A bit of a lighter interlude. Well, mostly. Umm, some of it. I think. Huzzah! Most of this chapter was written under the influence of sleep deprivation, and the rest while listening to Rammstein. Be warned... don't own the bishies or the world they live in. I'd like to, but thus is life.
Chapter thirteen: In between places.
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"...they got away."
"No shit."
"..."
"...damn." Reno lit a cigarette and watched the smoking trail of the small plane disappear into the darkness of the night. Behind them, bright lights illuminated the town and the people still running around, shouting and asking questions. His hands were shaking although the nicotine rushing through his system calmed the Turk down a bit. But the shock was still on the top of his mind, the image of Tseng, bleeding, dying, gone. Dead. Killed by that blond little freak of nature. The redhead wasn't extremely loyal or sentimental, but his boss had just been brutally murdered in front of his eyes.
Still, he was supposed to be a professional. He had run from the scene, out of the house, to the middle of Rocket Town, and screamed for the men who had accompanied Tseng. Rude had been right on his heels, probably as shocked as he was, but not showing it as badly. The men had come running and hadn't wasted any time when Reno had ordered them to gather up anyone who could use a weapon. They had stormed the Captain's house but found it empty. By then someone had turned on those damned spotlights and everyone was running around. Not wanting to let them get away, the Turk had ordered the men to stop anyone who tried to leave town. The command was passed on and soon the escapees were spotted. The Turks had followed the shouts and gunshots, and arrived just in time to see Sephiroth's bolt throw their pursuers to the ground.
"Damn it all to hell..." Reno cursed again and turned, not giving the injured men another thought as he marched back to the town, shouting orders to the other men. Rude stared at the sky for a moment longer before following the redhead.
Reno didn't stop to wait for the other Turk, didn't even stop when he caught a young man by the collar of his shirt, almost yanking the man off his feet.
"You. Find me a phone or a radio. Now."
The youth nodded frantically and ran off, eager to do what he was told. The townsfolk didn't like Shin-Ra or the Turks much, but no one wanted to argue with them.
Rude caught up with him just as the man returned with a PHS. Reno took it and started to dial, throwing the bald man an annoyed look. "Did you stop to admire the view or what?"
The older Turk glared at him from behind his glasses, not bothering to answer as the redhead lifted the small device up to his ear.
"Joan? Get me the President. It's an emergency." The Turk made a face and cussed at the machine. "I don't care if he's in the freakin' Honey Bee Inn, get him!" He shouted, ignoring the secretary's protests. His eyes had thinned to small slits, resembling the scars beneath them. Rude turned away from the furious man, waving the approaching Shin-Ra grunt quiet.
"Dumb bitch..." Reno lowered the PHS from his ear, turning to look at Rude and at the squirming grunt. "And what the hell are you standing there for? Spit it out!"
"S-sir!" The man saluted, clearly nervous and fearing for his life. Reno gave him a closer look.
"Didn't I order you and your buddies to chase them with the helicopter?"
"Y-yes, sir..." the man stuttered and swallowed loudly. "But, sir... the pilot was one of the three who were injured, sir... the rest of us don't know how to fly..." his last words were barely audible, as the look on Reno's face promised him hell. Rude shook his head, irritated by both the trooper and his colleague's behaviour, and turned away when the younger Turk's fist flew towards the grunt.
"Find someone who can fly it! We don't have time for fuckin' picnics here, we have to catch these people NOW!" Reno shouted when the man picked himself up from the ground, nodding and saluting and trying to stop the nosebleed. The Turk just hissed at him menacingly and lifted the PHS back up. "Come on, come on... oh, Mr. President. It's Reno. We've had a few problems..."
Vincent fingered the dark scales of his left arm absently. The pain it caused helped him to ignore what was going on in the laboratory. He was doing a lot of ignoring lately.
Malaka was still in the Mako chamber, floating in the green liquid, while Hojo poured in black liquid from a small container. Whatever it was, even small amounts of it smelled awful, the stench filling the whole laboratory, lingering in small clouds. Malaka was going frantic at the mere sight of it. Obviously the man knew what was going to happen to him. Vincent hoped that it was something very, very painful; he no longer felt any compassion towards him or anyone else here.
