A/N: Here is chapter 7! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it. There is also gonna be a special scene in there for my beta Chibipinkbunny. : 3 Oh, and I looked back at the FFVII map and found out that Junon was surrounded by water. That changes my plans a little bit, but not significantly. So, remember this story is in PoV (point of view) format and this means thought, this means writing, and this means singing.
Chapter 7: Voyage
Zack PoV
We spent the next two months on a journey to Junon. Then we ran into a vast river. The map that I had pulled out of Aerith's backpack told us that we had to cross it in order to get to Junon. We had just survived a perilous trip through the mountains and now we had to go across a river? The shoreline was dotted with trees on both sides, which gave me an idea.
I looked down at the big sword that I gripped firmly in my left hand. After putting the map back in the backpack, I heaved the sword up and walked over to one of the trees. The others followed behind me with puzzled expressions on their faces. I held the sword so that it was even with the trunk of the tree. Then, as if the Buster Sword was a giant axe, I chopped away at the tree. The massive tree was long enough to bridge the river gap, essentially forming a bridge from one side to the other.
"Good thinking Zack," I heard Cloud say from behind me. I flashed one of my famous puppy-dog grins and puffed out my chest like I had just done something heroic like save a whole town from a gigantic monster. I motioned for Aerith, who was carrying the tent, to go first. She looked nervously over at the tree-bridge.
"Don't worry," I said. "I'll be right behind you in case you fall." She looked at me and then started toward the bridge. I couldn't go first because I was afraid that if Aerith fell I wouldn't be able to help her and she would drown. "I'll go after Aerith, then Tifa goes next, and then Cloud goes last," I told the others. Cloud gave me a dirty look that said 'why do I have to go last?' But, I ignored it. I had the order strategically planned out. Cloud and I would always be in front of a girl in case she slipped. People in SOLDIER were usually more coordinated than normal people, so we should have no trouble getting across the river.
Aerith took her first step onto the log. She had her arms spread out like a high-wire performer because she was obviously trying to keep her balance. Then I stepped onto the log beside her and started walking. It was a piece of cake. I looked behind me to see that Tifa and Cloud were following closely behind. Then I looked back to see that Aerith was already on the other side of the river, cheering me on.
Cloud PoV
Balancing on the log was easy for me, and I could tell that Tifa had gotten the hang of it. I could see Aerith on the other shore. Wow, she is fast, I thought, figuring that Zack was about three quarters of the way there by now. I was about half way there and Tifa was between us. Suddenly I felt dizzy and my limbs became weak. I heard a female voice whispering in my head. It was a familiar voice. It was a dark soft voice, one that instilled fear in me. I hadn't heard her in two months and now she has awakened.
Before I knew what was happening, I fell into the water. I reached my hand out and grabbed a tree branch. I tried to fight back against the current that threatened to sweep me away. Then I saw Tifa grab my other hand. She tried desperately to pull me out. I looked over toward the place where I had seen Aerith and saw Zack running back across the log in my direction. Then the voice came again, this time, louder. She demanded that I let go.
"NO!" I cried "She's inside my head!" I tried to block her out but it was hopeless. I tried frantically to hold on to Tifa's hand, but it was to no avail. My hand slipped, and I was swept away. My head bobbed above the water just in time to see Zack dive in after me, and then I was pulled down into the watery depths.
I was lost in a world of darkness. I searched desperately for one little speck of light. I tried to swim up to the surface, but I had no idea which way was up and which was down. I was running out of air fast, so I just swam. I hoped more than anything that I was going towards the surface and not away from it.
Then I felt something grab me around the waist. It pulled me the opposite way that I wanted to go. Oh no my mind yelled It must be an octopus! But I quickly rejected that idea when I noticed that they were human arms. Then I saw the light. The person was swimming toward it. That meant that I was going even further down before the man had found me. I noticed that I had made an almost fatal mistake.
