A/N: Chapter Eight is here. Sorry it's late. My family and I had to go to Arizona for a week. But, it's up now! As I mentioned in the previous chapter, Yuffie will be in this chapter. She will only appear a little bit at the end though. I would also like to thank everybody for their reviews. Thank you! :3 If this story hadn't had this many reviews it probably wouldn't have made it this far. Oh, and a big thanks to Chibipinkbunny for beta reading this chapter for me! Anyway, you know the drill, this story is in PoV (point of view) format and this means thought, this means writing, and this means singing.
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Chapter 8: Separation
Zack PoV
It had been a couple of weeks since Cloud had a Jenova attack. I was worried about him. He seemed really jumpy lately; he would cringe at the slightest sound. He couldn't get any sleep either for fear that he might have nightmares. Despite what happened to Cloud, I still couldn't help thinking about my first kiss with Aerith. But I usually get pulled out of dreamland and back to reality by Cloud who has been getting sick a lot, but it was just minor sickness. He would get a cold one day and then a fever the next. Jenova must have really taken a toll on him. I couldn't help but feel sorry for my spiky-headed best friend. I would do anything to get Jenova out of his system.
One night I went out on the deck to find Cloud standing there, looking up at the stars that glittered in the nighttime sky. I could just make out the shape of the Wutai continent in the distance. The blank stare he had plastered on his face worried me. I thought he had another nightmare, so I approached him carefully. He jumped when he saw me, but when he noticed who it was he calmed down.
"What's the matter Cloud?" I asked and then added, "You didn't have another nightmare, did you?" He shook his head and I breathed a sigh of relief.
"I couldn't sleep," he stated. He looked down at the water, "again." I put my hand on his shoulder, and he turned to look at me. His mako blue eyes cut deep into my soul like a knife. I felt a pang of sadness when I realized I would never see his normal color eyes ever again. Desperately, I searched for a trace of the old Cloud. When my search came up empty I sighed and looked away from him.
"Zack?" he asked, reaching toward me. Just as he was about to touch my shoulder, I caught a glimpse of something up in the sky. I pushed his hand away and looked upward; searching for the object I thought I had seen. My eyes widened in fear when I found out what it was. A ShinRa brand helicopter was hovering above the boat, cloaked by the darkness. A normal person would have missed it all together, but I was an ex-SOLDIER so it was hard for me to miss things like that. Cloud had seen my worried expression and looked at the sky. I could see complete and utter fear creep onto his face. ShinRa was still after us. I saw a flash of light come from the helicopter. Quickly, I grabbed Cloud and pulled him away from it. We hid behind a barrel on the deck and watched incredulously as the light exploded and tore the deck to pieces. I could see Aerith burst through the door that led to the sleeping quarters.
"Zack!" She called "Cloud! Where are you?!" She coughed through all the smoke. I told Cloud to wait behind the barrel. He nodded and I took off. I ran toward the gray figure that was Aerith. When I reached her, I grabbed her arm. I heard her try to scream, but the smoke was overpowering. I pulled her toward the place where Cloud was hidden. She tried to resist until she caught sight of exactly who it was that was pulling her. She had tears in her eyes because of the smoke and she kept coughing over and over again. When I finally got to Cloud, I could see that he was starting to suffer from the effects of the smoke. I hastily started to move to the back of the boat and the others followed. There was less smoke at the back of the boat, which meant we were free to talk.
"Get on my back," I said to Aerith. She looked a little confused so I added, "We're gonna jump off of this boat." My voice was tinged with both worry and fear. Aerith nodded and started to climb on my back. I looked over at Cloud, and he looked like he was thinking really hard about something. Then a look of horror came over his face.
"Tifa!" he yelled hoarsely. "We forgot Tifa!" In all of the confusion we had forgotten about Tifa. She was probably still in her room sleeping. Aerith got off of my back, and I started to run over to the door that would take me below the deck, but Cloud held out his hand to stop me.
"I want to be the hero this time," was all he said, and I understood. After a life of successive failures, he wanted to do something good for a change. At least that's what he was thinking. I was almost sure of it. I put my hand on his shoulder.
"Good luck" I murmured just loud enough to be audible. He looked into my eyes for a moment. Then Aerith got on my back and I stepped up onto the railing.
