Stormy fate

Seifer walked back to the bedroom with a tray. Squall was still lying in bed, painfully trying to cover up for his coughing fit. The tall blond sighed as he sat down, handing him a small pump and helping him with it. Strangely, this week, the SeeD commander had befell under a string of bad luck that was still following him wherever he was going. First he slipped on the just washed floor and stumbled down the stairs, braking his wrist in the process. While he was working on important papers, his desk collapsed, earning him a good contusion on both tights. And not later than yesterday, Squall was teaching some junior students to use the 'Draw' command when one of them accidentally cast a blizzara spell on him. Now he was bedridden with an arm in a sling and a very bad bronchitis.

- Don't try to suppress it, he said, and take your syrup.

- I *cough* don't want to… makes me drowsy… *cough, cough* It hurts, Seif…

Seifer picked up the magazine his mate was reading and forced him to take his painkillers, antibiotics and syrup. In less than five minutes, the brunette was sleeping peacefully. Balamb Garden was stationary in the plains near the city of Esthar, giving his occupants a few days off. Well, Zell, for an unknown reason, had decided to stay in the city as an official informant and body guard to the President. But Seifer knew better. He covered Squall warmly and left him a glass full of water nearby before going into the living room. Grabbing his PHS, he was decided to get to the bottom of all this.

*********

Cloud was drinking tea with Cid in the courtyard of their small home. Sephiroth and Riku were gone shopping with Sky while Angel was practising his sword katas at home. The professor wanted a break from Garden, he wanted some calm away from the students. Vincent joined them few minutes later with some chocolate chips cookies, some leftover by Riku the last time they had babysat him.

- A storm is coming, the stern man said.

- Yup. Perfect for the hunt.

- It's not the full moon, yet. Don't you have to wait for the full moon before going?

Cid looked at Cloud with a broad smile.

- In fact, Vinny and I are free from the hunt now.

- Yes. And it is better that way, added Vincent

In the distance, darks clouds were gathering into an enormous mass. But it was very far away, so the three men weren't worried right now. They continued to chat until Esthar's sky darkened too and the first drops of rain started to fall. But the rain soon made place to heavy blocks of what they thought ice, but when Vincent was nearly knocked out by one of those, they quickly retreated inside. Thunder roared, darkness fell, it was like a large breach had appeared in the sky, letting down fragments of stars. After an hour or two, the 'rain' stopped and Cid's yard was full of strange blocks of material. It was light and seemed malleable. Cloud was idly playing with a small piece when the phone rang. Vincent got it and quickly called the blond; it was Riku, and he was terrified.

********

Angel was pacing the small room nervously with Riku in his arms. His wings were wrapped around him in a protective gesture, but when the youngster saw his father come in, he flew off to bury himself in his arms. Cloud rocked him, and succeeded in hushing him enough so he could tell what had happened.

- We… we were goin' to uncle Lag's house, Sky pushed me hard!! The car hit them!

- Shhh… It's okay, it's okay. Angel, did you saw Zack?

- Yes. Half an hour ago. He was going to take care of Sky. Levroy and Kline were already in the surgery block with father when he got out… The only thing I know is that he has a hip fractured. It seems he had been hit the hardest. Both are out of danger, though.

Cloud sighed, hugging Riku closer, asking him who had brought him back. The small silver haired child pointed two blonds in the back of the room. Cloud smiled; it was Seifer and Zell, Zack's new boyfriend. They came closer and the fighter hugged Riku too.

- Don't worry, they're gonna be alright. Your bro is the best.

- Riku, Cloud said softly, go with Zell a minute, I'll give a phone call to uncle Laguna so he can come here and stop worrying about you, okay?

He left his son in Zell's arms, to return shortly after giving a phone call to Kyros. Seifer also phoned to Garden to ask Selphie to nurse Squall for a while, and tell Quistis that Angel could not take her to the restaurant tonight because his father and brother had been knocked down by a car. About an hour later, Cid joined them into the waiting room, saying that Vincent was still pacing in the hall, driving him crazy. Angel was quick to go with him. In the meantime, Riku had started to feel drowsy and eventually fell asleep in his grampa's lap. Laguna arrived with a meal a little after. Hours passed by, and by the evening, Vincent barged in saying that Cloud, Angel and him could go to the intensive care unit to see them.

Sky was half awake, breathing with difficulty because of his injuries. He had a tube inserted in his nose and a breathing mask, connected to a respirator, was applied to his face. He was badly scratched on his left side. Cloud came closer to him, softly caressing his right cheek, then kissed his forehead.

- You saved your brother, Riku's alright. You can rest, Sky.