Zack PoV
We finally broke through the surface of the water. I took a huge gulp of air and looked over to Cloud, who was also trying to get some air. I directed him over toward the shoreline where Aerith and Tifa were waiting. As soon as I touched land, Tifa hurried over to me and took Cloud from my arms. She dragged him further up the shore. He was gasping for air and sputtering out water. When he could finally breathe again, he sat up. His eyes were filled with fear. Then he spoke.
"Jenova," he said, "she was controlling me." He looked at his own hand as if he expected it to move on its own. It was obvious that Jenova still wasn't gone from his system. I guessed that she had been dormant for two months and then taken control of him when he had been crossing the log. One thing was sure, she would stop at nothing to kill Cloud, and regardless of whether I had a say in things or not, I wasn't going to let that happen. I would make sure that Cloud frees himself of Jenova once and for all.
I looked at Cloud. Tifa had wrapped him up in the blanket so that he could dry off. He was shivering all over from the cold water. Then I went over to the backpack, which I had put down on the shore before I went to rescue Cloud. I found the other blanket and used it as a towel to dry myself off. I estimated that we only had a few more days to go until we reached Junon and bought some dry clothes. I figured that I could hold out in a sopping wet SOLDIER uniform until then. I walked over to Cloud and offered him a hand. He took it, and I helped him stand up.
"Alright," I said in a tone a general would use to his troops, "let's mosey!" I pointed toward the direction of Junon. The girls burst out laughing and Cloud just stood there with a confused expression on his face.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Cloud asked, "couldn't you say something cooler like 'let's go' or 'move out' or something to that effect?"
I thought for a moment. "Ok," I replied, a big grin spreading across my face, "move out!" I started toward Junon and the others followed. Cloud sighed and then yawned. I let the girls go ahead, mostly because Aerith had both the backpack and the map, and I let Cloud catch up to me. I noticed he was way behind the others, so when I caught up to him I patted him on the back and said, "Almost drowning must have really exhausted you, huh Spiky?" All I got for an answer was a deathly glare from Cloud. Obviously he didn't want to be treated like he was a kid. But I ignored his glare and patted him on the back again. "Don't worry," I gave him a smile, "we're almost there." Cloud responded to this by quickening his pace so that he was ahead of me.
"Hey!" I yelled, running after him. "This is how you repay me for saving your life?" Soon he passed the girls and they started running too, but eventually Cloud stopped. He was panting heavily and his legs were shaking so hard it looked like they might collapse at any minute. I was also wheezing a little. "Sorry Cloud," I said, "I think I took it a little too hard on you." I sat down on the ground. "I think this would be a good place to rest up a little bit." The girls nodded in agreement. Cloud sat down next to me.
"Zack?" he asked. He was all serious now. He had his signature frown back on his face.
"Yes, Spiky," I answered. He looked into my mako blue eyes.
"Thank you for taking care of me for the past year," he said. I broke eye contact with him by nodding.
"Anytime, Spiky" I replied jokingly, but his expression was still serious. Than Tifa came and stood in front of me.
"I just wanted to tell you that I didn't mean what I had said in the reactor five years ago," she said, and I could see that she was holding back tears. "I don't hate you" I stood up and gave her a tight hug.
"I know you didn't mean it," I said, "you were angry, that's all." I looked over to Cloud and I could tell that he was jealous, so I let go and she went over to Cloud and sat next to him. I had no idea that Tifa was so upset because she had said she hated me. I knew that she was angry and that she had said something that she didn't mean. I glanced at Cloud. He was fast asleep with the blanket draped over him and his head resting on Tifa's lap. Tifa stroked his blond hair lovingly and kissed him on the cheek.
"Good night, Cloud," she whispered into his ear, "I love you."
I walked over to the couple and crouched beside Cloud. "He must be really tired," I said, and Tifa nodded as a response. I pressed my hand against his forehead. "Hang in there buddy," I whispered to him.
