Authors note: So one of the editing problems I've been having is with the word Dentiri/Dentari. What's suppose to be happening is when I talk about the land I use Dentiri, and when I talk about the people I use Dentari. I know it would have been easier to do Dentiri/Dentirians like Africa/Africans but for some reason that escapes me now I didn't…I may come through later and correct that…Anyhow, sorry if there's been any confusion.
At the end of the day they had little to show for all their effort; having found neither hide nor hair of the Dentari soldiers or their base. Zack told Cloud that they should camp near the beach outpost in hopes that a Dentari squad would wander by to check on it. Cloud nodded dumbly at this, having said nothing since their stop at the river earlier. He helped Zack construct a hidden shelter of dubious quality then wrapped himself in a blanket and pretended to go to sleep.
Maybe I'll feel better in the morning. He hoped. This pain can't last forever, can it?
Of course it can said a cruel voice in Cloud's head, and every time you lay awake in bed, all alone and cold, you'll think of him and that girl he's banging and wish it was you, you pathetic little pussy.
Cloud curled up tighter in his blankets and covered his ears trying to make the voice stop. Failing at that he forced himself to dive into the oblivion of sleep.
Sometime later, Cloud woke to the touch of another's hand over his mouth and immediately tried to lash out, but was meet with a quite "hush" from Zack.
"Fuck you." Cloud tried to say while attempting to throw Zack off, but Zack only tightened his grip pinning Cloud easily to the ground.
"Cloud, shush." He said again under his breath. "We're not alone." Cloud looked ahead of him to see a figure appear some yards off near the outpost, and promptly stilled.
The figure was dressed in cameo clothes and was holding a rod weapon very similar to his and Zack's; though Cloud was willing to guess that cameo man's actually worked. The man walked over to the hole the two Soldiers had fallen into yesterday, inspected it for a moment, took a quick look around then started running swiftly through the woods.
"Time to go!" Zack whispered releasing Cloud to pursue after the Dentari scout. Cloud followed; trying to keep up and not trip over any of the underbrush. After about fifteen minutes of running, the Dentari reached the edge of a small pool in one of the wider places of the promise lily river and jumped in. Minutes passed, during which the Dentari did not remerge, until at last the surface of the water broke to revile not just one enemy soldier, but four, all equip with rods, and blades of some sort.
"No wonder we couldn't find them." Zack whispered as the men climbed out of the water and checked their weapons.
"Ok Cloud. Get ready to trip them. Ready?" He asked glancing at Cloud's nod of confirmation before pulling himself up a tree. Cloud squatted within the bushes, his rod at the ready, as the men approached.
Cloud focused on the task at hand. It would need to be quick and he would need to be perfect. Any delay, no matter how small, could give the Dentari the time they needed to send out a distress signal. And if that happened he and Zack were dead.
Cloud judge the speed of his appoints then stuck out the staff moments before the first two passed; successfully tripping them. Less than a second later a series of quick crunches follow and before Cloud could rise to his feet all the soldiers had been felled. Cloud stood up to see Zack standing in the middle of a pile of corpses; the ends of his rod slightly darkened with blood. He glanced at Cloud who looked away. Cloud knew from experience that Zack was a good fighter, but this resent display disturbed him slightly. He had no idea Zack could be so efficient and merciless; acting without a moment's hesitation to end the life of others. They didn't even have a chance to defend themselves…
Looking down at one of the bodies, Cloud remembered how it was because of these people that his comrades were dead and his heart hardened.
But they were only defending their home A small voice in the back of his mind said, but Cloud quickly locked that voice away and buried it deep inside himself. The Dentari were the enemy. That was all he needed to remember.
He and Zack striped two of the corpses and changed into their clothes. Cloud was able to find a helmet that didn't have any blood on the inside and then they hid the bodies under some brush. Zack placed one of the enemies' staff into Cloud's hands taking another for himself.
"Hold it like this." He instructed. "Then turn this knob to fire it. It doesn't make any noise when fired. Do you understand?" Cloud nodded curtly holding it tightly, and followed Zack into the pool.
This was the first time Cloud had been submerged fully in water since he'd almost drowned in the helicopter. As they proceeded into a narrow tunnel, Cloud had to fight the sudden bout of claustrophobia fueled by the horrible thought that the tunnel really had no end and he would drown here. Thankfully, the passageway was a small one and he soon broke the river's surface; water streaming out of the filters in their clothing.
