A/N: First of all I posted chapter 5 without having my beta, read it. Once she returned it to me edited I put up the edited version in its place. It sounds much better now, so I'd appreciate it if you gave it a read. Thanks! Anyway, so you will soon know why this chapter is called Interruption. Ok, so this story is in PoV (point of view) format and this means thought, this means writing, and this means singing.

Beta: Chibipinkbunny

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Chapter 6: Interruption

Aerith PoV

The sun had just vanished over the horizon, which meant it was getting dark outside. I didn't like to be alone in a forest in the dark because it was scary. Suddenly I wished that Zack was right next to me giving me one of his famous puppy-dog grins and telling me that it would be alright. As it became darker I picked up the pace, until I was literally running.

I doubted that even the map in my backpack would do any good now. Then I saw some light in between the trees. A forest fire? I thought. If it was a forest fire I didn't want to be caught in the middle of it. But it could be other people, I reasoned with myself, people who know where they are going. Hesitantly, I took a step toward the light. Then I heard a voice calling my name.

"Aerith!" The voice sounded frantic. I heard it again but louder this time, "Aerith!" Then a shape appeared before my eyes. I gasped as the shape turned toward me. "Aerith is that you?" The familiar voice asked. I nodded slightly but I knew he could see me. I already knew who it was. I could never forget that voice. "Hold on," he said and he revealed a fire materia.

I was almost to the brink of tears when the materia lit up to show the man's face. It was the one person I had been dying to see, the one person who I loved; Zack Fair. It was as if my silent prayer for Zack to come and comfort me had come true. The tears finally escaped when I embraced him in a hug that nearly made him drop his materia.

"Zack, I missed you so much" I whispered as I nuzzled deeper into his chest. I felt warm and safe in his arms.

"It's ok, I'm here now," he whispered back. "Anyway, a promise is a promise right?" I looked up and sure enough, he was grinning from ear to ear. "Come on," he said after a while. "We better head on back to the camp." I nodded and quietly we walked toward the strange orange light I had seen earlier.

*~*~*~*~*

When we got to the camp Tifa and Cloud greeted us. They were sitting around a big campfire, looking as happy as can be. I sat next to Cloud and Zack sat beside me. I noticed that tears of joy were still streaming down my face.

Cloud leaned in closer to me. "Are you okay?" he asked with a look of concern.

"You aren't hurt, are you?" Tifa questioned. I shook my head and glanced over at Zack. Then I looked back over to Tifa and Cloud, who were sitting next to each other, both of them had a worried expression on their face. I reached up and wiped a tear from my eye.

"No, Tifa" I replied "I'm just happy to see Zack again!" I put my arm around Zack and he pressed a kiss on my cheek.

"Ok everyone, let's eat!" Zack said as he looked in my backpack for some food. "I could eat a whole chocobo!" he said when he had retrieved some food. That made me giggle and then a little smile spread across my face. With Zack and the others here to guide me I knew I would be ok.

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Zack PoV

I watched as everyone was talking and laughing. Everything seemed normal, even though it wasn't. It was just that every little normal thing Cloud and I did reminded us that we were human and not monsters. It was nice that Aerith had found me but, I didn't want her to get involved with me. I was being chased by ShinRa. And that was defiantly too dangerous for her. I saw Aerith glance over at me and smile. Gaia, I missed her smile. I noticed that she had changed her outfit to match the ribbon I gave her. I was touched that she still had it in her hair. Then I heard Aerith speak.

"Hey, Zack," she said. I looked up from my food and nodded for her to go on. "Where are we going to go now?" She asked. And before I could say a word she said "Maybe we can go to my church." she was kind of half glancing at me now. I shook my head.

"No, your place is still guarded by Turks, remember?" She looked at her dress, disappointment clear in her eyes. "I was heading to Junon. And from there I was planning to take a boat to Wutai." I looked at Cloud; he had that admiring look back in his eyes, like when he used to idolize Sephiroth, only it was me he was admiring. I returned his glance with a little smile before I continued, "as you probably know, the Wutaians lost a war against ShinRa, so they will not like SOLDIER coming within a hundred feet of their town. That's why we have to disguise ourselves. Plus…I kinda know somebody that's from there." I thought about Yuffie. I doubted she would be much help to us, but it was worth a shot. I wondered how old she was now. She looked about nine or ten years old when I first saw her. She was probably a teenager now.