"Oh," Aerith called over her shoulder, "Don't forget the backpack!" Cloud nodded, and before I could have any doubts, he pushed me into the frigid water. It was freezing cold and it made my long forgotten shoulder wound flare back to life. I fought valiantly against the strong waves that rammed against me. The salt water stung my eyes so that I could barely see where I was going. Aerith was clutching my neck so hard that I thought she might suffocate me. I couldn't blame her. She was scared. Scared of the waves that licked at her dress, scared of the rain that was now pouring out of the sky, but she was also scared for Cloud. This incident reminded me of that day, three months ago, when I had left Cloud in the hands of a stranger so that I could fight off all of the infantrymen that were pursuing us. I had abandoned Cloud back then... I thought was I abandoning him now? But, I pushed those thoughts away and just kept swimming. Right now, my only concern was getting Aerith to safety. I felt a sharp pain as I noticed that the bandage that was tied around my shoulder came undone. A fresh new pain pierced the wound. The bloodstained cloth drifted freely in the water. Despite the pain, I looked behind me just in time to see Cloud's lean figure disappearing into the smoke. I looked back and saw the water flash orange and through all the rain and thunder I could hear a faint "boom". The helicopter must have fired another shot. I looked back one last time only to see the ship covered in flames.
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Cloud PoV
I struggled desperately to breathe as I made my way deep into the ship. When I got to Tifa's room, I felt the door with the back of my hand. It didn't feel hot, which meant that the fire hadn't penetrated that far into the ship yet, but the smoke certainly did. I heard a female voice yell for help. I opened the door to find Tifa in a corner surrounded by smoke.
"Cloud!" She yelled before falling into a fit of coughing. I ran over to her and helped her up. Her legs were wobbly but, she could stand. I grabbed the backpack and told her to put it on. After she did, I started toward the door. She tried to follow but collapsed on the floor, unable to stand up any longer. I picked her up and put her on my back. She was still coughing and her arms were wrapped firmly around my neck.
I headed out the door. The fire had reached the hallway that I had come through. I turned to my other side to see that there was fire there too. We were surrounded. I could feel my body temperature rising, almost as if I had another fever. I looked over at Tifa. This is it, I thought, Tifa and I are going to perish together. I wished I could at least save Tifa. I felt Tifa shift, and I saw her reach into her pocket.
"Here," She said weakly as she held out her hand, "use this." There was something in the palm of her hand. I took it from her and examined it. It was the blizzard materia that Tifa had used when I had a fever. I clutched it tight and turned to the flames that were devouring the boat. I held out my fist and summoned forth the ice element stored within the materia. I squeezed my eyes shut and concentrated. I could hear a faint crackle. I opened my eyes to see the materia in my hand light up and shoot a blue substance at the fire. When the ice made contact with the flames, they froze so that they looked like spikes shooting up from the floor and walls. I ran down the hallway, dodging icy stalagmites as I went. When I got on the deck, the boat was completely engulfed in flames. The rain did little to soothe the raging fire. There was only a small space of railing left. It was now or never.
"Hang on!" I called to Tifa. I ran to the rail and jumped over it. We fell into the freezing cold water. I struggled to keep my head above water. I already felt dizzy from the smoke and even with my SOLDIER strength I was exhausted, but I still kept going. I couldn't see Zack anywhere, and I guessed he was long gone. Zack was not the kind to give up easily, and that's what I admired about him. He was the optimistic type, even when everything went wrong. I suddenly started to regret my decision to save Tifa myself. I wished Zack was doing the rescuing, he would be better than a second rate infantryman who has SOLDIER qualities. I could feel myself fading away. I was barely able to hold myself above the water. My limbs ached and my lungs burned. Tifa was so quiet I might have thought that she had passed out if not for the arms that were still wrapped around me. Tifa could tell that I was getting weak.
"Don't give up!" she yelled in my ear. Although I could barley make it out over the noise of the thunder. Those words gave me strength. I fought harder against the waves that violently crashed into me. I could see land just ahead of me. I made one final push in that direction before relaxing my body, hoping that the waves would carry us the rest of the way. I looked behind me and saw Tifa's worried face.
"Tifa" I said through a mouthful of water. Eventually, my body gave in to exhaustion, and I blacked out.
