At least the walk had burned some of his anger off. That only left his determination to return to town, collect his things and leave that night. He was pissed enough to just let them all rot in hell. Aerith, who was walking beside him was quieter than usual, perhaps contemplating the insanity he'd sprung from? Zack was no fool to think that he'd completely escaped it. No, he had his quirks, but he tried to suppress them in an effort to function in a more normal society.

As for Kyle, he was trudging along some distance behind, sulking. The stupid fool! Just thinking about it made Zack mad. Not that he'd ever doubted Aerith's faithfulness even if they'd only exchanged a few pecks of kisses now and then in the months they'd known each other, he was mad that Kyle would risk her life in such a way! They were all lucky to have gotten out alive and the stupid fool had the audacity to bitch about not having a girlfriend and life being UNFAIR!

Oh hell.

The night was eerily silent. Not even the bugs were whispering in the darkness as they swished through the tall grass, occasional dried leaves crunching beneath their boots. Above, the sky was brilliantly clear, the air still and heavy with humidity, making the stars glimmer like jewels. It nearly made Zack want to forget his anger and offer to pluck some from the sky to give Aerith a necklace to wear. Ah, that did give him an idea though. But later, definitely a lot later, once everything was settled with Jenova. He'd marry her then. They'd find somewhere to go live, a nice little house, maybe near Sephiroth and Katy, so their kids could play with each other.

A smile stole across Zack's lips.

"Whatcha thinking about?" she asked softly, moving to walk closer now that she sensed that his mind had finally drifted from his fury. Her fingers slid between his.

Gladly, he clasped her hand, "Things," he replied, "Plans for the future. Don't worry, they don't include a lot of cats." She laughed softly, moving in closer to lean against his arm. "It's so quiet out here. Too quiet I think."

She nodded slightly, rubbing her cheek against his shoulder. "I agree. That feeling that something's not right keeps getting stronger the closer to town we get." He pressed his lips together, though her other hand stroked the skin of his arm lightly, tickling the hairs that grew there. "I wish we could go faster, but I know we'll be tired by the time we get there. We're already hasted..." And it was a good thing that Aerith had had those charms in her bag. Zack's bag had been left in the cavern, which meant they had no Ethers or healing potions.

Damn it all. Why hadn't Kyle been useful and picked it up? Oh, cause Kyle was a dumb fuck. Zack kept forgetting that little fact.

Forcing his fingers to unclench, he sighed, "Sorry, but this place really gets on my nerves. They're all fucking morons!" She caressed his arm gently.

"I know, but they're your morons. They'd kill themselves with stupidity if you left them alone too long," she offered with a faint smile.

Heaving another sigh, Zack shook his head, "Maybe it'd be better if they did. It'd clean up the gene pool."

For a moment, Aerith was silent, but her voice was calm when she spoke again, "They've got something going for them, you came from there, remember?"

Looking down, Zack walked in silence, stifling his suggestion that maybe he was adopted. She wanted to believe that they weren't all that bad and his stubborn insistence that they were stupid was only hurting her. He squeezed her hand instead. Lifting his head, he glanced back-

"Where's Kyle?"

Cold stole over him. He hadn't really meant for Kyle to just drop off the face of the earth! Not really! Shit, was this a case of 'Watch what you wish for'?

Turning, Zack lifted both hands and cupped his mouth, "KYLE!" he shouted. The sound seemed muffled in the darkness, as if a hand had come down in the night and stifled it. No one answered.

Aerith moved closer, wrapping herself around one of his arms when Zack dropped them by his side again. "I don't like this..." she whispered fearfully. Ha. No kidding. Zack didn't like it either.

Something shifted the grass to their left. Immediately, Aerith let go of him, they both reached for their weapons. Silence fell again. Zack slowed his breathing though his heart still hammered in his chest, "Kyle, if you're fucking around again, this is NOT funny!" he called. "I'm gonna kill him. If he pops out of that grass I'm going to KILL him," he continued, muttering to himself as he shifted his stance slightly, bending his knees a big more, finding his balance, his center, checking his guard.

"Zack, Aerith," a voice from the grass murmured. "I found you!"

Zack nearly fell over with relief as Nanaki came padding closer into the light- which Zack had taken from Kyle and tied to his belt.

"Holy," he muttered, "You nearly got attacked! Don't creep around in the dark like that!"