- Cloud, Vincent called suddenly

The next bed was Sephiroth's. He was almost in a full body cast, in fact it started at waist level and covered both legs completely and his right arm too was totally wrapped in plaster. His neck was supported by a cervical collar and like Sky, had tubes and mask in his face. He was still under anaesthetics, sleeping peacefully. Zack was just near him, reading the medical clipboard.

- From what the policemen told me, they were walking to the Presidential Palace when a car lost control and hit them. Sky apparently saw it on time and pushed Riku out of the way, and Sephiroth shielded him with his body. While Sky only have a few ribs cracked and a minor concussion, father is suffering from multiple fractures and a major chest trauma. He also have a few vertebras misplaced, but nothing threatening now. He will need time to recover.

Silence filled the room, Vincent deeply worried, but Cloud seemed more serene. He took hold of his good hand and squeezed it. In response, his mate squeezed back, albeit very feebly. The dark haired man sat down next to his son, while Cloud returned to Sky's bed to do the same.

********

A week later

- Dad, please, I still have those papers to sign and… ooohh… but… raaa…

- No 'and' or 'papers', replied Laguna, digging his hands into his son's back, Your back is full of knots. Take off your shirt. Where is your warming gel?

- On my bedside table… but, I'm not sick anymore… ngh! Great, now I'm stuck…

Laguna came back and chuckled when he saw Squall battling to get out of his t-shirt. Carefully, he pulled it off his cast, then urged him to lay on his stomach, immediately starting to massage his sore shoulders, getting out painful gasps at first when he attacked the larger knots. After that, the gel spread a wonderful warmth through his stiff muscles.

- See? Your body is still recovering. You should take care of you better than that.

The SeeD commander just moaned some sort of approval as his father continued his ministrations. At a certain moment, Laguna heard him whisper sleepily that he was cold, so the middle aged man went into the bedroom to retrieve a heavy quilt that was on the bed and a pillow. Kyros helped him to place his son in a more comfortable position on the couch and Seifer called them in the kitchen to eat. It was the cafeteria's speciality; hot-dogs. They ate while chatting of how it was going for Sephiroth when someone knocked at the door. A newly promoted SeeD was coming to report that another strange storm broke out on the Centra continent. Lately those storms were happening a lot.

- I hear that Cid was working on that strange material, said Kyros

- And what the hell could he do with that?, retorted Seifer, It's not like we could built something out of it…

- Actually, he is. Cloud told us he had found out that some of the blocks could work as weapons and motors. It's like a huge vessel fell in a sort of jigsaw puzzle. Speaking of which, Laguna added, I do hope Cloud's better. Last time I saw him, he looked like hell…

********

- You have to go back home… Take a shower, eat something, /sleep/…

Cloud feebly lifted his head from where it was resting, meaning Sephiroth's left arm, and gazed sleepily at his lover. The blond had dark circles under the eyes and seemed a little pale compared to his usual self. Zack had tried everything to help him to sleep, but the only thing that made him rest a little was Sephiroth. So he was at the hospital almost every time he could. Today, the doctors had removed his cervical support, but the silver haired man was feeling very queasy because of his antibiotics.

- I can't sleep without you…

- You need to. Father will come a little later, so don't worry. How's Sky?

- He still hurt a lot, so he is staying either in his bed or on the couch. He's worried about you.

- And I bet he is about /you/ too. Go home.

- But you're sick and-

- And as much as I despise to say this, I am in the right place to be so. Go home and stop worrying about me that much. You won't help me if you were to fall ill, too. I won't be able to walk around that much when I go home. Please, do it for me?

Cloud pouted; he had lost his last argument and was forced to concede the victory. He rose from his chair, bending down to kiss Sephiroth one last time.

- I miss you home…

- I know. And please, call a taxi, I don't want you to drive right now, okay? Goodbye, Cloud.

- 'bye. Love you.

- Love you.

********

Almost three weeks later, Aerith was walking into the streets of Winhill, her basket full of irises and roses. The pink clad Cetra could just not live without selling her beauties through the village, so much she had decided to open a flower shop near the bar. Yuffie and Nanaki were traveling through the world to find traces of shadows when they weren't at home.

Aerith was just leaving the item shop when a storm broke out, one of those strange spitting out 'gummi blocks' like Cid called them. The pilot named the incredibly soft material after the sweets he liked so much, to Vincent's despair. But that one was terrible, and it chilled her to the bone. The darkness that breezed through her made the Cetra scream, dropping the basket to shield her ears from the /voices/, the calls of so many, so many habitants from so many other worlds…

********

Ansem returned in the little tent he had build not far from what he had begun to call the 'Prospection Zone'. All those little shadows were accepting him in a sort of way, since the tall man wasn't disturbing their work. He had not discovered yet why they were digging or how they were communicating between themselves but he could tell they were searching for something.