*~*~*~*
My eyes fluttered open and I was greeted by Tifa's concerned face peering down at me. "Cloud?" she asked cautiously. I replied with a groan. Tifa helped me sit up. My body was reluctant to do so. It was still tired, and I wanted nothing more than to collapse on a bed and go to sleep. Even sleeping on the ground seemed nice at this point. It was still dark, but my SOLDIER sight allowed me to see every detail of the shoreline. I spotted the backpack a few feet behind me. I crawled over to it and searched for the blanket. When I found it and gave it to Tifa. Then I got a blanket for myself and curled up with it. The air was cold because I had just gotten out of the water. Tifa wrapped her arms around me in an attempt to comfort me. Her warm embrace silenced the shivers that wracked my body. I looked at her and she smiled back at me.
"We'll be ok," she whispered in my ear, "I just know it." I wished I could share her confidence. We were miles away from Wutai and we were running out of food, but those worries could wait. I needed to get some sleep or I might faint from fatigue. I made myself comfortable by laying my head on Tifa's lap like a pillow. I breathed in her sweet familiar scent, and then I closed my eyes and let sleep overtake me.
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Zack PoV
The first thing I felt when I opened my eyes was the sharp pain in my shoulder. I winced as I sat up. The sun was rising over the ocean, painting the sky with hues of reds and oranges. But I couldn't stop and admire the scenery when Aerith was nowhere to be found. I looked further up the shore and was relieved to find her sitting there in her sopping wet clothes. She immediately got up when she noticed me looking at her. I felt another sharp prick, and I covered my right shoulder with my left hand. Seconds later I felt Aerith place her hand on my back and help me sit up.
"Zack?" she asked, "are you alright?" I looked at my left hand. There was blood on it. Aerith gasped when she noticed my hand. Then she peeked at my right shoulder and turned away from me. "You're hurt..." she said sadly. I put my left arm around her, and she looked back up at me. Her eyes met mine.
"It will be alright" I said to her, "we'll be fine" She nodded, her eyes full of tears. Then she gave me a big hug. She let go after a while and then stood up. She helped me up, and I walked around, surveying the beach for a basic idea of where we were. I suddenly wished I had the map with me. Then my thoughts shifted to Cloud. I hoped more than anything that he and Tifa had survived. I started to regret leaving him all alone on the sinking ship. I would never forgive myself if Cloud had died because I had made the wrong decision. Suddenly I stopped walking. Aerith came up beside me.
"What are we going to do now?" She asked looking at me with a worried expression. That was a good question. I estimated that we were near Wutai and that if Cloud had escaped the burning ship, he would have landed further down the shore. We could go after him, but it might take days to get to the spot where he is and by then he might have already left. I needed to get my wound re-bandaged as soon as possible.
"We should go to Wutai" I replied "I need to get this injury re-bandaged." But then Aerith shook her head.
"What about Cloud?" She asked.
"If he has any sense left in him at all, he would head toward Wutai" I answered. "Besides, he has the backpack with him. It contains food and blankets and even a map. We're probably worse off than he is." I concluded. But I wasn't sure about that. In my mind I kept thinking about Cloud and how he could have possibly died to save Tifa. And then Aerith looked into my eyes.
"What if he gets hurt?" She asked. She had a valid point but, I needed to get to Wutai. I was worried that the wound might get infected if I leave it uncovered for more that a couple of days.
"Tifa will help him" I mumbled under my breath. Then Aerith held my gaze. She looked into my eyes and I could see tears in hers.
"What if he has a Jenova attack?" Aerith asked softly, "your best friend could die and you don't care." It was more of a statement than a question. I looked away with guilty eyes. Aerith looked at me with eyes full of sadness, a silent plea to help Cloud.
"Alright," I said, "We'll see if we can find him." I started walking, but was brought down to my knees by a sharp pain that came from my shoulder. Aerith put her arms around my waist in an attempt to help me up. I covered my right shoulder. I knew I needed to avoid putting too much pressure on it or I might reopen the wound. I held up one finger to Aerith, telling her to wait a minute, and then I undid my suspenders and took off my shirt. I could see Aerith blush a little when I put my suspenders back on.