Nanaki shook himself, "Sorry. I wasn't hiding from you, I was hiding from the monsters. There's hundreds of them in the forest. It's like something is calling them all... Did you find the monster you went after?"

Sighing, Zack clipped his sword back into place, Aerith did the same with her staff. "No," she replied before Zack could, "Kyle lied so he could try to romance me. We did find monsters though. Lots of them. We got out of the forest a few hours ago and were heading back to town the long way."

His tail swishing from side to side, Nanaki pondered this, but decided not to comment on Kyle's reasons, "Good thing, there's no way you would be able to get back alive going through the forest. But where is Kyle?"

Zack gave a shrug. Aerith clasped her hands together, "We don't know, we just noticed that he was missing a few minutes ago. Nanaki, help us find him?" The dog-creature nodded, lowering his nose to the ground and started back along Zack and Aerith's trail. The two followed close behind. It turned out that Kyle had left them perhaps five minutes before they realized he was gone, his path splitting off- heading straight towards the forest.

"The bloody IDIOT!" Zack hissed his opinion, "Has he no sense of self preservation? Probably not, probably thought the spiders would just go away."

Aerith spoke up then, "Or maybe he went out to fight them?" Zack looked at her, not understanding, "To prove that he could be better than you."

Rubbing his forehead, Zack felt sick, "He's a smart kid, you know, I just wish he'd USE his brains now and then. He always came up with the coolest things to do and plans for adventure and we always had fun whenever he joined the group, but he was always screwing up with girls, mostly by trying to steal MY girlfriends and I wish he'd just grow up a little and realize his strengths instead of dwelling on his weaknesses."

She smiled, "Sounds like something Sephiroth would say," she pointed out.

Giving a rueful laugh, Zack nodded slightly, "Yeah. That was the first lesson he taught us. 'Be aware of your weaknesses, but rely on your strengths. Don't go head on with an opponent that is bigger and stronger than you. If you're faster, stab him from behind.'" Zack swallowed. "How're you holding up?" he asked after a moment.

"I'm fine," her answer was a bit too quick, but to ask for a halt at this juncture would only allow Kyle a larger head start. They had to catch him before he got to the forest and got himself killed.

"Nanaki," he called, "Go on ahead and see if you can catch him. We'll keep heading in a straight line from here. If you can't find him, come back to us."

Giving a bark, Nanaki sped ahead and disappeared into the night. Reaching out, Zack caught Aerith's hand, pulling her down to a walk from their jog. "We'll keep moving, but have a cool-down walk. Tiring ourselves out when we're this close to the forest would be just as stupid as running into it untrained and horny." Pressing her lips together, Aerith gave a slight nod, accepting his decision. That didn't mean she had to like it though.

In the shadows ahead there was a growl and yelp, the sound of something heavy hitting the ground and rolling. "Nanaki's got him," Zack announced the obvious and broke into a run, catching up to find Nanaki with his teeth around Kyle's neck, but not pressing. "Are you stupid or something?" Zack asked as he approached, panting somewhat.

Aerith made her way over and shook her head at him, "Let me?" He gave a nod and she knelt beside Kyle, taking one of his hands. "Nanaki?" she asked and the cat-creature let go, sliding off to sit beside Zack. "Kyle, you do realize that running off on your own into the woods will get you killed, right? Nanaki said there's thousands of monsters in there-"

"You're telling me the DOG can talk?" Kyle pulled his hand from her as he sat up, rubbing his neck and the scratches he'd received in the short struggle. "Zack, get your damn dog trained better! It shouldn't attack people!"

Nanaki's tail twitched, ears folded back, "I'm not a dog. And yes, I do speak. If you wish to kill monsters for glory, there's more than enough to share with an entire tribe of hunters in those trees, but I truly do not suggest going in by yourself, nor even with these two, even if they are good fighters, they would be overwhelmed quickly. I would especially not suggest going in at night as that is the time they seem most active."

Kyle gaped. Aerith laid her hand on his shoulder, "Kyle, please, I would rather you didn't get killed."

"Well- it's my problem if I do!" he shot back at them all, eyes blazing with adolescent fury.