He had dared to take a small nap earlier, eyes only half closed. When he was unconscious from Hojo's treatments, or dared to truly sleep, the four demons chased him all night, and when they finally caught him, he'd again feel the pain of their claws and teeth. He'd feel it even after he'd manage to wake up. The ex-Turk didn't dare to sleep much anymore.
But the small nap had been blessedly demon-free. Just darkness, warm and comforting, quiet, except for the whisperings. Lucretia was back. She'd whisper her concerns for him and for their son, how she missed them both and wished that she could see Vincent once again. He had woken with eyes full of tears.
So Vincent Valentine wasn't in a good mood, not with those memories, not with the pain in his arm and definitely not with the overly cheery professor Hojo. At least Malaka had learned not to beg for mercy anymore.
The other assistants had become such lambs after what had happened to Malaka. They still treated him roughly and tossed their ex-colleague around like a dead rat, but Hojo only had to lift his little finger and they fought to fulfill his every command. If Vincent wouldn't have hated his own existence so much, he would have laughed at their obedience and fear. They were like dogs who'd just realized that if they didn't do as the master commanded, they'd be put to sleep. They'd already been castrated years ago.
Hojo's container was still half full of the liquid when the phone rang on his desk. The professor cursed and looked down from the top of the chamber, balancing on a stepladder to be able to pour the liquid straight in through one of the tubes. "Valentine, get that. Put it on the speakers."
Vincent's body had instinctively moved on Hojo's command, but when he picked up the handset he realized he didn't know what the man was speaking about. Technology had developed during his long sleep; the last time he'd used a phone, the PHS had still weighed a few pounds and had barely fitted in a pocket.
"Press the red button..." Hojo said and rolled his eyes. Vincent did as he was told, still clutching the handset. They both heard a low, annoyed voice mutter through the speakers.
"This is Hojo." The professor said, picking up the container again.
"Hojo?"
"Ah, Mr President... have the Turks caught my specimen yet? Or Sephiroth?"
"Damn it Hojo what the hell is that specimen?!" The President's voice was far from its usual calm, and closer to full-blown rage. Hojo frowned and turned towards the phone.
"Why? What has he done?"
"He tore open one of my Turks! The HEAD of the Turks, I might add! Attacked him and tore open his throat! Murdered him in cold blood and, apparently, ATE him."
Vincent felt his blood turn to ice while Hojo raised an eyebrow and smirked
"Imagine that. I guess the project was a success after all."
"What? You call that a success? Hojo, what the hell are you doing over there?"
"He was just a test with some of Jenova's abilities. He really ate all of the unfortunate man? What happened?"
Vincent was forced to stand there and listen while the President told them Reno's version of the story, everything from meeting Sephiroth in the reactor to when they had returned to Highwind's house to find it empty and Tseng's body gone. Hojo was annoyed by the fact that the surviving Turks had let Sephiroth and Cloud go, not caring that the General could have killed them with one hand, and that there had been only two Turks against him and several others. Vincent didn't care about it, though, or for the dead Turk he'd never even met. According to the report he'd just heard, Sephiroth was carrying around a severed head that Hojo had immediately recognized as Jenova's. So she was controlling him. And Cloud... the boy was a monster. They were both lost, as doomed as he was. There was no hope left, none whatsoever.
"So where are they now?" Hojo was just asking, and the ex-Turk forced himself to concentrate on the conversation.
"They were last seen flying towards Wutai. Troops there have already been alerted, and we're also searching the beach on our side. The plane was hit, they might have crash-landed even before the sea."
That got a reaction out of Hojo. The professor had been leaning on the tank through the conversation, but now he stood up so quickly he almost lost his balance and fell from the ladders. "What?! But I want them alive!" The man sounded almost like a child, pleading for a toy. The President was silent for a while, and when he spoke again, his voice was stern and almost parental.