I sighed and looked at the others who had gone back to eating and talking. Then my SOLDIER sight caught some movement in the bushes. I looked at Cloud. It was obvious that he'd seen it too. He'd already gotten up and had my Buster Sword firmly gripped in his hands. He put his finger to his mouth in a gesture that told everybody to be quiet. Aerith and Tifa stopped talking and stood behind him.

"Come out whoever you are!" Cloud yelled into the depths of the forest. For a long moment nobody answered. Then the mystery person finally stepped out of the shadows that had shrouded him. I gasped when I recognized who it was. He had black hair that was pulled into a tight pony tail and he was wearing a suit. I could just make out a little dot on his forehead.

"Tseng!" I said "what are you doing here?" I asked, raising one eyebrow quizzically. I looked at Cloud again. Aerith already had her rod out and Tifa was already in her fighting stance.

"I'm here to help you" he said. Then, Cloud held the Sword up to Tseng's neck, ready to decapitate him at a moment's notice.

"I don't believe you," Cloud snarled. "Why would a Turk want to help us?" Tseng took a step back which only made Cloud tighten his grip on the sword and press it closer to his neck.

"Because," he replied. "I have a package to deliver to Zack," as he said these words, he took out a little rectangular clear box from inside his suit. There were letters inside of it. Printed on the top was the word 'sealed,' but I could just barely make out the words on the front of the first letter. It said 'Aerith Gainsborough'. These were the eighty-eight letters that Aerith had sent me over the last four years. Tears started to form in my eyes as I took the box from him.

"These are Aerith's eighty-eight letters aren't they?" I asked. As soon as the words were out of my mouth, Aerith hurried over to my side to look at the package. Cloud loosened his grip a little but, still held the sword in place.

"Yep, they are," Tseng answered. "I had them recovered from the various places that they were sent to." I glanced at Aerith to see tears streaming down her face. Then I noticed that Cloud was still holding the sword. I motioned for him to put it down, and he did so. Tseng took in a big gulp of air. He walked over to me and held out his hand.

"I'm just trying to help you," he said. I gave Aerith the box of letters and stepped up so that I was right in front of him

"At what cost?" I asked. But, before he could answer I interrupted. I put my finger to my mouth to tell everyone to be quiet, and then I listened intently. I heard the whirring of helicopters in the distance and that only meant one thing; That ShinRa had caught up to us. "We have to leave" I said grabbing the backpack and flinging it on my back. "It's urgent" I looked into Aerith's eyes, and silently pleaded with her. Then she ran over to the tent to try and take it down. Tifa and Cloud went over to help her, but it was too late.

The white hot glow of helicopter searchlights came down on me and Tseng. I just stood there, paralyzed, like a deer caught in the headlights of a car. I saw Cloud out of the corner of my eye. He was just about to step into the searchlight when I locked eyes with him and shook my head a little. I knew that signal was enough to communicate my message to him. I didn't want them to find out that Cloud was here. Then Tseng whispered something in my ear.

"Leave here, I'll distract them," he said. Then he pulled out his gun and started shooting at a helicopter, and the helicopters shot back. I ran over to Cloud and the others.

"We've gotta go now!" I yelled. Then, I grabbed the Buster Sword and started running for my life. Cloud kept up with me but, the girls were falling behind. Aerith tripped and fell, so I ran back to her. I helped her up and then we started running again. I held her hand and slowed down my pace so that she could keep up and I noticed that Cloud was doing the same with Tifa, who was also carrying the tent.

I looked back at the searchlight just in time to catch a glimpse of a bullet that grazed Tseng's shoulder. Tseng fell to his knees, looked over in my general direction and actually smiled a little bit. He dropped his gun and clutched his shoulder, which was now bleeding. Then he was out of my sight range, but I just kept running. If Tseng died, then his sacrifice wouldn't be in vain, and if he lives I will thank him for this someday. For now, I just kept on running.