Zack rubbed the back of his neck and turned to look around the area, on third thought, he unclipped the light and dropped it on Kyle's stomach and moved to step out of the light and roam nervously at the edge. "I know you're upset, Kyle, but you-"

"Upset!" Kyle interrupted Aerith, fuming and getting to his feet, "You have no idea what I've gone through! Rejected, time after time- if you don't want me to go in there then marry me!" Zack winced but kept his mouth shut. He just had to trust Aerith. "There's nothing you can get from Zack that I don't have better. I'm going to inherit my father's store, he's just going to get a shack, and only if his parents die. I could squash him if I sat on him- I can be a better fighter than him! I've got better friends and family connections than he does! I could move us to Midgar. We could open a chain of stores there. Sure, we'd have to start in the slums but we'd work our way up-" Aerith was laughing.

Slowly, she stood, picking up the light as she did, "I came from Midgar, I lived in the slums, and there's no working your way up from there. There's nothing to work up TO! I hate that place. I don't want money or family connections. I don't want someone who can fight and I don't care what he has. I care what he is."

Silence fell for a long moment and Zack looked back to see Nanaki with his teeth buried in the leg of Kyle's pants. Aerith continued, "Zack could be the poorest man in the world, but being with him makes me happy because he's not depressing to be around. He makes life interesting for those nearby by cutting up, or just smiling the way he does. Smile more, Kyle, try to enjoy life more. A friend of mine once said this: A relationship takes two. It may look like one is weaker than the other, but if they're not both strong enough to stand on their own then if one falls they'll drag the other down. It's a combination of strength that makes it possible. You see, Kyle, you can't rely on a woman to make you happy. If you can make yourself happy, then she will come to you and be happy with you. I can be happy on my own, but I like to be happy with Zack."

"We've got company," Zack warned softly. "Quick tutorial on sword fighting, use the sharp side to hit the damn things and keep moving. If they can't hit you they can't knock you down." He reentered the light, picked up Cloud's sword from the ground and brushed the dirt off it. "And take better care of this. It's a loan from a friend." He handed it to Kyle once more, then turned, watching as Aerith clipped the light to her belt and pulled out her staff. When Zack returned to the shadows, Nanaki followed.

This time, they were vaguely humanoid creatures with long arms and short legs. They screamed like banshees in the night, a bloodcurdling noise that only intensified as they were struck down.


Somehow, they had survived the night.

They were all exhausted beyond belief, but they'd survived and between attacks, Zack had managed to drill Kyle on a few more basics of the sword. The boy would never be as good as even Cloud, but it was enough to keep him alive. They came staggering into town from the south at mid morning, only to find the place deserted. There was blood in the streets.

Cold dread stole Zack's heart as he moved to his mother's house, tried to open the door, but found it barred from within, "MA!" he shouted, banging on the door, "MOM! Open the door!"

There was silence from within, but a moment later, he heard something scraping across the splintering wood floor and the door opened a crack, "Oh god- it's you Zack!" she breathed and withdrew, there were a few more scrapes and the door flew open completely. "You're alive!" she sobbed and threw herself on him. "I thought for sure you were dead! All the men left- they wandered out into the woods with hoes and axes and said they were going to kill the monster in there but they haven't come back!"

"Wait- woah!" Zack took hold of her shoulders, pushing her back and looking at her face, "When did that happen?"

She swallowed, "Last night, at sunset." Zack winced, Aerith moving closer to look at the scratches on the wall beside the door. "After dark, things... started howling in the night and banged on the doors and I got scared! I pushed the couch in front of the door and closed the shutters and hid in the cellar. I don't know if anyone else is alive," she sobbed, putting her face against his shoulder again and forgetting his grubby hands, he stroked her hair.

Aerith ran her finger over the scratch, then shook her head, "The Chocobo is dead, I think that's the blood in the street," she announced, "I'll go to the other houses and see if they're alright." Zack nodded and watched her go.

"Ma, think you could get breakfast going?" he asked. "We've had a pretty rough night. Kyle and I will get your house put back together, okay?" She sniffled and nodded, rubbing her face against his chest a bit before finally pushing away and climbing over the couch to get her normal routine started. Climbing in over the couch after her, Zack took hold of one end of the couch and picked it up, Kyle following with the other. The old piece of furniture was quite heavy, being solid wood beneath the cushions, it was amazing that his mother had moved it at all.

Moving around the house, Zack opened the shutters, letting the bright sunlight in, frowning at the dark clouds that were coming in from the west, it looked like a cold front. "We're in for a bumpy ride tonight," he muttered and Kyle came to look as well.

"Yah," he agreed, though it was a bit lackluster in tone.

