respect her privacy.
Zack tossed each of his companions one of the pouches he was carrying over his shoulder. "Here you go guys. You'll both need these if you plan on staying in tip top shape once we get out into the open road."
Cloud nodded and followed Zack as he exited the front door. Aeris lingered a bit longer, then hurried after them to catch up. One thought was constantly on her mind. 'Are they really planning on going to… Midgar.' Aeris didn't want to go back to that hated city. There were too many bad memories there.
Zack suddenly turned around and faced her. "Oh yeah, I didn't even notice. I'm sorry for making decisions without even asking you Aeris. I remember I told you we'd look after you until the rain stopped. Do you mind hanging out with us longer?"
Aeris was flustered. Unknowingly, Zack had presented her with the back door she needed to get away from going back to Midgar. She was about to reply when suddenly something occurred to her. She had nowhere else to go. She truly didn't want to leave them. For the first time in a long time, she felt like she belonged to something. For the first time, she was truly happy. Aeris made up her mind. If she was going to go to Midgar then so be it. At least when she returned there, she would have the support of these two mercenaries. Not like last time when she was all alone. Making up her mind, Aeris looked back at Zack with a happy smile on her face.
"I don't mind at all Zack. I'd gladly accompany you two."
Zack nodded then looked at her sheepishly. He scratched the back of his neck nervously as he prepared his next comment. "Well… you've just been wandering on your own all this time right? I mean… well… if you don't have anywhere else to go then how would you feel about permanently becoming part of our group? What do you say Aeris? Feel like joining our mercenary party?"
Aeris looked wide eyed at both of them. She saw that Cloud was also smiling appreciatively at the idea.
Aeris smiled happily. She was actually becoming part of a group. She nodded vigorously at Zack's proposal. "I would be honored to join up with you guys!"
Zack and Cloud both smiled happily. "Well then, as a new member of our unofficial mercenary group, welcome to the fold." Zack said proudly.
Aeris giggled at his formalities while Cloud let out an annoyed sigh at his friend's antics.
Zack suddenly put on a serious expression and regarded his friends. "Well then, now that that's settled, lets head out."
Cloud narrowed his eyes. "Wait a minute! Since when did you become group leader?"
Zack chuckled and waved his finger at Cloud. "It's just natural ability, ol' buddy."
"Since when did you get any natural ability besides the ability to take down 10 lbs. of food in a single bite?"
Aeris giggled silently as her friends continued their arguing while at the same time walking out of the town towards the horizons. Aeris thought back to her previous apprehensions about returning to Midgar and sighed heavily. 'You knew you would have to face this conflict sooner or later. It's best this way. At least now you have the support of friends who care about you.'
And so the group set out for the City of Midgar, unmindful of the new journey which awaited them.
::::::To Be Continued:::::::
Authors note: Thanks for reading. Please stay tuned for the next chapter!