"Temporary bandage," I said and she nodded. I would have to hold my shirt on my shoulder all the way to wherever Cloud is, then all the way to Wutai. I stood up and looked in the direction where I thought Cloud was. I stared at the clouds drifting in the blue sky. "Cloud," I whispered, "Wherever you are, I hope you're still alive"
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Cloud PoV
When I awoke it was around midday, and the sun was high in the sky. I felt movement underneath me. I didn't know what it was until my mind cleared, and I remembered that I fell asleep on Tifa's lap. I could feel her running her fingers through my hair absent-mindedly. It felt soothing; it reminded me of when Aerith had looked after me in her church. I wondered if she and Zack were able to escape the wreckage and if they did, how long could they survive without food or clean water. I hoped that my best friend was okay, and that I would be able to see him again. This was just like the time that Zack had left me with the truck driver so that he could protect me from a bunch of infantrymen. Zack had always been there for me, even in the darkest of times. He had protected me for an entire year and then had seen to it that the girls and I had arrived at Junon safely. He saved me from a Jenova attack twice and helped me to recover from countless fevers. I really did owe my life to him. He was my one and only best friend.
I stirred and sat up. I felt a little light-headed and silently hoped that I wasn't having another fever.
"Good morning sleepyhead," Tifa said playfully. I glanced at her before my eyes went over to the backpack. My stomach was growling with hunger, so I went over to the backpack and began to look inside it. After I pulled out something for breakfast I folded up the blanket and put it back in. Then I made my way over to Tifa. I had slept through half of the day, so it was actually lunch time. I didn't eat much of my lunch and my stomach started to ach a little, so after brunch, I checked my temperature with the thermometer. It read about one-hundred degrees Fahrenheit. "Great…" I murmured under my breath. I saw Tifa move toward me and I hastily shoved thermometer back in the backpack.
"What's wrong?" I heard her ask, with a look of worry clear on her face.
"Nothing," I replied. I didn't want Tifa to worry about me. I had to get us both to Wutai. I flashed a little smile at her and she stood up. Then she grabbed the backpack and flung it over her shoulder.
"We better get going," she said softly as she pulled out the map. I stood up and walked over to her. She studied the map carefully for a few minutes before folding it up and putting it away. Then, without a word, she strode off in the direction of Wutai. I went at a slower pace because I had an upset stomach and she had the map. Zack and Aerith were probably closer to Wutai than we were since he left the boat earlier than we did. Hopefully, we would meet Zack and Aerith there. I looked up at the sky and whispered a message for the wind to carry on to Zack.
"I wish, more than anything, that you make it to Wutai safely."
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Aerith's PoV
It was almost getting dark when we found a sign that meant that Cloud was still alive. There were traces of footprints left in the sand. Upon further inspection, Zack recognized them as footprints made from a standard ShinRa brand boot. He compared it with his own to find that he was right. The tracks went in a northeast direction. Cloud and Tifa had already left for Wutai. All we have to do is follow them to Wutai. They probably had the map so they would know where they are going. I was really hungry. Zack decided to stop and look for something for dinner. He told me to wait by the tracks so that we don't lose their position. I nodded and he disappeared into the trees. Moments later, he came back with a handful of berries.
"It's not a lot," he said, "but it'll help us keep our strength up." I nodded to my raven-haired boyfriend in response. He gave me the majority of the berries and took the rest for himself. I just looked down at the berries in my hand with a sad expression on my face.
"Don't worry," Zack said. "They're not poisonous." To prove it, he stuck one in his mouth. I took Zack's word for it and ate one of mine. When we had finished, Zack started walking away and motioned for me to follow. "Come on," Zack said. "We better get moving before Cloud gets too far ahead of us." I nodded and followed Zack, who had a pained expression on his face. That wound was causing him a lot of trouble, I could tell by the look in his eyes. But, he still pressed on, determined to get me to Wutai.
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Cloud PoV
"Are you done yet?"
"Almost."
"Well hurry up!" Tifa huffed from behind a tree. I was changing into the clothes we bought at Junon and Tifa was getting impatient to try on her clothes. She still had the ShinRa grunt uniform on. I will never understand girls and why they like to have so many different outfits. When I stepped out from behind the tree, I was dressed in slightly fitted pants and a loose T-shirt. I let Tifa have her turn while I put the color contacts in my eyes. Zack had chosen a color that was close to my original eye color. I took my temperature again while Tifa was changing. It said I had a fever of one hundred and one degrees. It had gone up one whole degree since last time. That was definitely not good. My stomach still hurt and my head ached. I was exhausted and my legs were starting to hurt. Basically I felt like I had just been run over by a truck but, I tried to hide all of my pain for Tifa's sake. Tifa came out from behind the tree just as I had put the thermometer away.