Zack hadn't been expecting miracles, but at least Aerith had talked some sense into the kid. With a start, Zack realized... "When did I start feeling so old?" he muttered, shook his head and moved outside to get some firewood.

Aerith returned with half the ladies in town at her heels. "This is all that's left, the others weren't able to close up their houses good enough."

Giving a nod, Zack replied, "Kyle and I will take care of the bodies after breakfast." Kyle looked ill at the thought. The ladies invaded Ma's house, eerily silent for a large group of women who'd known each other since birth. It gave Zack the creeps, so he stayed outside, pulling the Chocobo's body out of immediate sight. Glancing over to his mother's shack, he saw the ladies leave one by one and return with cooking supplies and implements to help Ma with making breakfast for everyone. Good idea, pooling supplies. He'd set Kyle to that, the boy wasn't ready for corpses. Zack wasn't sure he was ready for corpses of people he'd known since he was born, but they needed proper burials and there wasn't anyone else to do it. At least, if they were mutilated, he could tell who they were by what house they lived in.

When the call went out that breakfast was ready, Zack found up their covered bucket of water for washing up in and did just that, wiping the monster blood from his arms and face, and on third thought, dunked his head in and flipped his soaked hair back, running his hands over it after. He'd have liked a nice hot shower like he'd used to get in the Tower at Midgar, but he wasn't likely to get that for a while. He did what he could with what he had currently available.

Reentering the house, he found that it was mostly a get what you can sit where you can type of deal, though Aerith had gotten him a plate already and handed it to him as he walked in. He gave her a tired smile, then on third thought, leaned close to peck a kiss on her cheek. She smiled in return, blushing faintly. Glancing around, he flicked his head for her to follow him outside again. She did.

"You think you could say the prayers for them?" he asked softly. A morbid thing for a young couple to talk about over breakfast, but he had to ask. "I think it would be appropriate... or something like that."

She didn't even pause in eating, but nodded. He found a sack of grain to sit on beside the house and patted the space beside him. Obediently, Aerith sat and heaved a sigh, staring ahead, or perhaps at the coming storm. Zack finally started eating, but found after a few bites that he didn't have much of an appetite. She spoke at last, voice sounding stronger, "I wish we could have gotten back in time..."

Swallowing, he shook his head, "Even if we'd turned around at the cave what could we have done to stop the guys from leaving? They've got this macho image to live up to around here. It's their everything even if none of them are very good at it." He leaned his head back against the wall and sighed, his plate resting on his knee, swiftly being forgotten. "The way I see it... we've got two choices. We can't leave with things the way they are, that's for certain."

Aerith smiled at him. "So that leaves stopping whatever is calling these creatures and frightening them away, or taking all the survivors with us to Cosmo." His eyes roamed around the area, cold settling in his heart again. "I'd rather do both, seeing as how just chasing them off won't guarantee that they'll stay away."

Aerith set her fork down, "Eat, Zack," she said softly, "You need your strength." She leaned over, placing her head on his shoulder. "I think I like option three: all of the above the best. What if this is some sort of move by Jenova?"

"In that case, can we make the monsters stop at all? We need Katy and Sephiroth for sure if it is Jenova," Zack replied and lifted his fork and plate to shovel a few bites into his mouth. Silence fell between them again. "And in any case, how will they find us here?" he added. "At least in Cosmo we'll have the cliffs all around to help us make a better stand against invaders."

Setting her plate aside, Aerith rubbed his upper arm slightly with one hand, shifting her head into a more comfortable position on his shoulder. "Yes, I'd feel safer in Cosmo as well. It's always been known for being... Connected with everything. And I'd like to see the Candle." She smiled faintly, "Hey Zack, when this is over, will you take me to the Gold Saucer?"

Unable to help himself, Zack grinned, looking down at her, "Of course," he agreed.

Lifting her head, she looked at his face, her hand moving to touch his stubbly cheek. Her cheeks had turned bright red, but after swallowing, she moved forward, placing her lips upon his, and stayed there, feeling him shift beneath her hands, his arms encircling her and their kiss deepening. At last, feeling dizzy and out of breath, they parted. "Zack- I," she took a breath, "I love you."