"This has gone far enough. My priority now is to catch them, and not care if they survive or not. Too much is at stake here, there's no more time to dance around them. The troops are ordered to shoot first and ask questions later. Unless they surrender, they are to be killed."
Hojo opened and closed his mouth, clearly outraged but unable to vent it. Finally he let out a loud denial.
"This conversation... is over." The President announced and closed his phone. The monotonous, annoying mechanical tone filled the room. Hojo threw the glass container at the phone and it exploded to small splinters on the desk, the rest of the liquid hissing as it hit the surface. Vincent closed his eyes and couldn't help it when a small smile crept on his lips as the professor raged and screamed, kicking everything that got in his way, including the ex-Turk. He might have just lost his hope and with it his will to live, he might be pestered by demons and mad scientists, but there was something absolutely thrilling in seeing Hojo like this. The small joys of life.
Something burned. He could smell the smoke. And electricity. It crackled, somewhere on his left. Something hard and pointy was digging into his side, making his ribs ache. His head hurt, his legs were twisted, his arms had gone numb, and he had a feeling that if he opened his eyes just now, it would feel worse.
And over it all, he could hear and feel the waves, rocking them gently, pushing them around. Seagulls screamed overhead, once in a while one would dare to fly closer.
Someone moaned. Not a happy moan, not a noise you gave when you were feeling good, when someone was kissing you or... but it wasn't that kind of a moan. It was more like a plea, to be put out of this misery. A moan of pain. And then shuffling, more moaning, both human and metal.
"...twisted...sunuvabitt... geroffme..." Then metal moaned more than the human, and after a while there was a loud splash as something heavy hit the water. "...for fuckssake... lookittat... my baby... aww, shit!"
He kind of preferred the moaning to the new, angry voice that just. Wouldn't. Shut. Up!
"Give us a break..." Zax groaned and finally opened his eyes, very slowly and carefully. The brightness of the world around him, the first rays of the rising sun, mirrored by the sea that stretched endlessly around them blinded him, and the Soldier squeezed his eyes shut, very quickly and not so carefully. "Where the hell are we..." he managed after a moment.
The voice, Cid's voice, grew louder again and he could swear he heard the man light a cigarette. Zax squeezed his eyes closed even tighter, sure that they would soon explode into itsy-bitsy-bits, and make the seagulls very, very happy. 'Damn. Something must have hit me in the head, and hard...'
"I've no fucking idea... we were going towards Wutai when we crashed, but that was last night. Now it's morning. Depending which current we landed on, we're either near Cosmo Canyon or Bone Village. I don't actually give a shit at the moment. I'm fucking surprised we made it!"
"Did we?" Zax asked quietly and tried to sit up a bit. But there was someone leaning against his back, and someone on his lap, and they quite efficiently stopped him from moving more than two inches in any direction. But he did manage to make them both moan. He dared to open his eyes again, and this time blinked furiously until he got used to the brightness.
Cid turned to look at them, his concerned face covered with blood which had leaked from a large gash on his forehead. "You all in one piece? Shera?" The Captain asked, reaching a hand over to nudge the closest thing, which happened to be Sephiroth's knee. The General groaned and lifted a hand to cover his eyes. The movement freed Shera from his protective grasp, and the woman slid away from him, her face covered with blood as well. Cid swore when he saw that her glasses had broken at some point, and that some of the shards had sunk into her skin. Otherwise she seemed to be fine.
Sephiroth sat up sharply as he remembered what had happened, and looked around. His hand went quickly to his side, but the alien head he searched for was nowhere to be found. Forgetting about finding out where they were, he started to search the small cockpit for her.
Now that Shera and Sephiroth no longer leaned on his back, Zax managed to sit up as well. In his arms, Cloud seemed to be doing well, only a bit bruised. The Soldier checked them both, but couldn't find any serious injuries. Shera stuttered that she was alright, although she didn't dare to open her eyes.
Jenova had fallen to their feet, still half wrapped in Vincent's cape, and as soon as Sephiroth found her, he sat back up and turned his attention to the others. Seeing that Zackery seemed alright, he took a closer look at Shera's injuries and frowned.
