This wasn't exactly my idea... heh. This is by special request, a parting gift for the summer, to anyone who happens to care. Hopefully this will also fill in a few holes I left in the past few chapters regarding Zack and Cloud and the experimentation with Hojo. Or just cause more questions, which is always fun. =grin=

So... uh... bit of an angst warning ahead. Of course it is Zack, thus it shouldn't be taken too seriously. =snicker= Sorry it's so short... Zack wasn't so long-winded this time, heh...

Written from Zack's perspective. Onward!

Ephemeral Blossoms

Akai Kitsune

Zack's Interlude - Part 3

"We didn't do anything!"

For what must have been the hundredth time, I looked the officer right in the eye and repeated the same thing I'd been telling him since our arrival. After Cloud's disappearance, Tifa and I had finally managed to stop the train, but several of the train guards had stormed in before we could find a way off. We could have just fought them and escaped - despite the fact that they were all well-armed, they wore the uniforms of rookies - but we were here to accomplish something, not make ourselves fugitives on the first day. Thankfully Tifa seemed to understand this, and we surrendered to the nervous enquiries of the men who'd caught us, letting them escort us back to the police prefecture for questioning.

All I really wanted to do was go looking for Cloud. When he'd begun to react to something in the engine room, clutching his head and screaming his lungs out, Tifa and I had of course tried to reach him, but he smashed through the window too quickly. There wasn't much we could do after that except watch him fall...

Tifa yelled a little for going back to the train, but what else could I do? It wasn't as though I could fly - or her, for that matter. There was also the issue of what had caused his fit in the first place, and that made me worry quite a bit more than his disappearance. Cloud... he'd had a rough time lately, but he could take care of himself.

Rough time? Who the hell am I -kidding-?

Shifting away from my thoughts and turning my attention back to the officer before me, I noticed his returning glare and fought the urge to roll my eyes. This idiot had no idea how badly I outranked him. If I was a different kind of person I'd probably have fought my way out ages ago. As it was, the idea was becoming almost too tempting for me to handle...

We don't have -time- for this...

"So we're supposed to believe that a bunch of monsters killed the engineers and somehow destroyed the bodies before you showed up to save us all from crashing?" the man retorted skeptically.

I leaned an elbow on the table. "Yes," I replied icily, "And if you knew anything about examining a crime scene, you'd notice that the markings left behind aren't natural or human. Of course, if you had half a brain you'd also notice the lack of bodies lying around." I raised an eyebrow. "Nice to see you guys have such a high opinion of me, but I can't just make people disappear."

The officer stood up, slamming his hands on the table. "Why you-!"

I watched him nonchalantly. Truthfully I figured he was trying to get me angry, because if I did then he'd have a better excuse to arrest me. I could tell he was running out of reasons to keep me here. It was just a matter of time.

Something that becomes more and more crucial as it passes...

"Am I under arrest?" I asked in an almost curious voice. "Aren't we supposed to get a lawyer or something?" The guard's glare of death intensified. Oh, he was not happy with me. Not that I found his company all that appealing either...

Before the man had a chance to snap back at me, he was summoned out of the room, leaving me alone. I drummed my fingers on the table, bored out of my mind and trying to keep my thoughts away from Cloud. I knew I wouldn't stop worrying till I found him.

Geez... it took me this long to find him and the first thing I do is lose him again!

"Sir?" I lost my train of thought as a voice called from the door. "Sir, you're free to go now. Sorry for the inconvenience."

Finally! I stood up and hurried out, anxious to find Tifa and start tearing the city apart looking for the kid. I didn't have far to go - Tifa was already standing in the hall, arguing vehemently with a woman I didn't recognize.

"Miss Lockheart, just calm down," the woman said soothingly, a firm smile on her face. "We'll take care of it."

"I will not calm down!" Tifa growled, then noticed me. "Oh! Zack!"

Finally reaching them, I gave them both a questioning look. "Causing trouble again already, Tifa?"

"Zack!"

The woman laughed. "Not at all... Major, was the title?"

The amusement left my expression immediately. "Zack," I offered instead, my eyebrows lifted meaningfully.

The woman didn't even bat an eyelash. "Zack, then. Since we're on a first-name basis - pleased to meet you. I'm Jessie."

Jessie? Familiar name. Looking carefully at the clothes she wore, I noticed the business suit was a very distinct shade of brown. Unusual, considering the latest fads of the business industry this season.

"Jessie," I echoed, letting the smile return. "A lovely name for such a charming lady. Are you the dashing princess come to rescue us?"

Jessie's lips quirked as if fighting her own smile. "Maybe. Are you always this generous with your compliments?"

I grinned. "For the ladies? A neverending landslide."

A silence fell between us. Tifa set free a soft gasp and covered her mouth with both hands. After the moment seemed to have passed, Jessie looked up at me and nodded slightly. "I'm here as your guide for today. Someone's been waiting for you two."