Feeling coy, he smiled, "I love me too, but I love you more." She burst into a laugh, putting her arms around his soggy shoulders, giggling against his neck. At least Lilly hadn't made a fuss about Zack being with Aerith during his stay, though she seemed vaguely disappointed. Zack was distracted enough not to notice. Tucking Aerith's head beneath his chin, he heaved a sigh. It was amazing how three small words could encompass so much feeling and meaning.

Kyle came around the side of the house and scowled at them. "Well, let's get to work."

Taking a breath of his own, Zack rubbed Aerith's back and she sat back, gave him an encouraging smile, and stood, heading off to help the women do some work. Zack stood, leading the way to the first of the houses that had been broken into. "Kyle," he started, then quickly revised his order into an option, "You can stay out here till I get the body covered. I'd like to get all useable supplies stacked up next to Ma's shack. It's not like Molly's going to be using them again." Kyle looked green but stood at the door as Zack continued in.

Zack was glad he'd gotten Kyle to stay out. He felt bile rising in his throat at the sight. Blood was splattered everywhere and though only her foot was visible in the shard of light that slashed in through the open front door, Zack could see the blank space in his Mako sight that depicted her exact position...s... Closing his eyes, he swallowed, then started to the far side of the room to get her favorite table cloth, spreading it on the floor, he collected the severed parts and set them gently on the cloth, then hoisted the majority of her body onto it, folding it over and tying it. "Okay, Kyle," he called.

Kyle entered, turning on his light and looking around the room, "Oh-" he gulped.

Zack cursed softly, moving to pick up the part he'd missed, "Sorry," he said softly and tucked the piece of scalp in with the rest. "I thought I'd gotten everything."

"How can you- stand ...to touch that?" Kyle asked, sounding like a ghost.

Taking a breath, Zack replied, "By knowing that I have to. I nearly made it into the war, it's something I would have seen anyway." Crouching and making sure the body was tied in the cloth firmly, he took up one end and started pulling it towards the door. "Get her food and anything else useful and take it to Ma's house, I'll head on to Kelly's place."

Numbly, Kyle nodded.


Shaking and tired, but convinced that he would have nightmares for the rest of his life, Zack finished dragging the last body into Gavina's cellar and closed the door firmly. It was one of the ones that had been secure during the invasion, but Gavina had offered it up for storage so that come night they wouldn't be torn into and eaten any more than they had. In return, Ma had said the old widow could come stay at their house in the cellar. They'd fit as many people in as they could, the rest were stuffed into Yivina's cellar. Zack, though he hadn't liked it, had suggested that Aerith stay with his mother while he went with Yivi to protect them in case monsters broke into the house above. She'd agreed and after only a second of hesitation, they embraced and shared a kiss before splitting up to their posts.

It was only a little past noon, but Zack needed sleep. Nanaki had accompanied Aerith, Kyle had joined Zack. After laying away for some time, Zack woke to the sound of people entering the hastily emptied out cellar. Sitting up, he rubbed his still unshaved face and blinked. "Time for duty?" he asked Yivi as she came to sit beside him.

Giving a sagely nod, she held out a cup of tea to him, "S'got my own special seasoning. Gives strength to brave warriors." He smiled into the cup and took a sip of the hot liquid, pulling his feet around to sit slouched with his legs crossed Indian style.

"Too bad you don't have any of those cookies that ward away boo-boos too," he added, getting a crinkling of her eyes in return.

She sat beside him, folding her arms around her bony old knees. "Never in my life had I thought this would happen," she whispered, eyes shining in the light cast from the gas lantern hanging from the ceiling as the others settled down and the trap door was barred. Kyle sat across the room, sipping tea as well.

He took a breath, "These are tough times. Things are stirring in the world that have been asleep for thousands of years." Zack paused, swallowing another gulp of the hot liquid, quickly coming fully awake and regretting it. "This place isn't safe, Yivi. Aerith and I want to take everyone left here to Cosmo Canyon, but I'm afraid that we won't even make the trip, considering the hoards out there. If we had more fighters to guard you all..." he shook his head. "And half the fight would be getting you ladies to abandon ship here."

Yivi's expression was solemn, "I'd rather leave than follow Molly, and I think my words are seconded by every other woman in this place."

More than a few heads turned their way and nodded. He should have remembered that no conversation was truly private in this town. "Glad to know that was the easy part," he replied and finished off his tea, setting the cup aside, hands grasping his ankles. "I know that Sephiroth isn't too far behind us, he said he'd come find us, but I'm not sure he'd be able to- Gongaga isn't the biggest place in the world."