"Sit very still, I'll get them out and clean the wounds. Highwind, do you have fresh water and a cloth? Zackery, are you both all right?"
"Yeah..." Zax muttered as Cid searched the cockpit, coming up with a water bottle and an old towel. Sephiroth took them, and started to take care of Shera. Zax turned away, not feeling up to watch the procedure. Cid also turned his attention to check how badly the Tiny Bronco had been injured.
"Aww my poor baby, don't worry, everything's gonna be ok..." Zax heard the Captain mutter every now and then and wondered if Shera took comfort in the words as well. She didn't budge or complain, even though it must have hurt. Soldiers were used to pain, but he had to wonder what she'd had to get used to, not to complain at all.
Cloud started to stir in his arms, and the Soldier turned his attention to the boy. "Mom..." was the first word from the pale lips. Zax pulled him to a more comfortable position, feeling Sephiroth's stare, even though the General was still pulling glass from skin.
"Cloudy? You ok?" He asked quietly, and the blue eyes opened slowly.
"Z-zax? Wh...where's mom? Where are we?"
"I'm sure your mom's fine, she's at Rocket Town, remember? We're... somewhere. In the middle of the ocean, probably." Zax explained, taking a look around the small plane. With the sun shining brightly, he couldn't see that much, but there still wasn't any sign of land anywhere.
Cloud seemed satisfied enough with the answer and closed his eyes again. "I'm thirsty..."
"Highwind, is there any more water on board? Or any kind of food?" Sephiroth asked, staring intently at Shera's face again. Cid stopped what he was doing, froze for a second, swore and started to search the cockpit again. Zax looked at the bottle in Shera's hands. It was half empty. He would usually see it half full, but now it was very much half empty. If it was all they had, it was nothing. He started to look for water as well, if for no other reason than to keep himself from panicking.
"...nothing." Cid sat up and turned to stare out into the sea, chewing at the filter of his cigarette as if wondering whether it was edible. Zax couldn't find anything either, and turned his eyes back to the bottle which Shera now clutched like a lifesaver. Sephiroth frowned.
"Well, that's all of them. There doesn't seem to be any unrepairable damage done. If someone has a cure or heal materia, we can take care of it right away."
Cid swore and let his head fall to his hands. "All mine are at the house. With my spear. Damn it."
Zax checked his as well, although he knew that he only had a weak bolt and a stronger fire. "Don't you have an ice, Seph?"
"Yes..." the General lifted one eyebrow. "Why?"
"Well, couldn't you ice something and then we can let it melt and get some water... right?"
"...let's make that plan B." Sephiroth muttered, trying not to grin. "First, we could try to find some land. I'm sorry, miss Shera, but the situation being this, I don't think we can spend water to clean the cuts."
"It's all right..." Shera whispered and opened her eyes carefully. Cid turned back to fixing his baby, and the others fell silent.
"I'm telling you, man, it would work!"
"And what, pray tell, should I ice? You?"
Cloud and Shera both smiled at the conversation. Zax noticed it and grinned, as his goal had been to get them to think something else than their possible deaths. Cid still swore on the pilot's seat, bent down to fix something. Sephiroth idly ran his hand over Jenova's strange helmet and watched the sea, answering Zackery's words without thinking about it too much, knowing that the Soldier only wanted to lift their spirits.
Cloud still sat on Zax's lap and stared at the endless sea, sharp eyes looking for any sign of land. Shera was leaning her head against the Soldier's shoulder, her cut and somewhat swollen face turned away from the bright, midday sun, which hid behind clouds only momentarily, otherwise scorching them.
From the movements of the sun they had figured that they were heading south. The stretch of water between the larger continent and Wutai wasn't that wide, they should have spotted land already. Unless the current had taken them away from between the stretches of land, to the open sea which stretched to who knew how far. It was a possibility, but they all silently prayed that it wasn't the case here.