"How do I look?" She asked.
"Good" I replied, and I wasn't lying. She did look good. She had on a cropped white T-shirt and a blue mini skirt. Then I put on the backpack, took her hand and started walking toward Wutai.
*~*~*~*
When we finally got to Wutai we spread out to look for Zack and Aerith. I went into the weapon shop and asked if anyone had seen a guy with black-spiked hair. Then a glint of light on metal caught my eye. There was a sword on the wall just above the counter. It stood out from the others because it was huge, almost the size of Zack's Buster Sword. It was mechanical and polished so much that I could see myself it. I approached the shopkeeper. He looked up from a book he was reading.
"Hello," he asked. "What would you like to buy?"
"How much is that sword up there" I pointed to the sword. He looked behind him at the sword. I didn't miss the gleam of pride in his eye.
"Ah yes, that is Tsurugi," he said, bursting with pride. "That is my most expensive sword," he said taking it down and putting it on the counter. "I made it myself and it comes apart into six different swords." I stared in awe at the shimmering blade and in my reflection I could see my jaw drop a little. It was like a better version of Zack's sword, and I wanted it.
"How much is it?" I asked, trying to hide the eagerness in my voice.
"It's two-hundred thousand gil," he said. I reached in my pocket and pulled out a the measly amount of money, but it was all I had. We needed it to buy Tifa and me something to eat and a place to rest. "So," I heard the shopkeeper speak up, "do you want it?" Slowly I shook my head and walked out of the shop. When I got outside I could see Tifa run up to me.
"Cloud!" she called. When she caught up to me, she was out of breath. Before she had gathered enough breathe to say something I interrupted her.
"Please don't call me by my real name," I whispered. Then I gestured to myself, "Call me Sky."
"Alright Sky," she winked at me "I asked all around for Zack and nobody's seen him," she said.
"How does that help us?" I questioned, my head still pounding like crazy. She held her hand out in front of me.
"I'm not finished yet," she said, wagging a finger at me. "Somebody said that the leader of Wutai, Lord Godo, might know," she paused before continuing, "unfortunately, it is a tradition in Wutai that all visitors who want to speak to Lord Godo have to battle the five strongest warriors including Lord Godo himself. Apparently he is at the pagoda on the other side of town." She pointed to the building in the distance that was taller than all of the others. She grabbed my hand and started to pull me toward it but, I refused.
"No Tifa," I said, "We'll do that tomorrow. Right now, we need to find a place to rest."
"Okay," she said as she ran off down a street, observing the various signs along the way. When she was out of the way, I felt my forehead again. It was really warm. I sighed and looked down at the ground. My throat felt like it was on fire but, I didn't know weather it was from the fever or from dehydration. What am I supposed to do? I questioned myself. I don't want Tifa to worry about me and I don't think that I could fight this fever alone. I looked up to see Tifa running toward me, exclaiming that she had found an inn for us to stay in. Oh well I shrugged Maybe I'll feel better after a warm meal and a good nights sleep…
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Zack PoV
We had been walking for what seemed like hours when we came upon Wutai. We were really hungry and our feet ached. I would give anything to just find a nice comfy bed and lay down. I had to fight just to keep myself awake. We had been walking for two days straight without sleeping. That was how determined we were to reach Wutai and hopefully reunite with Cloud and Tifa. Aerith and I made a plan to ask everybody in town about Cloud and Tifa But that plan would never be put into action because at that very instant I heard a startlingly familiar voice come from behind me.
"Hello SOLDIER boy," she said. "Long time no see."
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A/N: There you have it! Chapter 8, finally. It was late because I was computer-deprived for a week while my family and I went to Arizona. I think anybody who has read the Author's note and has played Crisis Core knows just who I am talking about. The ending was a little rough to write though because I was preoccupied reading a Fanfic. But, I finally got it all done! :3 Again, thanks to all who review, you guys really make my day! Oh, and special thanks to nxkris for giving me the idea to include Tsurugi in this chapter. I made a profile with themes! If you guys want to check it out then you're more than welcome. I would also love it if you used one of my themes. :3 And please remember to review! Ok, so until chapter 9, Bye!