"Best not to rely on his coming if you're not sure," Yivi replied, folding her legs down and sitting up straight. "We'll just have to break ourselves out of this."

A piercing wail broke somewhere above them. The women cowering down, clinging to each other and trying to be as quiet as possible as the cry went on and on. Zack swallowed, shifted, and finally stood up, taking up his sword, though he clipped it to his back, and began stalking around the room slowly. His movement drew their eyes, his apparent calm helped give them something to focus on. The strained breathing in the room eased as he continued to move, using the surge of adrenaline that washed through his veins as cry after cry sounded above like a baby getting twisted around and around like a rag being wrung out.

A hoarse shout from above caused a collective spasm, "YIVI!" She lifted her head, shifting slightly. The shout occurred again, fell into screaming.

Zack swallowed, gestured for the ladies to stay, "Lock it after me," he told them and headed up the ladder, slipping out quickly. The house was empty, but the walls were rattling. The shouting was just outside the door, the voice sounded like Yivina's husband.

Taking his courage and sword in hand, he unlatched the door. It flew open, Jimmy falling in, and scrambling further into the house, hot on his heels was one of the long limbed creatures from the night before. Zack swung his sword, barely an inch above Jimmy's head as the man went down, decapitating the creature in one swift move, the door, he slammed shut and braced with his shoulder, managing to latch once again. Jimmy curled up on the floor, sobbing.

Kneeling beside Jimmy, he grabbed the man's arm, pulling him across the floor bodily, knocking on the trap door into the cellar. It opened and he shoved the man in, falling in afterwards, shut and latched the door once more.

"Jimmy!" Yivi breathed and stumbled over, crouching beside him and taking his head into her hands, wiping blood from his face. "Jimmy! Look at me!"

Slowly, his eyes opened. "Oh god- Yivi! It's overrun out there!" reaching up with only one arm and a stump, he embraced her. "They're everywhere! We tried to get their master, but they chased us around and around and killed us one by one and I don't know-" he started coughing, blood splattering across her front, "Know if anyone else got away. I just thought about getting home!" He sobbed into her shirt as Zack kneeled beside the man, whispering the cure spell several times until the stump of the man's arm stopped bleeding and he seemed to be in less pain. Yivi helped him over to her pile of bedding and laid him there, wiping at his blood with the edge of her skirt.

A crash sounded out from above and Zack was glad that he'd insisted that their supplies be brought down into the cellars as well, even if it made for a very tight fit for everyone involved. The sound of things being destroyed above had the cellar in absolute silence and Zack turned down the light of the lamp to a dull glow so that it would not override his Mako sight. Standing at the foot of the ladder, sword ready, he waited, but nothing came.

At long last, the sounds began to die away. Zack closed his eyes, feeling the tension leave him as the earth began to wake up around them as the sun rose. Clipping his sword to his back, he reached up and unlatched the door. The others in the room held their breath, but after he climbed out fully then peered back down. "Things look clear, but give me a moment, lock it." He kicked the door shut again, then padded around the place, sword at ready. When something jumped out of the shadows at him, he reacted, slicing it cleanly in half. The gnomish monster writhed in pieces on the floor, screaming until Zack chopped its head off. Continuing his patrol, he finally stepped out of the broken house, the chimney had been their point of entry it seemed. He made his way over to Ma's house and kicked the door in when he found it halfway broken down already. Heading towards the door leading into the cellar, he breathed a sigh of relief to find it closed and whole. Quickly moving around the house, he found no other surprises, then knocked on the door.

A moment passed and he knocked again. It opened at last, Aerith, the one to answer. Clipping his sword, he wrapped his arms around her, kissing her deeply. She swayed when he placed her feet back on the floor, but grinned, "Well, that's a lovely Good Morning, I think I could get used to it," she breathed.

Zack laughed softly, "Same here, hey, everything's alright over at Yivi's, Jimmy showed up, minus one arm, but alive." This he called down into the cellar and heard a soft whoop of tired celebration before the ladies began exiting their hole.

"My House!" Ma cried.

Swallowing, Zack took Aerith's arm and walked with her back to Yivi's house, "Let's see what you can do with Jimmy. I cast cure on him more than enough times, but I'm not sure about how much good that did." She nodded and waited while he knocked on the trap door. It opened at last. "Coast is clear, everyone head over to Ma's place for breakfast."