"Yes!" Cid suddenly screamed, startling everyone. Four surprised faces turned to watch as the Captain pressed a few buttons and turned some switches, and they were even more surprised when the plane beneath them shook a little, and the propellers started to turn, slowly at first but gaining speed. "Yes! Yes! I am SO the man!" Cid screamed and let out a half-maniacal laugh, making Zax think that they had all been in the sun way too long, especially when he also screamed with delight. Cloud perked up in his arms, smiling widely as they turned around and the propellers threw refreshing showers on them.
"Welcome, lady and gentlemen, to Highwind travels! Our current destination is the inn and the bar of the quaint Closest-freakin'-town-to-wherever-the-fuck-we-are, so buckle up and enjoy the ride!" Cid announced with a laugh, and everyone did just that.
More clouds had gathered, and when they finally reached land, it started to rain. It was a refreshing change after the scorching heat, but as it only grew stronger the more they walked, it soon became a nuisance. But they soon saw a small town in the horizon, and reached it eventually, just as they heard the first roars of thunder. Cid went to the inn, to book rooms for them all while the others waited. Shera spotted a small clinic and went to get her cuts treated while the others got into their rooms.
The Captain led the other men to the second floor of the inn, and stopped in the warm, dimly lit hallway. "Okay, I managed to get us three rooms. I suggest we give one to the little lady... how do we share the other two?"
Cloud yawned, finally warm again after the rain. "Can I stay with you, Zax?"
The Soldier nodded and looked at his General. "Fine by me. Seph?"
"How many beds do the rooms have?"
"One has one, Shera could take that. The others have two each." Cid seemed unsure about both staying with the General and letting the three of them stay in the same room.
"I'd rather share with Zackery, as well, so we can plan what we do next. You may take the third room, Captain." Sephiroth finally said and reached his hand out for the key. Cid shrugged and gave it to him.
"Fine. The man says there's food in two hours, the first meal's on the house. Might as well ask if Shera wouldn't mind sharing a room with me, we could get the money back from the third one..." the blond muttered and wandered to another door. Sephiroth opened theirs and Zax carried Cloud over the threshold and onto a double bed. Both the beds were large enough for two. Sephiroth set his Masamune on the other and went to look out between the curtains while Zax lit up a lamp. It illuminated the small but cozy room, making it look absolutely inviting, even though it was very small and obviously rarely used. But to the exhausted men it was like a penthouse suite.
"Anything interesting?" Zax asked while stripping off his sword and boots. Sephiroth shook his head.
"It's a small town... very peaceful. I doubt many people saw us, we should be safe here until morning." He said and watched Shera leave the clinic and run to the inn, trying to stay as dry as possible, or at least not get any more wet.
Zax started to search the room a bit more carefully. On the wall next to the bed Cloud was fast falling asleep on he found a small door, almost hidden by the wood carvings all over the wall. He opened it and switched on the light.
"Bahamut's wings, there's a shower! And a bathtub! Sephy, we've died and gone to the Promised Land!"
The General chuckled and came to take a look. "Seems like it..."
"I call first shower!" Zax announced and started to strip. Cloud muttered sleepily and pulled a blanket over his head. Sephiroth went to his bed and also started to get out of his soaking clothes, realizing that he was very much looking forward to a hot shower.
About an hour after Zax and Sephiroth had both enjoyed the hot water and soap to their fullest, there was a knock on the door. The Soldier yawned and stretched, half asleep on the bed next to a sleeping Cloud. His head was hurting a bit, and Zax figured that his guess at being hit in the head during the emergency landing wasn't too far fetched.
Sephiroth, wearing only his trousers, got up from his bed and went to the door. "Who is it?"
"Cid. Shera an' me are going down to get some grub, you guys wanna come?" came the muffled answer. Sephiroth looked at the other two before opening the door a bit.
"It might be wiser if we stayed in the room, out of sight. Could you have them send something here?"
"Sure, sure..." Cid nodded and gave him one last suspicious glare before heading down the stairs. Sephiroth closed and locked the door and went to the window.
"...food?" Zax asked and sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. The General nodded.
"They'll bring some for us. Better we stay here, you and I may be recognized. I don't know how public Shin-Ra is making this little hunt."