Since he had left the city, Ansem was living out of hunting and observation. Curiously his hatred for those creatures that had taken mostly two years of his life had turned into fascination. He wanted to know more about them. He needed to. He also needed a place to observe them more closely. A plan begun to make his way into his head; a plan of a mansion vowed to the observation of the shadows.

********

Thin rays of terrifying yellow light pierced the darkness of the night, cracking and tearing the silence apart. Rain was pouring down in a thick veil of water, and the fury of the storm was affecting everyone. In Esthar Hospital, Zack lay awake on his cot, shaking from a cold he could not escape, like the storm itself had taken place in his heart. The doctor was terrified, as if something, a heavy menace of some sort, was announced, merciless and inevitable. A loud crack of thunder made him jump, and for a moment he wished his father was still there…

Sephiroth and Cloud weren't in any better shape, either, hiding under the large quilt of their bed with Riku and Sky. The silver haired man left the hospital only a week and a half ago, and as ridiculous as it seemed to them, they just couldn't tell themselves it was just a storm. It was a warning; Sephiroth and Cloud were clutching their head in pain at each thunder strike, saying that they were hearing /them/… it was a feeling they thought they would never have again; immediate danger, the horrible sensation of the JENOVA cells receiving a call. Riku was crying and Sky was trying to soothe everyone, but his heart started to fail him and he came closer to his dads, so that the six year-old was between them three, and they all tried to shield off that call by staying grouped together.

In another house of the city of Esthar, a restless vampire was pacing in the darkness, attracted by the lightning and rain. His whole being itched with the feeling of the hunt, but he had a very bad impression of being the prey. Cid felt more irritable than usual, mostly because of that storm, too, and both of them were arguing over the fact they should do something about it. But suddenly, Vincent's eyes widened and he fell on the floor, unmoving, as if the last assault of the storm had broken something into him; he was completely cut off from the rest of the world and couldn't hear what Cid was telling him. The pilot just gave up trying to get him to respond and picked up his body, cursing at the weather that was starting to get to him too.

Somewhere in the snowy plains near Trabia Garden, a lonely figure was crouched over a rock, looking with worry at the dark clouds in the distance. His tail batted the air nervously, then, with a sigh, he trotted back to the tent to wake the young girl he accompanied. Yuffie was already awake.

- The Planet is calling for help, Red said worriedly

- I know, the young ninja said, and we still haven't found nothing. I wonder if Aerith could tell us more…

- We are better go back to Winhill, she may have the power to speak with the Planet once more to tell us where to go or who we must search for… Maybe those storms are the key.

In Balamb Garden, the SeeD commander was looking outside with worry. He did not feel at his best, lately, and Seifer had insisted for him to pay a visit to Dr. Kadowaki. The middle aged woman had been very intrigued and wary to hear him say he was suffering from chest pains. But somehow not totally surprised. In fact, Zell was currently under observation for the same symptoms, but much more acute. Seifer was confined to bed, too, for the same reason, Selphie was feeling down and Angel was nowhere to be found. Quistis was searching for him, and it didn't take long for her to realise he hadn't left his dorm. The silver haired man was still dressed in his pyjama, shaking like a leaf over the sink of his small bathroom. The blond immediately came to him and helped him walk over to the infirmary.

- Something's wrong, he said weakly as he was laid on a bed, Zackary… I have to talk to Zack…

- Angel, sleep my love, it will get better…

- Don't leave me…

- Of course not, but I'll just go in the next room to see how are Squall and Zell, then I'll come back, okay?

The professor nodded feebly as Quistis let go of his hand. In his heart, he was feeling the distress of his twin, and his own weakness just made it more confusing and hurtful. Before he closed his eyes to escape his pain, he called him again.

- Zackary…, he murmured, Zackary… be strong for me…

End

Author's notes

Phew… Sorry for the late update. I wanted to make sure this chapter would be like I wanted it to be. Do you like it? The next chapter is called: Traverse Town and his parallel chapter is Destiny Island. Ahah! Now I see your faces light up to the prospect… I plan on updating those two chapter at the same moment, so it might take a little time for the next update. I do hope you'll like how it will turn out. Sephiroth and Cloud were a little hesitant, but they don't really have the choice, no?

Sephiroth: I don't waaaaaaant tooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cloud: Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!

Htress: Hehehe… I told you, I'm the best at that game!!! *points the gun and fire* AHAHAHAHAHA!!! DIE!!!!

Cloud and Sephiroth: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Htress: =^_^= Devil may cry… oh god, I don't know why they like those puppets that much… *shrugs and fire*

Cloud and Sephiroth: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!

Htress: ===^__^===