They streamed out, Yivi helping her husband out last and Aerith took the man to the side and sat down with him, inspecting his healed wounds, shaking her head. "What you did was all that could be done," she said at last to Zack who waited nearby. "He'll need rest, certainly, but it's really up to him whether he lives." Jimmy looked at her with somewhat glassy and questioning eyes. "What I mean, is it's up to you whether you've got the determination to live. Are you just going to leave your wife to this?" Swiftly, he shook his head, and seemed to regret it afterwards. Aerith smiled, "Then you'll live," she told him and stood, letting Zack help the man to his feet and across the street to Ma's house.

All the ladies took their turn hugging him, asking him what had come of their husbands, brothers, and sons, but he had no answers, just that he'd ran and ran and hadn't looked back. He hoped they'd done the same. Zack sat on top of a cabinet, looking over the group as they stuffed themselves into the small confines of Ma's house.

Clearing his throat, he raised his voice. "We have a decision to make here," he called to them.

Expectant silence fell. Taking a breath, he looked from one to the next, meeting their eyes, one by one, until he had seen the souls of each of them. "We can't stay here. This is a siege and we don't have much in the way of supplies right now. I know that the General Sephiroth is going to find Aerith and I eventually, but I don't know when, nor how, so we can't rely on him and his help. We'll have to get out of this ourselves. Our original destination had been Cosmo Canyon, and that's where Aerith and I still intend to go, but the choice is up to you whether you'll come with us or not. If we decide on this, we'll have to leave immediately. Another night and those things will find our hiding places. Maybe once all this is over you can come back, bury the dead and restart life, but at this time, staying isn't really an option."

"But... the Canyon is such a long way away!" Lilly objected, "we'll never make it!"

Zack snapped his hand up, pointing at her, "Not with an attitude like that. Shinra was in a losing battle against Wutai, but they still won because they believed in the one who led them. Believe in Aerith and I, do what we say without question and we can make it." He took a breath, realizing what he'd just said, feeling his heart had climbed into his throat. Despite his fear, he looked at them all again.

Yivi stood, "I'm not staying," she announced. A few other women stood with her, and after a moment, they were all standing.

Giving a nod, he smiled faintly, "In that case, forget clothing or anything you just can't live without, we're packing food, and only what we can eat on the run and a weapon, whatever you think you can kill something with efficiently."

In two seconds, the room was empty of all but Ma and Aerith, Nanaki had escaped outside to lay in the shade. "That was a really motivating speech," Aerith murmured, giving a smile- one that was sympathetic rather than adoring. He took hold of her and buried his face in her shoulder.

"I need your strength," he murmured softly.

"You have it."


Zack was tired beyond measure, but he still ran point with Aerith and Nanaki, ranging around the group after he pointed them in the direction of Cosmo- with Nanaki's help. A few ragged groups of monsters came at them from the forest, but the three fighters quickly dispatched them. The group moved at a ragged jog, but stayed together rather well, the slower ones getting helped along by the faster, the stronger ones along the outside with kitchen knives and cleavers at ready, packs of salted meat and raw vegetables on their backs. They were determined, and even continued running halfway into the night to put as much distance between themselves and the forest as they could. Zack, Aerith, and Nanaki took turns sleeping as did a third of the group, but their first night went with little incident.

He still had yet to shave, even four days on the road, none of them were the cleanest anymore though the rainstorm had done quite a bit to cut down the heat as well as stink of the group. They took to camping at midday, sleeping during the hotter hours, and taking off in the evening, simply keeping themselves in motion. Kyle had been caught explaining the tactic to Lilly, how if one wasn't standing still they were harder to hit. He'd started playing up the Warrior image more, with Cloud's sword strapped inexpertly to his back, the harness for it made for someone much smaller than Kyle. Vaguely, Zack was amused... but only just so. He hoped he'd be able to get Cloud's sword back after this. The boy would be upset if it got lost. At least it was getting some use.

As the days wore on, the Ancient Forest drew into sight and they cut straight west to start the winding track down into the canyon. As he sat on the bare dirt, Zack scratched his hairy jaw absently, heaving an exhausted sigh. Nanaki moved to crouch beside him. "Hey," the dog-cat... thing... started, "We're getting closer, perhaps another day or so before we hit the trail, but there's something following us. Something big. They've been chasing nonstop. At this pace, they'll catch up in a matter of hours."