"Good idea, boss." Zax said with a grin and got up, stretching.
The food arrived in a few minutes, and the Soldier woke Cloud as well, although the boy only drank some water and took very small pieces of Zax's medium-rare steak. He felt a bit awkward eating in front of the older men, especially as Sephiroth kept staring at him. Not angrily or even accusingly, as he had feared. The General just stared.
Zax noticed it and decided that he'd have to talk with Sephiroth about all this, as soon as possible. He still had no idea how much the silver-haired man listened to the voices in his head, how much the severed head was affecting his decisions and actions. And how long he intended to carry it around. The Soldier's violet eyes slid over to the blue thing, seated, well, as seated as a head could be, comfortably on Sephiroth's pillow. It seemed to be smiling at him, laughing. With a shudder he finished his meal, studying the wooden floor with almost zealous interest.
"Um. I think I'll go and have a shower too..." Cloud muttered as the other two had finished eating. Zax offered to help him, but the boy assured him that he would manage, and walked shakily to the small bathroom.
As soon as the door closed, Sephiroth started to pull his boots on. Zax watched him dress but didn't open his mouth until the General was strapping his sword to his hips and the sound of running water could be heard from the bathroom.
"Going somewhere, Seph?"
"Yes." Sephiroth answered, glancing at Jenova's head but leaving it on the pillow. "I'm going for a walk, as it stopped raining. I'll be back in an hour or two. Lock the door after I'm gone, and don't let anyone in."
Zax nodded and leaned back on the bed, his weight resting on his elbows. "What about not letting anyone see us?"
"Oh, I'll be careful. I'll find out where exactly we are, and after I come back we can figure out our next step."
"Yes sir! Have fun!" The Soldier saluted with a grin and fell on his back. Sephiroth shook his head slightly and opened the door. After making sure that no one was around, he sneaked out. A few minutes later, Zax got up to lock the door and went to the window.
Evening was falling fast, the darkness of the cloudy sky changing into the darkness of the night. The clouds had almost disappeared, and the first stars were coming out, along with a crescent moon. The small town bathed in its light, the wet roofs and streets glowing slightly. Everything was peaceful and quiet, the town blissfully unaware of their problems.
With a sigh the Soldier let the curtains fall back in front of the window, and wandered to the bed. The water stopped running soon in the bathroom, and after a few quiet moments, Cloud stepped out, followed by a cloud of steam. Zax smiled at him as the boy tiptoed over the cold floor to get to the bed. Once safely back on it, he pulled off one of the blankets and wrapped into it.
"Nice shower?" The Soldier asked after a few more quiet moments. Cloud nodded and lifted his shoulders against the cold. The movement made him hiss with pain.
"C'mere..." Zax muttered, sat up and pulled the boy back to where he had been sleeping. He threw another blanket over the blond and took an extra one for himself from Sephiroth's bed, lying down comfortably next to Cloud. Wide, blue eyes stared up at him from beneath the blankets, as if asking what was going on. The Soldier frowned. "Are you ok?"
"...yeah..." Cloud nodded after a moment and blinked slowly. "I'm just worried about mom... she'll be all right, won't she? Maybe I should go back to her?"
Zax bit his lip and shook his head. "I'm sure she'll be fine, it's like Seph said, they were after us, not her. She'll know not to get in their way. Us, on the other hand, we'll be in it up to our ears if we go back right now. The Turks will try to find us, and have probably alerted all of the Soldiers and cadets as well. And the usual law enforcers. Some of the Soldiers are really devoted to Seph, but they know that Shin-Ra will chop off their heads without a second thought if they won't follow orders, so... basically, someone sees us, we're screwed, as good Captain Highwind would put it." He chewed on an imaginary cigarette which made Cloud smile.
"You think... she hates me? Because of what I did?" The boy asked next, smile disappearing, replaced with pain in his eyes. "...you think... I'm really a monster?"
Zax swallowed and frowned again. He still remembered what Ame had told him about family and her son, back in Rocket Town. Her actions hadn't really backed up her words, but then again, no one had guessed what would and could happen.