"Three," Tifa corrected tightly.

Jessie's gaze flickered to the girl for a moment. "As soon as we find him."

I smiled faintly. Maybe I didn't have as much to worry about as I thought. "Or he finds us. Come on, let's get out of here before they think of some other stupid reason to delay us."

They nodded, and after I was given back my sword, we left the office and entered the city streets.

The town below Rising Falls was a quiet but thriving metropolis, its people friendly and content for the most part. Except, of course, for the group of rebels with whom we had just joined.

"It was a stupid reason," Jessie agreed once we were outside. "There have been a lot of attacks recently, from creatures unlike any monsters we've ever seen. If they'd taken the time to report your description of the Heartless you'd have been out of there within an hour."

I groaned. "Of course." Except my policeman friend didn't like attitudes. "I take it this means the disappearances are getting worse."

She nodded. "Much. Because of the nature of the creatures and their attacks, they're multiplying, and reports say that some are still coming from the castle. If we don't stop this soon we'll be overrun." She gave me a pointed look. "Not just this city, either... probably the whole world."

Despite the serious nature of that statement, I grinned at Tifa. "Good thing we showed up then, eh?"

"Oh, by the way," Jessie spoke up before Tifa could respond, "My fee for getting you out of there comes from your first mission's pay."

I winced. "A lawyer and a rebel? Heart of stone and buns of steel. Ouch."

"And because I'm feeling generous, I won't charge you for that remark," she added, smiling faintly.

"I think I'm in love."

The lower level of the city was a little like Midgar's slums - crammed, dirty, and constantly awake. Jessie led us through a complex mess of sidestreets and alleys until we reached a small, slightly ramshackle building on the outskirts of town. She rapped her knuckles on the door a few times, heard a grunt of a greeting, and opened the door, leading us in.

"Jessie!"

"Come have a drink!"

"You brought the mercenaries, about damn time!"

Tifa and I stared at each other, a little incredulous. The prestigious rebellion group Tifa had consigned us to had three members - four, as Jessie left us to join them - all of whom seemed a little too happy about the drink they were sharing. All, aside from the owner of the last voice, a bulky, dark-skinned man who stared at us and scowled as much as possible.

The others fell silent as the man stood and approached us, sizing me up and eyeing the uniform I wore, particularly the insignia on my belt. "So, you the bigshot SOLDIER?"

My lips pursed into a frown. "Ex-SOLDIER," I corrected, not even trying to keep the distaste from entering my voice. I had no reason to hide it, especially not from this man. "You're the leader of the team?"

The man smirked. "Damn straight. Barrett's the name. You've met Jessie already; the boys over there are Biggs and Wedge." He offered his left hand to shake, and for the first time I noticed his right hand was actually the barrel of a large machine gun. "Welcome to Avalanche, Mr. SOLDIER."

Ah. That explained the 'landslide' code. Clever, yet blatantly obvious... I could appreciate that. "Zack," I added, shaking the man's hand.

The smirk broadened. "Zack, then. So who's your team?"

I waved Tifa over. "This is Tifa, the one who contacted you."

Barrett smiled at her, and this time it was genuine. "Hope you think you made the right choice," he said gruffly. "I was told three, though."

I coughed into my hand. "Cloud's... exploring the city a little before he rejoins us. He'll be along shortly."

"Zack!" Tifa objected, but I shook my head.

Barrett raised an eyebrow at me. "I need a third for the next mission. He'd better quit his sightseeing soon."

I forced a smile. "In that case we'd better find him. While we're at it... is there a weapons shop nearby? The kid needs a sword."

And by the sounds of it, he'll need it soon.

The rebel leader grumbled a bit, but pointed in a direction and nodded. "Go that way, and turn left at the fourth street. Should be a place where you can have one made."

Nodding my thanks, I took Tifa by the arm and led her out.

"What are you doing?" Tifa hissed in my ear as the door closed behind us. "Cloud's not exploring! Something happened to him and he needs our help! Why didn't you ask them?"

I shrugged. "Tifa, I know what I'm doing. Cloud will find us. He just needs some time. If we make it seem like such a big deal, Barrett will know something's up."

"Aren't you worried?" she persisted.

"Of course I'm worried!" I almost snapped. After all this time, she still needed to ask me? "But not for his safety. I told you the reasons for the experiments Hojo was conducting. Think how the others would react if they knew Cloud has the potential ability to control the Heartless, and then try to tell me I should have explained that."

Tifa fell silent, clasping her hands together nervously. She really was worried about Cloud, so I couldn't blame her anger, and I felt badly for telling her off. The way he disappeared had been so frightening and sudden... she'd never seen Cloud like that.