Putting both his hands to his face, Zack gave a soft groan, "And running will only tire us out. Alright," he looked up at the noon sky, then stood, cupping his hands around his mouth, "Watch one starts, everyone else get some sleep." Without question, two thirds of the group bedded down on the bare dirt, swiftly falling asleep, being too tired to do anything else, even if they knew what was creeping up behind them. Zack watched as Aerith looked towards him, then got up from her spot and walked over, limping slightly.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Rubbing his arm across his forehead, he lowered his voice and moved away from the group, "They're coming. Get some rest, we'll need you in the battle." He turned and kissed her deeply, resisting the urge to cling to her and sob.

She wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his chest. "Only if you come too. We should be safe for a few hours. Come on." She pulled him back into camp and took a seat on the ground, pulling him with her. He hardly had the strength to resist and after a moment, she had his head pillowed on her breast, arms around his shoulders, her head on her pack. Despite the imminent danger he fell asleep.

He woke to Nanaki's cold nose in his ear and after sitting up and rubbing his eyes, Zack got to his feet and the three of them moved around, waking everyone up. "Everyone get something to eat," he told them once they were all awake, "Today's the day. Nanaki says they've been following us for quite some time and in the next hour they'll catch up. We'll get something to eat, then head on as far as we can go- pick our battle ground and set up." Zack didn't call it their 'last stand' he refused to think of it that way, but in his heart, he knew that was the name they'd given it. "Let's show them hell, huh?" he suggested with a grin.

Fierce determination met his attempt, but he'd led them out there, and they clung with tooth and nail to the hope that he'd lead them out. They finished their meal, then started out again, and within half an hour, they found a ten-foot tall ledge at the top of a hill to tuck their packs at the base of and begin setting out their defenses. An hour after that, as the sun was setting, the first monsters began appearing.


Vincent had been traveling across this new land he found himself in for more than a month now, he figured. He didn't really keep track of days the way normal people did. This world seemed to be full of some rather strange people, for he'd had to run away from mobs of little girls chasing him screaming his name more than once and after the fourth, he'd taken more care in how he traveled.

Mostly, he moved at night, actually finding himself glad that he didn't have to eat, otherwise things would be more than a little difficult. This world, though it didn't have the sulfurous smell of Mako reactors hanging in the air, looked like an expanded version of what Shinra had once planned. Everyone owning their own car, houses packed into postage stamp plots of land, and a little dog or two in fenced in backyards.

But this wasn't the Planet, this was some place called Earth where they were ruled by something called a Democracy that was supposed to mean that the people chose who ruled them, but they didn't really and it was a convoluted and insane scheme that Peter had tried to explain and Vincent had given up trying to understand after his third request for a repeat.

As a sort of public service, while trying to find a way back to his world, Vincent had taken to killing monsters that he at least recognized before they hurt anyone. He'd saved more than a few people like this, but never stayed long enough to hear them yammer at him- or more often than not, they screamed in terror. He didn't look THAT bad, did he? Lucrecia had always said he looked incredibly handsome. But then, she'd thought Hojo was handsome as well. Vincent wasn't really one to judge that sort of thing in other men, so he guessed Hojo wasn't that bad when he washed up...

He'd visited the strangest place one night, it had what looked like monsters on display in cages. Vincent wasn't sure of the purpose of that, except for archiving, but he'd stuck around to see what happened in the morning and found that parents took their children to see these creatures in cages and those children ran around shrieking at the tops of their lungs. Some of the monsters they even let the children pet them. What a strange place. He'd left around midday and headed across the roofs of buildings till he found a rather tall one to perch on the top of and observe traffic.

Despite the chaos of two worlds colliding people still seemed to be trying to carry on some semblance of normality. However, his search for monsters from his own world had led him to the most visible of all the creatures causing chaos and destruction; a young man who called himself Vassago, who carried a staff full of Materia and called upon summons to destroy cities. He seemed to like Ifrit the most. Thus, Vincent had begun following the trail of destruction.

His chase had led to a fast food restaurant that had been utterly destroyed. Vincent was sure even he didn't want to know the specifics, but he knew it was Vassago's doing. It simply seemed the type of thing he would do.

The beauty of this was that Vassago did not know he was being followed, and even though overt breakouts of destruction had all but stopped, he was still leaving a trail Vincent and his 'Pets' could follow. It wouldn't be long before he caught up with Vassago and the real chase would begin.