"I think she was just shocked, that's all. I mean a week ago, Nibelheim was still in one piece and she thought you were dead, right? Now her home's burned down and you and the rest of our merry band dropped into her life, and... I'm sure it was just a big shock, you know... and you know the Turks, what they told her could be just a lie." He hoped that Cloud would believe his words, and that they were the truth.
"I hope so..." the blond muttered and sighed. He really didn't know what he could believe, or where to begin to search for the truth. He couldn't trust Hojo, but the professor was probably the only one who knew for sure what he was. The boy toyed with the corner of his blanket for a while, thinking, but coming up with nothing. Frustrated, he looked up and noticed something. "Where's Sephiroth?"
"He went to find out where exactly we are, and I think he needed a moment alone. When he comes back we'll figure what we're gonna do next."
"Can I... when you leave, can I come with you?" Cloud asked quietly, not even daring to look up to him. A smile grew onto Zax's face and he ruffled the damp spikes.
"Of course you can! You thought we'd leave you to fight the Turks alone?"
Cloud looked up to his eyes and answered the smile with his, happy that he wouldn't have to be alone. "Thank you..." with that, he almost hid underneath the blanket.
"No problem, kid." Zax yawned and pulled up his blanket, snuggling deeper into the warm bed. They lay quietly for a while until Cloud poked his head out again.
"Do you think we can go and help Vincent?"
"Yeah, I think so."
"I'm kinda afraid to sleep, because I dream of him and he's always hurting. Hojo's hurting him, and someone else, someone I don't know... and it kinda hurts me, too, when they hurt him."
Zax, laying on his back, reached out with one hand to comfort the boy, and pulled him a bit closer. "Wish there was something I could do to help... both of you. He helped us out, and even if I didn't know him, the thought of ANYONE having to put up with shit like that from Hojo..." the muscles in his hands clenched instinctively, and his hands curled into fists of rage, as if the Soldier could grab the professor right now and strangle the life out of him. "I never liked him... all Soldiers eventually have to meet him, when we get the Mako-treatments. I hated him even before that, for what he did to Seph."
"...what did he do?"
"All the experiments. And then he'd always, ALWAYS have to know where exactly Seph was, every second of the day. Creepy son of a bitch. And Hojo's even creepier."
Cloud let out a small laugh and the Soldier chuckled, absently running his hand through the blond spikes.
"He was always, and I guess he still is, obsessed with Seph. Some say it's understandable, but I think it's sick." While he spoke, he tried to come up with something less depressing to talk about, but every topic he came up with eventually led to some sort of tragedy. So he ended up telling Cloud about his hometown and how he'd ended up a Soldier. The boy told him how he'd always wanted to become a Soldier, how he'd decided it at the age of seven.
They hadn't talked for much more than an hour when Cloud started to yawn. Zax was soon yawning as well, but he didn't want to fall asleep until Sephiroth came back.
Cloud curled up to a little ball, and the Soldier was sure he was asleep already, when glowing eyes opened again and stared up at him. "Zax?"
"Yeah?"
"...umm... if I have a bad dream... can you... wake me?" The last words were so quiet Zax barely heard them, but heard them anyway and smiled.
"Sure. Good night, Cloudy..."
"...good night, Zax..."
A knock on the door woke the Soldier about half an hour later, but it was just a maid, coming to get the dishes. Zax opened the door enough to give her the trays and locked it again. Wondering how long he'd slept, he wandered quietly to the window and peeked out.
The sky was clear, not a cloud in sight. The crescent moon was shining brightly, competing with the hundreds of stars. Zax cocked his head and looked at the familiar patterns. They were the same stars he'd watched as a kid, so they couldn't be too far from Gongaga. Probably on the same small continent, split from the larger one by a river. He didn't recognize the town, though, but there were numerous small towns like this along the coast, many of them not even known about in the bigger world, small towns that survived by themselves by fishing or farming.