Then the sentimental moment was suddenly interrupted by my stomach growling. I stood up and rummaged through the backpack for some food, and I found a few cans of beans and some soup. The girls and I all enjoyed our meal together. I decided to wait until Cloud woke up to give him his food. He's had a rough day today.
We finally arrived at Junon. It was a dusty old town. Nothing like the Junon I had seen five years ago. We made our way around the town until we came to an old looking building that looked like it might fall apart at any moment. On the front of it was a sign that said 'Clothes and Item Shop.'
The inside of the shop was just as old and dusty as the outside was. An old man stood at the counter. There were several different clothes laid out in various stacks according to size and several Items sprawled out everywhere. I began looking over a stack of men's shirts for me and Cloud. When I decided on some for me, I went over to Cloud who was looking at pants. I showed him some of the shirts I thought might look good on him, and he agreed with most of them. Then Aerith picked out some dresses for herself, and we went over to the clerk.
Once we bought our clothes I asked the clerk if he had any color contacts. I made up the excuse that Tifa couldn't see without contacts and he said that he had some, but they aren't cheap. I bought two pairs for five thousand gill, which was even more than the clothes. Hopefully the color contacts would hide Cloud's and my mako blue eye color. We stopped by the local market to get some food to take with us on the voyage, and then came the tricky part. We had to sneak on a ship. It was easy when Cloud and I were in Cos de Sol, but in Junon we had to go past a whole building full of infantrymen.
Once we bribed the guy standing guard at the elevator we snuck into the locker room. Cloud and I had not changed out of our SOLDIER uniforms yet so we were disguised, but we still had to disguise the girls. They dug through the lockers until they found an Infantryman uniform in their size. Then they shooed us out of the room so that they could change. We were permitted back into the room after a while.
"What do you think?" Aerith asked, showing off her uniform, "Do I make a cute Infantry-woman?" I heard Tifa giggle to herself. Then she nodded and put on her helmet. Aerith proceeded with putting hers on too. I carefully dug through the pile of uniforms and found a SOLDIER 2nd Class helmet for me and a SOLDIER 3rd Class helmet for Cloud. The helmets were Important for hiding our identities. Right now, the whole base knew about the escaped samples, and if they knew we were here they wouldn't hesitate to turn us in. We made our way to the more modern part of Junon, the place where the troops and their families live. Then we went to the port. Luckily there was a ship parked in the docks. It was small, which was just what I wanted. I didn't want to draw any attention to myself, so I snuck in when nobody was looking. Then I motioned for the rest of the group to follow.
"Hey," I heard someone yell as they walked over to Tifa. "What do you think your doing!" He asked in a rough voice as he grabbed her by the wrist. Tifa used the manliest voice she could manage. I saw her glance at the clipboard that the guy was carrying.
"I'm Bob Foxdale," she replied, "I'm supposed to be on this ship."
The guy looked her over for a bit and said, "Okay, but next time, use the front entrance and not the cargo hold," He let go of her wrist and went back over to the entrance. Tifa crawled into the cargo hold with the rest of us. I gave her a thumbs-up and grinned at her. "Once the ship gets going we should be able to get out of the cargo hold," I told everyone, "then we can have a look around."
Aerith PoV
The ship started moving, and we sat there for a few moments until we were finally sure that we could come out. Then Zack got up and motioned for us to follow. The ceiling was pretty low so we had to crouch down and scoot forward. Then we got to a little trap door in the ceiling. Zack pushed it open, and we found ourselves on the deck of the ship.
