Zack's Final Mission

Chapter 18: Cloud: Teamwork Honor

I expected Zack to back me against a wall holding me by the neck and threateningly saying I should have stopped her while I could… but he didn't. Instead, his body froze and he looked at me sadly.

"I should have seen the signs…" He said thoughtfully. "She sometimes stared blankly at the distance… became quiet. Deep down she knew this had to happen. I just wished she had told me. Or I should have understood..."

"She knew what you'd do if she told you." I said. Whatever this girl did to him, she marked him good. I could almost hear his heart shattering.

"What are we waiting for then?" He turned to me wide-eyed, a smirk on his lips. "Let's go find her! I have something I want to ask her!"

I watch him now with a shovel in his hands unstoppably digging the soil to find that Lunar Harp item buried somewhere around here. He sometimes pauses to clean the sweat of his forehead but he keeps making holes on the ground just to find it. The small item that will lead him back to her and all we need to go through the forest to the Forgotten City where she must be trying to speak to the planet. It has almost been a full day and he doesn't get tired of digging.

"What exactly is Zack?" Vincent asked me, his eyes on him as well. He must have noticed Zack hadn't stopped to rest or to drink and eat. Vincent too had been a victim in the hands of Shinra. More than anyone else here he was aware of the unsuccessful experiences that company hid. And he was conscious of course of what Shinra could create. But with us what had happened was different.

"A hero." I answered him in my most honest response.

Vincent nodded agreeing with me probably just making sure he had guessed it right. When Zack finally found the Lunar Harp and held it in his hand he smiled triumphantly. I think I'm starting to understand the reason why he didn't get mad at me when I told him about Aerith… Although he had neglected the signs she had unconsciously sent him, he knew just like I knew, that Aerith was meant to do what she had left us to do. But he would never let Sephiroth near her and he would protect her from that at all cost.

Zack knew that she was alone… vulnerable, but he also knew Sephiroth wouldn't touch a string of her hair unless Zack was present, just to have the joy of seeing his face once he did. Both of us are connected to that one winged angel in such a way we can most certainly get right what crosses his sick mind.

What was making me nervous though was thinking about what Zack could do to protect Aerith. Would he die for her safety? I know I would… for Tifa. It wouldn't matter what happened to me as long as I could keep her safe. Zack and I aren't that much different. After all, half of what I am I had learnt with him.

I watch Tifa stick the tip of her shovel on the ground and walk toward Zack to pat him on the shoulder happy for him to have found the shiny golden harp. She turns around to smile at me while Yuffie joins them to yell something at Zack about finally finding something important even if it's not materia.

Time to move…

"Aerith is waiting!" Zack grinned. I could see it even from where I stand; his eyes are full of hope. But deep down and although he's smiling there's something boiling inside him waiting to be freed; a thirst of vengeance for his sister just like mine for what he has done to my town and my family. And to Tifa. I will never forget. If something happens to Aerith to add to the mix… Zack will lose everything.

But I won't allow it. He has already lost too much.

Sephiroth you dark devil… I won't let you destroy my friends; I won't let you ruin this world. When I look at their faces I see hope and I will do anything to protect this world… for them. To me that's good enough reason to fight you.

We cross the sleeping forest now allowing us to go through and finally enter the Forgotten City. There's a peculiar scent in the air, it smells like the salty water of the Ocean and everything is dead quite. Although the structure of the city was built around the walls of a castle with two huge towers, the theme of this ruined city must have been the sea since the walls of the houses here are made with conch shells. There are even buildings made of some sort of crystal. The houses look like shells themselves and the floor is a glittering bluish mineral stone.

"Cloud…" I hear Tifa call me. She seems nervous and avoids looking straight at me. "There's something about this place I don't trust."

"I know." I tell her. "I feel it too."

"This place was once the capital of the Cetra civilization… When Jenova wiped out almost the entire population of this city, the ones who survived left it to try to blend in with the human culture. It has been abandoned ever since." Vincent informed us as he walked by. I had no idea he was so familiar with the story of the Cetra.

"We need to find Aerith soon…" Tifa says clearly feeling sorry for Aerith. "She must feel lonely here." It has always surprised me how pure her heart is.

I look over at Zack, alone staring around at the city.

"Don't worry." I try to calm him down. "We'll find her here."

"I won't lose her Cloud." He says, his anxiety couldn't hold on for much longer. "Not her. He won't take her away from me."

"We won't let that happen." I try to reassure him. He tilts his head. "Maybe we should rest for the night."

"Yeah… Of course." He agreed too quickly. He's preparing for something of that I'm sure. What could it be?

When I woke up from a restless sleep in the middle of the night Zack was nowhere to be seen. Just as I thought, he was planning on something all along. I get up and walk out of the house. As I walked looking around for him I hear a loud blast in the distance.

Zack…

I run as fast as I can toward the end of the platform and jump to the next one onto the second floor of this coral ground. At the end of this strange road I get a glimpse of Zack… What is he fighting with? As I get closer to Zack I get a better view of this creature. He was fighting a silver scaled-skin huge dragon with thick limbs which had four digits that between each one of them opened a thin membrane, maybe meant for swimming. Each digit ended with a short curved claw.

A row of bony long knobs run from the base of its skull to the end of its thick tail where it breaks in two. Two transparent ragged wings burst out of its shoulders which were filled with stuck greyish barnacles. It howls in pain and fury loudly piercing my ears as Zack runs the blade of his sword through its neck making a long dark blue cut from where it sprays its smouldering blood.