They were in another small cavern; nearly identical to the one they'd spent the night in, except that this one had a pair of Dentari guards standing at attention by the door way. One of the guards raised a questioning hand and hailed them. In response, Zack nodded at Cloud and simultaneously they stepped out of the water, raised their weapons and fired a small silent projective burst of needles. Both guards collapsed and any sound they might have made was stifled by their helmets.
Zack walked over to the door, saw it was electronically locked, then frisked the guards for the key. As he did this, Cloud noticed with some discomfort that both guards where actually women, and he remembered sadly the story about promise lilies.
Zack slide the key card through the lock and it opened with an audible click. The two of them proceeded down the narrow corridor; glancing into rooms as they went by. They were all empty. Cloud thought this a little strange, but if the ShinRa force descending into the Dentiri peninsula was anything close to what Cloud believed it to be, then the natives would need every able person they could muster. Something in the generator room must have caught Zack's eye though as he quietly stepped in and disappeared behind one of the storage crates. Cloud heard a small whoop and, moments later, Zack reemerged wearing an ecstatic grin and holding in his right hand the unmistakable Buster Sword.
"They must have found it on the beach and brought it here as a trophy." He whispered his eyes twinkling. "Angeal always told me that a good sword could never be parted from its owner." He said giving it a few test swings. Cloud couldn't help but smile at his friend's excitement and relief. He knew how much that weapon meant to Zack and was glad that his friend had found it again.
"Alright." He said after placing the sword in a makeshift holder on his back that he'd quickly constructed from sheer resourcefulness. "Ready?"
"Yeah." Cloud replied hosting his weapon. Zack gave him a quick nod and small smile before continuing down to the control room. Opening the door, Cloud could see that the room was large, circular, and full of computer equipment and people operating them. All the machines were up and running, screens and lights flashing, people talking through microphones, troops being monitored via satellite, and other equipment that he didn't recognize. Before any of the five people in the room had a chance to react Cloud had lifted his weapon, and then he and Zack proceeded to raze the room with a hail of deadly needles.
In seconds everyone was dead in various positions throughout the room; some on the ground in a pool of blood, others pined to broken machinery. Cloud could feel himself getting sick again as he caught a glance of one of the corpses faces. It was bloody with its own gore to the extent that it hardly resembled a face. Removing his helmet, Cloud puked. His bile splashing over the floor and his boots; mingling with the blood that now stretched from the computers, like death's vengeful fingers. He vaguely heard Zack checking the computers to make sure they were all down before coming back over to place a hand on Cloud's back.
"It's done. Let's get out of here." He said and Cloud had enough time to look up into his troubled eyes before Zack flung him out of the door way. Sliding across the bloody floor, Cloud saw Zack's body convulse as a stream of needles barraged him.
"ZACK!" Cloud yelled watching in disbelief as his beautiful friend fell slowly to the ground. The man's arms, legs, and chest peppered with deathly silver quills. Grabbing his weapon, Cloud aimed it at the door, ready to fire as a group of five Dentari ran through. Twisting the knob, a bolt of fear shot though Cloud, as he realized his weapon was out of ammo. As the men aimed their own fire arms, Cloud closed his eyes, bracing for the impact and his death.
I'm sorry Zack! Cloud pleaded. It's my fault you died! I should have been watching your back not puking on the floor! I'm worthless! A joke, a failure! Why didn't you save yourself instead of a useless shit like me!
Time seemed to slow down, or maybe his sense of hearing just heightened Cloud wasn't sure. He could hear the subtle ruffle of clothing as the men raised their weapon, the smooth turn of knobs, and then the lethal whizzing of needles as they cut through air.
A tear of heart retching sorrow slid down Cloud's cheek as he begged his dead friend's forgiveness, but then there was a noise he had not expected. Instead of the solid painful slice of punctured flesh, there was instead a harsh orchestra of pings as they would make when bouncing off a metallic object. Opening his eye's Cloud saw a familiar back in front of him, the Buster Sword planted in the ground as a shield.
"Zack?" Cloud gasped in disbelief. Needles whizzed by, continuing to cut up the older man's arms and legs, but as his head turned, a confident smile on his face, Cloud knew it was really Zack.
"Take this." He said handing Cloud a Dentari half-sword. "Ready?" He asked again.
"Always." Cloud answered, tears of relief filling his eyes. He couldn't believe it! Zack was really, truly alive! As the Dentari dropped their expended fire arms and pulled out their swords, Zack lifted his and, with a yell, the two of them charged.