"Hey!" a voice said. I tensed up, thinking we had been caught. A burly guy came over to us. "What are you guys doing playing around in the cargo hold?" he asked and before any of us had time to respond he added, "You should be working. There's a lot to do aboard this ship." He eyed Cloud and Zack. "I don't remember SOLDIER ever being invited onto this ship," he said raising an eyebrow suspiciously. Zack stepped forward and looked the huge man right in the eyes. It seemed that his mako blue eyes intimidated the man the most. They burned into his eyes with a fiery intensity that would only leave ashes in its wake,
"SOLDIER is supposed to board this ship to Wutai where we have a very important mission." Then Zack got up real close to him. I have never seen him that intimidating since I met him. It made my heart flutter. He stared menacingly at the man and said three words, "President ShinRa's orders." The man had started sweating by the time he said those words. He stammered a reply and then walked off, glad to get away from Zack. "Oh!" Zack yelled after him, "And the President says that my friends don't have to do any work." He looked at me, Tifa, and Cloud. "Okay," he said, "you may all explore the ship. Tifa and I took off in one direction while Cloud went in another. I was on a ship that was bound for freedom along with Tifa, Cloud, and Zack.
The next couple of months were uneventful. Cloud kept getting seasickness though, but it was the only hardship we faced on the ship. Zack taught Cloud a trick for motion sickness. Anyway, one night I couldn't sleep. I didn't know if it was from anxiety or just plain restlessness. I went out to the deck, and I was surprised to see that Zack was out there too.
"Can't sleep either?" He asked, turning to face me. I shook my head and sighed. Then he looked out to the water. It was a golden color, as if the sun was spilling out across the vast ocean. It was so beautiful and romantic. He looked back at me and smiledhis adorable puppy-like smile.
"Close your eyes," he said. I did as I was told and closed my eyes. "Do you trust me?" he asked. That answer was obvious.
"Yes," I said, "with all my heart." I could feel his footsteps as he moved behind me and locked his fingers with mine. He moved me forward a little.
"Then step up onto the railing," he said. I did just that. I felt a little wobbly, like I was going to fall. Then as if reading my mind, Zack said, "Don't worry, I won't let you fall." He held me around the waist and then said, "Now spread you wings and open your eyes." By wings I guessed he meant arms, so I spread out my arms and then opened my eyes. It was beautiful. It felt like I was flying.
"It's amazing Zack!" I yelled out into the empty sea, "It feels like we're flying." I watched the water. I would really like to really fly one day, but this was very close, like how I imagined it would be. With Zack here my heart was warm and full. I looked at him, and he was still smiling down at me with that beautiful sweet smile. I wanted this moment to last forever. I never wanted Zack to go back to being a fugitive and worrying every day of his life that we were going to get caught by ShinRa. Then I noticed an oddly shaped cloud in the corner of my eye. I giggled when I recognized what it looked like. "That cloud looks like a Chocobo," I said when I pointed it out.
"Yeah," he chuckled, "kinda like Spiky's hair." I giggled a little myself.
"Don't tell him that," I retorted. Then I pointed out another one, "That one looks like a puppy!" I said.
"Really?" Zack asked tilting his head a little, just like a little puppy. "I don't see it," I giggled.
"Its right there," I replied. "See, there's the head and the ears and the nose." I traced each shape with my finger so that Zack could understand. He nodded.
"I see now," he said. After a few moments of enjoying the view and pointing out weirdly shaped clouds, he helped me down, and then we kissed. It was kind of hard to kiss while we were on the rail, so we kissed afterwards. It was quite a passionate kiss too and it was my first kiss so it was very special. And I couldn't have asked for a better setup. I knew this kiss would leave a feeling in me, one that would last forever. When it got so dark I could barely see his face, I said goodbye to him and pressed one last kiss on his cheek. Then, I went to my bedroom.
My dreams that night were all about Zack and the feeling we had when we shared our first kiss.
Zack PoV
That kiss was more amazing than anything I could have asked for. I knew that one of the things that Aerith wanted to do was fly. This was as close as I could get, yet it was almost as if Aerith and I were the only ones flying high in the sky. When in reality we were on a boat with a handful of people on it. My lips were still tingling after the kiss. I wanted more. My fears and worries disappeared and were replaced with thoughts of Aerith. I sat there for a few minutes thinking of her. Then those thoughts vanished when I saw somebody on the deck. Thanks to my SOLDIER-sight I could easily see that it was Cloud. I wonder what he's doing up? I asked myself. I walked over to him. He was leaning over the rail just looking at the ocean.