We kept running for what seemed like forever. We only stopped once we were sure that we were far away from the spot where the ShinRa helicopters were. When we found a good place that was secluded by many trees, we settled down. Aerith collapsed on the grass, obviously tired from running. Behind me I heard Tifa yawn. Then Cloud appeared beside me.

"I think we should let the girls rest," he said I nodded in agreement and pulled a blanket out of Aerith's backpack, which I still had on. Aerith had my blanket that I took from Kalm's inn and she was already asleep. I handed the other blanket to Tifa and she curled up with it too.

"Don't worry," I assured her, "Cloud and I will keep watch tonight." She nodded, closed her eyes, and went to sleep. I went and sat next to Aerith and Cloud joined me. I stroked her hair and she murmured in her sleep. "She looks so peaceful when she's sleeping, doesn't she Cloud?" I asked.

Cloud nodded his head and replied, "Yes she does." Slowly my hand moved from her hair to touch the pink ribbon in her hair. "Did you give her that?" Cloud asked.

"Yep," I replied, remembering that day; the day I had first met Aerith. I looked at her calm sleeping form. Then I said, "You know, she hasn't taken off that ribbon since I gave it to her four years ago." I smiled when I remembered how happy she was back then.

"That really is something," Cloud said, surprised. "She must really like you," I blushed bright pink when he said those words. They were true though. Why would somebody wear a present from her boyfriend that she hadn't seen in four years, if she didn't love him? "What about you and Tifa?" I asked, trying to change the subject. This time it was Cloud's turn to blush and he did. "Um… Tifa is ok," he stammered, just like the little nervous infantryman I used to know.

"Ok?" I asked raising an eyebrow. "She seems more than just 'ok' to you."

Cloud turned away. "She was my childhood friend, nothing more," he replied.

I shook my head. "Same old Cloud," I said. "Always keeping to himself." Cloud cringed at these words, so I continued, "Always hiding his feelings away in a little box and never opening it up." At these words Cloud turned around and looked at me. I took this chance and locked eyes with him. Then I said one more thing, one very important thing, "You need to learn to open up to other people, Cloud. Whether it is me or Tifa or even Aerith, you need to learn that it's ok to feel sad, or embarrassed, or even loved." I kept eye contact with Cloud until he broke it by looking away. I could see tears in his eyes.

"Okay, so I love her," Cloud replied. "But, she's never loved me back."

I scooted forward just enough to touch Cloud's shoulder then I put my mouth to his ear. "Ask her when she wakes up," I whispered. I saw Cloud shrink away from me and look at me with disbelieving eye, as if I were asking him to do something outrageous like jump off a cliff. But I gave him the stern look that Angeal used to give me and he nodded.

"I just might do that," he replied. He flashed me a tiny little smile and then a big yawn forced its way out of his mouth.

"Why don't you go to sleep?" I said. "I'll keep watch till morning."

"but-" Cloud started, but I cut him off.

"Don't worry," I said holding up the box of letters. "I have plenty to do." Cloud nodded and lay down on the grass right between Aerith and Tifa and fell asleep. Carefully, I took out the first letter and read the date on it. I started counting the letters first before I opened them. I realized that there were only eighty-seven letters in the box. Then upon further inspection, I found out that the only letter that was missing was the first letter Aerith ever sent. I guessed that Tseng had the missing one. Wherever he was right now, I really hope he is alive. I sighed and opened the second letter. I started reading it. Then when I was done with that I went to the third letter. And before I knew it I was on the forty-fifth letter. Some of her letters made me laugh, others made me cry. And by the time the sun peeked over the horizon I was already on the sixty-third letter. Aerith was the first one to wake up. She walked over to me when she noticed I was reading her letters. When I told her how far I had gotten she gasped with surprise. Then I pointed out some of my favorite parts and asked her questions and we laughed together. She pointed out things she liked about them too, and we told stories and just had a good time talking together. It reminded me of how things used to be.

