Chapter 8

Yggdrasil…



The metal fell away from his arm to clatter on the roof, blood rushing through his newly freed limb in a stinging guarantee of pins and needles. Fingers flexed tentatively, the black, scaly skin flaking away with each movement.

Vincent stared at the arm as if it were something unfamiliar. He did not feel the surface cracking as it bled from every joint and the hundreds of wire tracks that riddled his mangled flesh, nor did it bother him. He was more intrigued by the feeling of distance he got when looking at it. There were things that seemed far more real, like cuts in his feet that were still open and bleeding into the dust, and the cold air which bit into him relentlessly. These seemed far more disturbing in his current situation, and he couldn't explain why. His entire body seemed to be changing again, and apart from the wings he seemed now permanently encumbered with, it was more toward humanity.

"It's healing." He stated, still staring at the peeling skin. "Cloud?"

Cloud took hold of the hand again and brushed away some of the black parchment-like flakes; it resembled a terrible burn, and as his fingers touched the raw wound they caused it to blister. Yet he did not stop there. He started to peel the bandage from his own right arm, clean enough in their dank surroundings for Vincent not to worry. Slowly, and mindful of the pain that reflected in the vampire's eyes if not his outward behaviour, he began to clean away the mess.

"We don't really have time for this." He sighed as he worked, tying the white cloth loosely around the worst of the bleeding sores. "I wish I'd thought of it sooner, really. Since there's still a small percentage of dead Jenova cells left in your body, it might need to get worse before it gets better."

Vincent watched the boy tie up his hand. Usually, damage faded fast from his body. But something was recently negating his enhanced healing mechanisms, and he'd been feeling it for a while.

"When did you do this?" He murmured, choosing that moment to meet shimmering sapphire eyes with his own, for just a second.

"Me?" Cloud tightened the wrappings and secured it with a small knot before retrieving the gauntlet. His own arm felt a little stiff now, but deciding to ignore himself for the moment he handed the thing back to his companion. Vincent took it with less than an acknowledgement and began to refasten the metal plates. "Where'd you get an idea like that, anyway. Hey…"

Suddenly turning away from Vincent's struggle with the clips on his gauntlet, Cloud whirled off towards the enormous tree in a flurry of white, the pallor of his hair and naked shoulders somehow catching the barest slivers of moonlight. There seemed to be a large opening in the metal plate above them. Obviously delighted with the fact, or tired of the silence, Cloud crowed aloud, running his arms around as much of the trunk as he could manage.

"I didn't have you reckoned as the tree-hugging sort." Vincent said as he followed on still-sensitive feet. Fiddling with the same clip, he gave up for a moment and watched the skinny blond boy.

"Hmm?"

"Nothing." He sighed, putting his undamaged palm against the silvery bark just above Cloud's shoulder. It was beautifully smooth, and if it might have been possible, warm. The trunk was easily five feet in diameter, he noted, running fingertips into the small cracks and splits. It was still a good thirty metre climb before they would reach the plate though, and Vincent doubted that he could make it. He didn't hold much hope for Cloud either.

~

The bark dug into his skin as Cloud laid his forehead on the pulse line of the tree. He heard Vincent say something behind him, but it was almost impossible to hear over the sound of the magnificent tree, growing even as he listened. Probably telling him how daft he looked or something. At least this way he didn't have to listen to them, so loud he could barely think straight. They shuffled around in the darkness and muttered in hollow voices to themselves about fate, and doom. They all blamed him.

Oblivious of the swarming diaphanous crowds far below them in the empty streets another presence made itself felt. Vincent's hand came to rest beside his head, and reminded him of the company of another living creature. One that didn't blame him for anything.

"Vincent…" He whispered, dropping his arms a little. He didn't need to cling to life so hard now, the dead were untiring, but barely remained on the physical plane, and their ceaseless accusations faded a little into the background of Vincent's wandering thoughts. "May I ask you something?"

The Daemon that had moved beside him nodded, flexing the heavy wings unconsciously and nearly losing balance. He felt the strong grip on his half-covered arm as he staggered, and was pulled back up the unstable tiles. Normally, his ego might have been a little affronted by the thought that Cloud of all people had caught him. But his situation was far from normal, and he hadn't yet found his balance.

"Thank you… no, I do not mind." He answered, keeping hold of the arm that was still anchored to his wrist. A quick glance at the other man showed that Cloud was feeling a little precarious now, and he couldn't help a small sigh of relief as the grip was not relinquished.

"What… Oh crap, you know, I feel kinda silly now…" Cloud grinned briefly, but quit when it became obvious that he was fooling neither himself or his friend. "When I found you in that basement, what did you feel?"

Vincent felt another small hand begin to fasten the few clips that he'd not actually managed to fix yet. "About what?" He swallowed, turning his gaze to the ash tree. He was definitely not going to concentrate on that arm.

"Oh, just things in general. Did you feel out of place?"

"Oh…" Vincent dropped his gaze further, wondering exactly what he'd expected the question to be. "I was annoyed about being disturbed." He began, trying to remember exactly what he could from such a long time ago. "Of course, why anybody spent so much time bothering to find me I don't know."