"Can't sleep huh?" I asked him. He shook his head.
"I have too much on my mind, sadly," he sighed, "I can't get a wink of sleep." He rested his head on his arm, which was on the rail, while his other arm dangled lazily off the edge. He was watching the water hypnotically. I patted him softly on the back. I made sure not to accidentally push him over the edge of the railing. Cloud's already had enough bad experiences with water. I looked at Cloud, and he jumped as if somebody was sneaking up on him, and he turned toward me. He had a gloomy expression on his face for some reason.
"What's the matter Spiky?" Teasingly, I asked, "Did you have a bad dream?" It was only a joke, so I was surprised when he looked up at me and nodded. It was then I noticed that he was shaking all over. His legs were shaking so hard it looked as if they might collapse. It must have been a terrible dream to scare him so much. So I guessed that he was lying about not getting a wink of sleep, unless he meant after the nightmare. All of the happiness I had felt from earlier had completely vanished.
"Can you tell me about your nightmare?" I asked. He locked eyes with me, and I kept my stern look. I really wanted to know what could spook him so much. He turned his eyes downward and just looked at the deck for a few minutes. I could see that his eyes were filled with tears. I knew that he was forcing them back. He doesn't want me to see him cry. He looked tired and worn out. Suddenly it started raining, as if the sky was crying for Cloud. I gently placed my hand on his back. He looked up at me. I spoke to him in a soft comforting voice.
"You can tell me Spiky." He looked at me with unsure eyes, but then he straightened up and looked me in the eyes. Then, he began his story.
"I found myself in a mako chamber like the ones Hojo kept us in. At first everything was a blur of black and green, then as the haze cleared up, I noticed that I was in the ShinRa mansion basement. Hojo was there too. He was peering at me with his terrible red eyes. Then I was engulfed in mako."
"When the mako cleared, I noticed that I was next to these large rock formations, like the ones in the desert near Midgar. Then I noticed that I couldn't move. I was mako poisoned again. Then…I saw you." By this time he had tears pouring out of his eyes. He tried to hide them but, it didn't do any good. He took a huge breath and then continued. "You were standing in front of me, sword out and ready, as if trying to protect me from an invisible enemy. I just squeezed my eyes shut and tried to block out all of the sounds of battle, but they still snuck in.
"When I finally opened my eyes there were only three infantrymen, but there were signs that there had been many more. You were beaten and bruised and bleeding from several bullet wounds." His voice became shaky and tinged with pain. "I saw one of the Infantrymen shoot you right in the forehead. I tried to yell; to warn you in some way. But the words just wouldn't come out. I tried to walk over to you and help but I couldn't do that either. I was forced to watch you get killed."
"When the Infantrymen left I found that I could crawl over to you. When I reached you…" He swallowed a lump in his throat. By this time even I started crying. Then he continued, "You told me that I was your living legacy; that I was proof that you existed. You gave me your sword and then… you died. I was so sad and angry at the same time that I just had to let it out in one loud, painful scream. As I did that, your body disappeared and I was swept up by mako once again. Then, when the mako washed away, I found that I was in the Nibelhiem mako reactor. I was in the Jenova chamber and Jenova was actually standing right in front me. Then she said…." He trailed off.
"She said?" I prompted.
"She said…" Then he clutched his side and dropped to his knees. He was breathing in really short ragged breaths.
"Spiky!" I yelled desperately over a crash of thunder. The rain had turned into a full fledged thunderstorm. I bent down and rubbed Cloud's back. Tears were cascading down his cheeks in full force now. Then I tried again to get through to him. "Cloud!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. It was no use. I looked up at Cloud. His eyes were glazed over with pain. I touched his forehead with the back of my hand. He was burning up. I knew that I had to do something. Without thinking I left Cloud and ran to Aerith's room.
