Chapter Nine

Cloud wished that he could remember who the man was, but the more he thought about it, the more his mind fragmented. The image of him was fading from Cloud's memories, and anything he thought back to in the past, didn't have the man in it. But the more Cloud thought about his past, the more he realized there were big gaping holes. He felt miserable. Tifa was sitting on the bed's edge, looking around, and then back at Cloud.

Finally Cloud couldn't help but ask, "Tifa?"

Tifa's brown eyes looked at him with questioning, "Yes/"

"I-…" Cloud didn't know how to put his questions into words. It was so confusing for him, and how would it sound if he asked Tifa if he had ever known a man with spiky black hair that hung around with Aeris? "I'm not really sure how to put this into words…but Tifa, who did Aeris always hang around with?"

Tifa looked at him with confusion, not really understanding Cloud's question. "We all did, why do you ask?"

Cloud sighed, he just shook his head. He couldn't ask her a question like that, it would make it sound as if he were going crazy. What if the man had really been someone he had just made up in his mind? What then?

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Zack blinked, realizing what Aeris had said. When had she died? He wasn't sure…wait a minute, Aeris had died! "W-What?" he gasped, unable to say anything else.

Aeris looked at him with a confused expression before realization spread across her face. "You never knew did you? That Sephiroth killed me?"

Zack shook his head, confused. "But why did he kill you, Aeris?"

Aeris looked at Zack and sighed, "It's a long story…"

Zack nodded, he understood that if Aeris said it was a long story, it had to be. And he didn't have time for it at the moment. Well he might if he got Aeris to go with him, which Zack was sure she would. He still had to find Cloud. "Aeris, you want to come with me to look for Cloud?" Zack finally asked after a moments pause.

Aeris nodded, "Yeah, but Zack, before I tell you what happened to me, where were you? We all thought you were dead…" If Zack had expected any of that, he surely hadn't expected everyone to think that he was dead.

"That's a long story made short, really. The truth is, I really don't know." Zack replied, helping Aeris to her feet.

"What do you mean you don't remember?" Aeris asked him, confusion in her voice.

"Exactly what I mean. I honestly don't remember. I can't really remember much, though I know that I am best friends with Cloud, I know Tifa, I was once Sephiroth's friend, and all that other stuff up to the point when Cloud and I were going to Midgar. Then I remember being shot at, but nothing else…it's depressing really." Zack admitted. As he recited everything that he could remember, he felt the pain in his head worsen along with his stomachache.

He flinched, trying to hide it from Aeris. Zack looked at her, noticing that she seemed a little unsteady. It was clear to him that she hadn't walked in such a long while. He turned to look back at the small village and could still see the small dot of Sephiroth. Zack turned away, deciding to go straight forward, the opposite direction from the village.

"We'd better get going Aeris, and while we're walking, you can tell me what happened to you."

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Reno groaned. Tseng had hung up on him! Oh well…he had to find Elena anyway, but first he wanted something to eat. He entered the Cafeteria and went over to the lunch ladies. He didn't look around him as he took a tray and got some food. They didn't seem to mind giving him some despite how much older he looked from everyone else.

When Reno went to go sit down, he saw a familiar person sitting down at a table. He gulped. It was Barret with Marlene. He sat down, his back to them and began to eat the hotdog he had gotten. He was in for it, though, because at that moment, Elena came storming in.

"RENO! You lazy slacker, you left me!" Elena snarled, grabbing Reno by the collar of his suit. Reno gagged, hunched over his food, trying to eat his hotdog as fast as he could. But because Elena was practically choking him, he was only cramming his mouth full of food and unable to swallow it. Finally he leaned back and swallow.

Then he turned around to Elena, who was glaring at him. He slapped her hand away, "Let go of me Elena!" he snapped. He stood up and took a step away from her so that she couldn't strangle him. That was when he noticed a shadow looming over him.

Reno gulped and dared look behind him. Oh boy! This just wasn't his day…

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Vincent was outside and it was growing dark. He was leaning against the wall, thinking. He still didn't have an answer to why he was here. And then there was a problem. Sephiroth was here too. Was there anyone else? Reno, Tseng, Elena, and Rude were here too. What about Rufus ShinRa? And then, another thought came across his mind. If Sephiroth was supposed to be dead, did that mean that anyone dead could come back?

Vincent doubted it. He knew very well that Sephiroth never went down easily; who knew? Sephiroth could have just came back-again. He sighed, standing up straight, he headed inside. The coolness of the night air had felt good, but the warmth on the inside of the Garden was welcoming. He headed over to where Squall said they could stay at-in some empty dorms.

Vincent passed the Cafeteria, he wasn't hungry, but he guessed he could go and tell Marlene and Barret that they could go to empty dorms and stay there. As he entered the Cafeteria, he heard a loud voice. He looked around and spotted Reno and Elena. He sighed, stepping up behind Reno.

He saw the Turk turn his head to look at Vincent. Vincent's red eyes narrowed as Reno's grew large with surprise. Vincent thought about shooting Reno to get him out of his way, but he decided reluctantly against it. "What are you doing here?"

Reno shook his head, quickly moving away from Vincent, but, too bad for him, ran right into Elena. "Reno!" Elena growled, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt again. "We are on strict orders to get some information and then we are to leave!"

"Yeah…but Elena! R-Rufus is with Tseng…and Rude!" Reno choked as Elena drug him away.

Vincent blinked, unsure whether to take that as surprise or as a I-could-have-guessed thing. He looked over at Barret and Marlene and walked over to them. They were watching him and the two Turks. "Squall says that we can stay in empty dorms," he explained. Both nodded and so, with that, Vincent turned around.

His crimson cape flowing behind him, he left. He knew people were looking at him. He wasn't going to stay around in a place where people would only look at his…abnormality. He hated that. That was why Vincent swore, if Hojo was alive somewhere, he'd die, suffer like Vincent was.

Vincent headed back outside, not feeling tired even after the long day he had gone through. He didn't like this new place at all. Vincent knew that he could not go visit Lucrecia like he normally did, it saddened him. He liked to go into her cave and just talk with her. In this new place, Lucrecia had no place.

He looked up at the full moon, its brilliant light shining down on the Garden. Vincent would find a way to leave this place. He didn't know how he had gotten there in the first place, though. Then a thought entered his mind. If any of his friends died here; they wouldn't go to the Lifestream, would they?

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Zack realized that it was getting dark fast. Aeris had told him almost everything. He felt tired again, but at least, keeping his mind off the pain he felt, had eased it slightly. Now, as they reached the mountains, he stopped. "It's getting dark. We have to stay here for the night because I don't know what kind of monsters are out here."

Aeris nodded, relieved. Zack knew that her legs must have been killing her. From what she was telling him, she'd been dead for two years. So they set up a small camp, using fire materia to make a fire. They had no tent or anything, so they'd just have to sleep outside.

For a while, Zack wondered what they were supposed to do. He had no food, nor did he carry anything for water. Aeris didn't either. Maybe they should have stopped in the town, but Zack instantly rejected it. Sephiroth had been going there, he wouldn't take Aeris there.