The lights were already out in most of the houses, and there weren't many streetlights either, but he could still recognize the two walking figures on the street, coming towards the inn. The Captain's ever present cigarette was glowing in the dark, and light glimmered on the edges of Shera's glasses. He figured that they'd gone and gotten them fixed somewhere in town. Cid seemed as grumpy as ever as they walked across the street, Shera following the man a bit slower. Zax just hoped that the Turks weren't actively looking for the two as well, or they couldn't walk that freely in any town soon.
A few moments later there was a knock on the door, and when he went to it, Cid announced through the wood that they were going to bed.
"Ok, see you in the morning. Sleep well." Zax said loud enough to be heard but quiet enough not to wake Cloud.
"Yeah, yeah..." Cid's voice answered and was soon followed by the sound of a door slamming shut. Wondering what his problem was, Zax went back to the bed and sat down, waiting for his General.
He was sure that he'd sat there more than an hour when a sharp knock finally came from the door. He got up to unlock the door and Sephiroth stepped noiselessly in. Zax closed the door and went to stand behind the other man, crossing his arms over his chest.
"You call that an hour or two?" The Soldier demanded as soon as his superior turned to face him. Sephiroth just stared at him for a moment before heading for his bed, opening his belts and buckles.
"Sorry, Zackery, I didn't realize you cared..." the silver-haired man muttered and Zax was about to object before catching the amused tone. With a sigh the Soldier rolled his eyes.
"Did you at least find out anything?"
"Yes. We're in a small town, nearer Cosmo Canyon than Gongaga. The Turks aren't yet searching for us here, hopefully they first search the area around Rocket Town and Wutai, where we were last seen heading. In the morning we'll find a transport. Or catch some chocobos. Then head north."
"Where are you intending to go? Midgar? Or back to Nibelheim?" Zax asked quietly, wondering if he'd get a chance to see his parents if they went through Gongaga.
Sephiroth didn't answer for a moment, shrugging out of his long jacket. The Soldier waited patiently as the General hung the garment neatly on a peg and pulled off his boots.
"Nibelheim. I want to get to the bottom of this, and it's as good a place to start as any. There are still things there that we have missed, and if Hojo's there..."
"Cloud says that he has Vincent. If they're in Nibelheim, we can help him out. Make Hojo take that slave collar off."
Sephiroth listened quietly and turned to look at the sleeping boy.
"They have some sort of connection, he can feel Vincent somehow." Zax explained further and scratched his neck. "I told Cloudy we'd take him with us, if that's okay with you."
"Cloudy?" Sephiroth raised an eyebrow and turned his Mako eyes to his friend. The Soldier grinned sheepishly and shrugged, spreading his arms.
"Well, he is kinda... cloudy. The same way you're... sephy."
"That... doesn't make any... never mind." Sephiroth closed his eyes and shook his head while Zax grinned. At least the Jenova-creature wasn't affecting Sephiroth's sense of humour, although most people would argue that the man didn't even possess any. But how could he find out how much influence she had on him without making him raise his walls and close up completely?
"If you're trying to figure her out, don't worry about it. I'm in control of the situation." Sephiroth suddenly said, startling Zax. The General smirked at his surprised expression and sat on the bed, picking up the head. "That is what you were thinking, wasn't it?"
Zax nodded slowly and sat on the edge of his bed, careful not to disturb Cloud. "Umm. Yeah. It kind of worries me, you know... not knowing what the hell is going on between you two. Not that I know that much about anything else anymore..." The Soldier decided to just tell the truth, now that Sephiroth seemed to be in a conversational mood.
The General chuckled quietly and shook his head. "Neither do I, Zackery. Maybe we'll know some day. But at the moment we have to concentrate on this mess we're all in. Tomorrow..." he looked out of the window and frowned. "Tomorrow... we'll head to Nibelheim."
A.N: Word is being annoying... I just love Windows. Some progress, though, I actually know how this is going to end... mwa ha haaaaa... how I'm gonna get there... heh. No idea. But if there are no huge changes of plan, there'll be only a few more chapters left. I think.
Is some part of this not making sense? I keep feeling like I'm missing something... garrr... please review?