I smiled bitterly. He'd been so different when I first walked through the doors of the lab, Hojo's terrified flunkie leading the way with my sword at his neck. If there hadn't been so much Mako glowing in his eyes I'd have thought he was dead... it was my shock at seeing what had happened that caused my capture in the first place.

Thinking of my own imprisonment drew my mind back to Cloud's fit. He'd done that once before, in the lab not too long prior to our escape. Seph... he'd been there, smirking like he'd won some important battle. He had known what was happening... but he'd left before giving any answers. Cloud had quieted down soon afterwards, and it didn't take a scientist to understand who had caused it.

So if Sephiroth was the one that prompted such a strong reaction in Cloud, why did he freak out on the train...?

The answer was obvious and intolerable at the same time. He couldn't have followed us. My hand tightened on Tifa's arm, and she gave me a confused look.

"Zack...?"

"Sorry," I muttered, releasing her. "Just make sure you stick close."

She smiled gently. "I used to work in the slums. I know they're dangerous. But... thanks anyway."

Nodding, I didn't speak again. As we continued down the street, she added, "You really think Cloud will be okay?"

I closed my eyes briefly. "Yeah... yeah, he'll be fine. He'll have snapped out of it long ago. I bet he's looking for us already."

"But is it safe? I mean, with all these Heartless attacks..."

"He'll be fine," I repeated firmly. The Heartless weren't a problem; certainly not for Cloud.

And... he wasn't the one Sephiroth was after.

"The Failure. Did you want him?"

"You're not leaving this place, Zack."

Almost against my will I rubbed my shoulder, my fingers touching the spot where I knew the tattoo would be. One. Code Z.

The last shall be first...

Tifa touched my hand, and I blinked in surprise. She pulled it down and away from my shoulder, her voice hushed. "Zack, are you going to be okay?"

I offered a weak smile. "Hey, it's me. I'm always going to be okay."

I just need to forget. Help me forget, and I'll be fine...

Tifa looked doubtful, but she didn't argue. "Just make sure you tell us if anything's wrong!" she said sternly. "We're your friends, and we want to look out for you, too."

I hid my guilty look and nodded. "I will."

"Good."

She didn't make me promise, which was a bit of a relief. I hated making promises I knew I couldn't keep.

We reached the weapons shop, placed an order for a custom broadsword a good size for Cloud, and headed back, still not speaking much. I had the feeling Tifa was angry with me - the oppressive air of a stinted woman was like a bucket of paint dumped over your head. You knew it was there, you could feel it, but it made you feel like such a fool you pretended it didn't exist.

The trip took us little more than an hour, and the rebel's 'hideout' had quieted significantly while we were away. Voices lifted in greeting as we entered, waving us inside. Glancing around the room, my eyes widened - and I registered Tifa crying out at the same time - as we caught sight of someone familiar.

Cloud was safe. He'd managed to find us.

And... he wasn't alone.

AN: Bwahaha. Kill me, if you can catch me.

Reviewer Responses:

link no miko: Yeah, I said I wasn't going to. Believe it or not, that was the big thing you partially inspired, so in a sense it's your fault Zack went through all that crap with Hojo. Don't you feel proud? =snicker= Actually, I should apologize, after all the worrying I put you through. Heh... okay, and I'm also gonna answer a few questions, so this might take a minute.

1) If you read the timeline carefully in the Zack interludes, Cloud was missing for a while before Zack actually got there. And in chapter 11, with loopy!Cloud at the end, there's a scattered conversation between Zack, Hojo, and Sephiroth. That is when Zack is captured, and he's there even though Cloud is still too out of it to know he's there. Convenient, but whatever works.

2) Girl is not Kairi. NOT Kairi. It's the most obvious answer, but the wrong one. At this point Kairi is much younger, although the kid's age was unclear, so that's my fault as well. Sorry!

music nimf: Yeah, that was unplanned for the most part, so I didn't want to make any promises and not have her actually arrive! But I'm glad I was able to fit her in.

Seishin Kibou: You're the only one who got it right! You get cookies. By the way, I did see the magazine scan, but I've also read some articles, and there is a lot of speculation about Zack and his possible involvement in Advent Children. So I'm not giving up hope - I think they may actually add him in somewhere!

Koorino Megumi: I'm never going to hear the end of it about that daydream, am I? Heh. Should I just delete it then? =snicker=

starhealer: And you get the prize for the massively long review to match my long chapter. Kudos. Interesting that you join windows with protecting people... I always viewed it as Zack's (or anyone's) brooding spot. Hehe, Kiri! It would've been amusing if she was the kid. She'd whip Cloud's butt into shape, that's for sure. Unfortunately, Blossoms will have to survive without Kiri. (Suckage, eh?) I shall just have to capture her spirit in adorable (yet vengeful) little kids!

sore-wa-himitsu-desu: True, Kairi's shoe would have been more amusing... my sense of humour has always been kinda skewed though, so oh well. Heh, maybe next time...

Have a good summer, all!