"The notes said you were a Turk… of course, I thought you'd be a dead one by then." Cloud shrugged, fastening the last clip, but keeping hold of the older man's hand.

"You always were a little strange. What were you planning to do with a corpse?"

"I thought perhaps you could have told me something. It really doesn't matter though."

Noting the total lack of sarcasm implicit in that statement, Vincent chanced another look toward the delicate blue glow and saw that Cloud was searching the surface for handholds. Then his hand was finally released as the swordsman began to scale the tree. Abandoned again, he guessed due to an attention span just slightly better than that of a five year old, he had no choice but to attempt pursuit.

"You forgot your coat…"

"Oh, thanks Vincent. I thought it was a little chilly. Could you keep a hold of it?"

Vincent glared as threateningly at the retreating chuckle as he could manage. Then he threw the heavy leather over his shoulder.

"I don't think I can climb… not like this" He mumbled more to himself than anything. His arm was sore, as were his feet, and those wings were altogether too heavy to have him scuttling up a tree like a scalded monkey.


Then fly.

"Cloud?"

No answer was forthcoming but the suggestion, wherever it had come from, seemed to be the only viable option. To fly… he'd never found it difficult when he didn't have to think . He would just stretch his wings like so, and beat the air beneath them.

~

Cloud climbed lazily, letting his mind precede. Slim, nimble fingers found their own handholds, and the rough metal plates on his boots dug effortlessly into the bark. It was second nature to a boy of the mountains, and he seemed only to use the tree as an anchor as he flew toward the starlit tear in the plate above. From where he was he could see the sky emerge, still dark, between the thick tangle of branches.

Pulling up onto one of the lower limbs, he knelt down on his hands and knees and stared back into the abyss. He scanned the darkness swiftly, confirming that Vincent was nowhere to be seen before he sat back against the trunk to wait. Sitting there, he took the opportunity to orientate himself with the surroundings and found himself already at his intended destination. He was level with the upper city now, somewhere in the center of a large park.

Sector 5 Gardens… a pitiful patch of greenery near the edge of the plate, and one of the only public parks in the whole city. It hadn't changed all that much, and he'd been privately happy to discover that the whole area was untouched by Meteor's destruction. Up here, nobody had died. Here, among his few happy memories, they were silent.


A sudden rush of air disturbed his meditative state, and then he reunited with his jacket as it was unceremoniously slung across his outstretched legs. It landed with a ringing slap, and woke the dozing swordsman further as he struggled to keep his balance on the relatively narrow limb. The steady 'whumph, whumph' sound of beating wings filled his ears, and as he slipped backwards he saw the ever dependable face of Vincent, staring back in what might have been amusement in another universe.

Cloud's chest connected wirh the branch solidly, knocking the air straight from his lungs as he wrapped his arms around it.

It hardly escaped his attention that he was dangling over a rather familiar fall. Then again, he would probably survive with less than a scratch.

"Yeah, but I'd have to climb all the way back up."

He grinned and almost laughed at Vincent's brief look of concern as he trod air with those red leathery appendages.

"I see you got the hang of it, then." He offered, conversationally. It wasn't as if he'd have trouble hanging there all day, and Vincent didn't look like he was going to offer his help. In fact, he looked slightly bored. So Cloud lifted one arm and waved, tiny scratches leaving only small drops of blood on the bark.

"Bye Bye."

~

Vincent hadn't meant to knock Cloud off, only to return the item of clothing and express his annoyance, he hadn't meant to, really, but that's what happened. Then the blonde boy caught himself.

Well, he's all right then, I guess. He thought, before Cloud gave him that annoying smile and started muttering to himself. From what he could gather, Cloud was holding a one sided debate on whether or not he should let go. Not a good thing…

Then he waved.

"Bye bye."

The lithe, pale, form dropped. One hand took hold of the coat while the other caught the branch and swung the rest of him into mid air. Vincent got the distinct impression that it might not be a good idea to tell the acrobat he had no net.

Then, Cloud was gone.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Author's notes: Epic? *nervous sweatdrop* did I say that? Well, um, I got sidetracked by alcohol and 'Black Christmas' parties, and drawing. Oh well, I decided to split this part up anyway, since it ended on such a nice little cliffhanger an' all.

This part wasn't as dark as the rest… I wanted some er, light relief I guess. If you can call a rotting arm, lotsa dead people for Cloud to play with, and the fact that Vincent's got bloody great bat wings as light. I guess that gives you some idea of what I have planned. Not to mention the state of my mind. All is not as healthy as it seems.

*if you go down to the woods today…. Be sure of a big surprise ^_^*

oh…. Reviews, please. Lots, or I'm going to inflict more 'humour' on y'all instead of this.

By the way… I think I've read every Seph x Cloud in existance. Come on guys/girlies! Get on with it! I'm looking for original here, like wot I are doin' ~_6.

Oh, and Clouderella is officially on hold. I have a 'real' life to deal with here, as boring as that may seem, and my muses are too busy screwing each other silly and making dumb comments to be any help.

Ta ta for now….