"Aerith" I yelled, bursting into the room.
"What?" she yelled sitting bolt upright in her bed
"Where is the thermometer?" I practically screamed with worry. Aerith rubbed her eyes sleepily and pointed in the corner where the backpack sat. I practically tore the backpack apart searching for the thermometer.
"What happened?" Aerith asked. I was still struggling to find the thermometer when I told her.
"Something's wrong with Cloud. I think he has a fever." Aerith gasped and hurried into the next room to wake up Tifa. I was still searching when she came back with Tifa. Then I held up the thermometer in triumph "Aha!" I yelled then I rushed out the door. Aerith and Tifa followed quickly. They knew that this was an emergency and that there wasn't enough time to talk. Before I got to the deck I heard somebody scream.
"NO!" It yelled, "I don't want to die!" Fear clutched at my heart when I realized just who was speaking.
"Cloud!" I heard Tifa yell. I looked behind me. She had tears streaming down her face. I quickened my pace until we went through the door that led to the deck. Then, I stopped in disbelief. Cloud was standing on the railing of the boat. He looked like he was about to jump off. Then I heard Cloud speak again.
"Please!" he begged like a little child "I want to live!" He managed to get enough control over his body to look behind him, straight at me. He mouthed three tiny soundless words, 'Zack help me'. I dashed toward him. The deck was slippery from all of the rain, which didn't help me at all. I was halfway there when Cloud began to fall. I summoned all my strength to give me an extra speed boost. I caught him just in time and hauled him back over the railing.
Even with my SOLDIER strength it took all three of us to hold Cloud down. Jenova wasn't giving up without a fight. He struggled and clawed and bit but it didn't do any good. It took a long time until Jenova finally gave in and went dormant again. Then I picked Cloud up and took him inside.
When we got to Aerith's room I set him down on the bed, but I felt a tug on my shirt. I noticed that Cloud's hand was clutched tightly to my shirt, as if he thought he would never see me again if he let go. He was reluctant at first but then he allowed me to uncurl his fingers. Then, he chose to grab the blanket that Aerith covered him up with. Tifa was whispering comforting words in his ear.
I pulled out the thermometer and stuck it in Cloud's mouth. He didn't have a fever. I think I know what happened though. Jenova must have given Cloud a fever because she knew I would need the thermometer. Then when I had left to get the thermometer, Jenova seized that opportunity to try and kill Cloud. She didn't expect us to come back early. Jenova couldn't control Cloud's speech though, so he yelled at the top of his lungs, hoping to get someone's attention. I looked over at Cloud. His eyes were wet with tears and he was still shaking. Tifa's words must have helped a little bit because Cloud had let go of the blanket. Aerith was rubbing the back of his other hand. I didn't know how long Cloud could go on with Jenova in his system. One thing was for sure, I'm not going to let her win.
A/N: Hello, It's me again! Just to let everyone know, I am a Cloud fan. I think Infantryman Cloud is so adorable! Anyway, in the next chapter they arrive at Wutai in an unexpected way and the crew meets Yuffie. I think this chapter was more serious than the others. Jenova isn't quite out of Cloud's system yet so, she still gives him problems. I hope all you hardcore FFVII fans out there like the 'lets mosey' part. The titanic part is for my beta Chibipinkbunny because she's been so good to me. Oh and here is a disclaimer because I've missed it for so many chapters.
Disclaimer: Everything in this story belongs to Square Enix and the Titanic belongs to White Star.
This chapter came out pretty fast. Anyway, I'm not sure if Bob Foxdale is a celebrity or something. It's just a name I came out with from the top of my head. I'll see you when the next chapter comes out so, until then bye! :3 Oh, and Please Review!