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Cloud PoV

I woke up to the sound of laughter. It was almost as if I was still in a dream. I turned to my left and noticed that Aerith wasn't sleeping in her little makeshift bed. Then I heard the sound of laughter again, and I looked at the two figures who were sitting fairly close to me. It was Zack and Aerith. They were looking over her letters and laughing. A pang of sadness overtook me and I turned over to look at Tifa. I wished Tifa and I could be that carefree, even when we're in a dangerous situation. We barely ever talked and when we did, it was always short. Sure, I love her, but that doesn't mean that she loves me. I figured that I might as well get up. I sat up and found that Aerith and Zack were both looking up at me.

"Good morning Spiky!" Zack said cheerfully. "Did you sleep well?" I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, and then I nodded.

"Better than you, I bet," I replied. Then I heard someone stirring beside me. I turned to Tifa just in time to see her brown eyes open. Then I heard Zack approach me and whisper in my ear.

"Ask her," he said. I nodded because I knew that he wanted me to ask her if she loved me. Tifa sat up and looked at me.

"Morning, sleepyhead," Zack said teasingly from behind me. He playfully nudged me closer to her. As a matter of fact, he nudged me so hard that I ended up falling into her.

"Um" I said blushing a bright pink "C...can I talk to you in private?" I stammered.

"Sure" she replied and she led me into the trees. When we got to a good spot, Tifa crouched down and looked at me straight in the eyes. "What is it Cloud?" she asked. Unfortunately, a big lump of nervousness formed in my throat thus making it hard to talk. I forced it down to my stomach where it became butterflies of nervousness. I said the words quickly before I had a chance to change my mind and take them back.

"Do you love me Tifa?" I saw her gasp in surprise, but then she put on her sweet smile. She caressed my cheek and made it so that I was looking directly into her eyes.

"Yes Cloud I do," she replied with tears of joy in her eyes. She gave me a hug and whispered in my ear, "Of course I love you Cloud." Then we walked back to camp hand-in-hand just like we used to do when we were little. When we got back to camp I heard Zack cheering and I blushed.

"Cloud and Tifa sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-" but he didn't have time to finish because I had thrown one of my ShinRa brand boots at him. It hit him right in the forehead.

"Ouch!" Zack said rubbing his temple. "That hurt Spiky, but at least your aims getting better." He grinned. I heard Aerith giggling to herself and Tifa laughing out loud. I blushed even more. Then I took off my other shoe.

"Do you really want to see how good my aim can be?" I asked. Zack started laughing and running away and I followed, determined to teach him a lesson. I couldn't help it, I laughed too. Zack kept taunting me by saying things like, 'your mother is a chocobo' and those only fueled my desire to hit him in the back of the head. When I finally got him he held up his hand, which meant that we should stop. He caught his breath and sat down.

"Man, my shoulder's killing me," he said, and the girls rushed to his side. "Calm down, I don't mean that literally." He looked at Aerith and smiled. "I just need to rest for a while." Tifa nodded and went to stand by me. I could see that she was blushing. Then she quickly planted a kiss on my cheek. I put my hand on the spot where she kissed me and looked up at her. She was giving me another one of those smiles that I adored so much. I smiled back at her. We had a long way to go to finally find freedom, but with everyone happy and smiling, I was sure we would make it. There was no stopping ShinRa Infantryman Cloud Strife and SOLDIER 1st Class Zack Fair.

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A/N: This was one of the best chapters I have written so far. My writing keeps improving the further I go in the story. And there is a bit of Zerith fluff in there for my beta Chibipinkbunny. Anyone want to know why I prefer to write in 1st person point of view? Well I like actually feeling like I am the character. Like in the Cloud PoV I like being Cloud. I've also gotten in the habit of listening to Crisis Core music while I type this story. Like if I was doing a scene where they have to battle something or escape from somewhere I would listen to On the Verge of Assault and for more peaceful scenes I would listen to Moonlight Wandering. Anyways chapter 7 is where they start their voyage to Wutai. I should have it done in one or two weeks. So, until then, bye!