What Zack doesn't notice is the dragon's long tail flying heavily in his direction. I dart toward Zack and break the tail's impact with the buster sword right behind him. As we're back to back I look slightly at Zack and he smirks at me nodding once. We jump on our feet at the same time, swords held up high. I dodge two more tail attacks zig zagging under it and jump once again to land on its torso. Running down its spine I see the tail held up high.

In one circling movement the buster sword's blade cuts it through and through separating it from the rest of the body. I glance at Zack and see him impale his sword through the dragon's mouth. Its silver tip comes out from the back of the creature's head. The dragon's eyes turn blank and it finally falls heavily on its stomach dead, blood sizzling under him.

"Great teamwork." Zack lays one foot on the dragon's neck to push it and help him take the sword back from its throat.

"Zack what are you doing here all alone?" I ask him placing the buster sword on my back.

"I saw her, Cloud." He answered and it only got me more confused. "Aerith… Well, not Aerith, but sort of like her ghost. She was leading me the way! I know she'll take me there."

"Zack… that ghost… It only took you to a trap." He could be so naïve at times. "It could be him playing with your mind…"

"It was her." He seemed serious, desperate to see her I could tell. That way, he could fall for almost everything. "Anyway, you should go back."

"What? What about you?" I frowned.

"I'm going to find her." He said.

"I'll go with you."

"Are you sure? Cloud—"

"I'll go." It will be better this way, the others won't be involved.

"Zack…" We heard a voice whispering his name in the distance. Zack immediately started running in the sound's direction and I had to struggle to follow him. How could he be sure it was her? More and more all of this sounded suspicious but Zack was blind trying to find her at any cost.

As we ran through one dark corridor of this aquatic maze suddenly the floor softened under our feet and I heard a splashing when our boots flooded with cold water. The further we went the deeper the waters became until it stopped by our waists. The walls narrowed as we walked further turning into a dark tunnel from where we couldn't see its ending.

"You sure you don't want to turn back?" I asked him uneasy about what could be under us.

"It's just a little bit of water Cloud." He said but I'm pretty much sure he regretted having said that when we felt something brushing against our legs. He jumped back and drew his sword looking down to see what it was. There was a blue bright light coming from the water until the lights turned into two giant fishes with huge sharpened intimidating teeth. We could see through their skin into their spines and their veins flashed in blue and red lights.

They blocked our way as one appeared in front of Zack and another one in front of me hovering. Once again Zack and I were back to back in that tight dark tunnel. The fish in front of me dashed in my direction but turned around as it got too close and when it turned I wasn't expecting its tail too be that long. It rubbed against my bare arm and the venom running through that thin casing was excruciating. I screamed and my eyes went blind with pain.

"Cloud!" I heard Zack call me.

"Its tail!" I warned him. "It's venomous!" When I opened my eyes again, my arm was still burning but the flashing colors of the toxic fishes were nowhere to be seen. "Where did they go?" I gritted my teeth angry at being so careless.

"I finished them off." He said simply. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah…" I lied. Well, I'd live. There was nothing to worry about. We kept going and fortunately the tunnel that seemed infinite had an exit after all. The water was now under our ankles and the tunnel led us into some sort of clearing where a pool had in its middle a huge creamy whelk-shaped structure. We stood in the circling passage way leading to its inside, just staring at it. As we got closer to the gigantic structure I noticed that inside of it a spinning staircase made of light led the way down.

"Hey Cloud." He called me before we went in. "Thanks."

"What I did was nothing compared to what you've done." I nodded. There was absolutely no need for him to thank me. "Do you think… I would have made a good SOLDIER?" The question had been tormenting me for a while now. I needed to know what he thought... I remember how devastated I felt when I wasn't chosen... ashamed. I had promised Tifa I would be one of the best when I left town and I failed. Now it doesn't matter because I wouldn't want to work for Shinra again... But it would ease my heart, his opinion mattered.

"One of the best!" He said cheerfully giving me a thumbs up. I could tell he really meant it and his choice of words made me petrify.

"After the attack... when I saw you almost dying…" I started saying finally snapping out of my daze. "Part of me died with you, I believed I could continue what you had started." If I only knew he wouldn't die… Things would have been different. "I'm sorry I left you there."

"I told you to leave me didn't I?" He stared at me. "In a way I was dead. To everyone I was. When I think about it now, I kind of want it to remain like that. I became all I wanted to become back then; now there is no reason for me to continue living on a dream I once had. Now my dreams are different. When we get out of here, I'm going to find a nice quiet place I can live for the rest of my life. It was good while it lasted and I had a lot of fun as a SOLDIER but now it just doesn't make sense…"

His eyes… they flickered as he talked so passionately about his days as a member of SOLDIER… But he's right… It's sad but things aren't like they used to be anymore. I'm just glad we opened our eyes before it was too late. If we get out of here… I don't know what I'm going to do yet.

"So what do you say? Ready to go on our last mission as a team?" He asked and stretched me his hand. I took it with my hand and we shook them tightly, smiling. It had always been an honor to work with him. Our last mission... save Aerith, defeat Sephiroth... together.

Climbing down the light stairs the floor below had a vast lake of lifestream with a sprinkling fountain behind one altar of coral at the end of the long path.

There in the altar, Aerith kneeled on the floor, her hands in front of her chest praying with her eyes closed. She looked so angel-like as a soft white glitter surrounded her body. She seemed so peacefully praying. And then suddenly like a silent demon of death coming from the sky he descended toward her frail figurine.

- To be continued

Note: Hi! Since I started the story with three different points of view, I thought I should end it the same way. So, first I wrote Cloud's and you can guess the other two! Two more chapters and it ends… Ok so I might have changed a little bit the events of the Forgotten City in here! I hope you liked the chapter! Tell me what you think please! Until the next one, thank you so much everyone!